Trump threatens independent run

No, whoever did the makeup for the Oompa Loompas didn’t forget about the lips and eyelids.

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Yeah, but the Oompa Loompa’s hair is far too restrained.

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YESS!! DO IT, DONALD!!!

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Interesting to display the tribalism, here. Are the Reps more interested in being maverick outsiders who say what they feel and mean what they say, or are they political operatives who know the value of a well-calculated populist appeal to the angry poor people they helped create?

Trump as an independent would suggest the latter.

I’d say they’re cynical political operatives all too willing to deploy a calculated populist appeal to the angry poor people they helped create by seeming to be maverick outsiders who say what they feel and mean what they say.

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They’re stuck, in the worst/best way possible. If they tolerate Trump and court him to keep him in the party, they have a genuine chance of winning the election, but it’ll permanently scar the party and brand them as the defacto racist, bigoted, xenophobic choice. Which, yes, they might be anyway, but they’re at least trying to keep a veil of honor. Dumping Trump will let them keep some skein of honor, somewhat, but they know they have little chance without him, especially with a split vote. It’s kind of awesome to watch the crumbling of the GOP.

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Not only is this hilarious because it’s the best thing that could happen for a Democratic candidate in 2016, but also (if Trump carries his forward momentum in the polls, which it looks like he will, God help us) it means that we’re going to be treated to the sight of the Republican leadership basically groveling at the feet of the weird reactionary id-monster they’ve been building for the last three decades.
In other words:

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Yes. YES! That’s it. Devour each other!

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He signed a pledge not to do this. Of course nobody expected that he’d honor it or that his word would mean anything, and sure enough!

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Even though I find the Dems and GOP equally repulsive, Trump certiainly makes for a great punching bag.

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Well, there’s your problem.

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Presumably there is some level of complete lunacy to which the more normal parts of the GOP will say “perhaps Hilary would be better”. It must be getting close to that now. Or is it simply tribalism?

I wonder the whole thing is a massive practical joke by Trump - a sort of political test of Poe’s law. I mean, when one has several billion dollars, one must be always looking for exciting and novel things to do with all that cash.

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Well the rhetoric is about as far as it goes as far as Dems are concerned. Obama’s presidency has been a great example of that. Great rhetoric, poor policies.

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T-shirts and mugs are available at huuuuugely inflated prices
natch

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I would think that a little less celebratory tone might be taken in this thread. If this guy doesn’t shut his mouth people, besides just him, are going to get hurt. He is a clown and all that but some people, sadly, do take him seriously.

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I think we’re reaching that point, heng. As the above article states, Dick Cheney–Dick Cheney–condemned Trump’s proposal. Granted, there is this horrifying populist wave behind Trump, but I’m not yet sure it’ll be enough to convince the Republicans to continue backing someone who’s pretty much guaranteed to get more and more unelectable as the year goes on. Fingers crossed.

I agree that he has moved the conservative dialogue in this election cycle way further to the right, and that’s a really bad thing, but that’s also a more nebulous, difficult-to-control kind of problem.
If Trump runs independent, he’s all but guaranteed to split the right-wing vote in 2016 (or, at least, pull enough votes away from the GOP candidate to ensure defeat). Like, obviously, I’d rather Trump wasn’t running at all, but if he runs independently, he loses the election and doesn’t have his grubby orange finger on the Big Red Button, y’know?