We're talking about Donald Trump here. Wasting time and making good tv is the core of his existence. Having said that, I never saw the point other than the fact that it would amuse me.
A caucus system is democratic, it absolutely satisfies the definition of democracy and it's a shame it's not employed all over the world more rather than individualized primary system which isolates people from each other and engenders a culture of selfishness. If anything the biggest problem with the caucus system is that it hasn't been modernized and simplified. It would also help if independents could vote and people had some serious f'ing time off BEFORE AND DURING voting so that states could harness some real debate, some real thought without worrying about what your boss is going to think. And FYI the most undemocratic part of the process is without question the super delegate system.
An excellent column by a familiar name to those who have followed the Clintons, as I have, since Bill first ran for President. The name? Paul Begala. Want real insight into the Republicans who have been attempting to destroy the Clintons since 1992? Want to know just what kind of people Hillary and Bernie are running against, whichever one gets the nomination? Interested in the truth? Here it is: Donald Trump's Clinton strategy is for losers by Paul Begala (CNN)As Donald Trump launches a series of zombie attacks, digging up long-dead personal accusations and wild conspiracy theories to attack Bill and Hillary Clinton, he might want to take a look at how that strategy has fared in the past. The politics of personal destruction, which Trump has embraced with gusto, are certain to fail. Republicans used the strategy relentlessly against Bill Clinton. He was accused by right-wing conspiracy mongers of murder, rape, real estate fraud -- pretty much everything except complicity in the Kennedy assassination. Every time, at every turn, in every instance, Clinton conspiracy buffs have failed with this. It is a strategy for losers. Clinton won 33 states twice, dominating the GOP in two presidential elections. He became the first president since Reconstruction to gain seats in the sixth year of his presidency as voters punished Republicans for pursuing an illegitimate, partisan impeachment. Indeed, the only bright spot for the Republicans during the era of Bill Clinton was the 1994 midterms when the GOP won a landslide by setting aside personal attacks and nationalizing the election around hot-button issues such as gun control, gays in the military, and taxes. After eight years of unremitting scandalmongering by his adversaries, Bill Clinton left office the most popular president in the history of polling. What about Clinton's tormenters? They litter the ash heap of history. Special persecutor Ken Starr's obsession with Clinton's consensual affair has been compared to Inspector Javert in "Les Miserables." And on Thursday, Starr lost his job as president of the conservative Baptist Baylor University amid an ongoing scandal in which two Baylor football players were convicted of rape and a string of others were implicated in alleged sexual assault. Starr had remained virtually silent on the incidents. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich chose to resign after the GOP's shellacking in the 1998 midterms. Many thought it was ironic that Gingrich championed the impeachment of the President for lying about a consensual affair with a staffer when Gingrich himself was carrying on a consensual affair with a House staffer. The Republicans' choice to replace Gingrich as speaker, Bob Livingston of Louisiana, resigned while facing revelations of marital infidelity. To replace Livingston as speaker, Republicans turned to Rep. Dennis Hastert, who eventually presided over Clinton's impeachment. Hastert was recently sentenced to prison for charges stemming from an attempt to cover up multiple acts of child molestation. The late Henry Hyde, who chaired the House Judiciary Committee, which drafted the articles of impeachment, acknowledged a "youthful indiscretion" with a married woman when he was a youthful 40-year-old. Rep. Dan Burton, who chaired the Government Oversight and Reform Committee, was a tireless champion of Clinton conspiracies, including hateful, noxious myths about the suicide of former deputy White House counsel Vince Foster. Burton admitted fathering a child out of wedlock during an extramarital affair. Rep. Tom DeLay, who as House GOP Whip earned the nickname "the Hammer," twisted arms and broke bones to secure votes for the Clinton impeachment. In 2010, he was found guilty of money laundering in connection with campaign contributions -- a conviction that was reversed on appeal. Into this rogue's gallery strides Donald J. Trump, blissfully believing that he will not be sucked into the quagmire. Some commentators -- without any evidence, by the way -- speculate that younger voters will be somehow more troubled by ancient allegations than their parents were. I am dubious. I believe millennials will be even more put off by hypocrisy, sanctimony and smear. Why am I so confident? Because I was taught by the Master. Two of Clinton's Laws of Politics apply here: • "Campaigns are about the future, not the past." • "Campaigns should be about voters' lives, not politicians." I am betting heavily that voters of all ages want a president who will fight for them; who will fight to level the economic playing field for them; who will fight to reform our dirty campaign finance system; who will fight to save our planet; who will fight to ensure full equality for every American, no matter who we love or which bathroom we use. Donald Trump can't win a fight on the issues. But history tells us a campaign of smears is a stone loser, too. http://www.cnn.com/2016/05/26/opinions/trump-clinton-smears-begala/index.html
That's true, Begala did pretty much invent the "blame everything on a vast right wing conspiracy when you get caught breaking the law" strategy and it'll no doubt be used again.
That's right. Hillary isn't Bill. It would be difficult for Hillary to be Bill since she is a woman. Putting being a different gender aside, however, Bill Clinton is arguably the best political speaker of his generation. Bill Clinton will be living and working in the White House with Hillary, and I don't doubt that he will have tremendous influence within her administration. Considering that he left the White House with the highest approval rating since they began political polling, the man is a real asset to have. He's older now and a bit out of practice, but I look for Bill Clinton to hit the campaign trial after his wife wraps up the nomination, and I expect him to be very, very effective. God knows what Trump thinks about the man, but you can bet that the actual Republicans running the party fear his impact on the campaign. They fear running against them both. Why else have they been attempting to destroy them since the election of 1992? This is a nightmare scenario for the GOP. They won't admit it out loud, of course, but it's the truth. In my humble opinion, naturally.
People in America would rather have a celebrity they like than policies that would impact their lives positively. These elections are about likeability, not policy, and Hilary will lose if she doesn't find a way to make Trump look unlikable to the idiots who support him.
You don't need Clinton for that movie. Since it isn't actually accurate, anyone could take real events and change the facts to however they want them to make a movie.
an informative piece, but i think he omitted to include Ken Starr, who just resigned (in shame) as Chancellor of Baylor U
Obama just tried to clown Trump, but ended up looking like a stuttering fool <iframe width="420" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/mSxo9-Z5Ki0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> Spoiler
Interesting article on how association with death may be fueling Trump's rise. Actually really interesting in explaining religious fanaticism and religion in general, as well as many other culturally charged beliefs: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...eps-winning/?tid=hybrid_experimentrandom_1_na Gist is that when people think about their own mortality, they tend to favor Trump more - and certain topics trigger people to think about their mortality - such as immigration.
Good point. There are so many scandal plagued veteran Republicans who attempted to make a name for themselves by going after Bill and Hillary Clinton that it's hard to keep track of them all. They're still busy scandalizing themselves! Such irony. So much energy expended playing the demonization game against a President who left office with the highest approval rating since polling began to measure it. That didn't work so well, yet they kept at it, assuming, correctly, than Ms. Clinton would make a run for the White House herself someday. So they kept at and kept at and focused on Hillary, trying to tear her down, trying to damage her reputation anyway they could. Making things up, telling outright lies was no barrier. President Bill Clinton freaked them out. Another Clinton in the White House, with Bill residing there? The horror!
