What If Trump Wins?

It would be a disaster for conservatives.

There are many potential outcomes to a Donald Trump GOP nomination. And every one of them is a disaster for conservatives.

Fact is, Trump fans will not be placated. Not if they lose, and definitely not if they win. Unless unforeseen events alter the dynamics of American politics, it's difficult to imagine conventional Republicans and Trump fans inhabiting the same space after this is all done. Me? I look forward to loathing three major political parties.

Now, if Trump prevails in the primaries, principled small-government conservatives (however many are left) will be faced with a distasteful choice: They can either back the nominee, picked fairly by the rank-and-file of the party, or they can disregard party politics and actively try and sink him.

If they support Trump? A disaster. Those who decide to endorse Trump because of partisan loyalty will also be supporting a 45 percent tariff on Chinese goods, policies barring immigrants based purely on religion, and whatever other half-baked policy ideas spring from Trump's mind. And they should be really comfortable with Trumpism (and with that his many liberal positions) because they'll be spending the rest of their careers justifying the support. For those who think they can embrace neutrality to escape this fight, their silence will be treated as tacit endorsement by liberals and treachery by Trump's fans. It's conceivable that a number of local races will suffer in these intraparty skirmishes, hurting conservatives in state races and probably Congress.

If they fight Trump? A disaster. For those who decide to actively oppose Trump—and you assume many factions on the right would—the prospects are not much better. There's no modern precedent for a party's establishment undercutting its nominee, so it's improbable the Republican Party would participate in torpedoing Trump. The time for that has passed. (One day perhaps, Reince Priebus will explain how he let a populist liberal reality-show host win a major party's nomination.)

More distressingly, at least for some of us, is the prospect that Trump's outlook will turn out to be more popular than anyone imagines. Maybe a flood of candidates will begin aping his populism and succeed. Maybe Trump begins to transform American discourse into something more closely resembling European politics, where nationalists and socialists argue about who should run the state apparatus.

Many conservatives will undoubtedly toy with the idea of running a third-party candidate (not as easy as it sounds, when you consider the logistics and the factional nature of Republicans today), which would likely only exist to spoil the GOP nominee's prospects and challenge his risible claim to conservatism.

The important question for conservatives is: Would they rather a have Republican president with views antithetical to their own or Hillary Clinton as president? Would they rather have a Republican who may cause irreparably damage to their brand, or Bernie Sanders? Would they want a GOP monopoly in D.C., led by Trump, or continue with gridlock as the purer opposition party? Though, you imagine that helping put Clinton (or Sanders) in the White House would blow up any hope of a healthy right-of-center consensus for many years to come.

If Trump loses? A disaster. If conservative intellectuals and many of their institutions and leaders fail to back the nominee, Trump's fans will hold those elites culpable for the loss, further feeding the frustrations that had alienated them in the first place. The idea that a bunch of know-it-alls can undermine the democratic process will only generate more anger and paranoia. Do Trump boosters seem like the sort of group that will embrace rapprochement and constructive change after having an election "stolen" from them?

Even more terrifying for many of us is the prospect of a successful Trump presidency. Even without Congress, as Obama has shown, a president can accomplish many destructive things. Though probably not enough to satisfy Trump's supporters, who will undoubtedly be disappointed. Presidents can't just slap huge tariffs on other countries without Congress, and they can't make Mexico pay for border fences, nor take oil from countries in the Middle East, nor deport 13 million immigrants here illegally. When this becomes a reality, I suspect his fans will still blame the establishment for its lack of willpower, support and patriotism.

And, of course, finally, Trump might lose the GOP nomination (I still don't believe he'll win, but I'm cognizant of the fact that this is probably wishful thinking.) Then, it's likely that the Republican Party will go back to business as usual. Which is a disaster of whole different kind.

COPYRIGHT 2016 CREATORS.COM

Comments

[Bill]

With the economy probably about ready to go into recession
and the huge deficits, one plus of having Hilary or Bernie win
is that the right people and policies will get the blame for the
recession. Or at least they should.

I would almost like a $15 or $20/hour minimum wage to be enacted
just so that the ensuing recession and unemployment would
prove once and for all what idiots these people are.

Sadly, with Hilary or Bernie in charge, really stupid harmful
things would be done to try to "fix" the economy and then
people like Trump might run in the 2020 elections on even
crazier shit.

But, there is a slim chance that having the right people (W. Bush,
Obama, Bernie) blamed could lead to a change toward more
free market policies and a decent candidate in 2020.

About the same chance Frodo had to make it to Mt. Doom.

[Lee G]

I would almost like a $15 or $20/hour minimum wage to be enacted
just so that the ensuing recession and unemployment would
prove once and for all what idiots these people are.

Speaking as an employer, no thank you.

[pan fried wylie]

About the same chance Frodo had to make it to Mt. Doom.

So it turns out fine, whew. Wake me when the eagles get here.

[WTF]

Why the fuck didn't they just ride the eagles to Mount Doom in the first place?

[Princess Trigger]

Uber surge pricing to enter the dark lands. They cheaped out and walked.

[Intraveneous Woodchipper]

XD classic

[Ship of Theseus]

Because Deus Ex Machina, that's why!

[The Last American Hero]

This has been explained repeatedly on the internet. 1) Nazgul had an air force. 2) Element of secrecy would have been broken. The spies of Saruman (who conjured up some pretty nasty weather in the mountains) and Sauron were combing the area knowing the Ring was in the environs of Rivendell. 3) The actual lava is in the mountain, in the "cracks of doom". It's not simply do a flyover and drop the Ring into a calderra. If Sauron had his energies focused on the incoming Eagles, there is a good chance the Eagle lands at Barad Dur instead of Mount Doom, or the Eagle lands at Mt Doom and a horde of nasties is waiting for the ringbearer. 4) The ring tends to corrupt people that are in its proximity. It's not clear if the Eagle wouldn't have dumped the ring bearer on the ground and taken the precious for himself.

[Bob K]

I fucking hate the eagles, man.

[Dark Lord of the cis]

Get your own fucking cab then.

[CE]

No peaceful, easy feeling for you!

[Doctor Whom]

People will blame market failure and demand even more government intervention.

[junyo]

This.

Whenever anyone says, "I wish event X would happen that would finally show people how stupid the actions/policy that event X is a direct consequence of are." they fail to amount for the human capacity for rationalization. The vast majority of people deeply invested in a particular viewpoint won't come off of that viewpoint unless the predictable results of that viewpoint publicly and violently sodomizes them and staples a note claiming responsibility to their forehead. They'll rationalize it away; it was the corporations, or the fatcats, or the Mexicans, or the minorties, that screwed them, not unsustainable wages for unskilled labor in an age of increasing streamlined logistics and automated manufacturing, not letting your kid get a degree in ethnocentric horticultural anthropology, not supporting a NIMBY based regulatory web that strangles businesses.

[conservativemom]

Brilliant comment. Yes, rationalization has got us where we are today. In increments we get more and more used to socialization. And then we legislate more and more to "correct" it and end up with gazillions of regulations and executive orders and restraints to free enterprise. No, we need to get rid of all of it....start over!

[5Arete22]

An influential and related book is _When_Prophecy_Fails_ , which discusses how believers handle failed prophecies of the end of the world. In brief, the most committed become more committed.

[ThomasD]

Yep, a testament to how successful the Frankfurt school has been in driving Marxist thought into the populace.

[Suthenboy]

"... the ensuing recession and unemployment would
prove once and for all what idiots these people are."

