Posts Made By: James Brown

Originally Posted by Rod Kaufman

I agree with James when he concludes and states (and contrary to what you think):
"I think the average voter will remember Trump as the slime-ball that he is and decide he doesn't deserve a second term, and it will have consequences down-ballot. As you say, we will see."

Hi Rod:

My actual thought is different  than your summary.  I agree that the average voter will remember Trump as the slime-ball that he is.  But, I also think that the average voter does not want a socialist for president.  So, I think that whether or not Trump is reelected hinges on whom the D's nominate and the state of the economy next fall.

Jim

Originally Posted by James Brown

Hi Rod:

My actual thought is different  than your summary.  I agree that the average voter will remember Trump as the slime-ball that he is.  But, I also think that the average voter does not want a socialist for president.  So, I think that whether or not Trump is reelected hinges on whom the D's nominate and the state of the economy next fall.

Jim

p.s.  I ought to clarify a point.  You could be correct regarding the "average" voter - but the average voter does not control the outcome of the election.  The swing voters in MI, WI, PA, OH and FL are going to control 2020.  If you are correct and the swing voters in those states swing to the D, Trump loses in a landslide.  If the D's nominate someone who alienates the upper Midwest (again) then I predict Trump will win the EC and be re-elected, but FWIW, he might lose the "average" vote.

J

Originally Posted by Richard Davis

Hi Jim,  

 Is Trump just the slimeball, or is Hillary Clinton, Adam Schiff, Eric Swalwell, Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer, John Brennan who publicly called Trump, our sitting President a Traitor, all the Pundits on the left at CNN and MSNBC who regularly call him Hitler, a Nazi, worse than ISIS, those on the left who call him a criminal, others who have threatened his family, telling the world that Baron Trump should be put in a cage and sodimized by Pedophiles, etc....

Are they slimeballs as well Or JUST Trump?  Valid Question I think. 

Do you also think that most Businessmen who have acquired Billions play hardball when it comes to business?
 
Do you think that Bloomberg is lily white?  How 'bout Tom Steyer?  Think Harry Reid's business dealings were on the up and up?  Just a coincidence that the rezoning he put in place while he was in office, helped him with his real estate affairs.  

How about Nancy Pelosi's husband and her massive accumulated wealth?  Think Maxine Waters hasn't had her share of corruption?

How about the late Elijah Cummings and his wife?  She has a nonprofit and a public business but yet Hundred's of thousands of the nonprofit money just happened to find its way into her private bank account.  You're familiar with that correct?  

Was Elijah Cummings a slimeball?  

I'll be interested in your answer.  Have a great day Jim!   

I think lots of politicians are slimeballs, not just Trump.  I definitely think the 2016 election was Slimeball A. vs. equivalent Slimeball B.  I do not think that either GHW or GW Bush, Obama, Carter, or Reagan were slimey.  I suppose they had their scandals, but nothing Trump-like.  I think that Kennedy, LBJ, and Clinton were quite slimey, but also quite effective presidents.  I have not made a final decision where I think Trump fits in the pantheon of modern political sliminess.  Toward the top, I am pretty sure.

Jim

Originally Posted by Russ Carroll

I'm sorry, but it's disheartening that it is even a question for you. Maybe you've been overcome by a man who can literally move hurricanes with a magic marker. 

Well, don't be too disheartened.  I'm not saying that I have illusions regarding Trump's sliminess.  What I was trying (incompletely) to say is that I'm not all that sure exactly how slimy JFK, LBJ and WJC actually were/are.   I think that Trump is a lot more WYSIWYG than some of the smooth operators with allies in the press.

Jim

p.s.  I intentionally left Nixon off my list - he was a choir boy compared to some.

Originally Posted by Richard Davis

LOL  Oh, so now you're on a par with Jesus Christ are you???  

Dude;  I think you missed the obvious jest in Russ' post...

Originally Posted by Rod Kaufman

Jim, 
I think you'll have to reconsider because Rick Perry informed us today that God anointed Trump to be our president. It doesn't get any holier than that...

Wait a minute... Didn't Rich just remind us in the other thread that Russ voted for Hillary Clinton?  

Originally Posted by Rod Kaufman

I actually prefer observing myself. Last night in front of my light-polluted house, I managed, under highly transparent skies, to penetrate down to magnitude 13.3 with my 16" dob (Ed Jones primary/Antares secondary/Astrosystem structure/Sky Commander DSCs). I hit virtually every DSO of consequence in the summer triangle which is still visible from my latitude and thank goodness I've got a good Lumicon 0111 filter to help me do it. As winter challenge objects, I chose NGC 7139 in Cepheus:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NGC_7139
and:
IC 289 in Cassiopeia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IC_289
I was able, with the help of a CLS filter, to observe several winter galaxies as well without having to travel to snow covered Mt Pinos where the views would have been better but I would have frozen my butt-off to see them...

Sweet.  I'm going to be posting pics of my completed observatory any day now... That is if I ever get it completed!  My observing and astrophotography gear is currently piled in the bedroom, waiting to move into its new home.  My wife will be thrilled to have the floor space back!

I have not delved deep into any of the candidates at this point, but this Atlantic article has got me interested in learning more about Pete Buttigieg.  His experiences that upset progressives, specifically his time with McKinsey are, on the contrary, very appealing to me.  I like that he honored his NDA as a matter of principle.  I like that he leveraged his education into a lucrative consulting role rather than something more "woke."  He is obviously as smart as anyone out there; he is certainly not an empty suit like Beto.  I like that he has called BS on fanciful programs like free college for all.  He is a Hoosier, like me . But seriously, being an effective D politician in Indiana suggests that he is somewhat of a consensus builder.

I did find Buttigieg's attacks on Mike Pence to be distasteful, I suspect that they actually had a good working relationship.  I suppose Buttigieg's attacks on his old colleague are understandable, given that he is trying to win the nomination in a nominating process infected with rabid partisans who consider Pence to be the second most vile and evil person on earth.

I'm not so sure I like the "Mayor Pete" nickname, but overall, Pete seems to be the anti-Warren to me.  It will be very interesting to see how he fares now that the D establishment and progressives have brought out the long-knives against him.  Hopefully much better than Harris.

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2019/12/pete-buttigieg-mckinsey/603421/

Jim

Originally Posted by Russ Carroll

Originally Posted by James Lacey

Never mind that losing the popular vote again, which he will almost surely do, and winning the electoral college again is almost certainly not possible. 

Hi James:

FWIW, I think Trump losing the "popular vote" and winning the EC is very possible.  Maybe 50/50?  We have to see who the D candidate is of course, and we have to see how the economy fares in 2020.  I can't think of anything that pushes the Trump reelection calculus into the "almost certainly not possible" range.  Of course, in my opinion, some of the Trump supporter's optimism is not well founded at this stage in the process either.

National approval rating is a tricky metric.  Obama and Trump are now within a point or two of each other in national approval ratings, for the same period in office.  As you know, BO was easily reelected.  https://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/other/president_trump_vs_president_obama_job_approval.html

In most states, Trump's approval rating is well below what one would expect based upon the partisan makeup of the state.  https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/the-states-where-trump-is-more-and-less-popular-than-he-should-be/

This suggests to me that Trump is disapproved of by a lot of folks, particularly folks in swing states who will still vote for him, especially given the likely alternative.  We'll have to wait quite a while it seems to know who that alternative will be.

Jim