Trump runs for POTUS/ Trumped Up! Part VI

[SezMe]

I personally feel that the luck of the draw handed Obama a Supreme Court choice, and he should have been granted that right. But hard to blame a republican congress for doing what their constituents want.

I won't gainsay you line of reasoning but I also think it is the job of a legislator (at any level) to show leadership and judgement. If HRC nominates well qualified but liberal judges, then I think conservatives have a responsibility to approve such nominees. The argument is that having a well staffed judiciary is necessary for the judicial branch to meet its constitutional responsibilities such as a "speed and fair trial".

If a legislator cannot put America's interests above partisan politics at least some of the time and if he cannot show his constituents the wisdom of that approach, then maybe he's in the wrong line of work.

 

[SezMe]

Here's my bet Tony. While Hillary would love to nominate someone more liberal than Garland, she'll send a quiet message to the Senate Judiciary committee that she wants them to confirm Garland now so she can focus on other issues. She doesn't think the wait set a good precedent and as a sign of good will to Obama, would they please proceed.

Here's my bet, acbytesla. The Senate will be sooooo glad to get a moderate Garland than have to struggle with a potentially more liberal nominee that they will have hearings scheduled before all the post-election party hangovers are gone.

 

[SezMe]

One problem with that is that presidents don't usually swear in Supreme Court justices; the chief justice does. For example:

Good point, I should not have said HRC would swear in the justice. But is an actual swearing in ceremony actually necessary? <--genuine question; I don't know the answer.

If not, could she just say that her nominee is hereby appointed and tell the Supreme Court to get to work?

 

[SezMe]

The accusation is the Trump and his supporters are the extreme fringe of the GOP.

If so, that is a bad accusation. Trump is on the fringe of a lot of issues, but he's NOT a deeply conservative person who could even be considered a GOPer. In fact, he's taken several (4-5 ?) positions that are contrary to GOP dogma.

 

[Tony Stark]

I just watched that Melania interview. It is terrible. I am certain that she was coached. And the best they could come up with for her to say is that her husband , a then newly married (for the third time) 59 year old alleged billionaire, was manipulated by Billy Bush to say those things? First, it is BS, we all saw the tape. Second, even if it were true, someone who could be so easily manipulated by a TV host to say terrible things has no business being the President of the United States.

 

[The Great Zaganza]

Melania is concerned that her dear hubby has fallen in with a bad crowd: that Hillary women is always so mean to him, and that Billy boy is a bad influence.
He tried to join that GOP youth-group, but it seems they don't really accept him how he is.
The world is full of bullies, and all Trump supporters should help Donald to feel better about himself: he always had self-esteem issues.

 

[TofuFighter]

I hope that Melania's interview was voluntary, although I doubt it. She's expressed reluctance to get involved in this fiasco before and I kinda feel sorry for her being put front and centre by Trump to open herself to criticism for taking a position that may not necessarily be her own. Maybe I'm not giving her enough credit, and that everything she said is in fact her own opinion. The "it's ok for the Trump campaign to bring up Bill Clinton's infidelities because 'they started it by bringing up my modelling history (which i'm proud of)' " seemed contradictory, illogical, hypocritical - all signs of Trump, not Melania.

 

[catsmate]

McCain is already backtracking on his "We Won't Even Consider a Clinton Nominee" statement. It' is now"We will consider noninees on their merit".
Not that it matters;I think that was GOP strategy all along, where McCain blundered was in stating it publically.

He's also saying that Trump nominees might be worse.

 

[TofuFighter]

What are the chances of another Trump bombshell landing today ahead of tomorrow's debate? I remember (probably Stacko) posting a tweet which suggested that there were still some nasty surprises that hadn't 'dropped yet'.

 

[catsmate]

I'm not sure if this has been posted yet, but Loyola University looked into voter fraud over the past 16 years and found only 31 instances out of a billion votes cast. That's 0.000003%.

A comprehensive investigation of voter impersonation finds 31 credible incidents out of one billion ballots cast

Steve S

But the Republican campaign against "voter fraud" has nothing to do with voter fraud, it's of a piece with their systematic gerrymandering.

 

[newyorkguy]

...Tony Stark will write off 40% or so of the population as evil idiots, and he's entitled to that opinion. Perhaps he feels that they don't deserve to be represented...In a representative democracy, is it not their duty to act in accordance to the wishes of their constituents?...

I reversed the order of the above comments to make a point:

We don't seem to have an entirely representative democracy anymore. In many instances -- such as this one -- a minority is able to rule over the majority due to clever use of Congressional procedural issues and a lack of commitment to the ideal of democracy. The Republicans didn't vote down Obama's nominee, they prevented him from being voted on. Better to wonder, does Tony Stark think a 40% minority should be able to do that, call the shots for a 60% majority?

