"Well, what's wrong with slavery?"

Deathstrike · Aug 28, 2015

I'm not intelligent to form a political opinion. Still, I wanted to post a link to Johnathan Swift's "A Modest Proposal."

http://www.mercerislandschools.org/...ty/Domain/640/A Modest Proposal full text.pdf

Because it's pretty funny.

was · Aug 28, 2015

Homicidal_Squirrel said:
That's what moderate republicans are hoping for. It doesn't look like it's going to happen. Trump's numbers have continued to stay high. He keeps drawing large crowds of republican voters to his rallies.

...Just because a lot of people have been checking him out, doesn't mean that they will vote for him. Given the current media attention, I would attend one of his rallies simply to see if the circus lived up to the hype. Doesn't mean that I would ever vote for him. It's like going to see a car race in the hopes of seeing a crash. People are attracted to the spectacle.

...I have an innate distrust in polls. Not only are they premature at this point, but anybody with a basic knowledge in statistics could construct a poll that backs any position. It simply depends on the questions asked and the folks surveyed.

...Remember that nobody gave Obama much credit or attention back in the day before he won the Iowa caucuses.

"Let us not seek the Republican answer or the Democratic answer, but the right answer. Let us not seek to fix the blame for the past. Let us accept our own responsibility for the future."

John F. Kennedy

Dannyalcatraz · Aug 28, 2015

Remember that nobody gave Obama much credit or attention before he won the Iowa caucuses.

...plus there was Geraldine Ferrarro's gaffe- calling more attention to him by saying that the only reason anyone was talking about "the junior senator from Illinois" was his race.

Which was absolutely correct, but by saying it aloud into a reporter's microphone, she REALLY called America's attention to him.

Umbran · Aug 28, 2015

was said:
I do, however, find the alleged popularity of talk show host who merits no local billboards or television advertising less than credible.

This is the internet age. The idea that one needs local, printed advertising is, at this point, a bit quaint.

Put his name into Google, and after a couple news items about him, the top two hits are the radio stations website with links to his shows, and another to a page with his podcasts. A few down, and you find his stuff is available on iTunes. Being on AM radio no longer means you are only heard on local AM radio, and going on with him then need not indicate a "streching" on anyone's part.

I think Trump's current popularity is a basic, knee-jerk reaction by people fed up with an unresponsive government.

The reason may have been captured by Berkeley Breathed, in the new Bloom County:

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Dannyalcatraz said:
...but how many out there- left or right- will get that (true or not)?

The real question is, is that intentional use of Poe's Law on his part, allowing him to claim innocence, while actively seeking to inflame people?

Kramodlog · Aug 28, 2015

was said:
...The term 'anchor babies' has been present since the Regan elections in the 1980's.

It doesn't make more acceptable.

...I think Trump's current popularity is a basic, knee-jerk reaction by people fed up with an unresponsive government. IMO, his attraction will wane once the primaries get closer and people start actually getting serious about making a real choice.

Part of Trump's appeal might come from him yelling at government like an old man, but it is also his take on immigration that gives him his momemtum. His platform is focused on anti-immigration policies with an emphasis on Mexico. Build a giant wall, charge it to Mexico, deport 11 million people, change the constitution to prevent the babies of immigrants to become US citizens... He said many racist things about immigrants too, like they are the cause of rape in the US and he is forcing other Republicans candidates to say such horrible things. Basically, he gets support from racist people or people who do not think racism is a problem.

He is endorsed by white supremacist leaders. http://www.buzzfeed.com/andrewkaczy...ationalists-fired-up-to-support-do#.tdyZMmEmM

He has been cited as an inspiration by two men who beat up an Hispanic homeless man. http://time.com/4004579/donald-trump-homeless-hispanic-crime/

And at least one guy yelling "white power" at one of his rally. http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slat...lls_out_white_power_during_alabama_rally.html

He is being critriqued by Republicans for playing with white identity politics and even fascism. http://thefederalist.com/2015/08/21/are-republicans-for-freedom-or-white-identity-politics/ It is a bit ironic, since Republicans have been flirting with such concepts to get support from a part of the electorate for quite some time now. At least since Nixon's Southern Strategy.

From now on, the Republicans are never going to get more than 10 to 20 percent of the N-word vote and they don't need any more than that...but Republicans would be shortsighted if they weakened enforcement of the Voting Rights Act. The more N-word who register as Democrats in the South, the sooner the N-wordphobe whites will quit the Democrats and become Republicans. That's where the votes are. Without that prodding from the blacks, the whites will backslide into their old comfortable arrangement with the local Democrats.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_strategy#Introduction

Ryujin · Aug 28, 2015

goldomark said:
It doesn't make more acceptable.

Perhaps not but it is rather descriptive of the concept and it is a very real problem.

gamerprinter · Aug 28, 2015

goldomark said:
Well, its an attitude that is typical enough among Republicans...

Well I'd call myself Republican (more a centrist Republican than anything else), but I not only don't share this belief, I haven't heard this attitude from any Republican, let alone consider it "typical".

Kramodlog · Aug 28, 2015

Ryujin said:
Perhaps not but it is rather descriptive of the concept and it is a very real problem.

Why is it a real problem?

Dannyalcatraz · Aug 28, 2015

Umbran said:
The real question is, is that intentional use of Poe's Law on his part, allowing him to claim innocence, while actively seeking to inflame people?

I think it very much is.

Ryujin said:
Perhaps not but it is rather descriptive of the concept and it is a very real problem.

In all honesty, two weeks ago, I would have said much the same. However, I did a little research: immigration courts don't care about the legal status of anyone except the person before the bench. Illegal aliens with citizen children get deported just like those without; it is literally a legal non-factor. The kids either go with their folks, or their parents make arrangements for them to stay in the country with someone else.

So that phrase is out of my lexicon.

Umbran · Aug 28, 2015

gamerprinter said:
Well I'd call myself Republican (more a centrist Republican than anything else), but I not only don't share this belief, I haven't heard this attitude from any Republican, let alone consider it "typical".

His polling results suggest that agreement with his attitudes is not as uncommon as one might like.