Posted on 08/06/2015 11:24:25 AM PDT by dware
There's a lot of talk recently - ignorant accusations, actually - that somehow, Trump is playing Straw Man for Hitlery. To those GOPe jackboot lickers, I must ask: What DOES Trump stand to gain that he doesn't already have by playing the straw man?
This is a very simple, yet important question. Of course, the answer is: NOTHING, which entirely invalidates these accusations. We all know Trump isn't just going to jump in and play straw man out of the kindness of his heart. What's more, even if he WAS playing the part, the fact is that his popularity cuts a rather wide swath from left to right. So even if he DID run 3rd party, the truth is that there is just as much probability that he would siphon votes AWAY from Hitlery, as the probability that he would siphon those votes from the GOP candidate.
In the end, no matter how you slice or dice it, these accusations are political fodder at best, downright ignorant at worst.
And there you have it. Trump ain't perfect, but he isn't beholden to anyone - which is just one point of this thread. He isn't being bought off. He isn't in the pockets of special interests. He has nothing really to gain, and has indeed lost some at this point. I truly believe he wouldn't be in the game if he didn't, in fact, intend to win. And he sure as hell ain't going to damage his reputation as a respected executive, and lose what he has, just so that someone else can take the limelight.
I don’t know about the Walker connection; personally I think Trump got into the race because he is PISSED.
He is pissed off at some chump, Prog/Lib/Commie/never had a real job, community organizer, piece of ghetto trash telling him he didn’t build that.
He did build it, and I think he wants to show that asshole in the white hut and their whole sleazy, criminal organization what it means to WORK HARD to achieve an objective.
Rather than lieing, cheating, and rewriting the rules in order to screw the public.
In English law practice, men would stand outside courtrooms with a straw sticking out of their shoes/boots. You had to look hard to see the straw, but if it was there, this advertised that their testimony was for sale: tell them what to say, they would testify. Like Democrats, or Kramer for Newman.
Straw men. They needed the money. Trump doesn’t.
Boogieman. Get your petals bruised there, Zu Zu?
Then go get your jack-boot shine box, ya mutt!
Enough with the GOpee fake hurt feelings.
After tonite you guys are going to have your butts in slings.
Get over it cupcake.
Sad part is that it is the same level of vitriol I see all the time from the "lesser of two evils" GOPe supporters aimed at the "I'm through" crowd..
Donald Trump is a real-life character right out of the pages of an Ayn Rand novel. He erects skyscrapers all over the world and is a billionaire tens times over. He's got an ego the size of Texas and wherever he can put his name in 10-foot letters (in gold), he will do so. He has spent decades building his reputation as a tough and shrewd businessman in the harshest business environment in the world (New York City).
Just the thought that he would allow himself to be a lapdog for white trash like the Clintons is laughable. Trump is not going to throw away his legacy and reputation to put this piece of trash in the White House.
Of course, some anti-Trumpers here like to post pictures of Trump yukking it up with the Clintons to "prove their point."
Well, the image archives over at Google are full of photos of Ronald Reagan laughing and backslapping with the likes of Ted Kennedy and Jimmy Carter, etc. All of which proves absolutely nothing except that all men of stature find themselves in situations where they need to be shaking hands and at least acting civil and gracious when in the presence of their political enemies.
It's not that Romney didn't TRY to win - the fact was, he was a HORRIBLE candidate from the getgo (Romneycare, anyone?). If Romney was a REAL Conservative, he would have done much better. The momentum was on his side, and he certainly campaigned like he meant it. But again, he was a rotten candidate from the beginning.
I’ve got about as much shot of being president as Nader and Perot.
Not knowing anything about you, I'd say you may be right. I don't believe I would have near the chance as those 2, but I CAN say one thing: neither you, I, Nader or Perot had nearly the chance to become President as a 3rd party candidate as Trump does. If ever there were a shot at a 3rd party winning, I'd be willing to bet it would be Trump.
most people think he’s an @#$#$^%^, because he is.
I have a tendency to think he is too, but, quite honestly, I also tend to respect him despite that, as do many other Americans. Just saying someone is an a$$ isn't a reason not to vote for them.
I already answered you, sorry if you don’t like the answer but it’s rather obvious that the guy that has donated to every single Clinton campaign since ‘92 is comfortable with no gain other than having a Clinton in the White House again. He has a long track record of being willing to put money to that cause with no other gain.
If he just wanted Hitlery to win, he would simply continue donating, and let her do the 'dirty work', without risking his ego or executive reputation. Common sense says so, and is evidenced by the fact that he DOES have the ego he has. So instead of running like he means it, as he is doing, he would be better off dumping several billion into Hitlery's efforts, and sit back and let her do the dirty work.
It's not that I don't like your answer. I've mulled your answer over with the rest, and still NOTHING makes sense as to why he would go to such great lengths just to help Hitlery. He wouldn't do so without SOMETHING to gain himself - so tell me, WHAT does he stand to gain? $$$? He already has that. Fame??? He already has that. Attention??? He already has that. So, why go to this great length, with nothing to gain and everything to lose?
He may be an a$$, but he isn't stupid, by any stretch of the imagination.
True, it’s not only one group that engages in it. Still, no matter who does it, it’s not productive or effective. You don’t win people over to your side by starting off with insults.
More insults, and nonsensical ones at that. Not sure what you think that will accomplish. I wonder if you even know.
