Curb Your Authoritarianism? The 2016 Conventional Wisdom Thread (Elections, Part 6)

Guys, the FEC filing...political Twitter just went crazy. SCAM after scam from Trump.

http://docquery.fec.gov/pdf/514/201606209018595514/201606209018595514.pdf

https://twitter.com/samsteinhp/status/745068761712033796

https://twitter.com/TheRickWilson/status/745075852027670528

https://twitter.com/rebeccaballhaus/status/745081523754262528

https://twitter.com/McCormackJohn/status/745076413812871168

https://twitter.com/derekwillis/status/745082013321990145

https://twitter.com/thestustein/status/745084145953431553

Good summary starting here

https://twitter.com/dbernstein/status/745074818169638912

next month's filing is due to be published during the RNC convention

543k to these guys and he doesn't even make their public-facing portfolio - sad!

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/21/us/politics/donald-trump-money-campaign.html

(543k last month, rather, xp)

Mr. Lewandowski said, “If this was the business world, people would be commending Mr. Trump for the way he’s run this campaign.”

Great thinking there! But only if the point of the campaign were trying to turn a profit. Sadly, an electoral campaign has only one product and it is purchased with votes. Spending the least money per vote gained would make a lot of sense, if that were the measure of success. It isn't.

cruz has $7m on hand right now

his hands are bigger, he can hold more

the really sad thing about this is that you know there are lots of very small dollar GOP donors aka vulnerable elderly people who have been scammed into giving their money to donald trump

i wonder just how little cash trump really has. not the campaign, trump himself. if he had anything like what he claims he'd throw a chunk of his own money at this but afaik the filings reveal he hasn't even written off the $43 million loan from the primaries - donors are going to have to cover it because he won't?

not usually a caveat emptor hardass but boy am i here

the really sad thing about this is that you know there are lots of very small dollar GOP donors aka vulnerable elderly people who have been scammed into giving their money to donald trump

probably the same folks who gave the other half of their savings to the recent deposed financial minister of nigeria

no, it's not nigerian scammers. it's all these right wing publishers, magazines, small organizations and their mailing lists that send out communcations to get people to give them money to repeal obamacare, defund planned parenthood, whatever the causes of the moment are (stop hillary), etc. now trump isn't organized like anything to have much of a mailing list but there's still his rallies and his website and such and anyone who gives him money is just giving him money to pay himself, pretty much, since so much of it goes to rent his own facilities/use his own businesses/etc

Uh guys? GUYS?

https://twitter.com/JuddLegum/status/745084049513906180

https://twitter.com/JuddLegum/status/745096813821177856

huh

https://twitter.com/redsteeze/status/745100973425704960

Investigative reporters ought to have a heyday with the Trump campaign. otoh, political reporters won't know how to write about Trump except by pretending he's a regular Romney-type candidate. he totally bewilders them.

fuckin gall

my next question is, given that he doesn't call donors, doesn't read about policy, doesn't do events aside from the occasional rally, does trump basically sit on his ass all day watching cable news? that's pretty much all he does, isn't it?

(xposts) Draper Sterling! Will have to see if McMann and Tate are on there anywhere.

sorry that i am posting this opinion but the dave eggers take on trump appeal is so good

daria don't forget annotating printouts of online articles and furiously faxing them back

https://twitter.com/JuddLegum/status/745102661888937984

hahah!

https://twitter.com/nonlinearnotes/status/745102404358639616

My prediction months back that Trump didn't actually want to be president certainly seems to be bearing fruit. That he would choose to reveal that fact to the world by basically not even trying altogether and flaming out as hard as a human being has ever flamed out is a bit surprising.

yeah a few weeks ago on one of these threads i was speculating that trump only reads news articles about himself that staffers hand to him personally and i was kind of exaggerating to make a point.. but it turns out that's exactly what he does

Wait until the convention and the traditional post-Labor Day campaigning and we'll see the full extent of his (dis)engagement.

https://twitter.com/jmcunning/status/745109959466061824

http://xenotherapeutics.org/about-xenotherapeutics/

XenoTherapeutics, Inc.

