Pareene is right of course, Democrats have a bad habit of attacking the other guy in strategically stupid ways. So do Republicans! Not many politicians have Obama’s knack for sparring. However, this election we have little Damien from the Omen all grown up and running for President so we probably should think things through even more than usual.
Go with Deadbeat Donald. It makes a pretty effective argument against electing the man. It also seems like an objectively accurate way to describe the guy’s business history. If you ever worked as a contractor for Donald Trump or invested in one of his mega-projects, odds are pretty good you have a funny story about getting shafted. And he just reinforces the criticism every time he brings up fiscal policy. He already telegraphed in debates that the line of argument makes him prickly and defensive.
What do you think? Chat about whatevs.
the Conster, la Citoyenne
It’s all about his tiny hands. Hillary’s surrogates – especially Liz Warren – should never stop mentioning that he has freakishly small hands and short fingers, and watch him stroke out.
Chris
Apparently, there’s been a shooting at Montgomery Mall close to where I live. 2 dead, 2 injured. The tree of liberty got its daily refreshment from the blood of shoppers and part-time employees.
Iowa Old Lady
So in a Trump presidency, would the mayor of London be banned from the US?
(I can’t believe I just typed “Trump presidency”)
JMG
For better and worse, Clinton is the staid candidate. Therefore, it behooves her to emphasis how Trump is an unacceptable risk. I doubt it’s the only line of attack she’ll use, but it will be an effective one when she points out how many nuclear weapons are still around. The whole default thing allows Donald to be described as both Dangerous and a Deadbeat.
Cacti
@the Conster, la Citoyenne:
From Graydon Carter, the man who gave Trump the label of “short-fingered vulgarian”:
Have surrogates insult his hand-size, intelligence, business acumen, and the alleged size of his fortune as often as possible.
He’ll come unglued.
Mnemosyne
Deadbeat Donald.
Default Donald.
Deficit Donald.
Wait, let me find a thesaurus, I bet I can come up with more. Is there a synonym for “bankruptcy” that starts with a D?
Mike J
Congrats to Sadiq Khan, the next mayor of London. The blowhard with the bad hair is on his way out, and he wasn’t replaced by the racist.
Chris
@Iowa Old Lady:
Oh, no doubt. And so, one assumes, would be the chiefs of state of Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Morocco, Egypt, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Malaysia, Indonesia, Mali, Bangladesh, Mali, Algeria, Mauritania, Tunisia, Albania, Bosnia, Kosovo…
Enhanced Voting Techinques
I have faith in Hilary to make The Donald look like an entitled brat in the debate, she is really good and that and it’s almost impossible for The Donald to avoid it and not turn off his fan base.
Chris
@Mike J:
Explosion of conservative memes that YOU SEE London totally IS a city under Sharia Law in 3… 2…
Patricia Kayden
@Chris: They caught the guy. Apparently it was a domestic dispute.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/public-safety/one-person-shot-at-montgomery-mall-in-bethesda-police-say/2016/05/06/f510d2aa-139f-11e6-81b4-581a5c4c42df_story.html
Iowa Old Lady
Does it seem like the press is suddenly much less interested in reporting on Sanders? It’s like Trump focused their attention, like the threat of hanging is supposed to do. I suppose they’ll eventually go back to declaring the Ds to be in a close contest.
Patricia Kayden
@JMG: A few Republicans, such as the one featured in the link, are making the argument about how unfit for office Trump would be. He was on MSNBC this afternoon stating that Trump is racist, sexist, bigoted, etc., etc., etc. He appears to hate Trump more than I do, which is saying a whole lot.
http://news.wgcu.org/post/florida-gop-consultant-pens-open-letter-republicans-about-donald-trump
FlipYrWhig
@Mnemosyne:
BankTruMpt
the Conster, la Citoyenne
@Cacti:
Trump would be Shakespearean, if he wasn’t such a petty combovered buffoon with such obvious flaws – maybe more Trollope than Shakespeare. Or Mad Magazine.
Mnemosyne
Also, we didn’t buy season tickets for the Pantages just to have guaranteed “Hamilton” tickets, but it didn’t hurt. Knowing we also have guaranteed seats for the return engagement of “Book of Mormon” was probably the deciding factor, though.
Nemo_N
Liberals think those kind of attacks are too “anti-intellectual” or something. They want the attack to be about how smart and caring they are, victory be damned. They very much deserve the wedgie.
I hope I’m wrong, but I don’t see Team Hillary or liberals in general launching effective attacks.
scav
@Mnemosyne: If GW’s was the gentleman’s C presidency, DT’s could very well prove the D- one.
jayackroyd
@Enhanced Voting Techinques: How do think she’ll handle accusations of corruption, of rigging things for her elitist friends? Sanders couldn’t directly accuse her of being corrupt, but Crooked Hillary is gonna be his theme. (Dangerous Donald seems like a school yard taunt response to that moniker.)
singfoom
Don’t forget Trumps support for SLAVE LABOR IN DUBAI:
I urge everyone to watch this VICE episode if they have HBO.
http://www.vice.com/read/vice-on-hbo-dubai-workers-trump-international-golf-club
Now Trump will say they’re just using his name and it’s not his construction company, but it matters not one whit. There is a complex with his name on it being built by SLAVES.
Joel
Something gives me the impression that “operatives” are 1) old 2) risk averse 3) giant dorks.
Mnemosyne
@Nemo_N:
Yeah, remember how ineffective Team Obama was against McCain and Romney?
Given that Team Hillary is made up of many of the same people, I do not share your skepticism.
Cacti
Easy attack on Trump that will set his teeth on edge:
He bankrupted a casino and a professional football league. Are there two things Americans love more than gambling and football?