Once and for all. Yep, that would do it, once and for all.

I am laughing my ass off here. Sorry Bill, but have you seen the news from Venezuela lately?

[WTF]

Look, it'll work this time, we just need the right Top Men!

[Hank Phillips]

There is no mention of any Libertarian Party in magazines in Venezuela either. At least Americans get to choose between freedom and living in conservative Hoovervilles.

[JWatts]

"At least Americans get to choose between freedom and living in conservative Hoovervilles."

Do you get regular updates on the secret machinations of the Vast Right Wing Conspiracy? Can you tell me where the secret Hooverville camps have been set up?

[ThomasD]

Sure, you know the facts, and also draw the appropriate inference, but how many others know those facts, or would understand the implications even if they did?

[pboth]

I have been saying this for awhile. If we aren't in recession before the end of the year, I would rather have Bernie in, so the policies and thinking that got us here gets full blame.

[The Last American Hero]

It will be blamed on the Team Red Obstructionist KKKKongress, not on the Lightbringer or his successor.

[ThomasD]

The Republicans couldn't (or wouldn't) even explain the roots of the last crisis - Community Reinvestment Act, etc.

Why have any hope that the broken shell remaining after a failed Trump bid would do something better?

[gaoxiaen]

They can't do any worse.

[Chip Chipperson]

Every failure of government will be blamed on those who didn't give government 'enough' power to succeed.

It will NEVER be blamed on government itself or those who advocate statism.

Hoping that Bernie Sanders becomes president just so he can get the blame for the failure of socialist policies are being hopelessly naive.

[Cytotoxic]

FFS that has never worked and never will.

[Chip Chipperson]

Are you kidding? On what planet do you think the 'right people' (i.e., progressive central planners) will get the blame for a recession and unemployment, particularly after such a noble and selfless act as raising the minimum wage?

No no, it will be the 'greedy corporations' who don't want to cut into their vast profits in order to pay their poor workers enough to raise a family on.

If anything, it'll lead to a call for nationalization of industry. You know, to 'fix' things once and for all.

No thanks. I'd rather have them scream and cry over minimum wage than start screaming for nationalization. Because after THAT fails, you really don't want to see what comes next.

[conservativemom]

Finally some intelligent comments...perhaps the trolls went home!

[gaoxiaen]

They're under the bridge.

[Intraveneous Woodchipper]

Lying half-submerged in puddles of their own drool.

[Ron]

you do realize that no matter how bad it gets the dems will claim its good for us, just like Orwell explained, and still blame the republicans just like in California where there aren't enough republicans to stop anything yet they still get the blame

[WoodchipperPatriarch]

Recessions will help lower our C02 emissions!

[Chip Chipperson]

Nobody needs an air conditioner or a car. Your sacrifice helps the collective good. Now excuse me while I board my private jet for Davos.

[JWatts]

/Leonardo Decaprio

[Eman]

1984 wasnt supposed to be an instruction manual

[gaoxiaen]

But it is.

[Cytotoxic]

To be fair the GOP has been taking Dem strongholds lately but that's a process that took decades.

[Hi there!]

...and doing what with them, exactly?

[MSimon]

I dunno. I can't imagine Sharia being compatible with free speech.

Maybe we take in few and disperse them. Making it harder to form enclaves.

[Rich]

Maybe we take in few and disperse them. Making it harder to form enclaves.

Exactly. We've got that cellphone/Internet thing covered.

[R C Dean]

I think a big part of Europe's Islamist problem (and don't pretend they don't have one) has to do with the way they are bundled into self-contained and inward looking, for lack of a better word, ghettos.

Disperse them so they rub up against (yeah, I know, phrasing!) civilized people all day, and you've got a chance at assimilating them. Let them replicate their backwards communities, not so much.

[JWatts]

"Disperse them" Isn't that exactly what the Germans are doing?

"so they rub up against civilized people all day," Oh, never mind, it looks like it's working. The Islamists are clearly rubbing up against civilized people.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-35231046

'Germany shocked by Cologne New Year gang assaults on women'

[bacchys]

Germany doesn't "disperse them" and they don't allow them to assimilate. There are hundreds of thousands of Turks in Germany who have been there for generations and still aren't Germans, by law or popular recognition.

That was slightly addressed in 1990, but not enough to overcome the entrenched cultures and institutions of ghettoization.

[Uncle Joe]

Assimilation is a two way street. We have some enclaves here that people choose to stay in generation after generation. Ever heard of the Amish or Hasidim? Groups bound by religion tend to hold together more than others.

I'm not saying it's hopeless, but it's not surprising it takes longer with Muslims. If they can dial down the elements that preach violence, it's fine. That's the real problem.

BTW, I can't help but think the guys in Cologne were assimilating the wrong values...

[Intraveneous Woodchipper]

Yeab those racist white hetero-cis-gendered shitlords and their rape culture!

/derpyderpyderp

[Bob K]

First we need to do something about those damn Amish enclaves that have their own religious rule! I mean they have beards, wear funny clothing and want to reverse time to be stuck in the middle ages, too (or at least pre industrial times). I think they are the vanguard of a muslim invasion practicing Taqiyya.

This should all be read with tongue firmly in cheek.

[The Last American Hero]

Alas, virtually nobody is as pacifist as the Amish.

[Sapient Mulch]

-1 Quaker

[gaoxiaen]

+1 Richard Nixon.

[Wolf 359]

Mmm, Taqiytos.

[Red Rocks Rockin]

If an Amish person shoots up a concert, let us know.

[Intraveneous Woodchipper]

Well, they won't be able to operate the firearm or drive the get-a-way car so it would be tough to pull off!

[Rich]

Would they rather a have Republican president with views antithetical to their own or Hillary Clinton as president?

Once again -- "None of the above" should be a legitimate ballot choice.

[Hank Phillips]

The Libertarian Party is a ballot choice. If you lot the DemoGOP add "none of the above" to the ballot they'd put it at the top of the list.

[Lord Humungus]

Reason Staff? Did they all write this together cuddled under a big patchwork quilt?

[Rich]

That's not a staff. This is a STAFF!

[Fist of Etiquette]

THIS IS CETI ALPHA STAFF!

Staffi Alpha 6? Ceti Staffa 6.

[WTF]

From hell's heart I stab at thee. For hate's sake I spit my last breath at thee!

[MrMLK]

KAHN!!!

[Jackand Ace]

Trump is simply the conclusion of a voice on the right that has been gathering force for a long time. Right wing media has been spouting this garbage for a couple of decades...see Limbaugh, Levin, Hannity, Savage, Coulter, Ingraham, Beck and more...gathering more and more listeners every year.

And when did "conservatism" confront this? Never. You deserve it.

[WTF]

Welcome to Retardation: A Celebration. Now, hopefully, I'm gonna dispel a few myths, a few rumors. First off, the retarded don't rule the night. They don't rule it. Nobody does. And they don't run in packs. And while they may not be as strong as apes, don't lock eyes with 'em, don't do it. Puts 'em on edge. They might go into berzerker mode; come at you like a whirling dervish, all fists and elbows. You might be screaming "No, no, no" and all they hear is "Who wants cake?" Let me tell you something: They all do. They all want cake.

[gaoxiaen]

So? Let them eat cake.

