[Donna]

His campaign will be a failure of epic proportions, it might even collapse when those voters check in. Not because he couldn't do better, I'm sure he could. I'm also sure he's a highly intelligent person, he couldn't play Cipolla otherwise. However, unlike Italy in Mussolini's time, America is not ready for fascism.

Donald Trump isn't a fascist, but unlike "Mussolini's time", there isn't an internationalist socialist bloc to absorb widespread discontent (and this is precisely why fascism isn't necessary in Trump's case). There is only an increasingly militant alliance between bourgeois-globalist elites and cosmopolitan ideologues like yourself. There aren't any options for the interests of the commons except Nationalism.

That's just the way it is. You're either with the people or you're a traitor.

[Dave]

You can download the Excel sheet Derek pulled the data from here (operating expenditures under Disbursements). Now, personally, I don't think it's just about the money. I think Trump could legitimately be a diagnosable narcissist.

I'm familiar with the data.

I agree that Trump is a narcissist.

As a narcissist myself (at a lower level than Trump), this doesn't trouble me.

Sociopathy troubles me, which Trump does not exhibit.

That money was originally a loan, which he has only recently forgiven after realizing his campaign is broke and nobody wants their donation to repay Trump's loan to himself that was spent on Trump products and business services.

But lol @ everyone who believes in the completely normal looking man with a reputable business history of honest dealings and his consistent, well thought out positions.

You fell for an orange con man, lol.

My point stands.

Trump is not making money on his campaign to be President.

Whether or not Trump is a con man remains to be seen. I support him because he has a very public record of being a nationalist going back to at least 1980, has laser tight game, and a strong sense of loyalty. I am not going to dispute that Trump has many flaws but will not detail those in this post as there is no reason to play into your frame.

Put yourself in my shoes for a second. What exactly is my alternative to Trump? Indeed what is the alternative in this election for tens of millions of Americans who are nationalists?

[Istanbuller]

All those anti- Trump protests and protesters went full retard. Those anti- Trump people burning American flag and carrying Mexican flag around.

Those people should understand that time has changed and things changed. Attacking on Trump doesn't really demoralize Trump and its supporters, but it makes Trump stronger and fans much more loyal.

White America and American nationalism is trending now.

Blacks, Hispanics, Muslims and leftists are not trending anymore.

[jimjam]

James C. Dobson, one of America’s leading evangelicals, said Mr. Trump had recently come “to accept a relationship with Christ” and was now “a baby Christian.”

The giant Christian voting bloc obviously has been noticed by our favorite con artist. Trump now has a relationship with Christ...........yea right...........

[Dave]

Trump is obviously not particularly religious about much other than Trump.

But the fact that he continues to solidify and build his coalition is good.

Evangelicals should support Trump for the simple reason that he isn't a pussy or a leftist weirdo.

[Donna]

James C. Dobson, one of America’s leading evangelicals, said Mr. Trump had recently come “to accept a relationship with Christ” and was now “a baby Christian.”

The giant Christian voting bloc obviously has been noticed by our favorite con artist. Trump now has a relationship with Christ...........yea right...........

An American evangelical leader calling Trump "a baby Christian" is obviously a calculated signal rather than part of a carefully drafted encyclical. It is in the best interests of Christians to vote for Trump, especially since his opponent is a secular culture warrior who is no longer restrained by the nearly defunct neoconservative movement. Trump also recognizes that opposing abortion is a non-negotiable position if you want the support of Christians and he has thus yielded to a formally pro-life position. His nativist positions also correspond with traditional Christian opposition to Islam.

There are some tensions between Trump and Latino Catholics and their supporters within the Catholic Church, but this is part of a more general problem with the Second Vatican Council. Historically the RCC honoured hierarchal order as it appeared in nature (because the creation is, after all, good), including the differences between the races.

[QatzelOk]

James C. Dobson, one of America’s leading evangelicals, said Mr. Trump had recently come “to accept a relationship with Christ” and was now “a baby Christian.”

The giant Christian voting bloc obviously has been noticed by our favorite con artist. Trump now has a relationship with Christ...........yea right...........

That there is even such a thing as a "leading evangelical" is bizarre and needlessly industrial. What are his stats? Which evangelicals are competing with him for prestige?

[Donna]

That there is even such a thing as a "leading evangelical" is bizarre and needlessly industrial. What are his stats? Which evangelicals are competing with him for prestige?

Good call.

