2016 elections - because it's never too early

[Valmy]

How about this: it is highly unlikely, nah, almost impossible, that your one vote will make a difference.  So there is no point wasting time, effort, petroleum, etc to vote

Not the point. Though we vote on lots of stuff Mono, most of it local enough that your one vote will have a difference on very important things.

[derspiess]

In this immediate election, Trump and Fox News have been somewhat at war.

I listened to about 10 minutes of Glenn Beck late this morning, and boy is he all worked up over Trump.  Comparing this year to 1933, comparing Trump's positions to Mein Kampf, and saying we're all condemned if we don't speak out against this evil.  Almost sounded like he was crying at one point.  But it wouldn't be the first time he compared someone to the Nazis and cried on the air

When I hear some people talk about Trump I think maybe I'd enjoy the first five days of a Trump presidency.  But then of course I'd be in for one hell of a hangover.

[jimmy olsen]

Looking at this, I think the best result the establishment could hope for is for Cruz to win in Texas and Arkansas and Rubio wins in Minnesota and Vermont, while Trump wins Alabama, Alaska, Georgia, Massachusetts, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Virginia. If that's the best they can hope for, that just shows you how fucked the establishment is.

https://www.bostonglobe.com/news/politics/2016/02/24/after-nev-attention-begins-pivot-super-tuesday/JNfZy43bjxC9qvcBCU7lfO/story.html

[Jacob]

I listened to about 10 minutes of Glenn Beck late this morning, and boy is he all worked up over Trump.  Comparing this year to 1933, comparing Trump's positions to Mein Kampf, and saying we're all condemned if we don't speak out against this evil.  Almost sounded like he was crying at one point.  But it wouldn't be the first time he compared someone to the Nazis and cried on the air

When I hear some people talk about Trump I think maybe I'd enjoy the first five days of a Trump presidency.  But then of course I'd be in for one hell of a hangover.

What are the things you figure would make up that hangover?

[derspiess]

I listened to about 10 minutes of Glenn Beck late this morning, and boy is he all worked up over Trump.  Comparing this year to 1933, comparing Trump's positions to Mein Kampf, and saying we're all condemned if we don't speak out against this evil.  Almost sounded like he was crying at one point.  But it wouldn't be the first time he compared someone to the Nazis and cried on the air

When I hear some people talk about Trump I think maybe I'd enjoy the first five days of a Trump presidency.  But then of course I'd be in for one hell of a hangover.

What are the things you figure would make up that hangover?

Everything.

[Jaron]

As the Tea Party is so fond of saying, "If we can't win at the ballot box, we'll win with the bullet box."

That is derspiess in a nutshell.

[derspiess]

I say that all the time.  Because winning at the bullet box is totally a thing.

[Phillip V]

Looks like Trump's a lock for Tennessee.

http://www.nashvillescene.com/pitw/archives/2016/02/24/early-voting-smashes-records-for-tennessees-super-tuesday

Dem turnout is underperforming 2008 while Rep turnout is outperforming 2012.

Trump is making the GOP great again (in numbers).

http://www.politico.com/story/2016/02/donald-trump-republicans-diversity-219752

[Martinus]

It gave credibility to that ideology and made it mainstream. Media don't inoculate ideologies into people - that's 1930s thinking - but they are very powerful in creating the array of what constitute acceptable ideas within a society.

"It's okay to be a bigot, people in the telly are bigots all the time".

It's even worse than that - they are not saying it is ok to be a bigot, they are saying "You have every reason to hate those people, because they really are out to get you and destroy your way of life! Wanting to defeat those rapists and criminals is not bigoted at all!"

To play a bit of Devil's advocate here, imho, the "regressive liberal" side is also a part to blame. For years, if not decades, the glitterati have been telling the minorities (gays, blacks, Latinos, women) that if they don't succeed in life, that's not their fault but because the white racist homophobic rednecks are keeping them down. This may have been true to some degree, especially 10 or 20 years ago, but have been much less so lately. Meanwhile, the "white racist homophobic rednecks" have been hit in their face with the largest economic downturn of their live times, but the narrative did not change. In comes Donald Trump preaching the message to the "white racist homophobic rednecks" that it's in fact not their fault, it's the blacks, Latinos, feminists, muslims etc. that are keeping them down. Trump is the white straight non-liberal's guy's (the "Archie Bunker's") Al Sharpton, Macklemore, Rosie O'Donnell and Beyonce all rolled into one. Like them he is a celebrity more than a politician and he is telling his followers what they want to hear and like a father figure, telling them it is all going to be alright. For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. 

[Razgovory]

Don't use words that automatically invalidate everything else you say.  For instance. "glitterati".  It's extremely hard to take someone seriously when they say things like that.

[Archy]

Ever since Reagan the Republicans have been running campaigns on the premise that "conservatism" is a positive ideological attribute that attracts voters, whereas "liberalism" is a bad word.  When the Tea Party rose to prominence, a variety of commentators observed that the sentiments expressed, while admittedly pretty incoherent, were not exactly consistent with ideological conservatism.  This campaign has confirmed it: a very substantial part of the GOP base - perhaps a majority - is not "conservative" in the ideological sense.

I think people may be missing perhaps the most obvious reason for Trump's rise, and why it doesn't seem to follow any of the normal rules:

Americans are a sucker for celebrities.

Think about some of the celebrities who have run for office in the last several years.  Guys like Schwarzennegger, Fred Thompson, Al Franken, Sonny Bono, or Jesse Ventura - all won their elections despite fairly thin-to-nonexistent political resumes.  There's also the original celebrity-turned-politician - Ronald Reagan.

In fact as I keep thinking about it the only unsuccessful celebrity-turned-politician I can think of is Fred Thompson's Presidential run - but at the time it was criticized for being extremely laid back and lacking passion - things the Trump campaign is hardly lacking in.  But almost every other time the celebrity has been successful.

Maybe this is just how it is: celebrity trumps all.  Perhaps the 2024 Presidential campaign is going to be between Kanye West and Taylor Swift.

Yes We Kanye!!!!

Image from Belgian comedi imitation show.

[Eddie Teach]

Don't use words that automatically invalidate everything else you say.  For instance. "glitterati".  It's extremely hard to take someone seriously when they say things like that.

Besides, the political establishment is as much at fault as Hollywood.

[Legbiter]

I listened to about 10 minutes of Glenn Beck late this morning, and boy is he all worked up over Trump.  Comparing this year to 1933, comparing Trump's positions to Mein Kampf, and saying we're all condemned if we don't speak out against this evil.  Almost sounded like he was crying at one point.

He should stick to scamming old people.

[MadImmortalMan]

In comes Donald Trump preaching the message to the "white racist homophobic rednecks" that it's in fact not their fault, it's the blacks, Latinos, feminists, muslims etc. that are keeping them down.

Is he? I admit I haven't been paying particularly close attention to Trump's speeches, but that doesn't seem like something even he could get away with, even if he believed it.

[Legbiter]

New Florida poll out.

The Donald Trump juggernaut rolls into Florida where the GOP front-runner leads native son Sen. Marco Rubio 44 - 28 percent among likely Republican primary voters, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas has 12 percent with Ohio Gov. John Kasich at 7 percent and Dr. Ben Carson at 4 percent.

Men back Trump over Rubio 49 - 25 percent, while women go to Trump 39 - 31 percent, the independent Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pe-ack) University Poll finds.

http://www.quinnipiac.edu/news-and-events/quinnipiac-university-poll/florida/release-detail?ReleaseID=2327

And Florida is a winner-take-all state, made so in 2014 apparently.