1 of 1- Goose
- Cogito ergo sum
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Where will the Defeated Turn?
It appears as if Trump has some fence mending to do. Many republicans are flirting with the idea of voting for Hillary Clinton. Is it real? I doubt it. People say a great many things in the heat of battle. I remember when Rush Limbaugh famously threatened to move to Costa Rica if Obama won. But he, of course, never did. I predict that most will get in line behind Donald, and get a good hate on for Clinton. They will conveniently forget that their standard bearer once donated money to the Clintons, once supported partial birth abortions,,,,,,,,,,,,
The flip side of the issue is, where do the 18-29 year olds who love Sanders turn? Will they get on board with Hillary? Defect to Trump?
Past data on voter turnout suggest another possibility. They may stay home.
Donald Trump’s Victory Has Some in G.O.P. Agonizing — or Bolting
Now that Donald J. Trump is the presumptive presidential nominee, a parade of prominent Republican leaders is breaking with the traditions and rituals of party unity and offering him a blunt message:
Nope. Never. I can’t. I won’t.
In a flurry of social media posts and interviews over the last 24 hours, these Republicans raced to distance themselves from Mr. Trump, delivering a remarkable rebuke to him at precisely the moment when parties usually coalesce around a candidacy.
Mark Salter, a longtime strategist for Senator John McCain of Arizona, sounded resigned and disgusted as he said the unthinkable: He was now prepared to back Hillary Clinton.
“The GOP is going to nominate for President a guy who reads the National Enquirer and thinks it’s on the level,” he wrote on Twitter late Tuesday. “I’m with her.”
The dissenters, who range from wizened elders to younger strategists and even elected officials, are loudly and publicly proclaiming their unwillingness to support Mr. Trump.
Many have expressed reservations about him in the past, but left open the possibility they might back him in the future. Now they are forcefully foreclosing that option.
“I think Donald Trump has proven to be unbalanced and uniquely unqualified to be president. I won’t support him,” said Stuart Stevens, the top strategist for Mitt Romney’s 2012 presidential campaign. “Everyone has to make their own choice. I think Trump is despicable and will prove to be a disaster for the party. I’d urge everyone to continue to oppose him.”
Senator Ben Sasse of Nebraska, an up-and-coming Tea Party Republican many view as a future leader of the party, wasted little time disassociating himself from the current unofficial one.
Alluding to an essay he wrote in February, in which he denounced Mr. Trump as a destructive force bent on dividing the country, Mr. Sasse answered those who asked “if Indiana changes anything for me.”
“The answer is simple,” he said: “No.”
Perhaps the most startling sentiments belonged to Republicans who said they would cross party lines to avoid elevating Mr. Trump.
A terse Twitter message, “#ImWithHer,” from Ben Howe, a contributing editor to the conservative website Redstate.com, immediately went viral. In a series of colorful follow-up posts, Mr. Howe despaired over the fate of his party with Mr. Trump as its nominee.
“Goodbye @GOP,” Mr. Howe wrote, adding: “I’m drinking wine directly out of the bottle right now. #NeverTrump.”
Steve Deace, a conservative radio show host in Iowa, said he would never waver from his pledge to oppose Mr. Trump to the end.
“You can sign my name in blood,” he wrote on Twitter.
As Republicans raced to social media to declare their unshakable opposition to Mr. Trump, some expressed hope that a national movement might still arise to stop him; others alluded to the harsh judgments of history and said they wanted to be on the right side of it.
“I will never vote for @realDonaldTrump. Join me and add your name at NeverTrump.com,” wrote Patrick Ruffini, the founder of a Washington political media firm.
It was difficult to say how many top Republicans intended to break with the party’s presumptive nominee. Mr. Trump on Tuesday night extended an olive branch to his detractors and asserted, without offering any names, that many of those who had mocked him in the past were now privately pledging their support.
“They are calling now,” he said, with characteristic bravado. “And they are calling to say, ‘We’d love to get on the train.’ The Trump train. We have a lot of people coming.”
Tony Fratto, a former deputy press secretary to President George W. Bush, was not among them. On Tuesday night, he reiterated his deep distaste for Mr. Trump.
“For the thick-headed,” he wrote, “#NeverTrump means never ever ever ever ever under any circumstances as long as I have breath never Trump. Get it?”
