2016 elections - because it's never too early

[celedhring]

It's just that a song which is about "being born poor in America means being shipped off to bleed in some distant war and being ignored when you come back" seems to be a bit off as a right wing patriotic celebration 

I guess that the chorus is all that matters.

[Liep]

I guess that the chorus is all that matters.

:flagpin:

[Tonitrus]

If the goal is rah-rah Americanism, they should use the right song.... 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RKM1AAzeRCg

[CountDeMoney]

Poor Springsteen. At this point I would think that all those USA FUCK YEAH types would have bothered to actually read the lyrics of "Born in the USA".

Why? No one has ever cared about that with regards to that song - why would they suddenly care now?

It is a known fact that the decline of American industry didn't begin until NAFTA.  The 60s, 70s and 80s? It was just on vacation. Said it would be right back.  See? It left all its stuff here.

And besides, the Boss was just being a downer even though it was Morning in America.  That happens when you're stuck in New Jersey.

[Valmy]

It's just that a song which is about "being born poor in America means being shipped off to bleed in some distant war and being ignored when you come back" seems to be a bit off as a right wing patriotic celebration 

I guess that the chorus is all that matters.

I have heard Creedence Clearwater Revival's 'Fortunate Son' used as a patriotic song before.

Some folks are born made to wave the flag

Ooh, they're red, white and blue

We'll just ignore the entire rest of song now yeah!

[CountDeMoney]

I find it curious that the only Trump signs I see--and not even the standard lawn-dart signs, but hefty wood construction--are in the bucolic hills and rolling farmland of Carroll County, where the average household median income is over $85,000 and the median value of owner-occupied homes is $322,000 for a population that is 92% white.   
Fascinating to see how only Trump can protect these people and give them back their America.

[Valmy]

I find it curious that the only Trump signs I see--and not even the standard lawn-dart signs, but hefty wood construction--are in the bucolic hills and rolling farmland of Carroll County, where the average household median income is over $85,000 and the median value of owner-occupied homes is $322,000 for a population that is 92% white.   
Fascinating to see how only Trump can protect these people and give them back their America.

Big city snob.

I do notice something kind of similar in the weird rural suburban gray areas out here as well, with similar demographics. I think extremely long commutes in to the city from your McMansion gives you too much time to listen to right wing talk radio.

[CountDeMoney]

I find it curious that the only Trump signs I see--and not even the standard lawn-dart signs, but hefty wood construction--are in the bucolic hills and rolling farmland of Carroll County, where the average household median income is over $85,000 and the median value of owner-occupied homes is $322,000 for a population that is 92% white.   
Fascinating to see how only Trump can protect these people and give them back their America.

Big city snob.

I do notice something kind of similar in the weird rural suburban gray areas out here as well, with similar demographics. I think extremely long commutes in to the city from your McMansion gives you too much time to listen to right wing talk radio.

  Places like Carroll County is proof that, if you make enough money, you can move as far away from teh blacks as you want. "Better schools" is soccer mom for "states' rights".

[Syt]

http://edition.cnn.com/2016/10/16/opinions/rigged-election-opinion-ben-ghiat/index.html

'Rigged election'? Trump's dangerous talk

Ruth Ben-Ghiat is a professor of history and Italian studies at New York University. Her latest book is "Italian Fascism's Empire Cinema." The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author.

(CNN)It might seem as though Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump is moving further away from the party that nominated him. Since he declared himself "unshackled" he's escalated his maverick rhetoric, hammering home his claims that the November 8 election is "rigged" against him.

Cornered by a flood of accusations of sexual assault, Trump's Fifth Avenue headquarters has become an unlikely fort from which he's staging a last stand against an ever-widening circle of enemies that includes not only the media and his Democrat opponent, Hillary Clinton, but much of the GOP. "100% fabricated and made up charges ... may poison the minds of the American voter. FIX!" he tweeted on October 15.

Trump's attempts to delegitimize our upcoming election should make clear what many Americans have known all along: He represents a clear and present danger to American democracy.

