Trump 2016

[GORDON]

Trump is going to just go up there and announce that he doesn't need no VP, he is more than capable of filling in that role, himself, right Malcolm?

[Malcolm]

"Nobody would make a better VP than me." I'd be lying if I said him wheeling out a mirror is completely out of the question.

[Malcolm]

Trump's VP choices are down to: Mike Pence, most generously described as a bible-thumping twat, or Chris Christie, who looks a bit like Sally Struthers after a sex change.

[TheCatt]

Bible-thumping twat, it is

[Malcolm]

Bible-thumping twat, it is

I don't understand how this is courting anyone he doesn't already have in his corner. This is like doubling down on crazy, virtually guaranteeing every single LGBT vote goes elsewhere, and having nothing to show for it in return.

After the Supreme Court of the United States upheld the Affordable Care Act on June 28, 2012, Pence, in a closed door meeting, said that the ruling upholding the health care law was similar to the September 11 terrorist attacks.
...
In 2000, Pence stated "Congress should oppose any effort to recognize homosexual's [sic] as a 'discreet [sic] and insular minority' entitled to the protection of anti-discrimination laws similar to those extended to women and ethnic minorities." He called for "an audit to ensure that federal dollars were no longer being given to organisations that celebrate and encourage the types of behaviors that facilitate the spreading of the HIV virus" and instead advocated that resources be directed towards conversion therapy programs
...
Pence opposes both same-sex marriage and civil unions. He has referred to Harvard sociologist Pitirim Sorokin's findings that throughout history, societal collapse was brought about by the deterioration of marriage and family.

[Vince]

LOL! I'm going to pick the guy that stood up for Christians! Before folding like a cheap suit. This will do little to nothing for him. But to be fair, VPs rarely do.

[Leisher]

I was not really aware of this guy's existence.

I'm wondering if this wasn't about getting the middle or the left, but more about re-acquiring the far right?

[TheCatt]

100% about re-acquiring the far right, particularly religious right.

[Malcolm]

Silicon Valley loon can't understand why his political choices have alienated him in personal relationships.

Of course, much of the backlash against Trump in Silicon Valley is due to the candidate's comments, considered by many to be xenophobic and racist, about immigrants, Muslims, and Mexicans.

Jake says he doesn't agree with Trump on many of those points, but Jake doesn't really take them seriously either, describing them as a "sideshow."

On Trump's proposed ban on Muslims? Jake thinks Trump's perceived extremist remarks wouldn't be backed up with actions.

"I do not agree with a blanket ban (and personally I think he never meant it), but I do agree with the notion of increasing the scrutiny of people who come from high-risk countries or zones," he says.
...
Nor does he expect Trump to build his famous wall on the US-Mexico border and evict millions from the country. "He might complete the fence that already exists and probably make it stronger, but I have no doubt that Trump is a smart guy who won't be deporting massively millions of people," he says.

So ... all this is bullshit because your intuition says so and it can be brushed to the side?

"At the end of the day, we choose our politics the way we choose our lovers and our friends — not so much out a rational analysis, but based on impressions and our own personal backgrounds. My main reason for supporting Trump is that I basically agree with the notion that unless the trend is stopped, our country is going to hell," Jake says.

But somehow in spite of NOT outlining any real plan for "stopping" whatever the fuck "trend" people latch onto ... he's legit on that shit. To summarize, you're not voting based on what he says, but you are voting based on what he's not shown one ounce of strategy for? I can't imagine why this dude's friends and coworkers are avoiding him.

[Leisher]

In Silicon Valley — which prides itself on open-mindedness, a system of meritocracy, and a thirst for innovation — Jake's support of Trump is more than just outside the mainstream. It's a dangerous liability.

Emphasis mine.

Shunning someone for their beliefs isn't just the exact opposite of open-mindedness, but it's also bigoted, oppressive, intolerant, and the polar opposite of what progressivism is supposed to be about. But you know, just like it's ok to be racist to white people, it's ok to oppress conservatives.

