Laugh at Trump all you want

[Area 10]

People as extreme and narcissistic as Trump and Cruz will surely be easy to manipulate? They must have a host of skeletons in their cupboards, or will be manipulated into having by much smarter people within 5 mins of presidency, which will then allow them to be controlled. So I suspect they'd be an irony here: that the candidates the masses pick as a protest against the Washington "system" would actually just reinforce it. If you were a smart Washington insider with your hands on the reins of power, you could hardly ask for more.

[Weasels wake]

So Area 10, you seem to be all against Trump and Cruz, as well as our system, that's all that I can remember you talking about.  So if you lived in this country, which of our other candidates would you prefer, the socialist or the suspected criminal?
Or do you think we are just screwed?  Don't hold back.

[Admin]

which of our other candidates would you prefer, the socialist or the suspected criminal?

Bernie's brand of socialism starts to look a lot more attractive in comparison to the status quo.  What we have now is not capitalism.  It is scorched earth opportunism.  Short sighted on every level.  Many people (myself included) believe that fair competition drives innovation and inspires greatness...but fair is not an optional component.  Human nature being what it is, that means regulation.  Currently, we not only have a lack of regulation, we have a government which has and continues to support one side (banks, big business) to the detriment of the other.  This has reached a near breaking point.  Our current system is an odd form of socialism where the middle class is subsidizing the rich.  Small business subsidizing big business.

[eastbound]

True all that, Admin.

[mrbig]

Mr. Paul gone. Old cranky socialist looks ok. Actually pulled the lever for him, but Billary won here in Taxachusetts in the primary..

[PonoBill]

Sad. I thought Mass would go for Bernie, but then again they constantly vote in the bastards with power instead of the newbies with none. Cynical politics--my guy is a crook, but he can get us pork.

I'm a little freaked out that Bernie is the only guy I could vote for on any ticket that wouldn't make me puke on my ballot. How a guy whose politics are slightly to the right of Ghengis Khan could wind up only able to vote for a socialist is tough to comprehend. 

[eastbound]

it's called having an open mind, and reading past the soundbites.

[mrbig]

Perhaps one's perception of character transcends one's perception of politics in this case..    

[stoneaxe]

The difference is...I'd love to sit down and chat with Bernie. Trump is the kind of sanctimonious rich kid city kids like me enjoyed sending to the dentist.

[spookini]

Look at this way:  if Bernie were elected, there wouldn't be the budget to do even 1/20th of what he'd "like" to do...
(And my dreams of a free bachelor's degree in Interpretive Dance will remain unfulfilled.) 

[surf4food]

Here is some of the brighter Trump supporters.

[pdxmike]

Look at this way:  if Bernie were elected, there wouldn't be the budget to do even 1/20th of what he'd "like" to do...
(And my dreams of a free bachelor's degree in Interpretive Dance will remain unfulfilled.) 

That's not a bad argument in his favor.  There are a lot of people who prefer him as a person to the other choices, but are less "socialistic" than he is. For people who like his policies, he'll come closer to achieving them than other candidates, even though he'll fall short of doing all he and they want.  For others who'd prefer more moderate policies, what he actually will be able to do may align closely with those more moderate preferences.

[magentawave]

In other news, Trump met with the editorial board of the Washington Post last week.  Their assessment (actual headlines):

"Donald Trump's shocking ignorance, laid bare"
"The most baffling moments from Donald Trump's interview"
"We met with Donald Trump.  Electing him will be a radical risk."

And why should we listen to what a bunch of idiot pundits say? FYI: it takes a minimum IQ of 160 to get into Wharton. Trumps not stupid.

People as extreme and narcissistic as Trump and Cruz will surely be easy to manipulate? They must have a host of skeletons in their cupboards, or will be manipulated into having by much smarter people within 5 mins of presidency, which will then allow them to be controlled.

I'm sure they do have skeletons in the closet but for you to not include Hitlery is evidence of your partisanship. (Hitlery is a psychopath and her husband is a narcissist. Both types lack a conscience so are equally as dangerous to the rest of us.)

which of our other candidates would you prefer, the socialist or the suspected criminal?

Bernie's brand of socialism starts to look a lot more attractive in comparison to the status quo.  What we have now is not capitalism.  It is scorched earth opportunism.  Short sighted on every level.  Many people (myself included) believe that fair competition drives innovation and inspires greatness...but fair is not an optional component.  Human nature being what it is, that means regulation.  Currently, we not only have a lack of regulation, we have a government which has and continues to support one side (banks, big business) to the detriment of the other.  This has reached a near breaking point.  Our current system is an odd form of socialism where the middle class is subsidizing the rich.  Small business subsidizing big business.

Right, it's a mixture of state/crony capitalism, fascism, socialism and enough free market to keep the tax cattle producing and consuming. I like Bernie cuz he's real and I agree with a lot of what he says but then he goes down that dark road of state socialism which will require more of that evil thing called "government." I wish someone would introduce Bernie to the philosophy of Voluntaryism because all that free stuff he promises (and regulations) requires enforcement backed by violence or the threat of violence.

You mentioned something about "human nature" but human nature is like a liquid in that it takes the shape of whatever vessel it is poured in. My point is that we aren't all the same based on how we were raised, etc.

Look at this way:  if Bernie were elected, there wouldn't be the budget to do even 1/20th of what he'd "like" to do...
(And my dreams of a free bachelor's degree in Interpretive Dance will remain unfulfilled.) 

They'll just "print" more money to pay for it and to hell with inflation!

[jumpfrom13k]

What's even more fucked? California is going 15 dollar minimum.

[magentawave]

What's even more fucked? California is going 15 dollar minimum.

Yup, and that'll be a HUGE job killer.