[Ceci n'est pas un woodchipper]

I mean, you're not wrong, you're just only half right. Yes, there's been a populist element to conservative media for a long time (although the people you're listing don't march in lock step with each other, ideologically speaking) but the reason it's gotten so much traction of late is because of pressure from the left. The media has been dominated by Progressives for some time now, and Progressive politics has become the de facto standard at the national level. That's the only way you get this much support behind Trump. I know you think of Progressives as the perpetual underdog, but that hasn't been true for decades.

[bassjoe]

"But but but Progressives don't play fair!!!"

Jesus F. Christ, don't be such a petulant child about this. It's seriously the Progressives' fault that Trump may win the Republican nomination? Are you fucking kidding? This victim card bullshit to write off Trump's rise is getting annoying.

[Bob Meyer]

Trump is the perfect embodiment of the Progressive/Neo-Con dream - a leader who will annihilate all opposition by any means necessary. Progressives and Neo-Cons are like two mafia families fighting for control.

[Chip Chipperson]

Ummm, yes. Progressives created Trump. This is pretty much indisputable.

His supporters are reacting to years of being not only slighted, but outright ridiculed and demagogued as relics at best and at worst, outright evil -- and not only by the political class, but by the media and academia and the entire pop culture apparatus. They've tried to play by the rules by going with moderates and 'nice guys', only to lose... and then be demagogued even more. They feel that war has been declared against them, and nobody has fought back. There's a humiliation at work here that a lot of people simply do not recognize.

So they finally found a strongman who will fight and demagogue and humiliate in exactly the same manner that's been done to them for years now. Someone who's immune to ridicule or embarrassment, who doesn't apologize for hurt feelings, and will make them feel good about themselves for the first time in a very long time. And they're willing to overlook pretty much everything else about him in order to get it.

Trump is the living embodiment of a backlash against the progressive establishment. Had the progressives not been so utterly tyrannical in their victories, Trump would never have happened.

[LynchPin1477]

His supporters have been slighted and actively vilified by the left and some on the right. No one can deny that.

They still bear ultimate responsibility for *how* they have responded to that.

Libertarians have been slighted and actively vilified by the left and some on the right for years now, too. But libertarians aren't calling for a strongman who will find and demagogue and humiliate in exactly the same manner that's been done to us for years now.

[Nativist, Racist & Xenophobe]

That's because libertarians are cucks.

[LynchPin1477]

So by cuck, I guess you mean sticking to principle? Trying to reason through problems rather than smashing things with a stick? Not being a nativist, racist, xenophobe?

I'm totally fine with being a cuck in that case. I'll wear that title proudly.

[gaoxiaen]

Just like your father.

[Chip Chipperson]

Libertarians can barely agree on what color the sky is.

Fact is that libertarians have this weird combination of taking their views very seriously -- to the point that they find it impossible to actually compromise (even with each other) enough to support virtually any politician -- while simultaneously not taking themselves seriously at all.

The comment section on Reason is a perfect example of this truly bizarre attitude. Lots of talk about how tyranny is coming and we're all doomed thanks to so-and-so and their progressive/conservative/religious whatever, and everyone sucks except us, etc. And then it's quickly followed by a sort of joyous humor about the whole thing. Like they're just trolling and don't really care if anyone takes them seriously.

Fact is that libertarians seem to enjoy basking in their own smugness and the ridicule directed at them far more than they enjoy the work of actually persuading people to their side or trying to move the needle in American politics. They're thrilled to ride their ideological purity straight to hell just to say I told you so (to each other, of course), rather than actually do anything about it.

Defeatism is built right into this circle-jerk. There's no other possible outcome, and it's a key characteristic of libertarians. When libertarians start to find more value in persuasion than trolling, and start to understand incrementalism and strategy, then we might actually see a more libertarian country.

[LynchPin1477]

That's a totally fair criticism in my opinion.

But it doesn't change my basic point, which was that Trump supporters still have agency and still have a choice in how they respond to the ridicule coming from the right and the left. You can't just blame the left and right for them.

[gaoxiaen]

Eat my shorts.

[Toast88]

"Defeatism is built right into this circle-jerk. There's no other possible outcome."

That's because there isn't.

You have some really thoughtful responses that I agree with. I like you. But in this instance, you don't understand Libertarians. We don't believe real change (especially as it relates to reversing government overreach) can be affected by politicians, but rather by people in their everyday lives and how they live. Why would government overreach be reversed by an agent of the government? That makes no sense. And how could such a person aspire to be the biggest figure in government, and how would they get there?

[Chip Chipperson]

Okay, forget the politicians for a second. You have to get people to agree with you though. That's like, job one. Libertarians don't seem interested in that at all.

If you believe that change can only be affected by how people choose to live their lives, then you have to work towards influencing those decisions and the culture at large. And yes, paradoxically, that involves a degree of top-down thinking that may distasteful to libertarians, as well as a whole lot of persuasion (and a lot less insular smugness).

And you're making a mistake in thinking that politicians aren't important in this equation. They're not going to change things on their own, but electing politicians who will at least stay out of the way is probably a good start.

But libertarians (and frankly conservatives as well) have abdicated even trying for cultural influence
for far too long. What libertarian influencers are out there? South Park? Vice, for like ten minutes? And what are the big libertarian issues that actually get press? Drug legalization? If all libertarians are known for is South Park and legal drugs, then the ideology is doomed.

If you want to know why progressives have taken over, it's because they worked at it. And it's going to take work to make people understand why there's value to libertarian ideas.

[pronomian]

As long as I am not hurting anyone else, I have a right to believe the sky is whatever color I want it to be.

Your second paragraph is my complaint also. Non liberty republicans will say whatever they will to get our votes even when we know in our hearts they do not believe it and will not do what they said they would (sop for they standard politician). How many libertarians will vote for the "lesser of two evils?" Seasoned politicians know they and they will pander to the liberty minded. I wonder what would happen if libertarians everywhere withheld their vote to make a point that we do not believe your lies and until we get someone that is at least close to what we believe we will continue to without our vote, or better yet, write in a true libertarian. How many here will hold their nose and vote for rubio, or cruz?

[Toast88]

Agree, for the most part.

Politics is a pendulum. After voting in a completely unsuccessful candidate (twice!), the pendulum has swung over, and now it's the GOP's turn.

[Cytotoxic]

Oh cry me a fucking river. Trump supporters are 'outraged' by the fact that no one will indulge their racism and people make fun of them for being stupid. Most of all, they are angry that THEY aren't getting more of the pogey.

[Cytotoxic]

This. The stupidity of conservatives is the fault of conservatives.

[Ron]

Trump was created by the inaction of the Rino's Americans are tired of electing people who say one thing then do another.I think peopl beleive he will do as he says I think he's just a big ham and only talks what the people want to hear and part of what they want is Trump to tell the left to shut up since the repubs are all mice. Trump is the lion in a room full of mice

[WoodchipperPatriarch]

What does he say he'll do?

[JWatts]

Eat the mice.

[Ken Shultz]

The only things Trump represents on the right are 1) not being openly hostile to capitalism like they are on the left, and, most importantly, 2) being fed up with PC aesthetics.

Those hot air blasters have been anti-PC fora long time, too--but Trumps incarnation of that has more to do with emulating his friend Howard Stern than anyone else.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HfDnHKOKe3A

Howard Stern also knew how to get his name in the news by saying controversial shit and without spending any money.

[freedomlover]

This is America. One doesn't have to be smart to be rich. Just controversial.

It's sad but true.

[conservativemom]

hmmmmm.....wonder why the stupid masses listen to this alternative media? as for me, I found it finally something to verify what I had been noticing for decades....it didn't "rope in" my small brain.

