A few questions to the Americans re: Presidential Elections 2016

[HVC]

Biggest triumph of style over substance is easily Reagan.  He was a man with Alzheimer's who now is given credit with destroying the Soviet Union by saying mean things to them.  Apparently calling them an evil empire was enough for the Russians to pack it in, good thing the Germans didn't know that in WWII!

reagan aka way baffled me as a republican idol. He seemed relatively liberal (especially compared to the current crop of republicans).  Plus he's an actor who married a hooker. Seems like the opposite of what make a good republican.

His first wife was a singer.

Nancy. Nancy was a hooker. Or at least that's the rumor. She was a hostess girl or something similar to that for a production company (MGM?) and that's what those types of jobs entailed at the time. A tell all book came out in the 90's by some lady who was famous for those sort of celeb books (think she did one on Sinatra too) which said Nancy was "famous" in Hollywood for giving the best bj's

[grumbler]

Biggest triumph of style over substance is easily Reagan.  He was a man with Alzheimer's who now is given credit with destroying the Soviet Union by saying mean things to them.  Apparently calling them an evil empire was enough for the Russians to pack it in, good thing the Germans didn't know that in WWII!

reagan aka way baffled me as a republican idol. He seemed relatively liberal (especially compared to the current crop of republicans).  Plus he's an actor who married a hooker. Seems like the opposite of what make a good republican.

His first wife was a singer.

Nancy. Nancy was a hooker. Or at least that's the rumor. She was a hostess girl or something similar to that for a production company (MGM?) and that's what those types of jobs entailed at the time. A tell all book came out in the 90's by some lady who was famous for those sort of celeb books (think she did one on Sinatra too) which said Nancy was "famous" in Hollywood for giving the best bj's

Nancy was an actress who made eleven feature films in seven years and also appeared on Broadway.  She may have been a party girl, but wouldn't have had time to get into prostitution even if she'd had any need for the money.  She was married to Reagan in the third year of that contract.

Sounds like an urban legend.

[Fate]

being liberal with bjs is going to land you more parts than no bjs. plus are you really going to have us believe nancy was just so amazing that she didn't have to compete on the same level as all the other girls giving out the goods for parts?

grumbler sounds like a prude. people do have sex to get ahead in the real world.

[grumbler]

being liberal with bjs is going to land you more parts than no bjs. plus are you really going to have us believe nancy was just so amazing that she didn't have to compete on the same level as all the other girls giving out the goods for parts?

grumbler sounds like a prude. people do have sex to get ahead in the real world.

  SO, you are arguing that "being liberal with bjs" and "to compete on the same level as all the other girls giving out the goods for parts" is prostitution? 

I think you misidentified the prude, prude. 

[Eddie Teach]

 

I would say it's an act of prostitution but doesn't make that one's occupation.

[Josquius]

Why on earth do people hate hillary so much ?
That's something I'm not getting.
She just seems rather meh. Uninspiring and dull.

[Razgovory]

Why on earth do people hate hillary so much ?
That's something I'm not getting.
She just seems rather meh. Uninspiring and dull.

She was an intern on the Watergate investigation.

[The Minsky Moment]

Part of it is from Bill and the original derangement syndrome from the 1990s

Part of it is that she exemplifies aspects of career-womanism and second-wave feminism and thus is an attractive target for people who hate those developments. 

[Berkut]

I think it is just that the Fox News propaganda machine has been working non-stop for a couple decades demonizing the Democrats. It isn't enough to hate Clinton because they stand for policies you disagree with - that just gets you CNN level of viewership.

Fox doesn't want CNN level of loyalty, they want rabid fans. And rabid people need meat to chew on, so they've been feeding it to them. Hillary is not just a liberal, she murdered those people in Benghazi. She doesn't just support socialized health care, she is a liar, fraud, and is actively working to destroy America.

Same with Obama - he isn't just a Democrat who wants the rich to pay taxes, he is a fake American and Muslim.

The Fox media campaign wants rabid followers who will watch their "news" rabidly. And you don't get that by measured, rational opposition to the political policies of the left. You get that by selling pitchforks, torches, and bed sheets.

[The Minsky Moment]

That's true - you can't underrate the poisonous atmosphere created by the radio talk guys and their televisual allies on Fox.  Faced with a Democratic President who governed as a moderate in both policy and temperament, they systematically bullied and intimidated anyone in the GOP who dared to suggest the idea of bipartisan governance, or indeed any governance at all.  Even though I think a guy like Ryan is a policy fraud, at least he is talking about policy and willing to consider talking to the other side.  If he and the McCains and the rest of the anti-deplorables lose their fight for the party with the Trumpian arrested development crowd, we're in deep trouble.

[Malthus]

That's true - you can't underrate the poisonous atmosphere created by the radio talk guys and their televisual allies on Fox.  Faced with a Democratic President who governed as a moderate in both policy and temperament, they systematically bullied and intimidated anyone in the GOP who dared to suggest the idea of bipartisan governance, or indeed any governance at all.  Even though I think a guy like Ryan is a policy fraud, at least he is talking about policy and willing to consider talking to the other side.  If he and the McCains and the rest of the anti-deplorables lose their fight for the party with the Trumpian arrested development crowd, we're in deep trouble.

That's why I can't see any upside to the Trump situation.

Sure, he's likely to lose now, but that is because he's a narcissist and trash-talking misogynistic know-nothing, not because of his toxic populist notions. He's shown that there is an enormous market for toxic populism.

The fear I have is that the next time toxic populism is expressed, it will be by someone who is less of an obvious clown and troll than Trump. Such a person has a shot ...

[CountDeMoney]

Part of it is from Bill and the original derangement syndrome from the 1990s

Clintonian politica took free trade and law and order away from the GOP, made the Democrats electable again, and the Right has been seething with unbridled hatred ever since.  Democrats are supposed to be big government unelectable peacenik welfare queen lovers.

Part of it is that she exemplifies aspects of career-womanism and second-wave feminism and thus is an attractive target for people who hate those developments.

#MakeAmericanMenFeelThreatenedAgain

[Barrister]

That's true - you can't underrate the poisonous atmosphere created by the radio talk guys and their televisual allies on Fox.  Faced with a Democratic President who governed as a moderate in both policy and temperament, they systematically bullied and intimidated anyone in the GOP who dared to suggest the idea of bipartisan governance, or indeed any governance at all.  Even though I think a guy like Ryan is a policy fraud, at least he is talking about policy and willing to consider talking to the other side.  If he and the McCains and the rest of the anti-deplorables lose their fight for the party with the Trumpian arrested development crowd, we're in deep trouble.

IN what way is Ryan a "policy fraud"?

[The Minsky Moment]

Populism can manifest in different ways.  The last big bout of "toxic populism" we had was with George Wallace, whose campaigns and style has occasioned comparisons to Trump.  The Wallace fever subsided , but a chunk of his support migrated to become "Reagan Democrats" in response to Reagan's inside-outsider campaign.  I don't personally consider that a great outcome, but James Watt aside, I wouldn't consider the Reagan administration "toxic".  Bottom line is that there likely will be someone who figures out how to ride this anti-system anger more effectively, but there is reason to hope it will be someone who will channel it in a less destructive direction

[Valmy]

Poor Ryan man. A few years ago I found him a pretty interesting guy, actually putting forth plans to balance the budget and all. Now he is basically a clown, hated by the base for being a left wing liberal.