2016 US Presidential Election Pt. III

[BigMacPhisto]

Who the hell is Gilmore?

Former Governor of Virginia quite a while back who has been running a campaign where he's like kinda maybe sorta running for President. Doesn't help that plenty of pollsters didn't even bother to include him before the debates happened or that he's basically always polled around 0% when rounding down.

I have no idea why he's still running at this point or how he intends to make the debates without any actual money or press coverage to boost him into them.

It's crazy that there's still 17 candidates at this stage, but Republicans aren't known for coming to grips with reality.

And there's at least 18 candidacies when you count the ghost one of Mitt Romney, waiting to spring into action if the Trump juggernaut continues to breathe hot air from precinct to precinct.

 

[Moonlit_Angel]

My point is that there are African American evangelicals who vote Republican that live in Philadelphia.

Yes, but I'm still not sure how you go from that to the assumption that voter fraud is happening.

Concerning Ben Carson's comments on the Great Pyramid of Giza.

It would be good to check on the different theories on why it was built before jumping on the latest "Carson the Idiot" bandwagon.

My reaction to those comments had to do with the fact that I was confused as to what he was getting at with the "disappear over time" thing.

Also, while it is true that this is one of the less weird things he's said, fact remains, it's still weird, and he's still an idiot no matter what. His comments on gun control alone prove that.

As for Lessig, everyone else already covered him, but honestly, I hadn't even heard his name until he dropped out, so that explains my lack of reaction to the guy.

 

[bono_212]

2. no other likely contender seems likely to talk about his major issue (which, from overseas, and from what I understand, I'd heartily support, along with compulsory voting, elections on Saturdays, and a complete end to voting-day ID challenging bullshit)

Actually, from my understanding, he got every democratic candidate to start talking about his major issue, so in that regard, his campaign was a success.

 

[Kieran McConville]

Bravo, then. I'm too far away to get any real sense of how major an impact that was. It does tie in to other issues like the seemingly immovable mountain of gun control, absolutely. I predict precisely zero change on any of these matters.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

I can't believe I'd ever say this, but if presented with the choice between Ben Carson and Donald Trump, I'd vote for Donald Trump every damn time.

This is what the Republican party has come to... Where Donald Trump is the candidate who actually makes more sense than the front runner. Baffling.

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[LuckyNumber7]

I would say Trump over Carson is a pretty easy choice. You know Trump is all pandering talk, and only a quarter as batshit crazy as he makes himself seem.

 

[BoMac]

It begins:

Ben Carson admits fabricating West Point scholarship - POLITICO

 

[bobsaget77]

Rand's terrifying Halloween costume. I love you Rand. #StandwithRand


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[Diemen]

It begins:

Ben Carson admits fabricating West Point scholarship - POLITICO

The interesting thing is that this will do little to diffuse his current popularity. I mean, in the end it makes him unelectable because he's not exactly attracting moderates or swing voters with this nonsense, but his base doesn't seem to care whether he speaks the actual truth, just whether he keeps speaking "truth to power."

Say that the Holocaust could have been prevented if the Jews had more guns? Show an insane amount of disrespect to the victims of gun violence and tell them it's their fault because they didn't rush the shooter? Say that no amount of innocent deaths are worse than losing gun rights? Hey man, he's just standing up for individual responsibility and gun rights!

Get caught in a blatant lie about your involvement with a shady pharmaceutical company? No problem. Call it liberal media propaganda and deny it (but then admit it in the following sentences) and your base will eat it up.

Say that the Pyramids were miraculously built by God and Joseph to store grain (ignoring the fact that they're not hollow, took way longer than 7 years to build, and well... ignoring reality), and you're just a good God-fearing, Bible believing Christian!

Carson isn't running a reality based campaign, and his supporters don't care. They may even prefer it that way.

 

[LuckyNumber7]

Ben Carson is a living example of how campaign advisors utilize human perception.

He wouldn't be saying these things if the numbers didn't support it.

 

[BVS]

They may even prefer it that way.

This is the part I find most disturbing.

I recently saw a Facebook post of Ted Nugent's it started off with "Even if this isn't true, we know..." Blah, blah, blah they plan on taking our guns. Not one thing in the post was true but not one poster even cared. I scanned through countless comments and not one person challenged the lies, they all just bought it. Most comments were of the birther 'he's a Muslim' variety and they ranged from the "he's a traitor" to the outright non-hyperbolic racist. It made my stomach turn, but it's true, many prefer not having the truth.


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[Oregoropa]

This will chip away at Carsons numbers. He's been squeaky clean with his base up to this point. But now he's lied and what's worse is he lied about military service. Veterans hold their service in high regard and will cause them to rethink their support.


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[Headache in a Suitcase]

This will chip away at Carsons numbers. He's been squeaky clean with his base up to this point. But now he's lied and what's worse is he lied about military service. Veterans hold their service in high regard and will cause them to rethink their support.


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He also believes The Flintstones was a documentary... but yea, lying about military service is much worse.

 

[Oregoropa]

He also claims to have applied to Marshall College to study Archaeology under the renowned Dr. Jones but his essay on the Pyramids resulted in his rejection.


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[bobsaget77]

This will chip away at Carsons numbers. He's been squeaky clean with his base up to this point. But now he's lied and what's worse is he lied about military service. Veterans hold their service in high regard and will cause them to rethink their support.


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This will allow Herman Cain to come in and take the nomination!
Cain/Pataki 2016


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[Diemen]

This will allow Herman Cain to come in and take the nomination!

