If the republican primary were today, who would you vote for?

[MisterChester]

I was listening to a Trump rally, and couldn't help but think even he doesn't know what he's doing. When asked about how he's going to do something he says "I'm just going to do it". Alright but how?

 

[GodFearinGunTotin]

I was listening to a Trump rally, and couldn't help but think even he doesn't know what he's doing. When asked about how he's going to do something he says "I'm just going to do it". Alright but how?

In all fairness, they all do that. When Andrew Horning was last active on here and was running, I asked him simple, questions like what would be the first piece of legislation he would file and he wouldn't answer it. He gave generalities and policy position type answers.

 

[bwframe]

I was listening to a Trump rally, and couldn't help but think even he doesn't know what he's doing. When asked about how he's going to do something he says "I'm just going to do it". Alright but how?

I'll take a guy with a track record of actually getting things done over smooth talkers that are just as good at explaining why they couldn't. Like we have now.

 

[EricG]

An enemy of John Boehner is a friend of mine.

 

[jamil]

Carson pulls nearly even with Trump in Times/CBS News poll

I think the fact that the candidates at the top or are climbing in the polls, are from the private sector, and all the politicians are sinking is very telling. A retired neurosurgeon, a real estate mogul, and a former CEO are more successful than the governors and senators, who are on the bottom or sinking. It's definitely a middle finger to establishment politics.

I was listening to a Trump rally, and couldn't help but think even he doesn't know what he's doing. When asked about how he's going to do something he says "I'm just going to do it". Alright but how?

I think the Presidency is OJT. I get the feeling that Trump doesn't really know anything about being President but he is confident he can figure it out. In that respect he's no worse off than any other president.

I don't blame the people who are supporting Trump. People are fed up and angry at the feckless politicians they've been sending to Washington. They want someone with some feck and they perceive that he has it. I'm convinced he's a lying clown, but the people who support him can say, "well, aren't they all?"

In all fairness, they all do that. When Andrew Horning was last active on here and was running, I asked him simple, questions like what would be the first piece of legislation he would file and he wouldn't answer it. He gave generalities and policy position type answers.

I found his deflecting on that question astonishing. Why do you want to run if you don't have a to-do list? Your question was essentially, okay, Mr. Horning, what is at the top of YOUR to-do list? Everyone has an agenda, and it's a fair question to ask about his. Why was he so afraid to let that be known?

 

[jamil]

I'll take a guy with a track record of actually getting things done over smooth talkers that are just as good at explaining why they couldn't. Like we have now.

On the other hand, if something can't be done, I want my representatives to be honest about that. Can't get Obamacare repealed? Why not? Well, because the President won't sign that bill and there is not enough support for repeal to withstand a veto. Yep. That's honest.

Can't defund planned parenthood. Why? Because the President won't sign that, and there probably isn't even enough support to get it passed both houses anyway. And if there were, there certainly wouldn't be enough support to withstand the President's sure veto.

Shutting the government down to try to get those things done doesn't accomplish anything but solidify moderates against republicans. The president has the bully pulpit and this one knows how to use it to marginalize people who disagree with him. I want those things to get done, but currently, getting those things done are politically impossible. That's honest.

I don't hear anything from Trump that makes me believe that he's not just telling you what you want to hear. He is capitalizing on your frustration with politicians who promise what they can't deliver.

 

[GodFearinGunTotin]

I don't blame the people who are supporting Trump. People are fed up and angry at the feckless politicians they've been sending to Washington. They want someone with some feck and they perceive that he has it. I'm convinced he's a lying clown, but the people who support him can say, "well, aren't they all?"

That's my biggest problem with him. He's not a conservative or libertarian--he's a liberal. He's a populist sounding conservative on some things but he's a liberal and all of his solutions will be based as such.

I found his deflecting on that question astonishing. Why do you want to run if you don't have a to-do list? Your question was essentially, okay, Mr. Horning, what is at the top of YOUR to-do list? Everyone has an agenda, and it's a fair question to ask about his. Why was he so afraid to let that be known?

In Horning's case, with the responses we were able to get, I'm left to believe his plan was to be the "no" guy. For other politicians, I think they're advised to not give specifics for as long as possible. Specifics give your opponents ammunition to use against you. Which, if you think your plan, your policies are the best, I would think you'd want to run on them and force your opponents to list theirs for comparison. But it seems to be conventional campaign strategy not to.

