I know some of y’all have friends or family members who are voting for Trump, because I read your complaints about their ridiculous and/or offensive comments on Facebook. Here’s my question: How are you dealing with these people in real life? Are you ending friendships over it? Just not talking about it to maintain harmony?
I quit following wingnut family members on Facebook months ago, so I don’t have to read their kooky political bullshit. Now I only look at their pages occasionally for pictures of the kids or the weekend’s catch and skip over the crap. My wingnut dad and I agreed not to discuss politics decades ago because we used to argue bitterly over it, to no good purpose. Now I’ve extended that policy to other family members.
During the primaries, I was appalled when one of my uncles (who had voted for Obama in 2008 and written in a third-party knob in 2012) let me know that he was considering voting for Trump. But to his credit, Trump’s appalling behavior eventually put my uncle off, and now he’s going the third-party route again. (He won’t vote for Clinton under any circumstances.)
None of my close friends are Trump supporters, but I have neighbors and acquaintances who probably are. I know they’re Republicans, and they know we’re Democrats, and in past elections, we’ve engaged in lighthearted ribbing about our differences.
But this year is different. I find myself steering conversations away from the election, as if it would be too disturbing to learn that people I’m friendly with are that dumb and/or evil. I can’t decide if that is a legit coping mechanism for living in a red zone or plain old chickenshit rationalization. Probably the latter.
It feels like living in a horror movie sometimes: Invasion of the Brain Snatchers.
Immanentize
Did I forget to copyright “Trumpenproletariate?” It is such a perfect word. So is “Trumpelstiltskin.”
sigaba
I’ve seen more than a few women on the Bumble who say they’re voting for Trump. Maybe more for Clinton, about as many say they’re voting for Trump as are voting for Frank Underwood (the options Bumble gives are Clinton, Trump, Bernie, Frank Underwood, Selena Meyer, Kanye, Pizza, and “IDGAF”).
Dog Dawg Damn
Had a rude awakening when we realized the in-laws / parents had moved from anti-Trump to full-blown MAGAers.
In the primary, he was “not a good man”, but now they’re very sensitive about any criticism of the “Orange Menace”.
It is a nightmare. They’ve degraded democratic norms so much that pointing out a totalitarian is on the ticket just sounds like hyperbole, and, hell, Obama is a dictator too so “both sides do it”.
Darrin Ziliak (formerly glocksman)
We don’t discuss politics in person, but I always leave snark commentary when they post bullshit.
I reply civilly when they share ‘normal’ pro-Trump screeds, though those are few and far between these days.
The Other Chuck
Sometime around when Trump sewed up the nomination, but before the convention, I made a post on FB that said in essence “I don’t like to judge people by their voting choices, because I know there’s nuance involved blahblah, but if you’re still a Trump supporter, you are a BAD PERSON, so unfriend me now.”
No one did, not even the ones I know to be Republicans. Probably a few Johnson voters in there (plus several hardcore Berniacs), but no one even thought it controversial.
I stand by that comment.
Feebog
I don’t have too many family members who are conservative save my oldest son. We just avoid talking politics altogether. As for friends, especially those on facebook, if they don’t like my posts, tough shit. Unfriend, unfollow, do what you wanna do. Most frustrating are the fence sitters, because most of them are reasonably intelligent people. This isn’t a hard choice, people, pasta with marinara sauce or tire rims with anthrax. Choose.
Gindy51
All my winger relatives died so I am lucky. Friends who are pro Trump are no longer friends.
MattF
There’s a couple of cases involving people near and dear. One of my sister’s oldest friends is apparently a Trumpette– for a while, my sister was outraged, but now the subject is no longer discussed. I think that friendship is over.
And two women– one a neighbor in my condo, the other a friend from old times, are both in the ‘they’re both horrible’ camp. Both women are highly accomplshed, retired, very intelligent. And both know better than to raise the subject with me in s serious way. I tolerate it because I’m very fond of both of them.
NR
Trump is now ahead in Florida and Ohio.
Remember back in the primaries when you guys said Bernie Sanders was guaranteed to lose to Trump, and we had to vote Hillary because she was our only chance to win? Sure is funny to look back on that now, isn’t it?
AMinNC
I feel the same way, Betty C. With both my father and father-in-law, I’ve had to make politics a no-fly zone because I want to have relationships with them, but it is hard to have a relationship with someone whom you believe is actively hurting your kids with their choices. These are not stupid men, but they are absolutely in the habit of voting Republican. I have a reasonable hope that they simply won’t vote for President this year, but they will never vote for “that woman.” Sigh.
SiubhanDuinne
@sigaba: What is “the Bumble”?
@Dog Dawg Damn: What is a “MAGAer”?
Corner Stone
The culling process this go round has been fairly light for me as I divorced several friends over the last 7 years. The people I expected to vote Trump are voting Trump and the people I expected to lose their shit behind NRA spun up gun grabbing nonsense are losing their shit and voting anything but HRC, not always Trump.
Dog Dawg Damn
These poll numbers from Ohio and Florida are disturbing. I’d expect Ohio to go Trump or be very close in even a Clinton +3 situation, but Florida is surprising.
Hope Clinton is rested up in time for the debate. We cannot afford any more stumbles on the way to November.
WereBear
It is always difficult to realize that, as George Carlin used to say, half of the population is below average.
Corner Stone
I stopped that BS a long time ago as it reached a point where the hatred, ignorance and just sheer lack of humanity was too much for me to want to give any of them my time any longer.
Called em out, told em why and then moved on.
BGinCHI
Does anyone have friends or family who are smart who are voting for Trump? I know “smart” is a relative term, but I mean curious and self-aware.
I almost can’t imagine….
The Other Chuck
@NR: You do know Trump is going to renege on paying you, right?
celticdragonchick
I had to ban politics completely from my FB page. My brother was going waaaaayyyy overboard posting stuff onto my page going after HRC and getting very verbally aggressive on the phone after I deleted his posts (like disown you and never speak to you again type stuff…with yelling)
I had to put up several posts reminding everybody that my FB page was politics free until after Christmas and if that could not be respected, I would take my page down.
geg6
Thankfully, I have no relatives or close friends who would ever, ever, every vote Trump. Plus, they don’t vote Republican, period.
However, we have started to avoid our social club and our favorite local bar, which is just across the street from our house. Twice now, my John has had to get me out of the place before I punch someone out. I have gotten into shouting matches, but no fisticuffs yet. So we go to another place a friend owns, the Chinese place we love or the local Applebees to have drinks now. People in those places know that you never talk politics or religion in a bar. And they never do.
gogol's wife
@BGinCHI:
No, I don’t. I know no one, either at work or in my community, who is for Trump, except for my idiot neighbor two doors down.
JMG
@Dog Dawg Damn: Please use averages rather than cherrypicking polls. And ignore NR. He’d have the same rap in the poll had Clinton up two. Florida and Ohio are close. It’s a close election now. Will it be in November? Beats me.