[Fist of Etiquette]

The best option for the mythical small government conservatives is any except support. If he gets the nomination, he will lose in November, and will be a pariah for putting Hillary in the White House.

[JWatts]

"f he gets the nomination, he will lose in November"

That assumes that Hillary doesn't get indicted. If she does, or even if the Justice Department refuses to indict in a manner that makes most Independents believe it was a purely political decision, she'll.

"and will be a pariah for putting Hillary in the White House."

For a short time yes. But if the US enters into a recession in 2017, Republicans will be happy to tar Democrats as the responsible party.

So, as always, there are way to many variables in play to make any kind of accurate prediction.

[JWatts]

"she'll." - She'll lose the election.

[CE]

Sen/Sec Clinton is a terrible candidate. Trump will use his media voodoo on her like he did on Scott Walker and Jeb Bush. It's a lose-lose situation for America. Bloomberg will run and discover no one likes him. Gary Johnson will break the 1.0 percent barrier (last broken by Libertarian Ed Clark in 1980, running against that noted big government authoritarian, Ronald Reagan) and declare the libertarian moment has arrived.

[Cytotoxic]

" Trump will use his media voodoo on her like he did on Scott Walker and Jeb Bush."

And unlike them it won't work. At all. He is unelectable.

[Cytotoxic]

This. Trump will ruin the GOP for a long time.

[Old Man With Candy]

Maybe Trump begins to transform American discourse into something more closely resembling European politics, where nationalists and socialists argue about who should run the state apparatus.

That train left the station a loooong time ago.

[WTF]

But at least the nationalist socialists will make the train run on time, amirite?

[Suthenboy]

That is a myth.

[WTF]

I know.

[Hank Phillips]

Actually, those were Italian conservative collectivists. Look up Lateran Pacts of 1929...

[WTF]

Jesus fuck, it was a fucking joke. And are you actually trying to imply that 1930's Italian Fascists are somehow related to American conservatives?

[KDN]

They're both on the right, therefore they're the same thing.

/Ghostshriek

[JWatts]

I'm still not even sure what his post means. The Lateran Treaty had absolutely nothing to do with making the "trains run on time" and it really had nothing to do with Fascism. Sure, the government that eventually signed it was fascist, but every Italian government since (to this day) have upheld the treaty.

The treaty essentially restricted the political power of the Roman Catholic church and confiscated a bunch of Church property, in exchange for guarantees of sovereignty of Vatican City and a billion Lire.

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

[Thomas O.]

You know wh-- ah, fuck it.

[R C Dean]

Our two major parties could easily be called the Social Nationalists and the National Socialists. Two flavors of fascism. Its like going to a bar and finding out they have two kinds of beer: IPA, and Imperial IPA.

[Suthenboy]

Judean People's Front?

[gaoxiaen]

+1 Tibor Rubin

[BearOdinson]

I do find the author's POV rather compelling. I have still held out hope, that there is enough of a libertarian streak in enough parts of the GOP, that I would rather stay within the party and influence it from within. In other words, obviously I tend to agree with Gay Jay on more than any of the Rs (except Rand who I probably agree with even more than Johnson). But I just don't think voting that way (and more importantly publicly supporting him) does any good to influence anyone.

For the record: I know I am one voter with no particular ability to influence anything more than anyone else. But if I am going to complain, and then cast a vote, I am going to at least try.

[Hank Phillips]

That streak is yellow, and born of despair that support for Klan and GOP is fast approaching zero.

[WTF]

Hey everyone, it looks like we have a new troll! Or maybe it's just buttplug under a new handle because he's too chickenshit to post under his old one.

[bassjoe]

There is no actual libertarian streak in the GOP. I don't know why people thing that. There really has never been. You have the business elite who want laws to protect their interests. You have the so-cons who want laws to protect their interest. And you have the rabble who just don't want government's largesse going to the "other", but have no problem getting that largesse themselves.

And, yea, you have one or two actual libertarians against it all.

[Eric Bana]

"Get your government hands off my Medicare!"

[Cytotoxic]

Amash, Rand, and others are the GOP libertarian streak and yes Reagan who for all his flaws was very good for American liberty.

[Bob K]

It depends on where you live. I will definitely be voting for G Johnson as a Marylander. No GOP nominee will win the electoral votes in MD so I might as well boost the libertarian vote overall and in my small way telling both major parties to go fuck off. Plus the greater the popular vote for GJ means more coverage of libertarian ideas as a whole. If GJ got 20% of the popular vote that could serious elevate the libertarian cause.

[The Last American Hero]

Same here. My State is ready for Team Blue, regardless of who's name is on the ballot. Hell, if the ballots were misprinted and Gary Johnson had a D by his name he would win in a landslide.

Accordingly, I vote Libertarian in the vain hope of sending a message that there are votes to be had if either major party is willing to embrace some fiscal conservatism and individual liberty.

[CE]

I live in California and would vote LP even if I lived in the closest battleground state. None of them are coming down to one vote.

[bacchys]

I'll be doing the same in Maryland, but even if the woefully misnomered Free State were to turn so purple my vote was the deciding one between the major party candidates, I'd still vote for Johnson.

[CE]

No vote accomplishes anything. May as well vote for your preferred candidate, so the statistics are right for posterity.

[Hank Phillips]

The writer identifies as a Republican bigot by calling looters "liberals" and pretending there is no Libertarian party entering its 45th year in defense of individual rights. There already is a religious fanatic Tea Party dedicated to bullying pregnant women, shooting blacks and hippies and bombing foreigners. What more could a conservative ask for?

[DenverJ]

Jesus Christ you're a mendacious fuck.

[simplybe]

After the Megan Kelly pics tweeted by Trump I have had enough of the petulant child. He acts like a school yard bully. If he gets elected will he send the FBI or IRS after his critics. The only reason anyone cares about that silly little child is that if he farted the media would spend the day talking how it compared to a Bach symphony. The reason the media is so taken by Trump is that they are both shallow.

[Hank Phillips]

Trump is exactly the same thing as the rest of the Republican party, only less dishonest and incompetent. I will vote libertarian, thereby forcing repeal of more bad laws--and laugh if the bald communist gets to show God's Own Prohibitionists what asset-forfeiture is really all about.

[buybuydandavis]

I think of Trump as one of the mean girls from high school, trapped in a fat old man's body.

As for Megyn Kelly, Trump has boosted her status as a journalist and an incredible hottie. She was obviously always attractive but some of those pictures are smoking hot.

Meanwhile Trump comes across as a Clintonesque thug trying to destroy a woman he assaulted in the media.

[Ken Shultz]

If Trump wins the White House, it will be with the assistance of swing voters. Once he was in office, he would be limited by his desire to be reelected. To accomplish reelection, Trump might reconstitute the Reagan coalition--go after more socially conservative, blue collar Democrats in the northeast. Doesn't Trump have more in common with people like Bloomberg and Christie than anyone else? Trump won't stand up for gun rights. He might lead the charge against "assault weapons" himself. Trump won't resist the push for single payer.

Republican voters may not be as principled as libertarians, but that doesn't mean they aren't principled at all. They may not be principled capitalists like we are, but they genuinely oppose ObamaCare because it's socialist. They may not be principled capitalists like we are, but they genuinely opposed TARP on principle and started a grass roots movement--outside of the Republican Party--which ultimately cast the GOP establishment aside for betraying Tea Party principles (such as they were).

