Donald Trump

[Mike Javi Cooper]

Okay, I’m not going to quote every post this addresses but I think you’ll figure out what I’m addressing.

First I want to say that despite a few on TBH that are quick to allude to or even out right label the supporters of Trump as being uninformed, uneducated, deluded, stupid, misanthropic, narcissistic, etc. I do want to thank you for not calling us RACIST..


Now, Cruz is not an insider in the usually accepted connotation of the label. He is however an insider to the political arena having worked with and for Bush, and he has been in politics long enough to know how it all works. He has well demonstrated his knowledge and ability to play the mudslinging, misleading and negative campaigning of a consummate politician.

Therein lies the problem for the establishment on both sides of the aisle; he know how, but refuses to play the game of quid pro quo. He is an all or nothing kind of guy and while that is an admirable trait, it rarely ever accomplishes anything. In fact it’s easy to admire his penchant for strict constitutionalism, his demonstrated religious fervor and even his ambition to become president.

It is these very traits that have many people mesmerized and ready to follow him to the ends of the earth. And yet, those are also the very traits that will prevent him from achieving much of anything positive if he is elected president.

Reading children’s storybooks and filibustering will not move his or our agenda forward in the Senate or the House. And regardless of how many vetoes or lines in the sand he may draw as president, compromise and quid pro quo are the only means to get it done. If he digs his heals in; as I think he will and he has certainly exhibited his capability to do so, the results will not be in our favor.

The only way that this Cruz could have a positive effect on our agenda as president is for the conservative Senators and Representatives to stand with him and I just don’t think they’re willing to lose the money that would cost them.

Money…

Now that leads me to my next line of thinking. Many of Cruz’s supporters on here want to change how Washington business is done and think Cruz is the path to take.

But I wonder if they’ve thought of where his money is coming from, is it grassroots’ $5, $10, $20 dollar contributions or is it coming from lobbyists, corporations, and billionaire donors… You know what taking money from the latter is right… Washington business as usual. They pay.. He sells… you don’t take these people’s money and not deliver… it don’t work that way.

Finally, I like and even admire Cruz’s all are nothing attitude but he just won’t get anything positive done with that trait. He needs a President who not only knows how but is willing to play the quid pro quo game and that’s Trump… But Trump also needs Cruz to curb his trait for winning at all costs, especially when that cost becomes trampling on the constitution. A role for which Cruz is not only amply qualified, but one in which he would excel.

Now if someone would come forward with a sizeable dose of both men rolled into one, we could all jump on that bandwagon…

[muzzlebrake]

Okay, I’m not going to quote every post this addresses but I think you’ll figure out what I’m addressing.

First I want to say that despite a few on TBH that are quick to allude to or even out right label the supporters of Trump as being uninformed, uneducated, deluded, stupid, misanthropic, narcissistic, etc. I do want to thank you for not calling us RACIST..


Now, Cruz is not an insider in the usually accepted connotation of the label. He is however an insider to the political arena having worked with and for Bush, and he has been in politics long enough to know how it all works. He has well demonstrated his knowledge and ability to play the mudslinging, misleading and negative campaigning of a consummate politician.

Therein lies the problem for the establishment on both sides of the aisle; he know how, but refuses to play the game of quid pro quo. He is an all or nothing kind of guy and while that is an admirable trait, it rarely ever accomplishes anything. In fact it’s easy to admire his penchant for strict constitutionalism, his demonstrated religious fervor and even his ambition to become president.

It is these very traits that have many people mesmerized and ready to follow him to the ends of the earth. And yet, those are also the very traits that will prevent him from achieving much of anything positive if he is elected president.

Reading children’s storybooks and filibustering will not move his or our agenda forward in the Senate or the House. And regardless of how many vetoes or lines in the sand he may draw as president, compromise and quid pro quo are the only means to get it done. If he digs his heals in; as I think he will and he has certainly exhibited his capability to do so, the results will not be in our favor.