Tom Q
I’m a lucky man, I suppose: everyone of my acquaintance who’s in Trump’s corner has been solid GOP for so long that we’re decades into “avoid the subject” mode on politics. I thought I might have more trouble on the left this year — I had a few friends who were insanely for Bernie — but all of them are committed to voting for Hillary (including one who told me she felt she’d need to take a shower right after).
Of course, all of these people live in the blue zone (NY/New England), so the effect on anything but the national margin is negligible.
NR
@The Other Chuck: “Hurr durr, you support Trump!”
Newsflash: It isn’t only Trump supporters who can see the reality of just how godawful a candidate Hillary Clinton is.
Dadadadadadada
@NR: He still needs Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Iowa…
cosima
I initially refrained from dumping on Trump supporters, as I do have a few family members (and likely some friends who have stayed FB silent about it) who are right-wing born-again loons. However, his rhetoric reached a point at which I felt like I had a responsibility to post now & then about the hateful bullspit and that remaining silent is, in some ways, enabling & normalising extremely bad & unacceptable behaviour.
Fortunately I no longer have to work with a bunch of those types (having been in the oil industry for a long time, but no longer). And no longer live near anyone who supports Trump (lived in all of the awful red oil states, but now overseas). Now that I am older & crankier & more cynical I don’t know if I could keep myself from engaging in some very heated exchanges. And I do think it would be a deal-breaker in terms of friendships — my tolerance is too low these days. This alt-right hate is killing people.
Betty Cracker
@NR: Knew that run of bad polling data would make you reappear like a botulism burrito. My offer to put up or shut up still stands, Stillwell Angel.
Steeplejack (tablet)
@Dog Dawg Damn:
What is a MAGAer?
gogol's wife
@Tom Q:
I’ve had more trouble on the Bernie side of things. One person reminded me that I “attacked” her at a party during the DNC. I have no recollection of attacking, just begging to differ when she said Bernie was being gracious.
FDRLincoln
My brothers in law, both intelligent and educated men who lean conservative but have voted for Dems in the past, are voting for Trump.
They can’t explain why. They even admit he is dangerous. But they hate Hillary THAT much. They didn’t like Sanders much, either, felt he was too hippie. I doubt he would have been able to pull them away.
Both deny being racist or sexist. They can’t even explain why they hate Hillary so much or why they will vote Trump even though they think he is a menace.
We won’t be hanging around them at the holidays.
sigaba
@SiubhanDuinne: The Bumble works a lot like The Tinder, except when you are matched with someone on The Bumble the woman must text the man first, and within 24 hours, otherwise the match goes away for ever. It is somewhat famous for being founded and managed mostly by women, mostly to engineer out the problems with The Tinder, mainly gross people just trying to hook up.
(I have no idea how the rules work when it’s women seeking women.)
Also it’s been incredibly unproductive for me, much less so than Tinder, all of the women seem to be Yoga Instructor lawyers who visit Machu Pichu monthly. But there are some interesting people.
Corner Stone
@Dadadadadadada: Virginia, NC, NV…
The Other Chuck
@NR: So how’s it going to feel to be ground into the dust by an awful candidate?
It’s funny watching my own posts be obliterated by my own filter. Anyway, you’re not entertaining enough to continue.
MattF
@Steeplejack (tablet): MAGA is the slogan on the Trumpoid baseball cap.
NR
@Dadadadadadada: He’s also ahead in Iowa. Hillary’s firewall is looking very thin indeed these days.
BR
Daily reminder: please sign up to volunteer for Hillary. Today’s polls are showing a dead heat in basically every battleground state. I just ran the numbers and Trump has a chance at getting to 270 — just barely, but that’s crazy. We can’t let it happen. Time to volunteer!
If you have volunteered, I’d be interested in hearing your experiences.
gogol's wife
My one Republican friend at work says he will not vote for Trump, but he’ll only vote for Clinton if it looks close. We’re in CT so he thinks it’s okay. I told him it wasn’t.
Hillary Rettig
@BGinCHI: bad enough to have an older relative vote for Trump, but I have a young (relatively speaking – he’s now 40) relative who has gone full wingnut in this and many ways. it’s very sad b/c I remember what a sweetie and cutie he was when he was young. but he had a pretty bad upbringing and you can pretty much connect the dots to see how he went from there – to – here.
in answer to OP – I check out his FB page once a week to see what he’s up to personally and also as a sort of read on the mind of a Trump voter. but I stopped following him so I don’t get surprised by random attacks of offensive nonsense.
NR
@The Other Chuck: I don’t know. Get back to me after Hillary loses to Trump.
The Other Chuck
@Steeplejack (tablet): “Make America Great Again”. It’s a hashtag, largely obliterated by ads for Krav Maga schools.
geg6
As for FB, that’s my space, my feed and my wall, IMHO. I post what I like and I like to post about politics. I don’t give a damn if anyone likes it and I’ll banish anyone, ruthlessly, who puts any Trump shit in my feed. I have mercilessly gotten rid of several people. I really have no problem dumping people from my social media stuff. Fuck ’em. I really don’t care about them if that’s the type of person they are. Distant relatives have definitely been unfriended. Again, I really don’t give a damn. If you’re a Trumpster or a Teabagger, you cannot be in my life. Period.
Corner Stone
@celticdragonchick:
I unfriended my sister from her nephew’s FB page because she posted non-ironic Trump shit as a way to needle me. She was not happy about that. Lessons learned, for her.
FDRLincoln
In a related issue, about a year ago I broke up with my best friend when he started posting racist memes on Facebook and wouldn’t back down. This is an educated history teacher who voted for Obama twice. But sometime in the spring of 2015 he went crazy, started spouting racist nonsense.
I called him on it, he fired back on “free speech” grounds and threatened to break off the friendship if I did not back off my opinion that he was being a complete racist asshat.
The friendship is over.
Cacti
@NR:
Yes.
And he would have been.
Unless you think he would have gotten the same kid gloves press treatment he got in the Dem primary.
BR
@Hillary Rettig:
There was a dark finding in a recent SurveyUSA poll which found a 20 point spread between Trump and Clinton support depending on whether the person grew up in a household with domestic violence. And yes the correlation is exactly the direction you’d expect.
philadelphialawyer
MAGA’er=Make America Great Again’er. IE a Trump supporter.
I only have one person at all close to me who is a MAGA’er. Saw him in August, and he seemed to not want to talk about it (he usually loves to talk politics…Tea Party guy). I think he is embarrassed.
Dog Dawg Damn
@Corner Stone: Who does that? ON a child’s FB page? Jesus.
The Other Chuck
@FDRLincoln:
The mind boggles … first reply that comes to mind is “You have the right to say it, you don’t have the right to have any friends for saying it.”
