2016 elections - because it's never too early

[jimmy olsen]

Trump praises Ryan's primary challenger

http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/house-races/290073-trump-praises-ryans-primary-challenger

Good.

Explain why you think so.

Because Ryan is a shitface and needs to burn.

But Trump isn't? What kind of cognitive dissonance is this?

[garbon]

Trump praises Ryan's primary challenger

http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/house-races/290073-trump-praises-ryans-primary-challenger

Good.

Explain why you think so.

Because Ryan is a shitface and needs to burn.

But Trump isn't? What kind of cognitive dissonance is this?

Why are you engaging? He has no real stance on these matters.

[jimmy olsen]

Trump praises Ryan's primary challenger

http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/house-races/290073-trump-praises-ryans-primary-challenger

Good.

Explain why you think so.

Because Ryan is a shitface and needs to burn.

But Trump isn't? What kind of cognitive dissonance is this?

Why are you engaging? He has no real stance on these matters.

I'm bored.

[garbon]

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/aug/02/donald-trump-calls-hillary-clinton-the-devil-and-suggests-election-will-be-rigged

Can we get a Clinton add where she tells us she is not a witch devil?

Trump labels Clinton 'the devil' and suggests election will be rigged

Donald Trump has claimed that there is a possibility of the US presidential election being "rigged" as he tried to divert attention away from a disastrous week for his campaign by also labelling his rival Hillary Clinton as "the devil" and praising the primary opponent of Republican speaker Paul Ryan.

The Republican nominee has in the past few days faced a barrage of criticism following his controversial comments about the Gold Star parents of a Muslim soldier killed in Iraq.

In response to an emotional attack on him by the parents of 27-year-old army captain Humayun Khan, who died in a suicide bombing, Trump had claimed to have made sacrifices equal to their son.

A range of figures and organizations from across the political spectrum from John McCain to Barack Obama to the Veterans of Foreign Wars have criticized him for his comments.

But at rallies on Monday Trump declined to address that controversy and, in moments typical of his campaign so far, decided to ignite others.

At a campaign town hall in Columbus, Ohio, Trump said he feared that the election would be "rigged," in an unprecedented statement for a major party nominee in modern history.

"I'm afraid the election is going to be rigged, I have to be honest," he told the crowd.

He did not elaborate but later repeated the charge on Monday night with Sean Hannity on Fox News, saying: "November 8th, we'd better be careful, because that election is going to be rigged. And I hope the Republicans are watching closely or it's going to be taken away from us."

Roger Stone, a long time confidante of Trump, amplified these concerns in an interview with a far right wing radio show.

Stone said: "I think we have widespread voter fraud, but the first thing that Trump needs to do is begin talking about it constantly."

Laying out a strategy for Trump to adopt, Stone added: "He needs to say for example, today would be a perfect example: 'I am leading in Florida. The polls all show it. If I lose Florida, we will know that there's voter fraud. If there's voter fraud, this election will be illegitimate, the election of the winner will be illegitimate, we will have a constitutional crisis, widespread civil disobedience, and the government will no longer be the government.'"

He also promised a "bloodbath" if the Democrats attempted to "steal" the election.

On Monday night, Trump also escalated his rhetoric about Democratic rival Clinton. In a packed rally in a high school gym in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, he called the former secretary of state "the devil".

The statement came after Trump reiterated a frequent allegation of his on the campaign trail in recent days, that in endorsing the former secretary of state, Bernie Sanders made a deal with the devil. He went further this time, explicitly saying: "She's the devil."

In his hour-long speech to a cheering crowd of thousands, Trump hit a number of familiar notes. The Republican nominee made exaggerated claims about his poll numbers while railing against free trade agreements and criticizing Nato members for not "paying up".

He also reiterated his praise for waterboarding to cheers. Trump complained of Isis: "They can chop off heads, they can drown people, they can bury you in sand and we can't waterboard." In the opinion of the Republican presidential nominee, "we're not playing on a level playing field".

The two new controversies ignited by Trump were the typical modus operandi of the Republican nominee when he is under attack. Instead of apologizing or backtracking, he has long thrown out a kaleidoscope of allegations in order to shift the news cycle to stories less damaging to him.

In the same vein, Trump surprisingly tweeted praise for Paul Nehlen, the long shot primary opponent of speaker Paul Ryan, who was running a campaign similar to Trump's focused on trade and immigration.

...

[jimmy olsen]

The first crack in the dam


GOP Rep. Richard Hanna: I'll vote for Clinton; first House member to cross party line http://www.syracuse.com/politics/index.ssf/2016/08/gop_rep_richard_hanna_says_hell_vote_for_hillary_clinton.html ...

[Berkut]

I am cautiously optimistic - at this point I think people are starting to really think about actually voting for this guy.

I suspect the tanking is about to start, and Trump feels it as well, hence his comments about the results being rigged.

[DGuller]

The first crack in the dam


GOP Rep. Richard Hanna: I'll vote for Clinton; first House member to cross party line http://www.syracuse.com/politics/index.ssf/2016/08/gop_rep_richard_hanna_says_hell_vote_for_hillary_clinton.html ...

I think the dam will start to crack when the first politician who has to survive a GOP primary will say such a thing.  This guy is retiring at the end of the year, so he doesn't really have to choose between the party and the country.