The only way that this Cruz could have a positive effect on our agenda as president is for the conservative Senators and Representatives to stand with him and I just don’t think they’re willing to lose the money that would cost them.

Money…

Now that leads me to my next line of thinking. Many of Cruz’s supporters on here want to change how Washington business is done and think Cruz is the path to take.

But I wonder if they’ve thought of where his money is coming from, is it grassroots’ $5, $10, $20 dollar contributions or is it coming from lobbyists, corporations, and billionaire donors… You know what taking money from the latter is right… Washington business as usual. They pay.. He sells… you don’t take these people’s money and not deliver… it don’t work that way.

Finally, I like and even admire Cruz’s all are nothing attitude but he just won’t get anything positive done with that trait. He needs a President who not only knows how but is willing to play the quid pro quo game and that’s Trump… But Trump also needs Cruz to curb his trait for winning at all costs, especially when that cost becomes trampling on the constitution. A role for which Cruz is not only amply qualified, but one in which he would excel.

Now if someone would come forward with a sizeable dose of both men rolled into one, we could all jump on that bandwagon…

Hence the reason I have never voted FOR someone. Always had to vote against someone. Dang it!

[Mike Javi Cooper]

Hence the reason I have never voted FOR someone. Always had to vote against someone. Dang it!

Well at least for now I get to vote for someone. After the convention that may change. Regardless of who emerges as the nominee after the dust settles I will vote against a socialist.

[Joshua Flournoy]

Okay, I’m not going to quote every post this addresses but I think you’ll figure out what I’m addressing.

Mike, I can't speak for you, but in my opinion, the problem with Washington isn't that not enough deals are getting done, it's that too many deals are getting done, and they're getting done to benefit the people in office and the corporate and special interests that helped to put them there and keep them there. Congress by and large is NOT representing the voters that sent them there, and Republican members of Congress in particular are all too often way too willing to surrender with their arms raised high without putting up any kind of fight, or anything more than a "show" fight. They'd rather maintain the status quo than to rock the boat, they have no political will.

Voters are SICK AND TIRED of Washington corruption, graft, crony capitalism and influence peddling for people who are there only for their own self aggrandizement, advancement and gratification. Trump has bragged and bragged about how he is a part of that very system with all the politicians he's bought. I don't know about you, but I want LESS of that in Washington, not MORE!

I am angry as heck that our Republican Congressmen and Senators are way too willing to do deals with and give in to Obama. Why on earth would I want a "Republican" President in there who is going to do the same thing in reverse, by doing deals with the opposition, Democrats in Congress?

As Rush Limbaugh has said many times over the years:

"I don't want Republicans to get along with and work with the Democrats in Congress and the White House, I want Republicans to DEFEAT THEM and their IDEAS."

Getting along with and doing "deals" is exactly what Donald Trump will do with his buddies Schumer, Pelosi, Reid and the list goes on and on. And with his entire adult life being made up of positions that are ones more often held by Liberal Democrats than Conservative Republicans, why, why, why would I trust Trump to advocate for Constitutional, Conservative Values when he has NO history of doing so in the past, before he was running for office?

And by the way, I'm pretty sure that only Bernie Sanders and Ben Carson have more small $ donors than Ted Cruz does. Cruz has had something like 800,000 individuals give money to his campaign since he announced last Spring, and the average donation size is around $65 I believe. For Jeb Bush, the average donation size is somewhere around $900. And that is exactly the difference between why Jeb is having such a hard time gaining traction with the voters and Cruz is not (despite Jeb having spent around 25 times as much $ as Cruz has), because support behind Cruz is a bottom/grassroots-UP movement, whereas Jeb's candidacy is a top-DOWN effort led by corporate and special interests, not voters.

If Cruz is elected President, the Republicans in Congress will work with him to pass Constitutionally appropriate legislation, because if they do not, they will get thrown out on their collective ears when they're next up for re-election by the voters back home. I know you think that what Washington wants, Washington gets (Hillary), but I believe that voters still hold all the power if they will only use it wisely. And putting in office a charlatan who cares for nothing so much as himself, and whose whole life has been about crony capitalism and influence peddling, is not a wise use of such a precious responsibility as voting.

