Trump

[Little stoned kiwi]

Elections, like chickens, shouldn't be counted before they hatch.

[guythp]

You mean eggs.


*gets coat*

[(o)(o)]

I think it’s only a small minority that are for abolishing taxes altogether. They tend to vote Libertarian, i.e. for Gary Johnson. He’s polling at around 8%, and is doing exceptionally well for a Libertarian – he is a former Republican governor so has national recognition.

The thing is though that this is a big issue for Republicans. Remember Romney lost in part because he was caught complaining to rich donors at a private dinner about the 47% who pay no income taxes. Never mind that many of those do so for good reason – they might be retired, or students, or doing unpaid work – and it is a meaningless statistic. It’s part of Republican folklore, that they pay [too much] tax to pay to lazy, underserving welfare recipients. But they accept that people should pay tax, and that those that don’t are not to be trusted.

I think you misunderstand Trump voters.

He was probably close to the truth when he said he could shoot someone on the middle of fifth avenue and not lose any voters.

[gumboot]

Core support isn't going to budge, even after a shooting. It's these swing voters you have to think about. Though you still have to be pretty thick even to consider Trump, so who can say what it takes to move them.

[phattslagg]

It really is infathomable that there can even be swing voters in this election.

Someone tweeted about this recently, likened it to being offered by an air steward, the choice of chicken or a plate of shit with shards of glass in it. Swing voters would ask how the chicken was cooked.

[F-ZeroOne]

Hillary wants to order a drone attack on London:

https://www.rt.com/usa/361459-secretary ... e-assange/

Leaving aside certain questions of military logistics (i.e. its easy to say "drone strike", arranging one is slightly harder), presumably the originators of this story have failed to consider that the UK has an organised police force whose detective skills would probably work out from the available remaining evidence a) what kind of missile was employed and b) which nations typically use such missiles as well as asking awkward questions like c) why the f**k would someone be that bloody stupid?!!.

[Ratsoap]

Trump is 5/2 at the moment. I bunged a few quid on.

[gumboot]

Leaving aside certain questions of military logistics (i.e. its easy to say "drone strike", arranging one is slightly harder),

Oh, that kind of drone! I thought she wanted to drive him out with bagpipes.

presumably the originators of this story have failed to consider that the UK has an organised police force whose detective skills would probably work out from the available remaining evidence a) what kind of missile was employed and b) which nations typically use such missiles as well as asking awkward questions like c) why the f**k would someone be that bloody stupid?!!.

I was going to say, when talking about a state that operates through proxy wars, a and b aren't really going to narrow things down much.

But c is a dead giveaway.

[Cloudane]

I thought she wanted to drive him out with bagpipes.

That would be a terrible thing to do to innocent civilians caught in the crossfire.

[gumboot]

I thought she wanted to drive him out with bagpipes.

That would be a terrible thing to do to innocent civilians caught in the crossfire.

It only matters if any of them survive long enough to tell the world what happened.

Even if subsequent investigation finds "susspected" reed fragments or tartan residue at the site it'll never be conclusive.

[pogo]

30 mins to go. Can’t see it having any impact on the outcome in November, unless one of them has a total meltdown, casting doubt on the wisdom and so the judgment whichever of Clinton/Trump chose them. It’s not even setting them up for running for president in 2020; they are both too old and too dull.

[gravy]

It’s not even setting them up for running for president in 2020; they are both too old and too dull.

They'll both be younger than the current candidates are now in 2020

[pogo]

[gumboot]

It’s not even setting them up for running for president in 2020; they are both too old and too dull.

They'll both be younger than the current candidates are now in 2020

But nowhere near as colourful!

[pogo]

It’s not even setting them up for running for president in 2020; they are both too old and too dull.

They'll both be younger than the current candidates are now in 2020

But nowhere near as colourful!

Yes, they are maybe not too old but too grey. There is some sense to Trump attacking Clinton’s stamina, and being reluctant to discuss his own poor health and lifestyle. The one thing you expect the presidency to require is stamina. It’s four years of being the person who has to deal with everything all the time. Neither Kaine nor Pence seemed especially presidential.

One thing I‘ve read a couple of times which rings true. Kaine made the case for Clinton in 2016. Pence avoided defending Trump quite skilfully, and was more making the case for Pence in 2020, by showing how the Republican party could survive Trump. Certainly nothing happened in it to influence the main event.

I think both parties need to look for new blood; they can’t keep choosing candidates of pensionable age and historically it’s quite unusual. Hard to say who that might be; there are some possibilities on the Republican side like Marco Rubio who lost to Trump, but the Democrats have no-one of similar national stature. But they have four or eight years to find someone.
edit (images courtesy of the Daily Show):