[US Election 2016] Democratic Primary Megathread III

[Eol Sha]

And with Trump being the ultimate political opportunist who has flip flopped more than Kerry and Romney combined, it could make for a hugely interesting campaign.

Heck, we could end up with both major candidates under indictment. What a sorry state of affairs.

There's a zero percent change of Hillary being indicted. Probably the same for Trump.

Why is there a zero percent chance?

[Ashmoria]

There's a zero percent change of Hillary being indicted. Probably the same for Trump.

Why is there a zero percent chance?

because she isn't under criminal investigation.

[Eol Sha]

Why is there a zero percent chance?

because she isn't under criminal investigation.

Then what is the FBI doing?

[Geilinor]

because she isn't under criminal investigation.

Then what is the FBI doing?

Nothing much. It's a security review but there's no chance of an indictment. The same happened with Colin Powell.

[Alien Space Bats]

Thing is, Obama should have talked about race more. He had the opportunity to bring a direct conversation about race to the table and didn't.

No, he didn't. I hate that narrative: "Our first black President was the ideal person to have the long-needed 'race conversation' with America."

Wrong. DEAD wrong. As a rule of thumb, white people aren't going to listen to a black person telling them they don't treat black people fairly. There's too much "us-and-them" baked into that conversation to begin with, and (speaking about white people as a white person), having one of "them" tell "us" that we suck just begs for the very people who most badly need to listen to that conversation to tune out.

No, the next WHITE President is the right person to have the long-needed "race conversation" with America. Done that way, it's "We white people really NEED to do better if we want to see an end to racial animus," rather than "You honkies are still oppressing us, sucker!"

I don't fault Clinton for trying to do that with gender, though I don't think she's done the best job of it.

No woman is, for the same reason that it needs to be a WHITE President who takes steps to lead the country out of the mire of continuing race discrimination. The equally long-required "sex conversation" is going to have to be conducted by the first MALE President to follow our Nation's first FEMALE President, so that it can be "You know, we guys have to stop being such assholes" as opposed to "All men are sexist jerks!"

[Khadgar]

There's a zero percent change of Hillary being indicted. Probably the same for Trump.

Why is there a zero percent chance?

Because people have knowingly and willingly shared classified information before and nothing happened to them.

[Ngelmish]

Well I voted today.

In a decision that I am certain will shock all the long-term participants of this thread, I had pretty much made up my mind to write in O'Malley, and be done with it, and had even rehearsed some statements for Sanders supporters disappointed that I, as a progressive voter, declined to back their candidate. Unfortunately, due to a quirk of this state's electoral laws, O'Malley did not qualify as a write-in candidate. So I threw up my hands and then voted for Hillary, falling back on my longstanding position: I'm willing to vote for Bernie Sanders, but not in a primary.

[USS Monitor]

Uh, yeah... Running out of steam there.

Poor Bernie...

Its certainly concerning, but I haven't heard about any major dip in his fundraising numbers of late. Maybe there is and I'm just not aware of it, but it may also be that he's simply prioritizing bigger states (i.e. California) more.

I'll leave it up to others to judge the tactical merits of that choice.

During some of the more hectic stretches of the primaries, he was spending money faster than it came in. He was getting donations the whole time, but just burned through such an obscene amount of money that his backers couldn't keep up. Even if money is still coming in, his reserves may be getting a little low. Or at least low enough where he has to be more cautious about how he throws it around...

[USS Monitor]

I'd be worried if Donald Trump wasn't Donald Trump.

But Donald Trump IS Donald Trump, and going after Bill Clinton for his affairs or accusing him of being a rapist is, in Donal Trump's case, so very much a case of the pot calling the kettle black that it isn't even funny.

“If I told the real stories of my experiences with women, often seemingly very happily married and important women, this book would be a guaranteed best-seller (which it will be anyway!). I’d love to tell all, using names and places, but I just don’t think it’s right.”

— Donald Trump, The Art of the Comeback

“I have too much respect for women in general, but if I did, the world would take serious notice. Beautiful, famous, successful, married — I've had them all, secretly, the world's biggest names, but unlike Geraldo I don't talk about it. If I did, this book would sell 10 million copies (maybe it will anyway).”

