drsmooth wrote:

Brantt wrote:If the Republicans nominate any candidate other than the one who has won the most delegates, whether that be Trump or anyone else, the party is finished. Done. Would be 100x worse than any blowback from Trump or Cruz being the nominee.

you continue to provide unambiguous evidence that you have not the slightest idea how American politics - no no, politics generally - works

TenuredVulture wrote:Again, I think the key to Trump's popularity is that all the other candidates are fundamentally unattractive. I think that's the real problem the Republican party should worry about. I think they do recognize this to an extent, which is why there are whispers of perhaps Mitt Romney or Rick Perry swooping in to save the party. The only thing saving them is Hillary isn't exactly inspiring people either. But imagine what a Bill Clinton campaign led by James Carville would do to Cruz or Rubio.

I do think Trump has tapped into a well of discontent, and "drunk uncle" rhetoric appeals because there are a lot of drunk uncles out there. But I wonder how much of the polling is doing an effective job with likely voter/caucus goer screens as well. How many Trump supporters in closed primary states realize they need to be a registered Republican to vote in the Republican primary? Given Trump's appeal to the paranoid, how many will balk at the polling place when they're asked which party they are voting for? I would hypothesize that Trump will underperform his polling by at least 10 points.

Brantt wrote:This coming from the person who has been wrong about nearly anything and everything you've discussed in this election cycle.

traderdave wrote:Scalia:

“There are those who contend that it does not benefit African-Americans to get them into the University of Texas, where they do not do well — as opposed to having them go to a less advanced school, a slower-track school where they do well,” Scalia said from the bench. “One of the briefs pointed out that most of the black scientists in this country don’t come from schools like the University of Texas. They come from lesser schools where they do not feel that they’re being pushed ahead in classes that are too fast for them.”

Scalia went on to say that it could be bad if the “really competent blacks” do not go to these “lesser” schools because they might then not become scientists. “I don’t think it stands to reason for the University of Texas to admit as many blacks as possible,” he concluded.

Phan In Phlorida wrote:amicus curiae. THERE. YOU HAPPY NOW?!

slugsrbad wrote:I don't know if it's pretentious or not that it annoys me that you didn't say amicus.

The presidential campaign of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) is demanding more equitable coverage from the “corporate network news,” which it says has engaged in a “Bernie blackout.”

The campaign pointed to data showing that flagship news programs on ABC, CBS and NBC devote paltry air time to Sanders compared to other similarly positioned candidates.

“The corporately-owned media may not like Bernie’s anti-establishment views but for the sake of American democracy they must allow for a fair debate in this presidential campaign,” Sanders campaign manager Jeff Weaver said in a statement Friday.

“Bernie must receive the same level of coverage on the nightly news as other leading candidates,” Weaver continued.

The statement said ABC’s “World News Tonight” has devoted 81 minutes of air time to the campaign of Republican primary front-runner Donald Trump this year, compared to 20 seconds on Sanders through the end of November.

It also pointed to NBC’s “Nightly News,” which has afforded Sanders’ campaign 2.9 minutes of air time, and “CBS Evening News,” which has given Sanders 6.4 minutes of coverage.

The campaign pointed out that Sanders has received some of the largest crowds of any presidential candidate this election cycle, yet fails to draw equivalent levels of media attention.

Sanders currently trails Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton nationally, according to a RealClearPolitics polling average. Clinton garners 54 percent support, with Sanders at 31 percent.

But the Vermont senator leads Clinton in the early-voting state of New Hampshire by four points, according to RCP.

The giant media companies that shape much of the coverage of the presidential campaign have a vested stake in the outcome. From campaign finance laws that govern how money is spent on advertising to the regulators who oversee consolidation rules, the media industry has a distinct policy agenda, and with it, a political team to influence the result.

The top fundraisers for Clinton include lobbyists who serve the parent companies of CNN and MSNBC.

The National Association of Broadcasters, a trade group that represents the television station industry, has lobbyists who are fundraising for both Clinton and Republican candidate Marco Rubio.

Presidential campaigns are obligated by law to send the Federal Election Commission a list of lobbyists who serve as “bundlers,” collecting hundreds of individual checks on behalf of a candidate’s campaign.

CNN’s parent company, Time Warner, is represented on Capitol Hill by Steve Elmendorf, an adviser to Clinton during her 2008 campaign, who is also known as “one of Washington’s top lobbyists.” He’s lobbied on a number of issues important for media companies like CNN, including direct-to-consumer advertising policy.

Elmendorf, according to disclosures, has raised at least $141,815 for Clinton’s 2016 bid for the presidency.

Comcast, the parent company of NBC Universal, which includes cable networks NBC, CNBC, and MSNBC, has a number of lobbyists on retainer who are working to raise cash for the Clinton campaign, including Justin Gray, Alfred Mottur, Ingrid Duran and Catherine Pino.

@theotherkendra wrote:Trump says it will be hard to get into this country if he becomes president
I just want to know how hard it will be to get out

TomatoPie wrote:New polling suggests that Hillary would trounce Trump but lose to Rubio or Carson....

Still pretty meaningless. All along, Vegas has been saying Madame President.

To my surprise, it seems that Cruz has a legit shot at the GOP nomination. He is positioned to siphon off Chump's supporters once his publicity stunt is concluded.

Could never have imagined I'd vote for Hillary but she is clearly qualified for POTUS, unlike most of the GOP field.

Gimpy wrote:Some not too shocking stuff here. The media is largely ignoring Bernie while raising money for Shillary's campaign. It's pretty gross to me to call our system of government a democracy when our candidates are bought, paid for, and selected by large corporations.

traderdave wrote:

Gimpy wrote:Some not too shocking stuff here. The media is largely ignoring Bernie while raising money for Shillary's campaign. It's pretty gross to me to call our system of government a democracy when our candidates are bought, paid for, and selected by large corporations.

I was just thinking to myself the other day that it seems like I haven't heard anything from Sanders since the Maddow debate. RCP does not even bother to have a Dem nomination section anymore. I guess I now know what it was like to be an Obama detractor in 2008/2012. I agree that Clinton is probably the most qualified of any of the candidates given her vast resume but I just flat out do not trust her at all. It may be one of those things where I hold my nose while voting for her.