*sigh* "2nd Amendment people" means NRA/gun rights types, stupid lamestream media...

[TheHuckster]

The debates are going to feature a very different audience than he's used to. He's going to find that half of the people are going to applaud, with the others booing, and this time he's not going to have muscles to remove them from the auditorium. If he calls Hillary a cunt, it's going to probably take 10 minutes just to quiet everyone down.

[Gravekeeper]

The debates are going to feature a very different audience than he's used to. He's going to find that half of the people are going to applaud, with the others booing, and this time he's not going to have muscles to remove them from the auditorium. If he calls Hillary a cunt, it's going to probably take 10 minutes just to quiet everyone down.

I'm not sure what he'll do at a presidential debate. There's no cheering or booing at a presidential debate. No one will give him the feedback attention he craves for his usual shit. He might become totally unhinged just to get someone to acknowledge him with any sort of noise.

[Rageaholic]

I disagree to a certain extent. I think he would know that hitting (or threatening to) hit the big red button would be disastrous, and everything he's done so far has been solely to gain voters. If he's elected, I think you're going to see a huge change in persona, not necessarily a better persona, mind you, but different.

My prediction of what will happen is he will follow the "carry a big stick" mantra for sure, but will not talk about nukes. Rather he'll be onto other powerful war machines such as drones and cluster bombs. He'll go after Libya (to avenge Benghazi), and Syria of course, and generally make an already delicate and volatile situation worse.

The end result will likely be the same, though. Countries will take his threats seriously and the middle east will descend into even more chaos. What will make this far, far worse than Iraq or Afghanistan is we did at least have allies (more in Afghanistan with NATO support, and UK and Australia support in Iraq). Seeing that Trump has expressed desire to leave NATO, and having a generally abrasive attitude toward our allies (the UK being one of our strongest having wanted to ban Trump from even entering the country is not a good sign of things to come in relations between us), especially those supporting refugees and Muslim immigration, he's going to have few allies in any middle east operations, and will very likely alienate our existing allies to the point they could even become hostile or at the very least contentious.

And Trump's not shy on using nukes either.

I knew a Trump presidency was a recipe for disaster from day one, but I never thought it would be potentially world ending. This is beyond terrifying.

[HYHYBT]

If he's elected, I think you're going to see a huge change in persona, not necessarily a better persona, mind you, but different.

People insisted he'd change once the primaries were over. Now it's once he's elected. We really should know better by now.

[Greenday]

People insisted he'd change once the primaries were over. Now it's once he's elected. We really should know better by now.

Why anyone would vote for someone HOPING they'll change once they win is beyond m. It's ludicrous.

[D_Yeti_Esquire]

Why anyone would vote for someone HOPING they'll change once they win is beyond m. It's ludicrous.

In isolation, they wouldn't. However, highly partisan voters tend to be cognitively rigid to the point that if Trump called a press conference tomorrow and killed a puppy live on air, people would still vote for him and claim he'll change once elected. Ditto for Hillary (although I know that's not the topic.)

[Canarr]

I'm honestly very, very sorry conservatives have painted themselves into a bit of a corner in regards to Hillary. Ultimately, you don't get a better election to prove you care more about the country than your party. But her characterization as some sort of Machiavellian super-demon, rather than the uninspiring, uncharismatic beureaucrat that she is has some people completely unable to see reality at this point.

This is a very good summary. Straight to the point.

[Estil]

You can begin a topic without a paragraph worth of juvenile partisan wankery you know.

Ha! You do more "juvenile partisan wankery" than anyone here!

[Estil]

and by the way, most people were outraged when people were playing "ding dong the witch is dead" when Margaret Thatcher died. Say what you will about her, she was the PM that was arguably desperately needed when she was first elected, in that she was a strong leader that actually could stand up to the unions that were, frankly, getting a bit too arrogant. (the fundamental issue is that historically, worker rights have gone from one extreme- where employers hold all the cards- to another, where employees- or unions- hold all the cards, and a strike is impossible to ride out if it is unreasonable.(look at the issues Southern are facing in a dispute with the union representing their staff. They want to change the role of their staff without cutting staff numbers- or payroll- but the union are trying to insist on outdated working practices.) Margaret Thatcher moved the pendulum towards the employers. did she go too far? possibly, possibly not. It's up for debate. but the pendulum had to move.)

I just hope those unions weren't as incompetent and/or as weak as mine was (UFCW). I don't know what unions in the UK were like back then but the ones in the US today seem more concerned about promoting liberal Democrats who will vote exactly the way they tell them to rather than truly getting back to basics and honestly standing up for worker's rights.

But back to the Iron Lady (I'm guessing just like the Yankees' "Evil Empire" name the term "Iron Lady" was used by both supporters and opponents alike, correct?), I want to further clarify, that if the whole "Ding Dong the Witch is Dead" thing was going on when she was forced to step down in 1990, that is not only totally fair game, but I would be quite surprised if they didn't. I mean I have to figure both her admirers and her haters would say that she made Ronald Reagan look like a bleeding heart liberal!

And on that note, that was a very classy of Trump to wish Hillary the best in terms of her recovery...we want to defeat her politically. No reasonable person would want anything bad health/safety wise to happen to her.

[mjr]

And on that note, that was a very classy of Trump to wish Hillary the best in terms of her recovery...we want to defeat her politically. No reasonable person would want anything bad health/safety wise to happen to her.

This is very true. I personally wish nothing ill upon Mrs. Clinton. I just don't want her to be President. I think it's completely unfair and unreasonable for people to want bad things as far as health/safety to happen to her, and it's reprehensible to me that some people post (in comments sections) that they actually want her to die before the election.

[TheHuckster]

I find it very troubling and upsetting that we've gotten to the point where the bar on classiness is put so low that we have to congratulate someone for wishing their opponent recovers from an illness and becomes healthy.

I mean, fuck, have we reached this point now? I'm sick of this bullshit.

[s_stabeler]

But back to the Iron Lady (I'm guessing just like the Yankees' "Evil Empire" name the term "Iron Lady" was used by both supporters and opponents alike, correct?), I want to further clarify, that if the whole "Ding Dong the Witch is Dead" thing was going on when she was forced to step down in 1990, that is not only totally fair game, but I would be quite surprised if they didn't. I mean I have to figure both her admirers and her haters would say that she made Ronald Reagan look like a bleeding heart liberal!
.

when she was forced to step down it would have been legitimate. when she actually died, however... well, it left a bad taste in my mouth when I heard.

[mjr]

I find it very troubling and upsetting that we've gotten to the point where the bar on classiness is put so low that we have to congratulate someone for wishing their opponent recovers from an illness and becomes healthy.

I mean, fuck, have we reached this point now? I'm sick of this bullshit.

We apparently have.

[Estil]

Oh those sorts of things have gone on all this time (if anything it was far worse in the early/mid 1800s). Probably the most infamous example of all was when one senator beat another senator half to death on the senate floor, while in session! Can you imagine seeing THIS on C-SPAN???

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caning_of_Charles_Sumner

[TheHuckster]

It'd definitely give C-SPAN a little better ratings.

But my point stands. It shouldn't be considered some amazing "classy" move to wish your opponent good health. It's just common decency.