 

[Irvine511]

Debate lineup for the next clown car express on Fox Business has been announced. Christie and Huckabee are demoted to the undercard debate with Jindal and Santorum while Pataki and Graham failed to even qualify for that one.

Anything that causes any sort of humiliation to Mike Huckabee, large or small, makes my heart sing.

 

[PhilsFan]

I think it would be good to do some more research before we jump on the "Carson's an idiot" bandwagon.

 

[Oregoropa]

Funniest Campaign Ad ever. Herman Cain.

http://youtu.be/lwawPMSJins


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[LuckyNumber7]

I feature length research paper on his idiocy will suffice.

Then, jump on the bandwagon.

 

[BigMacPhisto]

Again, his zany comments pale in comparison to his stance on abortion which makes him unelectable. I can't believe his base has such a goldfish memory that they can't remember what went down in 2012 when a few Republican politicians said they were against all abortions, no matter the circumstances. If Carson somehow made it onto the big stage, he would be loathed by women across the country and lose even some red states.

 

[BVS]

Again, his zany comments pale in comparison to his stance on abortion which makes him unelectable. I can't believe his base has such a goldfish memory that they can't remember what went down in 2012 when a few Republican politicians said they were against all abortions, no matter the circumstances. If Carson somehow made it onto the big stage, he would be loathed by women across the country and lose even some red states.

Why would this bother his base?


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[bobsaget77]

Again, his zany comments pale in comparison to his stance on abortion which makes him unelectable. I can't believe his base has such a goldfish memory that they can't remember what went down in 2012 when a few Republican politicians said they were against all abortions, no matter the circumstances. If Carson somehow made it onto the big stage, he would be loathed by women across the country and lose even some red states.

If it costs them the election, then so be it. I'd rather have someone be honest in their views and stick with it than say anything that will get them elected. I don't even consider voting for pro-choice candidates, never have never will. Some do the opposite.


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[deep]

I'll be going to the corner store
to get a loaf of bread

 

[BVS]

They spelled grain wrong, it's not 'grand', bandwagon morons.


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[BigMacPhisto]

Why would this bother his base?

It doesn't bother his base, but the fact that it makes him unelectable should. If saying that abortions shouldn't happen in case of rape can lead to someone going from an easy win in a red state to losing by an extremely wide margin, then it sure as hell will play even worse in swing states.

The second he'd have wrapped up the nomination, the DNC and Clinton campaign will start airing ads showcasing his stance on abortion. Within hours, the election will basically be over. Hell, it would be smarter to just let Carson get all the way to the convention and be crowned the nominee before airing those ads, otherwise it would give time for the RNC to scramble and pick somebody else.

 

[BVS]

It doesn't bother his base, but the fact that it makes him unelectable should. If saying that abortions shouldn't happen in case of rape can lead to someone going from an easy win in a red state to losing by an extremely wide margin, then it sure as hell will play even worse in swing states.



The second he'd have wrapped up the nomination, the DNC and Clinton campaign will start airing ads showcasing his stance on abortion. Within hours, the election will basically be over. Hell, it would be smarter to just let Carson get all the way to the convention and be crowned the nominee before airing those ads, otherwise it would give time for the RNC to scramble and pick somebody else.

Well this is all true, but honestly they don't care. Carson is already unelectable, his base is so unbelievably detached from reality they don't care. If the above happened it would just give his base fuel to the fire, they could yell louder: "liberal media", "progressivism erodes the moral fabric", etc. They're willing to defend grain storing pyramids; reality is foreign to them.


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[BigMacPhisto]

Oh, I'm certainly with you, his base is pretty delusional. I mean, hell, Republicans in general currently think him and Trump have the best chance at beating Clinton. It doesn't matter how many Presidential elections they lose, they'll never be able to face reality.

 

[bono_212]

Bravo, then. I'm too far away to get any real sense of how major an impact that was. It does tie in to other issues like the seemingly immovable mountain of gun control, absolutely. I predict precisely zero change on any of these matters.

It's the most important thing to me in the upcoming election, and I applaud him for getting every democratic candidate to start talking about it. From the Mayday campaign:

Hey Ashley,
On Monday, Lawrence Lessig announced that he is no longer running in the Democratic primary for President of the United States. The DNC changed the rules about who would be allowed to debate after he had met their prior criteria. As Chris Hayes said, the DNC treatment of Lessig "has been manifestly preposterous. Exactly what harm would have been done to let him debate?"


They didn't let him into the debates, but he transformed the debate.



The week he announced, Hillary Clinton adopted a comprehensive, public-financing platform for every federal office. Senator Sanders shifted from talking solely about Citizens United, and included public financing far more frequently in his platform. And national media covered Lessig's heroic race.
Political races matter for themselves, and they matter for building a netroots movement.
We must keep fighting to elect true reformers.

I am so proud of his leadership. He is a true patriot, unwilling to pretend that democratic politics works today, but also unwilling to give up. He brings a passionate commitment to fixing the root problem in American politics.

Although Lawrence Lessig is out of the race, this fight is not over. Just last night, anti-corruption measures passed in California, Maine, Ohio, and Washington. These are HUGE victories for the movement!

This will chip away at Carsons numbers. He's been squeaky clean with his base up to this point. But now he's lied and what's worse is he lied about military service. Veterans hold their service in high regard and will cause them to rethink their support.


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About as much as people rethought their support of Trump after he said McCain isn't a war hero?

 

[Bluer White]

Well, the seven year process called Keystone has been punted to the next administration, maybe...