[Joshua Flournoy]

I will vote against a socialist

Must not be terribly important to you, since Trump is a full-throated advocate of Socialist, Government run healthcare.

[Mike Javi Cooper]

And by the way, I'm pretty sure that only Bernie Sanders and Ben Carson have more small $ donors than Ted Cruz does. Cruz has had something like 800,000 individuals give money to his campaign since he announced last Spring, and the average donation size is around $65 I believe. For Jeb Bush, the average donation size is somewhere around $900. And that is exactly the difference between why Jeb is having such a hard time gaining traction with the voters and Cruz is not (despite Jeb having spent around 25 times as much $ as Cruz has), because support behind Cruz is a bottom/grassroots-UP movement, whereas Jeb's candidacy is a top-DOWN effort led by corporate and special interests, not voters.

Really.... https://www.opensecrets.org/politici...m=N&cycle=2016

If Cruz is elected President, the Republicans in Congress will work with him to pass Constitutionally appropriate legislation, because if they do not, they will get thrown out on their collective ears when they're next up for re-election by the voters back home. I know you think that what Washington wants, Washington gets (Hillary), but I believe that voters still hold all the power if they will only use it wisely. And putting in office a charlatan who cares for nothing so much as himself, and whose whole life has been about crony capitalism and influence peddling, is not a wise use of such a precious responsibility as voting.

No... if Cruz is elected president the Republicans in both houses will not work with him, if they were going to they would have already.. As for voting them out... good luck with that. The voting conservative public will do just what we all do... vote against the liberal when faced with a choice and we all know that in the political arena our choices are given to us by the party, we don't really get to choose..

[Shane]

I have more confidence in the Constitution than I do in any particular candidate. As for me, I'm most angry about how politicians have been using the Constitution for toilet paper. Quid pro quo deal making at the taxpayers' expense is the problem. I'm not looking for someone who is interested in continuing that game. I'm looking for a candidate who understands the Constitution and is committed to making Washington, D.C. abide by it again. I'm looking for a President who will appoint Supreme Court justices that are committed to the Constitution, as written, as well.

We have many problems as a nation. Many are caused by government corruption. The only solution to those is for us to return to the Constitution. We're not going to regain the nation that we once had simply by choosing a different person to thumb his nose at the Constitution in different ways.

I understand the appeal of Trump for lots of people. It is very appealing and tempting to jump on the bandwagon of a guy who will be an authoritarian like Obama, only (hopefully) would be doing things that we like instead of all the stuff that Obama has been doing. But that isn't what our nation is supposed to be, and if we continue down that pathway, we'll never get back what we once had.

I understand why some people don't like Cruz too. He's not as personable as some, and he's not the darling of the media. He's single-minded in his commitment to his principles, and that turns some people off. But I believe that is the kind of president we need at this point in history. We need someone who is focused on returning us to our Constitutional form of government. We don't need more compromise or more deals with the socialists or with the big government establishment power merchants. That stuff is the cause of our problems. More of it won't be the fix.

I wish we had a guy that had Trump's ability to play the media and the crowds while also being an expert on the Constitution and who was committed to restoring the Constitution to its rightful place in our government's function the way Cruz is. Since we don't have all of that in one candidate though, I'll take the guy that is the committed Constitutionalist over the media guy who likes to make deals.

If Trump wins, we may not lose everything as fast as we would with Hillary or Bernie, but we'll end up in the same place. He will appoint Supreme Court justices who are deal makers too. That will be game, set, and match for the socialists. It may take them a little longer that way, but they'll still win. The only way we beat them is to get recommitted to the Constitution now and do everything we can to make sure that the Supreme Court remains that way as well. Without that, we're done. It's just a matter of when.