How stupid do you have to be to lose money at them?
bupalos
Criminy! I’m sorry but that campaign just really does have bad instincts. It seems like everything they do is the product of a bad staff meeting.
So the 1st two moves we have so far are “But look everyone! Traditional Republicans don’t like Donald Trump!” and “Dangerous Donald.” It’s even worse that it’s just a ripoff of his dumb bully thing of doing a one-word put-down paired with a 1st name.
It’s a good thing that this is literally un-losable at the POTUS level but if they were setting out to elect more R’s than you’d think this cycle could possibly support, I don’t think they could be off to a better start.
schrodinger's cat
Trump is like an uglier and stupider version of Sarah Palin.
Iowa Old Lady
@jayackroyd: I assume her team is trying out various ways to answer (or ignore) him. This is their job and I hope they do it well.
goblue72
Just wait till Trump announces his reality mini-series to pick his VP running mate. 6 week mini-series, one candidate fired each week. Weekly competition Vice-President-ing “tasks” for competitors. Week 1 will be building a wall in downtown Manhattan and they have to go find some Mexicans to do it. (Bricks and trowels provided by a Trump, Inc. subsidiary, of course)
Cacti
Help, stuck in moderation hell for using the common name for establishment where games of chance are played.
Mnemosyne
@jayackroyd:
I freely admit this is cynical of me, but if I were Team Hillary, I would run on knowing how things work and being realistic. Most people would rather have a little corruption in a working government than a total government collapse.
And, let’s face it, “Corrupt Hillary” coming from Slave Labor Trump is straight from the Karl Rove playbook of attacking your opponent using YOUR OWN greatest weakness.
liberal
[source]
? Martin
@Cacti:
I wouldn’t even bring it up. I’d just make every photo of Trump in attack ads have his hands reduced in size by 25% as a standard rule. Focus on photos where his hands are visible. Make it entirely subliminal. Make him bring it up so it doesn’t even look like an attack.
Schlemazel Khan
HERE is a link to the video of Keith Ellison saying back in July that people should be ready for Trumps candidacy.
George “Judas Iscariot” Stephenopolis laughs and laughs and says “I know you don’t believe that”. But I bet you a dime Heorge will treat Drumpf as if her should be respected as a candidate every Sunday from now through the election.
the Conster, la Citoyenne
@Nemo_N:
I don’t know – Liz Warren has been going at him pretty good on twitter. She’s got game, and just getting started.
Schlemazel Khan
@Cacti:
you mean casino?
FlipYrWhig
@jayackroyd:
Apart from every public appearance and every ad for 2 months, you mean?
bupalos
@JMG: Then if you just must name him, go with “Nuclear Trump” or “Toxic Trump” or “Unstable Trump.”
F-
Hillary might do well to just wait to start the general, in the last two days she’s given me the only inklings of actually considering Bernie that I’ve had.
Cacti
@Schlemazel Khan:
Yep, that one.
Betty Cracker
I don’t like the strategy of pointing out how much establishment Republicans dislike Trump. Establishment Republicans are douchebags, so being hated by them isn’t a deficit. More importantly, it lets the Republican Party off the hook for giving rise to Trump. Tie that motherfucker around their necks, I say!
liberal
Hmm…well, there are a few Republican types that aren’t 1000% batshit crazy:
and
[source]
Grumpy Code Monkey
@the Conster, la Citoyenne: Once upon a time, asking about the New Jersey Generals was guaranteed to get Trump’s blood pressure up. While nobody else gives (gave) a shit about the USFL, I’m sure it would be a good warm-up question if you’re aiming for a meltdown.
Jeffro
@schrodinger’s cat:
“Palin in a suit” – been sayin’ it for months.
Can’t believe the rest of the “deep bench” couldn’t take a swipe at him with that…oh wait…I guess they really wanted those Palinista voters more than they wanted to have principles, any principles at all.
I don’t like “Dangerous Donald” or “Deadbeat Donald”. Let’s not get hung up on alliteration here peeps. How about just “Donald the Moron”?
Mai.naem.mobile
@Mnemosyne: Douchebag Donald,Dumbo Donald,Dirtbag Donald,Donald the Dunce,Dirty Donald
Cacti
@Betty Cracker:
Idk, as it stands, 15 million GOPers voted not Trump vs. about 10 million for Trump. The problem was too many not-Trumps diluting the vote early in the race.
Any of them we could get to cross over, or at least not vote for The Donald is a gain.
rikyrah
@Mnemosyne:
Yes yes yes yes
Joel
@bupalos: I actually think anti-unity ad makes sense before the Republicans convene. It’s designed to drive a wedge in presidential support. The Republicans are doing the same thing, albeit less effectively. And they definitely pushed that in 2008. Parties do this because it’s (marginally) effective.
Ruckus
@schrodinger’s cat:
That’s pretty harsh.
Not disagreeing with you in the slightest though. Mainly because she destroyed a republican running and he is the republican running.
Matt
Deadbeat Donny, not Donald.
Villago Delenda Est
@Cacti: Ca$ino. That works.
Villago Delenda Est
@Matt: Donnie. As in “Shut the fuck up, Donnie.”
Mnemosyne
@goblue72:
“You know I’m not Mexican, right?”
“That’s the spirit!”
Chris
@Betty Cracker:
Yes to both points. And I mean, considering that Trump’s success is due in no small part to his ripping the Republican establishment a new one, citing establishment Republicans against him seems more like handing him free publicity.
(Heck, I hate the guy and I’m still thrilled at the way he completely destroyed them).
Villago Delenda Est
@Betty Cracker: Albatross! Albatross!
Kay (not the front-pager)
I would like to point out, if no one has already, that 1 day after saying that he would campaign on the issues if Clinton was “nice to me,” Donald trump said at a large rally in WV that Hillary Clinton was “involved in every aspect of Bill Clinton’s administration. Every aspect! Well, not every aspect… I didn’t know people in WV ha such dirty minds!”
I can’t believe we’re at this place in 2016.
Ruckus
@Betty Cracker:
I’m assuming that you mean with a stout rope with a knotted loop at the end.
Loneoak
How about Chode Fingers Donny?
Chris
@Villago Delenda Est:
Have you seen this?
Schlemazel Khan
@Cacti:
I hate when I forget the magic words & don’t fix them so they pass.
FYWP ate a funny post i made in the thread below & I didn’t feel like typing it again. The product is extremely frustrating.
scav
Who’s the leader of the club
That’s bad for you and me
T-R-U-M-P-T-D-U-M-P-T
Hey! there, Hi! there, Ho! there
Yuuge and classy as can be
T-R-U-M-P-T-D-U-M-P-T
Trumpty Dumpt!
Trumpty Dumpt!
Forever let us comb our hairpiece
High! High! High! High!
Come along and sing a song
And join the jamboree!
T-R-U-M-P-T-D-U-M-P-T
…..
Come along and sing our song
and join our family
T-R-U (cause it’ll all be true)
M-P-T (truly truly empty!)
D-U-M-P-T (We’ll all be living in the dumps!)
Now its time to say goodbye
to all our company.
D-U-M
Spoken:
it’ll be real soon
P-T-Y
Spoken:
why? because of sanity
T-R-U-M-P.
Dumpty-Trump!
dr. bloor
@FlipYrWhig:
Oh, this is very, very good.
Kay (not the front-pager)
@the Conster, la Citoyenne: All of Hillary’s surrogates should habitually refer to him as Li’l Donnie while holding thumb and forefinger an inch apart.
Schlemazel Khan
@Villago Delenda Est:
Over on Gizmodo today I saw a commentator with the nym “Trumpf Delenda Est” and though that was perfect. start with Drumpf then the village!
Mnemosyne
@Betty Cracker:
As a general election strategy, no. As a way to keep stirring up the shit and getting the Republicans to continue to fight each other in the lead-up to their convention, absolutely.
raven
(CNN)A federal law enforcement officer sought in the fatal shootings of three people at three places in less than 24 hours has been arrested, police in Maryland said Friday afternoon.
Eulalio Tordil, 62, was taken into custody without incident, Montgomery County Police Capt. Paul Starks said at a news conference.
Police identified the suspect’s car in a parking lot near a supermarket where one of the victims was killed earlier in the day, then spotted him inside nearby businesses, according to a law enforcement official.
dr. bloor
@Matt:
@Villago Delenda Est:
More precisely, “Deadbeat Donnie from Queents.”
Kyle
Don’t go after Trump. Go after the ones that nominated him. Paint them as the bigots, racists and xenophobes they are, and then explain that voting for him or any republican means you’re a racist, bigoted xenophobe.
PaulWartenberg2016
I’ll stick with Bankrupt DudeBro.
THE SOB KILLED AN ENTIRE FOOTBALL LEAGUE.
This Tampa Bay Bandits fan will never forgive.
Joyce H
Something I’d like to see get a lot more attention – not necessarily from Clinton herself but from pro-Clinton surrogates. When Trump’s father died, the will cut out the family of Trump’s deceased elder brother. The nephew sued about it (alleging undue influence on the part of Trump), and Trump’s response was to cancel the nephew’s family’s health insurance – at a time when the nephew’s wife had just had a baby with cerebral palsy. The judge hearing the lawsuit ordered the insurance restored, but Trump was entirely unapologetic about it – he was angry at the nephew for daring to challenge his father’s will, and saw no problem with threatening the health and life of a baby as a bargaining chip in a money dispute. Imagine this sort of temperament and character with the power of the federal government behind him.
Terry chay
@Iowa Old Lady: the only reason that they had any press on the Sanders-Clinton contest is because the Republican one was such a shit show they needed Both Sides Do It. Now that the latter is decided they’ll drop the former.
rp
It’s funny that Freddie de Boer is one of the first commenters on the gawker article (of course very anti-HRC).
I think everyone is overthinking this. There are plenty of ways to attack trump, and Clinton doesn’t have to pick one. He’s dangerous and stupid and crass and inexperienced and a thin skinned bully. Hanging a lot on a handful of comments in early May is stupid. Moreover, HRC has HUGE structural advantages over Trump. Don’t get too caught up in the day to day narrative.
Facebones
Let me spare you the drama. Here is how the next seven months play out:
1) Sometime over the summer, there will be an outlier poll, showing either Trump tied with Clinton or Trump one or two points ahead.
2) This will set off the quadrennial celebration of Democrats and Concern Trolls Lighting Themselves on Fire. “We shoulda picked Bernie!” “I toldya so!” “Trump is unstoppable!”
3) The media will do everything in their power to make it a horse race, through the magic of false equivalency.
4) Trump will come oh so close to calling Hillary a c***y bitch, but not actually say the words, and he’ll be called presidential for not actually cursing at her.
5) In the end, it won’t even be close. Hillary will get 400+ EVs and a senate majority. And the Republicans will immediately claim she has no mandate because people were voting against Trump and not for her.
rikyrah
@liberal:
OUCH
Scary, but true.
Betty Cracker
@rp:
Excellent advice that almost everyone will fail to heed.
@Facebones: Sounds about right.
Mike in DC
Don the Con (Artist) is also suitable.
raven
@Betty Cracker: We could all go to Roscoe’s Chicken and Waffles!
Brachiator
Sigh. No.
Trump has bounced back from business bankruptcies, as have any number of viable businesses. People who think that Trump’s business bankruptcies are a big deal probably also think that the US can easily default on its own debt.
There have been a number of people who were failures in business who turned out to be good presidents. Ever heard of Harry Truman?
@Betty Cracker:
Exactly! And Trump became a hero to his base by publically humiliating, in turn, Jeb!, Little Marco, Cruz and most famously Mittbot 2000. He even dared skewer Dubya over the Iraq War.
The stupid Democratic Party ad that has leading Republicans denouncing Trump only reminds Trump supporters of how much they love their man, and how much they hate the GOP mainstream.
@Jeffro:
This might get you some traction with Independents and others. Trump’s base, like Palin’s deeply believe that the dumbest white man in America is better than a black man, and probably better than a “weak” woman like Hillary. The racism and sexism is deep here. Deep.
But in the end, Palin’s utter stupidity repelled most sane people. This may work with Trump as well. You have to hammer home not just that he is “dangerous,” but that behind the suit, tan and orange hair is an utter nincompoop.
Mike in DC
Why is Trump’s latest book so long?
He has 4 Chapter 11s.
the Conster, la Citoyenne
@Kay (not the front-pager):
LOL. That would be awesome, because really, that’s exactly what he’s about. His tiny hands hang up is about his tiny little dick.
Keth
The sighting of 27% for today … via ABC News
Doug!
That Pareene article was genius.
Matt McIrvin
@Joel: Yeah, part of the message there is “Republicans in disarray!!!”
Matt McIrvin
@Facebones:
Already happened. Rasmussen’s come on line.
Patricia Kayden
@Mike in DC: Needs to be tweeted one million times.
@Facebones: Love your optimism about the outcome in November. I’m seeing a trickle of Republican leaders stating publicly that they will not vote for Trump because he is dangerous and unhinged. That bodes well for our side.
WarMunchkin
Why do we need to give him a nickname?
Mnemosyne
@Brachiator:
And this is bad why, again? Trump supporters are a minority within their own party. Driving a wedge between them and the more mainstream members sounds like a good strategy to try and prevent the Republicans from trying to unify around The Donald.
starscream
I think the quotes of various Republican leaders slamming him are effective. Imagine if Bill Clinton, Obama, Kerry, Gore, Liz Warren, etc were all on the record talking about how dangerous Hillary is and how they couldn’t support her?
Soylent Green
@Facebones:
I think it will be a lot closer than we would like. The media will do everything it needs to do to get its horse race, and has already started its campaign to legitimize Trump. Meanwhile, most of the disaffected Republicans, including the Nevertrumpers currently bleating over at Redstate, will come around. Even now some of their people are laying the groundwork.
Turgidson
@Brachiator:
Again, the audience for that ad isn’t Trump’s fan club. We all know they aren’t going to convinced to vote against the Short-Fingered Vulgarian. The ad is aimed at everybody else. Literally, everybody else, which makes up 60-70% of the electorate at the moment, at least.
There is still a faction of the GOP that would have preferred to go with a standard-issue GOP nominee (any of which would have still been terrifying to imagine as president, mind you, but in different ways). It isn’t big enough to win the primaries, but it’s a few percent of voters. No harm in HRC trying to peel some of them off and encourage further shit-flinging within the GOP at this stage.
Calouste
@Brachiator:
That ad is not targeted at Trump supporters. It’s targeted at the 60% of the GOP that didn’t vote for Trump.
raven
@Soylent Green: “I think it will be a lot closer than we would like. ”
I don’t give a shit if it’s one vote.
Joyce H
@Mnemosyne:
Very much this. The thing we have to remember is that the Trump supporters are a minority in a minority party. And we’re not going to change those people’s minds. All the stuff they talk about when asked why they support Trump? “He’ll build a wall, he’ll get ISIS, he’s self-funded”, etc – those aren’t really reasons, they’re excuses. The real reason they’re supporting Trump is that they like his personality – the same personality that turns off the entire rest of the world. So you’re not going to get those people to turn on Trump. He can now start being not self-funded, can take back promises to build the wall etc, and he won’t lose support, because those promises aren’t really why they support him. They support him because they want to follow a swaggering bully who doesn’t make them feel stupid because he doesn’t know any more than they do.
Don’t worry about those people. You’re not going to convince them not to vote for Trump. What we have to do is make sure that the pool of Trump supporters doesn’t grow, but stays confined to this toxic minority of conservatism.
Patricia Kayden
@raven: Ha! True. All we need to do is win.
Frankensteinbeck
I prefer Clinton goes light on trump. Trump will make himself look like an idiot. She only has to do whatever equivalent of an eye roll suits the situation, and roll out the occasional fact sheet about why he’s wildly, utterly, pathetically ignorant and wrong. Absolutely do not make it personal.
Why? Because I want her to pin the entire Republican Party to that jackass. Make the whole country face that Trump is no random loser. He is the bigotry and spite and ignorance that their party is all about. I want everyone, especially minorities, to think of Trump when they think of Republicans, forever.
@jayackroyd:
Well, since all he’ll have are vague insinuations and exotic conspiracy theories to draw from, assuming the very unlikely prospect he’ll try that tactic, I assume she’ll laugh at him and talk about his mob connections and shady business dealings. The guy is one giant target on ‘corruption.’
Villago Delenda Est
@Chris: I have now! And I’m passing it on!
Villago Delenda Est
@Calouste: Everyone forgets that “Anyone but Drumpf!” got more votes than Drumpf did. The way the GOP structured their primary process gave Drumpf an advantage that the designers did not anticipate.
Soylent Green
@Frankensteinbeck:
I’d like to see her respond to his personal attacks with that brush the dirt off her shoulder move, delivered with a smile.
A Ghost To Most
@Facebones:
6) Profit!
shomi
I almost never read anyone mentioning Drumpfs business relationships. A lot of contractors and other companies won’t work with him or insist on money up front. I guess they don’t want to say anything because it is not in their best business interests to do so. He’s got a really bad reputation for screwing people.