These people have the emotional and intellectual maturity of 12-year-olds.
the Conster, la Citoyenne
White supremacist patriarchy is not going to just roll over. White people suck.
Betty Cracker
@NR: $100 of my dollars to the charity of your choice of Trump wins, $100 of your dollars to the charity of my choice if Hillary wins — Cole holds the stakes. Come on, Stillwell Angel! You seem very confident. Put up. Or shut up.
JMG
It is a phenomenon well known to pollsters that the longer after an election, the more people will say they voted for the winner, many more than the actual results. A Trump administration would reverse that phenomenon. A Clinton administration might, too. The decisive segment of the electorate believes it is above this choice. Call it the Special Snowflake Caucus.
Dadadadadadada
@NR: The swing states of this moment (NV, AZ, CO, IA, OH, PA, NH, VA, NC, FL) total 131 EVs. Trump needs to win 90 of them to get to 270. A lot can change by November, but that is a heavy, heavy lift.
Iowa Old Lady
The good people of Flint apparently gave Trump a hard time today. When he started going after Clinton, the pastor of the church he was in stopped him and said they didn’t want to hear a political speech. This was supposed to be about their water.
Dog Dawg Damn
Breaking News: Mild, non-contagious form of bacterial pneomonia. So, the media freakout is about as ridiculous as it can get.
NR
@Cacti: Well I sure am glad we nominated Hillary instead so we can lose better. Or something.
Eric U.
I wish you could ban politics from facebook more easily. You have to tediously ask to “see less posts like this” and get rid of right wing news sites. But if you want to see regular news, then you will still see politics. It’s annoying
Dog Dawg Damn
It would be red scare Bernie 24/7/365. No way to guess how Independents would break in that case, but so so much easier to make Trump appear “CENTRIST” if the Dem had the radical policies of Bernie Sanders.
Cacti
@NR:
What’s this “we” stuff, Trumpkin?
piratedan
well the polls now reflect what the media has been working tirelessly for… a horse race. Man, I am so shocked to find out what endless hours of news reporting for a single aim have managed to achieve with relentless non-stop normalization of bigotry and racism (and sexism too).
philadelphialawyer
@NR: Do you want a pat on the head because you supported the loser in the primary? Who may or may not be doing better than the winner is now? Just what the fuck do you want? Hillary won, Sanders lost. She may lose in November. Sanders might have lost too. So would the man in the fucking moon. What is your point? And your problem? Hillary is the choice of the Democratic party primary electorate. There is nothing that can be done about that now. You didn’t like her. But more Democrats did than liked Sanders. Some of us felt the same way, some didn’t. But, again, so the fuck what? Go fuck yourself. And take your concern trolling and sour grapes bullshit with you, asshole.
the Conster, la Citoyenne
@Dog Dawg Damn:
Bernie’s entire policy was for the government to take control of entire sectors of the economy, by enacting the largest peace time tax hike in the country’s history, with no real ability to explain how it would possibly work. Even his own supporters didn’t want their own taxes raised to the extent it would take. Bernie’s “policies” were complete half baked pie in the sky nonsense, and all the press would be doing now is pointing to Venezuela as an example of what Bernie’s government takeover would look like.
Cacti
@piratedan:
I will say that it was a mistake by Clinton to go into run out the clock mode in August. Too early.
Betty Cracker
@Dog Dawg Damn: The GOP and media machine would have stripped Bernie and Jane down like a pair of overcooked rotisserie chickens for a casserole. NR is just a whiny-ass sore loser who can’t get over the fact that his candidate got his ass handed to him by Clinton in an election that wasn’t even close.
Cacti
@the Conster, la Citoyenne:
Or how deep blue Vermont abandoned single payer healthcare.
Miss Bianca
Yes. My relatives who are Trump supporters – my friends who are “third-party curious” because “Bernie Forever Hillary Never” – I have had to stop even looking at Facebook. Or talking to them about politics because it just seems to send my blood pressure spiking and does no good. As far as I am concerned, they are so far beyond the reach of reason that I’ve just given up. Teaching pigs to sing, etc. etc.
FDRLincoln
@The Other Chuck:
That’s where things ended up actually. I told him he could say whatever he wanted, but that didn’t mean he could say what he wanted without consequences. And one of the consequences of posting a FB meme comparing the president to a monkey is that you lose my friendship, because I’m not friends with racists.
NR
@Dadadadadadada: Awful lot of red on that map. And a lot of the polling data is from before Hillary collapsed on 9/11.
NR
@Cacti: “Hurr durr, you support Trump!”
You guys are tiresome. Get some new material.
Villago Delenda Est
@Immanentize: “Trumplethinskin”
Villago Delenda Est
@NR: HODOR!
Mai.naem.mobile
I work with a Trumpet but thank god don’t have to deal with him a lot. He hates Clinton with a passion and thinks it’ll be exciting to have Trump because,you know, he’ll break stuff and that’s cool. BTW, this guy’s an older white guy who’s had financial issues for the past several years.
philadelphialawyer
@Cacti: Of course, she did no such thing. She is, and has been, tirelessly campaigning, and fund raising, and advertising and using surrogates. What does “run the clock out” mean, in this context? Nothing. Its a phony term and a phony criticism.
NR
@the Conster, la Citoyenne: Yeah, and then he might have lost the election. That would have been really bad. Good thing that isn’t going to happen with Hillary!
the Conster, la Citoyenne
@Cacti:
Jane’s grift of Burlington College, no tax returns, no financial disclosure, etc. etc. Two sets of old white male grifting secretive frauds. Awesome.
NR
@Villago Delenda Est: Well, it’s new, I’ll grant you that.
Chris
@ Betty’s question – no one in my close family is overtly pro Trump (though I suspect a couple are lying), but your question applies to pretty much all Republicans in recent times, and my answer has been to unfriend, both digitally and IRL, for the vast majority. I just don’t need that shit in my life. There are only a couple who have enough friends or family in common with me that protocol dictates I can’t do that, so in those cases I pretty much talk about anything BUT politics and find reasons to be elsewhere otherwise.
jl
I just have a few out-of-it winger kin down south of Fresno.
All the GOPers in SF of my acquaintance are horrified by Trump. Some are horrified by HRC too (because ‘so many say’ she ‘has problems’) Those who feel duty bound to vote are in a dilemma. I don’t see what is problem with Johnson for them, and suggest him, if they feel that they have to go to the polls. Most of the GOPer I now who are horrified by Trump have at least mild libertarian leanings.
Trumpers are few and far between in California. If he gets elected we will be trouble. He will remember that the state was ‘not nice to me, not nice to me at all’ in the election. Maybe Trump admin will pile on intolerable oppression and we will have a legitimate excuse to secede? Peacefully, with votes (well, our votes. If the rest of the country elects Trump, then that is face value conclusive evidence that the rest of the country is no longer competent and their votes are null and void) of course.
philadelphialawyer
@NR: @NR: Well then, if you don’t want Trump, again, what do you want? So, there is a lot of red on the map? What about it? What is the takeaway? Besides you being an asshole.
