Just when you thought.........

all of the dogs and ponies were accounted for !

She's back......

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/donald-trump-just-grabbed-sarah-212202602.html;_yl...

Huge hair, diabolical diction, strangled syntax, and paleolithic politics.

So far, almost no Republican official has supported him. I hope this doesn't break the dam.

A friend just observed: the headline reads the same as "CURLY ENDORSES MOE."

Have always been in the Larry camp, myself.

Trump is the perfect Tea Party candidate: Completely unqualified, totally ignorant of basic civics, and xenophobic as hell.

http://www.publicpolicypolling.com/main/2015/12/trump-leads-grows-nationally-41-...

"There are only 2 groups of the electorate Trump doesn't lead with- the closely related groups of Tea Party and 'very conservative' voters."

I wonder if she's grasping for another VP nomination...

I verbalized the observation, to my son, recently that we haven't heard a peep from Ted Nugent......his comment was that when observing the candidates on the Republican side, Nugent may just as well run on his own.

>6 timspalding:

Addendum to 6. It's common on the left to describe Trump as an extreme conservative—the most conservative guy out there. This is quite false. To the extent we should believe his views at all, Trump is a middle-of-the-road conservative. His extreme positions are along another axis—at this point I wouldn't even shrink to call it fascist. This accounts for his relative failure to win movement conservatives generally, the success he has with non-Republican "independents" and the "Sanders or Trump" vote.

http://www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endorsements_for_the_Republican_Party_president...

Lists all the endorsements so far for each and every Republican candidate for POTUS. If you follow links at the bottom of the page you can link over to the Democratic endorsements. Anyway you'll find Nugent has endorsed Trump. I'd point out that there are very few Republican politicians of any note endorsing Trump. There are many more of those endorsing Jeb Bush who IMO seems to be extremely hostile towards Trump--like many other of the would be nominees who have been ridiculed by the Donald over the past year or so. Almost expecting the Donald to win the nomination at this point--OTOH not expecting a lot of enthusiasm from Republican pols when/if that happens. Thinking that his ground game is not going to get a lot of support if/when he becomes the clear nominee. Thinking that some of these people endorsing other candidates are going to be less than enthusiastic getting the vote out for him. Trump has a huge amount of supporters and maybe enough to win the nomination but the Republicans in recent elections have had lots of problems connecting with independent voters and if Republican pols don't help him much or at/all he's a sitting duck. As well he will have to moderate himself IMO to connect with independent/undecided voters anyway--don't see that happening.

IMO he has an enthusiastic and vocal 15-20% of the voting population in the coming election and maybe the ability to expand that to 30 to 35% if he were to become nominee. He'll need a lot of help to increase past that and even so it would still be a big reach to get to 45%.

Stock market plunging......wonder if it has anything to do with lack of faith in the U.S. of A. after the televised speech by Ms. Palin endorsing one Mr. Trump for the highest office in the country ? ;>)

Seriously ? How can anyone take America seriously ?

>10 lriley: The Republican Establishment may be resigned to sitting out this election. The pitchforks have taken control of the narrative.

>10 lriley:
It doesn't much matter who endorses who any longer or what they say for that matter. The idea that we have a culture where Trump, Palin or anyone of their ilk has so much as a tiny chance of influencing a global economy, a world facing the effects of climate change and a threat of medical epidemics is beyond believable. It would seem we have become a culture who values crap over substance and willful ignorance over education There is a loss of ability by those who would be example setters to conduct themselves with some sort of class. It is no longer a value, it has become a political talking point where the very idea of treating others with dignity is scorned and labeled as political correctness. We may be a "world power" but at this point in time it has everything to do with might (weapons and bully tactics) and nothing to do with innovation and/or the way we conduct business.

Hell, we deal with each other with weapons and bully tactics....top on down.

If I were in my 40's rather than my 60's I would leave......both my brother's (younger than myself, neither is married) are heading out. One to Ecuador and one to Blaise.....One will leave in August they other next October.

Cher speaking right now on MSNBC. She sent water to Flint Mich. She went to water companies on her own and made the arrangements. Her comment ? "No American companies would help me......this water company is not from America"

There you have it. Our country......past several years of AMAZING economic growth (as per the stock market) and the citizens are being poisoned cause there is not enough money to provide safe water. Michigan teachers walked out of schools today, stating that the buildings are unsafe. IF we are the richest country in the world where is our money....poisoned water, struggling schools, unaffordable healthcare.....where the hell is the money ? And why do the people who are being screwed the most insist on voting for those who are going to screw them repeatedly ?

Is this really the definition of Democracy or are we fooling ourselves ?

Stock market is currently experiencing a bit of Karma....unfortunately those of us who care are going to pay for the selfish and the self serving.

