[Discussion] 2016 Presidential Elections Vote-All

The US Presidential Elections catch-all. All discussion related to the ongoing campaigns can go here.

I do love it when people look at the polls and say `Trump can't win.' I don't even care if it isn't true. I need the reassurance.

Great. As a sports fan who knows how these things work you don't say that. In fact, what you say, is that Trump will probably win. Even if you don't believe it (I kind of believe it and have been saying it for a while now) you just say it. You never say, "Trump can't win". That's tempting fate. Plouffe should know better.

I used to think Trump couldn't win, but I've come to realize I misunderstood the US electorate.

Your best guide is the polls, and they're pretty clear: Trump can win. He's behind, so something more needs to go right for him, but it's not difficult to envision that.

The attitude of deriding and shaming independent, disengaged, and undecided voters is at play in the GOP as well. They've successfully branded this election as a reckoning over the future of the Supreme Court, and many people who are strong second amendment supporters or strong anti-abortion rights voters will hold their noses and vote for Trump, despite everything else.

I wish more disaffected Republicans would take a closer look at Johnson, but I know many of them won't because they perceive that as "throwing away their votes" and handing Clinton the White House.

For The First Time In Its 126-Year History, This Newspaper Endorsed A Democrat

The Arizona Republic has only endorsed Republican candidates for president in its 126-year history.

But this year is different, the paper’s editorial board wrote on Tuesday.

Hillary “Clinton has the temperament and experience to be president,” the board wrote. “Donald Trump does not.”

The endorsement editorial, which said the paper has “a deep philosophical appreciation for conservative ideals and Republican principles,” praised Clinton for her experience, and trashed the GOP nominee. The paper wrote that Trump’s lack of control poses a real threat to national security and called his recent “conversion to conservatism unconvincing.”

I Wrote That I Despised Hillary Clinton. Today, I Want To Publicly Take It Back.

When this election began, I was like millions of millennial men: a "Bernie bro" rooting hard for Sen. Sanders.

Watching the candidate of my dreams get steam late and lose in the primary wasn't so different from watching my favorite football team not have enough energy to complete a fourth quarter rally. Hopeful, exciting, but ultimately deflating and disappointing.

farley3k wrote:

For The First Time In Its 126-Year History, This Newspaper Endorsed A Democrat

The Arizona Republic has only endorsed Republican candidates for president in its 126-year history.

But this year is different, the paper’s editorial board wrote on Tuesday.

Hillary “Clinton has the temperament and experience to be president,” the board wrote. “Donald Trump does not.”

The endorsement editorial, which said the paper has “a deep philosophical appreciation for conservative ideals and Republican principles,” praised Clinton for her experience, and trashed the GOP nominee. The paper wrote that Trump’s lack of control poses a real threat to national security and called his recent “conversion to conservatism unconvincing.”

Times like these give me reason to believe my state won't go the way of Kansas. I hope we do move away from magical thinking and go purple like Colorado.

I was actually too anxious to watch this debate. It wouldn't have changed my mind about voting for Hillary anyway, and I detest even looking at Trump. He disgusts me so much that the very sight of him is revolting.

bekkilyn wrote:

I was actually too anxious to watch this debate. It wouldn't have changed my mind about voting for Hillary anyway, and I detest even looking at Trump. He disgusts me so much that the very sight of him is revolting.

That's basically where my wife is at this point.

obirano wrote:
bekkilyn wrote:

I was actually too anxious to watch this debate. It wouldn't have changed my mind about voting for Hillary anyway, and I detest even looking at Trump. He disgusts me so much that the very sight of him is revolting.

That's basically where my wife is at this point.

Mine as well.

1988, 1992 - George HW Bush - planning to vote for Hillary
2000, 2004 - George W Bush - not supporting Trump
2008 - John McCain - not supporting Trump
2012 - Mitt Romney - not supporting Trump

None of the prior Republican Presidents or Presidential candidates are willing to support Trump. That's pretty telling.

kaostheory wrote:

1988, 1992 - George HW Bush - planning to vote for Hillary
2000, 2004 - George W Bush - not supporting Trump
2008 - John McCain - not supporting Trump
2012 - Mitt Romney - not supporting Trump

None of the prior Republican Presidents or Presidential candidates are willing to support Trump. That's pretty telling.