From the inception of his campaign, he's explicitly reached out to that American underworld where alt-righters, conspiracy theorists, survivalists and anti-government militants breed. He's not only been firm in his commitment to the Second Amendment, but has incited violence in explicit and coded ways against a long list of internal enemies -- and Hillary Clinton. It's hard to forget the sight of him mimicking shooting a gun while saying last month that Clinton could shoot somebody and get away with it.

For anti-government and gun rights activists -- groups with significant overlaps -- Trump's the man, and the election the occasion, for them to play out their hand. Trump has specifically courted these constituencies from his very first general campaign ad, in which a member of a citizen militia is seen along with police and border patrol officers. Back then Trump had the support of most of the Republican elite, who saw nothing amiss in this representation of their party's agendas.

Trump has encouraged his fans to exploit open and concealed carry laws as they target those whose appearance indicates they might vote the "wrong way"; there's talk of coups, violent uprisings and assassinations. In Virginia, a man recently stalked the campaign office of Democrat Jane Dittmar for 12 hours. He told reporters that exposing his gun was a means of "providing a voice" to closeted Trump supporters.

In this heated atmosphere, the Federal Bureau of Investigation foiled an alleged plot by three members of a pro- "sovereign citizen and anti-government" group to blow up a Muslim-inhabited apartment complex in Kansas. Meant as a message of protest to Americans, the terror attack was scheduled for November 9.

Voter security and free elections are among the primary criteria for democracy worldwide, and have always been at the heart of America's reputation as a "land of the free." So it's a very sad commentary on our country that the Organization for Security and Co-Operation in Europe, which monitors elections worldwide, is observing three presidential elections: Moldova, Bulgaria and the United States. Here, it's deploying 10 times the number of observers (more than 400) than it did in 2012, chiefly in response to the group's assessment of the threat posed by Trump's candidacy.

Top Republicans seemed to finally be acknowledging the gravity of the situation. Trump's running mate, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, stated that "we will absolutely accept the results of the election." And House Speaker Paul Ryan made his own stab at quelling the "rigged election" theory, stating that he's "fully confident" the election will be conducted "with integrity." Yet he delivered his message through a spokesperson rather than speaking directly to the American people, as one would hope a leader in a time of national emergency would see fit to do. And most importantly, Ryan did not rescind his formal support of Trump as GOP candidate.

Meanwhile, Trump fans the flames further, attributing the firebombing of the GOP's North Carolina office on October 16 to "animals representing" Clinton and state Democrats, even though the investigation is still underway.

The puzzling continued endorsement given Trump by Ryan and Republican National Committee chairman Reince Priebus makes sense if one thing is considered. Trump, unshackled, is still drawing on two core components of the GOP playbook: encouraging anti-government sentiment while facilitating the citizen access to arms, including those of military caliber. The Republican leadership has refused for years to reckon with the national security threats posed by this toxic combination. This election has made the extent of that threat crystal clear.

No wonder Trump's a nightmare for many conservatives right now: His followers who talk of violent uprisings surrounding the election merely expose the long-minimized subversive core of the Republican Party. Whatever the results on November 8, the GOP -- what will be left of it -- has some serious soul-searching to do.

I don't think Trump actually believes the vote is rigged. IMHO his rhetoric serves only one goal: playing the victim when he loses the election, and not having to concede defeat.

[Martinus]

I thought it was the conservatives who were supposed to have all the unfunny people...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RTxQn6S4BKI

[derspiess]

Poor Springsteen. At this point I would think that all those USA FUCK YEAH types would have bothered to actually read the lyrics of "Born in the USA".

I get a chuckle out of people misunderstanding the song.  And I get a chuckle out of people who get bent out of shape about the people who misunderstand the song.

[CountDeMoney]

I get a chuckle out of people misunderstanding the song.  And I get a chuckle out of people who get bent out of shape about the people who misunderstand the song.

I bet you do, derLeeGreenwood.

But for years I thought "Dancing In The Dark" was about male prostitution.

[derspiess]

I bet you do, derLeeGreenwood.

His leather stars & stripes jacket rocks and you know it.

[Syt]

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/787995025527410688?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

Of course there is large scale voter fraud happening on and before election day. Why do Republican leaders deny what is going on? So naive!

[Syt]

Apparently, Trumk denounced the integrity of the elections before: