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MorningStar1337 The Encounter that ended the Dogma from 🤔 Since: Nov, 2012
The Encounter that ended the Dogma
#251026: Aug 2nd 2018 at 10:09:46 PM

I'm of the opinion that betting against [Trump claiming himself the real president after his presidency ends and claiming Trump Tower as the White House] would be a sucker's bet.

Edited by MorningStar1337 on Aug 2nd 2018 at 10:10:13 AM

Gilphon (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
#251027: Aug 2nd 2018 at 10:21:07 PM

I disagree. He's more the type to reframe his defeat as a victory- 'even though my opponent obviously stole that election, I'm gonna be the bigger man and step down anyway,' at the time, and a few months later claim that he never actually wanted to be president and is glad he got an excuse to leave.

tsstevens Reading tropes such as You Know What You Did from Reading tropes such as Righting Great Wrongs Since: Oct, 2010 Relationship Status: She's holding a very large knife
Reading tropes such as You Know What You Did
#251028: Aug 3rd 2018 at 12:12:03 AM

I am of the camp that whether it be through election or impeachment Trump's most fanatical supporters would start a civil war were he not president. Did he not say himself to get rid of the two term limit?

Currently reading up My Rule Fu Is Stronger than Yours
megaeliz Since: Mar, 2017
#251029: Aug 3rd 2018 at 12:15:03 AM

[up][up] I mean, in some ways, that's true.

Narcissists are pretty simple animals. He doesn't care about the job of being president, so much as simply winning, and the power and prestige that come along with it.

Edited by megaeliz on Aug 3rd 2018 at 3:39:43 PM

Swanpride Since: Jun, 2013
#251030: Aug 3rd 2018 at 12:59:30 AM
Thumped: This post has been thumped with the mod stick. This means knock it off.
tricksterson Never Trust from Behind you with an icepick Since: Apr, 2009 Relationship Status: Above such petty unnecessities
Never Trust
#251031: Aug 3rd 2018 at 2:56:18 AM

That's probably what he would have done if Clinton won.

Trump delenda est
Deadbeatloser22 MOD from Disappeared by Space Magic (Great Old One) Relationship Status: Tsundere'ing
#251032: Aug 3rd 2018 at 4:04:01 AM

Pretty sure we've told y'all before about just dropping You Tube links blind like that.

"Yup. That tasted purple."
Boston Since: Aug, 2010 Relationship Status: Can't buy me love
#251033: Aug 3rd 2018 at 5:15:03 AM

I wouldn't be surprised if No. 45 tried to delegitimize the next President, assuming a Democrat is elected. That could range from smear campaigns in the press to actually interfering with their work — something as dumb as changing the locks to all the doors.

I could actually see the current administration trying to transfer a lot of the White House valuables to their own personal property in their final days. "It's my stuff, I can do what I want with it!" So much of their mentality it based on "Got mine, screw the next guy." Because that's what healthy competition looks like.

sgamer82 Since: Jan, 2001
#251034: Aug 3rd 2018 at 5:23:31 AM

I don't even think the president being Democrat would matter. Just a president that not him.

fruitpork Since: Oct, 2010
#251035: Aug 3rd 2018 at 5:24:29 AM

He'd definitely take a torch to as many institutions as he could to prevent democrats from helping them.

3of4 Just a harmless giant from a foreign land. from Five Seconds in the Future. Since: Jan, 2010 Relationship Status: GAR for Archer
Just a harmless giant from a foreign land.
#251036: Aug 3rd 2018 at 6:42:15 AM

I can imagine him doing the Anti-Bill Clinton. Like how he was basically an Ambassador-At-Large under Obama and his wife as Foreign Minister? Imagine Trump travelling around on his own and 'negotiating' with foreign countries.

"You can reply to this Message!"
TacticalFox88 from USA Since: Nov, 2010 Relationship Status: Dating the Doctor
#251037: Aug 3rd 2018 at 7:34:27 AM

They’d tell him to go kick rocks, and that’s not if the bastard is dead or in prison

New Survey coming this weekend!
kkhohoho (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
#251038: Aug 3rd 2018 at 7:37:24 AM

[up]Personally I'd imagine he'd be dead or thrown in prison as soon as he stepped foot on foreign soil, but maybe that's just me. Then again, he might actually be more than welcome in the Kremlin...

