vincenzo32951

>>That would make you the plagiarist rather than the OP.<<

And so we go off the inevitable deep end.

Cjar

Trump. How shameful that a large portion of my country believes he is the answer to their prayers. He knows nothing and spews a message of hatred, violence, and bigotry not to mention his maniacal glee for bombing, torturing and persecuting. Reminds me of someone circa 1933......... Heaven help us all if he gets elected.

Whathello

>>-1 on Vincenzo for the same reason.<<

I'll consider the source


So we are not friends. How disappointing. But good to see we have the same opinion of each other. Conforting in a way.

vincenzo32951

We never were friends, so there's little disappointment, unless you're hard up for friendship. I could see how that might be a distinct possibility.

buckeyevet

Totally off the original topic, but commenting on the direction the thread has turned: I live in Cleveland, site of the Republican convention.

One, Trump is an idiot and will make the U.S. the laughing stock of the world if he's elected. Two, I need to find a place to visit during the convention. I'm terrified of the influx of Trump supporters my city will see!!!

At the very least I will stay home holed up in my house until the smoke clears.

Blueeyedcod

As an outsider looking on I am mystified as to the appeal of
Trump. Most Americans on this and other forums are educated, well-travelled humanitarians who appear to collectively despise him. So can someone tell me who *are* these Americans who want to elect him? Can you profile me a Republican Trump voter as I am genuinely interested.

thursdaysd

"Can you profile me a Republican Trump voter as I am genuinely interested."

Not a profile, but informative:

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/28/us...ters.html?_r=0

f1racegirl

Here's a very long and interesting article that helps to explain Trump's appeal to some: http://www.vox.com/2016/3/1/11127424...thoritarianism

mensayank

I'm not a Republican, but I know many Republicans who will vote for Trump, and do not fit the above profile. They are white collar, educated, upper middle class people. They do not like Trump's diarrhea of the mouth, but they feel he is the only one who could beat Hilary, who they feel is worse. They also feel he will increase security in light of rising acts of terrorism, and is more likely to keep the homeland safe. They also are tired of illegal immigration (NOT legal immigration), and want action taken against illegal immigrants who do not pay taxes and milk the free benefits.

Blueeyedcod

Well that's just scary.

I wonder what the founding fathers would think? Those who wrote the US Constitution and framed it so that fascists like Trump wouldn't get to the highest office. The office has become a facsimile of its former self - correct me if I'm wrong but isn't it the case that war can only be declared with the consent of Congress? That hasn't happened since World War Two.

Believe me, the rest of the world looks on in shock as the people of the USA elect this idiot based on domestic policy alone. On behalf of everyone in Asia, thanks for that.

bilboburgler

If you look back in American history you see a history of hate against immigrants whether legal or Illegal. The actions against the Irish, Catholics, Jews, Italians, Germans, Japanese, etc etc are very well documented from the 1850s forward.

That Trump has tapped into that hatred is "just business" in the same way the Mafia talk about "just business".

The man is no fool, but Americans will be fools if they hire him to run their presidency.

Whathello

Same in France with Front National - lots of white collars who are fed up with immigrants, socialists and want action taken about safety.

I think people voted for a guy in 1933 for about the same reasons : pride ine the nation, less Jews, more work, more security.

If these guys in France or in the US don't read history and don't learn from it, it is a pity. I don't think Hitler was much better than IS or was he ?????????????

thursdaysd

@mensayank - it sounds to me that while your Republican acquaintances may not fit the NYT profile, they do fit the vox.com profile of "authoritarian personality".

When I was growing up in England shortly after WWII Hitler and the Holocaust were considered to be things that could only happen "there". Since then we have had Rwanda, Yugoslavia and Cambodia so that was clearly just a comforting myth. It is, however, startling (to say the least) to see a significant percentage of one's fellow citizens chase after a demagogue. Happily, it is so far a minority of one party. So far.

mensayank

<< Happily, it is so far a minority of one party. So far.>>

Unfortunately, if he wins the Republican nomination, I know many Republicans who don't like him, but will vote for him as opposed to Hillary.

NewbE

Trump has also tapped into an angry middle class, angry because it is rapidly disappearing. Ironic that they think a billionaire represents them? Yes, lol. But Bernie Sanders speaks for them, too, which I think explains his peculiar trajectory.

Trump knows his audience. Reducing his base of support to racists and ill educated xenophobes is too simple.

OTOH, I do not think he stands a chance of winning, so I am not losing sleep.

limmy

He won't win. So the upsetting thing here is not him for a president but rather finding out just how many of our fellow countrymen and women support his values. That is what's upsetting. And I couldn't care less if these people are white collared professionals or blue collared mechanics. Something is very wrong here for these ideals to have taken root to such a degree. It needs fixing.

And if it makes anyone feel better, unlike mensayank, I know several republican voters that will not vote for trump, they'll vote Hillary. Even people that really dislike Hillary will vote for her.

NewbE

Actually, what I hear from Republican friends--sane ones, lol--is that they would not cast a vote for president at all, in that case.

But it's true that we ignore the Trump constituency at our peril.

limmy

That's funny Newbe- I've heard that from some Bernie people, they will skip the vote rather than give one to Hillary. They seem to dislike her even more than the trump crowd - based on my internet lurking anyway, so not quite an official poll lol.

NewbE

As a yellow dog Democrat, limmy, I hope you're wrong about that! The primary race is still heated. I have faith that the Democratic convention will unite the party--but it could fail at that, too.

The GOP convention, otoh, should be quite a show!

Whathello

Welcome to the way some European countries vote : for the one we dislike less.