The Trump Candidacy

[DQ12]

The point is that Hillary is more fiscally conservative than Trump would be. I guess Trump is more socially conservative if that means being a racist and torturing folks.

I think "Hillary is more fiscally conservative than Trump" is a pretty bold take.

We're defining "more fiscally conservative" as spending less money, right?

That, and lowering taxes.

I think Trump's ideas are ludicrous and obscene and (most importantly) unclear.  That said, saying "I'm going to seriously cut government waste" signals to a lot of people that he plans on cutting more than enough to offset the cost of the wall and whatever other dumbass policy he plans to enact.  This is one of the many frustrating aspects about discussing Trump - discussing him anything beyond "he'd be embarrassing and dangerous to have as a president" is near impossible, because everything he says is so general. 

That said, I do think he would cut government spending more than Hillary would.

The thing is, he has given specific examples of things he wants to increase spending on. Has Hillary? I agree that tax cuts need to be considered, and I'm not sure how heavily they should be weighed. I expect him to increase spending by more than he cuts taxes, though. I think it's common sense that he ends up spending more than Hillary. Military expansion, 1000+ mile walls, and increased surveillance on US citizens cost a lot of money. If you subtract a potential tax cut off of his spending increase, you might fall somewhere below Hillary, but you'd probably have to multiply the tax cut by something.

Well, he also says he wants to gut things like the EPA and Department of Education so, who really knows.  Not me, because I'm not voting for him.

I was just trying to explain the rationale for why someone who supports Rubio or Cruz (especially Cruz, really) may prefer Trump over Hillary.  I'm done trying to explain the appeal of Trump.  I need a shower.

[sys]

You shouldn't say "#never" if you actually mean "ok but only in this incredibly likely circumstance."

that should have been #nevertrump.  sorry.

[chum1]

http://www.newyorker.com/news/john-cassidy/the-problem-with-the-never-trump-movement

[K-S-U-Wildcats!]

To be fair, I think Rubio only tweeted that Trump "is a con artist and cannot be our nominee." So if you tweet that to #nevertrump, does that mean you're saying you won't vote for him in the general? I don't tweet, but I wasn't aware that tweeting to a group means you support it.

Or maybe he actually tweeted that he would never vote for trump in the general?

[michigancat]

https://theintercept.com/2016/03/04/trumps-policies-are-not-anathema-to-the-u-s-mainstream-but-an-uncomfortably-vivid-reflection-of-it/

[sys]

http://www.newyorker.com/news/john-cassidy/the-problem-with-the-never-trump-movement

it's absolutely ridiculous.  the same day you have the last pub candidate delivering his magnus opus on why trump is the devil you have the party forcing it's other candidates to pledge to support him on natl tv.  it's hard to imagine a less competent political party.

[sys]

To be fair, I think Rubio only tweeted that Trump "is a con artist and cannot be our nominee." So if you tweet that to #nevertrump, does that mean you're saying you won't vote for him in the general? I don't tweet, but I wasn't aware that tweeting to a group means you support it.

Or maybe he actually tweeted that he would never vote for trump in the general?

i don't know what he tweeted.   just going by news stories.

[DQ12]

You shouldn't say "#never" if you actually mean "ok but only in this incredibly likely circumstance."

that should have been #nevertrump.  sorry.

noted.  and to your original point:

additional data often tends to be complicating.  i wish i hadn't been made aware of this.

[mocat]

http://www.newyorker.com/news/john-cassidy/the-problem-with-the-never-trump-movement

it's absolutely ridiculous.  the same day you have the last pub candidate delivering his magnus opus on why trump is the devil you have the party forcing it's other candidates to pledge to support him on natl tv.  it's hard to imagine a less competent political party.

dick joke?

[K-S-U-Wildcats!]

To be fair, I think Rubio only tweeted that Trump "is a con artist and cannot be our nominee." So if you tweet that to #nevertrump, does that mean you're saying you won't vote for him in the general? I don't tweet, but I wasn't aware that tweeting to a group means you support it.

