October 21, 2016

"The soullessness of this campaign — all ambition and entitlement — emerges almost poignantly in the emails..."

"... especially when aides keep asking what the campaign is about. In one largely overlooked passage, Clinton complains that her speechwriters have not given her any overall theme or rationale. Isn’t that the candidate’s job? Asked one of her aides, Joel Benenson: 'Do we have any sense from her what she believes or wants her core message to be?' As she told a Goldman Sachs gathering, after the financial collapse there was 'a need to do something because, for political reasons . . . you can’t sit idly by and do nothing.' Giving the appearance that something had to be done. That’s not why Elizabeth Warren supported Dodd-Frank. Which is the difference between a conviction politician like Warren and a calculating machine like Clinton."

From Charles Krauthammer's "Who I’m voting for, and why: We are enduring a campaign of seemingly boundless cynicism." (He's against both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. Me too!)

164 comments:

cubanbob said...

Isn't her criminality sufficient reason not to vote for her? Why the need to find further justifications for not voting for her?

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

I've said from the beginning. Is there some way they can both lose?

I prefer Donny over the horrible corrupt liar - but that's not how you win a campaign. Sadly, a majority of voters (and cheaters) will probably prefer the devil they know. At least she can string a few sentences together. Even if her words are all phony BS and lies.

Unknown said...

Just today emerges news of a deal where Hillary sold who knows what for 12 million to a mining company in Morocco. They paid 12 million to a, hear Bill Clinton speak.

Really? Obvious corruption is obvious. What did they really buy from her?

Hillary's reason for running is obvious, really: More graft and 2, it's illegal to jail the President. That's it. Oh, probably 3: ability to punish people she doesn't like.

None of those reasons resonate with America, so she cannot use them.

--Vance

Henry said...

Ben Sasse. First I've heard of him. Interesting.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

Trump had all sorts of opportunities during the debates to prove what a two-faced liar she is, but he didn't take them. The last debate, Trump should have interjected "Is that your public stance? - or is that your private stance?"

She used her stint at State and her private server to enrich herself. And she's probably going to win this thing.

Wow are we pathetic.


rehajm said...

Slightly OT: Are people in the Midwest and West getting the effects of the DoS attacks? Things grind to a halt in the East from time to time. If my tin foil hat was tighter I'd suspect the lefties ran out of things to cover up for he email drops and Todd and Clare and Larry Summers and are originating the attacks.

NorthOfTheOneOhOne said...

The question that keeps popping up in my mind is; why did the DNC even let her run? Was there no one else up to the task? Does she have some sort of horrible dirt on somebody and if she does how could it be worse than anything she's allegedly done?

eric said...

The good news is, Trump can be removed from office if the need arises.

I've done the number crunching and Hillary has a 0.0% chance of being removed from office even if she eats babies on live television. That comes with a margin of error of 0.0%

Todd said...

As I have said here and elsewhere, Donald is the absolutely worst candidate I have ever seen and would not ever consider voting for him EXCEPT he happens to be running against Hillary. As a result, I am driven to praying to God that he wins.

In a just world, she would be sitting in prison for the remainder of her life and her cell would be across from Bill's.

Lyle Smith said...

Have to support Trump to politically destroy Hillary "I let my husband do whatever he wants to women" Clinton.

Lyle Smith said...

I would love to know what Christopher Hitchens would be doing. No way, I think, he supports the Clintons.

David Begley said...

Dear Dr. K

Paul Ryan and Ben Sasse are not on the ballot. And living here in Omaha, if the female Republican Omaha mayor challenged Sasse in a primary she could win.

YoungHegelian said...

@North,

Does she have some sort of horrible dirt on somebody and if she does how could it be worse than anything she's allegedly done?

I know it's moving into tin-foil hat territory, but I suspect that, yes, the Clinton machine uses oppo research dirt for the stick & cash/job outlays for the carrot on whomever it needs to persuade.

I also wouldn't put violence past them. It's interesting that the nastiest of the Clinton bagmen, David Brock, was recently blackmailed by his boyfriend that unless Brock forked over a large sum of money (probably a million, but $850,000 that we know about), he was going to squeal to the IRS about some thing(s) that Brock had done.
They settled out of court, 'natch. The story's here.

Sebastian said...

Donald is a clueless clown. But I wouldn't call him cynical. We conservative cynics have higher standards. Now Hill we recognize as entirely and thoroughly cynical, of the despicable amoral kind.

Steve M. Galbraith said...

If the Republicans had nominated a reasonable, sane person Clinton would have been routed. Not even close.

But they nominated one of the few people in America who isn't in jail who couldn't beat her. Try to design a worst candidate than Trump: go on. It's impossible.

At this point the best that can happen is that she wins with less than 45% of the vote, a Republican House and Senate returns and we have gridlock.

Okay, the least bad option.

David said...

The "boundless cynicism" of our campaign simply reflects the cynicism of our governance. Our national governance is mostly about deflecting responsibility and accountability from bureaucrats and politicians. It's an endless parade of avoidance and blame. The media enables this and the powerful and influential use it to their advantage. Thus the campaign.

One of the causes of this is simply the massive size and seemingly boundless extension of the reach of the Federal government. It's not a place where outstanding people go to do great things. The rise of Federal power began as part of the Civil War and was confirmed by the 17th Amendment, which removed state legislative power to choose Senators. It is therefore structurally embedded in our governance, and is now culturally embedded as well. The instinct is to look to the Federal Government, with its power to borrow and spend, as the source of solutions to problems.

All of this inevitably reduces accountability, and makes it more easily avoidable. If you look at this election in terms of two people who are deeply disinclined to be accountable for anything, it is the natural result of the structure and culture we have built over a long time.

Nonapod said...

why did the DNC even let her run? Was there no one else up to the task?

My guess is that it was partially guilt and partially the misguided mythologizing of Bill Clinton that has existed for over 2 decades in the highest echelons of the DNC. Bill Clinton was a rockstar amongst the terminally unhip debate club nerds that run the Democrat party. Also, those same nerds felt guilty about what went down during the 2008 campaign. That candidacy, that Presidency was meant to be Hillarys, not some handsome young black upstart.

dreams said...

