Don't laugh at the GOP. Trump can win. America IS that brain-damaged and dickish.

[backscatter712]

(For those wondering, yes, I wrote this.)

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/05/04/1523092/-Don-t-laugh-too-long-Van-Jones-is-right-Trump-can-win-America-IS-that-brain-damaged

OK, there’s a diary, and I participated in that diary. We’re all pointing and laughing at the Republicans. Yes, it’s OK to have a little schadenfreude. BUT...

Hold the celebration. You are making the assumption that we’ve already won in November.

That is a BAD assumption to make.

You have to understand something. We live in a nation where half the population are morons who vote against their own best interests, and the other half is difficult to motivate to get to a damned ballot box.

We pointed and laughed at Ronald Reagan. He won.

We pointed and laughed at George W. Bush. He won. Okay, with an asterisk, but he still got to shit on our country for eight fucking years.

And if we just point and laugh at Donald Trump and his mobs of mouthbreathers, we could be left wondering on November 9th how the fuck we lost to those bozos.

Trump has words. He has all the right words. And he has only one policy on his platform: “Build a wall”. We laugh, but Trump knows his audience, and he knows them well enough to do his Satanic Sesame Street routine all the way to the Republican Presidential nomination.

Van Jones is right. We have to be fighting, not laughing.

Underestimate the right-wing at your own peril. And Hillary, since she’s almost certain to be our nominee, had better have her shit together.



Additional brainfart: Why is Trump so popular? He makes dickish remarks about women and their bodily functions. He calls Latinos “criminals and racists” and makes virtually his entire functional platform “Build a wall.” He makes nasty remarks about black people, about Muslims, about the Chinese, etc. fucking etc.

And it occurred to me. He’s appealing to America’s dark side. He’s appealing to our Inner Asshole.

We all have our Inner Asshole. C’mon, admit it. I love being an asshole to Republicans. Don’t you? Being an asshole is fun! Even Mohandas Gandhi had his inner asshole, though he was better than most at keeping it on a leash.

Van Jones noted in the video that when Trump made “gaffes”, like ranting about Megyn Kelly and making those remarks about women’s bodily functions, his popularity didn’t crash. It soared.

It’s because Trump’s appealing to our country’s Inner Asshole. To that part of all of us that loves acting the prick and being mean-spirited. That’s why he’s turned our election into his own reality show, and keeps typing all those dickish remarks on Twitter with his little fingers. We all love being part of the In Group that can be a complete prick to those Others in the Out Group.

Trump is banking on the Asshole Demographic carrying him to victory. And he may be right.

[Hell Hath No Fury]

1. I agree, we dismiss Trump --

at our own peril. Having lived through a Gov. & President Reagan, Gov. Schwarzenegger, and two terms of a President GW Bush, I have no doubt as to the idiocy of the American electorate. :/

[Bad Dog]

2. You're right.

A Trump victory scares the shit out of us this side of the Atlantic.

[herding cats]

3. I agree.

Trump has real appeal to the nationalist, isolationist, racist and bigots in the US.

He's the perfect candidate of the Assholes of America Party. <--- Formerly known as the GOP.

[LuckyTheDog]

4. We should not underestimate Trump

Nor should we overestimate the good sense of the American public.

[backscatter712]

5. Trump's strategy is simple. He's playing the Heel in WWE terms.

Every time he makes a "gaffe", all the pundits declare him to be toast, then his media coverage and popularity rises.

He's turned this election into his reality show.

He needs to be defeated at all costs.

[joshcryer]

8. Does that mean you'll be supporting the Democratic nominee?

[backscatter712]

9. Duh, I'm not an idiot. n/t

[Egnever]

6. Van Jones makes a huge mistake

He is comparing a primary of undesirable candidates were trump was the least undesirable to the republican base. To GE where there is an actual choice to make and where the electorate was already more favorable to the Dem candidate. Two completely different electorates. In the Republican primaries the portion of the electorate that most reviles trump was not represented at all. The only electorate that was represented already had a shrinking portion of the GE pie and Trump is only making the GE numbers worse. He is not improving any of them. He is alienating every minority out there to levels never before seen and his standing with women is not any better.

President Barack Obama won the two-party vote among female voters in the 2012 election by 12 points, 56% to 44%, over Republican challenger Mitt Romney. Meanwhile, Romney won among men by an eight-point margin, 54% to 46%.

Donald Trump's image among U.S. women tilts strongly negative, with 70% of women holding an unfavorable opinion and 23% a favorable opinion of the Republican front-runner in March. Trump's unfavorable rating among women has been high since Gallup began tracking it last July, but after rising slightly last fall, it has increased even further since January.

