2016 elections - because it's never too early

[Admiral Yi]

McMuffin's comments were made on 9/8, so they're not going to gain traction now.  And Mother Jones doesn't do anything to anyone.

[11B4V]

fuck, greatest show on earth.

[jimmy olsen]

McMuffin's comments were made on 9/8, so they're not going to gain traction now.  And Mother Jones doesn't do anything to anyone.

They're the ones that published the 47% tape that kneecaped Romeny.

[CountDeMoney]

McMuffin's comments were made on 9/8, so they're not going to gain traction now.  And Mother Jones doesn't do anything to anyone.

Completely plausible, though.  Trump is the very type that would fall for it hook, line and sinker. 

David Corn may shill for Mother Jones, but he's got credibility inside the beltway and has very few Pinocchios pinned on him over the years.  He doesn't chase rabbits.

[CountDeMoney]

Michael Gerson trafficks in the truth:  Bad over Dreadful.

Washington Post
Opinions
This election, a vote for bad could defeat dreadful
By Michael Gerson Opinion writer
October 31 at 7:11 PM

It is extraordinary how, in the last stage of this dismal campaign, both major-party candidates are revealed as the most exaggerated and grotesque forms of their stereotypes. The cartoon versions of Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton are, in fact, photorealism.

Who can now deny that the inhabitants of Clinton-world are so accustomed to corruption that they can't even see it anymore? The State Department, the Clinton Foundation, Bill Clinton's cronies and both Clintons' personal finances were all one thing — an instrument of enrichment designed to maintain red-carpet social standing and political relevance. The lawyers who surround Clinton have ceased to care primarily about the law. They are enablers who could not recognize the risk of conducting public business on a private server, the problem with electronically shredding thousands of emails, or the impropriety of routine self-dealing and (at least) the appearance of influence peddling.

What does all this tell us about Hillary Clinton? It reveals a leader who seems to value loyalty above integrity; who surrounds herself with yes-persons; who responded to a lifetime of controversy by growing a thick shell of Nixonian paranoia; who seems to regard her own considerable public contributions as permission for profiteering.

Who can now deny that residents of Trump-land — the candidate and his small inner circle — are every bit as radical and revolting as advertised? They seem intent on reducing turnout by making presidential politics so rancid, so rank, so radioactive, that only his cheering, frothing partisans will be motivated to vote. The Trump campaign has embraced a political strategy first outlined by agitated callers on conservative talk radio. Alex from Amarillo — such a big fan of your show — would invite Bill Clinton's accusers to a presidential debate, or promise to put Hillary in jail, or hint at her complicity in murder.

What does all this tell us about Trump? He pulls people close to him who reinforce his anger, his prejudice, his megalomania, his conspiracy-mindedness. He is both impossibly ignorant and insanely confident in his own flawed judgment. He thinks he should be exempt from the normal rules of transparency — by refusing to supply his tax returns — while using a presidential campaign to pimp his brand. He is acting as a propaganda arm of the Putin administration, defying the judgment of U.S. intelligence agencies, in a manner that raises serious questions about his motives.

He has tried to explain away the language of sexual assault as locker room talk and attacked the character and appearance of women who say they experienced his technique. Trump has dramatically lowered public standards of civility, of honesty, of tolerance, of decency and of ethics.

Those who deny the rough accuracy of either of these pictures — and there are plenty of Americans who would — are partisans. They not only hold a set of political opinions, they also are determined to live in their own version of reality, from which inconvenient facts are banished by edict. They have already made up their minds, perhaps already voted.

But how about the rest of us? It does not help to point out that there has been a massive failure of the presidential nomination process in both parties; one candidate stale and tainted, the other vapid and vile.

In addition to bitter complaint, voters have several options. They can write in a name (let's hear it for Paul Ryan or Condi Rice). They can support the well-intentioned but not particularly qualified Evan McMullin. Americans can justifiably refuse to vote in the presidential election. There is no democratic principle that forces someone to pull the lever for a politician who morally offends them.

Or they can reluctantly and strategically vote for Clinton, who lacks essential elements of integrity but not the qualifications for high office.