BlueNinja0 The Mod with the Migraine from Taking a left at Albuquerque Since: Dec, 2010 Relationship Status: Showing feelings of an almost human nature
The Mod with the Migraine
#251039: Aug 3rd 2018 at 8:25:49 AM

If you're feeling confident about the Blue Wave, Ohio's special election is a toss-up-leaning-slightly-R.

    Full article text 
Emphasis mine.
Panicked by recent polling and fearing another loss on the national stage, Republicans are scrambling to hold on to a district Donald Trump won comfortably two years ago. Sound familiar? It should by now. After a high-profile loss in Alabama last December and another in Pennsylvania in March—as well as a too-close-for-comfort victory in Arizona in April—the GOP is desperate to win next week’s congressional special election in Ohio.

Trump plans to touch down in the district this weekend to rally support for Republican Troy Balderson, who is running for the seat former Rep. Pat Tiberi vacated at the end of January. House Republicans are also lending their support in the form of millions of dollars via their official campaign arm and a Paul Ryan-aligned super PAC. House Democrats haven’t gotten involved to the same degree, though their campaign arm did make a late splash in the form of a mid-six-figure TV ad buy backing their nominee, Danny O’Connor.

You don’t need to squint to see a contest that looks a lot like the special election Democrat Conor Lamb won this spring. That district included parts of suburban Pittsburgh as well as more rural areas of Pennsylvania; this one includes suburban Columbus as well as more rural parts of Ohio. Trump won both districts comfortably, and O’Connor has largely been working from the same moderate playbook Lamb used to win his race. O’Connor, for instance, doesn’t support single-payer health care, abolishing the U.S. Immigration and Custom Enforcement agency, or electing Nancy Pelosi as House speaker. (Though he did create a headache for himself recently when he accidentally stated the obvious: He’d vote for Pelosi over a Republican.)

Just as Lamb did, O’Connor has closed the gap considerably coming down the home stretch, adding to the suspense and boosting national interest. A Monmouth University poll released Wednesday showed a statistical dead heat—Balderson 44 percent, O’Connor 43 percent among potential voters—a 10-point swing in the Democrat’s favor since the same pollsters asked the question in June. Non-partisan handicappers, likewise, see the race as toss-up.

There are some big differences, however. Ohio’s 12th District isn’t quite as red as Pennsylvania’s old 18th District. Trump won the latter by 20 points in 2016, but the former by “just” 11 points. The western Pennsylvania seat opened up after GOP Rep. Tim Murphy resigned in disgrace; the central Ohio one opened up after Tiberi resigned to move home to lead a business group. And then there are the candidates themselves. Lamb looks like something his party might design in a lab to win a red district, while his opponent was largely seen as a dud by his own party; O’Connor and Balderson each fall safely in between.

Another wrinkle: Balderson has the support of both Trump and one of the few remaining #Never Trump Republicans still in office in Ohio Gov. John Kasich, who held this seat before Tiberi. Kasich recently agreed to cut an ad for Balderson, and his support might be enough to convince some slice of Trump-skeptical conservatives to vote GOP on Tuesday. Alternatively, Kasich Republicans could be turned off when Trump comes to town on Saturday.

As the last special election before November, the Ohio contest will give both parties’ one more look at how voters are feeling in the age of Trump. What they see—or what they think they see—will help shape their strategies this summer and into the fall. Ultimately, though, the results won’t determine which party controls Congress, or even who holds this specific seat come January. O’Connor and Balderson will face off again in the midterms to determine their fates for the next two years. The same goes for both of their parties.

That’s the epitome of privilege right there, not considering armed nazis a threat to your life. - Silasw
3of4 Just a harmless giant from a foreign land. from Five Seconds in the Future. Since: Jan, 2010 Relationship Status: GAR for Archer
Just a harmless giant from a foreign land.
#251040: Aug 3rd 2018 at 9:03:02 AM

The Blue Wave does not mean a 100% win rate. This is a district that Trump won handily and is now competitive, even if it leans R.

That means the Blue Wave is generating pressure.