I don't share Charles Krauthammer's high opinion of Charles Krauthammer's opinion.

JackWayne said...

Do you read Krauthammer because he is an acceptable conservative or do you think he is just a reasonable man worth listening to? I gave up on him 10 years ago. He is a hopeless moderate.

Rob said...

Here's the 2016 election dilemma: Donald Trump deserves to lose, but Hillary Clinton doesn't deserve to win.

Unknown said...

There is zero percent chance a repube any of them would have a better chance than Donald. He is the only who fights which is why we are all here still

Marco and Ted both would have melted from the stuff the dnc would throw at them

Marco is going to lose senate to a 32 yr old neophyte both with silver spoon

CStanley said...

Go Evan McMullin!

Bob Boyd said...

It's not the soullessness, it's the soul trafficking

Todd said...

Steve M. Galbraith said...

If the Republicans had nominated a reasonable, sane person Clinton would have been routed. Not even close.

10/21/16, 12:23 PM


I have heard/read this sentiment before and I can not agree. That was tried before with Mitt and look where that got him/us. Currently and for at least the last 8 to 12 years, a decent person can't win. A decent R is eviscerated by the press and the Ds have no one that meets that description. If the press had any morals, Hillary would not have dared run but they don't and so she did. The press also can not abide any R. The go to position for the press is that Rs are evil. As such, they MUST be destroyed. This is where we are and as a result, this is what we get.

rehajm said...

Donald is the absolutely worst candidate I have ever seen...

Two seemingly polar opposites in Trump and Romney yet labeled the same.

Ann Althouse said...

I wanted Romney to be the candidate.

Why couldn't we have a nice man like that?

chickelit said...

eric said...The good news is, Trump can be removed from office if the need arises.

I agree. The most dangerous aspect of Hillary is her lack of accountability and how high that goes up the ladder in D.C. right now.

mccullough said...

If you are going to write in a name, Mitch Daniels is far better than lightweights like Ryan and Sasse. Congress is useless. Let these clowns try and govern a state first. Don't think they could do it.

chickelit said...

Especially if her pet wish of overturning Citizens United goes through.

Thorby said...

It's either Clinton or Trump. If it's Clinton, then it is someone who will not be stopped by the press, Congress or the Supreme Court. It will be a coronation. It it's Trump, then at least it is someone who can be reined in by any one of the three. It will be a Presidency.

Hagar said...

OTOH, remember that she lies to the people she gives the speeches to too.

CStanley said...

Evan McMullin is a very nice man.

David Begley said...

AA

We had Mitt last time. Robert Creamer stole it for Obama. That's why Creamer was in the WH over 300 times.

Todd said...

Ann Althouse said... [hush]​[hide comment]
I wanted Romney to be the candidate.

Why couldn't we have a nice man like that?

10/21/16, 12:38 PM


Sorry but I must have missed the news that you were in a coma during Mitt's run. Hope you are feeling better now.

Kidding aside, do you not recall that he committed war crimes? He (gasp) had a dog on the roof of his car when he took a trip and, and, and he had binders, actual BINDERS with resumes of women in them that he planned to review to fill openings!

Why the mob didn't drag him into the street and set him on fire I do not know.

There was also something about 47% of the people in the country were currently receiving government funds and were likely to not vote to reduce those (i.e. vote their interests). That made him a Nazi-racist to boot.

That is why we now get Donalds instead of Mitts.

CStanley said...

In all seriousness, I think Evan McMullin basically IS Paul Ryan and Ben Stasse and Mitt Romney. Now, clearly that is a turnoff for the Trump supporters, but if you are looking for a place to mark a vote for those types, McMullin is that person and in most states his votes will actually be counted. If he makes a significant showi g it will have implications beyond this election.

MadisonMan said...

I know exactly what Hillary wants: More money. She's in politics for the money.

That's not something you can campaign on though.

It occurred to me: Has anyone ever seen Hillary exercising? Obama Golfs (don't laugh - that is exercise), GWB biked around his ranch, Bill Clinton jogged (in shorts), GHWB sailed, Reagan did brush clearing and horseback riding, Ford was famously athletic. Carter probably did something too.

What kind of exercising does Hillary do? Does she have any stamina?

Lyle Smith said...

Trump is a nice man. He loves everyone. Romney is an elitist and ipso facto does not love everyone.

NorthOfTheOneOhOne said...

Ann Althouse said...
I wanted Romney to be the candidate.

Why couldn't we have a nice man like that?


I thought he tortured dogs and gave people cancer!



chickelit said...

MadisonMan asks: What kind of exercising does Hillary do? Does she have any stamina?

She allegedly does yoga. And she exercises her authority all the time.

buwaya said...

Gridlock no longer works.
Its no longer locked because Congress cant stop anything. There are plenty of laws around already that can be interpreted to mean anything anyone needs them to mean.

walter said...

"The only question is whose name I’m going to write in."
Write your own name in, Chuck. James Comey for Veep.

chickelit said...

If the "Chicago way" crowd could be put down for a generation, better politics might emerge in both parties.

Bob Boyd said...

Trump is the most successful write-in candidate of all time.

Pookie Number 2 said...

That is why we now get Donalds instead of Mitts.

That's true, but even more importantly, things will get worse if (probably when) Trump loses. There's a tremendous amount of justified anger from people unemployed and impoverished as a predictable consequence of Obama's incurious regulationism. That anger is exacerbated when these people and their concerns are mocked, especially when the mockers are as blatantly corrupt as Clinton. That anger won't dissipate just because Trump is a dreadful campaigner and a worse candidate - it will only intensify.

Lauderdale Vet said...

Wanted Walker / Fiorina. Voted Cruz. Trump is all I have to fight HRC with now, so, Trump. Because I will not sit there and suckle my pride, I will fight.

I reckon we can endure a Rockefeller Republican hemmed in by all sides better than we can HRC & a 7-2 progressive SCOTUS for the next 30 years.

dreams said...

Trump doesn't have a mean bone in his body said a CEO on CNBC a few months back. IMO, you're not much of a judge of character if you can't see the difference between crooked Hillary and Trump.

