2016 Presidential Campaign

[davideinstein]

Bloomberg please.

[Conan71]

I'm not sure Bloomberg would be an improvement over Trump.

Same kind of douchebag, different flavor.

[AquaMan]

Nor is Kasich. Tries to look normal (fairly easy next to Trump) but underneath he's evangelical Tea Party material.

Mitt is still around you know.

[Townsend]

Per the Daily Beast, Trump is crushing Rubio in polls in Florida...Rubio's home state.

Florida...you'd think they'd have their toys taken away by now.

[Townsend]

"Oaklahoma"..where not a Trump F was given.

http://okcfox.com/news/local/trump-camp-spells-second-oklahoma-city-wrong-in-campaign

[Conan71]

Per the Daily Beast, Trump is crushing Rubio in polls in Florida...Rubio's home state.

Florida...you'd think they'd have their toys taken away by now.

If he spanks Cruz in Texas, it's over.  Anyone know if Texas or Florida are all or nothing states?

I'd kind of hoped Rubio could win Florida, Cruz Texas, and Kasich Ohio to keep it interesting.

Meanwhile, I got my invitation to vote for Bernie in next weeks Democrat primary.  That's two mailers in two days reminding me that IND get to vote in the Dem primary.

[swake]

If he spanks Cruz in Texas, it's over.  Anyone know if Texas or Florida are all or nothing states?

I'd kind of hoped Rubio could win Florida, Cruz Texas, and Kasich Ohio to keep it interesting.

Meanwhile, I got my invitation to vote for Bernie in next weeks Democrat primary.  That's two mailers in two days reminding me that IND get to vote in the Dem primary.

Texas is a hybrid. It's proportional but only if you get 20% of the vote. I looked it up and Florida is winner take all.

The average of six recent polls in Texas has it Cruz 34%, Trump 27% and Rubio 18%. Florida has had just one recent poll with Trump 44%, Rubio 28% and Cruz 19%. The GOP really need Kasich and Carson to drop out, they are combining for another 10-12% that could give either Cruz or Rubio the boost to shove the other out. If they stay in and Rubio and Cruz keep splitting there is no chance at all to stop Trump. I don't think Rubio can survive if he gets no delegates at all from Texas and his home state of Florida. The truth is Trump is just killing it.

Seven recent Democratic polls in Texas have Hillary up 26 points. Florida's last poll was in January and Clinton was up 36 points. Bye Bye Bernie.

[Conan71]

Seven recent Democratic polls in Texas have Hillary up 26 points. Florida's last poll was in January and Clinton was up 36 points. Bye Bye Bernie.

I may have to give him a sympathy vote.

[davideinstein]

I'm not sure Bloomberg would be an improvement over Trump.

Same kind of douchebag, different flavor.

Big improvement. He's civil.

[cannon_fodder]

The debate was unwatchable last night, from all persons- but with the notable obvious exclamation point.

Q: On my radio show you said all candidates should be required to release tax returns, when will you release them?
A: No one listens to your show. Also, I can't release my tax returns because I'm being audited.
Q: What years?
A: Like, all of them. 12 years. When the audit is over I can release them.

That's not how an audit works. Plus, you can release your tax returns whenever you want. They are yours. Assuming there is an audit. Also - why the ad hominem attack?

Q: What is your plan for healthcare in the United States?
A: If you want to see people die in the streets you have no heart.
Q: Are you in favor of socialized healthcare?
A: I have a plan, and under my plan no one will be dying on the streets.
Q: That's my question, what is your plan?
A: I have a plan.

Alrighty then! Problem solved, there is a plan and it works. Clears that up.

Never once did anything resembling a plan come forth. Never once did something resembling an idea come out. Realistically, no one has a clue what he would actually do if president, because all the things he said he would do he can't (force Mexico to build a wall, ban a particular religion from immigrating, etc.). I read a quote directly on point...

My Fellow Citizens,
The rise of this blusterous man bewilders the educated among us, conjoins opposing politicians, agonizes our international allies, threatens minorities, spits on the disabled, and touches the hearts of those who don't know any better.  Let us stop propounding how mad this all is, but instead, do something.

Attributed to Lisolette Hubner, a Jew in Germany in 1929 arrested for speaking out against Hitler. Now, the quote cannot be directly attributed per her grandson, but the mere fact that one can read it and assume it is about Donald Trump, and then read it again assuming it is about Adolf Hitler should be telling.

Idiots. Losers. Choke artists. Fat slobs. Blood leakers. Stupid. These are things he uses to describe moderators and fellow members of the Republican party. Is he 5?

It isn't a matter of disagreeing with his politics, its the fact that he has no politics. He will say whatever appeals to the masses to get elected without ever actually having a plan for anything. He is not a rational actor. I have a new candidate I'm supporting:

Vote Ham Sandwich, 2016.

[cannon_fodder]

I'm not sure Bloomberg would be an improvement over Trump.

Same kind of douchebag, different flavor.

I'm not a huge Bloomberg supporter, but to contrast:

<Trump inherited $200-300mil in Real Estate holdings and turned that into $1 Bil in Real Estate holdings over 30 years.
>Bloomberg's dad was a bookkeeper, Bloomberg earned a degree in electrical engineering and a Harvard MBA before going to Wall Street where he rose up and ended up leaving to do his own thing. Amassing a fortune of more than $30 Billion, starting with zero.

<Trump has spent his career making money off of his name and some real estate, and failing at most other business ventures. He is also a reality TV star.
>Bloomberg revolutionized the field of business information, founded successful media companies, and leveraged other assets.

