Donald Trump winks and nods to the Second Amendment people

[Trinopus]

Paul Ryan gets it. “It sounds like just a joke gone bad.” And “You shouldn’t joke about something like that.”

[Wesley_Clark]

Ryan never really had credibility, now he has even less.

[running_coach]

@Wesley_Clark

Ryan never really had credibility, now he has even less.

How can he have less if he had none?

[Procrustus]

@Trinopus

Paul Ryan gets it. “It sounds like just a joke gone bad.” And “You shouldn’t joke about something like that.”

Did he then add, “I can therefore no longer support his candidacy?”

[E-DUB]

Fiveyearlurker wrote: “In fairness, it could also be interpreted to suggest an armed uprising against the government rather than an assassination.”

I suspect that, in practice, this would be a distinction without a difference.

What a jackwad. (Trump, not Fiveyearlurker.)

[Fiveyearlurker]

@E-DUB

Fiveyearlurker wrote: “In fairness, it could also be interpreted to suggest an armed uprising against the government rather than an assassination.”

I suspect that, in practice, this would be a distinction without a difference.

What a jackwad. (Trump, not Fiveyearlurker.)

Well, me too, but in very different ways than Trump.

[Northern_Piper]

@asahi

No presidential candidate in modern times, and probably no president ever (except possibly for someone like Andrew Jackson) has suggested that their political opposition be whacked or eliminated, even ‘jokingly.’

Good call on Jackson. Although not well-documented, he is said to have commented on leaving the presidency:

[QUOTE=Maybe by Old Hickory]
… that he had lived his whole life in plain sight of the public and the people, hiding nothing, simulating nothing, confessing nothing, extenuating nothing and regretting nothing — except that he could never get a chance to shoot Clay or hang Calhoun.
[/QUOTE]

[cochrane]

@Steve_MB

It’s hopeless to expect the Republicans to nominate anyone who isn’t a clown, but could they at least go for more Clarabelle and Bozo and Ronald McDonald and less Pennywise and Joker and Sideshow Bob?

Exactly my point. I was thinking of Pennywise.

“We float down here. We all float.”

[EddyTeddyFreddy]

@Euphonious_Polemic

Exactly. What Trump said is clear:

IF she gets to pick her judges.
Nothing you can do.

This is CLEARLY referring to a situation where Clinton has been elected.

“Although the Second Amendment people, maybe there is”

So AFTER she is elected, the “second amendment people” can prevent her from appointing judges. How would they do this, hmmmmm? Clearly not by voting - that has already taken place. There is only ONE SINGLE interpretation of this. Anyone who tries to spin this another way is just as guilty as Trump.

Hey, maybe he meant those Second Amendment folks could pick off the judges she appoints. Problem solved!

See? he wasn’t targeting her after all!

[John_Stamos_Left_Ear]

Via Facebook:

To anyone who still pretends this is a normal election of Republican against Democrat, history is watching. And I suspect its verdict will be harsh. Many have tried to do a side-shuffle and issue statements saying they strongly disagree with his rhetoric but still support the candidate. That is becoming woefully insufficient. The rhetoric is the candidate.

Dan Rather

[coremelt]

18 U.S. Code § 2383
“Whoever incites, sets on foot, assists, or engages in any rebellion or insurrection against the authority of the United States or the laws thereof, or gives aid or comfort thereto, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both; and shall be incapable of holding any office under the United States.”

18 U.S. Code § 2383 - Rebellion or insurrection

Between this comment and the past allegations that if he loses the election is rigged, this should be more than enough to charge Trump with incitement to insurrection. He is intentionally trying to disrupt the peaceful transfer of power, which is a keystone of democracy. How anyone can support Trump and claim to be a US patriot is beyond my understanding.

[Derleth]

“This is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.” - Winston Churchill.

This could really be a turning point, a campaign-defining moment, if the specter of standing with a man who advocates assassination finally gets the minimally sane Republicans to repudiate him. This could really snowball. Maybe I just need sleep.

[by-tor]

This is what Trump does. He says heinous, outrageous things and gets free press out of it. His later spin will generate more free press.

And yes, any press is good press as far as his strategy is concerned. It riles up his base, enlists some people who were going to sit out the election or are otherwise undecided and most importantly, keeps the spotlight focused on him for free.

I do not believe that any of it is off the cuff and the product of deranged idiot. It is calculated.

And the press take the bait every time. Most days the BBC News site is practically the Trump channel.

I refuse to click on Trump articles to support it.

[Merneith]

@asahi

As I said, this is a fascist tactic. Those who try to explain it or minimize it are apologists for fascism, and they are enemies of the state.

Well said.

[Little_Nemo]

@by-tor

This is what Trump does. He says heinous, outrageous things and gets free press out of it. His later spin will generate more free press.

And yes, any press is good press as far as his strategy is concerned. It riles up his base, enlists some people who were going to sit out the election or are otherwise undecided and most importantly, keeps the spotlight focused on him for free.