[SpecialOlympian]

@Dave, if I put myself in your shoes I can see why you would vote for someone, despite all their flaws, because they represent the closest thing to your views that has ever been on the ticket. And, ironically, this doesn't make you all that different from the middle aged women who will vote for Hillary because they want to see someone like themselves in office before they die.

I don't plan to convince you. But I seriously do not see why, if I were a nationalist, I would want an out of touch orange conman who seems to pride himself on his own ignorance as the vehicle for my ideology.

I look at writeups of Trump and every business deal he has ever made and the conclusion I have come to is that I wouldn't want him to be involved in any aspect of my life if I could avoid it.

Now if you'll excuse I'm going to go back to this party and pretend my soul wouldn't sing at the chance of easily accessible cocaine while I consider the fact that I may be booked for an amateur night at the Comedy Store.

[Beren]

Donald Trump isn't a fascist

But he's mimicking Mussolini.

[Potemkin]

But he's mimicking Mussolini.

No he isn't. Benito was a way snappier dresser.

[Beren]

No he isn't. Benito was a way snappier dresser.

Sure, he was the master of snappy dressing.

It's interesting we have a rising number of Mussolinis. There is the Russian Mussolini, the Turkish Mussolini, the Hungarian Mussolini, the American Mussolini. Farage is the British one.

[Dave]

I don't plan to convince you. But I seriously do not see why, if I were a nationalist, I would want an out of touch orange conman who seems to pride himself on his own ignorance as the vehicle for my ideology.

I look at writeups of Trump and every business deal he has ever made and the conclusion I have come to is that I wouldn't want him to be involved in any aspect of my life if I could avoid it.

I don't agree with the characterization of Trump as a conman, though he isn't a man of integrity either. He is however sincere and passionate.

There are nationalists who want Hillary elected under the Lenin's "The worse the better." Personally I think that's nuts. You might as well let a patient keep bleeding uncontrollably under the theory at least it will get his iron levels down. The vantard who stabbed that manjawed MP in England in fact supported Remain because he thought England needed more punishment to "wake up".

So my first priority is to stop the bleeding. For that reason I've been a single-issue voter against immigration since I matured, unless the promise obviously lacked sincerity (e.g. R-Money cribbed "self-deportation" from us but we all know he was full of shit). With Trump I got lucky in that he's ALSO an economic nationalist, an issue that had been moribund since Pat Buchanan stopped running for office. The only guys even talking about protectionism were middle-aged Packers fans with windbreakers and mustaches who wrote obscure articles for union and manufacturing newsletters.

The effect on political debate and discourse is very important as well. For the first time people are now not afraid to say the sort of things I've been willing to say for a long time. Trump is a one man wrecking ball who is rapidly moving the Overton Window. "Americans love a winner" as George Patton said, and if Trump wins the White House that will increase our political power and presence further.

You can argue that a President Trump won't do what he's promised, but one of the strongest findings in political science is that new Presidents try to enact their platform. Trump's not going to do an about face on immigration enforcement and he certainly will not do so on economic nationalism which he's been preaching for decades. The danger for us is he'll do a "great deal" which doesn't address the more dangerous problem of legal immigration.

We're obviously going to be let down, if nothing else because we're more radical than Trump is. Trump is really a moderate who also happens to be a nationalist. In a lot of ways he's dragging the party kicking and screaming back to the center and forcing it to abandon lunatic ideas like Paul Ryan's half-cocked scheme to throw granny off the cliff. Probably the situation will be somewhat similar to Russia and Hungary, where nationalists support their governments but are upset it doesn't go far enough.

Sure, he was the master of snappy dressing.

It's interesting we have a rising number of Mussolinis. There is the Russian Mussolini, the Turkish Mussolini, the Hungarian Mussolini, the American Mussolini. Farage is the British one.

It's a global revolt against Davos and goes beyond these countries, even beyond the white world. Narendra Modi and Rodrigo Duterte belong to us as well.

[blackjack21]

I don't agree with the characterization of Trump as a conman, though he isn't a man of integrity either. He is however sincere and passionate.

Yes, but this seen in the context of a choice between Hillary and Trump. Hillary made $21M giving speeches to Wall Street banks after leaving the Secretary of State's office and before announcing her candidacy for the presidency. These are obviously pre- and post-paid bribes for past and future favors with no explicit quid pro quo. It's quite difficult to characterize Trump as a con man in that context. As for directing his campaign money to his own facilities, why wouldn't he do that? It's smart business. He can guarantee his campaign a fair market price while recuperating some of his expenses with his own businesses. There isn't anything illegal or unethical in doing so. We just haven't had a candidate that was a hotel and resort mogul running for president before.