CWJ said...

mccullough wrote -

"If you are going to write in a name, Mitch Daniels is far better than lightweights like Ryan and Sasse. Congress is useless. Let these clowns try and govern a state first."

Evan Bayh, Mitch Daniels, Mike Pence. Yeah, not just be a governor, but governor of Indiana no less. Why that little afterthought of a state stuck between three giants should have such competent leadership from both parties should be someone's doctoral thesis.

Rocketeer said...

What kind of exercising does Hillary do?

My guess is money-swimming, a la Scrooge McDuck.

Bob Boyd said...

@ Lauderdale Vet

Well said.

walter said...

Unknown said...Just today emerges news of a deal where Hillary sold who knows what for 12 million to a mining company in Morocco.
--
Indeed..and to my surprise, is in the Facebook news scroll. Is it coincidence considering Zucky's attempt to allow some room for Thiel's embracing of Trump?
Up till now FB news scroll has been..err..differently selective...

mockturtle said...

Having written in Ron Paul for the last two Presidential elections, I can empathize. However, I didn't consider the possible outcome to be quite as disastrous as it is this time if Hillary should win.

Martha said...

No normal sane person would run for President today.
Look at the stuff the press and the Democrats (but I repeat myself) threw at Romney—a normal sane accomplished man.
Look at what the press and the Democrats are doing to Trump—some of it deserved—much of it a hit job. Not that Trump was ever a sane normal person.

rehajm said...

He's against both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. Me too!

If you can't stand the nut on the left or the nut on the right, go for the Johnson!

-Jonathan Bush, today

rehajm said...

(Billy Bush's brother)

Gusty Winds said...

What a cop out. Nothing more than a pre-washing of the hands, for plausible deniability down the road.

Bill Clinton voters own the housing bubble from all the loose lending he approved, and that Bush continued.

Bush voters own the Iraq War.

Obama voters own the Obamacare premium increases, the Syrian/Libyan Middle East and Migrant disaster.

If you write in a candidate that is not part of the competition, yes you have done your civic duty, but in reality you have chosen not to make a choice. Weak.

Birches said...

I just finished watching Mitt, the documentary, on Netflix.

I wept bitterly...

FullMoon said...

rehajm said...

Slightly OT: Are people in the Midwest and West getting the effects of the DoS attacks? Things grind to a halt in the East from time to time. If my tin foil hat was tighter I'd suspect the lefties ran out of things to cover up for he email drops and Todd and Clare and Larry Summers and are originating the attacks.


Just came back up in Silicon Valley.
Obama and Biden talking tough about retaliation against "Russian hackers "interfering with our election.
Probably not related, am I right?

Theranter said...

Test
(Discus, Twitter, & Reddit down where I am, checking to see if this works.)

Birches said...

As I live in Colorado, I will probably vote for Gary Johnson as my protest vote. I think it would be great for the libertarian party to hit 5% nationally, even if GJ is a flawed candidate.

If I lived elsewhere, I would probably pull the lever for Mcmullin. He did a reddit AMA this week and I realized how impossible it is for anyone with an R after their name to get a fair hearing. Because he doesn't right now all the questions were very respectful and interesting.

I don't know if the Mcmullins or the libertarians will become the new party, but the Republican brand is done.

Birches said...

Yep, Twitter has been down all morning...

Sara D said...

MadisonMan said...

"What kind of exercising does Hillary do? Does she have any stamina?"

yoga, she has written thousands of emails about her yoga schedules.

Original Mike said...

Blogger Ann Althouse said..."
I wanted Romney to be the candidate.

Why couldn't we have a nice man like that?"


Nice? He took away a woman's health insurance five years before she got cancer.

Seriously. How can an opposition candidate win when the electorate is unthoughtful and the media is in collusion with the Democrats?

Nonapod said...

We're angry. We no longer prefer gentile, decent people as candidates. We only want either louts or deceptive criminals.

The lout can at least be honest in his emotions. He can reflect and personify our feelings of anger and frustration.

While the deceptive criminal can create narratives and fantasies that at least can distract us and make us feel better about ourselves and the world.

Ultimately we'll select the deceptive criminal though, because we'd prefer illusory comfort to raw, ugly anger.

Original Mike said...

"Indeed..and to my surprise, is in the Facebook news scroll."

They think it's over. The task now is to chalk up some points to allow them to claim they're balanced.

MayBee said...

Did they take down the internet to get to Assange?

This can't be a coincidence.

MayBee said...

We just lost control of the internet and then the whole thing crashes.

MayBee said...

Why couldn't we have a nice man like that?

Because too many people fell in love with Obama and didn't challenge his assertions about Russia being 1980s foreign policy and AlQaeda being on the run.

gerry said...

Why couldn't we have a nice man like that?

He bullied classmates.

He had binders of women.

He let his employee die of cancer.

According to the MSM there is no such thing as a nice republican. Fuck 'em and vote for Trump.

Unknown said...

I will say this for the Evan McMullins train: He's a plant. He's openly admitted on video his sole goal is to deny Trump the election. Sure, he would like to win, but is in it to deny Trump the white house.

I watched the video myself, He's a Hillary stooge. Plus, his politics are just a laundry list of the same things Jeb and Hillary want: unlimited, unvetted immigration being his top policy. A vote for Mcmullen is just a vote for Hillary.

--Vance

damikesc said...

I wanted Romney to be the candidate.

Why couldn't we have a nice man like that?


Because he was misogynistic, animal abusing, cruel person who loved to give cancer to former employees while not paying taxes at all. He also beat up gays in high school.

True, his charity is well-known as is his competence with large projects. Press didn't give a shit.

I know you voted for him, as did I, but to pretend that anybody wouldn't be the incredible "evil" Trump is requires ignoring recent history.

In all seriousness, I think Evan McMullin basically IS Paul Ryan and Ben Stasse and Mitt Romney. Now, clearly that is a turnoff for the Trump supporters, but if you are looking for a place to mark a vote for those types, McMullin is that person and in most states his votes will actually be counted. If he makes a significant showi g it will have implications beyond this election.

I'd vote for Hillary before I vote for Evan.

Captain Drano said...

"Did they take down the internet to get to Assange?

This can't be a coincidence."

