August 9, 2016

Boy is this piece interesting: Donald Trump's Gaddafi problem

The United States presidential hopeful Donald Trump has never met an absolute dictator on whom he failed to develop a man crush. And when said strongmen spurn him or his crush fades, he lashes out uncontrollably, but all too predictably.

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One of its components is admiration for dictators and a desire to leverage privileged access to them. Another is his zero-sum mindset which leads to his wanting to "screw" our enemies, stiff our allies, and be a "winner" at all costs, even if it involves turning on former friends.

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Trump long tried to court Gaddafi, apparently to license a Trump mega resort on Libya's Mediterranean coast, and to potentially strike a deal with Libya's burgeoning sovereign wealth fund. On many Fridays, the Libyan Ambassador to Washington at the time, Ali Aujali, left DC early for rounds of golf with Trump at Mar-a-Lago, in Palm Beach, Florida.

When Gaddafi came to New York to address the United Nations, he wanted to pitch his tent on Central Park. Mayor Michael Bloomberg forbade him.

<snip>

Trump long tried to court Gaddafi, apparently to license a Trump mega resort on Libya's Mediterranean coast, and to potentially strike a deal with Libya's burgeoning sovereign wealth fund. On many Fridays, the Libyan Ambassador to Washington at the time, Ali Aujali, left DC early for rounds of golf with Trump at Mar-a-Lago, in Palm Beach, Florida.

When Gaddafi came to New York to address the United Nations, he wanted to pitch his tent on Central Park. Mayor Michael Bloomberg forbade him.

<snip>

When it looked like Gaddafi might have to stay at a youth hostel, Trump stepped in to offer his Westchester palace. When the local community reacted badly, Trump collected his fee and then refused to let Gaddafi pitch his tent.

The story of their failed courtship is about more than Trump's attempts to make a buck.

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http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2016/08/donald-trump-gaddafi-problem-160809072456341.html

August 9, 2016

Just ignoring it, is an effective response to Trumpettes' absurd attacks

The most ridiculous charge against HRC since Benghazi, is the lie perpetrated by himself and his followers that HRC was responsible for the execution of the Iranian scientist.

The MSM in seeming unison swiftly debunked it and piled onto Trump for his tweet of last evening insinuating that a hack into her email led to his execution in Iran.

I'm not outraged by his lies and his followers lies anymore. They're so delusional and predictable- not to mention frequent, as in everyday, that really, why bother?

The only people buying it are his fans. And it's cumulatively driving people away from him in droves, toward HRC and democrats.

That's just fine.

August 9, 2016

Stuart Rothenberg WaPo piece: Donald Trump needs a miracle to win

Three months from now, with the 2016 presidential election in the rear-view mirror, we will look back and agree that the presidential election was over on Aug. 9th.

Of course, it is politically incorrect to say that the die is cast.

Journalistic neutrality allegedly forces us to say that the race isn’t over until November, and most media organizations prefer to hype the presidential contest to generate viewers and readers rather than explain why a photo finish is unlikely.

But a dispassionate examination of the data, combined with a cold-blooded look at the candidates, the campaigns and presidential elections, produces only one possible conclusion: Hillary Clinton will defeat Donald Trump in November, and the margin isn’t likely to be as close as Barack Obama’s victory over Mitt Romney.

First, the polling numbers are stunning.


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https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/wp/2016/08/09/donald-trump-needs-a-miracle-to-win/

August 9, 2016

Should GD 2016 be renamed to more accurately reflect the discussion topic,

variations of how awful Stein and the Green Party are?

To repeat: She is irrelevant in the 2016 elections. She may or may not have been prior to choosing Ajamu Baraka as a running mate, but hey, nothing like picking a running mate who slams Bernie as a "white supremacist" when you want to draw Bernie's voters into your fold. Hell he smashmouthed Cornel West for supporting Bernie.

Jill Stein is inept, ergo her irrelevance. The Greens can't seem to emerge from the shadows because of their long running ineptitude and their off the shelf dogmatism.

So why the Orwellian hate sessions? Whether she takes money from corporations or whatever doesn't matter because she doesn't matter in this election.

No offense, but it's pointless and it's making GD2016 a one note kind of forum.

Sorry, to offend, but this isn't a the fight.

August 9, 2016

Please forgive me for the right wing link, but this is... delicious.

Disgusting. Paul Ryan to Headline #NeverTrump Conference 3 Days After Primary

Paul Ryan hopes to survive his primary contest against conservative businessman Paul Nehlen on Tuesday. (note: Newest poll shows Ryan leading Nehlen 80 to 14) Then on Friday he will headline the #NeverTrump Redstate Gathering in Denver, Colorado.

Speaker Paul Ryan, TV host Glenn Beck, and Lyin Ted Cruz will headline the August Redstate #NeverTrump conference in Denver.

Other notables speaking at the conference include #NeverTrumpers Senator Ben Sasse, Governor Nikki Haley, Carly Fiorina, Ken Cuccinelli, Katie Pavlich, Guy Benson, Hugh Hewitt and Erick Erickson. are the featured speakers at the annual RedState gathering in Denver in August.

Maybe Hillary Clinton will make a surprise appearance?

Redstate blog devotes their entire website to defeating Donald Trump in November.

http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2016/08/disgusting-paul-ryan-headline-nevertrump-conference-3-days-primary/



And the comments. Oh, those comments...

August 9, 2016

They hate him. They really, really hate him.

It is impossible to overstate how much the republican establishment loathes their own creation. They may despise him for differing reasons, but boy, do they hate him.

I offer this:

Susan Collins wrote a scathing op-ed saying why she won't vote for him in the WaPo today.

Paul Ryan is headlining a Never Trump event put on by RedState on Friday, August 12.

the Economic director of the Cato institute just smashed Trump's Detroit speech into smithereens in a CNN op-ed.

