2016 elections - because it's never too early

[Phillip V]

Donald and Hobbes is very amusing.

[Admiral Yi]

Yeah, that's great stuff.

[jimmy olsen]

What's wrong with that?  Isn't it a battleground state?

Wasn't considered a battleground the last two elections, and it's only got a handful of electoral votes.

The six million in New Hampshire doesn't make a bunch of sense either.

Both have some of the highest numbers of working class whites in the nation.

[jimmy olsen]

That was fast.

https://twitter.com/JohnJHarwood/status/760633940151443457

longtime ally of Paul Manafort, Trump's campaign manager: "Manafort not challenging Trump anymore. Mailing it in. Staff suicidal."

https://twitter.com/PeterAlexander/status/760647104578674688

Retweeted John Harwood

Trump campaign source, reacting to this, tells @alivitali, "It's all true" & "way worse than people realize."

https://twitter.com/DianneG/status/760654692913414145

A source tells @DanaBashCNN that some Trump campaign staff are frustrated w/ candidate lately, "feel like they are wasting their time"

[jimmy olsen]

With Bloomberg and Whitman on board, the fundraising imbalance is going to get even more out of wack.

http://fortune.com/2016/08/02/hewlett-packard-enterprise-meg-whitman-donald-trump-hillary-clinton/

The Republican CEO urges all Republicans to reject Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise CEO Meg Whitman may be a Republican, but that doesn't mean she is supporting Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump.

Whitman said on Tuesday that she will not vote for Trump and that she urges every Republican to reject him for the upcoming November presidential election. She said she would cross party lines and vote for Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton instead.

The Hewlett Packard Enterprise ( HPE -1.47% )   CEO cited numerous reasons for not supporting Trump, including what she perceives are "Trump's reckless and uninformed positions" on immigration, the national economy, and foreign policy.


"To vote Republican out of party loyalty alone would be to endorse a candidacy that I believe has exploited anger, grievance, xenophobia and racial division," Whitman said in a statement. "Donald Trump's demagoguery has undermined the fabric of our national character."

Whitman's decision to publicly denounce Trump's bid for the presidency is noteworthy considering Whitman's history with politics. In February, Whitman accompanied New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie for a week when Christie was campaigning in New Hampshire prior to the state's presidential primary. She also supported Mitt Romney during the 2012 presidential election, and ran for governor of California in 2010.

"I will vote for Hillary, I will talk to my Republican friends about helping her, and I will donate to her campaign and try to raise money for her," Whitman told The New York Times.

She told the newspaper she believes it is time for Republicans "to put country first before party."

"I will vote for Hillary, I will talk to my Republican friends about helping her, and I will donate to her campaign and try to raise money for her," Whitman told The New York Times.

She told the newspaper she believes it is time for Republicans "to put country first before party."

Here's Whitman's full statement on Trump:

"As a proud Republican, casting my vote for President has usually been a simple matter. This year is different. To vote Republican out of party loyalty alone would be to endorse a candidacy that I believe has exploited anger, grievance, xenophobia and racial division. Donald Trump's demagoguery has undermined the fabric of our national character.

Trump's reckless and uninformed positions on critical issues – from immigration to our economy to foreign policy – have made it abundantly clear that he lacks both the policy depth and sound judgment required as President. Trump's unsteady hand would endanger our prosperity and national security. His authoritarian character could threaten much more.

Therefore, I have decided to support Hillary Rodham Clinton. It is clear to me that Secretary Clinton's temperament, global experience and commitment to America's bedrock national values make her the far better choice in 2016 for President of the United States. In a tumultuous world, America needs the kind of stable and aspirational leadership Secretary Clinton can provide. I urge all Republicans to reject Donald Trump this November.

[jimmy olsen]

Here's hoping

[jimmy olsen]

Judd Legum tweeted what I think is a spot-on take of yesterday's events:

• This election is a hot mess but today has been a fascinating game of political tactics
  
  
  
• Trump's attacks on the Khans risk major long term damage to the GOP brand. Forced establishment to ramp up criticism
  
  
  
• Both Ryan and McCain signaled, to various degrees, that they may withdraw their endorsement at some point if this keeps up.
  
  
  
• So Trump goes out preemptively, and announces that HE doesn't support Ryan or McCain
  
  
  
• This is the equivalent of Trump saying: "You aren't breaking up with me, I'm breaking up with you."
  
  
  
• Now, if Ryan withdraws his endorsement it looks petty. He tolerated the attacks on a gold star family but not himself
  
  
  
• Enter Obama, who is playing this perfect.
  
  
  
• He's advising all Republicans to withdraw their endorsement from Trump, effectively making it impossible to do so
  
  
  
• So you have Trump and Obama working in concert to lock people like Ryan and McCain into their endorsement of Trump. Fascinating.
  
  
  
• Ryan and other top Republicans had a plan to nominally endorse Trump and then at the end say "I opposed everything he stood for."
  
  
  
• Ryan's plan is completely falling apart. Trump's conduct is too outrageous to politely disagree with. Also, Trump won't play along.
  
  

[garbon]

How is Obama working to lock them into supporting Trump, a perfect play? Seems like a mighty gamble for the Republic.

[LaCroix]

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/03/us/politics/donald-trump-gop.html?_r=0

Republican strategists who once imagined Mr. Trump could be brought under control in a general election all but openly acknowledged this week that that prospect had vanished.

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

[celedhring]

How is Obama working to lock them into supporting Trump, a perfect play? Seems like a mighty gamble for the Republic.

Might help the Dems regain the Senate? I guess that downballot Republicans could get hurt in some constituencies if they don't distance themselves from Trump.

[jimmy olsen]

How is Obama working to lock them into supporting Trump, a perfect play? Seems like a mighty gamble for the Republic.

Might help the Dems regain the Senate? I guess that downballot Republicans could get hurt in some constituencies if they don't distance themselves from Trump.

Basically he's forcing them into choosing to make suicide pact with Trump or enrage their electoral base.

Some moderates are already jumping ship though.

Republican Senator Kirk, who never endorsed Trump, will be running anti-Trump ads. 

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/mark-kirk-anti-trump-ad/

Edit : Never mind the Kirk article, this is apparently old news.

[garbon]

How is Obama working to lock them into supporting Trump, a perfect play? Seems like a mighty gamble for the Republic.

Might help the Dems regain the Senate? I guess that downballot Republicans could get hurt in some constituencies if they don't distance themselves from Trump.

Yeah, its just that again mighty gamble if Repubs can't repudiate Trump and that encourages their voters to stick with Trump for Pres.

[FunkMonk]

Here's hoping

I wouldn't worry about this or the khan thing. This is just positioning for Trump's masterful general election pivot.

[garbon]

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

Does that hold true for a presidential campaign?

[LaCroix]

is there any industry where that holds true?