I do not believe that any of it is off the cuff and the product of deranged idiot. It is calculated.

And the press take the bait every time. Most days the BBC News site is practically the Trump channel.

I refuse to click on Trump articles to support it.

Nonsense. He’s the Republican nominee for President. He doesn’t need to act like a buffoon to get press coverage.

And obviously, his idiocy is hurting him. His numbers keep dropping. He’s convincing the undecided people they should vote for somebody else.

This isn’t strategy. This is the opposite of strategy.

[Merneith]

Gary Kasparov drops the hammer on Twitter.

@Gary Kasparov's tweets on Trump's words

Putin's followers often "joke" about opposition leaders being killed. Posters with crosshairs, etc. Then they are murdered and it's no joke.

Trump joking about someone shooting Hillary is sick & dangerous. It's how unbalanced people are inspired to murder. It trivializes violence.

It's not about giving the order to murder. Creating the culture of violence, hatred, & impunity is enough. Killing without consequences.

That is why you cannot take these things lightly at all. The normalization of violent rhetoric inevitably leads to violence.

Here’s he’s Twitter stream -
https://twitter.com/Kasparov63
Link to his collected tweets (you can follow each individually)

Garry Kasparov finds Trump's 'Second Amendment people' remarks all too familiar

[Snowboarder_Bo]

@Leo_Krupe

The only way I can deal with all this Trump-ness is by laughing. Because if by some chance he actually gets elected, I’ll sit in a corner and scream, and simply not stop.

(bolding mine)

I think you mean Trumpiness.

[Merneith]

Here’s an article at Salon from a couple years ago, about the Wanted poster put out in Dallas six months before JFK’s assassination =

The "Wanted For Treason" Flyer Distributed in Dallas Before JFK's Visit

There’s an image of the flyer there.

The image is a mugshot-style front and profile shot of JFK above the words “Wanted for Treason”.

The guy who put it out, General Edwin Walker, was a right-wing loon who was fired for violating the Hatch Act, by distributing John Birch Society literature to his troops. He moved to Dallas and distributed this poster in April, 1963.

The complaints on the poster are almost word-for-word the sort of shit you hear from right-wing terrorists today about Obama and Hillary Clinton:

Here’s the text of the JFK wanted poster:

@text from Edwin Walker's JFK Wanted poster

WANTED
FOR
TREASON

THIS MAN is wanted for treasonous activities against the United States:

l. Betraying the Constitution (which he swore to uphold:

He is turning the sovereignty of the U. S. over to the communist controlled United Nations. He is betraying our friends (Cuba, Katanga, Portugal} and befriend- ing our enemies (Russia, Yugoslavia, Poland).

2. He has been WRONG on innumerable issues affecting the curity of the U.S. (United Nations - Berlin wall - Missle removal -Cuba -Wheat deals -Test Ban Treaty ,etc)

3. He has been lax in enforcing Communist Registration laws.

4. He has given support and encouragement to the Communist inspired racial riots.

5.He has illegally invaded a sovereign State with federal troops.

6. He has consistently appointed Anti-Christians to Federal office:
   Upholds the Supreme Court in its Anti-Christian rulings. Aliens and known Communists abound in Federal offices.

7. He has been caught in fantastic LIES to the American people (including personal ones like his previous marriage and divorce).

The only real difference between Walker and Trump is that Walker would have thought Trump was a commie-lover.

[Try2B_Comprehensive]

@asahi

This is officially the moment at which the Republican party stopped being a party, and became the American fascist movement.

Oh, I dunno. For instance, in Florida, isn’t it legal to shoot someone, anyone, if one sincerely feels they are threatening their 2nd Amendment rights? [<---- snarky, sarcastic comment]

@Wesley_Clark

The saddest and scariest part is that a guy like Trump who openly praises Vladimir Putin, who has called on our political enemies to commit crimes against the US to help Trump’s political agenda (hacking Hillary’s emails), who says we should be able to suppress the media, and who now is calling for the assassination of his political opponents will win at minimum 50 million votes in the general election.

@Wesley_Clark

Do you know about right wing authoritarianism (RWA)? It is a personality type that is prone to fascism.

Trumps supporters are high on RWA.

What is the core of RWA in America today, and perhaps Trump’s largest base of support? Evangelicals. It is not limited only to them of course, but consider the evangelical view:

Why Voting for Donald Trump Is a Morally Good Choice

Because, along with other superfluous, discardable precepts (including the 1st Amendment) like “it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God”, we can include marginal asides like, “Thou shalt not kill.” Of course Trump is the candidate for whom the religious should vote! Law. and. Order, people!!

[by-tor]

Little Nemo, I am not saying it is a winning strategy but it is his strategy. It got him past all the “boring” nominees and won him the nomination.

Obviously it is not working in the real race so far but I do not think he has a plan B.

He gets way more press saying obnoxious things and acting out than if he was a reasonable, conservative candidate talking about realistic policy. I don’t see how you can dispute that.