I'll be real interested to see the debates. He hasn't really run against Clinton yet, all he's done is win an unfair fight. The Tea party purity nutjobs eviscerated the Republican party so much that there weren't remotely any viable candidates who could challenge him. And the Never Trump position never stood a chance because they swore to never vote for Hillary, so exactly what power did they have?
This is why you want a strong primary season with strong, viable candidates. It's like a crucible, you want a candidate forged through hardship and winning over their opponents and those with differing opinions to become a more rounded opponent. Trump didn't have to work hard at all for this. And I feel like Democrats were robbed of this as well, but you know what? Hillary's been around since I was a kid and had to fight through thicker sh1t just because she's a woman. I don't agree with the lady on a lot of things, but fvck is she tough.
The end result is that you've got a water reed going up against a samurai sword when it comes to an actual political battle. He's a bully, a petty one, even now
starting Super PACs to take down Cruz and Kasich even after securing the nomination, going against someone who doesn't stand down to bullies, and we all know how that turns out. Right now, with the candidates shared unpopularity, it's hard to imagine them picking up a lot more supporters, but I can picture Hillary picking up more NeverTrumps than Trump picking up NeverHillarys. It's going to be much easier for people to be impressed with Hillary than to be impressed with Trump when you put them in the same room.
Trump can't really fight Clinton on terms of experience, which is what she's running on, because there's no comparison. Usually when you run a non-politician, you want them to have comparable experience in private life. "Doing this has exposed me to this and this and that." Bill Gates is a billionaire from Microsoft, but that gave him national and international business experience and expertise, he would understand trade because of it, he would understand the importance of a standard for business practices around the world and free trade and sh1t like that, but he also started the
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and engaged in charity work around the world so he could have an understanding of the importance of peace and ambassadorships and international relations, etc. That kind of thing. You can see a continuity of thought, and what the hard work has taught that person, and that kind of experience IS acceptable as a substitute for experience in the political machine.
Trump is a brand. He's kind of like Krusty the Klown, he slaps his name on a lot of stuff, loves the bluster, he's kind of a figurehead but delegates a lot of responsibility (which IS an important skill, and
one he's apparently not very good at),and because of that his practical experience is pretty limited. Hell, when searching for a VP, they said that
the VP would be in charge of most domestic and foreign policy. He doesn't really have outside interests,
he doesn't read, he's not curious about things, which are pretty important in a World Leader. And, honestly, there's nothing wrong with that. He likes to create businesses, to expand, that's his thing and more power to him, I guess, but that's not what a President does.
So he's not the kind of non-politician who can stack up against a career politician, but they do exist.
He's stuck using generalizations and code words because he can't attack Clinton specifically. First is that he probably doesn't know the specifics (though I can imagine them being drilled into his head for the debates), but also because, similar to Jon Stewart's video last night, any character flaw he accuses Hillary of having, he possesses in excess. You can't call someone else an elitist when you sit on a gold throne. You can call her Crooked Hillary, but if you point to actual court proceedings, Hillary can point out that Trump has been involved in
3,500 lawsuits. Thirty-five HUNDRED. 70 in the last year..
Unemployment is down (although there ARE issues with
how that number is ascertained), but he can't bring that up without risking Clinton pointing out that
Trump doesn't pay his bills. He can go on about doom and gloom, but relatively, things are fine Even with constant gunmen going on rampages, crime is at a forty year low, immigrants are the least likely people to commit crimes, and more people have been killed by cows than radical Islam. And you know these statistics will come up in a debate. The doom and gloom, the horrible dystopia that the Repubs have spent the week ranting about isn't the present, it's their perception of the future under an inevitable Clinton presidency. And they have to be fire and brimstone about it because really, the worst that will be is annoying. I survived W, I can make it through Hillary. And honestly, I'm not that picky about the person who rescues me from a dumpster fire.
via ****, b/c I couldn't just link it earlier: Everything is FINE
Okay, not ALL things are fine, but actual issues facing us sure aren't being addressed by the GOP. There's no talk about system racism being a key factor in the police violence against black communities or the insane overpopulation of prisons, for example.