Only parts of the net are down, something about a ddos attack on a dns carrier??

Wikileaks still accessible, incl today's leaked emails. However, ability to "amplify" anything found severely curtailed.

BUt i wonder if it's due to something that is attempting to be uploaded/released (or was very briefly and intercepted) that is much more damaging.

It has spread to Europe as well.

Kathryn51 said...

For God's sake people - it's not the money, It. Is. The. Power.

Plus being the First Woman President of the Most Powerful Nation in the World.

She has the money. But she always wanted power (go back and read anything from anyone who knew her in the post-law school or Arkansas days). Originally, it might have been the power to "do good". Now it is the power - the power to destroy her enemies, the power to rip apart the institutions that she despises, the power to threaten to destroy and the power to reward her sycophants (which is why the DNC was behind her all the way and the reason why Debbie Wassermanwhatever will be amply rewarded for her misdeeds).

This is what she craves - has always craved. She is a soulless woman. I can't sleep at night knowing what type of country that my Millennial son and daughter will live through - it's pretty well spelled out in the Road to Serfdom and hubby and I are trying to figure out how to soften the blow as much as possible. The 1% has already taken care of their families.

eric said...


If you write in a candidate that is not part of the competition, yes you have done your civic duty, but in reality you have chosen not to make a choice. Weak.


There ought to be an updated version to, "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing."

I've been thinking about this a lot lately but still come up empty. I imagine a war. War is nasty. Who wants to kill their fellow man? So, during war, the easy course is to do nothing. It's always easier to do nothing. I remember watching movies with Jews being shot by nazi soldiers. And always thinking to myself, "Rise up! Die fighting!" And yet they do nothing. This is what's amazing about what happened on one flight on 9/11. Much easier to sit quietly in your seat, pray, and do nothing.

So, they aren't doing nothing. Right? They are writing in candidates or voting for someone who has no chance to win. Right?

Which is why I say the quote needs to be updated. Something like, "or do something that's as usefull as doing nothing"

It seems like a lot of virtue signaling. Conscience soothing. They can say, "I didn't choose either! I'm better than all of you!"

But we don't always have a good choice in life. Sometimes, we have to do things that we don't want to, because it's better than doing nothing.

It's a real shame the media and #Nevertrump appear to have convinced so many of the "principled" stand of, in effect, doing nothing.

For some reason, I don't think these arguments work as well on Democrats as they do on Republicans.

MayBee said...

Has anyone read the Pedestal emails?

As I said the other day, at lease half of them are talking about moving money around. Clinton Foundation money, fundraisers, chatting up bankers, Soros, Steyer, Sandler. It's dinner and asking for jobs and funding ads and fundraising and then strategizing about enormous amounts of money fueling enormous power. There are about 10 people writing each tweet- none of them for free. And the press likes the power, too. Even if they don't love the political party. They like to be a part of all the machinations.

Too many people have too much vested in the money and power aspect of our politics. Why in the world would they let the outsider take over? Hillary's corruption and power thirst is a plus for most of these people.

Will said...

Hillary is merely a pre-conviction politician…. I would love nothing better than for Hillary to get several Convictions. She richly deserves them!

Bushman of the Kohlrabi said...

What kind of exercising does Hillary do? Does she have any stamina?

She reportedly can't even expend the energy to make herself a cup of tea or set her DVR to record a show so I doubt she spends much time exercising. Frankly, I'd be surprised if she wipes her own ass.

SukieTawdry said...

You can count me in the no-to-both club. However, I'm not sure there's anyone on the political scene today who I hold in more contempt than Hillary Clinton. On a strictly personal basis, there's no ending to this ghastly political season I would enjoy more than to see her denied the prize she's been intent on securing all her adult life. The fact that such would make Donald Trump president is indeed unfortunate but this is the hand we've been dealt.

Does she have some sort of horrible dirt on somebody and if she does how could it be worse than anything she's allegedly done?

Don't forget the 900 FBI files that somehow made their way into the White House when she was last in residence.

Unknown said...

If McMullin is a plant, I believe he is Paul Ryan's plant and I can live with that.

Titus said...

I doubt Clinton does any exercise. Her body is a total mess.

tits

grab em by the pussy

buwaya said...

Sigh.
Persons don't count. The problem is with systems. Person this, character that, it's all just illusions.
Podestas emails are just a window to a bit of the SOP of the system. The players here aren't the movers, they are the moved.

buwaya said...

And virtue signalling is pure vanity.
That's a sin.
I guess these days it's called narcissism.

SukieTawdry said...

It seems like a lot of virtue signaling. Conscience soothing. They can say, "I didn't choose either! I'm better than all of you!"

I'm writing in a candidate. I need neither my conscience soothed nor to signal any particular virtue. It's my vote and I will do with it as I see fit. If my fellow citizens have a problem with that, tough. Next time don't nominate such reprehensible candidates.

Sara D said...

eric.. speaking of #Nevertrump:
Bill Kristol "lost it", Thursday, on Morning Joe. Unbelievable exchange between
Scarborough and Kristol.
http://www.breitbart.com/video/2016/10/20/watch-kristol-scarborough-have-heated-exchange-over-morning-joe-trump-coverage/

Kristol acts like a madman.

Unknown said...

Amen Sukie

Clayton Hennesey said...

Krauthammer provides the example of how to be entirely too priggish for the filthy labor of ethics, the escape of the hollow man, headpiece filled with straw. Let the grubby peons muck about like migrant workers and make the actual binary election ethical choices for him. His job is simply to sit amidst the cloud high above in order to taste the fruit in its purest and most unencumbered form while commenting on its deplorable quality and manner of handling in transit to table.

Pookie Number 2 said...

It's my vote and I will do with it as I see fit.

Of course. Some of just hope that we can convince people like you that Trump's buffoonery will have fewer malignant consequences than Hillary's corruption.

Clayton Hennesey said...

In binary elections people who write in candidates are like children who draw on their bedroom walls, interesting, lovable, and politically meaningless.

mockturtle said...