Or maybe he actually tweeted that he would never vote for trump in the general?

i don't know what he tweeted.   just going by news stories.

Yeah I probably wouldn't rely on that. I just did a quick Google search and found the actual tweet. Unless he tweeted some more.

[steve dave]

To be fair, I think Rubio only tweeted that Trump "is a con artist and cannot be our nominee." So if you tweet that to #nevertrump, does that mean you're saying you won't vote for him in the general? I don't tweet, but I wasn't aware that tweeting to a group means you support it.

Or maybe he actually tweeted that he would never vote for trump in the general?

i don't know what he tweeted.   just going by news stories.

Yeah I probably wouldn't rely on that. I just did a quick Google search and found the actual tweet. Unless he tweeted some more.

it's like trying to explain twitter to my mom

Donald Trump is a con artist — and he cannot be our nominee. #NeverTrump https://t.co/3ZYQZraCfNhttps://t.co/8wm9ToY7El
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) February 27, 2016

[everyone shut up]

Can't wait until someone asks for his girth certificate

[steve dave]

he actually used the hashtag in like 6 tweets that same day

[steve dave]

[star seed 7]

But that doesn't mean he supports it sd!

[CNS]

You gotta be flexible. 

[Rage Against the McKee]

I agree that Trump has been all over the board on a number of issues. But if my choice is the mystery box or the reliable liberal, felon, and awful human being, I'll take the mystery box.

Also at the idea that Hillary will be more fiscally conservative than Trump.

Finally, if Trump really wants to make Mexico pay for the wall - he actually can. Not sure what the trade consequences would be, but we absolutely have the leverage to make them pay for it.

Even if Mexico does pay for the wall (won't happen), it would take nearly $1 billion per year to maintain it.

[steve dave]

the entire idea of the wall is so amazingly absurd. I'm posting this here instead of the wall thread because I don't want to ruin the awesome stuff the wall thread has going on.

[Mrs. Gooch]

So Rubio is here in Wichita now, and Cruz & Drumpf are going to be here tomorrow.

[catastrophe]

Finally, if Trump really wants to make Mexico pay for the wall - he actually can. Not sure what the trade consequences would be, but we absolutely have the leverage to make them pay for it.

It does concern me that to maintain his pride Trump would probably be willing to give up something like $20 billion worth of benefits to Mexico just so he can say he made them build a wall.

[DQ12]

the entire idea of the wall is so amazingly absurd. I'm posting this here instead of the wall thread because I don't want to ruin the awesome stuff the wall thread has going on.

And the wall isn't even number 1 most absurd thing as far as his immigration plan is concerned.  I think that distinction belongs to his plan to round up the illegals like we're the damn brownshirts and ship them south.

[sys]

And the wall isn't even number 1 most absurd thing as far as his immigration plan is concerned.  I think that distinction belongs to his plan to round up the illegals like we're the damn brownshirts and ship them south.

i thought part of his plan to force mexicans to pay for the wall was to confiscate remittance payments sent by illegal immigrants?

[Rage Against the McKee]

And the wall isn't even number 1 most absurd thing as far as his immigration plan is concerned.  I think that distinction belongs to his plan to round up the illegals like we're the damn brownshirts and ship them south.

i thought part of his plan to force mexicans to pay for the wall was to confiscate remittance payments sent by illegal immigrants?

Everything's negotiable.

[steve dave]

the wall just got two feet higher because you guys don't understand about the wall enough

[K-S-U-Wildcats!]

the entire idea of the wall is so amazingly absurd. I'm posting this here instead of the wall thread because I don't want to ruin the awesome stuff the wall thread has going on.

And the wall isn't even number 1 most absurd thing as far as his immigration plan is concerned.  I think that distinction belongs to his plan to round up the illegals like we're the damn brownshirts and ship them south.

Yeah he's not actually going to do that. This is probably what he told the NYT off the record and it's why he refuses to authorize the NYT to release the audio.

It's also why, as a politician, you should never treat off the record interviews like their actually off the record.