"You can reply to this Message!"
Fourthspartan56 from Georgia, US Since: Oct, 2016 Relationship Status: THIS CONCEPT OF 'WUV' CONFUSES AND INFURIATES US!
#251041: Aug 3rd 2018 at 9:05:33 AM

[up][up]I am still confident, a single special election being a tossup does not outweigh all the other special elections that we've done well. Not to mention that Democratic candidates have been consistently over-performing their projections and this may very well not be an exception, even if they lose that loss can still signal good things to come.

[up]Well said and partially [nja].

Edited by Fourthspartan56 on Aug 3rd 2018 at 12:05:14 PM

"Einstein would turn over in his grave. Not only does God play dice, the dice are loaded." -Chairman Sheng-Ji Yang
Rytex Your Friend on the Other Side from Here, There, Everywhere (Ancient one) Relationship Status: Married to the music
Your Friend on the Other Side
#251042: Aug 3rd 2018 at 9:12:31 AM

What are the odds on Beto here in Texas? Cruz has a high approval rating among Texas voters, but Beto does seem to be drawing some crowds...

Though how many of them will actually vote on election day remains to be seen...

The powerful play goes on, and you may contribute a verse.
TheWanderer Student of Story from Somewhere in New England (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: Wishfully thinking
Student of Story
#251043: Aug 3rd 2018 at 9:13:20 AM

Imagine Trump travelling around on his own and 'negotiating' with foreign countries.

Not only would he have zero credibility, most countries wouldn’t want to touch him if his foreign relations continue the way they’ve gone.

Plus he’d get to be just the third person charged under the Logan Act, and the first since the 19th century.

| Wandering, but not lost. | If people bring so much courage to this world...◊ |
Kaiseror Since: Jul, 2016
#251044: Aug 3rd 2018 at 9:20:20 AM

[up][up] From what i've seen Cruz still has a slight lead but it's shrinking.

Fourthspartan56 from Georgia, US Since: Oct, 2016 Relationship Status: THIS CONCEPT OF 'WUV' CONFUSES AND INFURIATES US!
#251045: Aug 3rd 2018 at 9:23:35 AM

[up][up][up]The race seems to be narrowing. Cruz is currently leading 49% to Beato's 43%, which changed from May when Cruz had 50% to Beto's 39%.

So things are getting closer and it may depend on minority turnout, nothings certain which considering we're talking about Texas is very good.

Edited by Fourthspartan56 on Aug 3rd 2018 at 12:23:34 PM

"Einstein would turn over in his grave. Not only does God play dice, the dice are loaded." -Chairman Sheng-Ji Yang
ironballs16 Since: Jul, 2009 Relationship Status: Owner of a lonely heart
#251046: Aug 3rd 2018 at 9:34:51 AM

For anyone looking for solid figures about the capital gains cut disproportionately helping the wealthy, I found one - a December 2017 report by Time about the findings of economist Edward N. Wolff, who found that the wealthiest 10% of Americans own 84% of stock in the US.

“Despite the fact that almost half of all households owned stock shares either directly or indirectly through mutual funds, trusts, or various pension accounts, the richest 10% of households controlled 84% of the total value of these stocks in 2016,” Wolff writes.
That number—which accounts for individual shares as well as stocks held via mutual funds—represents a big change from 2001, when the top 10% owned just 77% of all stocks.
Furthermore, while virtually all (94%) of the very rich reported having significant stock holdings—as defined as $10,000 or more in shares—only 27% of the middle class did. (The study framed that middle class as the group between the poorest 20% and the richest 20% of Americans.)
The concentration of stock holdings among the rich, Wolff says, is due to the twin stock market busts of 2001 and 2008. While the middle class was scared off by these declines, he explains, wealthier investors were able to swoop in and increase their holdings.
So where is middle-class wealth? Wolff finds that the majority of it remains tied to homes. That’s quite different from the wealth holdings of the very rich, whose assets are tied up in equities (whether as publicly held stocks or privately owned shares of businesses). For the richest Americans, a principal residence accounts for just 7.6% of their total wealth.

So the next time someone asks what's the big deal about it - there you go.