With Trump I got lucky in that he's ALSO an economic nationalist, an issue that had been moribund since Pat Buchanan stopped running for office.

Well, Buchanan was running against trade deals the effects of which had not been seen yet. We've had enough slow growth with continued outsourcing to be less inclined to support it now. American businesses are now so cynical that they've placed bets against the best interests of the American voter, and they're only beginning to wake up to the changing political reality.

This has to be the first time I've ever seen liberals discuss currencies in such earnest.

One hell of a lot of propaganda went in to the Remain campaign with plenty of scare mongering. They really still can't believe they lost, but Nigel Farage and others made a strong case and frankly people have had enough of the self-serving political elite. What's got them really concerned is other countries may want independence now too.

No, because the majority of ordinary voters are concerned or even scared by Trump rather than convinced or inspired, in the swing states especially.

Polls show him competitive in Ohio and Pennsylvania. It's easier for Hillary to put together a win than Trump, but when you consider how lopsided fundraising is at this point, Hillary has a lot to be afraid of if Trump only has a few million on hand and he's competititive.

[Beren]

Polls show him competitive in Ohio and Pennsylvania. It's easier for Hillary to put together a win than Trump, but when you consider how lopsided fundraising is at this point, Hillary has a lot to be afraid of if Trump only has a few million on hand and he's competititive.

Hillary's an awful candidate, but still looks like a sane and responsible (female) person.

[Rugoz]

I don't agree with the characterization of Trump as a conman, though he isn't a man of integrity either. He is however sincere and passionate.

Trump is also a narcissistic asshole and a clueless buffoon.

Granted, Americans have a history of voting for idiots, but not a history of voting for assholes. Reagan and Dubya were nice guys after all. Trump will lose but I think more likable versions of him might pop up in the future.

[quetzalcoatl]

Tell that to George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, Abraham Lincoln, and William McKinley. I will discuss this in greater detail in your thread when I have the time for a lengthier post.

Suffice it to say I am convinced protectionism will reduce inequality, but that is far from the only reason I favor it.

I've debated with many libertarians. The starting gambit is always a utilitarian one: free trade (or free immigration, free movement of capital, no regulation, whatever) is better because it improves outcomes. If you press them, even if you provide strong evidence that the outcomes ain't so good, it will make no difference whatsoever.

The true mark of a libertarian is that they believe what they believe. When push comes to shove, they don't give a damn who suffers and who benefits.

[Dave]

@quetzalcoatl
Libertarianism, like communism and liberalism, is a religion.

I suppose we should be grateful that our fringe wackos are libertarians not communists however.

[ArtAllm]

Evangelicals should support Trump for the simple reason that he isn't a pussy or a leftist weirdo.

Trump had to genuflect before the Israel Lobby to get the support of these brainless people that claim to be Christians.

Hillary's an awful candidate, but still looks like a sane and responsible (female) person.

Tell me who your favourite candidate is and I’ll tell you who you are.

[Drlee]

Whining about Hillary's speaking fees is really pretty funny. Blackjack calling them bribes is hilarious. He gets his panties in a knot when she gets $250K for speaking completely ignoring Trump's 1.5 million fees. But that is not the hilarious part. The hilarious part is that the Koch brothers initially intended to spend nearly a billion dollars brokering the Republican cause across the board. The NRA is spending of just under a million bucks is chump change.

The very idea that an American President could be bought for a speaking fee is preposterous. A president costs a lot more than that.

The Mercers contributions to republicans? $18,594,700

The Uhlines to republicans: $13,316,400

Paul Singer to republicans? $12,367,373

I could go on and I could post similar numbers for democrats. Suffice it to say that speaking fees are a joke.

Perhaps Blackjack will join me in calling for a limit of $500.00 for all political contributions? Perhaps he will call with me for a ban on all contributions (except president) from outside of the state of the candidates residence. Perhaps he even join me in calling for an end to "issue advertising" within 180 days of an election.

But come on blackjack. Certainly there are a couple of people here who will fall for your willful propagandizing but most of us won't. You are simply WAY to smart to believe that bullshit yourself anyway. Let's both have a laugh on this one.