Chyron HR
Oh, good, it’s another “self-proclaimed true progressive expresses masturbatory glee at the prospect of Trump winning” thread. We haven’t had one of those in hours.
glory b
@the Conster, la Citoyenne: Yeah, one thing I’ll say about this election, it certainly has let us all know where these folks stand.
I’ll be honest, most of my friend group consists of black folks, so I don’t have to hear that stuff. I recommended this a while ago and I’ll do it again, pursue more friendships with black people, the Trump stuff will dry up.
Almost all black people believe that Trump supporters are racists, and white people are in denial about their friends and relatives who have jumped down that dark hole.
My white friends know better than to bring up any Trump or repub stuff in my presence.
If needed, you can read deadspin.com for the adequate man’s posts on Caucasian guides to black barbecues, church services and Christmas celebrations as a start. Get to know us better, we can be a fun group.
FDRLincoln
Hillary didn’t try to run out the clock..what are people talking about? She was running tons of ads, was out there fundraising and campaigning. She’s not Dukakis or even Kerry.
I think this is a combination of things…natural tightening, and a series of difficult media weeks for Hillary. Plus, and this is the scary thing, I think an increasing number of white voters are responding positively to Trump’s racism and hatred.
Hillary is still in a better position, but the debates will be critical.
Cacti
@NR:
It’s just your consistent lack of anything negative to say about any Republican in any post you ever make, cupcake.
glory b
@philadelphialawyer: Yeah, I think that’s just the point.
NR
@Cacti:
Not this tired bullshit again. It wasn’t a single-payer system.
Betty Cracker
@NR:
Says the one-note pants-crapper whose arrival when polls tighten is as predictable as the goddamned sunrise. Irony ain’t your thing, is it?
Humdog
This is really tough for me this year. Most of my relatives are whack job evangelicals and early in the primaries they were open to me saying, “Iknow you are too smart to fall for this bigoted con man.” They believe a vote for a democrat is a vote to abort all fetuses. I was able to let it slide in years past because it felt more like a simple difference of opinion and in what was most important. Now, they are making a choice to align themselves with an open racist who really doesn’t give a shit about abortion. There is no fig leaf for them to hide behind. I don’t want to have anything to do with them, but we are still related. Ugh.
NR
@Cacti: Trump is an unstable ignoramus who would be a disaster as president, Skippy. And you nominated the only candidate out there who could possibly lose to him. Great job with that!
Villago Delenda Est
@NR: Shows how much you know, Hodor.
Matt McIrvin
@JMG:
It would not; it would intensify it. Clinton supporters are already reluctant to let their affiliation be publicly known, for fear of being the target of violence. If Trump wins that fear will be multiplied a hundredfold.
BR
@jl:
Are you volunteering in NV? I’ve volunteering and we’ve been recruiting folks for trips to NV here in CA. It’s crucial, and I don’t think most folks here in CA realize it. Voter registration is going on right now in NV, and getting voters, especially Latino voters, in NV registered is key. There’s only a few weeks left for voter reg.
I’ve done the math and Trump probably can’t win without Nevada. It’s the state nobody is talking about but we can impact.
Cacti
@NR:
Without a prompt, kitten.
Miss Bianca
@NR:
Says NimRod, who horks up the same tired hairballs every damn time he comes around. Actually, watching my kittens hork up hairballs would be less grating. Maybe because the rest of the time they’re actually being cute or catching vermin. You know, providing actual value, either in terms of entertainment or usefulness.
“Dear Kettle, you are so very, very, VERY black. Also, too, your portions are so small!” Signed, Pot
md S Oregon
@Dog Dawg Damn: Had to call an ambulance for my 96 year old mother last Saturday…pneumonia. A day or 2 of antibiotic drip, and she is on her feet again, and headed to rehab today. If she can hack it, I’m sure Hillary will be just fine too!
BR
@Humdog:
You might use Ted Cruz-style arguments on them, about Trump’s clear lack of knowledge of the bible and such, and all the other very un Christian things about him.
NR
@Cacti: I’ve done it plenty, Sparky. Not my fault if you haven’t seen it.
Besides, obsessing over me–creepy as it is–won’t change the state of the election.
Johnny Coelacanth
@Dog Dawg Damn: Those poll numbers from Ohio don’t poll anybody under 50. You can look it up.
Bailey
I don’t post about politics at all on my facebook feed. Sometimes, I will respond to others’ posts, but of my closest friends, no one really posts political things anyway. None of my relatives are Trump supporters, thankfully. Any of my friends that are conservative do not like Trump any more than their more liberal counterparts. I see a fair amount of Gary Johnson support amongst them, if not outright silence.
I have never voted for HRC during either of her runs, and I think she is an abysmal general election candidate, but I also have zero tolerance for either nonsense conspiracy theories or pro-Trump sentiment. An old boss of mine whom I have always liked posted that absurd “Hillary has Parkinson’s Disease” video a couple days ago and, I admit, I found that shocking. While I tend not to respond to his many distorted memes and other anti-Hillary comments, I started the conversational thread rolling with the “are you serious?” response to the Parkinson video. Some of his other conservative friends chimed in but I beat them all back regarding the stupidity of the claims in the video and the vile nature of Infowars in general. I haven’t brought myself to do it yet, but I see that person as someone who will very soon be deleted. Sadly.
Cacti
@NR:
Uh huh. I’m sure the media bobbleheads would have found that a satisfactory explanation.
Villago Delenda Est
@BR: The “Christians” have shown they really don’t give a rat’s ass about that, because they are more wed to their racism and bigotry against gays, Muslims, liberals and women who dare demand agency than they are to their nominal religious faith.
JMG
@Matt McIrvin: Oh, I don’t think Clinton supporters are as timid as all that. But the real dropoff would come from Trump voters who didn’t much like him but voted for him anyway. Since he has essentially promised everything to everybody, somebody, make many somebodies, are going to be disappointed.
Tony A.
I found out the oldest friend I have is voting Trump. At least he was back in June. I just can’t bring myself to see if he still is, because if he is, I’ll lose respect for him.
He isn’t a racist. I’ve known him for 35 years. He voted for McCain back in ’08, and Obama in ’12. Bill Clinton is his favorite president. But, he’s afraid of Hillary. I even asked him if he actually thought Bill would let Hillary do something crazy. He agreed that he wouldn’t, but he still doesn’t like her.
I just don’t get it.
Humdog
@BR: Thanks for the reply. I have pointed out to them that Hillary is a life long Methodist who really acts as if she knows that good works are important. However, it is hard for them to swallow that I have rejected the religion of my upbringing and I fear they discount my observations about Christianity. I am trying the line, Hillary has been working to improve the lives of children and families her whole life while Trump has only been interested in improving his own life. Then I silently curse my own dang family for accepting racism.