— Donald Trump, The Art of the Comeback

“I've been successful with your girlfriend, I'll tell you that.”

— Donald Trump to A. J. Benza (in reference to Kara Young), The Howard Stern Show (live on air)

Suddenly, according to Ivana, The Donald storms into the room, He is looking very angry, and he is cursing out loud.

“Your fucking doctor has ruined me!” he screams.

The Donald flings Ivana down onto the bed. Then he pins back her arms and grabs her by the hair. The part of her head he is grabbing corresponds to the spot on his head where the scalp reduction operation has been done. The Donald starts ripping out Ivana's hair by the handful, as if he is trying to make her feel the same kind of pain he is feeling.

Ivana starts crying and screaming. The entire bed is being covered with strands of her golden locks. But The Donald is not finished. He rips off her clothes and unzips his pants. Then he jams his penis inside her for the first time more than in sixteen months.

Ivana is terrified. This is not lovemaking. This is not romantic sex. This is a violent assault. She later describes what the Donald is doing to her in no uncertain terms. According to the versions she repeats to some of her closest confidantes, c

When The Donald finally pulls out, Ivana jumps up from the bed. Then she runs upstairs to her mother's room. She locks the door and stays there crying for the rest of the night.

The next morning Ivana musters up the courage to return to the master bedroom. The Donald is there waiting for her. He leaves no doubt that he knows exactly what he did to her the night before. As she looks in horror at the ripped-out hair scattered all over the bed, he glares at her and asks with menacing casualness: “Does it hurt?”

— Harry Hurt III, Lost Tycoon: The Many Lives of Donald J. Trump

As for the rest, I'm sure that the Clinton team will answer broadside for broadside: The Trump University class-action fraud suit, Donald's abuse of eminent domain, his aggressive efforts to bully his critics into silence, his likely mob ties, and — last but most assuredly not least — his barely concealed admiration for a certain infamous German Chancellor:

Donald Trump appears to take aspects of his German background seriously. John Walter works for the Trump Organization, and when he visits Donald in his office, Ivana told a friend, he clicks his heels and says, “Heil Hitler,” possibly as a family joke.

Last April, perhaps in a surge of Czech nationalism, Ivana Trump told her lawyer Michael Kennedy that from time to time her husband reads a book of Hitler’s collected speeches, My New Order, which he keeps in a cabinet by his bed. Kennedy now guards a copy of My New Order in a closet at his office, as if it were a grenade. Hitler’s speeches, from his earliest days up through the Phony War of 1939, reveal his extraordinary ability as a master propagandist.

— Vanity Fair

The Donald might just be reckless enough to charge ahead with an attack on Bill. And conveniently forgetting his own well documented dirty history.

Kind of how Cersei in Game of Thrones played the Sparrows card only for it to backfire.

Yeah, that sounds like something Trump would do.

[Corrian]

During some of the more hectic stretches of the primaries, he was spending money faster than it came in. He was getting donations the whole time, but just burned through such an obscene amount of money that his backers couldn't keep up. Even if money is still coming in, his reserves may be getting a little low. Or at least low enough where he has to be more cautious about how he throws it around...

A lot of money dropped to get your message out there. I honestly say it probably has been worth it though in the long term. He had to come from a practical unknown to get his message out like this.

The fact all of that has been funded by supporters is really impressive, though.

[USS Monitor]

Thing is, Obama should have talked about race more. He had the opportunity to bring a direct conversation about race to the table and didn't.

No, he didn't. I hate that narrative: "Our first black President was the ideal person to have the long-needed 'race conversation' with America."

Yeah, it probably would have pissed everyone off and prevented him from getting elected without actually fixing anything.

I also hate the narrative that we haven't already had a conversation about race for the last several hundred years. The problem is no matter how much you talk about what needs to change, some people just won't cooperate to change it.

Not to say Obama's presidency hasn't taken the conversation in a new direction. But it's stupid to think that Obama or his successor could somehow fix racism more effectively than all the previous centuries of civil rights activism. There's not going to be some dramatic change where someone talks about racism and it gets fixed. Whatever Obama or his successor do, it's just going to be steps in an ongoing process.