[Eric Bana]

You would think that Trump praising Obama's stimulus (along with TARP, the auto bailouts, Obamacare, not changing entitle programs) would get negative traction with Trump supporters. Do they just no know?

http://www.redstate.com/diary/.....cy-agenda/

[Eric Bana]

*entitlement programs

[Ken Shultz]

It's just about being the anti-Obama in terms of PC sensitivity.

They're so starved for hearing people speak as if they undaunted by PC sensibilities, and Donald scratches that itch.

Like I said, that's also how Howard Stern became a star.

[XM]

"If Trump wins the White House, it will be with the assistance of swing voters."

And some of the swing voters would surely include the demographics that the GOP has been chasing for years. Latinos, Asians, blacks, women, etc.

That's the one thing no one's talking about. Trump can't win the white house unless enough minorities stay home or defect to him. So if he wins, that logically cannot be considered as a "loss" for the GOP. Not when they got what they were looking for.

I've heard some whispers that there's some Trump support among blacks and union members. It could be nothing. In any case, the GOP will undoubtedly keep track of whether Trump or Rubio can attract minority support and swing vote during the primaries, even if it's limited to registered Republicans. I think we'll find out if Trump is the REAL deal soon enough.

[Cytotoxic]

Trump has the highest negatives amongst latinos by far.

[Ken Shultz]

If Trump gets into the White House, the coalition that elects him probably won't be the same coalition that reelects him. The reason Bloomberg/Christie style Republicans don't exist elsewhere in the country is because that brand of Republican progressive doesn't float in the rest of the country. I wouldn't worry too much about Donald Trump destroying the Republican Party. Just because the Democrats blindly followed a President that did everything George W. Bush did doesn't mean Republican voters are equally unprincipled.

The Republican Party we have today may not be principled by libertarian standards, but the GOP is more principled now than it was under George W. Bush--specifically because so many Republicans of the Bush era offended Republican voters' principles.

[unperson]

op is a halfwit...no, wait, a quarterwit

[Alan Vanneman]

Donald Trump is marginally more removed from the political center than George McGovern. McGovern "condemned" the Democrats to a three out of four losing streak in the presidency--or did LBJ condemn it to a four out of five? In any event, the McGovernites largely controlled the party, despite the huge losses the Democrats racked up in 72, 80, 84, and 88. I don't know what the Republican Party will look like if Trump wins the nomination, as he probably will, but it won't look like the current party. Republican leaders like McConnell and Boehner thought they could focus the hatred the Republican base felt towards "the Establishment" on Obama, and, at the congressional level, it certainly worked. But not at the presidential level. Poor old Mitch McConnell knows he's in bad shape when he's hoping he'll get a chance to kiss Ted Cruz's ass instead of Donald Trump's.

[Ken Shultz]

"Republican leaders like McConnell and Boehner thought they could focus the hatred the Republican base felt towards "the Establishment" on Obama, and, at the congressional level, it certainly worked."

The Tea Party ran primary candidates against Republican establishment candidates that supported TARP. Boehner survived longer than he should have, but ultimately he paid the price for offending the principles of Republican voters, too.

It's notable that although the Democrats were so unprincipled, they enthusiastically lined up to support Obama for doing everything Bush had done, Republican voters were principled to the extent that they would rather start an opposition movement outside the party if the GOP leadership offends their principles.

If and when a President Trump offends Republican voters' principles in his first term, he can expect the same thing. There will be plenty of offended Republican voters willing to support a challenger for the Republican nomination in his second term, and there will be plenty of Republican candidates ready to challenge Trump for the nomination.

[Bob Meyer]

The Republicans have been a zombie party since they assassinated their own candidate in 1964.

Richard Carlson explains this to Bob Hope.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4a6YdNmK77k

Today, Hope would only change the name of the party.

[The Last American Hero]

That zombie party is basically 50/50 in presidential elections since 64, controls both houses of congress, has a majority on the SC, more governorships and state legislatures now than in the last century. Not sure what you mean by zombie-party, but it seems pretty healthy to me.

[JWatts]

It's all part of Obama's awesome 3-D chess. He's just let the Republicans make consistent electoral gains for the last 6 years as part of his master plan to get Donald Trump nominated in 2016.

[HazelMeade]

My only hope is that if Trump wins he gets so collossally trounced in the general election that the cretins voting for him crawl under a rock somewhere and never emerge again.

I'm planning to vote a slate of straight Democrats in the hopes of making that happen.

Its like a game of Full Retard Chicken.

[Ken Shultz]

Hello, Hazel.

Long time no see.

[Aresen]

If Trump is nominated, the only question is whether he will beat Goldwater's record on the GOP side.

Or maybe even go after McGovern's record.

[CE]

Trump is a much better politician than Clinton.

[Cytotoxic]

No he's not. He's politically toxic.

[JWatts]

I think people seriously under estimate Trumps appeal. Have you been ignoring the polls for the last 9 months? How many negative articles have been written about Trump during that time? It's probably in the thousands at this point.

Sure his favorability ratings have dropped into the gutter with Democrats, but that won't matter much in the election. He was never going to get much of the Democratic vote anyway. And frankly the favorability ratings don't seem to directly correlate with the election results.

I think Trump would probably lose to Hillary Clinton (assuming no indictment), but he won't lose in a land side.

[Cytotoxic]

Spoken like someone who hasn't taken a look at the polling data. Trump's negatives are in the sky. Independents hate him. He is a terrible awful candidate. Goldwater supporters were more grounded in reality than people who think he has a chance.

[Cytotoxic]

I'm hoping for mass suicide or death by aneurysm/CA when Trump gets crushed.

If Trump is the nom you should NOT vote DEM. Vote GOP to cushion the avalanche against them.

[Aresen]

Vote Trump!

Lulztopia has never been closer!

[Deep Lurker]

"The important question for conservatives is: Would they rather a have Republican president with views antithetical to their own or Hillary Clinton as president? Would they rather have a Republican who may cause irreparably damage to their brand, or Bernie Sanders?"

Small government conservatives faced a similar question in 2008, with McCain as the potential Republican president who had views antithetical to their own and who might have caused irreparable damage to their brand. A lot of them thought "Well, one term of Obama is a price worth paying to avoid electing McCain," - but then we ended up with two terms of Obama.

[mrvco]

I don't see any of these R hopefuls as being anything but a disaster if they "win". The upside to Trump is that the neocon endless-war douche bag crowd hates him.

[zacharyfsargent]

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[morganovich]

this election looks like a hobson's choice wrapped in a shitshow.

here's one really key issue that few seem to be focusing on: SCOTUS.

there are 3 justices that have reached serious geriatric condition and may not be able to wait out the next president.

first, you have scalia and ginsberg. those 2 are sort of offsets, but if both went to the same party, you could get a court with a clear majority. this could last a long time given the new penchant for young justices. a 50 year old justice could preside for 30 or 35 years.

but the real issue is kennedy. he is the closest thing to a libertarian justice we have. putting in someone who is progressive or conservative would have a HUGE effect.

this is, in many ways, the most important long term issue in this election.

who would you give 3 court picks to?

[LynchPin1477]

Rand, obviously. I could probably live with the SCOTUS picks of most of the Republicans, honestly. I think the issue of gay marriage is pretty much set in stone, so I'm assuming the justice's views on that won't be consequential. What are the other major issues likely to come up in the short to medium term? I can see gun control continuing to be an issue. Campaign spending. Maybe abortion. Asset forfeiture? Eminent domain? Immigration (it's not clear to me what Constitutional issues would come up, though). Looking further down the road, single payer health care, general challenges to things like environmental regulation, and regulation more generally.