NR
@Johnny Coelacanth: Not true. They have a breakdown for under 45, and 45 and older. Clinton leads by 1 with under 45, and Trump leads by 9 with 45 and older.
Villago Delenda Est
@Tony A.: The MSM has been pushing the “Something is RONG with Hillary” meme for nearly 25 years now.
Joyce H
I sort of wish I did personally know some Trump supporters, because I want to ask them – what makes you so special? For decades, Trump’s only contact with non-wealthy people has been to scam them, sell them a bill of goods, take their money, and leave them with nothing. Come buy one of my luxury water-front condos (not built yet), Ivanka’s buying one, you’ll be neighbors! Put your money down now, because they’re going fast! Sign up for my seminars and learn the secrets to my success, you can be rich like me! Get rich selling my nutritional supplements, a guaranteed winner! Scam after scam after scam, and people bought into it because they trusted Trump and believed in him, so they gave him their money and wound up with nothing to show for it.
So, Trump supporter – what makes YOU different, what makes you so special that you know that THIS time he’s not lying, THIS time you’re not the mark, THIS time the glowing promises are real? He’s scammed people just like you out of their life savings for decades, deliberately, that was the business model, and he’s never repented or apologized so he still doesn’t see anything wrong with it. So why why WHY do you believe that this time is going to be different?!
schrodinger's cat
@NR: You seem gleeful. Are you going to volunteer for Trump’s deportation force?
BR
@Tony A.:
One thing to say, that might work for some voters like that, is to point out that VPs matter a lot too, especially to two potentially old presidents. Have him look at Kaine and Pence.
Emma
One of my greatest decisions ever was not to get into Facebook. No issues to discuss. But, related only generally, I have decided to become very Zen about this, because otherwise I will have an aorta blowout. I will do whatever I can do to help out Hillary, will definitely vote for her, and will even add a few prayers from my agnostic heart. But if she loses, I will observe the disaster calmly. Maybe, to misquote Benjamin Franklin, ‘it’s a republic madam, and we couldn’t keep it.”
Mr. Mack
@Betty Cracker: I’ll take that bet. First time I made a wager I hope to lose.
Cacti
@schrodinger’s cat:
Of course he does. He’s a Trumpkin masquerading as a disgruntled lefty.
JMG
@Tony A.: She’s a woman. It’s that simple.
Miss Bianca
@Tony A.:
Are you fucking serious? Bill is his favorite president, but he’s AFRAID of Bill’s WIFE? What, is her Vagenda of Manicide showing, or something? And poor old Bill just doesn’t notice?
So, have you tried asking, “Wow, Bill’s married to her. What do you suppose HE knows that you don’t?”
Trentrunner
I’m gonna go with: The polling momentum is swinging Trump’s way because most of white America does not like being called bigoted, despite its obvious truth.
Can’t believe it’s this close. If I were Hillary, I wouldn’t have done differently.
I’m much happier losing having rightly called Trump and his supporters bigots than I am losing without having done so.
But winning is the thing here. So we’ll see. The media have now successfully normalized Trump to the point where low info voters think he’s a viable (if quirky and gosh sometimes ribald) option.
Also not looking forward to the bothsides coverage of the debates.
Iowa Old Lady
I’m usually fine with my Republican neighbors, but voting for Trump is a relationship breaker. I’ll be polite, but I now know what you are at your core.
RoonieRoo
I’ve unfriended or unfollowed any Trump supporters on Facebook. That has been very few though. I do not post anything political or even like anything political because I don’t want it on my feed – even if it’s totally love for HRC. The reason is that I have a very, very dear friend that is Republican and she has been hit with a recurrence of breast cancer. I will not allow anything even remotely negative for her on my feed that she might see. I post all puppy dogs and kitty cats as a result. She is an amazing woman and politics and Trump be damned I’ll even rearrange my Facebook feed just for her.
NR
@schrodinger’s cat: You’re number three! I wonder what the final count on this will be? My money’s on seven; do you want to take the over, or the under?
BR
@Trentrunner:
Chris
@Dog Dawg Damn:
“No way to guess?” This country has been in a socialist-punching drunken rage for a century. It certainly isn’t going to go any easier on a person who actually calls himself a socialist. As for the swing voters, no one who actually considers the Republican Party an option on equal ground with the Democratic Party was ever going to vote for a socialist.
Mr. Mack
Hit post too soon. Sure, I’ve unfollowed and unfriended people on the fringes….but a true friend got to be that way for many reasons, no? So to throw it all out over political support seems myopic at best. We really need to learn to talk to people we find tedious and not worth the time. I’ll find something disarming to say and then let them know I’m not trying to convert…just talk. It’s an important human connection that we seem to under-value these days. I live in a very red state, and believe me it can seem like you are the only sane person in your county…but it only seems that way. I’m actually glad that yard signs seem to be a thing of the past, the damn things are a constant irritant regardless of which side your on. Anyway, as usual YMMV.
Kenneth Kohl
@BGinCHI: yep, my three brothers-in-law. They are smart, but also tea-baggingly bigoted and racist. interesting family dynamics; my wife and her two sisters are liberal-centrist.
I try to avoid family political discussions; we had too many nasty arguments that revolved around the Iraq invasion.
Cermet
All my right wing friends and relatives that post on face book hate tRump; so, not an issue.
eric
@Johnny Coelacanth: they do. you have to look at up to 45 and 45+, even though the more precise age range demographic is N/A/ I would note Hillary at 80% minority and 3% women advantage seem low and very low respectively.
LINK: http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2016/images/09/14/ohiopoll.pdf
ETA from the new Q poll Men back Trump 50 – 41 percent, while women back Clinton 54 – 36 percent.
Betty Cracker
@Mr. Mack: Nope — not looking to turn this blog into an election betting site. The offer stands for NR, however.
Capri
If you work with the public in Indiana, you don’t really have the luxury of only associating with people who don’t like Trump.
I don’t make a secret of my liberal leanings and troll the conservatives on FB, so basically I dare them to unfriend me. For example, the most gun loving person on my wall (who is GOP because democrats want to take her guns…yadda yadda yadda) posted that her heart was broken when Jimmy Buffet endorsed Hilary. I responded that it is the breaks that let in the light.
There are 2 folks at my work who are proTrump on FB, but don’t say anything in real life so I don’t either.
Mary G
I’m sure the majority of my relatives are voting for Trump, but both sides disowned my parents when they got married, except for my much-beloved grandmother. Since she died in1988, I have had no contact, so it’s not a problem.
I have a FB page, but I hardly ever look at it. I’ve been toying with the idea of being more involved with it to keep up with people, but decided that’s best delayed until after the election! I doubt there are any Trump supporters, but there will be NPR Democrats, who probably aren’t big Hillary supporters, even if they vote for her.