Having recently read Jim Webb's book, Born Fighting, I can see a trend through the past generation or two to be submissive, rather than to fight, as if fighting was, in itself, a bad thing. But we founded our Republic with fighting and we saved our Republic with another bloody battle. Perhaps it's my own part-Scots-Irish roots that lead me in this direction but, to me, submission to tyranny is far worse than fighting--even if you lose.

Unknown said...

So for those who are saying that write in votes are meaningless, I assume that if tends continue to the point that Trump has no reasonable path to victory, you will not vote for him.

Clayton Hennesey said...

So for those who are saying that write in votes are meaningless, I assume that if tends continue to the point that Trump has no reasonable path to victory, you will not vote for him.

You may assume whatever non-sequiturs you wish.

Clayton Hennesey said...

People like Krauthammer and Sukie don't realize that their escape routes are the very best way of ensuring they get the worst possible candidates. As long as one can shrug one's shoulders and not bother, there's that mush less reason to care what the choices are in the first place.

Birches said...

Evan Mcmullin is not open borders. From his website: "We also need a president who will enforce the law instead of forcing through an illegal amnesty by executive order. Nor should “sanctuary cities” be able to refuse cooperation with the federal enforcement efforts.

The path to reform begins with securing our borders. Once they are secured, there should be a process of earned legalization for the illegal immigrants who are already here. There is simply no efficient way to deport 11 million individuals; doing so would break apart families and likely cost $100 billion. Furthermore, legalization is not amnesty."

I will point out that legalization is not citizenship either. They broke the law, they won't get to vote. Ever.

He is free trade.

Birches said...

Or you know, Clayton, if 20% of the population goes third-party, maybe both sides realize that they could do better in 2020....

Real American said...

Like so many NeverTrumpers, the Doctor avoids the fundamental dilemma he, like many conservatives, and Americans in general, face. The issue is not really who will he vote for. The question is which one will be better (or less bad) from his perspective (conservative, as he states.) That's what it comes down to. Either Hillary or Trump will win. Who will be better? Who would be worse? For the Country? For the Party? For the Movement? Don't cop out and claim they'd be the same. State a damn preference.

Birches said...

Twitter still down. Woah.

mockturtle said...

'McMullin' looks too much like 'McMuffin', to me.

chickelit said...

C Stanley assumed...So for those who are saying that write in votes are meaningless, I assume that if tends continue to the point that Trump has no reasonable path to victory, you will not vote for him.

Bad assumption. But, I in turn assume that if the lies and deceit on the part of Hillary continue, fewer people will vote for her.

chickelit said...

mockturtle said...'McMullin' looks too much like 'McMuffin', to me.

Are you referring to his egghead?

dreams said...

"Why couldn't we have a nice man like that?"

Binders full of women. The crooked Dems and the crooked liberal media convinced women that was a bad thing. We're doomed!

chickelit said...

I've never understood what I perceive to be the unwavering support that Paul Ryan gets from some women. Is it his dreamy eyes? Obama had the same advantage.

Unknown said...

If an actual mcmuffin could get ballot access, I'd consider voting for it over these two.

Darrell said...

Crooked Hillary and Soros take down the internet.
Throw her in jail now.

Clayton Hennesey said...

Or you know, Clayton, if 20% of the population goes third-party, maybe both sides realize that they could do better in 2020....

If 20% of the population had gone third party well before now, even a few months ago, the way they did for Ross Perot, we wouldn't be talking about a binary election, the only context for my comments.

But in a binary election, doing anything other than voting for one or the other of the two candidates is not just politically pointless, it's politically meaningless, absolutely no different from eating an ear of corn, or shining one's shoes, or hopping up and down.

By the same token, not voting for one of the two candidates in a binary election isn't necessarily bad - unless one is given to throwaway sanctimony like Krauthammer - it's simply politically void, like being a cabbage living on another planet.

chickelit said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
chickelit said...

Birches said...
Twitter still down. Woah.

A couple hours ago, my access to a few of Althouse's links was down for me. So it was happening in SoCal as well. My response was to go do something outdoors.

Theranter said...

Maybee, I've been obsessed with reading them for the past week. I've been a long-time weekend researcher into the workings of many NGO's for several years now, so it has been verrrrry interesting--and somewhat validating--to read them.

I've probably read a couple of thousand by now, and if I had to give a bottom line take, it would be something along the lines of HRC being nothing more than a willing piece of lying-assed shit cover for the extreme, uber wealthy progressives that want to control every aspect of you and your family's life. And yes, some of it is Soros, but he is chump change (and possibly another cover/the person "amplified" to divert attention from the others) compared to a dozen or so of those far outweigh his wealth and fly under the radar, controlling much of what Podesta does, who in turn controls HRC. She is not smart, nor cunning, nor savvy. The most often thing I've seen her write is a semi-sentence to Huma: "Pls print."

It really does come down to just let them have our country and just roll with whatever happens to us along the way to their vision of a global "democracy" (they cannot stress that word enough, they despise that we are a pesky republic) by voting for HRC (or 3rd P, or not voting at all, same thiing as voting for her); or, we at least try and delay and deter their agenda by voting for Trump in order to retain a semblance of a Republic while shoring up our sovereignty, with the hopes that maybe enough people of genuine talent and goodwill can rise during his tenure we can run a great, unbought, candidate in 2020.

Perhaps the most telling line of their disregard for us was one I read today, where Podesta states something like "you must have felt your nose growing during that session."


one semi-sentence, and it's usually to Huma:

tim in vermont said...

I am sort of amazed anybody cares about Twitter. I sure don't.

Darrell said...

Perhaps WikiLeaks disclosed that the DNC killed Scalia. Wouldn't want that to get out.

Clayton Hennesey said...

One could abstractly characterize this as a non-binary election in the Perot tradition if one posits that Trump is playing the Perot anti-establishment protest/reform role, but on the inside, while the #NeverTrump Republicans, in effect now the anti-anti-establishment protest/reform segment, are also on the inside - of the same side.

But practically speaking that still leaves us with a binary election, because there is no pluralistic non-Democrat non-Republican candidate.

Darrell said...

This is a dry run in case Trump wins the election. Obama will declare the election null and void and declare martial law and a third term.

Clyde said...

"If you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice."
-- "Freewill," Rush, 1980

Clayton Hennesey said...