I suspect the pool of potential justices will be the same for most of the Republicans.

Trump is the outlier. I have zero confidence that Trump would choose a justice that is substantially different than the one Hillary would choose.

[Cytotoxic]

This.

[Mauser]

Holy cow WTF, the potential reality of Donald Trump being president is sinking in and it only shows the desperation of Murica. The only good thing to come out of this is being able to sit back and watch the republican establishment cringe as Trump succeeds.
The GOP deserves everything that it gets.

[Ken Shultz]

"The GOP deserves everything that it gets."

What about me?

I don't deserve any of it!

[Ron]

I'd like to see the GOP collapse into toe separate parties no longer associated at all. One would be the religious far right that wants to use the government to impose their wants over others and the other would be economically conservative and leaning libertarian about less government envolvement. A party like that might actually be able to get some of the moderate democrats to join up diminishing the power of the dems and creating a three party system. Ha unfortunately I doubt that would happen

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[bacchys]

Is that you, Nigeria?

[CE]

The prospect of a Trump presidency terrifies me, but I'm pretty sure he would make quick work of Clinton or Sanders in the general election. Trump is much more in tune with the mood of the voters.

[Cytotoxic]

" I'm pretty sure he would make quick work of Clinton or Sanders in the general election. Trump is much more in tune with the mood of the voters."

No he's not. His negatives are extremely high. He's going to get trounced.

[Real American]

Trump is still better than a criminal or a socialist, so there's that logic. Hold your nose and vote against the lefty dinosaurs.

[gjdagis]

I do NOT agree with the "immigration" stance of Reason! These so called "immigrants" or so called "refugees" will reliably support and vote for those who will destroy our personal liberties. These people have only collectivist values.

[Cytotoxic]

The irony...

[Shootist]

Trump as President?

Better 'n JEB. Better 'n Hillary. The US voter needs to end the Permanent Bi-Partisan Ruling Coalition and worry about Libertarian purity later.

[freedomlover]

No worries. He'd be a,lame duck,loud mouth turd. Bell Ne we accomlish anything.

On the other hand, he's done more do,efreedom of speech and an antidote to,political correctness than anyone in recent memory. Maybe we should embrace the moment?

[[e-mail]]

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[The Elite Elite]

Well, I can't imagine there would be many, if any, conservatives in the media who would come out against Trump should he get the nomination. They may bitch about leftist Republican candidates during the primary, but in the end they are pro-team over pro-ideology. We saw this with Romney and McCain, don't see why they'd suddenly take a stand against Trump. Hell, I read radio host Dennis Prager's column this week where he essentially says he doesn't like Trump, but will support him should he be nominated. That'll be your standard response by conservatives who haven't drunk the Trump Koolaid.

[Cloudbuster]

Then, it's likely that the Republican Party will go back to business as usual. Which is a disaster of whole different kind.

The closing sentences undermine the entire article.

[Alan@.4]

Re What If Trump Wins, I don't think he will,however the possibility of his winning brings to mind an ancient Chinese imprecation. May You Live In Interesting Times.

[MSimon]

Conservatives could use a disaster.

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[Toast88]

"Presidents can't just slap huge tariffs on other countries without Congress, and they can't make Mexico pay for border fences, nor take oil from countries in the Middle East, nor deport 13 million immigrants here illegally."

Wanna bet?

It's like you've never heard of the Executive Action. Violating the first and second amendments, appointing recess appointments while Congress IS NOT in session, unilateral killing of Americans via drone strikes---all done because a president decided to "just" do something.

[Toast88]

Crap, I meant while Congress IS NOT in recess.

[1stFreeMatt]

Excellent article, with one exception:

"There's no modern precedent for a party's establishment undercutting its nominee, so it's improbable the Republican Party would participate in torpedoing Trump."

Um David - you know better than that. Remember the 2010 Colorado gubernatorial race?
Striking parallel, actually - highlighting the increasing irrelevance (indeed, counterproductivity) of the GOP party Establishment.
Sadly, they refuse to learn the lessons:
in Colorado 2010, the GOP Establishment created the conditions for Dan Maes;
nationally in the 2016 cycle, the the GOP Establishment created the conditions for Donald Trump.
Past time to take out the trash among the party "elite."

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[Cytotoxic]

Good to see someone gets it. No, Trump is not some benign event. He is poison, but he does serve the useful purpose of revealing that many conservatives are as anti-intellectual and racist as they have been portrayed as.

[HTuttle]

Country is going to hell in a hand-basket anyway so might as well be entertained for the ride.

[HTuttle]

I doubt Trump supporters will be disappointed if he doesn't impose a tariff and deport 10 million illegals.

He is skilled enough to spin it as he needs to.

[sudon't]

Trump is nothing less than Republican chickens coming home to roost. For many years the party has been calling to the lunatic fringe with a dog whistle, only to ignore them once the votes were safely in hand. Meanwhile, the party's electorate has been moving further and further right under this conditioning. Trump has decided to speak out loud what the others have been slyly winking at for so long, and they love him for it. But neither Fox News, nor the Republican Party can control him, so in spite of him explicitly endorsing the views they have long promoted, they fear him.
Let's be honest, the Republican Party hasn't been about "fiscal conservatism" for a long time now. You're worried about a "right-of-center consensus"? Republicans are now so used to a diet of radical rightism that they can't see that's exactly where Hillary sits. You want fiscal conservatism? Vote Democrat. They may not yap about it all the time, but they actually do a better job of it while in office than the Republicans.

[Cytotoxic]

"Republicans are now so used to a diet of radical rightism that they can't see that's exactly where Hillary sits. You want fiscal conservatism? Vote Democrat. They may not yap about it all the time, but they actually do a better job of it while in office than the Republicans."

Thanks for the 'delusional completely divorced from reality' take.

[JD Will]

David Harsanyi is billed as a Libertarian,but this article has a rather GOPe odor.

Example 1:
"More distressingly, at least for some of us, is the prospect that Trump's outlook will turn out to be more popular than anyone imagines. Maybe a flood of candidates will begin aping his populism and succeed."

Distress that the working class want the border secure? Really? Watching the debates and news coverage, I would say the latter is already happening.

Example 2:
"Even more terrifying for many of us is the prospect of a successful Trump presidency. ... Presidents can't ... can't make Mexico pay for border fences, ..., nor deport 13 million immigrants here illegally. "

Both of these points are repeated ad nauseam by both establishment liberals and GOPe candidates (Nader's dimes worth of difference?). In fact a president can make things warm for Mexico to induce them to help with the border and just enforcing the laws on the books would shrink the illegal population dramatically as other commentators here have noted.

[Cytotoxic]

If you weren't stupid, you'd know that libertarians favor free movement of people and that 'securing the border' is not in accord with those principals and is actually poison to freedom.

" In fact a president can make things warm for Mexico"

What? How?

[Anastasia Beaverhausen]

Gary Johnson might rue the day he started trying to get into the Presidential debates. What if he actually won his case and found himself on the same stage as Donald Trump?

I'm reminded of Jack Palance - when accepting the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in the film "City Slickers", Palace said about his co-star (and host of the Oscars that year) Billy Crystal, "I crap bigger than you."

Poor Johnson, bless his heart, won't know what hit him.

