Is anyone here actually worried at all about Trump?

[fbc]

First of all, I realize Trump is a horrible person, but I fail to see how he is any more horrible than any other republican candidate.

Secondly, he makes the republicans look like laughingstocks. The propagandists at Fox News and "insiders" like Chuck Todd are aghast at Trump's run because he exposes the ridiculousness of conservatives and conservative politicians. They prefer politicians who voice their illogical and disgustingly cruel opinions in a more dignified manner so they can pretend those opinions are reasonable, mainstream positions.

Thirdly, he would be a horrible candidate in a general election if he somehow manages to win the nomination. Hell, Lincoln Chaffee, someone most democrats have never even heard of, would destroy him in a general election. Overall, people hate Trump.

I say good luck to him!!!

[Tommy2Tone]

1. Trump no but I worry about the effect he will have with low information voters

By constantly saying doing anything for attention I fear voter will see someone like Bush or Rubio as an alternative. When in fact the share his core beliefs.

[Happyhippychick]

2. Nope.

Even if he won the primary, which he won't, I'm not worried at all. I think that just because people say they like him, hell if I were polled I would tell the pollster I'm voting for him, it doesn't translate into actual votes.

[onehandle]

3. He's nothing but good for us, and bad for them.

They are freaking out.

[RKP5637]

7. Definitely!!! The GOP is being bullied and they don't know WTF to do they are so used

to giving bullying, not receiving it! I find it fascinating to see this going on in the GOP!

[herding cats]

11. I totally agree.

I just said something similar in another post. They have no defense against Trump because he's using their very own political weapons against him. He's just doing it in a more in-your-face fashion, rather than stealthy. It's still their own tactics and they're at a loss as how to deal with what he's exposing about them.

I agree, it's fascinating to watch!

[Nay]

33. Oh, yes, this is the most fun I've had in years. He's the GOP on steroids but

without the religious nuttery, and the GOP has no idea what to do with him. They can't defund him because he has his own money; they can't shut him up because he has his own money and he's polling well; and they can't get rid of him, really, so what to do?

When he lays out the true GOP beliefs in that in-your-face fashion, it's a poke in the GOP eye -- Trump wants them to own it, not stealthily sneak it in! It's just so much fun in so many different ways. Frankly, I would be less frightened of him as president than I would most of those other stealth religious dominionist freaks.

[RobinA]

38. I Disagree

He makes the rest of them look sane. The eventual winner will look good by comparison. "Oh, it's only Jeb. I can vote for him, at least he isn't Trump!"

[RKP5637]

4. Trump is bullying some of the bullies, and also the GOP does not know what to do with him,

about him. Watching the dynamics is quite interesting.

[Nevernose]

5. We elected Shrub twice

So no, I'm not misunderestimating the American people

(Obviously I realize that Bush only technically "won" in the sense that he got to be president, but how he didn't lose monumentally in both elections is still something I'm dumbfounded by. We underestimate the voting public at our nation's peril)

[fbc]

9. But Bush was the "mainsteam choice"

Trump's problem is that he's he hated by roughly half the republican voters (guesstimate) in addition to virtually all democrats.

[Nevernose]

14. Last I checked he'd gone up 10 pts

Since the debate. Some Republicans don't like him now, at this particular moment, but they'll love his "strength" or "business background" later, if it comes to that. Republicans have been voting Republican despite facts or information or simple common decency for a generation.

[Nay]

34. Yep, you can count on the GOP voters to vote for a concrete block when push comes to shove.

Plenty of the Libertarians who love money would vote for him, too.

[jberryhill]

18. I refudiate your misunderestimation!

[Nevernose]

39. Fool me once, shame on you

But fool me, can't get fooled again.

[question everything]

6. Don't underestimate the tendency of the voters to vote for celebrity

Reagan, Arnold. And I remember some wanted to change the Constitution to allow Arnold to run for president!!

Even that actor from the Love Boat and, yes, Franken (not that I'd rather have Republican Coleman, still..)

[appalachiablue]

24. Agree that Reagan's eight years of 'Revolution' against govt., Bush Sr. and

W.'s two terms must not be overlooked. Arnold is also a living reminder as you say. The decline of liberalism and attacks on intellectualism and democratic institutions in the last 35 years and the growth of ultraconservatism and idiocracy cannot be underestimated. I was young and busy in 1980 and the election of Reagan and the defeat of Carter was a blindsiding event. At the time it was inconceivable that a third rate H.wood B actor would be elected because I was unaware of Reagan's extreme actions as Gov. of CA and the strength of the conservative, reactionary GOP during the late 1960s and early 1970s.

Reagan's election was a major political turning point and we can't discount threats like Trump or Walker who has tremendous Koch backing and even Kasich who came off in the debate as moderate but is still dangerous. The populace has been extremely dumbed down, the corporate RW media is dominant and people don't even turn out to vote as Bernie and now Clinton are emphasizing. According to Bernie, in the last election of 2014, 63% of Americans didn't vote, suppression of the vote by the right is increasing and this has to change. Activism and movement building are critical now, Bernie is absolutely right.

[redstateblues]

32. Don't forget Jesse Ventura

[Adenoid_Hynkel]

8. I'm worried he crashes too soon

We need that dumb bastard front and center, making a bigger clown show of their proceedings, as long as possible

[BeyondGeography]

13. Ditto that...long live Republican Frankenstein

He's offering a much better description of their ugliness than any Democrat ever did.

[Vincardog]

22. I am worried that he will not run third party after they kick him to the curb

[bigdarryl]

10. Not if he runs independent he will be a problem for both parties

There was one poll done I forgot whow did it that showed not only was he taking votes from republicans in a.independent run but also from democrats.So if he runs as an independent he will be a king maker

[Fred Sanders]

12. What is needed now is a Democratic primary debate to take all the attention off the GOP and Fox meltdown.

Not.


