2016 Postmortem
Related: About this forumDemocratic lawmaker says Trump could be a secret Clinton plant: Bill and Donald ‘are buddies
For a long time, theres been a conspiracy theory floating around that presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump decided to run for office at the behest of the Clinton family as a way to destroy the GOP and pave the way for Hillary Clintons presidency.
Now at least one Democratic congresswoman is openly musing about the idea that this conspiracy has some truth to it.
In an interview with The National Review, Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-OH) talks about rumors shes heard about Trump being a secret Clinton plant and she cant dismiss the idea entirely.
There are some theories on the internet that this is Bill Clintons best political deal, says Kaptur, who supported Hillary Clintons rival Bernie Sanders in this years Democratic primary. That he and Donald are buddies, and they have a lot of similar friends in New York, and he has masterfully selected a friend who maybe by October will say, You know, this is very boring. And Im going to get out. Do I believe it 100 percent, do I believe it 2 percent? You know, you really wonder.
While its unlikely that Trump is in cahoots with Bill Clinton to ensure a Hillary Clinton victory this fall, it is true that Trump has acted exactly as youd expect a pro-Clinton plant to act. After all, hes sown division and chaos within the Republican Party and has also helped drive the GOPs favorable ratings to their lowest ever.
In other words, even if hes not a plant, hes doing a really good job of acting like one.
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http://www.rawstory.com/2016/06/democratic-lawmaker-says-trump-could-be-a-secret-clinton-plant-bill-and-donald-are-buddies/
tonyt53
(5,737 posts)Nobody said the GOP had the lock on the stupid gene.
Hortensis
(58,785 posts)the excellent position Hillary entered the race in, it is also virtually impossible to imagine Trump keeping such a humongous secret or anyone trusting him with one that would almost certainly lead to long prison terms if revealed. Gee, what if something said during the GE offended this ticking time bomb?
Above all, this kind of election tampering is extremely illegal and thus way beyond just dangerous. Conducted at the presidential level, subverting a party that represents a third to half of all voters?! The entire nation would be calling for the conspirators' heads. Including us.
Kentonio
(4,377 posts)RandySF
(58,669 posts)DonViejo
(60,536 posts)the Ohio GOP drew up.
msanthrope
(37,549 posts)woodsprite
(11,908 posts)It'll be interesting to see how it plays out.
tonyt53
(5,737 posts)1StrongBlackMan
(31,849 posts)JackRiddler
(24,979 posts)"This is a plot to get 81% for Clinton."
Not that there's evidence enough available to back it.
GreatGazoo
(3,937 posts)but then treats it as nothing unusual:
http://www.people.com/article/chelsea-clinton-ivanka-trump-friends
Live and Learn
(12,769 posts)to start his own show. He didn't need to run for that.
I believe Trump wanted to ensure Bush didn't win and to ensure a Clinton victory. I am sure he would expect some payoffs later.
cali
(114,904 posts)that makes this theory utterly ridiculous.
But IF it were true, it would be the most brilliant political ploy of all time. The Big Dog would have engineered not just the election of his wife but the destruction of the party that has been trying to ruin him for 30 years.
But it's not realistic, especially if you look at Mr. Trump's life and behavior. Most likely, he and Mr. Clinton spoke casually and Mr. Trump said something like, "I'm thinking of running for president. Whaddya think, Bill?" Mr. Clinton would likely have said, "Donald, you can do anything you want." The Donald would have heard that as a ringing endorsement.
Sometimes, it's fun to make up shit!
MADem
(135,425 posts)In_The_Wind
(72,300 posts)grossproffit
(5,591 posts)still_one
(92,110 posts)course we see some Sanders supporters only too willing to believe this bullshit
Sanders lost the nomination because more Democrats wanted Hillary over Bernie. Some seem to have a problem with that.