Somewhat encouraging is that the two wingnuttiest of my neighbors, who were both loud and proud with their multiple signs for GWB, McCain, and Romney, do not have signs for Trump. Two people up the street have signs for the execrable Issa, who has never bothered to issue them before, but not Trump. It’s California, so it hardly matters, but I prefer to like them, as they have been very kind and friendly to me in the over-the-fence way.
Cacti
@Chris:
Not a squishy, European style socialist either. The kind of socialist who gushed praise for Fidel Castro, or pledged solidarity with revolutionary Iran when they were holding US hostages, or honeymooned in Moscow.
D58826
@BR: While it’s not time to panic, it is time to be very depressed. That this madman has anywhere from a 10%-30% of becoming the next president is mind boggling. Over the years there have been books, articles, comments about how did the good Germans let Hitler happen. Now I’m not suggesting that Trump is the next Hitler but he is such an outrageously unprepared, undisciplined, unfit candidate that the question is valid in 2016 – How can so many good Americans even consider voting for him.
I’m old enough to remember when Pat Paulson ran in 1968. While it was a joke, even he was more qualified.
Joyce H
@Mr. Mack:
I don’t know that they are. I think this time around the Trump campaign just couldn’t get their sh!t together to get the things paid for, printed, and distributed.
Mr. Mack
@Betty Cracker: I wasn’t either Ms. Betty. Just a way of showing support.
Chris
@Trentrunner:
I think it’s much simpler than that. As I speculated a few months back when #NeverTrump was still a thing, the NeverTrumpists were all full of shit. In the heat of the primary, they were still pissed enough to swear they’d never vote for him, but as the election drew closer and they remembered how much they hate the Democrats because they’re all communists, they’d all fall in line obediently.
The polls are even now because the #NeverTrump mirage has dissipated and the election has been revealed as what it was always going to be: a bog standard Republican v. Democrat race. There will be no mass defections from the GOP.
Cacti
@BR:
The new Q poll also covered 9/8 – 9/13, so it’s the first national polling to cover the period of deplorables/pneumoniaghazi.
Hal
Facebook for me is mainly about enjoyment, so I try to avoid political posts. The conservative posts I see tend to me incredibly irritating and misinformed, usually the same rights wing memes about Obama, Democrats, Clinton etc. The once in awhile Trump supporter is only a few, thank jeebus. Friend of friends posts on the other hand are chock-full of Trump supporters. Thank glob I didn’t keep in touch with very many people from high school.
JMG
White racism has been electing pols in this country since 1789. It’s THE most powerful force in American life.
BR
@Mary G:
If you’re in CA, would you be able to sign up to volunteer at a local phonebank event? We’re trying to organize Nevada and there are only a few weeks left for voter reg. Nevada is going to be key (it’s actually, on a per voter basis, the biggest return for the effort because it’s very close, can tip the election, and doesn’t have a huge population).
Joyce H
@Joyce H:
Adding to my last – not to mention the fact that yard sign and bumper sticker distro is a function of field offices, something else that the Trump campaign hasn’t bothered with.
Mr. Mack
@Joyce H: You may well be right, but I stand by the assertion. They only serve to pit neighbor against neighbor, friend against friend, and that’s what Facebook is for! ;)
Xenos
White people, qua white people, have jumped the shark.
22over7
@Miss Bianca: Looking at the polls, especially Johnson’s, I’m guessing there’s a whole lot of white guys who can’t stomach the idea of a lady prez.
jl
@BR: Thanks. I’ll make some calls to see what GOTV things are on before I go visit relatives near Carson City.
Mary G
@BR: Already have, due to your reminders. I have housemates who are fluent in Spanish, and if one of them is home when I get a Hispanic voter on the phone, I can ask if they’d talk to them for me.
LibraryGuy
@NR: I just hate this “argument.” There’s always a lot of red on the map, it’s a map of land mass with state-level boundaries. But you need all of ID, WY, UT, ND, SD, NE, and AK (seven total states) to get to one (!) PA in the electoral college. Seriously, paint all the deserts and mountains and plains and glaciers bright red, that is a graphic that truly doesn’t mean what people think it means.
Jeffro
I think I have mentioned bits and pieces about my right leaning friends and relatives ad nauseam here, but just to recap… Between my brother (“libertarian”), mom (religiously right Reagan worshipper), and dad (big business worshipping republican with surprisingly liberal social views )
– brother is pretty depressed about the state of his party and what he sees as a blown election… Lots of false equivalence … Will probably cast a vote for trump out of spite
– mom has been disgusted with trump all along and will not vote for him under any circumstances but she will probably not vote for Clinton either … Likely to not cast a vote for president or just write in Reagan’s name
– dad has been the most surprising of all with a constant stream of hoping against hope ( benGhazi, emails, health issues) that something will turn out that knocks Clinton out of the race. A lot of false equivalence there and unwillingness to admit the sheer depravity of Trump supporters
I attribute the differences to the fact that my mom does not want a whole lot of FOXNews while my dad watches almost nothing but that and CNBC all day long. My brother over consumes political news and blogs and I think this actually contributes to his being triply as depressed as he was in 2008 and 2013
NeenerNeener
I don’t talk politics with the family Wingnuts. My SIL is a full on Talibangelical who’s voting for Trump because it’s God’s will, and I assume my brother will too just because he hasn’t paid attention to what a lousy businessman Trump really is. His twin sister is married to a tribal Republican; they’re both disgusted with Trump but wouldn’t vote for Hillary if you tried to force them at gunpoint, so I expect them to go third party. I unfollowed some classmates from high school on Facebook when they started with the “Hillary is evil, only Trump can save America for God” bullshit. These are not the brightest folks, and I’m sure that reminding them that Trump thinks church is a great place to meet up with your mistress so your wife doesn’t find out wouldn’t change their opinions at all.
Gelfling 545
@NR: You appear to believe something has changed. Interesting.
Mr. Mack
May have landed in moderation, possibly for using the book of faces by it’s Christian name?
ruemara
As I’ve said before, it’s a duty to be honest in confronting evil, good graces & family dinners be damned. I’d rather make an honest turkey sandwich for thanksgiving than know people think I’d tolerate voting for a Nazi. I’m kinda glad people have fully acknowledged “i was thinking of doing x, then I heard your voice and thought again”. Or they shut up and slide right on out. No haters in my family or friend groups.
@gogol’s wife: just by noting his lack, you have attacked. Sanders folk are the mirror image of Trumpers.
JPL
I’m no longer coddling the Trump believers. If they think that the banks have learned their lessons, then fk em. After reading the Newsweek article, I decided enough is enough. Trump has no family values, unless they think that means paying off exes to shut their mouth.