• Is a 501(c)(3) “For-Patient” Corporation
• Is a transparent, accountable advocate for progress
• Combines a business mindset with a moral imperative
• Will provide Xeno-Skin, a “once-impossible” humanitarian product to thousands of patients in need, worldwide

More on Xeno-Skin

http://xenotherapeutics.org/xeno-skin/

nice of him to make up with cruz like that

finally we know where the hair comes from

is trump one of the special genetically modified pigs

Human cadaver used in conjunction with Xeno-Skin doubles the benefit to patient

!

so to recap the main prongs of a trump presidency: giant wall, gags on press, white mob violence, underclass harvested for use in conjunction with xeno-skin

"for-patient" and "once-impossible" reminding me of the diner in my hometown whose menu uses quotation marks all over the place for emphasis, shattering trust: "REAL" SNOW CRAB OMELETTE, or "LOW CALORIE" OPTIONS, or TRY OUR "FRESH" GARDEN SALADS

it's all these right wing publishers, magazines, small organizations and their mailing lists that send out communcations to get people to give them money to repeal obamacare, defund planned parenthood, whatever the causes of the moment are

I think I'm fine with them getting bilked tbh

if you had asked me what this election was missing, I absolutely would've replied "xenoskin"

xeno-skin sounds like an hr giger-themed porno flick

Has Trump run any ads at all? What do they look like?

I almost feel bad for Clinton, of all people, because her competence is downright surreal compared to this fly by night snake oil salesman. Her campaign looks like a total pro, and his is all
http://www.movieactors.com/photos-stars/robert-preston-musicman-3.jpg

A beautiful WaPo story, just dripping with schadenfreude:

As we've long noted, Donald Trump has said he wants to run a different campaign than the one Mitt Romney did in 2012. On that front, he is succeeding handsomely.

But does he know the territory?

I'm just a juggalo, and everywhere I go, people know the part I'm playing.

daria-g:

very small dollar GOP donors aka vulnerable elderly people

I am not sure which is the sadder phrase: "Trump campaign donor" vs. "Trump campaign volunteer."

dlh:

so to recap the main prongs of a trump presidency

heh heh you said "prong"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F2OtbnYcjlk

A beautiful WaPo story, just dripping with schadenfreude:

so otm, they're really relishing this

Oh man, I love when people in real-life borrow from dystopic sci-fi to the point of hilarity.

Actually calling your company "XenoTherapeutics" is some shit out of V: The Series or Xcom.

https://i.ytimg.com/vi/QihkWmS7dTI/hqdefault.jpg

the graph in that wapo article showing ad spending in 2012 versus now made me laugh out loud

Read about 10 or so comments in that Post post, and someone made the point that Trump is just a bit behind in a few states having spent nothing to Clinton's millions. But his national numbers are so shitty and getting worse that it'd be a miracle if he can dig out of this hole. Wouldn't put it past him, though. Five months is a long time, and clearly the previous 5 months of stupid haven't exactly held him back. Curious what the Clinton offensive will look like. For all his presume dirty dealing, things have been actually quiet on the oppo front. I mean, all it took was one FEC filing to reveal shady stuff like that Sterling Draper payment. What else must Trump have if you go back months or years? Clinton keeping the powder dry?

I keep trying to forecast Trump's business life post-defeat. I feel like he will have irreparably sullied his brand with a lot of people (beyond the demonstrable damage his brand and his companies have already incurred) and have a lot less money coming in as a result. I also think things like his FEC filings are going to finally underscore both how bad he is with money and how comparatively little money he actually has. Potential future victims of his frivolous lawsuits may be less likely to settle if he doesn't seem like such an imposing foe and may even countersue. I honestly don't think he ever considered how negative an impact this lark of running for president could possibly have on him. I guess it remains to be seen if there is an ultimate net negative impact, but I'm praying.

I'm worried that his underspending is all a dodge. Like JiC said, yeah he's doing badly, but nowhere NEARLY as badly as I would like. What if he really is a multi-billionaire and is just letting us all get too comfortable with the idea that he's a useless oaf? Then BAM all the money comes out and he hands out free ice-cream on every street in America.