Miscellaneous And Off Topic Subjects

[iam416]

The thing with Trump is that his branding is so strong. It's carrying him in this battle royale of a primary, but in a 1v1 general there are a lot of people who simply can't vote for "Donald Trump".

If an independent/moderate had come through the R primary and he was named Jack Smith, the dude would be primed to kill in the general. But right now there are way too many people who can't stand the thought of President DONALD TRUMP. His policies, I think, would be largely moderate -- more moderate than anyone else in the field. His batshit crazy "Make Mexico pay for the wall" thing is harmless -- if he can get Mexico to pay for a wall, then super! If he can't, I reckon he won't do it. He's walked back nearly every outlandish statement he's said, including the muslims things, because that's what he does.

At the end of the day he's an absolutely unprincipled pragmatist. He's about as "middle of the road" as one could possibly hope to get from these two parties. But, he's also THE DONALD. And I don't think America is ready to vote for him for President.

[Prime2]

Although a life-long Republican billionaire out of Texas, Ross Perot was forced to run as an Independent and never stood a viable chance.

In the end, he was on the ballot in only 38 out of 50 states because the GOP & Dems at the grassroots, local and state levels, have the process ridged as a two-party system.

You need to start running years earlier and spend millions in order to meet the application process at the county and state level, can't be done unless there is legislative reform to break the monopoly.

[Hannibal]

At the end of the day he's an absolutely unprincipled pragmatist. He's about as "middle of the road" as one could possibly hope to get from these two parties. But, he's also THE DONALD. And I don't think America is ready to vote for him for President.

He's definitely a pragmatist but I wouldn't call him unprincipled. He is a fervent nationalist and he is still solidly right of center when you consider all of his positions. His approach will be to ask for extreme positions and then make compromises. He'll call for huge protective tariffs, the border wall, the ending of sanctuary cities, the end of "catch and release", eliminating Common Core, lower corporate taxes, and the repeal of Obamacare. Mexico will refuse to pay for the wall, so I expect that Trump will get his tariff and then after the tariffs have been collected for a few years, he will say "look, Mexico paid for the wall!"

The "pragmatist" part comes into play when he gets opposition. Will he back down, or will he resort to rhetoric and pressure? I think that he will frequently adopt the latter. Rhetoric and leadership can make the impractical practical. He will lose some battles and spin them.

My big question is how Trump will deal with the Legislative process and how he will react when his wall bill gets loaded with $500 Billion of pork projects.

[Da Geezer]

"Make Mexico pay for the wall" thing is harmless -- if he can get Mexico to pay for a wall, then super! If he can't, I reckon he won't do it. He's walked back nearly every outlandish statement he's said, including the muslims things, because that's what he does.

I hadn't thought of making Mexico pay for it as a reason not to do it, but that is a good point. I had always viewed his insistence on Mexico paying for the wall as a subset of his "punish unfair trade" position. The only chance of Trump being competitive is for Trump to get the votes of what were the Reagan Democrats. The way you bring back low-skilled manufacturing jobs to the US is to put tariffs on imports from countries with cheap labor. He would have to make the case that immigrants take the jobs of black and Hispanic citizens.

Tariffs have traditionally been blamed as one cause of the Great Depression. Populists have by and large supported them.

[WM Wolverine]

If Lou Whitaker and Alan Trammell were Yankees or Red Sox, both would've been 1st ballot HOF's.

[Mike]

Correct.

[Cody_Russell]

I admit it, I watch the HBO medieval soap opera Game of Thrones.

Nothing to be ashamed of admitting. It's only one of the best rated TV Dramas and has a 9.5 on IMDB.... better than "The Wire", tied with "Breaking Bad."

[Mike]

Anyone watching "People vs OJ Simpson"? Fantastic.

[The Oracle]

Really really good. The casting is spot on, jeezus.

[lineygoblue]

Another Harbaugh sighting:

Tonight, he's got ringside seats at Joe Louis Arena for the WWE Monday Night Raw. He's there with several members of the coaching staff.

[Mike]

Awesome. I hope he's getting some good face time on TV. Come to think of it, how great would he be in a cameo role playing some sort of agitator in the ring?

[Mike]

Really really good. The casting is spot on, jeezus.

I was a little surprised at first how much it sucked me in. Thought it might be a little cheesy but holy shit... I hang on every word. Being told from the perspectives of the lawyers is riveting to me. Of the 5 highest rated TV events of all time 2 of them are the chase and the verdict.

[froot loops]

Perot did his damage to Bush by denying him the perk of running as an incumbent. HW was the last of the Republicans not slavishly devoted to the Laffer curve.

[The Oracle]

I was a little surprised at first how much it sucked me in. Thought it might be a little cheese but holy shit... I hang on every word. Being told from the perspectives of the lawyers is riveting to me. Of the 5 highest rated TV events of all time 2 of them are the chase and the verdict.

Yup, part of it is I remember watching all this stuff in between 2 a days in high school football. I was hooked on it back then and then this brings it all back. Going in, I though Cuba was going to suck as OJ. It's a hard role to play, but he's been passable. The rest are awesome. Courtney B Vance is spot on with Johnnie Cochran. Yeah, Tuesday nights just got a lot better for me.

And Marcia Clark is supposed to be this huge bitch, but I can't hate Sarah Paulsen after watch American Horror Story. I love the shots the writers get in at the Khardasians every episode too.

I obviously forgot some of the details being that long ago...what a jumbled up mess by the prosecution. The evidence is plain as day. Obviously, the racist LAPD helped none.

[Da Geezer]

Forbes' list of best colleges in each state. This might get AA out of hiding.

http://collegespun.com/independents/notre-dame/forbes-releases-list-of-the-best-college-in-every-state