Meanwhile with men he is at 58% possitive with 36% negative. By comparison leads 49 percent to 43 percent among men while trump vs clinton While he gets more male votes than Clinton (45% to 43%)

So while he is getting a much smaller portion of women he is also getting a smaller portion of men. None of the numbers add up for him none of them. Van Jones Doesn't get this because he is using republican party only data to make a comparison with the full electorate. Horrible sky is falling nonsense with no basis whatsoever in reality.

[Marr]

10. Hillary is not popular with the general public.

Her unfavorable numbers are almost unprecedented, in fact.

[Egnever]

11. Except when you compare them to trumps

His are worse in every category. In some cases by Huge margins.

[Marr]

13. True.

Still, I think it's hard to talk about anyone having an advantage here in terms of being liked. Hillary will electrify the right-wing in a way Trump could never hope to. Will Trump do the same on the left? I'm not so sure. Hillary certainly won't attract Independents. They despise her.

[Egnever]

15. Again Trump fairs worse

I am not saying she is our best candidate only that by every metric she beats trump.

http://www.cnn.com/2016/03/22/politics/2016-election-poll-donald-trump-hillary-clinton/

On the Republican side, Trump scores a net negative of -33, with a favorable rating of 24% compared to 57% of voters who view him unfavorably. On the Democratic side, Clinton fares only slightly better with a net negative of -21, registering a 31% favorable rating and a 52% unfavorable rating, according to the poll.

Independents?

http://www.wsj.com/articles/independents-are-souring-on-hillary-clinton-1462310510

That poll found that 20% of independents viewed Mrs. Clinton positively, compared with 62% who viewed her negatively.


Mr. Trump’s standing among independents is even worse than that of his would-be general-election rival. Just 19% of independents viewed Mr. Trump favorably in the latest poll, while 67% had a negative opinion.

Not good for either of them but again she doesn't have a lock on independent Scorn.. Trump does worse than her there as well.

As far as left VS right Trump has it far worse.


http://www.investors.com/politics/trump-gains-ground-on-clinton-but-both-have-sky-high-negatives/

Even among Republicans, 1-in-5 have a “very unfavorable” view of Trump, while only 31% view him very favorably. And conservatives are likelier to have a very unfavorable view of Trump than very favorable, 33% to 23%.

Far fewer people have a “very unfavorable” opinion of Clinton than Trump — 40% to Trump’s 51% — and she scores much better among Democrats than Trump does among Republicans

Hillary is certainly not the most well liked candidate, She is however better liked than trump and her base likes her much more than Trumps base does.

This doesn't even begin to address all the voter blocks Trump has actively alienated like women who comprise over 50% of the electorate and that Hillary is currently walking away with with almost 70% support.

[truebluegreen]

31. Not disputing that Hillary is likely less unpopular than Trump,

but what's the margin of error? As a GE candidate her negatives scare the crap out of me....and given my abysmal view of the Republican electorate, I can easily see them uniting behind whoever is their candidate, even if their candidate is a vulgar talking yam....with the exception of the Republican elite, who by definition are not numerous.

[FrodosPet]

32. And 538 said up to the end Hillary was going to crush Bernie in Michigan and Indiana

Ummmmm....

http://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/election-2016/primary-forecast/michigan-democratic/

According to our final polls-plus forecast, Hillary Clinton had a greater than 99% chance of winning the Michigan primary.

http://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/election-2016/primary-forecast/indiana-democratic/

According to our final polls-plus forecast, Hillary Clinton had a 90% chance of winning the Indiana primary.

In the general, Trump will win Indiana and might win Michigan. A lot of people are very frustrated with "The Establishment".

There is 6 months worth of WORK to do to keep Trump out of the White House.

[davidn3600]

20. Both candidates are unpopular which usually translates to poor turnout

No matter who wins, they will have a very rough presidency. Because neither one is liked as a person or a politician.

You won't be an effective leader when most of the country hates your guts.

[FrodosPet]

30. Her unfavorables seem to be a hinderance

His seem to be an asset.

[joshcryer]

7. Delusional.

[Bucky]

24. yes that's a good description for the country that is about to elect Trump

If you think this election isn't going to be razor close, you're delusional.

Dems have GOT to get their heads out of the sand on this one

[progressoid]

12. I stopped laughing a long time ago.

[MrTriumph]

14. Have you ever worked retail or customer service?

Standing in customer service line at Lowes, a middle age white guy cuts in line going directly to the attendant. He brusquely asks a question and then hurries off to shop or whatever. When I get to the attendant, I ask her if that is common. She says it is and then adds that she's been in her job for 9 years. She adds that it has gotten harder as customers are more demanding and demonstrate less courtesy.

[riderinthestorm]

25. TBH, I can't ever find anyone to help me in those big box stores. Invisible employees

I don't begrudge anyone cutting in with a terse "where's the bathroom?" question since I know its very possible that person may wander for 15+ minutes trying to locate the bathrooms or an employee (and damn you Home Depot for putting the bathrooms at the back of the store after wandering a virtual maze).

