2016 American Presidential Thread

[Guest Mauro]

Bob Corker and the hog castration lady have taken their names out of the running as Trump's possible VP mates.

[Guest Pud Whacker]

I am obviously not at fan of Hillary the person but obviously agree w/ what her policies would be especially on a social level. As robotic and non stimulating as she is at least she and her team are wasting NO time going after Trump in a very coherent, specific ways along w/ talking about specific issues. The only thing Hillary has on her side now is some time. Most Americans attention span is 20 seconds so the fact there's 4 months until the election...not saying it's gonna be easy but she has time. Long as he keeps acting crazy...and possibly crazier and focusing on ANYthing but policy, the issues (but instead on tweets, cheap shots, and sleaze/ garbage etc..)which I'm predicting may happen she has a shot to win by default! lol Esp if he picks a Chris Christie or Fig Newton (an equally sleazy, corrupt, tired 73 year old white man lol) as running mates.

yes. she has time and experience.

if he would pick those people - oh i dont even know anymore. its all a carnival. i was going to say it would be a nail in his coffin - but how many times has that been said?

[Ciccone's Cheeks]

yes. she has time and experience.

if he would pick those people - oh i dont even know anymore. its all a carnival. i was going to say it would be a nail in his coffin - but how many times has that been said?

With ya babe. The time and especially the 'experience' in this election cycle though are what people DON'T want :/. I absolutely get why and where we are at but Trump is not the right one. Most people are super pissed more than ever and on a mega phone saying NO more of the same shit but just wish it was a Marc Cuban, Howard Shultz (from Starbucks), etc etc...personality type. Someone completely outside of DC. He's obviously entertaining and a marketing genius and distracting from business as usual (a broken system) but it's beyond clear he's looking at this as a reality show, for publicity and people are eating it up. I'm the first to admit (like a car wreck) I can't turn away whenever he's on TV or discussed in any way! lol It's the publicity and non stop coverage good or bad that's gotten him this far and possibly further - not gonna deny that. Yup, perhaps he's taking a page from the M handbook 1985-esp 1991/92 ;P Lol

[Guest Mauro]

The Presidency is not the place for amateur hour. Jesus Christ. You can't be learning on the job. We're talking nukes and ISIS here. Experience should be mandatory.

[Guest Pud Whacker]

With ya babe. The time and especially the 'experience' in this election cycle though are what people DON'T want :/. I absolutely get why and where we are at but Trump is not the right one. Most people are super pissed more than ever and on a mega phone saying NO more of the same shit but just wish it was a Marc Cuban, Howard Shultz (from Starbucks), etc etc...personality type. Someone completely outside of DC. He's obviously entertaining and a marketing genius and distracting from business as usual (a broken system) but it's beyond clear he's looking at this as a reality show, for publicity and people are eating it up. I'm the first to admit (like a car wreck) I can't turn away whenever he's on TV or discussed in any way! lol It's the publicity and non stop coverage good or bad that's gotten him this far and possibly further - not gonna deny that.

in some way, and i do think its global, at this point...(everyone loves to chuck that only onto americans)

i think we would rather be distracted than to deal with anything but our selfies and personal interests.

and we get that one soundbite and thats all we need today to stand behind someone. to stand behind and SUPPORT someone! that notion is a bit frightening to me.

[Guest]

at that cover this morning

And this one the other day

INCREDIBLE.

By the end of this year the UK and US will both be led by females.

[XXL]

FBI Director James Comey testified before Congress on the FBI probe of Hillary Clinton's emails for hours

[XXL]

http://www.wsj.com/articles/how-comeys-fbi-treats-non-clintons-1467890791#

How Comey’s FBI Treats Non-Clintons

Plus, Trump and the rebellion against political correctness

The FBI website features an interesting report from July of 2015. That’s when Naval Reservist Bryan Nishimura pleaded guilty to unauthorized removal and retention of classified materials, which he kept on his personal devices.

Although the “investigation did not reveal evidence that Nishimura intended to distribute classified information to unauthorized personnel,” he was nonetheless sentenced to two years of probation and a $7,500 fine. “Nishimura was further ordered to surrender any currently held security clearance and to never again seek such a clearance.”

Speaking of Hillary Clinton, she attacked Donald Trump on Wednesday for pillaging Atlantic City. But while his casino bankruptcies contributed to local problems, “it takes more than one man to raze a city,” notes a Journal editorial. “New Jersey Democrats plundered Atlantic City casinos, redistributed the spoils and loaded up the city with unaffordable levels of debt. The gambling mecca is a five-star example of failed liberal policies.”

The rise of Mr. Trump has invited many theories. Our columnist Daniel Henninger has described it as “the revolt of the politically incorrect.” Today he adds that what has drawn so many millions into the Trump camp isn’t just politically correctness itself, “but that its proponents show such relentless moral contempt and superiority toward everyone else.”

Karl Rove notes that in six battleground states, “Republicans have improved their registration numbers since 2012, according to state election officials. In Florida—a must-win for Republicans—the GOP has gained a net of 114,126 registrations since 2012 while Democrats have lost 184,833, for a potential swing of 298,959 votes. President Barack Obama won Florida in 2012 by 74,309.” Mr. Rove sees more good news for the GOP in Arizona, North Carolina, Iowa, Nevada and Pennsylvania.