[Phillip V]

Seems HRC is getting quite the convention bump. Her 538 numbers have risen a lot in just hours after Trump had been gaining a lot of ground these past weeks.

We'll see what happens when the dust settles in a couple weeks.

2016 general election polling reminds me of 2008 general election polling.  Republicans will be slaughtered.


2016:  http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2016/president/us/general_election_trump_vs_clinton-5491.html
2008:  http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2008/president/us/general_election_mccain_vs_obama-225.html#chart

[The Minsky Moment]

Trump praises Ryan's primary challenger

http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/house-races/290073-trump-praises-ryans-primary-challenger

Good.

Explain why you think so.

That's what his cyberhandlers in Moscow are telling him.

[Martinus]

Trump raised $35.8 million in July. Romney raised $101 million back in 2012.

http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2016-election/trump-calls-clinton-devil-boasts-about-meager-35-million-fundraising-n621406?cid=sm_fb

I like how suddenly with the Bernie joke out of the picture, it once again becomes a race for who gets more donors.

[Savonarola]

CNN's Trump stories today:

Obama says Trump 'unfit' for presidency
Eric Trump says father apologized to Khans (but he hasn't)
Military mom booed for Trump question
Trump Election Will Be Rigged
Trump's Russia Problem Persists
Trump's Terrible 72 Hours
Buffett to Trump: Let's talk tax returns
Eric Trump: Ivanka would not allow herself to be sexually harassed
Trump Bloomberg Trade Blows
Vet Gives Purple Heart to Trump
Trump: Get that Crying Baby Out
Could Khizr Khan cost Donald Trump the election?
Does Trump want to Duck Debates?
Trump on Ukraine: The difference between a gaffe and just not knowing
John Oliver slams Trump's 'sacrifices'

Their Hil stories:

Clinton campaign has best fundraising month
With Russia a campaign issue, Clinton gains on foreign affairs
The voters Clinton needs to win over
Exclusive: Behind-the-scenes moments with Hillary Clinton

Given Trump's lack of resources, (and given that there's no such thing as bad publicity) being insane might be his best strategy

[Sheilbh]

Seems HRC is getting quite the convention bump. Her 538 numbers have risen a lot in just hours after Trump had been gaining a lot of ground these past weeks.

We'll see what happens when the dust settles in a couple weeks.

I still think we will see a Brexit-redo, with polls underreporting Trump's support, because people are ashamed to admit they support Trump.

The Brexit polls didn't underreport it. They more or less got it right (and the Internet polls probe had it right for the entire campaign).

[alfred russel]

being insane might be his best strategy

Trump has been getting ready for this moment his entire life.

[Zanza]

At a campaign town hall in Columbus, Ohio, Trump said he feared that the election would be "rigged," in an unprecedented statement for a major party nominee in modern history.

"I'm afraid the election is going to be rigged, I have to be honest," he told the crowd.

He did not elaborate but later repeated the charge on Monday night with Sean Hannity on Fox News, saying: "November 8th, we'd better be careful, because that election is going to be rigged. And I hope the Republicans are watching closely or it's going to be taken away from us."

Roger Stone, a long time confidante of Trump, amplified these concerns in an interview with a far right wing radio show.

Stone said: "I think we have widespread voter fraud, but the first thing that Trump needs to do is begin talking about it constantly."

Laying out a strategy for Trump to adopt, Stone added: "He needs to say for example, today would be a perfect example: 'I am leading in Florida. The polls all show it. If I lose Florida, we will know that there's voter fraud. If there's voter fraud, this election will be illegitimate, the election of the winner will be illegitimate, we will have a constitutional crisis, widespread civil disobedience, and the government will no longer be the government.'"

He also promised a "bloodbath" if the Democrats attempted to "steal" the election.

Shit like that from the candidate of a major party (or a close confidante whatever that is) will be the real damage of Trump domestically. It will alienate a significant part of the population from the very basics the republic is built upon.

[Malthus]

At a campaign town hall in Columbus, Ohio, Trump said he feared that the election would be "rigged," in an unprecedented statement for a major party nominee in modern history.

"I'm afraid the election is going to be rigged, I have to be honest," he told the crowd.

He did not elaborate but later repeated the charge on Monday night with Sean Hannity on Fox News, saying: "November 8th, we'd better be careful, because that election is going to be rigged. And I hope the Republicans are watching closely or it's going to be taken away from us."

Roger Stone, a long time confidante of Trump, amplified these concerns in an interview with a far right wing radio show.

Stone said: "I think we have widespread voter fraud, but the first thing that Trump needs to do is begin talking about it constantly."

Laying out a strategy for Trump to adopt, Stone added: "He needs to say for example, today would be a perfect example: 'I am leading in Florida. The polls all show it. If I lose Florida, we will know that there's voter fraud. If there's voter fraud, this election will be illegitimate, the election of the winner will be illegitimate, we will have a constitutional crisis, widespread civil disobedience, and the government will no longer be the government.'"

He also promised a "bloodbath" if the Democrats attempted to "steal" the election.

Shit like that from the candidate of a major party (or a close confidante whatever that is) will be the real damage of Trump domestically. It will alienate a significant part of the population from the very basics the republic is built upon.

I see Trump is already preparing his gracious and tasteful concession speech, should that prove necessary. 

I sincerely hope you are right. As I said in another thread, I've long wondered just what Trump could possibly say to annoy his supporters, given that they have already swallowed the stuff he's said to date.