Patricia Kayden
@Nemo_N: What would be an effective political ad, in your opinion? Trump writes his own anti-Trump ads with his behavior and bigoted comments. Shouldn’t be hard to come up with some great ads denouncing him based on his campaign alone.
@WarMunchkin: True. Calling someone a “Donald Trump” in coming years will be cause for a serious beat down.
Bob In Portland
@singfoom: So when Hillary made the weapons deal with Dubai did the weapons go to the slaves or the slaveowners?
catclub
@Patricia Kayden: Bodes well.
There were zero of those in 2008 or 2012.
Calouste
@Villago Delenda Est: The GOP did anticipate it, they just expected that the advantage would go to Jeb?!??, not Trump. There was a reason that Florida was among the first states that were winner-takes-all, as well as South Carolina being virtually winner-takes-all. They were expected to be Bush states.
Betty Cracker
@raven: I’m in!
catclub
@Calouste:
And also any independents, who will wonder why so many of the Donald’s own party do not like him.
Iowa Old Lady
@Joyce H: Yeah, Trump is not about policy. He’s about emotion.
Calouste
@Patricia Kayden:
Including the two Republican Presidents still alive and the most recent Republican Presidential and Vice-Presidential nominees. Well, they left off the “dangerous and unhinged” part, but it still looks pretty unprecedented.
Matt McIrvin
@starscream:
Well, they got Jim Webb and a bunch of people on my Facebook feed.
The Sheriff Endorses Baud 2016
Let the second-guessing begin!
Bob In Portland
@Enhanced Voting Techinques:
If H. Clinton, who’s been paid about three billion in donations, speaking fees, campaign donations, is going to make Trump look like an “entitled brat” I suspect his surrogates will use what’s on the record already to attack her.
I suspect that she’ll beat Trump, but between the DINOs that Wasserman Schultz has lined up and the lack of Clinton coattails we’ll be looking at another 4-8 years of stalemate.
Then the BJers can devote their full time on right-wing asswipes in the South who are patrolling the bathrooms of America.
liberal
@Frankensteinbeck:
I agree, simply because I think this is more effective. It would allow Trump to present himself as immature or even deranged. Getting into the mud with him doesn’t help. Of course, that doesn’t mean she shouldn’t rebut any slurs, but she should do so calmly, if coldly.
Mnemosyne
@Soylent Green:
If the Republicans rally their voters and every person who voted for Romney in 2012 votes for Donald in November, Clinton wins, 332 to 206.
I honestly don’t think that the currently not voting white supremacists exist in large enough numbers in blue states to change that result, but you can try to convince me. 270 electoral votes is the minimum needed to win. Which states did Obama win in 2012 do you think are going to flip to Trump based on new voters?
I'mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet
@Enhanced Voting Techinques: I wouldn’t be at all surprised if Donnie refuses to have any debates. They would be so “unfair” to him, you see.
Cheers,
Scott.
(And he probably won’t release his taxes, either.)
Trollhattan
@Bob In Portland:
Hodor! I liked the original far better. Clap harder.
tybee
@raven:
amen
pacem appellant
@Mnemosyne: Destitute Donald.
Mnemosyne
@Bob In Portland:
We already know that Trump is Putin’s preferred candidate. That’s why Trump’s campaign is being run by a Putin guy. You may be able to get your wish of having the US be a Russian puppet state controlled by Putin if Trump wins.
Aleta
@Facebones:
In the months that follow:
1) The media self-congratulates with stories of “Unprecedented Viewer Numbers Boost Profits: Quarterly Ad Gains,” followed by
2) “U.S. Hopelessly Divided?” and
“Bitterness Remains for Families, Neighbors,” then
3) “Hilary Helpless to Heal Polarized Nation”
Trollhattan
@rp:
Good points. Had the media done their damn jobs from the escalator ride we wouldn’t be in this mess, but they played along, aimed uncountable cameras at him 24/7 and never really intelligently discussed his statements, policies and very importantly, sketchy history.
NY Mag did their “Trump Dump” several months ago, posting every article on Trump they’ve published since the ’70s. Anybody who takes the time to read them understands with great depth, who we’re dealing with. But in the meantime, “Hardy-har, lookie what we’ve got here.”.
chopper
@Mai.naem.mobile:
“Dumb Donald” makes me think of the Cosby Kids. which makes me think of Cosby, which makes me think ‘rapist’.
Jeffro
@starscream: that’s an excellent point to bring up each and every time a friend relative or acquaintance thinks that “they’re equally bad choices”
Ben Cisco (onboard the Defiant)
Just saw Captain America: Civil War.
Holee Shit.
That is all.
Tom
Off topic, but I think I need an intervention, or at least a beer. I was just going through Facebook, enjoying the pictures of my adorable grandchildren, and I got one of those “Breaking – The DNC has rigged the Democratic National Convention in July against Bernie Sanders by (fill in bullshit excuse du jour here)”. Ordinarily I would have sighed and moved on, but before I knew it I had typed and posted the following:
“Breaking – Bernie, at this point you just sound like a whiny sore loser. You’ve been a Democrat for what, 9 months? Screw you if you haven’t figured out that people who have worked their asses off for decades to keep the Democratic Party viable in the face of humungous assaults from the Republican Party-Fox News axis of evil don’t take kindly to be called corporate whore sell outs.”
singfoom
@Bob In Portland: Talk to someone who doesn’t think you’re a piece of shit.
Bob In Portland
@Trollhattan:
JPL
@I’mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet: Trump won’t release his taxes,cuz the IRS is mean. Trump is like a vicious Wizard of OZ.
starscream
@JPL: At least that’s a better excuse than St. Bernard’s.
