The nation may survive, but the wound to hope and order will never fully heal - US elections 2016: the october surprises

“Nazi Republicans get out of town or else”

yeah this seems off to me too. who says "get out of town or else" in 2016 esp if they are mad/punk enough to spray paint the walls?!!

also what do you want to bet hillary hits trump with the alex jones connections at the next debate, triggering yet another meltdown? (not that the last debate meltdown ever stopped)

i hope she does bring it up. i'm happy to see her campaign made that ad -- more people need to be talking about trump's connections to the far right.

I have the theory that Trump just regurgitates whatever was stuck in front of him prior to any appearance. So for the debates, he had a bunch of mostly-mainstream headlines and the bullet points, and before rallies he scans his printouts from all the conservative sites, from mainstream to fringe. If he misses a beat or all his short-term memory is used up, he starts saying weird random shit about being great and falling back on weird misogyny and xenophobia and how he has touched many women, so he must be very good with women.

― mh 😏, Sunday, October 16, 2016 6:42 PM (two hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Anecdotal evidence would seem to bear this out, and I think this is exactly the case. Dude is an imminently-suggestible and wholly reactive cipher.

http://www.politico.com/story/2016/10/donald-trump-rigged-elections-republicans-229846

Donald Trump is laying the groundwork to lose on Nov. 8, refuse to concede the election, and teeter the country into an unprecedented crisis of faith in government. Republicans and Democrats, in Washington and beyond, fear that the aftermath of the 2016 election will create a festering infection in the already deep and lasting wound that the campaign is leaving on America.

i speculated many months ago that trump might refuse to concede

tbh politico gives him too much credit with 'laying the groundwork' here for having a plan. there is no plan! there is no strategy. he just has some kind of psychological disorder and this is how he reacts to adversity because everything is about him

I think all we have re: Trump is anecdotal evidence? And what we have points to him reading and watching clips about himself, or that mention him, as his only means of getting information, since that's the only thing that holds his attention. With maybe a dash of what Bannon or Kushner tells him is worth watching.

+ Alex Jones

Is a concession required to ratify the result? Just seems like nicety to which we've grown accustomed.

Seems like a good excuse for a poll

I'M JOKING PLEASE DON'T

24 days left

WRT Trump not conceding, its worth mentioning this Ari Fleisher interview in which he concludes that the GOP can recover in 2018 if Trump leaves politics, but conservatism will be damaged for decades if Trump chooses to remain politically active.

oh yeah that guy's had his finger on the pulse for a while, good source for information

He's v good at reminiscing about 9/11

i mean alex jones is hella entertaining based on the clips i've seen, it's just that i expect his next move is to feud with some guy over the intercontinental title or attack with a steel chair or w/e

maybe alex jones could attack ari fleischer with a steel chair.. he must have some crazy finishing move though like a powerbomb with some ridiculous name

It feels like Ari would have to come back and beat him with some kind of Zionic Force of the Establishment every time, otherwise why bother listening to Alex Jones

I mean if he can just out-wrestle one of the guys who did 9/11 why is he sitting in a fucking studio instead of getting justice with his muscles

My current theory is that Trump of course knows he's going to lose, and he also knows that, generally, everyone stops paying attention to whoever loses the presidency. This is particularly true for those who don't hold another national office--your Dukakises, Gores, and Romneys, the people who concede with something like dignity.

I also think that the past year has been far and away the best year of Donald Trump's life, he's literally been the center of attention for the entire country, and a substantial part of the globe pays attention to his every word. He honestly would do whatever it takes to prolong this as long as he can, the bullshit about the election being rigged is just the easiest way to do this.

Haha, shout out to Family Guy.

I also think that the past year has been far and away the best year of Donald Trump's life, he's literally been the center of attention for the entire country, and a substantial part of the globe pays attention to his every word.

For real, how long has Donald Trump of all people dominated this message board? He's like the greatest wrestling heel of all time

I have a hard time seeing Trump getting a lot of support from Republican leaders if he refuses to concede. I don't think that's a battle they want to fight on his behalf.

xp maybe this is all a run at an ig nobel? he's earned it!

I have a hard time seeing Trump getting a lot of support from Republican leaders if he refuses to concede. I don't think that's a battle they want to fight on his behalf.

― Al Moon Faced Poon (Moodles), Monday, October 17, 2016 12:20 AM (one hour ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

the gop will stop at nothing to delegitimize hillary clinton imo

the gop will stop at nothing to delegitimize hillary clinton imo

however, the GOP will prefer to distance itself from any of its surrogates who claim HRC is 1) a space alien or 2) a lizard person or 3) a cloven-footed minion of Satan or an actual imp from hell, while remaining careful not to impugn the possible legitimacy of such claims.

http://www.motherjones.com/files/love-nest630.gif

Amid growing uncertainty about Assange's wellbeing, reports revealed that Baywatch star Pamela Anderson had visited him over the weekend at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London. Anderson, who was spotted outside the Ecuadorian Embassy carrying Pret a Manger paper bags, said that Assange had jokingly claimed that she "tortured him with bringing him vegan food".

http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/wikileaks-says-state-party-has-cut-out-julian-assanges-internet-link-amid-death-rumours-1586705?utm_source=yahoo&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=rss&utm_content=%2Frss%2Fyahoous%2Fnews&yptr=yahoo

This election cycle is so f-ing strange.

at this point i feel like cutting assange's internet connection might actually improve his mental health

I could believe Hollywood celebrities would visit Assange, but Pam Anderson seems to be one way out of nowhere.

