Why Trump can't be president

[smilesammich 10,727]

It's not whether or not America should be run like a business. Study after study has shown that in times of market crashes and recessions, Americans are more inclined to vote for the candidate from the party that's NOT already in power(and vice versa). People are going to want someone who they think can get them their jobs back, or help them avoid losing theirs, it's as simple as that.

but it is about if america should be run like a business..how does a businessman like trump get a pass for having zero political experience and zero platform. normally the tired working classes don't want to hear a politician talking out of both sides of their mouth promising to get them jobs back or keep them from losing the jobs they already have. but they'll eat it up from a businessman with seven bankruptcies under his belt? they'll eat it up from a businessman who genuinely believes he built everything himself and doesn't see the privilege he had in a father that could loan him a cool mill to get going? i just don't get it.

[Teddy B 17,252]

Who says Trump doesn't have a lot going on up there?

[OriZ 3,157]

but it is about if america should be run like a business..how does a businessman like trump get a pass for having zero political experience and zero platform. normally the tired working classes don't want to hear a politician talking out of both sides of their mouth promising to get them jobs back or keep them from losing the jobs they already have. but they'll eat it up from a businessman with seven bankruptcies under his belt? they'll eat it up from a businessman who genuinely believes he built everything himself and doesn't see the privilege he had in a father that could loan him a cool mill to get going? i just don't get it.

Hey I'm with you there, but it's just the way it seems to go. Personally I don't believe he will be great for the economy - I think it will be a mere coincidence that (if this hypothetical scenario plays out) he gets elected right near the end of a complete market cycle and things turn around after a year or so of him in office. Right now I'm just imagining things but it's happened before, and if it happens again, it will have nothing to do with him, but people will think it did, just like they do with Obama.

[Rob L 3,811]

but it is about if america should be run like a business..how does a businessman like trump get a pass for having zero political experience and zero platform. normally the tired working classes don't want to hear a politician talking out of both sides of their mouth promising to get them jobs back or keep them from losing the jobs they already have. but they'll eat it up from a businessman with seven bankruptcies under his belt? they'll eat it up from a businessman who genuinely believes he built everything himself and doesn't see the privilege he had in a father that could loan him a cool mill to get going? i just don't get it.

[ExPatty 502]

I don't know a lot about Kasich. On the surface I see some thing's that I agree with and some that I don't, but at least there is a substance there. A moderate conservative would probably find a lot of support with the middle ground voter in a general election, but the GOP of today is where moderate conservatives go to die. It's too bad.

it looks to me that the party is committing seppuku. The primary voters want to steer so far away from the democrats that they forgot their nominee actually needs to beat one of them. So, paradoxically, a nominee has to show all the ways they are unlike a dem to win the nomination yet in a general the closer they are to the dems the more palatable they are to swing voters.

The idiot republican's are doing it again. Last election was theirs to lose but they put Romney up, an elitist. And they are doing it again. Hillary is hated by so many. All the republicans had to do was put up a warm body but they are going to put trump up instead and he is too hated for swing voters. And Cruz is too right wing. If they cannot nominate Rubio or kasich (too far behind IMO) Hillary remains favored to win.

[Expat1 971]

I'm talking to all the complainers like you who think gaining citizenship in U.S. Is a right. You better believe it's my country, I'm a born U.S. Citizen. And if anyone here who is given the privlidge to come into our country needs to respect our borders. Our country was built by Americans and voters and the decisions of our past great leaders. You come to our country, until you are a legal citizen and are allowed to vote you play by our rules! If your not an elgiable voting U.S. Citizen then your opinion is worthless.

Nobody in here said anything about citizenship being a "right" and world opinion about the US does matter. Are you another zika casualty?

Trump is a trashy, loudmouthed, bankruptcy-ridden embarrassment who raises cash, starts projects, and walks out on his responsibilities leaving his investors holding his s-tbag. You wanna represent the bottom illiterate 35% of the republican party and wave banners for Trump in here because you might get a job someday as a caddy or doorman from him and you're fair game.

Speaking of illiterate, no such thing as "elgiable". Just sayin'. Bring some more. I wanna have some fun with you.

[smilesammich 10,727]

Nobody in here said anything about citizenship being a "right" and world opinion about the US does matter. Are you another zika casualty?

Trump is a trashy, loudmouthed, bankruptcy-ridden embarrassment who raises cash, starts projects, and walks out on his responsibilities leaving his investors holding his s-tbag. You wanna represent the bottom illiterate 35% of the republican party and wave banners for Trump in here because you might get a job someday as a caddy or doorman from him and you're fair game.