Cruz isn't without flaws. He isn't perfect or ideal. But he's, by far, the best choice we have at this point in our nation's history, in my opinion.

[Shane]

No... if Cruz is elected president the Republicans in both houses will not work with him, if they were going to they would have already.. As for voting them out... good luck with that. The voting conservative public will do just what we all do... vote against the liberal when faced with a choice and we all know that in the political arena our choices are given to us by the party, we don't really get to choose..

The Republicans in the Congress would certainly work with Cruz as president. They are spineless against Obama because they know that he'll veto whatever they want, and they're afraid of the media blaming them for a dreaded government "shutdown" or whatever. But that won't happen with a Republican in the White House. Plus, they won't have Obama and the NSA blackmailing them anymore either. The establishment types only care about getting reelected. If Cruz wins, they will have all the political cover they need to go along with him. Right now they don't, so they're spineless.

[Mike Javi Cooper]

Must not be terribly important to you, since Trump is a full-throated advocate of Socialist, Government run healthcare.

Do you really believe that a consummate capitalist would really want single payer healthcare? Which is Trump? A Socialist who wants everyone to be equal or an unmitigated capitalist who takes the home of old ladies for personal gain...

you can't smear jelly on both sides of the bread at the same time without getting sticky...

[Mike Javi Cooper]

The Republicans in the Congress would certainly work with Cruz as president. They are spineless against Obama because they know that he'll veto whatever they want, and they're afraid of the media blaming them for a dreaded government "shutdown" or whatever. But that won't happen with a Republican in the White House. Plus, they won't have Obama and the NSA blackmailing them anymore either. The establishment types only care about getting reelected. If Cruz wins, they will have all the political cover they need to go along with him. Right now they don't, so they're spineless.

They will be faithful to their donor masters, not to the people who voted them into office because they were the lessor of the evils... Admit it.. you know this but hope for the other.

I do too by the way or at least I used to.. There is only one way to right this ship and it isn't in a voting booth... it just hasn't gotten bad enough yet... one day it will, maybe not in our lifetimes but it will.

[Shane]

Do you really believe that a consummate capitalist would really want single payer healthcare? Which is Trump? A Socialist who wants everyone to be equal or an unmitigated capitalist who takes the home of old ladies for personal gain...

you can't smear jelly on both sides of the bread at the same time without getting sticky...

Trump has supported single payer health insurance in the past. Lately, he won't talk in detail about it, but he says that he'll cover everybody and the government will pay for it. It's hard to determine what his actual thoughts and plans are for healthcare, as he doesn't give any more detail than that. But it sounds more like government-run health insurance than anything else.

[Shane]

They will be faithful to their donor masters, not to the people who voted them into office because they were the lessor of the evils... Admit it.. you know this but hope for the other.

I do too by the way or at least I used to.. There is only one way to right this ship and it isn't in a voting booth... it just hasn't gotten bad enough yet... one day it will, maybe not in our lifetimes but it will.

They want donor money to buy campaigns and get votes to get reelected. They want votes and money. Votes = money to them. Money = votes. They don't care which comes first. They want both. They're both the same.

Republicans in Congress will gladly work with any Republican president. Most of them are afraid to stand up to a Democrat president though.

[Shane]

Putting Trump in office gets us to bullets flying faster, I'm sure. He's as divisive as Obama is, and he inspires the same behavior in the masses.

I don't believe it's too late to win with the ballot box.

[Mike Javi Cooper]

Trump has supported single payer health insurance in the past. Lately, he won't talk in detail about it, but he says that he'll cover everybody and the government will pay for it. It's hard to determine what his actual thoughts and plans are for healthcare, as he doesn't give any more detail than that. But it sounds more like government-run health insurance than anything else.

He has said that he wants healthcare to be competitive across state lines.... doesn't sound like single payer to me..

[Shane]

Just saw where Scalia passed away. Obama will likely get to appoint his replacement.

We dang sure better put somebody in the White House next year who will get the Court back for us.