"If your opponent is of choleric temperament, seek to irritate him".

(Some ancient guy from China)

"If you give a con enough rope he will hang himself"

(Common Sense)

[jberryhill]

15. Worried? Why? Has he gone missing?

[elfin]

16. I worry he won't stay in long enough to do maximum damage to repugs. Eom

[dem in texas]

17. Loving every minute of Trump's performance - Best Entertainment on TV

Let's face it, the republic party should now be called the FoxTV party because they have let Fox take over and their politics have moved in to the realm of entertainment. Trump was bragging about how many viewers watched the debate, this is about TV ratings - not about the Presidential campaign. After all the years of the republics bowing down to Fox news, the old saying "the chickens have come home to roost" now applies.

[smirkymonkey]

19. What really worries me is that so many people find him appealing.

However, what this tells us is that people are sick of the same old crap when it comes to politics. They want a rogue, no matter how insane that person may be. It seems to me that Trump (and Bernie) are showing us something about ourselves. We are sick of the status quo and will grasp at anyone or anything that offers us something different.

[fbc]

26. Bush's final approval rating was still 22 percent

22% is like half the republicans in the country.

There are a lot of idiots out there.

[The_Commonist]

20. Worried about him? Hell no, I'm rooting for him!

Look:



Bill Clinton is one of the few people who Trump genuinely has some respect for. Bill Clinton has a brilliant mind, and in Trump's mind that makes them kindred spirits. Bill totally got away with schtupping an intern in the White House, which I'm sure is one of Trump's little fantasies. These guys chomp cigars together.

The Donald knows damn well that he will never be POTUS. He's playing the Money-Go-Round Game, and feeding his ego and rebuilding his brand. He's breaking all the rules because he knows he doesn't have to worry about the results of his behavior. He'll never actually have to compromise with Congress.

No... The Donald is a super-rich New Yorker, through and through. He doesn't give a shit about gay marriage or abortion or any of that other stuff that gets the rubes riled up. He knows that the surest way for him to maintain his position of privilege is with a Hillary™ administration. So, my theory is that Donald Trump's candidacy is all about helping Hillary™ win. He wants to make certain that his pal and his idol, Bill Clinton, gets to be First Dude.



He'll even make a third party run, if it looks like Hillary may not win by a large enough margin. The Donald know how Republicans like to steal elections, so he'll pull a Perot, if necessary, to put it in the bag for his pal Bill and her little lady. And of course if he does go Perot, the ultimate rube, Sarah Palin, will happily go along as his running mate.

So, it will be Jeb! vs Hillary™ with the possibility of an Indy Trump/Palin, and Hillary™ will win.










(And for the record, I'm a total Sandersnista. I don't like this theory, and don't particularly want a Hillary™ administration, but it's what I expect will happen. And if The Donald helps make it happen, rather than a Jeb! administration, I'm OK with him continuing to make an ass of himself as he destroys the Know-Nothing... Ummm... I mean the Republican party...)

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

21. I'm worried that Trump won't be able to take down the GOP

Half of the loony electorate is turning their anger on Fox News and the GOP corporate masters for the way they're treating Trump. I want to see Trump go on to successfully bring about the full meltdown of the GOP establishment including Fox. I wish to hell that when trump was asked about political donations to Democrats that he'd have turned on the other candidates on stage and asked them to show hands if they'd taken donations from billionaires like Sheldon Adelson or the Koch Brothers. He could have called them out as cowards for not stepping forward.

[jaysunb]

23. I like the way you've framed this.

It's spot on.

[David__77]

25. I think that he could do reasonably well in a general election.

If this were the USA of 1988 even, I think that he could even win a majority. I don't think it's good to underestimate his potential appeal. Ronald Reagan was also considered quite fringe and unelectable prior to 1980.

[unblock]

27. absolutely. to a large extent, general elections are "change" vs. "status quo" decisions

if it's trump vs. clinton, trump would certainly be the "change" candidate because he's a bombastic political outsider from the challenging party, notwithstanding that if he ever became president, he'd do nothing but extend the control of big business over washington and our country.

in any case, republicans will certainly vote for him, or against hillary, however you want to see it. and many independents and even some democrats will vote for him out for the change in style of even the entertainment value of it.

and he can win the primary based on celebrity status, a flair for getting media attention, and a style that could be painted as "refreshingly honest" (or "embarrassingly gaffe-prone and self-destructing" depending on how he's doing in the polls).

his is absolutely a dangerous candidacy.

[LittleBlue]

28. No

I just find the shit show he's creating to be hilarious.

[Matrosov]

29. I like Trump

He's making the GOP look even more stupid than it is and yet he's gaining popularity while doing so.

However, come election day, I can't see how there would be a big turnout for him. The independents/moderates are going to vote Democratic in droves.

Making the GOP look even dumber and helping a Democrat become the next POTUS? I like this guy!

[Stargleamer]

30. I worry that he WON'T be their candidate. ..

and it will be a nail-biting race between Hillary Clinton and Jeb (who incidentally will probably win Florida).

[angryvet]

31. Didn't we go through this before

Only on milder versions? Herman 9-9-9 Caine, Michelle Bachman, The reverse mortgage seller....I know there were more.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

35. I never thought Rick Scott would be elected, let alone re-elected.

I know some people are all excited thinking that he's somehow the Lord of GOP Chaos who will destroy the party from the inside, but the prospect that this man has even the slightest chance of being president scares the bejesus out of me. The damage he would do to the country would be catastrophic, and frankly the sooner he's out, the better.

[spanone]

36. no. not one little bit. he's an irrelevant clown, incapable of critical thought.

[phylny]

37. No.

But I hope he's the nominee, because he'll never win.