Right now the country is so divided that the feeling is, we have to do anything we can, anyway we can, to prevent the other side from having their way. And I'm sorry, I see that coming from conservatives and Republicans, I honestly don't see that coming from progressives and Democrats. At least not to the same extent.

 

[thaiboxerken]

The GOP is a sinking ship. It won't be too much longer until the Democratic party is the only party in the USA. However, I also see the Democratic party splitting into two. The conservatives "blue dogs" will take over what the Republican party was and the rest will stay Democrats. The extreme right wing will become insignificant for a time.

 

[Garrison]

I might have had more sympathy for Melania if she hadn't claimed Trump was a gentleman. If she was willing to utter that blatant lie how many others were there?

 

[TragicMonkey]

I might have had more sympathy for Melania if she hadn't claimed Trump was a gentleman. If she was willing to utter that blatant lie how many others were there?

Would Melania recognize a gentleman when she encountered one? It's not as if she's a lady herself.

 

[Stacko]

I just watched that Melania interview. It is terrible. I am certain that she was coached. And the best they could come up with for her to say is that her husband , a then newly married (for the third time) 59 year old alleged billionaire, was manipulated by Billy Bush to say those things? First, it is BS, we all saw the tape. Second, even if it were true, someone who could be so easily manipulated by a TV host to say terrible things has no business being the President of the United States.

Worst of all for supporters of the Orange Menace, she revealed he's a beta that needs to impress alphas like Billy Bush.

 

[CapelDodger]

He's also saying that Trump nominees might be worse.

In sum, McCain is saying someone like McCain should be President. Such as McCain, for instance.

 

[bonzombiekitty]

Here's my bet, acbytesla. The Senate will be sooooo glad to get a moderate Garland than have to struggle with a potentially more liberal nominee that they will have hearings scheduled before all the post-election party hangovers are gone.

IMO, that's nothing but a win for the GOP.

Obama: "Alright, we gotta nominate a judge"
GOP: "NO! You have just over a year left in office! You should let the people decide who will be the next judge"
Obama: "uhh.. a term is 4 years, not less than three... "
GOP: "You're a lame duck! LET THE PEOPLE DECIDE IN NOVEMBER"
Obama: "That's not how this is supposed to work...."
GOP: "NO! NO! NO! NO!"
Obama: "Ok how about this? I'll put forward a very centrist candidate that nobody on either side can have any reasonable objections to. Not exactly who I'd want, but I'd be OK with it since you are being petulant little children, will that satisify you?"
GOP: "NO! NO! NO! When our guy wins in November, he'll pick the nominee"

So if Hillary wins, they get to say "oh, ok President Obama, we'll approve your nominee." and get a more favorable judge than they otherwise would have gotten?

No. They wanted to play this stupid little game, so they are stuck with the results if they lose. They don't get to act like the game was never played and still get a win.

 

[Foolmewunz]

Worst of all for supporters of the Orange Menace, she revealed he's a beta that needs to impress alphas like Billy Bush.

If you listen to the Stern tapes and put them in perspective, he really is the perfect beta/sidekick. Whether Billy Bush manipulated him in '05 is doubtful. Trump was in the ascendancy again. When he became a willing tool of Howard, he was on the ropes.

Stern played him like a piano. I honestly think Melania was referring to that series of events more than the Billy-Bush-Bus. Politico did a good article on it a few weeks back. I'll see if I can locate it. The gist of it, though, was that Trump was on the outs and he needs attention so badly that he was willing to whore himself to Howard, at the peak of Stern's popularity, when all the guests were an assortment of freaks(which I mean in the best sense - they referred to themselves as such.)

ETA: Here ya go.....
http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2016/10/howard-stern-donald-trump-2016-214322

Very revealing.

 

[Fast Eddie B]

But thousands of cases is not enough to to sway a presidential election.

Well, it depends on how they're distributed.

Less than a thousand would have given Gore Florida - and the election - in 2000.

DISCLAIMER: I am NOT saying the election is rigged.

 

[acbytesla]

Trump and the Trumpistas are responsible for the multiple state legislatures' attempts at suppression-through-Voter ID laws?

The GOP are mealy-mouthed. For four months during Presidential elections and off-year elections, they pose as fine upstanding supporters of our precious democracy. As soon as they re-set their minions in their seats, they go right back to their re-districting, gerrymandering and voter suppression.

You can't blame Trump and his followers for this. This is and has been a part of the GOP's deliberate and Machiavellian effort at voter suppression. This is not a secret.