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

I hope that now that the media have started actively calling out his lies and misstatements, that the moderators don't let him get away with any of this shit at the debates and cause him to just melt down.

debates are gonna be pretty unpredictable. I could see Trump refusing to do it.

"Not only will I stand up for Article One," Trump enthusiastically stated, according to the member in the room. "I'll stand up for Article Two, Article 12, you name it of the Constitution."

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/dc/trump-changes-few-minds-with-meeting-on-the-hill

Rep. Mark Meadows (R-NC) said that Trump did a good job at the meeting "laying out a conservative agenda," but when asked if he still had fears about Trump's candidacy, Meadows said, "I got an interview I got to run to."

Ha ha ha ha. Oh my god.

presumably a job interview

Shouldn't we have some basic low threshold for allowing a person to become a presidential nominee? Like passing a citizenship test or something?

That seems like a nice idea but no. Never.

Signed, someone with ancestors who faced "literacy tests" when they attempted to vote.

I'd argue that there's a difference between what one should expect from a voter and what one should expect from the people who want to run the country.

Fields medalist Terence Tao weighs in

https://terrytao.wordpress.com/2016/06/04/it-ought-to-be-common-knowledge-that-donald-trump-is-not-fit-for-the-presidency-of-the-united-states-of-america/

Republicans now following Trump's lead in the direction of coordinated conspiracy. Dumb. They were doing fine trying to get Comey to explain the difference between "gross negligence" and "extreme carelessness."

"I'll stand up for Article Two, Article 12, you name it of the Constitution."

"Seriously, you gotta name it, cause I have no idea what all's in there"

missed opportunity to get him to endorse Article 1, Section 2, Paragraph 3

Isn't the Constitution that piece of paper with "GUNZ R OK" scrawled across it in crayon? What more do you need to know? Defend it all!

"I think he was confusing Articles and Amendments. Remember, this guy doesn't speak from a TelePrompter. He speaks from the heart retweets a bunch of shit he found on racist websites, claims there's no difference between that and a Disney sticker book, and then goes on to compliment Saddam Hussein."

it's GUNZ R THE GREATEST, REALLY THE BEST, JUST UNBELIEVABLE iirc

xp

re tests for nominees, if the american electorate actually chooses trump, the country is so fucked that rejecting him wouldn't have helped anyway

serious lol @ "He was just listing out numbers"

24 is the highest number iirc

https://i.ytimg.com/vi/15QO0jqMP6I/hqdefault.jpg

Article 1, Article 12, whatever it takes

I'm honestly curious what these people think they gain in undergoing the mental gymnastics of trying to twist Trump's words and actions into anything rational and defensible. Best case scenario, you're unlikely to earn any personal favor from a President Trump. Maybe he'll let you fetch his McDonald's, if you're really lucky.

Sounds like the Senate meeting was even better.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/wp/2016/07/07/trump-meets-with-hill-republicans-as-controversy-over-star-of-david-tweet-continues/

I guess, in a broader sense, I'm curious what it's like to have no convictions or backbone.

omg the quotes in that thing from Flake and Sasse holy shit

“Mr. Sasse continues to believe that our country is in a bad place and, with these two candidates, this election remains a dumpster fire. Nothing has changed.”

this election remains a dumpster fire definitely new thread title.

Flake told Trump that he wants to be able to support him – “I’m not part of the Never Trump movement,” the senator said – but that he remains uncomfortable backing him, the officials said.

Trump said at the meeting that he has yet to attack Flake hard, but threatened to begin doing so.

“If you look at the trajectory of his unforced errors, he’s getting better,” said Rep. Bill Flores (R-Tex.). “I mean, he’s not where we want him to be, but he’s getting better.”

denial is a great place to be, the best

He can't even manage to play nice with a group of senators who are desperate to find a justification to support him

When asked whether he was bothered by the tweet, Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-N.Y.), the only Jewish Republican in Congress, said: “I don’t think it helps him.”

dying

holy shit:

Trump’s most tense exchange was with Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), who has been vocal in his concerns about the business mogul’s candidacy, especially his rhetoric and policies on immigration that the senator argues alienate many Latino and other voters in Arizona.

When Flake stood up and introduced himself, Trump told him: “You’ve been very critical of me.”

“Yes, I’m the other senator from Arizona – the one who didn’t get captured – and I want to talk to you about statements like that,” Flake responded, according to two Republican officials.

Flake was referencing Trump’s comments last summer about the military service of Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), who was a prisoner of war during the Vietnam conflict. Trump questioned whether McCain was a war hero because he was captured

knives out!

That's so utterly tepid

Meanwhile, over in Moscow, one of Trump's foreign policy brain trust types, a Carter Page, has been giving a speech and answering questions. And oh my god.

https://twitter.com/shaunwalker7/status/751098519151312896

https://twitter.com/shaunwalker7/status/751099084367400960

But the best is this whole Twitter thread. Just read 'em all.

https://twitter.com/maxseddon/status/751089043945971712

Article 12 details how we rebelled against King George VII and quotes III Corinthians.

That said, cue Republican "57 states" counter-zing.

Haha - Roger Stone is doing a Reddit-style AMA on men's style on *nfoWars tonight:

https://twitter.com/RogerJStoneJr/status/751080723415638016

the tpm rundown of the trump-GOP meeting has some more quotes, all very good

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/dc/trump-changes-few-minds-with-meeting-on-the-hill

oh shit 2 hrs behind as usual

never thought i'd have any pity for paul ryan but this is just humiliating

“What I thought was especially helpful today was our members just got access and got to ask their questions and talk about their issues,” said House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.). “I thought he did a great job engaging with our members, and I think our members appreciated it.”

“We clearly have a presumptive nominee who wants to work with us on moving this agenda forward,” Ryan said.

I have no pity for Paul Ryan. He's chosen to roll in this shitpuddle.

And again, what's the upside? These dudes aren't even getting any campaign finance assistance by smooching Trump's ass.

Ryan can go die in a dumpster fire

looks like he's getting his chance

some enterprising reporter needs to ask trump, 'who's worse, hillary clinton or jeff flake?'

"who's worse, Hillary or Graydon?"

if ryan is really a republican, why is his middle initial "D"?

Where's his baseball cap which indicates his preference re: the status of America? He must want the USA to be even worse. Sad!!

because he puts the "dick" in Republican.

^ Roger Ailes wishes he could

because he puts the "dick" in Republican.

― The burrito of ennui (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn)

the man's no richard nixon.