Iowa Old Lady
@Tom: I feel your pain. Have a drink. Read a book. Watch stupid TV. You are among friends who understand.
Bob In Portland
@singfoom:
JPL
@starscream: Sanders probably sent money to the NRA.
Bob In Portland
@singfoom: Lee Fang at The Intercept reports:
the Conster, la Citoyenne
@Tom:
I used to take comfort knowing that the delusional idiots who were susceptible to epistemic closure were all on the right. No longer.
Cacti
When Trump loses, Boob in Putinland can commiserate with Trump’s fans about how much they all hate democrats.
tybee
@singfoom:
an empty set
Brachiator
@Mnemosyne: RE: The stupid Democratic Party ad that has leading Republicans denouncing Trump only reminds Trump supporters of how much they love their man, and how much they hate the GOP mainstream.
I don’t think it drives much of a wedge. But I think a lot of political ads in general are just a waste of money. You’ve seen a lot of this in California, where political consultants drool over the fees they get for placing expensive radio and tv spots that serve no purpose and change no minds.
@Calouste:
And these people instinctively shake off “advice” coming from Democrats. I think that Trump’s own recent crazy remarks scare Republicans more than these political ads.
But, what they hey, it’s not my money, and the Democrats don’t call me for advice.
But let’s follow the money. I noted in an earlier post that while in Indiana, Trump gave an interview to the UK Daily Mail. This went almost under the radar, and few paid attention to it. Trump gave big support for an expansion of Israeli settlements.
And now the NY Times reports that money man Sheldon Adelson has announced that he will support Trump because, of course, he is good for Israel.
I suspect that the GOP is looking to find a way to embrace Trump as quickly as possible.
Shana
@the Conster, la Citoyenne: No, I think he’s more Dickensian. Trollope wrote very subtle characters, Dickens was much more broad strokes.
Mike J
@Tom: They tried to introduce a resolution about the Democratic elite rigging the blah blah blah at the local party meeting this week. Sorry, has to be on the calendar to debate it, 2/3rds required to waive rule. We got 2/3rds to uphold the rule.
Patricia Kayden
@Cacti: srv and Bob in Portland can comfort themselves with alcohol. Doesn’t Trump have his own brand of wines? I recall him boasting about his many products during one of his victory “speeches”.
@Tom: Your dilemma is why I’m glad not to have a Facebook or Twitter account. Too much aggravation. Thankfully, the primaries will be over soon.
A Ghost To Most
As someone who thought the Book of Faces was a very bad idea from the start and do not participate, I am fascinated by all the drama it generates.
Patricia Kayden
@Ben Cisco (onboard the Defiant): I can’t tell if your comment means that it’s great or that it’s horrible. Could go either way.
Mike J
@Brachiator:
Which is why it’s not Democrats in the ad.
Uncle Cosmo
@Brachiator: You miss the point.
No one cares if he’s a crappy businessman. But how many people has he hurt when he waltzed away from his debts?
All you have to do is find a couple of small business owners** who can say something like this:
And a couple of former employees** who can say something like this:
You remind everyone how mofos like Drumpf don’t give a shit who they hurt when they go bankrupt.
How about we talk about Harry Truman the business failure, hm?
Truman settled his debts; Trump welshed on his. That’s how you use the bankruptcies.
(ETA: **Of course you would have to vet those alleged victims’ stories very, very thoroughly. But once you did, ads like that would IMHO be devastating.)
PhoenixRising
If any of you Juicers have time to debate this but not to knock on the doors of 10 likely Democratic voters & make sure they know how to register and where to vote…I’m coming to your houses.
You can find out where to volunteer from your county or state party.
Hillary might win AZ, but it won’t be due to the clever nickname for Trump we come up with. It will happen if we all GOYAKOD.*
Get Off Your Ass and Knock On Doors
chopper
@scav:
You grow up and you calm down
You’re working for the Trump Clown
You start wearing the blue and brown
You’re working for the Trump Clown
So you got someone to boss around
It makes you feel big now
You drift until you brutalize
Make your first kill now
In these days of evil Presidentes
Working for the Trump Clown
But lately one or two has fully paid their due
For working for the Trump Clown
gwangung
@Brachiator:
Yes? And?
You seem to be treating potential GOP voters as a monolith. Even if Trump supporters form a majority, that still leaves a huge chunk of potential GOP voters. Split off a significant chunk (meaning 20%) and that’s huge.
Are you sure you get the concept of segmenting an audience? Or are you convinced that all GOP voters will vote in lock step for trump?
Which is why you air these ads NOW. Then change strategies later.
gogol's wife
@Shana:
You think that Mr. Melmotte is subtle?
Trollhattan
@Uncle Cosmo:
IMO the ad of folks talking about their experiences with Trump U is perfect in content and in tone. It’s a deep, deep well he’s handing over and we’re the better side when it comes to creative media.
gogol's wife
@Tom:
Good for you.
Eljai
@Tom:
@Iowa Old Lady:
What Iowa Old Lady said. And I will join you for a beer as soon as I get off work.
FlipYrWhig
@Bob In Portland:
Does this tendentious obnoxious bullshit come from Glenn Greenwald directly? Because it’s his stock in trade: juxtaposition dressed up to look like causality. The essay was written by an advisor who is known for his writing but is also a lobbyist for several interests among others AND THUS the writing that was by the advisor was clearly at the behest of those interests, and also Hillary Clinton, because she’s a few hopscotch jumps away too.
By that same logic, Bernie Sanders is enmeshed with Donald Trump. Sanders’s adviser Tad Devine worked on the Viktor Yanukovych campaign for the presidency of Ukraine–alongside Paul Manafort, key advisor to Donald Trump.