I think, finally, we should never forget that we still have a secret ballot. Krauthammer or anyone else can wax mournfully about whatever they wish and still pull the lever for Trump or Hillary. Above-it-all virtue preening coupled with a secret actual ballot is the best of all possible worlds, offering both a public position and a private position.

Diogenes of Sinope said...

Clinton is horribly corrupt. In the long run government corruption is the biggest threat.

Trump is an arrogant asshole. In office Trump will continue to be an asshole, but you may be able to trust he means what he yells. In fact he has a history of saying politically stupid things he believes.

Clinton can never be trusted, her words always must be considered to be lies. So just how will Clinton be able to govern?? Trump is the best choice.

Amadeus 48 said...

Having considered writing in Paul Ryan, I am voting Trump as a "cat amongst the pigeons" protest vote. The closing argument for me is the answer to the question, "If you voted for Trump, and he won Illinois by one vote, and that caused him to be elected, would you regret your vote?" Given that HRC is the alternative, and that she will not be held accountable by the press if she wins (as our hostess has demonstrated countless times in her blog), I would not regret my vote for Trump.
Case closed.

Balfegor said...

Clinton complains that her speechwriters have not given her any overall theme or rationale.

Message: I care.

Re: Althouse on Romney:

Why couldn't we have a nice man like that?

Well, he's a Mormon, you know, and they're so icky. To be fair, I suspect that the anti-Mormon prejudice -- and there was a lot of it, and it was grotesque, in California -- was mostly on the part of the sort of people who were already going to vote for Obama, but I suppose there may have been some evangelicals that decided they just couldn't vote for one of those Mormon cultists.

But in all seriousness, Romney is the only candidate who has even run for President in my adult life who I actually thought would do a good job, and accordingly, the only one I've ever actually donated money to. The rest have ranged from mediocre (Bush II, Gore, Clinton II in 2008) to "seriously, is this a joke?" (Obama, Clinton II in 2016, and Trump in 2016).

Birches said...

Just got done withthis article on harassment from the alt-right. Pepe fear mongering is silly, but this seems legit.

mockturtle said...

Balfegor, I think it was the 47% comment more than anything else.

buwaya said...

" a dozen or so of those far outweigh his wealth and fly under the radar, controlling much of what Podesta does"

True. There is a central clique behind much of this. The players out in public are just that, players. There are scriptwriters and directors and producers behind them. At least in the Democratic party. The Podesta emails are discussions among the script-monkeys with occasional interjections from the actors.

Its evident that something of the sort is also true among the Republicans, or many of them. I suspect Romney as well, he was a made man, well connected with the wrong sort of people.

Balfegor, there are layers of rhetorical flimflam in all this, some works at the Obamaphone and gimmedat level, some works on ours.
Herod Agrippa's last line in "I, Claudius", "Trust nobody".

Balfegor said...

RE: mockturtle:

Balfegor, I think it was the 47% comment more than anything else.

I hear that, but you know, when one hears that comment called out by posh Californians who promptly turn around and whisper gleefully about weird Mormon underwear, one can, I hope, be excused a certain amount of skepticism. There's a difference between excuses and explanations, and I think the 47% comment is at least as much excuse as explanation.

mockturtle said...

Weird Mormon underwear? They have weird underwear?

buwaya said...

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

Balfegor said...

Re: mockturtle --

You should hang out with liberals more. It is a big deal with some people.

SukieTawdry said...

Some of just hope that we can convince people like you that Trump's buffoonery will have fewer malignant consequences than Hillary's corruption.

You don't need to convince me of that; I agree it's probably the case (probably being the operative word). The only person who could have convinced me to vote for Donald Trump was Donald Trump. He failed miserably. He doesn't get rewarded for his miserable failure with my vote.

But in a binary election, doing anything other than voting for one or the other of the two candidates is not just politically pointless, it's politically meaningless, absolutely no different from eating an ear of corn, or shining one's shoes, or hopping up and down.

By the same token, not voting for one of the two candidates in a binary election isn't necessarily bad - unless one is given to throwaway sanctimony like Krauthammer - it's simply politically void, like being a cabbage living on another planet.


You want to know what's really politically pointless, politically void? A Californian voting for Donald Trump, that's what. Some of us choose not to make that pointless a gesture. Some of us choose to make what we consider a less pointless gesture. And if you want to equate that with eating an ear of corn, or shining one's shoes, or hopping up and down or being like a cabbage living on another planet, feel perfectly free to do so. And then maybe consider what you might be able to teach Charles Krauthammer about throwaway sanctimony.

Pookie Number 2 said...

He doesn't get rewarded for his miserable failure with my vote.

I'm not trying to get him rewarded - I'm hoping my kids' lives will be less bad than they'll be if ,Clinton is elected.

buwaya said...

For what its worth the Right-right was extremely, well, unenthusiastic about Romney.

Jim Robinson of Freerepublic banned pro-Romney postings and only relented, somewhat, just prior to the election, but the info stream was relentlessly anti-Romney.

This text was sent to Politico, but it was also present on that site.

"Free Republic is a pro-life, pro-family, pro-gun, pro-small government, pro-constitution, pro-liberty site. Governor Romney is none of the above. His record is that of an abortionist, gay rights pushing, gun grabbing, global warming advocating, big government, mandate loving, constitution trampling, flip-flopping liberal progressive with no core values. That and the fact that he is the chief architect and advocate for ObamaCare disqualifies him for any consideration whatsoever on Free Republic as a potential nominee for the presidency. ...
Liberal progressives and other enemies of the constitution and or of Liberty itself are not welcome here. Accounts registered here by liberal progressives and other assorted trolls, malcontents and disruptors will be removed on sight or at the convenience of the site administrators."

This was rather typical of the right-sphere at the time.

The Romney objections also included that he wasn't a Christian (i.e., denial of Mormon Christianity). This is not mentioned above but was typical. This did make a difference among the Right.

I do think that this hostility depressed right wing turnout and made a considerable difference in 2012.

Clayton Hennesey said...