Gelfling 545
@BGinCHI: I have one friend who is really intelligent & well read in the area of history, yet he persists in being a Fox News believer. I attribute it to the fact that he is an older white male whose life, through an unfortunate concatenation of circumstances coupled with marrying a lunatic, has sucked sewage. I believe he likes hearing that the world is going to hell in a handbasket as it makes him feel that he is not alone in his misery. He has not said to me that he would vote for Trump, but it has been reported to me that he said that some months back. What he has said to me lately is that he is no longer watching political news at all, so it may be that he won’t vote at all. If he does actually vote for Trump, I think it will be in the spirit of the country going out in a blaze instead of perishing by inches.
Joyce Harmon
@Dog Dawg Damn: @Mr. Mack: You would love Hawaii. I lived there in the 80s and signs in yards or along the roadside were prohibited. So campaigns would have volunteers standing along the major roads during rush hour holding signs and waving. You know you have an organized and committed campaign when they can get a bunch of volunteers out to stand by the roads at 5:30 am!
Jesse
@NR: So, you don’t support Trump, you just come on here and root for him to win?
Do you understand the meaning of “to support” in this context?
What the hell is wrong with you?
Steeplejack
With my Boo Radley shut-in lifestyle, the only person I had to worry about was my RWNJ brother, and he stopped e-mailing me about anything political (i.e., crazy right-wing bullshit) after I repeatedly mashed “Reply All” and blew him out of the water with Snopes et al. or even just basic Google searches. I think (hope) it embarrassed him in front of all the other people on his mailing list.
Apparently he is still an idiot on Facebook, but I hear about that only secondhand from my other brother. I don’t need the agita. The last I heard was that as a (self-described) “serious, fiscally conservative” Republican he had decided not to vote for Trump but for Gary Johnson. Which I take to mean that he probably won’t bother to vote at all. He never struck me as very political until (a) “There’s a Negro in the White House—a Democrat Negro!—and he’s coming for my guns!” and, before that, (b) “The war president must be supported in a time of war and we are at war with terrorists and they are coming here if we don’t fight them there and also close the borders.”
evap
No need to panic, everyone, just read Sam Wang and carry on!
Starfish
This election is crushing because people can’t agree on what reality is. There are people sharing pictures of the cameraman who watched Hillary trip for fear that he will be the next Vince Foster.
The only person that I unfriended was actually a Democrat from a blue state who kept yelling at people.
It was fascinating to watch the time line when an actual person of color went to a Trump rally. She supports Trump.
maurinsky
I don’t have a problem with this with family. I have one nephew who told me he’d give me $100 if I voted for Trump, but I said my vote wasn’t for sale (and he’s 13). His father talks about Trump a lot, but I know he voted for Obama twice, so I would be willing to bet he’s going to vote for Hillary, too. My mother writes “Friends don’t let friends vote Republican” on the back of every envelope that leaves her house, and my father will always vote for the Democrat because he hates the Republicans the way union people have. My former father-in-law is writing in Mickey Mouse because he hates Trump but doesn’t like Hillary either. I have a co-worker whose husband is “Trump curious” in her words, she said she’s not going to let him leave the house on election day if he doesn’t knock it off and vote for Clinton.
My kids are reluctant about voting for Clinton, they were all very enthusiastic about Sanders, but they aren’t crazy, so…
The Other Chuck
Remember, the Final Solution was “just politics” until they started implementing it.
Yeah I fucking went there, and I’ll stay there.
Turgidson
@jl:
If Trump wins, we Californians will have to pass some sort of emergency law or state constitutional amendment that prevents Uncle Jerry from leaving the governorship until Trump leaves. We’ll need the continuity and stability he brings.
Miss Bianca
@Jesse: Oh, no, NimRod isn’t “rooting for Trump to win!”
He’s just pointing out to us what utter rubes we are not to believe that Hillary Clinton is just the Worst Democratic Candidate Ever, and that if only somehow, someway, some *other* candidate – who either didn’t come forward, or having come forward, wasn’t competent enough to beat the Worst Democratic Candidate Ever – had won the nomination, we *totally* would be on Easy Street right now!
That’s *completely* different from “rooting for Trump”!
Chyron HR
@Jesse:
He doesn’t want Trump to win, he just wants Clinton to lose. If you don’t understand the distinction, go to the new thread where Kropadope’s started ranting about it again.
Gelfling 545
@philadelphialawyer: As Sanders couldn’t get a mojority of Democrats to vote for him, I find it hard to believe he’d have fared any better at getting votes from those already not inclined to vote for Democrats.
ruemara
@glory b: we are and boy, do I miss a good bbq.
Starfish
@Gelfling 545: These people exist. There are some Sanders folks who are now going to vote for Jill Stein or Trump. I unfollowed the former Sanders person who is now going to vote for Trump. My reality distortion field is not strong enough to understand him.
NR
@Jesse: I’m not rooting for him to win. I’m dreading it with every fiber of my being.
But I also don’t intend to bury my head in the sand about what’s happening.
NR
@LibraryGuy: I was talking in terms of electoral votes.
Tazj
My husband will vote for Trump. He voted for Obama twice. He basically hates Hillary and is scared to death of ISIS. He says he just wants a “change”. It doesn’t matter how many horrible things I tell him Trump has done he doesn’t care. I’m tired of arguing about it and won’t do it in front of the kids. He’s Asian and a physician.
I’ve just about had it with a lot of men today,Powell(her “friend”), Axelrod(hating her voice), Ross Douthat and some other clown yucking it up on Greg Sargent’s Twitter feed about how any other Democract would be better. They can all STFU.
I forgot to add , I try to avoid all political discussions with my two evangelical sisters, but I get along with them great otherwise. My other sister is very liberal so I voice my frustrations to her when I have the chance.
Creature
I keep the wacko friends on FB- I don’t take the rantings personally, plus I get an inside look at ‘the other half!’ Most of them know I don’t give a rat’s ass what they think, and conversely. Some folks have gotten real and backed up out of ‘Trumpism’, they are heading toward Johnson. All the former ‘Bernie’ crew are either snivelling and going ‘aha! She’s not going to win! Bernie could have!’ Or they’ve ‘bit the bullet’ and are going Clinton. My one Christian and conservative friend is not happy with Trump’s baggage, but he’s a party-line guy, so he’ll vote Trump, and regret it later. This cycle is like some fly-by-night travelling amusement park ride, with questionable maintainence and reliability, but the ride is so thrilling its seems worth the risk.
Miss Bianca
@NR: you’re “dreading” the thought of Trump winning.
But other than sitting around pissing and moaning, you’re not actually *doing* anything to prevent it, are you? Or are you? Are you working to get out the vote? Are you contributing money to Democratic campaigns? Are you doing anything to push back against the “Clinton sucks” narrative? Well, we know you;re not doing *that* – you’re contributing to it. Are you planning to VOTE for her? Probably not, judging by your pissy remarks. So, you’re probably not doing any of these other actually useful things, either. In fact, you’re just being a useless wanker.