And yet so many republicans ARE going to vote for him. Hurts my brain.

Tanglebones wrote:
obirano wrote:
bekkilyn wrote:

I was actually too anxious to watch this debate. It wouldn't have changed my mind about voting for Hillary anyway, and I detest even looking at Trump. He disgusts me so much that the very sight of him is revolting.

That's basically where my wife is at this point.

Mine as well.

My wife is freaked and stressed. The thought of Trump winning is really affecting her physically.

But she still comes home and watches MSNBC every night and checks 538 often, hoping for good news. Then we have to watch something to lower her stress.

We have a vacation coming up, so I hope we largely ignore the election for a couple of weeks.

Jayhawker wrote:
Tanglebones wrote:
obirano wrote:
bekkilyn wrote:

I was actually too anxious to watch this debate. It wouldn't have changed my mind about voting for Hillary anyway, and I detest even looking at Trump. He disgusts me so much that the very sight of him is revolting.

That's basically where my wife is at this point.

Mine as well.

My wife is freaked and stressed. The thought of Trump winning is really affecting her physically.

But she still comes home and watches MSNBC every night and checks 538 often, hoping for good news. Then we have to watch something to lower her stress.

We have a vacation coming up, so I hope we largely ignore the election for a couple of weeks.

Despite living in NYC, mine works in an office that's heavily, heavily pro-Trump. She's one of the rare liberals there, and possibly the only outspoken one, and she comes home more than a little shellshocked from office political talk. I was only allowed to watch the debates with headphones on.

I can only imagine how bad it would be if I were still working construction in the South.

Jayhawker wrote:
Tanglebones wrote:
obirano wrote:
bekkilyn wrote:

I was actually too anxious to watch this debate. It wouldn't have changed my mind about voting for Hillary anyway, and I detest even looking at Trump. He disgusts me so much that the very sight of him is revolting.

That's basically where my wife is at this point.

Mine as well.

My wife is freaked and stressed. The thought of Trump winning is really affecting her physically.

But she still comes home and watches MSNBC every night and checks 538 often, hoping for good news. Then we have to watch something to lower her stress.

We have a vacation coming up, so I hope we largely ignore the election for a couple of weeks.

Another instance of our wives sounding like the same person.

I was eating my feelings throughout the debate. I was so anxious I couldn't stop shoveling chips and cheese into my face.

My wife, meanwhile, was half watching while she worked on her thesis proposal.

bekkilyn wrote:

I was actually too anxious to watch this debate. It wouldn't have changed my mind about voting for Hillary anyway, and I detest even looking at Trump. He disgusts me so much that the very sight of him is revolting.

I watched the debate, but I almost didn't because I too find it hard to even look at or listen to Trump. And no, I haven't been anywhere near that point with a previous presidential candidate.

Jayhawker wrote:

My wife is freaked and stressed. The thought of Trump winning is really affecting her physically.

But she still comes home and watches MSNBC every night and checks 538 often, hoping for good news. Then we have to watch something to lower her stress.

This is also me.

Watching Clinton wait patiently for Trump to finish spewing nonsense at the debate reminded me of every time I've had to deal with some blowhard and decide whether I can lodge my differing opinion politely or whether it's better to just swallow it. Double every time he talked over her.

Tanglebones wrote:
obirano wrote:
bekkilyn wrote:

I was actually too anxious to watch this debate. It wouldn't have changed my mind about voting for Hillary anyway, and I detest even looking at Trump. He disgusts me so much that the very sight of him is revolting.

That's basically where my wife is at this point.

Mine as well.

This was me. My wife was pumped to watch a powerful woman make an abusive man look stupid.

My wife said that they were streaming the debate in her lab and everyone was laughing and roasting Trump throughout it.

ruhk wrote:

My wife said that they were streaming the debate in her lab and everyone was laughing and roasting Trump throughout it.