Edited by ironballs16 on Aug 3rd 2018 at 9:36:49 AM

"Why would I inflict myself on somebody else?"
Rationalinsanity from Halifax, Canada Since: Aug, 2010 Relationship Status: It's complicated
#251047: Aug 3rd 2018 at 9:41:11 AM

Texas is likely a longshot, as long as Cruz (somehow) remains popular among the GOP base.

Politics is the skilled use of blunt objects.
Wyldchyld (Old as dirt)
#251048: Aug 3rd 2018 at 9:59:39 AM

Given the fact Trump is starting multiple trade wars I don't think the economy will stay good for long.

Trump's supporters won't abandon him if the economy tanks. They'll just blame the Democrats.

If that happens the Secret Service will drag him out kicking and screaming while he's clutching his tacky gold curtains with his grubby baby hands.

You know, when Bill Clinton used those very same curtains, nobody really minded them.

He has Reagan's carpet (wheat-coloured, so fits a gold theme), GW Bush's three-piece suite ('gold' ivory, so pale yellow) and flanking desk chairs (wheat-ish coloured upholstery), Clinton's chairs (gold — the chairs themselves were Reagan's but Clinton had them re-upholstered), Clinton's lamps (brass-trimmed, so 'gold'), and Clinton's curtains (gold).

By the way, here's a piece of White House trivia. The gold curtains were not chosen by Bill Clinton. They exist because they were chosen by Hillary Clinton.

I wonder if Trump knows and what he would do if someone pointed it out to him.

Who wants to bet he'll declare himself the real President of the United States and try and make Trump Tower the new White House?

You mean Mar-a-Lago. It's already nicknamed 'the (Southern) White House', after all. More importantly, it has a golf course.

I disagree. He's more the type to reframe his defeat as a victory- 'even though my opponent obviously stole that election, I'm gonna be the bigger man and step down anyway,' at the time, and a few months later claim that he never actually wanted to be president and is glad he got an excuse to leave.

My guess is that he'll eventually end up claiming ex-Presidents are more powerful than sitting Presidents. Which does have some historical precedence (albeit in ancient Japan with Emperors and Retired Emperors) but it'll be because he'll have a level of freedom a sitting president doesn't have while still having access to at least some national security access which will give him the window he needs to stay in the limelight on his terms ('dictating' in the media what he thinks the sitting president should be doing from a position of being able to claim he's always right because the big decisions (and the full picture) don't rest with him — in short, he can PR the position of ex-president to death, possibly to the then-current White House's detriment).

Edited by Wyldchyld on Aug 3rd 2018 at 7:11:53 PM

If my post doesn't mention a giant flying sperm whale with oversized teeth and lionfish fins for flippers, it just isn't worth reading.
DingoWalley1 Asgore Adopts Noelle Since: Feb, 2014 Relationship Status: Can't buy me love
Asgore Adopts Noelle
#251049: Aug 3rd 2018 at 9:59:46 AM

Shellby County, Tennessee was swept up by the Blue Wave last night; Democrat Lee Harris won the County's Mayorship (yes, the Mayorship of the entire County), and Democrats took 9 County Commission Seats, which means they now hold 11 of 12 Commission Seats.

Now, you might say that Shelby, holding Memphis, should obviously be a Democratic Area. However, this was a District that had Republican Supermajorities, to the point that the County Democratic Party almost went extinct 2 years ago. This is a win for the Democrats, and a good sign of things to come for them.

carbon-mantis Collector Of Fine Oddities from Trumpland Since: Mar, 2010 Relationship Status: Married to my murderer
Collector Of Fine Oddities
#251050: Aug 3rd 2018 at 10:04:01 AM

Bill Lee has won the GOP nomination for governor of Tennessee, beating whitehouse pick Diane Black by over 100,000 votes.

Lee, an politically inexperienced but wealthy businessman ran a sort of "Genteel-Trump" campaign, emphasizing that he was an outsider who supported Trump and the GOP's policies while refraining from Trump's public boorishness. His supported issues are a copy of Trump's on every front. At one point on refugee policy even suggested that Christians from the middle east cannot be trusted.

Interestingly, Trump did not directly endorse any of the candidates this time; Black only received a direct endorsement from Pence, and Trump instead endorsed Lee only after he secured the campaign


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