Not a Trump fan or a Hillary super fan, but the chaos is intoxicating!

Politics & Elections
#1

Not a super fan of either of these candidates, but I’m absolutely loving the whole chaotic whirlwind of this political season. Sanders vs Hillary, the GOP vs its base. Honestly you could barely make this stuff up. This is better than bread and circuses!

All the usual Republican huffing and puffing about liberals and Obama has gone strangely silent at the local bars and Rotary Club. They are in a contemplative mood. Sweaty GOP apparatchiks in a panic. Not seeing a lot of enthusiasm for Hillary from Democrats in my area, more of a “Well… I guess I gotta” resignation.

Pundits disgraced. Pollsters set back on their heels. Yes it’s a messy pile in many ways … but still so much more entertaining than the usual scrum. Things are changing in big way and will stay changed for some time.

#2

No they’re not. The only big change is that a woman will be President. The Republicans will continue to attempt to block her and the Dems at every turn, if anything digging their heels even further into the sand (along with their heads).

And very little will get done. Business as usual.

#3

Man, Obama spoiled us, didn’t he? I first voted for Bill back in 1992. Guess I gotta, I thought. 1996 and 2000 I lived in non-swing states, voted Nader. 2004? Guess i gotta, I thought, voting for Kerry.

Guess I gotta is the default setting for politics. No way should we expect to have an interesting or appealing candidate more than once or twice in a lifetime.

#4

That old saying that goes like “May you live in interesting times” is many times confused as blessing, in reality it is a curse.

#5

Well… I don’t think the GOP Trump enthusiasts are going to get meekly in line again even if Trump fails. I mean just read some of the National Review articles here. They are utterly delusional and clueless. They chatter on about how he’s a “bad conservative” and not even a scrap of introspection about how they came to this pass. And this is what passes for the ideological brain trust of the GOP! It’s like they are taking crazy pills.

I don’t think the lower rungs of the GOP are going to re-shackle themselves to the “Israel, Abortion, no taxes for the 1% etc” agenda of the power brokers. They have their own, different concerns and are feeling their power.

#6

I watch politics instead of televised sports. Mostly for the same reasons (suspense, adversarial contests, rooting for my team). I think there’s a little bit more “actually matters” quotient for politics than for football or basketball, but I also know it’s the entertainment value as much as anything that gets me riveted.

And yeah, great season so far!

#7

^^ :smiley: ^^

Totally great season. It’s so spontaneous, we don’t even know when the next episode will air most of the time!

(Please tell me the next episode has a Trump tumor reveal :wink: )

#8

If you think politics are “entertaining”, I shudder to think what you might find boring.

#9

As an outsider looking on I don’t find your politics intoxicating, frankly I find them to be rather pathetic. You may not care but I suspect the world is looking on and its embarrassed for you.

#10

It’s good to know you guys have our back, because if we are one thing, it is shameless.

#11

I’ve been trying to imagine what the various leaders of other countries are thinking if Trump should win. They’ve got to be contemplating it. How do they square being in the same room with him to their populace? Or, og forbid, acting chummy and doing photo ops?

#12

They are only worried if they have a small penis, or no penis. World leaders compare size all the time, it’s what they do. With Trump, they’ll have to be more open about it now.

Even if not a fan of either party’s nominee, just pick the one whose positions line-up best with yours (and hold your nose if needed).

#13

“I’m telling you all, this is a* Great* Tumor. The surgeons say it’s actually going to make my brain *more *powerful. You’re gonna see, the treatment’s going to turn out SOOO good, my hair won’t just not fall off it will get even better.” [Wild ovation and chanting]

#14

The Republican party has been dying since Clinton left office. Trump enthusiast will forget about the election as soon as they find something shiny to look at. In fact, I’m betting a rerun of Days of Thunder would take half of Trump’s typical audience away.

#15

Yep, even people from Taiwan. Recently the New Media animation group funded by a Hong Kong Tycoon has 3d animations that are shown in Taiwan news shows, they have been shown in the USA too. When recently they made fun of Palin supporting Trump over Cruz they made the note that Palin and Trump seem to be run by hamster wheels (The hamster asks for help to the viewer, must be related to the SDMB server ones) :slight_smile:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RLKNUKfx0sA

#16

Could be worse. No armed insurrection, regularly scheduled elections. Last time we switched POTUS, he got a Nobel Peace Prize before he actually did anything. (I’m saying the quality of our candidates may vary widely, but on the other hand, none of them stick around too long either.)

Essentially, this too shall pass. And right now, it is fun as all get out. Brokered conventions, political party dissension. I admit part of my enjoyment is my belief that Trump couldn’t win if he paid every voter.

Brokered convention people! The re-emergence of Mitt Romney! I feel like a Bloom County character (Milo!). Ah, the sweet smell of politics. Mwahahahhaha!

#17

This national performance art makes me embarrassed for the country.

#18

I’m betting that at some point, Hillary will be carrying Donald’s love child.

#19

I agree. For the first time in my entire life I am not strongly in favor of a particular candidate. I am amazed that a nationally televised debate would contain an affirmation about a large penis size. Likewise, I am unsure if that is a good thing or a bad thing.

I think Trump has fundamentally changed the political dynamic in this country. It remains to be seen if it lasts and/or it will last beyond him.

I do, however, think that it is a positive development that a candidate can survive by being so confrontational to, well, everyone. That’s good in a free society whether it comes from the left or the right.

#20

Trump doesn’t know the political rules, so he breaks them at pretty much every turn. Essentially he’s an independent in Republican clothing.

The dynamic isn’t really changing, it’s just being stretched like a rubberband. I expect that after he loses the general election, it will spring back, though not without a large amount of acrimony from the conservative core.