I’m with Boogieman. How rude you are to those of us who don’t agree with you. No need for discussion with that kind of opening foray.
Why wouldn’t he go to such great lengths? He gets all the ego stroking fun, all the extra press, and maybe gets to see one of his favorite people in the White House. He doesn’t have anything to lose really. It’s not going to damage any of his businesses. Sure a couple of his TV shows went away, but they were all long in the tooth and low in the viewership anyway. Only way he actually loses anything is if he actually wins next November, being president would hamper a lot of his business dealings. One way or the other this is a stunt candidacy, the only real question is what’s the final “trick” at the end. Is he doing it to help Hillary win? Is he doing it to restoke a fame that was fading? Is he doing it because he’s realized the whole political process has gotten stupid so why not make it even dumber?
Somebody somewhere recently said to a certain someone else, “It ain’t about being nice, it’s about being competent”.
See, here's the thing (and I'm guilty of it, too): for decades, we've been voting the "lesser of evils" - gotta vote R because, well, R is better than D! And yet we continue to get bent over after the election, every. single. time. Look where we are today! We have NO ONE to blame, but ourselves. It's our fault, because our "lesser of evil" votes have done NOTHING, but push the GOP further and further to the left.
EVEN STILL, after getting screwed in 2010 and again in 2014 (do you TRULY believe McConnell & Boehner represent you? If so, you got bigger problems.), there remains a large faction of so-called Conservatives that INSIST on staying the course with what has thus far been a completely losing strategy for TRUE CONSERVATIVES!!!!
Forgive me, but anyone still touting the same BS GOPe RINO crap is an idiot at best, and a traitorous wretch at worst, and at this point, they must be treated as such. Don't like being called out? Get on board with AMERICA! Be a TRUE CONSERVATIVE! Stand up and stop supporting milquetoast Conservative bashing pols that are in this only to secure their power and line their pockets! Stop giving us the same old bland, anti-American politicians and supporting them, suggesting that somehow, someway, they will be "better". They are NOT BETTER - how many times must we be shafted before we realize this?!?!?!
No, the vitriol is most certainly warranted because, ultimately, that faction is what is killing the GOP. We can't continue down this path of destruction, while suggesting we are some kind of patriot "Conservatives". It's time to go or get off the pot, folks. This election is our last before we have no other alternative but to turn to the ammo box. Don't blow it. And don't get butt hurt when you get called out.
Again, I can almost agree with this, except there are MUCH better ways - smarter ways - to go about this than what he is doing. And Trump is no idiot - he has proven himself to be quite the shrewd and calculating executive. That same type does NOT just jump into the race, spend TONS of his own $$$, lose out on what he HAS lost out on (you mentioned the TV shows, but he has lost out on much more - Miss USA has gone from a somewhat big deal to being relegated to an obscure internet channel, his golf courses have lost business due to this, and much much more). If he was truly that adamant about getting Hitlery elected, there are far more efficient ways to go about it, like getting behind one of the lesser GOP candidates that he knows would never make it through the generals.
Believe me, I've been struggling with this myself. In all honesty, I WANT TO BELIEVE that somehow Trump is trolling us, because it would make it easier to ignore him. But the truth is, no matter how I try to slice or dice it, nothing makes sense.
Because The Donald had the numbers.
Only AFTER he announced and came out swinging. When he decided to jump in, his poll #'s were pretty ugly.
Oh, I have no doubt he’s in it to win, at this point....
But I think pride/ego/competitiveness are the *main* motivator, not the only one.
I think your points - and mine- are all valid, except that he might not have all that much to lose, he can make more money pretty easily from what I’ve seen.
It truly is the only thing that makes sense. I was trying to play devil's advocate with this - I keep hearing how Trump is just in it to help Hitlery. I reject that for many reasons, but figure, ok, let's just say that IS the case - what does he get out of it? Because he wouldn't do it just for the fun of it. There has to be some reward for him in it, and thus far, even the most rabid anti-Trumpers out there can't answer the question! Says a lot, if you ask me.
Trump is a publicity whore. And the fact of the matter is he’s in the public eye more now than he’s ever been before so clearly there are NOT better ways to stroke his ego and get extra press.
Miss USA wasn’t a big deal. It was always a 2nd or 3rd tier pageant and these days even the 1st tier pageants are getting crappy ratings. Like I said all his TV shows were dieing already, having them canceled didn’t really do anything. He said his golf course came out ahead when ESPN canceled because they still had to pay and he got to have it open for regular paying. This is Trump after all, he makes money even when his businesses fail, which they actually do quite often. And how much of his own money is he really spending? Bit of travel, on his private jet, and probably taking business meeting along the way.
There’s no struggle here. One way or the other it’s a stunt candidacy. Even if he’s not doing it for Hillary he’s ALSO not doing it for America. It’s the same kind of self aggrandizing PR show as Caine’s candidacy last time. The only way it doesn’t make sense is if you don’t want it to. We’ve known for over 25 years that Trump is a publicity whore, and now the whore is “running” for office.
To play devil’s advocate to *that*-
We’re talking Big Leagues here. You’d have to look for the multi billion dollar deal, done through labyrinthine channels, replete with plausible deniability, and happening months or years after Her coronation. If he was to do either the ‘take a dive’ or Third Party route, there would have to be World Class amounts of cash or perks involved. He might be willing to sell his soul, but The Donald would get top dollar for it. Again, just plain’ along.....
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.