What a cluster fuck ! And who on earth did not see this coming......that is always my question. For the past couple of decades this stuff has been like a runaway train. Nobody seems to care until they are caught, at which point they are sorry. Nobody cares till their own kid is dead poisoned/shot/run over/bullied or what ever. What has happened to empathy ? How can we poison our people and fist pump about our exceptionalism. It is embarrassing. We are not exceptional at all.....there are other countries with great wealth and a majority of it's peoples live lives of monumental struggles. America likes to think she is different but she is not.

On a roll.

No doubt about it.....Trump and Palin will have the answer. They will go out and, as Palin said, KICK SOME ISIS ASS. That will help Flint Mich.

Palin a no show today at planned event. The woman hasn't worked since her half ass attempt to be governor. Probably under a lot of stress.

GOP Strategist Calls Trump Supporters 'Childless, Single Men Who Masturbate To Anime'
http://crooksandliars.com/2016/01/gop-strategist-calls-trump-supporters#st_refDo...

Wow. Nice.

IMO he has an enthusiastic and vocal 15-20% of the voting population in the coming election and maybe the ability to expand that to 30 to 35% if he were to become nominee. He'll need a lot of help to increase past that and even so it would still be a big reach to get to 45%.

I can't see him winning. Give us another 9/11, however, and I could see it.

#13--FWIW the global economy is not just about the United States though a lot of Americans would like to think so. For now Palin has given Trump her endorsement--how much that exactly would mean to her potentially some day influencing global economics?....remains to be seen and at this point worrying about her in a Trumpian future is putting the cart before the horse. I don't think anyone really has an idea who might be in a Trumpian cabinet let alone whether he'd even bother having one.

Any case I would think both Clinton and Sanders--particularly Clinton would look at Trump's nomination as almost a sure path to their own eventual victory and pretty much my previous post details why. He has huge support but even expanding it to that 35% threshold is going to be an awful lot for him and without the enthusiastic support of other republican politicians and without his figuring out how to connect with independent/undecided voters he's a dead corpse floating in some pretty murky looking seaweed that no one is in a particular rush to haul ashore. Generally speaking outside of his 15-20% most Americans including the vast majority of independent/undecideds look at him as a fucking joke. Changing that kind of perception will be a really tall order.

But then again--#16--a major major economic or terroristic shock and he might be able to play himself off as the King of disaster capitalism. The other thing that might help him is Hilary Clinton and her e-mail business/scandal if she manages to get herself indicted. Almost unimaginably stupid and arrogant on her part IMO. To be honest I think both of these people are utter fucking assholes and one of them (almost surely Hilary) is going to be the nest POTUS. We're going to be at least kind of fucked with her too.

For now Trump is to the United States what Le Pen was to France pre 9-11---more than less a PT Barnum on a power trip.

>16 timspalding:
Sure, the masturbation/anime thing makes for arresting pulp copy, a grabber headline. But in the same graph he also says: "These are not people who matter in the overall course of humanity."

THIS, to me, is a more revealing and sickening statement. The arrogance and presumption here are breathtaking. I have no truck with Trump, but many of his fans are mobilized precisely in reaction to this kind of diss from what is supposedly their own political family.

Their sense of grievance, a conspicuous chip on the shoulder which leads them to dismiss other people's humanity, arises in part from believing their own humanity has been discounted. And, demonstrably, this belief is not unfounded.

There are obvious good reasons to pay attention to Trump's nastiness to "outsiders." Still, some of the nastiest Republican battles now are internecine.

#18---true enough. Among conservative voters who might be called traditionalist voters or most interested in social issues and not so much or much as an investor or property classed kind of voters there's a sense of having been cheated. They might hate democratic politicians but the feeling of being cheated comes from politicos like the Bush family who promised them all kinds of things and then forgot them as soon as they were elected. Played for chumps over and over again many of them have gone further to the right. A lot of these people are tea party people that Karl Rove and the Koch brothers tried to co-opt to elect Romney who was going to forget about them as well. Trump comes along and speaks to their fears--he takes the tea party movement away from the Koch brothers and there are a whole bunch of these people thinking they got their movement back. People who identify as christian conservatives and/or constitutionalists---who hate abortion, the IRS and immigration--want to lock up criminals and throw away the key think they finally might have a champion.

>19 lriley:
Yes. And I also see it as an unhappy answer to the question What's the Matter with Kansas? For a long time people on the "left" were hoping that lots of working people who voted Republican would realize that they were being played for chumps, and they'd come back into the fold. Instead, for this election cycle, at least, they've expressed themselves by embracing Trump.

#20--Generally my family as in mother, brothers and one of my sisters and at least a portion of their extended families fit into a traditionalist kind of categorization. Social issues are a huge fucking deal with them--economic issues not nearly as much. They see themselves as needing to protect and preserve the religious beliefs and/or conservative values that we grew up with. Not all of them care for Trump however. At least a few of them think he's an outright clown.