Only one option is precluded — to vote for Trump. And here are the postcard reasons: Trump is a man of dangerously erratic temperament who should not be allowed to control American foreign and military policy. Trump lacks a commitment to democratic ideals and institutions, demonstrated by his attempt to discredit any electoral outcome unfavorable to him. Trump operates by a materialistic, Nietzschean ethic — an ethic of dominance and revenge in which power and success are worshiped and the weak are treated with contempt and cruelty. And Trump is deeply and defiantly ignorant, with no basis or background to make informed choices on complex issues.

America has two bad choices, but not equally bad.

[Admiral Yi]

OK, look at the Mother Jones blurb.  An unnamed spy says an unnamed Russian told him Putin has blackmail tapes of Trump.  Is that really going to move the dial?

"Romeny"

[Zoupa]

I just read that Mcmuffin is against gay marriage. He was raised by 2 moms. You just can't make this shit up.

Where do you guys find these people?

[CountDeMoney]

OK, look at the Mother Jones blurb.  An unnamed spy says an unnamed Russian told him Putin has blackmail tapes of Trump.  Is that really going to move the dial?

Oh no, that's a long way off, if it's even a real story.  It would take a hardcore Justice Department leak to major media player, and with art.  Anything less is a ghost.

Thing is, this is how stories that blow up a year from now get started.

"Romeny"

Timmay's gotta Tim.

[11B4V]

I just read that Mcmuffin is against gay marriage. He was raised by 2 moms. You just can't make this shit up.

Where do you guys find these people?

In 'Merica 


Oh fuck this is awesome. You can't make this shit up.

[Admiral Yi]

Oh no, that's a long way off, if it's even a real story.  It would take a hardcore Justice Department leak to major media player, and with art.  Anything less is a ghost.

Thing is, this is how stories that blow up a year from now get started.

The only way that story goes anywhere is if the unnamed spy outs himself and is found to be credible, and he outs his source as someone in a position to know, thus sentencing him to death.

[Eddie Teach]

One candidate is stale and tainted? How did they know? 

[Tonitrus]

Theories so far:

1. Trump started to run as a joke, but the joke did well enough he decided to run with it.
2. Trump is a DNC shill made to run as a easy loser to flawed HRC.
3. Trump is a Russian/puppet/Manchurian candidate.

So it all makes sense now...

Trump is being blackmailed by the Russians, but was doing too well...but really, in his heart, wants to spite Putin and his blackmailers...so he runs a terrible campaign and says over-the-top stuff to ensure he still fails. 

[CountDeMoney]

Oh fuck this is awesome. You can't make this shit up.

White Nationalist's Pro-Trump Robocall: Evan McMullin Is Gay
William Johnson, a white-nationalist Trump supporter, is robo-calling Utahns claiming that Trump's main competition in the state is a closeted homosexual.

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/10/31/white-nationalist-william-johnson-s-pro-trump-robocall-evan-mcmullin-is-gay.html

"Hello, My name is William Johnson," the audio recording begins. "I am a farmer and a white nationalist. I make this call against Evan McMullin and in support of Donald Trump.

"Evan McMullin is an open borders, amnesty supporter.

"Evan has two mommies. His mother is a lesbian, married to another woman. Evan is okay with that. Indeed Evan supports the Supreme Court ruling legalizing gay marriage.

"Evan is over 40 years old and is not married and doesn't even have a girlfriend. I believe Evan is a closet homosexual.

"Don't vote for Evan McMullin. Vote for Donald Trump. He will respect all women and be a president we can all be proud of.

Evan has two mommies 

[CountDeMoney]

The only way that story goes anywhere is if the unnamed spy outs himself and is found to be credible, and he outs his source as someone in a position to know, thus sentencing him to death.

Nonsense.  This is the 21st century.  He'd be sentenced to book deals, a movie pitch and his own series on The Discovery Channel.

[Admiral Yi]

Nonsense.  This is the 21st century.  He'd be sentenced to book deals, a movie pitch and his own series on The Discovery Channel.

The source.  The source gets sentenced to death, not the spy.