<Trump has never ran for nor held public office. He has never run a large organization other than as a dictator. Those that he did run have a greater than 50% failure rate.
>Bloomberg has been on the board of many large companies, he has started and then given up control of companies, and he has run the nations largest city.

<Trump has no political platform, no plan, and washes between positions depending on his crowd
> Bloomberg has well stated and settled positions (to disagree or agree with as one sees fit)

< Trump's main rhetorical style is to lob insults, make things up (only 7% of what he says is actually true), and yell over people
> Bloomberg is a classically trained orator who can articulate a position and engage in formal debate

< Trump is noted for being the only member of the list to regularly call Forbes and lobby to be higher on the list, to sue people for saying he is worth less than $1bil, and to give radically different assessments of his wealth in the same day. Being wealthy is the cornerstone of his identity.
> Bloomberg has given away more money in his lifetime than Donald Trump's entire net worth (there is documentation of more than $1.8 Billion in donations from Bloomberg), and still can buy and sell Trump 10 times over.

< Trump has been married three times and brags of cheating on wives, doesn't give away money, runs casinos and strip clubs, and tries to pretend to be religious (badly) when it suits his political whim. Yet courts the religious vote.
> Bloomberg has been married once and divorced after 27 years. He has never bragged about adultery and there is no record of such occurrences. He has never been married to a nude model. He is Jewish but doesn't utilize religion as part of his platform.

< Trump's hobbies include being rich, suing people who disagree with him, and trying to get in the media as much as possible.
> Bloomberg regularly gives commencement addresses at the nations most prestigious schools, is a commercial pilot and helicopter pilot, is a Morse fluent radio operator, a philanthropist, and collects notable awards, honorary degrees, and even a Knighthood.


I'm not advocating for Bloomberg (I'm really not that familiar with his policies), but I give credit where due. Bloomberg is a true self made man of the highest order. Even if he was an donkey and I disagreed with everything he said, he at least has that going for him.

[Conan71]

I'm not a huge Bloomberg supporter, but to contrast:

<Trump inherited $200-300mil in Real Estate holdings and turned that into $1 Bil in Real Estate holdings over 30 years.
>Bloomberg's dad was a bookkeeper, Bloomberg earned a degree in electrical engineering and a Harvard MBA before going to Wall Street where he rose up and ended up leaving to do his own thing. Amassing a fortune of more than $30 Billion, starting with zero.

<Trump has spent his career making money off of his name and some real estate, and failing at most other business ventures. He is also a reality TV star.
>Bloomberg revolutionized the field of business information, founded successful media companies, and leveraged other assets.

<Trump has never ran for nor held public office. He has never run a large organization other than as a dictator. Those that he did run have a greater than 50% failure rate.
>Bloomberg has been on the board of many large companies, he has started and then given up control of companies, and he has run the nations largest city.

<Trump has no political platform, no plan, and washes between positions depending on his crowd
> Bloomberg has well stated and settled positions (to disagree or agree with as one sees fit)

< Trump's main rhetorical style is to lob insults, make things up (only 7% of what he says is actually true), and yell over people
> Bloomberg is a classically trained orator who can articulate a position and engage in formal debate

< Trump is noted for being the only member of the list to regularly call Forbes and lobby to be higher on the list, to sue people for saying he is worth less than $1bil, and to give radically different assessments of his wealth in the same day. Being wealthy is the cornerstone of his identity.
> Bloomberg has given away more money in his lifetime than Donald Trump's entire net worth (there is documentation of more than $1.8 Billion in donations from Bloomberg), and still can buy and sell Trump 10 times over.

< Trump has been married three times and brags of cheating on wives, doesn't give away money, runs casinos and strip clubs, and tries to pretend to be religious (badly) when it suits his political whim. Yet courts the religious vote.
> Bloomberg has been married once and divorced after 27 years. He has never bragged about adultery and there is no record of such occurrences. He has never been married to a nude model. He is Jewish but doesn't utilize religion as part of his platform.

< Trump's hobbies include being rich, suing people who disagree with him, and trying to get in the media as much as possible.
> Bloomberg regularly gives commencement addresses at the nations most prestigious schools, is a commercial pilot and helicopter pilot, is a Morse fluent radio operator, a philanthropist, and collects notable awards, honorary degrees, and even a Knighthood.


I'm not advocating for Bloomberg (I'm really not that familiar with his policies), but I give credit where due. Bloomberg is a true self made man of the highest order. Even if he was an donkey and I disagreed with everything he said, he at least has that going for him.

But at least Trump is reputed to be a non-drinker, so he's got that going for him with the evangelicals.

[cannon_fodder]

But at least Trump is reputed to be a non-drinker, so he's got that going for him with the evangelicals.

Dear Jesus!  I didn't even know this. I didn't like him as a reality TV personality. I didn't like him as a fake author. And I sure didn't like him when he started pretending to be a politician.

But he doesn't drink either?

If we are going to have a teetotaler we may as well get Bush back. At least he went off the sauce only after going hog wild for a decade.

Ham Sandwich, 2016.

[BKDotCom]

So.... Is Bloomburg going to run?  3rd Party?
I'd have to be crazy or ignorant to vote for one of the republican candidates this year.

I actually re-registered so that I could vote in the Dem primary.

[swake]

So.... Is Bloomburg going to run?  3rd Party?
I'd have to be crazy or ignorant to vote for one of the republican candidates this year.

I actually re-registered so that I could vote in the Dem primary.

Bloomberg is looking at running and reportedly will run if the choices are Sanders and Trump.