Posts Made By: Mark Costello III

Made me look. 8O

Hello, Russ. Evidently, you have to subscribe to read the entire article at the end of the link. So I'm only going with what you've copied into your post. Here's my shot in the dark. In my opinion, this is not a problem that Ted Cruz just created. Evidently, the Republican base contains a Super-majority of voters who seem not to prefer the establishment. What guys like Trump and Cruz have done is "effectively" tap into it. Voters in the GOP primaries and caucuses lining up behind these two seem to make up about 70% of the GOP voters. On the other hand, an "establishment" guy like Governor Kasich (again my guy) can't seem to climb about 25% support in any primary or caucus, except for the one in Ohio. Cruz may have really insulted GOP colleagues and burned bridges with them, but Trump is doing the same thing (yes indeed, he also is trashing the establishment) and THAT seems to be appealing to a lot of GOP voters. How else can one explain Trumps ability to do no wrong ("I can stand in the middle of Times Square and shoot someone and not lose a single vote")?

So the GOP leaders can read Cruz and Trump out of the party if that's their pleasure, but that's not going to address this problem. IMHO, they should take a retreat at the end of the year and figure out (1) who they are and in particular if they can make contact with their base voters and (2) find some way to communicate their policy to the base. Depending on the identity they line up with (1) or the results of their communication (2), they might have to rebuild their base.

IMHO, the Republican Party will survive this debacle, or at least someone is going to fill the vacuum and oppose the Democrats. But how they change, if they do at all, may influence my loose association with them.

Best Regards,

This was easily expected, the Donald is showing an apparent lack of conviction on issues of which he speaks and is saying what he thinks conservatives want to here.

But this ...

http://www.investors.com/politics/editorials/hillarys-latest-scandal-she-and-bill-siphoned-100-mil-from-persian-gulf-leaders/

... provides a redundant motivation to not vote for the Democratic nominee apparent.

Jim Brown said:

http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/435570/donald-trump-judicial-appointments-list-outstanding-conservatives

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-trump-court-idUSKCN0Y92K5


I think it might. Trump and or his people are targeting folks like me, Richard, Russ Carroll and Mark Costello quite specifically with this move. He is targeting us early and targeting us where our political souls live. Pretty good idea in my view.

Jim

Hi, Jim. As far as I'm concerned, you're right, he is targeting the place where my political soul lives. I have two issues that for me trump all other issues, at least up to now. Those two issues are (1) life and (2) fidelity to the Constitution, particularly in terms of Supreme Court appointments. OTOH, I've gone on record as saying that I won't vote for the Donald. I will NOT vote for Billary so the choices I've left for myself are to vote for Darrell Castle of the Constitutionalist Party (will NOT vote Libertarian), write in a vote, or not vote for President (I'll vote for all the other offices). Trump has identified candidates that appear to be strict interpreters of the Constitutions and no subscribers of the "Living Document" baloney. OTOH, he still has all the hallmarks of a candidate who says he thinks his audience wants to hear without necessarily believing it, says what comes to him in the spur of the moment, made statements concerning foreign policy and use of the military that scare me, whose rallies seem to have elements of "Brown Shirt" action (as did the Democrat gathering in Nevada), and is just plain misogynist if not a misanthrope. So the Donald has effectively presented a challenge to my ranking of issues (if I do not vote for him) or my statement on not voting for him (if I do).

Right now, I'm still inclined not to vote for him. You saw that last paragraph in the NR essay, which fits with my suspicion of a lack of principles on the Donald's part. That is why I'm inclined not to vote for him. But November is still almost half a year away and things and people could change. Not likely but possible, so we'll see.

On a related issue, what do you think of Merrick Garland? Does he seem to you like a "strict constructionist?"

Best,

Russ Carroll said:

disgraced themselves by not protecting individual Trump supporters being attacked by a rabble right on the public streets at a peaceful political rally.

Even I would say to those trying to disarm American's from the right to protect themselves with lethal weapons, go F yourselves. You have an absolute right legally and morally to defend your life.

I concur. Completely.

Here's a link to an ABC report on this, including a report from an "on the scene reporter."

https://gma.yahoo.com/violence-breaks-trump-rally-san-jose-protesters-hurl-080013938--abc-news-topstories.html#

Listen to the on-the-scene reporter. That gives you a hint it was BAD. How appropriate that the "protestors" are shouting "Nazi, go home." They are using the "best" of the Brown Shirt and Kristallnacht tactics, and even making the Donald's thug Lewandoski look cherubic. And the police at first just stood by, doing nothing. Now what's that about gun control? And this is the third time it's happened in California. Where's Jerry Brown?

I again concur. Completely. Ever since he has emerged as the leading GOP candidate and then the nominee apparent, I've been set to not vote for the Donald in the general election. I've wavered on this at times, especially when he released his list of candidates for Scalia's seat on the Supreme Court, but I'm still set to not vote for him in November. All the same, I won't even think of voting for Billary. In different ways, she is to me as bad a choice as the Donald. The best I believe I can do is to vote for someone like David French assuming he's on the ballot, Darrell Castle assuming he's on the ballot, or write in a vote (in which case it may very well be JEB or Kasich), and to vote for conservative candidates for all of the lower offices....

http://thefederalist.com/2016/06/06/my-declaration-of-independence-from-the-republican-party/

Me? I'll keep the "R" after my name. For now. Where else is there to go that's really viable and conservative?

So would I. But right now there is no "decent person" standing up.

I went to the ACLU website to look over their draft letter to the Senate. I'm no fan of the ACLU but I have to hand it to them on this one. For me, it's bad in showing how hard (if not impossible?) to write a "good" (means Constitutional) law to stop "bad guys" from getting guns. Personally, I'm more open to an attempt to do this than I am to ban or restrict access to something like the so-called "assault gun."

Best,

I just saw this, having been in my home town (Jacksonville, Florida) visiting my Dad and some brothers and sisters. Hello there and nice to "see" you again!