There are also some here on DU that sing praises to a so-called progressive site which refers to Hillary with the most sexist vulgar terms, with descriptions that if there was "cosmic justice she would stroke out", along with such hate and animosity, that it would be unrecognizable from an extreme right wing hate group
This is sad and pathetic, and Monday cannot come too soon
MyNameGoesHere
(7,638 posts)gordianot
(15,237 posts)CBGLuthier
(12,723 posts)The Clintons and the Trumps sure are a bunch of swell pals.
grossproffit
(5,591 posts)DonViejo
(60,536 posts)First sentence, fourth paragraph:
There are some theories on the internet that this is Bill Clintons best political deal, says Kaptur, who supported Hillary Clintons rival Bernie Sanders in this years Democratic primary.
grossproffit
(5,591 posts)DonViejo
(60,536 posts)felix_numinous
(5,198 posts)very scripted from the very start and all the way through, and going off script is not allowed.
billymike
(122 posts)Trump and Clinton did meet before the primary season; that has been well-documented.
Consider the relative craziness of American political culture, which surpasses anything I've seen in fifty years.
A year from now, in retrospect, if you were to find that this theory were true, would you really be surprised?
Good for you for catching this update to the theory, DonViego!
Tierra_y_Libertad
(50,414 posts)Live and Learn
(12,769 posts)LenaBaby61
(6,974 posts)The woman mentioned in this "crazy" article saying that tRump could be a Clinton plant endorsed by Bernie?
Oh, I see ....
DonViejo
(60,536 posts)corner, from Cleveland to the state line. She defeated Dennis Kucinich
quickesst
(6,280 posts)This is pure batshit woo-woo, but let's play with it a little. Say it was true. How could anyone fault Bill and Hillary Clinton for taking the hugest step ever taken in destroying the Republican Party. A goal near and dear to all Progressive Democrats. Would this bait-and-switch be dishonest? I don't think so since it would clearly be playing by republican rules ie, redistricting, voter suppression, etc, and I could go on. In conclusion, if it were true I would have one thing to say.... Well played Mr. And Ms. Clinton, well played.
oasis
(49,365 posts)When a member of congress introduces tinfoil bullshit and believes it will HELP VOTER TURNOUT,
it puts her fitness to hold office in question.
sadoldgirl
(3,431 posts)Many decry him as a stupid megalomaniac or narcissist,
while is a very shrewd manipulator.
Anyone running for that office would never insult
every part of the citizens, which is not white and
male. He will get worse, and I wonder how the repug
leadership will take his "be quiet" order.
He loves to play mischief with their party, and I don't
think that he wants this job at all.
Much easier for him to help HRC to win and later
to collect her debt to him. Makes perfect sense for
those, who have seen the Clintons' triangulations.
grossproffit
(5,591 posts)sadoldgirl
(3,431 posts)He makes such outrageous remarks that the
Convention will turn him down. Then he claims to
be furious and runs as an independent, and the repugs
will lose anyway.
If he becomes the nominee he will lose as well.
Thus the triangulation will have worked.
grossproffit
(5,591 posts)Live and Learn
(12,769 posts)Live and Learn
(12,769 posts)sufrommich
(22,871 posts)That hardly ever happens.
BootinUp
(47,135 posts)zappaman
(20,606 posts)Well, except get Jeb the nomination.
Otherwise they can do ANYTHING!
jamese777
(546 posts)who has donated money on several occasions to his Democratic opponent's presidential and senate campaigns and to her foundation.
Kelvin Mace
(17,469 posts)and I wish I could dismiss it out of hand as preposterous.
I am holding out hope that Trump is really Andy Kaufman in a orange rubber mask.
Response to DonViejo (Original post)
Name removed Message auto-removed
DesertRat
(27,995 posts)Live and Learn
(12,769 posts)jamese777
(546 posts)and your enemies closer."
1StrongBlackMan
(31,849 posts)AzDar
(14,023 posts)ucrdem
(15,512 posts)The phone call has been discussed here for at least a year, and the part about Trump being ready taking a fall for Hillary has been around since at least Christmas because it was old news to my RW relations.
Why is Kaptur giving interviews to the National Review anyway?
eastwestdem
(1,220 posts)Peachhead22
(1,078 posts)...when I strongly suspected Trump was just messin with Pubs' heads. Back in the primary when he was like Stephen Colbert during the Colbert Report days. Spouting crap we only thought Pubs' said between themselves in hushed tones. The he came right out and said "Bush lied" to get us into Iraq. And I thought "OK now he's totally f*ckin with them". Most high-profile Dems try to be more polite than that. But a high profile 'Pub saying that? I couldn't believe my ears.
