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Edited by Mrph1 on Nov 30th 2023 at 11:03:59 AM
Because Trump wouldn't ride things out unopposed. In the event that this hypothetical October Surprise was something as damning as, say, Hillary shooting a person on-camera or somesuch, then releasing it in July would just mean the Dems pick someone else to run against Trump. And having a fresh, new face suddenly opposing him might actually be to their benefit, all things considered.
The purpose of the proposed October Surprise isn't just to make Hillary lose, but to make Trump win. The idea is to release the thing at a point where it's too late to grab a runner-up and Trump slides to victory in November by virtue of not having any real competitors at all.
Regardless of whether or not whatever Wiki Leaks has is really as damning as they think it is, the point of the October Surprise betrays their true movies: that they aren't about freedom of press or finding justice for accused crimes. They're a political tool in Trump's favor.
Jesus, they can't even pretend not to be misogynistic for five seconds, can they?
That's more or less exactly the problem. Compromise is dead in the GOP because every Republican senator has to worry about their extremist subset looking over their shoulder every second of every day. One moment of weakness, one errant word not pandering to the hate-crowd, one instance of giving the Dems the slightest inch, and you can kiss your political career goodbye.
The ability to just close some doors, turn around, and go, "JESUS CHRIST, these voters. They're f*cking rabid. Anyways, let's talk shop," is a thing of the past. We've worked very hard to remove both the means and the incentives for cooperation and fill our Congressional seats with zealous, unyielding ideologies. Now we're paying for it.
We've been so busy trying to close the door on corruption that we've allowed extremist fanaticism to take its place, which is much worse. And it's funny 'cause we're so blind to it.
"LOL those wacky Middle Easterners. They don't even know how to democracy without making it about their religion. It's so stupid. Anyways, let's talk about how LGBT marriage is a blight upon good Christian values."
edited 3rd Oct '16 10:41:44 AM by TobiasDrake
My Tumblr. Currently side-by-side liveblogging Digimon Adventure, sub vs dub.In a scenario where corruption, pragmatic horsetrading and the like has been fought down to a losing scenario and replaced with irrational ideology, I would expect financial contributions and influence, to go down massively. The statistics don't support this, though; if we go by lobbying annually, the cash injections peaked around 2009 and have been holding steady at over three billion every year. We're certainly not seeing corporations and the wealthy wielding less influence overall over campaigns in general. Our two presidential frontrunners (regardless of their respect virtues and flaws) certainly are no sign of raw ideology trumping money or pre-established power-brokering networks.
So at that point I have to ask, what is 'corruption' even supposed to mean in this context, and how is it exactly that we've been fighting it so hard? Is it just supposed to mean a willingness to compromise? Because if so, you ought to know we only have one party and its associated media to blame for that.
Furthermore, I think Guantanamo must be destroyed.But then he wouldn't have to wait to release the information, no? If he simply wanted a man in office, he could've released it earlier and make it a race between Sanders and Trump. The same if he just hates Clinton for other reasons. It looks though, that he actually wants to help Trump as much as possible, not hurt Clinton specifically.
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The two aren't mutually exclusive, mind you. Helping Trump hurts women.
edited 3rd Oct '16 11:06:49 AM by TobiasDrake
My Tumblr. Currently side-by-side liveblogging Digimon Adventure, sub vs dub.So at that point I have to ask, what is 'corruption' even supposed to mean in this context, and how is it exactly that we've been fighting it so hard? Is it just supposed to mean a willingness to compromise? Because if so, you ought to know we only have one party and its associated media to blame for that.
Trump is a sign of exactly that. Despite being underfunded in part due to many GOP financiers pulling their support and moving over to Clinton's campaign, Trump is still going strong on sheer force of personality and ideology. People aren't voting for him because they want someone they can bribe into signing off on their special interest.
Ted Cruz and Donald Trump, the two most successful candidates in the GOP primary, are both the product of radical extremism overtaking enlightened self-interest in the GOP.
edited 3rd Oct '16 11:09:11 AM by TobiasDrake
My Tumblr. Currently side-by-side liveblogging Digimon Adventure, sub vs dub.People also aren't voting for him because they want someone who's ideologically consistent, either. I thought that was implicit in the idea of a 'non-corrupt' candidate? Trump is a candidate who just says what he thinks his base wants to hear at any particular minute, how does that imply political purity? He's not any more ideologically extreme than most of his competition was in the party party, he's just a louder egotist and a more shameless swindler.
It's true that his campaign is working on smaller contributions than typical for a presidential frontrunner based on the past few cycles. 'Only' over a hundred million dollars (just above Cruz, yes), as opposed to Clinton's three hundred million atm. But if you told me that any charismatic guy could have walked up on a stage and said the things Trump says and had even a tiny percentile of the same degree of success without his background as an independently wealthy businessman celebrity, I'd call you a liar. He hasn't had the same kind of support his rivals got, but they weren't all using the same starting line in the first place.
I don't think his success has anything to do with either corruption or pure ideology as such, but has much more to do with the phenomenon of celebrity worship and superficiality.
edited 3rd Oct '16 11:31:40 AM by Karkadinn
Furthermore, I think Guantanamo must be destroyed.That's not how his supporters see him. Or have you not heard the claims of, "Everything he says is true! He says what we're all thinking! He's incorruptible because he's completely honest about everything he believes and just says the thoughts that come straight to his head!"
That's what the GOP wants: ideological purity. Someone who cannot be corrupted because he believes in nothing more than the God's Honest Truth that spills out of his mouth every second of every day. That's what made Trump so effective: the myth of honesty, made up of equal parts radical extremist positions and the assumption held by many both for and against him that he's too stupid to lie effectively.
To those still in the GOP voterbase, it's not about running an effective government at all. It's about Saving America's Soul by having a candidate who will push Christian dogma into law and resist the temptation of Satan's devil-money.
edited 3rd Oct '16 12:00:11 PM by TobiasDrake
My Tumblr. Currently side-by-side liveblogging Digimon Adventure, sub vs dub.She must be bought and paid for somebody because how else would we justify all our "there's nobody good to vote for" angst?
edited 3rd Oct '16 12:07:19 PM by Fighteer
"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"What's that Trump? Military suicides happen because some people "Can't handle it"?
http://www.cnn.com/2016/10/03/politics/donald-trump-ptsd-suicide/index.html
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He's technically right. After all, War Is Hell. Question is, is Trump shaming them for not being able to "handle it"?
He's (intentionally or not) feeding into the toxic misconception that only "weak" veterans/people get PTSD and/or experience suicidal thought. And after what's he's said about wounded, captured and dead soldiers, he doesn't deserve the benefit of the doubt.
Politics is the skilled use of blunt objects.

Because that's where they're holding the conference! It would be 10:00 in the morning in Berlin.
edited 3rd Oct '16 10:38:57 AM by Greenmantle
Keep Rolling On