Starfish
@Tazj: I had to unfollow all the people who equate all Muslims with terrorists. It was toxic.
rikyrah
@BR: @Tazj:
Tell him when they come for him, and they will..
STFU and take it like a man.
Non-Whites who support Trump, are beyond hope. And, they will NOT be spared. I hope that he is not under that delusion.
Omnes Omnibus
My Face Book timeline is mostly devoid of politics. To the extent that politics raises its head, it tends to be Democratic. I, however, have hidden the feeds of a libertarian college friend and my gun nut second cousin in Phoenix.
D58826
CNN is reporting that the RNC servers have been hacked. Should be interesting to see what crawls out from under that rock
bmoak
Just for kicks, I went back and looked in the archives for the reaction threads from after the first Obama-Romney debate in 2012 and in a few other threads from that time period. Three guesses who was spraying all over them saying Obama’s poor campaigning and horrible neoliberal policies plus Romney’s surge in the polls would cost Obama the election and the Democratic Party made a big mistake in not primarying him from the left, as the left was going to stay home or vote third party. Despite admitting that a Romney/Ryan victory would be disastrous for the country, this principled leftist absolutely refused to pull the lever for Obama and insisted that Gary Johnson was the only candidate pure enough for their precious, precious vote.
joegy
@NR: you’re not gonna bury your head but all we’re seeing is pants pissing concern troll. So how bout putting on that sharp topped thinking cap and provide some advise, ideas, etc on how to avoid that thing you so much fiber dread? Come on now -you’re never at a loss for scary poll results & nooze. Show me you deserve to sit at the grownup table otherwise we’ll make you eat on the couch next to Aunt Pittypat.
Ps – eithertake BCs bet or crawl back under your crib.
john fremont
@Trentrunner: Except as you probably know, Hillary didn’t call all Trump supporters racists. But they like stewing on self congratulation and resentment that Hillary did call them all racists.
Original Lee
How am I dealing with the Trumpeters? For the ones on FB, once they post something beyond the pale, I unfollow them. I haven’t unfriended anyone yet, but that might happen. The worst ones are not on FB, but I don’t talk politics with them if I can help it. My mother-in-law is THE worst, and she brings it up, too, which isn’t fun at all. Anything we tell her that’s negative about Trump, she says she doesn’t believe it. She won’t back down and she keeps on bringing it up. But she’s literally the daughter of a Nazi, so I’m not surprised, just sad.
The ones I would really like to reach are the friends and family who are NeverTrumps but who are searching for someone worthy of their vote. One is a lost cause, and he might end up not voting at all, because he directly blames the Clintons for the deaths of five of his friends. Changing his mind is not gonna happen, so I’m mainly concentrating on keeping him away from Stein. One of them has resigned his GOP membership and is perhaps persuadable to vote for Hillary. He’s Johnson-curious; his main objection to Hillary is that she’s a corrupt oligarch. I am close to being able to say to him jokingly, “Aren’t they all? Why break the pattern?” One has gone from being a Trumpeter to being a big Johnson supporter, which happened because Trump said something so amazingly stupid about one of her pet causes that she quit him on the spot. (I wish I could remember what it was, because amazingly stupid isn’t sufficient any more.) All of my NeverTrump friends, though, are open to respectful discussion, mostly of the issues, and I just keep working away at their concerns, very gently.
What Have the Romans Ever Done for Us?
I don’t have any close friends or family members who are voting for Trump. I have some facebook friends that are, including one guy I’ve never met (I thought he was from high school because he’s fb friends with a few of my HS friends, but I looked at his bio and he went somewhere else) who is constantly trolling me on every political post I make on FB. I haven’t unfriended him yet simply because when Hillary wins I’m going to gloat like crazy. I’m going to gloat until HE unfriends ME. I really don’t know how he has time to make a living because he posts to FB nonstop 24/7. Of course he complains about freeloading welfare recipients but I’m like, dude, hope your boss doesn’t have access to your facebook page because if he sees your slacker ass posting that much crap to facebook you’ll be on he dole before long yourself.
Tazj
@Tazj: I have to correct something, David Axelrod wasn’t criticizing Clinton’ voice, he was saying that she was too calculating when she spoke and didn’t let voters see the real her.
bottyguy
It doesn’t get mentioned by my republican friends at work, even the snide comments that would usually come out are not appearing. I don’t know who the are voting for and don’t want to ask.
I am so sick of the ads in North Carolina and the news reports that my mute button is getting more hit than it has in year.
I will be so glad when #TrumpkinSpice season is over.
singfoom
My dad was Trump curious months ago, he’s an older Rockefeller Republican but I think I’ve talked him out of it. One of my siblings on the other hand, I don’t know that they’ll vote for Trump, but they’ve bought the whole “HRC is crooked as they come” spiel line and sinker as far as I can tell.
Lizzy L
My family is my brother, my niece, her husband, and a bunch of cousins 3000 miles away. I don’t know how the cousins are voting but I doubt it’s for DT. My brother etc. are Democrats. Nuff said. As for my FB friends: any who are planning to vote for Trump know better than to say so, because I’m pretty clear about my contempt for him.
NotoriousJRT
When it comes to political conversations, I am the intractable one. So, I try to stay clear of conversations with my sainted (by themselves) independent friends and my conservative sibs and mother. I just don’t want to tell them that I can’t respect their political views.
Brachiator
My close friends and family are solid Clinton supporters. One friendly colleague loves Obama fiercely, but is voting Green. My college age niece and nephew are not strongly political and enjoy dabbling in all kinds of waters, including paddling in light Libertarian waters.
I will wade into political conversation with Trump loving strangers, not to challenge them, but to ask what’s important to them, why they think he is so hot.
But every now and then I want to slap somebody up side their head.
SiubhanDuinne
@bottyguy:
I’m going to have to steal that.
schrodinger's cat
@SiubhanDuinne: Trumpkin Spice is nasty and orange. Do. Not. Want.
gogol's wife
@bmoak:
Thanks for the perspective!
NR
@joegy:
At this point, Hillary Clinton needs to do the right thing for the country and drop out. Say it’s for health reasons. Let Biden or Warren or Kaine or whoever come in and save the world from Trump.
Of course she won’t do it, which means we’re all fucked.
NorthLeft12
@WereBear: Uhhhhh that’s not what George Carlin said. Regarding how stupid people are now he said, “Just think about how stupid the average person is nowadays, and that half the people are stupider than that.”
Funny and horrifying.
Ben Cisco (onboard the Defiant)
@NR:
This might literally be the single stupidest thing I have ever read on this blog. Chicken-fried Jeebus on the Enterprise doing a slingshot maneuver around the fucking SUN is that some stupid shit.
NR
@Ben Cisco (onboard the Defiant): It’s the only chance left to beat Trump. But she won’t do it.
Mike E
My mama didn’t raise no republicans. Also: 20 friends on fb, so, WIN