Donald Trump, what is going on in the US?

[littlemoonboot]

So what is really going on? How can he get so many votes? Really?

When it's all said and done, he really isn't going to get a lot of votes, certainly not in the electoral college (where it really matters) anyway. He's getting votes in the Republican party, but that's only because the Republican Party is a splintered disaster with no identity.

Trump's campaign generates a lot of publicity but I don't think that really reflects a likelihood of winning, which actually isn't likely. There's a lot of pandering and publicity but not a lot of substance. Like this business about building a wall -- it has generated a lot of controversy -- but it's not realistic or feasible, and most Americans actually don't agree with it, anyway.

His appeal with people is that he's not an establishment politician, but that's not going to be enough at the end of the day.

[Pitt87]

So what is really going on? How can he get so many votes? Really?

When it's all said and done, he really isn't going to get a lot of votes, certainly not in the electoral college (where it really matters) anyway. He's getting votes in the Republican party, but that's only because the Republican Party is a splintered disaster with no identity.

Trump's campaign generates a lot of publicity but I don't think that really reflects a likelihood of winning, which actually isn't likely. There's a lot of pandering and publicity but not a lot of substance. Like this business about building a wall -- it has generated a lot of controversy -- but it's not realistic or feasible, and most Americans actually don't agree with it, anyway.

His appeal with people is that he's not an establishment politician, but that's not going to be enough at the end of the day.

Not a whole lot of evidence to support what you're saying about getting votes and the electoral college... it sounds like you don't think hes credible.. But reality is hes winning a ton of support with middle class people who have taken a severe beating over the last few years in a tough economy for families. Theres a good chance that many of those people are registered Democrats because they liked Obamas pitch, and he's get alot of people out to the polls with his ridiculous antics. In a more heavily split race, hes got 7.8m votes vs Hillary's 8.9m, and she is losing ground faster than he is. The difference between them is less than half or Rubio's vote total.

Hillary Clinton is a disaster for Democrats that could have easily won the whole thing by now had they put a vanilla candidate like Joe Biden out there and just asked him to smile and keep it simple. Shes created a similar splintering affect between moderate and liberal democrats.

Both parties, IMO would get crushed if the right third party candidate could figure out how to get folks who dont like either Trump or Clinton to come out and vote for them.

[AlexPKeaton]

When the middle class gets decimated, goofy things happen. See French Revolution, Arab Spring, The rise of the Bolsheviks, Hitler, China, etc. etc. When you have a two party system, and neither party gives a fart about the middle class, a loud mouth idiot like Trump or an old guy with zero charisma like Sanders can actually make waves.

I fully expect Hillary to win, however if in the next election some legit populist candidate without all the drawbacks of the current candidates appears, things might actually change.

Also the return of political correctness has always been a disaster for the Ds. Only coastal elite libs buy into this and it always causes a massive backlash (see the 1990s massive takeover of congress by the Rs).

[dagny]

Let me clear, I am not a Trump supporter. I don't trust the guy, his values are not my values, but views in Syrian refugees is spot on. I am a supporter of the theocrat mentioned up-thread.

Unfettered immigration will be the death knell for Europe. People who refuse to assimilate into a culture, whether Europe or here, leads to balkanization. That is not a plus.

The reason the US has been so successful up until recently, is that immigrants coming to here have by and large assimilated (E pluribus unum = out of many, one). That is not occurring in Europe. Heck there are "no-go' areas in Europe. Police steer clear of certain areas, at least a bomb goes off somewhere.

I would have no problem with accepting M. E. refugees providing they are vetted. That is not achievable in the current turmoil. To suggest otherwise is foolhardy.

Apologies for the late response. I suppose I should have used the word 'guise' instead of "suit". Using "suit" apparently implied that I thought Cruz actually cared about the Constitution . Without getting into a wordy response, especially now that he's out... Cruz has a degree in Constitutional Law, yet he fights to keep religion in gov't. Because of his educational degrees, those who don't know better, believe him. He is irresponsible and dangerous to one that cares to keep religion and gov't separate.

Obama's Constitutional creds are responsible for my issue with him. Confiscating the fruits of one's labor at the point of a gun (jail, fines, etc.) is unconstitutional, especially when it's to provide medical care (that seems to be subpar) to the populace. Um.... Constitution?

I live in California, and for the first time I'm so committed to voting in a primary that I've changed my registration from Libertarian. I won't say to what, but (hint, hint). . . it's not Republican.

[Humperdink]

Let me clear, I am not a Trump supporter. I don't trust the guy, his values are not my values, but views in Syrian refugees is spot on. I am a supporter of the theocrat mentioned up-thread.

Unfettered immigration will be the death knell for Europe. People who refuse to assimilate into a culture, whether Europe or here, leads to balkanization. That is not a plus.

The reason the US has been so successful up until recently, is that immigrants coming to here have by and large assimilated (E pluribus unum = out of many, one). That is not occurring in Europe. Heck there are "no-go' areas in Europe. Police steer clear of certain areas, at least a bomb goes off somewhere.

I would have no problem with accepting M. E. refugees providing they are vetted. That is not achievable in the current turmoil. To suggest otherwise is foolhardy.

Apologies for the late response. I suppose I should have used the word 'guise' instead of "suit". Using "suit" apparently implied that I thought Cruz actually cared about the Constitution . Without getting into a wordy response, especially now that he's out... Cruz has a degree in Constitutional Law, yet he fights to keep religion in gov't. Because of his educational degrees, those who don't know better, believe him. He is irresponsible and dangerous to one that cares to keep religion and gov't separate.

Obama's Constitutional creds are responsible for my issue with him. Confiscating the fruits of one's labor at the point of a gun (jail, fines, etc.) is unconstitutional, especially when it's to provide medical care (that seems to be subpar) to the populace. Um.... Constitution?

I live in California, and for the first time I'm so committed to voting in a primary that I've changed my registration from Libertarian. I won't say to what, but (hint, hint). . . it's not Republican.

The question I always ask in political discussions is: "What do you want from your (federal) government?".

Do you (not you in particular) want the feds managing your local schools (for you inept cretins)?

Do you want feds to create shovel-ready jobs (cough)?
> The feds taking $$$ out of the economy only to put it back amuses me. They manage it so well. Milton Friedman tells the anecdote of visiting India and watching several hundred natives shoveling away a hillside manually, with shovels. Observing an idle, large excavator nearby, he asked why it wasn't being used. His guide whispered: "You don't understand, it's a jobs program". To which Friedman responded: "Why don't you give them spoons?"

Do you want the feds to subsidize alternative energy companies - most of whom could not survive without subsidy? Heck, some folded even with the subsidy.
> Just drove from Pa to Oregon and saw at least 1000 windmills. To me, it scarred the natural beauty of the landscape, Some would say visual pollution.

Do you want the feds to manage your health care from head-to-toe, from birth to death?
> I always peruse waiting times for major surgeries at countries with single payer. Typically, not a pretty sight if you are above a certain age.