People like Negraponte joined with 49 others writing a missive detailing what a dangerous CoC he'd be.


And the hits will just keep coming faster and harder.

August 9, 2016

Boom. Sen. Susan Collins, in a WaPo oped finally comes out against Trump- and slams him

Act consistently as a boorish buffoon and reap the rewards. Late to the unparty, Susan and some of her defense of the republican party is laughable, it's still yet another pretty serious ding. (Note: Collins is not up re-election this year.)

Here's the op-ed, followed by some outside analysis.



I will not be voting for Donald Trump for president. This is not a decision I make lightly, for I am a lifelong Republican. But Donald Trump does not reflect historical Republican values nor the inclusive approach to governing that is critical to healing the divisions in our country.

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With the passage of time, I have become increasingly dismayed by his constant stream of cruel comments and his inability to admit error or apologize. But it was his attacks directed at people who could not respond on an equal footing — either because they do not share his power or stature or because professional responsibility precluded them from engaging at such a level — that revealed Mr. Trump as unworthy of being our president.

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My conclusion about Mr. Trump’s unsuitability for office is based on his disregard for the precept of treating others with respect, an idea that should transcend politics. Instead, he opts to mock the vulnerable and inflame prejudices by attacking ethnic and religious minorities. Three incidents in particular have led me to the inescapable conclusion that Mr. Trump lacks the temperament, self-discipline and judgment required to be president.

The first was his mocking of a reporter with disabilities, a shocking display that did not receive the scrutiny it deserved. I kept expecting Mr. Trump to apologize, at least privately, but he did not, instead denying that he had done what seemed undeniable to anyone who watched the video. At the time, I hoped that this was a terrible lapse, not a pattern of abuse.

The second was Mr. Trump’s repeated insistence that Gonzalo Curiel, a federal judge born and raised in Indiana, could not rule fairly in a case involving Trump University because of his Mexican heritage. For Mr. Trump to insist that Judge Curiel would be biased because of his ethnicity demonstrated a profound lack of respect not only for the judge but also for our constitutional separation of powers, the very foundation of our form of government. Again, I waited in vain for Mr. Trump to retract his words.

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https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/gop-senator-why-i-cannot-support-trump/2016/08/08/821095be-5d7e-11e6-9d2f-b1a3564181a1_story.html?tid=a_inl


Senator Susan Collins, Republican of Maine, announced Monday that she would not vote for Donald J. Trump in the presidential election, dealing another blow to Mr. Trump as he tries to unite his party and win more support from women.

Ms. Collins revealed her decision in an opinion column for The Washington Post published Monday evening, saying that Mr. Trump’s proclivity for bullying and invective made it impossible for her to support him. She said she believed having Mr. Trump as president would make “an already perilous world” even more dangerous.

Ms. Collins is the most senior senator to split publicly with Mr. Trump, and her message of censure could send a message to other Republicans that it is safe to shun the party’s presidential nominee. She is one of the few moderate Republicans remaining in the Senate and one of only two from New England, along with Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire, whom Mr. Trump, after some hesitancy, endorsed late last week.

Now in her fourth term, Ms. Collins also led the Senate committee that oversees homeland security, adding additional weight to her criticism of Mr. Trump, who has strained to convince middle-of-the-road voters that he is prepared to serve as the country’s commander in chief.

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read:http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/09/us/politics/susan-collins-trump.html

August 8, 2016

The reviews are coming in, and boy, are they scathing.

http://www.wsj.com/articles/donald-trump-to-propose-tax-breaks-on-pocketbook-issues-in-economic-plan-1470663478

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/trump-give-economic-policy-speech-potential-campaign-reset-article-1.2742763


http://herald-review.com/business/ap-fact-check-trump-shapes-facts-to-fit-economic-agenda/article_aafe4a57-62d0-54cb-bfb1-a7fb56e3fb3d.html

https://newrepublic.com/minutes/135902/donald-trump-now-running-mitt-romneys-campaign-plus-racism

August 8, 2016

BREAKING: 50 G.O.P. Officials Warn Donald Trump Would Put Nation’s Security ‘at Risk

This is a pretty big deal.




By DAVID E. SANGER

nytimes.com | Aug. 8, 2016

Fifty of the nation’s most senior Republican national security officials, many of them former top aides or cabinet members for President George W. Bush, have signed a letter declaring that Donald J. Trump “lacks the character, values and experience” to be president and “would put at risk our country’s national security and well-being.”

Mr. Trump, the officials warn, “would be the most reckless president in American history.”

The letter says Mr. Trump would weaken the United States’ moral authority and questions his knowledge of and belief in the Constitution. It says he has “demonstrated repeatedly that he has little understanding” of the nation’s “vital national interests, its complex diplomatic challenges, its indispensable alliances and the democratic values” on which American policy should be based. And it laments that “Mr. Trump has shown no interest in educating himself.”

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Among the most prominent signatories are Michael V. Hayden, a former director of both the C.I.A. and the National Security Agency; John D. Negroponte, who served as the first director of national intelligence and then deputy secretary of state; and Robert B. Zoellick, another former deputy secretary of state, United States trade representive and, until 2012, president of the World Bank. Two former secretaries of homeland security, Tom Ridge and Michael Chertoff, also signed, as did Eric S. Edelman, who served as Vice President Dick Cheney’s national security adviser and as a top aide to Robert M. Gates when he was secretary of defense.

Robert Blackwill and James Jeffrey, two key strategists in Mr. Bush’s National Security Council, and William H. Taft IV, a former deputy secretary of defense and ambassador to NATO, also signed.

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read:http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/09/us/politics/national-security-gop-donald-trump.html?_r=0

August 8, 2016

Words of wisdom from Hunter Thompson