WHEELS WITHIN WHEELS FOLLOW THE MONEY
gogol's wife
@Mnemosyne:
I wish you spoke Russian so we could seekritly communicate about the Musical That Dare Not Speak Its Name. Interesting that he’ll be in competition with Lloyd Webber, no? Kind of poignant.
D58826
@Chris: 3 dead and the perp in custody. He was a suspended federal protective service cop. Had been forced to turn in his badge/gun due to a domestic violence protective order out on him.
And a carryover from an earlier thread – CNN is reporting a second man has come forward publicly to say he was raped by Sandusky in the mid 70s’. And that he was contacted by two PSU official;s on the phone by the names of Jim and Joe. They tried to talk him out of reporting what happened. The man is positive ‘Joe” was Paterno because he recognized the voice.
Shana
@gogol’s wife: No. But most of the characters in the Pallisers and the Barchesters are. Lizzie Eustace aside.
Uncle Cosmo
@Boob In Putinland: Y’know, “go fuck yourself” is so inadequate a response to your bloviation & fair-use-be-damned c&p. Looking forward to the day that a FPer posts something on the order of–
Mike J
@PhoenixRising:
I’ve spent the morning bulk loading addresses into a geospatially enabled database along with tiger line data. Right now, given an address I can tell you congressional district. legislative district, precinct, court district, school district, water district, and county/city council district for any address in King County. I’m hoping before the night is over to feed in a precinct number and have the addresses come back out (the data’s all there, just getting the queries right.)
So if you need directions to hand out the ass kickings, talk to me.
Mnemosyne
@gogol’s wife:
LMM actually knows all of those guys now — I think he and ALW met in person after exchanging Twitter compliments. I think that, like Sondheim, ALW will be happy to see LMM win (with maybe a little pang, because these guys are competitive).
Trollhattan
The Canada fire is a real monster Just wow, and it’s fricking May! Check the kicker at the end of this excerpt.
The town exists primarily to serve the tar sands extraction industry, probably the dirtiest, most energy-intensive form of oil. Mid-spring fires that far north might just be considered a consequence of climate change.
Mnemosyne
@gogol’s wife:
In non-LMM Tony news, I’m curious to see what wins Best Musical Revival. I think “The Color Purple” is the front-runner, but the Deaf West version of “Spring Awakening” sounded frickin’ amazing since they had hearing and deaf performances side-by-side.
Trollhattan
It’s possible J-Stew makes it back on the air before the general in November. Make it so, HBO!
The nightly one-two punch of TDS-Colbert is something I dearly miss.
Kathleen
@Iowa Old Lady: National RePublicAn Radio is now the “All Trump All The Time” station (playing all of your favorite hits commercial free!!!!!). On All Things Considered Brooks and Dionne discussed the campaign and the topic of Hillary actually came up!!! But the topic was “Hillary in disarray” because she said coal jobs would be gone and an attendee at one of her events in West Va called her out for her statement. The audio clip featured her apology. Is it just me or does it seem that Hillary is the only candidate who has to apologize during this campaign.
Davis X. Machina
I’m looking forward to all the “Hillary is campaigning wrong!” stories that will run between now and the “Hillary’s inaugural address was terrible!” stories.
Uncle Cosmo
@Trollhattan: Excellent point. If I had been thinking of Trump U, I would have cited those ads as a template for attacking the Trump bankruptcies; they are two adjacent sides of his house of cards. We can hit the latter as well as the former if we can dig up & verify innocent victims of his insouciance.
Trollhattan
@Uncle Cosmo:
Ya know, if you keep holding back like this you’ll never truly heal. :-P
(Am having a great time re-living the ’80s in the form of The Americans, and its resurrection of EST.)
Jim, Foolish Literalist
I concur
though I do like the deadbeat donald thing
Soylent Green
@Mnemosyne:I guess I think the popular vote may be unpleasantly close. But yes, we are in good shape in the EC.
The one iffy thing is whether Trump’s demagoguery can get bigoted morons who don’t normally vote to turn out, possibly flipping states in the Upper Midwest and elsewhere. But probably not.
chopper
I’m not worried. we have a not-so-secret weapon.
gogol's wife
@Shana:
Melmotte is who comes to mind when Trump is in the discussion!
gogol's wife
@Mnemosyne:
Oh, I think it’s going to be a big pang.
joel hanes
@the Conster, la Citoyenne:
Liz Warren has been going at him pretty good
It’s time for Sen. Al Franken to put aside gravitas for a bit and limber up those satirical chops.
The nation needs him, and it’s a target-rich environment.
gogol's wife
@chopper:
What’s that?
Mnemosyne
@Soylent Green:
I don’t think even the popular vote is going to be close. The only demographic that likes Trump is white men. Romney won 62 percent of white men in 2012, and he still got thumped.
Every other voter demographic — including white women — hates Trump. You can’t win the presidency based just on the votes of white men anymore.
I can’t help but notice that the demographic that most vocally hates Hillary seems to be … white men. And, again, white men voting against her is not going to be enough to beat her.
What you should really be worried about is shenanigans designed to prevent anyone other than white men from getting to the ballot box. If we can flood the polls with our voters, we can smother the shenanigans just by our numbers, but we have to get that turnout and not just sit home fretting about Trump.
Time to get to work so we can crush him like a bug.
Mnemosyne
@gogol’s wife:
I dunno — I can’t see that ALW is all that emotionally invested in “School of Rock.” And he is apparently very nice and encouraging to younger composers.
Plus, LMM already has a few Tonys under his belt, so he’s not a nobody from nowhere. He’s already in the club. He has the Sondheezy seal of approval.
Davis X. Machina
@gogol’s wife: Melmotte could feel shame, enough shame to do away with himself.
The analogy breaks there.