You want to know what's really politically pointless, politically void? A Californian voting for Donald Trump, that's what. Some of us choose not to make that pointless a gesture. Some of us choose to make what we consider a less pointless gesture. And if you want to equate that with eating an ear of corn, or shining one's shoes, or hopping up and down or being like a cabbage living on another planet, feel perfectly free to do so. And then maybe consider what you might be able to teach Charles Krauthammer about throwaway sanctimony.

I don't think you understand how politics works.

It really doesn't work like a virgin preserving her virginity until the right suitor comes along; or, rather, each side would desperately like to convince the other side's potential voters to regard it that way in the hopes that a maximum number of voters on the other side remain politically chaste.

California is blue now because more people voted - actually voted - blue than voted red.

So by not voting, you are voting not to tip that balance either way, not even by cancelling out even one marginal vote opposite whichever side you prefer, from your comment, it would seem the red side. You're actively deciding instead to let other people make those decisions for you, then using their actions in the absence of your own as your excuse for not acting yourself.

The reason Hillary is polling so much better in Texas now is exactly the same. Blue voters are actively supporting her and #NeverTrumpers or Hamlets like Krauthammer are instead blathering on about whether to be or not to be. She won't take the state this cycle, but she could the next if such a process were to continue.

Politics is like a battle among ants or an immune war against infection, millions upon millions of polar combatant pairs cancelling one another out, leaving a marginal balance of victory on one side or the other. The more one side can convince voters even marginally on the other side not to fight, the greater the margin of victory on the first side.

Those margins actually do shift, as they are doing in this very election cycle, precisely because one side is more motivated to act and does act than the other side.

You, however, persist in saying you don't even care one way or another, leaving you not only politically irrelevant but morally vacant as well, that is, either side's ethical standpoints are equally acceptable to you.

damikesc said...

Has anyone read the Pedestal (sp) emails?

I assume the MSM hasn't given how little coverage they've given to some truly corrupt shit in those.

Having recently read Jim Webb's book, Born Fighting, I can see a trend through the past generation or two to be submissive, rather than to fight, as if fighting was, in itself, a bad thing.

I've had to work with my boys (and, occasionally override their mother) in telling them that I don't want them to start a fight, but if somebody wants to start something, I will stand by you if you fight back, no matter what. Society has worked as hard as possible to fuck over boys.

Birches said...

Yeah, Romney got it from both sides. Romney was pro-choice in the 80s and the far right never forgave him, but he was a misogynist and regressive to the left because he counseled a young woman to give her child up for adoption.

Big Mike said...

In yet another demonstration of Democrat civility I see that Lonesome Joe Biden says he wishes to take Trump "out behind the gym." Ah, Joe, Trump would beat the living snot out of you.

I guess that goes with Jay Leno saying that Trump needs to have the "crap beat out of him" so that he learns how to negotiate (N.B., Trump has written what many consider to be one of the best books on negotiation ever written). It also goes with Sotomayor talking about her desire to hit the late Justice Scalia with a baseball bat. Civil people, them there Democrats. Very civil.

Freeman Hunt said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Ken B said...

Write in votes only count if the candidate is properly registered. Only one is: Laurence Kotlikoff. He is one of only 5 people who can actually be elected by the electoral college. He is worth taking a look at if you find the main candidates unacceptable.

https://kotlikoff2016.com/

rcocean said...

George "Pompous asshole" Will actually had a true and clever line about Bill Clinton. Bill Clinton he wrote "wasn't the worst President, but the worst man to ever be President"

Hillary will be the "worst person ever" to be President, and remember we're going to get 2 for the price of one.

The only way people can justify voting for that creepy woman is by making shit up about Trump. I've never seen many people be so cynical and dishonest in their attempts to justify voting for her.

Freeman Hunt said...

Remember those halcyon days when we thought choosing between Gingrich, Romney, Santorum, and Paul was bad?

Freeman Hunt said...

If we could have any one of those guys now!

rcocean said...

Whenever anyone talks about "conservative" Charles Krauthammer just remember he was Mondale's speechwriter and hated Ronald Reagan.

chickelit said...

rcocean revealed...Whenever anyone talks about "conservative" Charles Krauthammer just remember he was Mondale's speechwriter and hated Ronald Reagan.

I voted for Carter and Mondale but regret it now. I wonder if Krauthammer regrets it now too.

Michael K said...

The only person who could have convinced me to vote for Donald Trump was Donald Trump. He failed miserably. He doesn't get rewarded for his miserable failure with my vote.

Amusing that it is "his failure."

I guess you really are sanctimonious. He's the Republican nominee.

I'm going to be making calls for him to Nevada and I don't even like him.

rcocean said...

"I voted for Carter and Mondale but regret it now. I wonder if Krauthammer regrets it now too."

That's great chick. Its good you've changed over the years. But just because a sinner comes to Jesus - that doesn't mean you make him the Pope.

Sorry, you just can't go from writing speeches for a liberal democrat in 1984 to rock-solid Conservative, anymore than a whore can go to a Nun -without divine intervention. And I don't believe God was involved in the Kraut's conversion.



rcocean said...

"Remember those halcyon days when we thought choosing between Gingrich, Romney, Santorum, and Paul was bad?"

But they were bad. Paul was a nut. Gingrich was a has-been. And Romney -as shown by his latest "Lets help Hillary" attack on trump - was a $3 phony.

The only good one was Santorum and he had the charisma of a wet snail.

If we lived in a Democracy full of responsible intelligent voters someone like Santorum would be President. But we don't.

chickelit said...

But just because a sinner comes to Jesus - that doesn't mean you make him the Pope.

Damascene conversations have a long, long history in the Church.

chickelit said...

Perhaps Hillary will have her own Hill to Bill conversion on the road to Damascus.

Etienne said...

Evan McMullin is looking for the Presidential win in the House.

If he wins 6 electoral votes in Utah, he "could" block each candidate from the magic 270, thus leaving the choice to the Congress, who could vote for him.

It might smell like it's rigged, but it is a legal way to keep both flawed candidates out of Washington.

chickelit said...

I consider pious "more Conservative than thou" types as divisive troublemakers. I try to avoid them IRL and online.

mockturtle said...

Gingrich was a has-been

I like Newt. When Trump sent out his recent survey about filling cabinet posts, I picked Gingrich for Secretary of State.

mockturtle said...