 

[Spear Dane]

I would vote for Trump. I do not like him, never have. I wish he did not find it necessary to insult certain segments of the population. He is an a-hole but he knows how to make a good deal and get things done and I think that's exactly what this country needs right now. This mass kool-aid consumption the Dems have engaged in re: Iran Nuke deal simply horrifies me. It's like setting a violent rapist loose in a small town with a .45 and a bottle of Viagra.
Then we have the GOP, who's solution to everything when they can't have their way is to stage a government shut down.

 

[bwframe]

On the other hand, if something can't be done, I want my representatives to be honest about that. Can't get Obamacare repealed? Why not? Well, because the President won't sign that bill and there is not enough support for repeal to withstand a veto. Yep. That's honest.

Can't defund planned parenthood. Why? Because the President won't sign that, and there probably isn't even enough support to get it passed both houses anyway. And if there were, there certainly wouldn't be enough support to withstand the President's sure veto.

Shutting the government down to try to get those things done doesn't accomplish anything but solidify moderates against republicans. The president has the bully pulpit and this one knows how to use it to marginalize people who disagree with him. I want those things to get done, but currently, getting those things done are politically impossible. That's honest.

I don't hear anything from Trump that makes me believe that he's not just telling you what you want to hear. He is capitalizing on your frustration with politicians who promise what they can't deliver.

Regardless, they should still bring these things to a vote. Put those opposing on record. That is how it's done with the future in mind.

Similarly, the Boehner/McConnell wimpiness about shutting down the government is old thinking. They are only worried about themselves and their own jobs rather than what they were elected for, the good of the country and what their constituents wish.

Too many of us have bought into the news media narrative that government shutdowns are bad. We forget and or cannot see that even the last government shutdown brought us the sentiment for huge republican gains the following election.

 

[IndyDave1776]

Regardless, they should still bring these things to a vote. Put those opposing on record. That is how it's done with the future in mind.

Similarly, the Boehner/McConnell wimpiness about shutting down the government is old thinking. They are only worried about themselves and their own jobs rather than what they were elected for, the good of the country and what their constituents wish.

Too many of us have bought into the news media narrative that government shutdowns are bad. We forget and or cannot see that even the last government shutdown brought us the sentiment for huge republican gains the following election.

Well said. the situation is never going to get perfect enough for the Boehners of teh world to take a stand because they do not in fact wish to do so, they simply want us to believe that they will 'if they get a chance' so we will continue voting for them--a fraud the present shamelessly. Their owners want them to do exactly what they are doing.

You are exactly on target regarding the threat of a shutdown all the way around. After all, what exactly is it? The dems insist on lumping everything into one all or nothing basked and saying 'my way or the highway' and then propagandize it into the appearance of the Republicans presenting that attitude while they close down .gov tourist traps and see that the 'entitlement' payments are late that month while everything else goes on like normal. They are true masters of holding us hostage while propagandizing the image of themselves as victims.

 

[ATM]

I celebrate government shutdowns.

 

[spec4]

While I like the idea of runaway govt being shut down, it seems all that is accomplished is the Dems get to demonize the GOP and the brain dead electorate buys it.

 

[ATM]

While I like the idea of runaway govt being shut down, it seems all that is accomplished is the Dems get to demonize the GOP and the brain dead electorate buys it.

If they'd quit starting it back up, that wouldn't really matter.

 

[IndyDave1776]

If they'd quit starting it back up, that wouldn't really matter.

The problem is that they really never shut it down, they just shut down the points of contact with the outside world so that the less than critical observer believes that the sky is falling. The museums shut down. When you call a .gov agency for assistance, you get rolled over to the after hours voice mail during normal business hours. The welfare and SS payments don't go out on time. Otherwise, it is pretty much business as usual, shutdown or not.

 

[bwframe]

The problem is that they really never shut it down, they just shut down the points of contact with the outside world so that the less than critical observer believes that the sky is falling. The museums shut down. When you call a .gov agency for assistance, you get rolled over to the after hours voice mail during normal business hours. The welfare and SS payments don't go out on time. Otherwise, it is pretty much business as usual, shutdown or not.

On top of that the government employees that are supposedly laid off always end up getting paid anyway for not working.
Like Trump or not, he will recognize this for the terrible business practice it is and talk, talk, talk about it to the hundreds of microphones stuck in his face.

