US Presidential Contenders

[Buster's Uncle]

I have cast my protest vote.

[Unorthodox]

! No longer available

[Rusty Edge]

The caveat would be with regard to the constitution?

Chris Christie had a lot of ideas about making America safe post 911. He was sincere, but he would have had to trample due process to do it. Kinda like Lincoln and habeas corpus.

Bernie is passionately against the Citizens United decision, but he knows it would have to be overturned by the US Supreme Court, or a Constitutional Amendment, and says so plainly.

Hillary seems to be passionately anti-gun, possibly sincerely so, but she has no respect for the 2nd Amendment. She promises change without regard to it.

Cruz knows the constitution, but have you heard his day 1 promise list? Overreach much?


Regardless of what the presidential contenders are saying, their oath of office and duty is to the constitution. Not to keeping America and Israel safe, pious, and prosperous, or whatever they might lead you to believe. They mostly need the support and cooperation of Congress, the states, and the people to make the rest happen.

Obama knows that very well...now.

So Sanders deserves my respect because of his sincerity and respect for the constitution.

[Buster's Uncle]

-Momma said something I liked coming back from voting - that she's not wild about the socialism thing with Bernie, but it's just Christian for people to look out for each other.

Why don't you ever hear that from church people 'voting their principals'?

[Rusty Edge]

After watching last night's Republican policy debate, I have to give the Daredevil his due.


Maybe he didn't articulate, or understand so well, but Donald [Sleezebag] has an important point.

NEGOTIATE! Sometimes you can negotiate instead of go to war. The neocons he shared the stage with talk about re-arming America for defense, and in the next breath their talking about how we out to be exerting military force here, there, and around the world.  ( without a word about a constitutional declaration of war for sending troops to die on foreign soil )

I've said [Sleezebag]'s budget proposals don't work... but wars are ridiculously expensive. What if we could stay out of them for 4 years? That would be a different kind of budget! One we might actually follow.

Sure, [Sleezebag]'s volatile personality and petty vindictiveness  worry me.  But at least he intends to pursue peace. There are huge savings to be had. Balancing a budget is one thing, following it is another. [Sleezebag] could actually deliver lower annual deficits than the others.

[Rusty Edge]

-Momma said something I liked coming back from voting - that she's not wild about the socialism thing with Bernie, but it's just Christian for people to look out for each other.

Why don't you ever hear that from church people 'voting their principals'?

My brother and I used to say that if Jesus were around today, he's sound much more like McGovern and Humphrey than the Republican Christians. Except he's be saying that the church should be performing some of these functions rather than the government.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

We also used to say- "If I were the Tsar of America..." basically a way to preface remarks like the current contenders are making, about changing the way things are run. The Tsar premise was that you would be allowed autocratic authority to set things right without regard to constitutional and political realities, provided you would stake your life upon it.


Ted Cruz and Donald [Sleezebag] forget to say "If I were Tsar of America..." a LOT.

[Buster's Uncle]

[poop] could actually deliver lower annual deficits than the others.

You were doing so well before the end.  National bankruptcy is not an option.

[Rusty Edge]

I'm human.

Point is the Neocons' budget deals are meaningless if they can't avoid foreign adventures. They'll raise the debt ceiling to cover the costs. The domestic sacrifices will be in vain.

They'll use the war as an excuse to suppress critics, consolidate power, and award contracts to cronies. They always do.

[Buster's Uncle]

They always do.

Yeah; I'll never be able to prove that Junior was never going to submit balanced budgets even before the New York Thing happened, not having an alternate timeline viewer, but I'm pretty sure that crowd was into Keynesian economics...

(If I haven't said lately, I'm sure the TTHINY wasn't an inside job; they weren't ready.)

[Buster's Uncle]

Rubio campaign urges Ohio vote for Kasich. What? Why is that?

[Rusty Edge]

Well, the article covers it pretty well.
FLA and OH are large winner take all delegate states. In a sense, everything is on the line.
If [Sleezebag] sweeps, it's over. He'll have a safe lead.
If [Sleezebag] loses both, it likely lasts until the convention.

In short Rubio is desperate, and trying to keep hope alive. Hoping for a quid pro quo.

But it's true what he says- every vote not for Rubio in Florida or Kassich in Ohio is really a vote for [Sleezebag].

[Rusty Edge]

I've predicted here that [Sleezebag] will win the nomination outright.

Political people and reporters  like the idea of an "Open" convention. It's also known as a brokered convention or a smoke filled room. The delegates get all kinds of attention and receptions lavished upon them. 

Suppose that happens. Each of the candidates or their surrogates will try to make their case-

[Sleezebag]- I got the most votes. I am a man of the people. I have infused the party with new blood. You can't deny the will of the people. Believe me, we can't have Lying Ted being thrown out by the courts on grounds of citizenship. The other two candidates put together didn't win enough states, delegates, or enough votes to be worthy of consideration. I deserve the nomination, because people love me, and believe me I'll make America great again!

Cruz- As many votes as [Sleezebag] got in the primaries, twice as many people voted against him!
 I'm the true conservative. I'm the champion of the people against the tyranny in Washington.
I'm the best friend Israel ever had. I will tear up the Iran Deal. I know the Constitution well enough to try cases before the Supreme Court. I wouldn't have wasted my time and money if I thought I was ineligible. When I'm president I'll defund, investigate, and God willing, prosecute Planned Parenthood. I'll abolish the IRS. I'll order the Justice department to protect religious liberty. I'll appoint justices just like Scalia. I'll repeal every word of Obamacare. I'll reverse every executive order Obama ever issued. I will defend the Mexican border. I will bomb ISIS into oblivion. I will destroy them utterly, branch and root, marrow and bone. On day one!

Rubio- Fine ideas, but we are destined to defeat if we're foolish enough to run one of the few, or should I say two,  candidates that are as hated as Hillary. IF the party has a real future we've got to be more that the party of Old white guys, Billionaires and Southern Evangelicals. We need to be able to reach out to youths and minorities. We need to be able to appeal to women and college graduates. We need somebody who knows the difference between friends and enemies, at home and abroad. We need a guy like me.

Kassich- Popularity is all well and good, but winning the presidency isn't a simple popularity contest. This isn't an election for class president. Delegates are great, but a national election is won with electors, and almost every state is winner take all, just like my home state of Ohio. It's not enough to win in the red states. To win the Whitehouse, we need to carry the Purple states. Those states with industrial cities and large rural populations clustered around the Great Lakes. There have been 6 presidents from Ohio. Why? Because Ohio is a microcosm of America, so a candidate learns to represent everybody, to respect everybody, and to earn everybody's respect. If you can govern there you can govern the nation, and I have the best record of any governor in the Great Recession. The GOP has never won the Whitehouse without winning Ohio, I've got the best head to head poll numbers against Hillary by far, and I'm the guy that can do it!

-------------------------------

If I'm wrong and the nominee hasn't been determined before the convention, The Leader will get a chance to demonstrate his highly acclaimed negotiation skills. Believe me!

[Buster's Uncle]

Sharp.

[Rusty Edge]

Sharp.

Thanks. I spend too much time listening to these guys ramble.

[Lorizael]

My brother and I used to say that if Jesus were around today, he's sound much more like McGovern and Humphrey than the Republican Christians. Except he's be saying that the church should be performing some of these functions rather than the government.

If Jesus suddenly appeared in America today, we would complain that he was an illegal immigrant stealing carpentry jobs.