I wish I could feel so cavalier about this election. Frankly, I'm terrified.

My wife's law firm is predominately conservative, but she says they mostly act like the election doesn't exist this year. So she's not getting the negative work experience some might get.

One of her best friends at the firm is a lesbian that is not only Republican, but is a huge Newt Gingrich fan. But Trump is a bridge too far for even her.

complexmath wrote:
ruhk wrote:

My wife said that they were streaming the debate in her lab and everyone was laughing and roasting Trump throughout it.

I wish I could feel so cavalier about this election. Frankly, I'm terrified.

I'm pretty certain it's a defensive measure. My wife works for a VA hospital and their already meager funding would probably be cut even further during a Trump presidency, if not cut entirely in favor of privatization.

My wife was watching, hoping desperately for Trump to faceplant. She already has a Canadian province picked out should we need an escape plan (not that we're anywhere near the most vulnerable groups, but she's scared regardless).

I was on the other end of the room with one earbud in playing Final Fantasy Xiii, subtitled. That game makes no sense at the best of times, and this didn't actually hurt it. And the music is decent, so i had a ready escape when the Donald's voice just started making me twitch.

TheHarpoMarxist wrote:

I was eating my feelings throughout the debate. I was so anxious I couldn't stop shoveling chips and cheese into my face.

My wife, meanwhile, was half watching while she worked on her thesis proposal.

I had the debate streaming on an iPad while I was attempting to feed dinner to a 2-year old. It's a toss-up which was a more painful, needlessly difficult and unintentionally hilarious activity.

I'm a history geek, and I have a long-running fascination with the Cold War, nuclear preparedness, and nuclear weapons, and Trump's cavalier attitude towards nukes is so horrifying to me I can't even listen to him anymore. He's said we shouldn't care if there's a nuclear exchange in East Asia, and doesn't vaguely realize that nuclear weapons make the atomic bombs that destroyed Hiroshima and Nagasaki look like toys; the warheads on some Chinese missiles are 300-400 times more powerful than Little Boy. Outside of global effects, the moment you crack open the door to use of nuclear weapons, you're ringing the bell for the end of the world, because there's a precedent for use at that point.

That keeps me up at night; his supporters seem to think Trump isn't serious when he says this stuff, but he's never shown any restraint in any thing in his life, has he? I mean, I know I should be polite, but I feel like people voting for Trump are effectively voting to kill everybody.

MilkmanDanimal wrote:

I'm a history geek, and I have a long-running fascination with the Cold War, nuclear preparedness, and nuclear weapons, and Trump's cavalier attitude towards nukes is so horrifying to me I can't even listen to him anymore. He's said we shouldn't care if there's a nuclear exchange in East Asia, and doesn't vaguely realize that nuclear weapons make the atomic bombs that destroyed Hiroshima and Nagasaki look like toys; the warheads on some Chinese missiles are 300-400 times more powerful than Little Boy. Outside of global effects, the moment you crack open the door to use of nuclear weapons, you're ringing the bell for the end of the world, because there's a precedent for use at that point.

That keeps me up at night; his supporters seem to think Trump isn't serious when he says this stuff, but he's never shown any restraint in any thing in his life, has he? I mean, I know I should be polite, but I feel like people voting for Trump are effectively voting to kill everybody.

Yeah, this is what worries me too. Unfortunately it's hard to bring up without people thinking you're ridiculous.

Control the fact checkers, and you can control the world.

That is, after all, the premise of Fox News...

bekkilyn wrote:

I was actually too anxious to watch this debate. It wouldn't have changed my mind about voting for Hillary anyway, and I detest even looking at Trump. He disgusts me so much that the very sight of him is revolting.

This is how I am. If I had to sit through a whole hour of his stupid lying face... better off not saying it.

Nomad wrote:

Control the fact checkers, and you can control the world.

"We report, you decide!"

Seriously, that is the very first thing that popped into my mind when I read your quote.