[Attorney in Texas]

16. If we nominate Hillary, we give up an advantage we'd have with independents. The disenfranchised

see that the system is rigged against them and in favor of the wealthiest Americans:



Many of these people (lost of whom are Democrats) do not prioritize immigration issues (either regarding the stupid fucking Mexican-border wall or the blatantly bigoted policies toward Muslims) or militaristic issues (illegally interventionist against ISIL and otherwise neo-isolationist) and so they are not as troubled as you or me by Trump's buffoonish rhetoric on these topics.

They see the main issue like this: the economy is broken and I am forgotten, and whatever else you might say about Trump and Hillary, he gets it and she doesn't.

I think the nomination is Hillary's to lose and - if nominated - the general election is hers to lose. But if Hillary does not see the pathway to losing against Trump, she may be destined to achieving only the level of success that Jeb, and Rubio, and Cruz managed when they underestimated Trump.

[TexasMommaWithAHat]

17. Trump was just on CNN

He talked a lot about "not being the policeman of the world." He says "we are a debtor nation," but we pay to support Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Japan, Germany, etc.

This is the one part of his message that actually resonates with me, and I AM NO TRUMP SUPPORTER! But I'm tired of the wars, wars, and more wars. I'm tired of paying for a global military presence.

Frankly, I am a Bernie supporter (because I don't want war and I do want healthcare!) but will vote for Hillary, if necessary, but her hawkish tendencies are not her strengths, imo. It's one of the big reasons I support Bernie! People are tired of supporting a bloated military and seeing our men and women come home in coffins.

So, yeah, Trump has a few talking points that will resonate with a lot of voters, and not just rabid right-wingers. Democrats underestimate him at their own peril, imo. I think it's a mistake for Hillary to think she has to appear hawkish. I think most Americans are tired of that.

[bjo59]

18. A government treats its people like sh*t long enough and this is what happens.

Various and sundry fascistic behavior does not rear its ugly head in economically healthy societies.

[anamnua]

19. This will be the worst mismatch

in presidential history. Hillary will tear him to shreds. I can't wait for the debates when she will brutally expose him for the windbag he is.

[backscatter712]

23. I hope you're right...

...but as George Carlin said, never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups...

[Bucky]

26. He's been exposed as a windbag over and over. It doesn't slow him down.

Trumpzilla used to be our joke about him trouncing rivals for the GOP nomination.

Now it's the description of how unfazeable he could be through November.

Please please take your head out of the sand

[GOPblows431]

21. After 2000 and 2004 I learned to never underestimate the GOP

Too many people in this country are foolish enough to vote for such terrible leaders.

[sorefeet]

38. I think those two elections were stolen

which is another thing to worry about with this election.

[spanone]

22. K&R...

[WhiteTara]

27. And he's getting great tips from Bernie.

[truebluegreen]

33. You think the Drumpf listens to Bernie?

Yeah, right.

[WhiteTara]

35. Yep. He said so this afternoon. He said he would be taking

quotes from Bernie to try to destroy Hillary. Do you think that Bernie and his supporters live in a vacuum?

[truebluegreen]

36. As if Drumpf wouldn't already use everything up to the kitchen sink

to destroy Hillary or anybody else. My question is, why are you listening to him and what makes you think his BS will influence anyone who would otherwise have voted for her? Like women, or minorities, or progressives, or whoever? He's been playing to his braindead bigoted base, now he has to reach people who aren't morans. If he succeeds, the US will deserve him.

[WhiteTara]

39. Do you live in the US?

And Bernie gave him sound bites to sway people who are on the fence.

[truebluegreen]

40. Do you live on this planet? Are you familiar with the

Republican way of doing things? Hillary has already provided all the soundbites he will ever need, even before he/they start making shit up. Sorry to say, she's a weak candidate and the only possible way for her to win was for the opposition to field an even weaker one. Which they did. Yea, us!

Fwiw, there may be some amusement value to be found in watching the elitist assholes who pushed for voter ID (i.e. voter suppression) laws try to reverse the process in time to defeat their own party's nominee.

[flying rabbit]

28. Trump has the greatest words

His words are the best.

[tblue37]

29. trump had consultants spend months listening to RW talk radio and FOX News

and pundits to find out what riled up the GOP base, and he planned his campaign around those talking points. He knows his audience well, and he plays them like a fiddle. He is not a smart man, but he is a cunning one, and we underestimate him at our peril.

[Initech]

34. Once again all this can be traced back to Reagan, Nixon, and the Southern Strategy.

They started the devaluing of our education system and the byproduct of 40 years of that? Donald Trump.

[HughBeaumont]

37. Only one side is "being an asshole".

There's kind of a chasm between "being an asshole" and "calling out bad logic and proving fictional arguments wrong".