[USS Monitor]

During some of the more hectic stretches of the primaries, he was spending money faster than it came in. He was getting donations the whole time, but just burned through such an obscene amount of money that his backers couldn't keep up. Even if money is still coming in, his reserves may be getting a little low. Or at least low enough where he has to be more cautious about how he throws it around...

A lot of money dropped to get your message out there. I honestly say it probably has been worth it though in the long term. He had to come from a practical unknown to get his message out like this.

The fact all of that has been funded by supporters is really impressive, though.

It is impressive, but still kind of ridiculous the amount of money his campaign has gone through.

[USS Monitor]

Well I voted today.

In a decision that I am certain will shock all the long-term participants of this thread, I had pretty much made up my mind to write in O'Malley, and be done with it, and had even rehearsed some statements for Sanders supporters disappointed that I, as a progressive voter, declined to back their candidate. Unfortunately, due to a quirk of this state's electoral laws, O'Malley did not qualify as a write-in candidate. So I threw up my hands and then voted for Hillary, falling back on my longstanding position: I'm willing to vote for Bernie Sanders, but not in a primary.

You no vote for O'Malley? I am disappoint.

[Ngelmish]

Well I voted today.

In a decision that I am certain will shock all the long-term participants of this thread, I had pretty much made up my mind to write in O'Malley, and be done with it, and had even rehearsed some statements for Sanders supporters disappointed that I, as a progressive voter, declined to back their candidate. Unfortunately, due to a quirk of this state's electoral laws, O'Malley did not qualify as a write-in candidate. So I threw up my hands and then voted for Hillary, falling back on my longstanding position: I'm willing to vote for Bernie Sanders, but not in a primary.

You no vote for O'Malley? I am disappoint.

It was literally not possible on the ballot. We can be disappoint together.

[Corrian]

I'm pretty sure I spend half my day talking to Sanders supporters like they're stupid in this one group of mine on Facebook.

[The balkens]

I'm pretty sure I spend half my day talking to Sanders supporters like they're stupid in this one group of mine on Facebook.

dont be ashamed of it.

[Corrian]

I'm pretty sure I spend half my day talking to Sanders supporters like they're stupid in this one group of mine on Facebook.

dont be ashamed of it.

And I'm a Sanders supporter, so it is kinda depressing

[The balkens]

dont be ashamed of it.

And I'm a Sanders supporter, so it is kinda depressing

...

While i respect your views and beliefs...

*Dies of laughter

i kid i kid. I like Bernie, but even i couldnt bring myself to vote for him.

[Corrian]

...

While i respect your views and beliefs...

*Dies of laughter

i kid i kid. I like Bernie, but even i couldnt bring myself to vote for him.

He's about the only one I CAN bring myself to vote for

[The balkens]

...

While i respect your views and beliefs...

*Dies of laughter

i kid i kid. I like Bernie, but even i couldnt bring myself to vote for him.

He's about the only one I CAN bring myself to vote for

You could always just vote for Gary Johnson.

Feel the Johnson....where ever you go.....

[Kelinfort]

And I'm a Sanders supporter, so it is kinda depressing

...

While i respect your views and beliefs...

*Dies of laughter

i kid i kid. I like Bernie, but even i couldnt bring myself to vote for him.

Who will you vote for?

[The balkens]

...

While i respect your views and beliefs...

*Dies of laughter

i kid i kid. I like Bernie, but even i couldnt bring myself to vote for him.

Who will you vote for?

Gary Johnson.

[Corrian]

Gary Johnson.

I actually voted for him over Obama.

[Kelinfort]

Gary Johnson.

I actually voted for him over Obama.

That makes zero political sense for you

[Corrian]

I actually voted for him over Obama.

That makes zero political sense for you

*Shrug*, so did my dad, who voted for Obama the first time. I think we were fed up with the same, and Obama was a disappointment to us, so we voted for a third party candidate. And my dad can't stand Libertarians normally. He pretty much said something along the lines of that his views aren't really his ultimate goal for how he wants things to go, but we need a change, and he'd be a start. Similar to how I felt, really.

If you go off of that site, which I can't say how reliable it is (It has been proven not to entirely be great), Isidewith says I agree with him on 70% of issues.