But at this stage, Trump has spent hundreds of millions of his own money on this. And been this batshit crazy for several years now, at least. If it's a con, then Trump is the greatest performance artist the world has ever seen.
Live and Learn
(12,769 posts)bvar22
(39,909 posts)but as far as Bill Clinton is concerned, he would befriend the devil if he thought there was a buck in it for him.
Come to think of it, weren't the famous "crossroads" where you cut your "deal" in Arkansas?
Doctor_J
(36,392 posts)with her stratospheric negatives, it would be difficult for her to get a majority against a normal candidate imo. sanders was nice to her during the primary campaign, and many who support her policies would get similar things from a moderate republican. trump is certainly making this easy for her.
jamese777
(546 posts)Bernie Sanders.
Hillary Clinton: 16,544,036 (55.8%)
Bernie Sanders: 12,743,066 (42.8%)
Live and Learn
(12,769 posts)Juicy_Bellows
(2,427 posts)"In other words, even if hes not a plant, hes doing a really good job of acting like one. "
Which is why a shred of credibility exists for Kaptur's theory.
wiggs
(7,811 posts)able to nominate someone who didn't win the GOP primaries (frankly, that's the only way a gop nominee will win the general election). Trump won't be the nominee. He's going to quit, just after he:
...drives his unfavorables so high he can't win, and in the process makes any other potential gop nominee look like a savior
...raises no money, spends no money on a general election campaign
...acts as a 24/7 distraction so that dems and Hillary focus on him rather than on really poor gop policies over the last 40 years. She should really be talking about broad themes, not Trump
...inks a deal with the RNC, Adelson, the Kochs, and probably Romney to drop out. 500 million. He avoids losing. He makes tons of money. He gets over on EVERYBODY, dems and pugs, which is the only thing he really cares about. Only a handful of people need to know about it
...just after he sees that he can claim that the RNC has screwed him, justifying that he can quit. He won't say he's quitting because he's going to lose, he'll quit because he'll say he's not going to continue make a Huge sacrifice in time and money for a party that doesn't support him. And more and more goprs clearly have gotten a signal that it's OK to criticize Trump...something formerly forbidden since Reagan. The signal was given because it's essential that it be clear Trump doesn't have full GOP support.
No one who wants to win acts as he does.
He's a Trojan Horse....he's a false front....He's going to fake his own political death in order to profit enormously when the gop either buys him out or he sues their asses off. There's no way he stays in, facing 70% disapproval and certain defeat. He doesn't have the character required to risk that. 500 million is nothing for the gop, to stave off not only a presidential loss but defeats up and down the ballot. Won't happen.
If he was in it for the Clintons, he would have run as an independent.
Jamaal510
(10,893 posts)have so much power, that gives me an even larger incentive to vote for HC in November!
This would be extremely funny if there weren't actual people out there who believe it. I've encountered plenty of posters on The Grio and TPM's FB pages who buy the theories about the Clintons and Trump being "friends" and about them secretly asking him to be in the race so HC could win. What would he have to gain from running into tons of protesters who hate him (and sometimes want to kill him), and spending many months doing debates and speeches only to throw the election? Plus, she was defeating all of their candidates in many different polls, not just Trump.
Paranoia and a lack of critical thinking aren't exclusive to RWers, apparently. People are acting like this is a game, but it's not. We're an election away from having someone who is under-qualified, racist, sexist, xenophobic, etc. running the free world.
Live and Learn
(12,769 posts)JohnnyRingo
(18,622 posts)To imagine the Clintons planting him so he could go on to become the GOP candidate is a stretch of incredible proportions.
HereSince1628
(36,063 posts)Maybe we should consider the possibility that it either believes it is a duck or is playing the role of a duck on tv and at campaign rallies near you.
The appearances given off by this primary have been gob-smacking.
yardwork
(61,588 posts)OilemFirchen
(7,143 posts)joshcryer
(62,269 posts)So there's that.
2cannan
(344 posts)are probably huge Clinton haters and if they thought tRUMP was selling them out they might leave him in droves!