RK
Disturbed Donald.
gogol's wife
@Mnemosyne:
OMG, it just hit me that Julian Fellowes is also competing with LMM.
gogol's wife
@Davis X. Machina:
True.
ellie
How about Littlefinger? Apologies if someone else suggested it.
The Lodger
@Mnemosyne: Putin favors Trump because both of them basically have the same personality type. Putin’s is just a bit more developed, and he knows that.
Villago Delenda Est
@Matt McIrvin: And BiP.
Mike J
Relevant to this thread:
Germy
@joel hanes:
https://twitter.com/alfranken
chopper
@gogol’s wife:
three words: Barack Fucking Obama.
Or maybe eight words: Barack “The Islamic Shock” Hussein SuperAllah Fucking Obama.
Soylent Green
@Uncle Cosmo: I don’t wish Bob a slow, agonizing death after getting hit by a bus. It’s a beautiful day for a walk here in Portland and he could get it done much faster by getting run over by the MAX train.
chopper
@ellie:
naw. littlefinger was smart. littlefinger got shit done.
germy
I just read Trump will be testifying about Trump University after the election.
I was hoping he’d be compelled to give testimony about a week before election day or so.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
Tweety just bellowed that “dozens” of FBI agents are investigating HRC’s emails. Hasn’t that number been knocked down to less than one dozen? no pushback from the panel
debbie
@gogol’s wife: @Mnemosyne:
I didn’t realize the word Hamilton had been banned. Anyway, you two probably already know about this, but I’m looking forward to watching. Probably as close as I’ll ever get to seeing it.
lamh36
Gin & Tonic
Great story here: a Boeing 787 of Royal Brunei Airlines piloted by an all-female crew lands a scheduled flight in Saudi Arabia. Where none of the flight crew can drive a car. And, in their home country, can be stoned to death for adultery.
gogol's wife
@chopper:
Oh, right, I do always tend to forget that! It’s going to be a thing of beauty.
Uncle Cosmo
@Soylent Green: Whatever rolls your trolls, SG. I’d settle for a donkey cart so long as it backed over him enough times to finish the job.
gogol's wife
@debbie:
I did not know! Squeee!
Jim, Foolish Literalist
so…. I guess Elizabeth Warren said something else about Trump today?
SiubhanDuinne
@Schlemazel Khan:
Do you have any idea who the laughing woman is? She looks vaguely familiar, but I am not current with the Sunday morning panels.
Mike J
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
SiubhanDuinne
@Tom:
Well done. I may copy-and-paste that to my own page when (not “if”) I get similar messages.
Ben Cisco
@Patricia Kayden: Awesome! Absolutely awesome.
the Conster, la Citoyenne
@Mike J:
That’s my senior Senator, who’s on a mission. She’s a heat seeking missile now and she’s got a better twitter game. It’s ON.
Iowa Old Lady
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: Goofy? What is he, 8? What does he even mean by that? And how can anyone who’s heard Warren speak think her “whole career” is built on Trump’s bizarre claim? Does he not know how much it takes to become a professor at Harvard?
Bob In Portland
Why won’t he cooperate?
scav
@lamh36: Good for London. As things are so generally insane, progress anywhere is something I’ll welcome.
lihtox
She should treat Trump as if she thought he was adorable, pretending to be qualified. That would drive him insane.
Matt McIrvin
@Iowa Old Lady: Well, Scotty Brown tried that. The constituency of some racist dude in my town who puts big signs on his house was really impressed. We’ll see how well it works nationally.
the Conster, la Citoyenne
@chopper:
President Black Ninja
gogol's wife
@Iowa Old Lady:
I was puzzling over that adjective too, and I think it means “she wears glasses.”
Citizen_X
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
Because that approach worked so well for Scott Brown. Don’t forget the tomahawk chops, Donnie!
Schlemazel Khan
@SiubhanDuinne:
no idea who she is, most of the airheads are distinguishable only by gender, any guy could replace any other guy & any gal could replace any gal on these shows.
lamh36
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: Liz Warren’s responding to Trump on twitter…
Her timeline is LIT!
Brachiator
@lamh36: Great news that Said Khan, Labour Party, has been elected mayor of London. First Muslim of a major Western city. Wonder if a president Trump would welcome him on a US visit?
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Schlemazel Khan: Maggie Haberman, NYT?
Jim, Foolish Literalist
boom, I love it. I think she is going to drive him nuts over the next few months. Doesn’t it look like fun, Senator Franken? I think you have a friend name Lorne who might know some people who are willing to help you come up with some lines? John Dingell also has a great twitter account, that it pleases me to think he writes himself.
Not really surprising he doesn’t get that he’s run out of people who are going to walk on tip-toes to try to appease him.
Agrippa
@the Conster, la Citoyenne:
Vulgarian with short fingers.
That is Trump
pluky
@Mnemosyne: Destitute
debbie
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
That tweet was so good, I started following her.
Agrippa
@JMG:
Trump is an unacceptable risk
Matt McIrvin
@lamh36: Ha, ha, go get ‘im Liz!
pluky
@pacem appellant: Beat me to it!
pluky
@Uncle Cosmo: Bravo! I’m filing this for the inevitable “but Harry Truman ran a business that failed” push-back at work.
Ben Cisco
@debbie: Me too.
smith
@lamh36: Weak! That’s the perfect insult to grind his gears. Way to go, Liz!
raven
London elects Sadiq Khan, first Muslim mayor, after ugly campaign
Matt McIrvin
Trump walked right into that one.
JordanRules
@lamh36: Yaassss! Go in Senator Warren! And then keep going!
Captain C
@Brachiator: Dumbass Donnie?
Captain C
@Soylent Green:
I suspect that if the media can get a ratings-grabbing months-long public meltdown, they would be happy to take that in lieu of a horse race.
The Gray Adder
Not “Donald.” “Donnie.” I bet his head would explode.