[Malcolm]

which prides itself on open-mindedness, a system of meritocracy, and a thirst for innovation

Silicon Valley not only doesn't have those things now, I'm not sure it's had them for at least 15 years.

But you know, just like it's ok to be racist to white people, it's ok to oppress conservatives.

This isn't racism. Furthermore, Trump could run for the Green Party, and every single criticism of him would be the exact same. If he somehow captured the jack-ass nomination this time around, I'd be blasting them just as hard. So I don't think it's political. Trump comes off as a prick, regardless of what ideology he spews. It's about t3h stupid. However, no other party was spineless and weak enough to allow a second-rate reality TV hack like Donnie to hijack their shit, so the pachyderms get to reap the benefits/liabilities of throwing their lot in with t3h stupid.

[Leisher]

This isn't racism.

Never said it was...

Also, this isn't a new trend with Trump, so he doesn't get the blame. There has been a campaign going on for years to turn Republicans into bad words and make them hide for fear of public shaming. It's working well. A candidate like Trump, and most of the other clowns he ran against don't help matters.

[Malcolm]

There has been a campaign going on for years to turn Republicans into bad words and make them hide for fear of public shaming. It's working well.

The campaign wouldn't have been so successful if the pachyderms weren't so brainlessly easy to shred and so hopelessly useless cultivating any kind of positive image. Evidence?

A candidate like Trump, and most of the other clowns he ran against don't help matters.

They sent in an entire squad of rejects. Not only that, but their opponents are running a candidate so unpopular that most people would rather blow her husband than vote for her. She's still going to win because the Reality TV Party refuses to excise the psychosis from their ranks; psychosis for which their new VP candidate is the poster boy. They should all be raked over the coals for that. If Trump would just keep his fucking idiot mouth shut, he might have a chance at winning. That's all the pachyderms need -- pick a fucking mute next time. They might start out slow, but I guarantee those October poll numbers would beat Dickless Drumpf.

[Vince]

100% about re-acquiring the far right, particularly religious right.

I agree, but a very bad attempt. Pence is no hero of the religious right. Most think he did a pretty bad job of defending the religious when Indiana ended up in the news for their law.

[Vince]

CNN and NBC both running stories that Trump was attempting to back out of Pence VP choice last night. This has been, and continues to be a dumpster fire.

[Malcolm]

CNN and NBC both running stories that Trump was attempting to back out of Pence VP choice last night. This has been, and continues to be a dumpster fire.

I think I kind of recall thumbing news stories and reading it. Was obviously drowned out by something else. I'm guessing Drumpf's team hasn't explained to him that, unlike every other statement he's made thus far, he can't reneg on this one a day later and try to hit the reset button.

"It wasn't an official nomination, it was more a suggestion."

[Malcolm]

Remember that episode of Star Trek: TNG where some other captain is throwing a party and the entire bridge crew looks for an excuse not to show?

When the Republican National Convention convenes in Cleveland, Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-Fla.) jokes he’ll be getting his hair done. Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.) will be fly-fishing with his wife instead of joining the Donald Trump coronation. And Sen. Dean Heller (R-Nev.) says conventions aren’t his thing, so he might use the coming week to irrigate his ranch.

[Malcolm]

Trump's ghostwriter: he's full of shit.

Speaking out for the first time, Schwartz, who now runs a consulting firm, now says the man he observed at close range for 18 months has little in common with the person described in the book.

"I put lipstick on a pig," he told Jane Mayer in an interview in The New Yorker. "I feel a deep sense of remorse that I contributed to presenting Trump in a way that brought him wider attention and made him more appealing than he is."

[TheCatt]

How long til Trump calls him a loser?

[Malcolm]

How long til Trump calls him a loser?

He's too busy getting in twitter slap fights with Elizabeth Warren. I could almost swear Hillary is telling her to keep trolling Dense Donnie.