[Cytotoxic]

I think Johnson knows what incoherent babbling populism is.

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[Sanjuro Tsubaki]

Dubya damaged conservatives enough.

[Valentines day 2016]

valentines day Images
valentines day Picsgvfdfbfmn fjjgmkh.kk

[Hank Phillips]

Cleanup, we have a thought-criminal on aisle 3...

[EndTheGOP]

The article covers all of the ifs, ands and buts but I notice David Harsanyi is too much of a coward to actually name who he thinks should be the nominee.

Trump will run this country like a business. If congress gets in his way he will crush them and after he does that once or twice the remaining congress will get in line like the stupid ducks they are and follow the leader.

And deporting 13 million illegal aliens will be as easy as imposing a $250,000 fine on any employer who hires them. The illegal aliens will self-deport once they are fired because even though most of them can't read English, they can certainly read the writing on the wall.

Can anyone refute me?

I didn't think so.

[gaoxiaen]

This article is convincing me that I should vote for Trump instead of the Libertarian candidate. Fuck the stupid party.

[MrMLK]

If congress gets in his way he will crush them

What exactly does this mean? What special powers do you imagine the president has that will enable him to "crush" congress?

[The Last American Hero]

I give it a B plus. It would have been an A, but the "crushing" of Congress bit went a little too far.

[WoodchipperPatriarch]

How's he going to run the country like a business? What larger, more powerful entity is he going to get to give our country other peoples' land to develop at low or no cost? Or did you not mean one of his businesses?

[It's all sausage to me]

"Trump will run this country like a business."

I love this line. It demonstrates such a massive amount of ignorance.

[Cytotoxic]

"Trump will run this country like a business."

Yes, like one of the ones Trump ran into the ground.

"If congress gets in his way he will crush them"

So he's going to be a fascist dictator good to know.

"Can anyone refute me?

I didn't think so."

Ha ha ha

[EndTheGOP]

MrMLK -- Those same "special powers" that Mr. Trump used to crush Jeb Bush, Ted Cruz, Ben Carson, Carly Fiorina, Rand Paul, John McCain and others will be employed to crush any other members of Congress who refuse to tow Trump's line.

Pat attention. You're in for an education to match no other.

Donald Trump is a genius who will save this country.

Watch and learn.

[ThomasD]

If Obama, with such a compliant media, could not crush a recalcitrant Congress then Trump will never do so.

Just look at what Clinton has, so far, gotten away with to better comprehend just how unfettered Obama has been.

Trump will never half one half of that.

[Sanjuro Tsubaki]

Easy a spine...and the real "power of the purse".

[LynchPin1477]

So the "powers" he used to pull ahead in polls of Republican primary voters will be used against Republicans from moderate districts and Democrats? It would be interesting to look at the geographical concentration of Trump supporters and to figure out how many like-minded representatives they could install. My guess is it would fall far, far short of the number needed to "crush" Congress.

And it's telling that your idea of saving the country is to install an authoritarian who will bully the representatives of the Republic into going along with whatever destructive policies he likes. It implies that you actively disdain America and American values. You'd rather be like the countries those immigrants you so despise are running from.

[Arkansaustrian Economics]

Yup, it's a troll.

[WoodchipperPatriarch]

Wow. How the hell did Donald Trump manage to get this Obama-like following? He's not nearly as good a speaker as Obama.

[Sapient Mulch]

-tow Trump's line

This and it's variants never fail to make me smile. Ahh. Lion towing.

[Robert]

I'm guessing then that it means Trump will put up his own candidates in the next election against uncooperative members of Congress.

[Bgoptmst]

It's a nice change to read someone's jackassery that isn't Tony or AmSoc.

[Sevo]

I dunno; we get Mike and now this troll. Whoever is closest, please close the door to the STUPID corridor.

[LynchPin1477]

Hate is a powerful motivator.

[EndTheGOP]

Wood -- Simple. Trump is a genius. Care to refute me?

I didn't think so.

And which presidential candidate do you want to lead our country?

FInd your balls and get back to me.

[It's all sausage to me]

A brow-beating bully who personally attacks anyone who disagrees with him... Are we sure this isn't Trump himself?

[bacchys]

Perhaps we'll file bankruptcy and issue junk bonds.

[CE]

As a bonus, the country is already bankrupt and he has a lot of experience with that situation.

[EndTheGOP]

WoodForBrains -- Review your sentence structure. Revise it, and get back to me.

I can't decipher that mess for Christ's sake.

We speak English here.

[EndTheGOP]

Hihn -- What's the matter? Can't you refute me?

I am serious as can be.

Debate me, if you can find your balls.

It'll be fun.

For me.

[EndTheGOP]

Lynch -- You state the following:

"And it's telling that your idea of saving the country is to install an authoritarian who will bully the representatives of the Republic into going along with whatever destructive policies he likes."

So you're telling all of us you have the capability to read minds. You apparently know for a fact that Mr. Trump will use "destructive policies" to achieve his goals.

What proof do you have Mr. Mindreader?

And please tell all of us who your choice of the candidates running you think should be president. Then you can sit back, relax and watch me tear your choice to shreds.

It'll be fun.

For me.

[EndTheGOP]

Ark -- Have you got anything intelligent too say or are you just one of those mindless idiots I see so often here?

Come on, refute me. Debate me.

I'll have so much fun chewing you up and spitting you out.

Also, please tell us who your choice of presidential candidates is.

Why do I think you are too much of a coward to respond?

[EndTheGOP]

Sevo -- You really need to find your balls (maybe your wife will give them back to you) and debate me.

In the past you've called me names and then run away like the coward you are.

For once in you life stand up for yourself. Refute something I've said.

It'll be fun.

For me.

Then everyone here will know who STUPID really is.

[EndTheGOP]

CE -- You must think Babe Ruth was the biggest failure to ever be in baseball since his lifetime batting average was only .342.

If you average Trump's success' and failures his lifetime success average is only .958.

I'm sure in your tiny mind they are both miserable failures since they didn't bat a thousand.

And which of the presidential candidates do you think is best suited to run our country?

I'll never hear from you again, will I?

[Henry Baker]

Aw shut the fuck up, Donald. We know that's you posting as some dork calling himself "EndTheGop." Nobody else would be writing such stupid shit.

[Henry Baker]

Once more...SHUT THE FUCK UP, DONALD! Sneak back to your "tower" and try to get some sleep. You DO need more than two hours sleep per night and you're exhausted. You're acting even crazier than usual.

[ETremens]

And us. Trust me, everything you write is extraordinarily fun.

For us.

[EndTheGOP]

Oh Henry -- You're one of those cowards who calls people names and then runs and hides.

Come on, refute something I said. Debate me.

Let me show the world what a mental midget you are.

It'll be fun.

For me.

[EndTheGOP]

Ok Henry. You've called me your name. Now go and hide?pussy that you are.

[EndTheGOP]

bacchys -- Perhaps you'll debate me.

Nah, you don't have the balls.

[Uncle Joe]

"If you average Trump's success' and failures his lifetime success average is only .958."

You're not counting his marriages.

[Eman]

i really respect how much you like talking about genitals!

[Chipper Morning Wood]

EndTheGOP, I will debate you right after I get back from visiting the local mental institution and debating all the inmates there. Should be about equally productive.

[ETremens]

Shouldn't Reason find some way to exclude 10 year-old loudmouths from the commentariat?

Hey EndTheGop, got any proof that you're old enough to walk to the store without your mommy?