Several well-known Republicans, sounding startled and saddened by the turn of events, publicly agonized over their decisions on Tuesday.
Lanhee J. Chen, a foreign policy adviser to Mr. Romney in 2012 and to Senator Marco Rubio of Florida in this campaign, said he was looking for options outside the party. Mr. Trump’s victory in Indiana, Mr. Chen wrote on Twitter, “raises seriousness and urgency of discussions about third-party alternative.”
Corey Adair, a former director of the Nevada Republican Party, went further, saying his disdain for Mr. Trump had hardened into a firm rejection.
He mocked supporters of Mr. Trump, who he said have taunted him for some time. “You’ll come around,” he wrote, mimicking their pleas.
“Nah,” he added. “I won’t. #NeverTrump.”
Last edited by Goose (5/04/2016 5:48 am)
We live in a time in which decent and otherwise sensible people are surrendering too easily to the hectoring of morons or extremists.
- Goose
- Cogito ergo sum
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Re: Where will the Defeated Turn?
Some interesting graphs to look at below. Basically voter turnout oscillates in all demographics, trending up during presidential election years, and downward in midterms. This reflects the problem that we identified earlier in which we put too little emphasis on offices below the presidency.
Now, if you look at turnout by age, you see that 18-29 year olds have the worst record at showing up. I wonder if, after the excitement of the Sanders campaign is over, will 18-29 year olds show up come November, in numbers that are decisive. I don't think so.
Last edited by Goose (5/04/2016 6:11 am)
We live in a time in which decent and otherwise sensible people are surrendering too easily to the hectoring of morons or extremists.
- •
Thread Starter- tennyson
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Re: Where will the Defeated Turn?
Oh, I think there are a number of R-tribe registered voters that will not vote for Trump (or abstain) in the General Election..
Right here is one of them -- ME !
"Do not confuse motion and progress, A rocking horse keeps moving but does not make any progress"
- TheLagerLad
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Re: Where will the Defeated Turn?
I'm still having a really hard time wrapping my head around the fact that Donald Freaking Trump is going to be the nominee of a major political party in the United States of America.
And that this is going to be our final two candidates for President
I just feel like this is the biggest scam ever played on the American people.
I think you're going to see a lot of different United States of America over the next three, four, or eight years. - President Donald J. Trump
- Just Fred
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Re: Where will the Defeated Turn?
I just feel like this is the biggest scam ever played on the American people.
Maybe so, Lager, but this is what the majorities in both tribes wanted. Let's not lose sight of the fact we have congresspersons and governorships and court justices and local officials to elect. In the end, that could be more important.
- Goose
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Re: Where will the Defeated Turn?
TheLagerLad wrote:
I'm still having a really hard time wrapping my head around the fact that Donald Freaking Trump is going to be the nominee of a major political party in the United States of America.
And that this is going to be our final two candidates for President
I just feel like this is the biggest scam ever played on the American people.
As they say; a picture is worth a thousand words.
We live in a time in which decent and otherwise sensible people are surrendering too easily to the hectoring of morons or extremists.
- •
Thread Starter- TheLagerLad
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Re: Where will the Defeated Turn?
I just feel like this is the biggest scam ever played on the American people.
Maybe so, Lager, but this is what the majorities in both tribes wanted.
I agree and I think we all wish we maybe would have taken an earlier and closer look at some of the candidates that fell to the wayside. (I mean, was Martin O'Malley really that bad of an option? Why did conservatives despise John Kasich so much?)
Let's not lose sight of the fact we have congresspersons and governorships and court justices and local officials to elect. In the end, that could be more important.
Here's the thing about that Fred. Congresspeople only matter if they are able to take back power from the executive and from the leadership of their parties.
Governorship and state house and Senate races only matter if we elect people who are willing to pull back from the centralized power from Washington.
Let's have wide open eyes about this. Both Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton will expand the scope, breadth and bureaucracy of the federal government. Trump, in a more authoritative sense, and Hillary in a classic liberal big government sense.
So yeah, I agree state and local government leaders are important. But, if more and more tax dollars flow to Washington and less is kept in state and local communities, there will be less those officials can do other than hold their hats out and hope the White House and Congress see them worthy of access to it.
I think you're going to see a lot of different United States of America over the next three, four, or eight years. - President Donald J. Trump