Speaking of illiterate, no such thing as "elgiable". Just sayin'. Bring some more. I wanna have some fun with you.

ALERT. expat1 has been compromised. vj threat level has been raised to 'immediate doom impending suffering and the longterm turmoil permabans'

you've all been warned.

[Expat1 971]

ALERT. expat1 has been compromised. vj threat level has been raised to 'immediate doom impending suffering and the longterm turmoil permabans'

you've all been warned.

What to do? I can't stand Trump or his mouthy supporters (but Great Wall^TM jokes are always pretty funny).

Edited March 4, 2016 by Expat1

[Teddy B 17,252]

ALERT. expat1 has been compromised. vj threat level has been raised to 'immediate doom impending suffering and the longterm turmoil permabans'

you've all been warned.

It's happy hour in the Middle East.

[smilesammich 10,727]

It's happy hour in the Middle East.

i thought if you drink alcohol in the middle east the sharia council unleashes tiny baby rats to descend upon yer person and eat yer face off..? am i misinformed?

[yuna628 9,676]

I'm talking to all the complainers like you who think gaining citizenship in U.S. Is a right. You better believe it's my country, I'm a born U.S. Citizen. And if anyone here who is given the privlidge to come into our country needs to respect our borders. Our country was built by Americans and voters and the decisions of our past great leaders. You come to our country, until you are a legal citizen and are allowed to vote you play by our rules! If your not an elgiable voting U.S. Citizen then your opinion is worthless.

Your country? Just and only yours? Why, it seems to also be my country and the country of others who disagree with you on fundamental levels. Who died and left you king of the mountain?

Americans sure are greedy these days, tossing around the words 'mine' like it's the most precious thing that ever existed. So get out there and vote, believe only your opinion matters.

For reference, unless you're Native American, you are merely a birthright citizen. Your ancestors came to this country as immigrants in conditions you can only dare to imagine, and suffered from the same persecution and xenophobia we are seeing spewed across America today. That is how you exist on earth here. Proving that in the hundreds of years of American 'existence' we haven't learned very much at all from it being 'ours'. One day maybe citizens will wake up and realize that their opinions through their votes are pretty worthless under the current system, but keep lying to yourself.. if it makes you feel better. Our country was built on the backs of immigrants, slaves, war, and strangely ironically the desire for freedom - through the opinions and decisions of persons both GREAT and not so much. Blessedly things constantly change in our democratic republic, we are all allowed to have freedom to our thoughts and opinions - lest this become a dictatorship. Every person who lives here, whether they be birthright or not, are not some mass unified hive mind, we don't all have to be sheep, and their immigration status does not dictate their god-or-man given human rights. I think the Founders made that little fact, expertly clear.

elitesthuglib, on 04 Mar 2016 - 09:41 AM, said:

when did this idea erupt that america should be run like a business? it's mind boggling.

I hope I can bring a different perspective to this.. as I grew up in the religious-conservative movement and am privy to a lot of materials regarding the idea. It's not a new notion. It has deep roots in things a lot of our republican (even the younger ones) politicals hold dear. It's kind of a cross between a pseudo neo-republicanism and neo-libertarian philosophy. Growing up, every aspect of textbook hammered this idea home, that capitalism, trickle down econ, and business was king... and that politics would be better off ran in a sort of CEO-presidency. The only other way I can compare it is to the mega-church trickle-down 'prosperity gospel'. The average person understands how business should be run, or at least how they would run a business... but have little concept of how a government should be run (only what sounds good to them). Politics seems fake and complex, but business people deal with every single day. Whether they work to make a good, buy a good, or sell a good themselves. It's a way of life. Simplification sounds so much more better. It's a freedom and perhaps in some respect greed driven thing. It's become very corrupted along the way. If America isn't careful though, people like Trump sound a little closer to dictator than anything else. People are angry and frightened, and he's playing on that. He's made a career out of self-branding. It doesn't matter how many bankruptcies or legal cases or stupid nonsense things he says, if at least some of what he says sounds good to some people. How'd all of the dictators of the world ever come to power? Force.. coup.. war... but also in some cases by election. I'd like to think collectively the people of America are smarter than that.. smarter than all of the persons on that stage. We'll see won't we? Republicans like to yell about the Founders a lot.. and Originalism, but the truth is they left that path a long time ago, and don't know how to get back there. Not everything is groovy on the Democratic side either of course. I think people really want to know if Hillary is worth, what they see as, the 'risk' - the status quo. She'll not do too much different than Obama has done (strange because I recall at one point a butt-ton of Republicans for Hillary at some point)... and right now people don't want what feels like a pretty flat economy, job insecurity, high insurance bills, and no retirement funds. They see shining buildings with his name on it and think success, because what has a politician got? Can't hold a candle to that. Still, republicans created this monster. They could have rallied around Kaisich, like they did with Romney, without too much damage to their base. Maybe they probably wouldn't win, but they'd have enough power to try again next time. If they truly want to defeat Trump, they need to get behind Hillary as a one term pres, then come out strong next time, because they have little chance with the rest of the non-serious mouth-breathers on that stage last night.