When I talk political with any of them we've been at the point for a while where we give each other space--we're kind of always looking for whatever common ground exists and speaking generally and not specifically because things can get real heated real fast and with us if someone has hurt feelings they can ruin a thanksgiving or christmas for everybody else. Mostly we don't agree on much. I'd identify myself somewhere between a socialist and an anarchist--probably closer to the first. I think economics is what really drives everything---that their beliefs and values are manipulated by republican pols goes without saying. Truthfully though I see the democrats pretty much doing the same thing with the working class and with unions for instance--they play them for chumps in much the same way.

>16 timspalding:

They found a living Republican strategist? I thought with Moose Jaw Barbie coming out of the woodwork to blend hairily with the Donald, they'd all opened their veins. Shouldn't she be too busy trying to get the weapons and assault charges against her beloved son, Track, dropped?

Dunno about you, but I've invested heavily in popcorn. Can't wait for the Republican Convention -- brokered? riots? gun battle? drowning by tea? Anyway, I hope the Repubs don't pull the plug on all the broadcast outlets and go dark in order to carry out their backroom assassinations and anointments with no witnesses.

Hey, Republicans, "Just say, 'No!'"

>22 Limelite:

"Shouldn't she be too busy trying to get the weapons and assault charges against her beloved son, Track, dropped?"

Ah ha.....being the stand up self responsible Right Wing Conservative that she is....she found a way to blame the incident on Obama :

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/sarah-palin-blames-obama-son-track-lega...

Although, to give her credit she did not throw Obama in on the fact that the same son was addicted to OxyContin BEFORE he went to war.

Unbelievable........but maybe not.

My husband is a blinder wearing, hold your nose and vote Republican. His daughter decided to be a stay at home mother, married a man 7 years her junior who was still in collage......had four children paid for by Wisconsin's Badger care system. When confronted with this my husband's statement ? "I blame the government for the way my daughter is " Ahhhhhhh the hypocrisy is bottomless !!!

>23 faceinbook:

Yeah, John McCain can't begin to atone for what he inflicted on this country.

I understand your User Name now. At least on LT we can choose our friends and mute the rest.

I don't see Palin much on Fox anymore. I doubt she is as welcome as she used to be. She knows very little about politics and her word carries little weight. I doubt many Republicans pay attention to her. I still think she caused McCain the election.

But she is one hot piece of ass.

>25 barney67:
"But she is one hot piece of ass."

Aren't some people dependably predictable ?

I think it's just that most women respect themselves enough to care about equality and reproductive rights, so any woman Republican that isn't someone's cranky rich grandma gets attention no matter what.

I guess Palin is someone's cranky rich grandma, but only because of the wonders of teen pregnancy.

>25 barney67:

And you sound like one burning hunk of banal sexism.

>22 Limelite:

Dunno about you, but I've invested heavily in popcorn. Can't wait for the Republican Convention -- brokered? riots? gun battle? drowning by tea? Anyway, I hope the Repubs don't pull the plug on all the broadcast outlets and go dark in order to carry out their backroom assassinations and anointments with no witnesses.

This is without a doubt the most interesting presidential election I have ever seen. Fine and well, until we remember that (alleged) Chinese curse... :/

I think it's just that most women respect themselves enough to care about equality and reproductive rights, so any woman Republican that isn't someone's cranky rich grandma gets attention no matter what.

Have you met the electorate?

Yeah, I guess there are lots of women who don't care about equality or reproductive rights, but to be fair, there is a significant "gender gap."

>31 weener:
"Yeah, I guess there are lots of women who don't care about equality or reproductive rights, but to be fair, there is a significant "gender gap."

They would if it became personal. While woman were created with the giant portion of what it takes for human's to reproduce and it would seem that along with this they often seem to be more inclined to empathetic to other's of their own kind, nothing ever runs 100% true. Years of striving to compete in a society where men hold the power has, unfortunately given many women the impression that acting more manlike or "manning up" will give them tools with which to feel equal and valued.

To my way of thinking the opposite should hold true. Nothing was created without a balance and women are the balance to the mess White males have made of this country.....if they change to be more "male like" and forget to support those are the balancing part of what we call "the human race" .......well then women, once again are the losers.

Yeah, I guess there are lots of women who don't care about equality or reproductive rights, but to be fair, there is a significant "gender gap."

Well, it's interesting; patterns there have changed. Formerly men and women showed similar levels of pro-life and pro-choice, and at various points in the past women have been more pro-life than men.

In the last four-six years it seems women and men have diverged more, and women are more pro-choice, men more pro-life. The same thing is happening with party affiliation, and is probably related.