There is a certain ironic value considering part of her celebrity is tied to a leaked 'document'.

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/17/opinion/donald-trump-the-worst-of-america.html?smid=fb-nytimes&smtyp=cur&_r=0

Nice:

He has dispensed with all semblances of wanting to appear presidential and embraced what seems to be most natural to him: acting like a pig.

I also think that the past year has been far and away the best year of Donald Trump's life, he's literally been the center of attention for the entire country, and a substantial part of the globe pays attention to his every word. He honestly would do whatever it takes to prolong this as long as he can, the bullshit about the election being rigged is just the easiest way to do this.

I agree with the first sentence, but don't underestimate the psychic impact that actually losing will have on him. It's hard on anybody, to put yourself out there and be rejected at that scale, but for someone whose go-to dividing line in the world is Winners vs. Losers I think no amount of excuses will actually cushion the blow. After maybe a few days of public tantrums I will be surprised if he doesn't essentially disappear for at least a few months. But I've been surprised all year, so who knows.

Well, to invoke a not too distant public persona disaster, it's not unlike Charlie Sheen, who responded to his terrible meltdown by defiantly, even arrogantly declaring he was winning and going on a misbegotten victory tour, and then, oh yeah, admitting he was HIV positive. One man's winning is another man's losing, especially if you are swimming in money and sycophants and have already, by many/some standards, "won." If you're shallow and materialistic and superficial, then surface achievements no doubt suffice. Because who cares about behavior and morals and ethics when you've been a horrible person all along and ended up rich?

He won't disappear. He'll continue with his rallies as if he's still campaigning because, at a certain point in his campaign, it was no longer as much about trying to attain a job that he never actually wanted to do as it was about getting high on hero worship. It remains to be seen, though, how many of his followers still show up to see him when he's no longer running to be their leader and after the big winner has lost the election more decisively than any big two POTUS candidate in decades.

Although he's making a big show at the moment about rigged elections and whatnot, this most recent stretch of petulant tantrums isn't indicative of any real desire to be president but rather a completely predictable reaction to people having the audacity to vet him like they would any run-of-the-mill non-trillionaire candidate. As I've noted before, this has been the expression of a spoiled five-year-old boy's wish to become president, and the idea that he wasn't able to effortlessly glide into the position (at least until he got bored and decided he'd rather be a fireman or an astronaut) is an affront to god and all that is right in the world.

He'll continue with his rallies as if he's still campaigning

I don't know about this. As of Nov. 9th, the RNC won't help foot the bills.

Per Sheen, he should charge people to watch him rant post election, and keep that money train going until he is posing for pictures and signing autographs at the Las Vegas AVN convention.

xpost Smaller venues, perhaps, but I can't see him pulling back on the hate rallies public speaking engagements unless his followers finally turn on him for some reason. They're fickle and debased enough that I can imagine it happening if one of these promised bombshells makes him completely toxic, but OTOH there's always a market for someone who's completely unprincipled and willing to say whatever an angry crowd wants to hear.

Our only hope is that his shadiness is finally catching up with him and he winds up spending most of his post-election time in court or jail.

the idea that he'll still have followers after losing the general is frightening to me. these are people who believe every word Donald Trump says, and therefore are going to believe 100% that the election was stolen.

https://www.ft.com/content/7dc39954-940e-11e6-a1dc-bdf38d484582

Trump son-in-law makes approach on post-election TV start-up
Jared Kushner has contacted Aryeh Bourkoff, head of boutique firm known for media deals

google the headline if you get paywalled

that said I suspect he's going to disappear after this. Republicans will hate him for destroying their party and tossing an easily winnable election, everyone else will hate him for being an awful person in general; even his fickle supporters will dislike him for being a loser.

Morning!

Of interest:

http://www.politico.com/story/2016/10/obama-holder-redistricting-gerrymandering-229868

I dunno, Trump supporters are engaged in Salem-esque levels of cognitive dissonance atm in defending him and expressing belief that he has any chance at all on Nov. 8. I almost feel like nothing factual about Trump (up to and including whether he even wins the election) actually matters to them. He's basically just an abstract figurehead around whom the hateful can unite.

Ha, I like the lede here, from the Daily Caller:

If you think Trump will win, or can win, or even wants to win, that’s terrific. I respect your religious beliefs. But if he doesn’t win, if he disappoints you, don’t worry. He’ll be okay. He’s got a Plan B.

The RNC won't pay so his adoring masses will just have to pony up $35 each for entry - $350 if you want to shake his hand.

At that point I think the deplorables MIGHT just start recognizing the scam.

Not if the behavior of people in the eighties re: televangelists is any indication.

Ultimately it's a question of shame and embarassment -- can someone admit to themselves and, if they've been VERY public about it, to their friends/neighbors/etc., that they've been rooked? Some can. Not all.

I think all we have re: Trump is anecdotal evidence? And what we have points to him reading and watching clips about himself, or that mention him, as his only means of getting information, since that's the only thing that holds his attention. With maybe a dash of what Bannon or Kushner tells him is worth watching.

― El Tomboto, Sunday, October 16, 2016 9:32 PM (yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I think the whole "skimming the news, headlines first" thing really struck a chord when Trump said, in a debate, "The fed is doing a political" which I am guessing is half of a headline. I yelled at the television, "You have to remember the whole headline!"

The RNC won't pay so his adoring masses will just have to pony up $35 each for entry - $350 if you want to shake his hand.

$500 if you want to wash your hand right afterwards.