I'll have so much fun taking a big dump on it.

Well do ya?

I didn't think so.

[Hi there!]

Is your stance that Trump won't do what he says he thinks he might do as President? I mean, that's a pretty unassailable stance, right? I say, "Trump has mentioned several policy features that include import tariffs and other barriers to free trade." and you say, "Well, PROVE HE'LL DO WHAT HE SAYS" and you win, right?

[Chipper Morning Wood]

It's not Trump. I just did a word search for "tremendous" on this page and zero hits.

[It's all sausage to me]

yuge

[LynchPin1477]

Exactly. Just use the War on Drugs strategy. Mandatory minimums, 3 strike laws, zero tolerance policies, strict enforcement, militarized policing, etc. ended most drug use and trafficking. Military campaigns in Central America took care of the rest. And today drug use is a non-issue in the US and the cartels are gone. No reason the same thing can't work for illegal immigration.

[Cytotoxic]

Yes clearly what we need is more militarization. What does the taxpayer exist for if not to indulge your violent anti-immigrant fantasies?

[EndTheGOP]

PART 1

Hilm -- I understand you're a very old, feeble man and your eyesight isn't what it used to be in your 80s so I will copy and paste from my comment above for your convenience.

You say:

" The way Trump "runs a business" is to go bankrupt ... screwing the people who trust him, and invested in him. Do YOU trust him?"

I say:

You must think Babe Ruth was the biggest failure to ever be in baseball since his lifetime batting average was only .342.

If you average Trump's business success' and failures his lifetime success average is only .958.

I'm sure in your tiny mind they are both miserable failures since they didn't bat a thousand.

And of course I trust him. Why in the hell would I defend him if didn't trust him? Are you already having trouble comprehending these simple statements? You better buckle up old man. I'm about to take you on the intellectual ride of your old life.

You continue your dribble with:

"When you get to high school, you'll learn that it's not just me saying you're bat-shit crazy on what Trump can do, It's our Constitution."

I say:

Be specific old man. Exactly WHY am I bat-shit crazy on what Trump can do. Quote the Constitution if you're able. Otherwise, shut the fuck up.

To be continued.

[pronomian]

I kind of like that. We can also put it this way, "The way republicans "run a country" is to go bankrupt ... screwing the people who trust them, and invested in them. Do YOU trust them?

[EndTheGOP]

PART 2

You said:

"It would be like kicking a cripple.
But."

Tell me, are you actually able to 'kick' someone from a wheel chair? Have at it old-timer. I just hope it doesn't cause you have a heart attack.

Now, let's see if your balls have dried up and shriveled away yet. Tell me what candidate running for president are you voting for? Then you can sit back in your wheel chair, relax, take it easy, and watch me shred him or her into a million pieces. I'm betting I bring you to tears, let's see if I do.

[EndTheGOP]

SausageHead -- BE SPECIFIC. (Look up the word if you don't understand the meaning.)

HOW does it demonstrate a massive amount of ignorance?

And please tell the audience which candidate you think should be president?

Can't do it, can you? Talk about ignorance.

[pronomian]

I agree, I say stick with the the democrats and republicans, they have done such an great job so far.

[EndTheGOP]

Thomas -- WTF are you talking about? This congress gave Obama EVERYTHING he wanted.

Trump will have congress waiting on him hand and foot.

And just WHY do you think Clinton has gotten away with so much?

[Toast88]

Are we allowed to not want any of the candidates to be president?

[ETremens]

The audience? You mean, the crowd of people applauding in your brain?

I thought so.

[bluecanarybythelightswitch]

Posting about running and hiding and not having balls on an internet forum. This is too good, between his Trumpian bluster and his proclamations of internet machismo this guy has to be doing this for laughs.

[Cytotoxic]

"So you're telling all of us you have the capability to read minds."

Actually he just has the ability to read your asinine ramblings.

"What proof do you have Mr. Mindreader?"

His fucking policies. RTFA

[Cytotoxic]

EndtheGOP = shrike

[Cytotoxic]

"This congress gave Obama EVERYTHING he wanted."

Not true.

"Trump will have congress waiting on him hand and foot."

It's your fantasy but we're not obligated to indulge it.

[Cytotoxic]

Yay the dipshits are fighting each other!

[Bgoptmst]

Internet special olympics champ for sure!

Sorry, I know I'm a coward and intellectual midget. I also ask your wife for my balls back. She has them in her mouth right now....

Shit sorry, I meant to say I'll also ask my wife for my balls back.

[EndTheGOP]

Here's a little treat for all of you dunderheads from GarageFather posted on another thread here at Reason in 2 Parts

PART 1

Garagefather|1.28.16 @ 1:50PM|#

The biggest BS about this article and so many others on Reason is that even if it is 100% true, Trump or Cruz (or whoever GOP candidate wins) will still get orders of magnitude more votes than the Libertarian's candidate. Reason Mag are focused on the GOP and DNC far more than actually promoting the Libertarian Party. It is easy to sit back and be critical when you have nothing to offer to be criticized about, in turn.

[EndTheGOP]

PART 2

When it comes down to it, most of the Libertarian candidates are nuttier than Trump and less electable than Clinton. Reason knows this so it has basically taken on the role of whiner and agitator, and it gets pretty old after a while. Who can a libertarian support that isn't a loon that has absolutely zero chance of being elected dog catcher, let alone Pres. All Libertarians seem to talk about are guns and immigration. I like the pro gun talk but the unfettered and unregulated and unlawful mass immigration from the third world without any checks or protections for people already in the country will forever be an untenable and unpopular position in any first world country and especially when it is essentually the third world exporting its poverty to us that we have to support through welfare and all the STEM workers being hired to displace American STEM workers.

New at Reason: Don't vote, all the candidates suck and we don't have anything to offer ourselves so we will devote the next 10 months to telling you nobody is worthy to vote for, ever...

[EndTheGOP]

ET -- Believe me, I realize my entertainment factor is a huge part of my appeal.

I also hope I can educate a couple of the idiot sheep here at Reason.

I'm beginning to think Reason is where the mentally retarded go once they themselves realize they have nothing to offer.

[EndTheGOP]

Toast -- NONE of you even have the balls to say you don't want anyone!

Of course, if that's the case, YOU are the problem.

[Cytotoxic]

Blah blah blah nothing in part 1 is even relevant to the point.

"when it is essentually the third world exporting its poverty to us that we have to support through welfare and all the STEM workers being hired to displace American STEM workers."

Blah blah blah you don't understand economics and are illiterate/innumerate. IE the perfect Trumptard.

[Cytotoxic]

"I'm beginning to think Reason is where the mentally retarded go once they themselves realize they have nothing to offer."

So that's why you're here.

[Intraveneous Woodchipper]

In many ways the three are very similar. Ideologues who are, in reality, total idiots but are somehow operating under the delusion that they are smarter than the rest of us because FEELZ...

[Intraveneous Woodchipper]

Your fascination with male genitalia is telling. Freudian, even.

[Hi there!]

it sounds better than "Trump's c*** Teamsters"

[pronomian]

I didn't include democrats since they are the socialist side of the same coin.

[EndTheGOP]

Eman -- Of course you, "respect how much [I] like talking about genitals!"

I'm sure that's as close to you having an orgasm you've ever had.

[EndTheGOP]

Hi -- I never said any such thing. Quit pretending to be quoting me by saying I said something I never said by putting quotation marks around something I never said.

We speak English here. Learn it!