Balfegor suggested: You should hang out with liberals more.

No, thanks. ;-)

rcocean said...

"I consider pious "more Conservative than thou" types as divisive troublemakers. I try to avoid them IRL and online."

The people who talk about "purity" are trying to justify being 60% conservative. Nothing wrong with that. We need ALLIES. But we should NOT be putting "Neo" or "Half-way" conservatives as our conservative leaders.

I wouldn't have replaced Grant with Lee in 1864, no matter how much Lee claimed to be a Neo-Unionist.

320Busdriver said...

If I were to write in a name it would be Dr. Tom Coburn.

He understands what the priorities are and is not afraid to challenge the status quo.

We need many more like him.

Ken B said...

@320BusDriver
The thing is, that vote will not be counted. Only registered candidates are counted on write-ins. The process of registering is arduous and ONLY Kotlikoff is registered. No other write-ins are counted.

320Busdriver said...

@KenB

Correct, which is why I will reluctantly vote for Trump. Kotlikoff understands the level of our indebtedness like no others I've seen though.

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chickelit said...

@Glory: Jesus died for somebody's sins but not yours.

Big Mike said...

I assume that Krauthammer's contract has made him wealthy enough that he expects to be able to ride out the next four years regardless of who wins, thus he can afford to take a purer than thou position. The rest of us need to make a binary choice because we ain't all that rich.

tim in vermont said...

I wonder how many Democrats, I mean rank and file, not the billionaire decision makers and those who live off of other people's taxes, but the believers in the ranks, the genuine believing liberals, remain comfortable looking the other way on voter fraud now that they see how those votes are used by the ultra wealthy to get the results they want, regardless of how people feel.

I think most Democrats have always vocally denied fraud while secretly considering it a multiplier for their own vote. But now it is being used to ram Clinton down their throats, and to co-opt their party.

tim in vermont said...

Roughly 1,000 emails between Hillary Clinton and Gen. David Petraeus were thought to be missing from the 30,000 emails provided by Clinton’s team to the State Department in December 2014, according to the newly released FBI investigative files.

LOL! Who cares about Dave and Hill's discussions of recipes and yoga? Get a life America and vote her in already!

Lewis Wetzel said...

I've been listening to Andrew Klavan's podcasts lately:
https://soundcloud.com/andrewklavanshow
Klavan is an ally of nevertrumper Ben Shapiro. Shapiro (like many nevertrumpers) has a personal beef with Trump and his people, yet Klavan makes a case for voting Trump, not because Trump is less awful than Hillary, but because Trump awfulness would be less damaging to the country than Hillary's awfulness.
Usually I put on a podcast as background noise while I am doing something else, but I can't do that with Klavan. Too interesting.

tim in vermont said...

Look how Trump inspires bullying!

heated Vice President Joe Biden told a crowd Friday that he would challenge Donald Trump to a fight if they were still in high school. While campaigning for Hillary Clinton at Wilkes University in Pennsylvania, Mr. Biden said the press was “always” asking him whether he would like to debate the Republican presidential nominee. “No, I wish we were in high school — I could take him behind the gym. That’s what I wish,”

Obviously a vote for Hillary is a matter of fierce moral urgency!

CStanley said...

Blogger Ken B said...
@320BusDriver
The thing is, that vote will not be counted. Only registered candidates are counted on write-ins. The process of registering is arduous and ONLY Kotlikoff is registered. No other write-ins are counted.


Not accurate. Kotlikoff is apparently the only one registered in all 50 states but Evan McMullin will be registered in 42, for a total eligibility I think of 457 electoral votes. Obviously he is not going to win most of those but that is true even moreso for Mr. Kotlikoff, and at least McMullin has a viable path by potentially denying 270 votes to the two main party candidates.

Achilles said...

"You want to know what's really politically pointless, politically void? A Californian voting for Donald Trump, that's what."

The progressives are not this stupid. They never misunderstand the election on this level. And the average progressive drone is not smart.

Achilles said...

Blogger coupe said...
"Evan McMullin is looking for the Presidential win in the House.

If he wins 6 electoral votes in Utah, he "could" block each candidate from the magic 270, thus leaving the choice to the Congress, who could vote for him.

It might smell like it's rigged, but it is a legal way to keep both flawed candidates out of Washington."

If you think a Hillary win is going to be a mess just try doing this. 90% of the country will be more than pissed and everything will burn.

CStanley said...

I do agree with that, Achilles. I know McMullin's candidacy is quixotic and that even in the remote chance that it worked it would not be considered legitimate. This is one reason I'm still torn, but since his winning is so unlikely I feel a pull toward marking him as a preference for the post election analysts to discover.

It's paradoxical though- I won't vote for a candidate who has NO viable path but I also might vote for McMullin only because his chances are so minuscule.

Some commenter yesterday wrote that we who might write in votes are like children scribbling on walls. I guess I can't disagree but I feel that since my fellow Republicans nominated a wrecking ball I simply want to leave something behind to be discovered in the rubble.

Kirk Parker said...

Sukie,

"I'm writing in a candidate."

So, you're part of the problem. Being faced with a choice between bad and much, much worse, your option is to pretend you're above it all and engage in an irrelevancy?

"You want to know what's really politically pointless, politically void? A Californian voting for Donald Trump, that's what."

No it's not. Your homework assignment is to figure out why not.

Kirk Parker said...

Darrell,

" Obama will declare the election null and void and declare martial law and civil war will begin".

FIFY. Given that the president hasn't the slightest authority to do set aside the election, or to grant himself a third term, which way do you think the barrels of those charged with actually enforcing martial law would be pointed?

Known Unknown said...

"If the Republicans had nominated a reasonable, sane person Clinton would have been routed. Not even close."

The primary electorate flirting with Carson and Fiorina before settling on Trump. All three are "outsider" candidates. It's no surprise give how shitty they've been treated by Boehner and McConnell (and now Paul Ryan.)

This is one of the best articles written (in Cracked, no wonder) about WHY Trump won the nomination. Clueless people here should read it.

Known Unknown said...

I could take him behind the gym. That’s what I wish,”

Joe Biden likes ass sex. Let is be known.