[jyaku 138]

[Teddy B 17,252]

Your country? Just and only yours? Why, it seems to also be my country and the country of others who disagree with you on fundamental levels. Who died and left you king of the mountain?

He is referring to the card carrying members of Murica, yanno these guys.

Edited March 4, 2016 by Teddy B

[Transborderwife 4,666]

but it is about if america should be run like a business..how does a businessman like trump get a pass for having zero political experience and zero platform. normally the tired working classes don't want to hear a politician talking out of both sides of their mouth promising to get them jobs back or keep them from losing the jobs they already have. but they'll eat it up from a businessman with seven bankruptcies under his belt? they'll eat it up from a businessman who genuinely believes he built everything himself and doesn't see the privilege he had in a father that could loan him a cool mill to get going? i just don't get it.

Spirit fingers?

[smilesammich 10,727]

I hope I can bring a different perspective to this.. as I grew up in the religious-conservative movement and am privy to a lot of materials regarding the idea. It's not a new notion. It has deep roots in things a lot of our republican (even the younger ones) politicals hold dear. It's kind of a cross between a pseudo neo-republicanism and neo-libertarian philosophy. Growing up, every aspect of textbook hammered this idea home, that capitalism, trickle down econ, and business was king... and that politics would be better off ran in a sort of CEO-presidency. The only other way I can compare it is to the mega-church trickle-down 'prosperity gospel'. The average person understands how business should be run, or at least how they would run a business... but have little concept of how a government should be run (only what sounds good to them). Politics seems fake and complex, but business people deal with every single day. Whether they work to make a good, buy a good, or sell a good themselves. It's a way of life. Simplification sounds so much more better. It's a freedom and perhaps in some respect greed driven thing. It's become very corrupted along the way. If America isn't careful though, people like Trump sound a little closer to dictator than anything else. People are angry and frightened, and he's playing on that. He's made a career out of self-branding. It doesn't matter how many bankruptcies or legal cases or stupid nonsense things he says, if at least some of what he says sounds good to some people. How'd all of the dictators of the world ever come to power? Force.. coup.. war... but also in some cases by election. I'd like to think collectively the people of America are smarter than that.. smarter than all of the persons on that stage. We'll see won't we? Republicans like to yell about the Founders a lot.. and Originalism, but the truth is they left that path a long time ago, and don't know how to get back there. Not everything is groovy on the Democratic side either of course. I think people really want to know if Hillary is worth, what they see as, the 'risk' - the status quo. She'll not do too much different than Obama has done (strange because I recall at one point a butt-ton of Republicans for Hillary at some point)... and right now people don't want what feels like a pretty flat economy, job insecurity, high insurance bills, and no retirement funds. They see shining buildings with his name on it and think success, because what has a politician got? Can't hold a candle to that. Still, republicans created this monster. They could have rallied around Kaisich, like they did with Romney, without too much damage to their base. Maybe they probably wouldn't win, but they'd have enough power to try again next time. If they truly want to defeat Trump, they need to get behind Hillary as a one term pres, then come out strong next time, because they have little chance with the rest of the non-serious mouth-breathers on that stage last night.

the more i mull it over in my head, the more i'm thinking that trump is the fall out from america electing the first black president. like in the beginning it seemed like obama getting elected was the big triumph and we thought we got over the hurdle for sure when he was elected the second time. but america is direly shortsighted, i don't think many of us expected the fallout to occur towards the end of his presidency, let alone for it to morph into such an odd beast. i completely see what you're saying about the religious conservative movement. and it does makes sense, in that the religious right has felt disenfranchised for the past eight years - they're willing to overlook a pseudo christian since he's willing to bat for them and say ridiculous things like 'i love my bible' just to put a smile on their faces. but yeah, we'll see.

Spirit fingers?

measure from the tip of the thumb to the end of the index finger. or something.