 

[ATM]

The problem is that they really never shut it down, they just shut down the points of contact with the outside world so that the less than critical observer believes that the sky is falling. The museums shut down. When you call a .gov agency for assistance, you get rolled over to the after hours voice mail during normal business hours. The welfare and SS payments don't go out on time. Otherwise, it is pretty much business as usual, shutdown or not.

Let all the funding sunset, I'm ready for some real shutdown.

 

[jamil]

Regardless, they should still bring these things to a vote. Put those opposing on record. That is how it's done with the future in mind.

Similarly, the Boehner/McConnell wimpiness about shutting down the government is old thinking. They are only worried about themselves and their own jobs rather than what they were elected for, the good of the country and what their constituents wish.

Too many of us have bought into the news media narrative that government shutdowns are bad. We forget and or cannot see that even the last government shutdown brought us the sentiment for huge republican gains the following election.

To me, bringing it up for a vote they know will fail, may have some merit if it could actually be used to oust the people who voted against. But it mostly can't. It can help a conservative candidate in a conservative district against a moderate to liberal opponent. But in a moderate to liberal district, no, it doesn't help. Because those people think the conservatives are extremists.

And shutdowns don't help Republicans at all except with conservatives. There was no endgame. In the end, Obama won. That's what America saw. The Republicans making a stand and then Obama getting his way anyway. So the shutdowns just seem senseless to the vast majority of Americans.

And I'm not discounting the possibility that my estimation of the American electorate is off. But I think you guys overestimate the size of the
moral majority". Because there is no such thing. Republicans didn't win big because of shutdowns. Republicans didn't win big because America mostly wanted Republicans to lead congress. Republicans won because the races favored Republicans in 2014. Many incumbents who won their offices in conservative districts on Obama's coattails or whatever, were up for reelection. Also Republican turnout is usually better in midterm elections than democrat turnout.

That said, I do think Obama has pushed America further left than it wanted to go. But last poll I saw, a Ted Cruz kind of candidate would be trounced by even a criminal democratic candidate like Clinton in 2016.

Well said. the situation is never going to get perfect enough for the Boehners of teh world to take a stand because they do not in fact wish to do so, they simply want us to believe that they will 'if they get a chance' so we will continue voting for them--a fraud the present shamelessly. Their owners want them to do exactly what they are doing.

You are exactly on target regarding the threat of a shutdown all the way around. After all, what exactly is it? The dems insist on lumping everything into one all or nothing basked and saying 'my way or the highway' and then propagandize it into the appearance of the Republicans presenting that attitude while they close down .gov tourist traps and see that the 'entitlement' payments are late that month while everything else goes on like normal. They are true masters of holding us hostage while propagandizing the image of themselves as victims.

That's a good assessment about the establishment Republicans. They're pretty much like Dick Lugar. Might as well be Democrats. But they need conservatives to vote for them to keep their jobs, so they pretend. I get that.

And I also agree with you on the real economic impact of the shutdowns we've had. Obama was caught shutting down the parts of government that would cause the most indignation.

So why fall into that trap? Why do Republicans play along? I'll tell you why. Much because of what you've already said, they really want a lot of the same things: crony capitalism. They really only disagree on which cronies they support. But they have to play their pretend because conservatives demand things like government shutdowns.

And it doesn't help at all. If you're going to shut down the government, have a ****ing plan to win. What the **** did Cruz get out of his little trick? Not a damn thing except personal gain in the form of a few supporters for his presidential bid. He lost. Obama got what he wanted.

If you go through all that and you lose, it makes you look weak just like Obama looks after the Iran negotiations. And as weak as America looks, after Obama retires from his current job he could make a fortune endorsing tampons in the Middle East.

On top of that the government employees that are supposedly laid off always end up getting paid anyway for not working.
Like Trump or not, he will recognize this for the terrible business practice it is and talk, talk, talk about it to the hundreds of microphones stuck in his face.

The reason I don't want Trump for president is that after Trump has done all his talking, I believe that's all that will have been accomplished.

 

[IndyDave1776]

Let all the funding sunset, I'm ready for some real shutdown.

C:\budget\del *.*

C:\USConstitution\CTRL+ALT+DEL

Problem solved!

If only we could pull it off!

 

[jamil]

Let all the funding sunset, I'm ready for some real shutdown.

That's wishful thinking. If only.

 

[Spear Dane]

Let all the funding sunset, I'm ready for some real shutdown.

I suspect you don't understand what an actual sudden and total shut down of the federal apparatus would do to the country. It would be utterly ruinous and pretty quickly too.