“As the initial shock of Great Britain’s vote to withdraw from the EU recedes, another withdrawal has been taking place,” writes Kenneth Weinstein. “This withdrawal, albeit more gradual and undertaken with greater stealth, has far deeper consequences. It is the exit of the United States from global leadership and the alliance structure that it built and nurtured over nearly seven decades.” He calls it President Obama’s “Amexit.”

Speaking of Brexit, an Asian diplomat tells us that the U.K. may enjoy new opportunities for trade agreements now that it doesn’t have to negotiate alongside protectionist countries like France.

Here in the U.S., the economy might not have been quite as bad as it looked recently, says National Federation of Independent Business Chief Economist William Dunkelberg. He’s expecting some upward revisions in the lousy jobs numbers reported by the Department of Labor for May. Not that job creation was robust in June. Today NFIB will report in its latest small business survey: “Reported job creation weakened in June, with the seasonally adjusted average employment change per firm posting a decline of -0.17 workers per firm.”

[Guest Mauro]

And finally putting the entire thing to rest:

FBI Director Admits Hillary Clinton Emails Were Not Properly Marked Classified

Hillary Clinton‘s political and media critics jumped all over a key portion of FBI Director James Comey‘s lengthy statement on the investigation into email practices at the State Department in which Comey said that a “very small number” of emails sent or received by Secretary Clinton “bore markings indicating the presence of classified information” as evidence that former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton lied when she said she hadn’t sent or received material that was marked classified.

At a Congressional hearing Thursday morning, however, Comey admitted that the three emails to which he was referring were not, in fact, properly marked as classified, and that even a person with reasonable expertise in identifying classified material could make the “reasonable inference” that these emails were not classified:

Rep. Matt Cartwright: were these properly documented, were they properly marked according to the manual with the little “cs”?

FBI Director James Comey: no…There were three e-mails. Yhe “c” was in the body, in the text but there was no header on the e-mail or the text.

Rep. Matt Cartwright: So if Secretary Clinton really were an expert at what’s classified and what’s not classified, and were following the manual, the absence of a header would tell her immediately that those three documents were not classified. Am I correct in that?

FBI Director James Comey: That would be a reasonable inference.

The “Marking Classified National Security Information” training manual requires that any document containing a parenthetical “portion marking” also contain markings as follows:

Identify the overall classification of the document. This will be equal to the highest classification level of any one portion found in the document. In this example, the highest classification is “Secret,” found in paragraph 2.

• Conspicuously place the overall classification at the top and bottom of the page.

• If the document contains more than one page, place the overall marking at the top and

bottom of the outside of the front cover, on the title page, on the first page, and on the

outside of the back cover (if any).

• Mark other internal pages either with the overall classification or with a marking

indicating the highest classification level of information contained on that page.

The emails to which Comey was referring, the only ones, did not contain any markings beyond those “portion markings,” which the State Department says were added in error anyway. Therefore, in addition to the absence of the header, Secretary Clinton could also have made the reasonable inference that the documents were not classified because their content was of a sort not normally classified, either.

http://www.mediaite.com/online/fbi-director-admits-hillary-clinton-emails-were-not-properly-marked-classified/

Oh, well, Republicans are screwed with this bozo. Benghazi and emails were all they had.

[Ai Papi Si.]

Another day, another Clinton nothingburger, another embarrassing moment of the GOP overplaying their hand.

[Guest Mauro]

Another day, another Clinton nothingburger, another embarrassing moment of the GOP overplaying their hand.

Comey ended up becoming Clinton's defense attorney. I wouldn't be shocked to find out he's changed political affiliation after watching what he went through today. What a freak show. The "Did you see Hamilton" question was the absurd.

[Skin]

Republicans just wont be able to let this go.

Just like 8 investigations cleared Hillary of any wrongdoing in Benghazi, they are still going to harp on this while the rest of the country moves on.

Pathetic pieces of shit.

[Skin]

Still winning.

[Moka]

Still winning.

OMG this is amazing

[Skin]

Moka, on 07 Jul 2016 - 8:07 PM, said:

OMG this is amazing

I remember that was my sig in 08, when I was seriously like one of two hardcore Obama supporters on here and everyone else was all for Hillary.

Even then we had butt hurt people saying they would never vote for Obama because Hillary lost and blah blah blah. When Hillary finally endorsed Obama this was my plea for everyone to hop on board.

How history repeats itself. Now I am pleading with hardcore Bernie supporters to do the same with Hillary. The only difference being Bernie was my first choice and lost this time around, but I refuse to act like a whiny brat when so much is at stake. President Trump my fucking ass.

[Guest Pud Whacker]

I remember that was my sig in 08, when I was seriously like one of two hardcore Obama supporters on here and everyone else was all for Hillary.

Even then we had butt hurt people saying they would never vote for Obama because Hillary lost and blah blah blah. When Hillary finally endorsed Obama this was my plea for everyone to hop on board.

.

I remember that!!! You were also sheepling along to Lady Ugly!!!

Glad you made around to Hillary 8 years later. X

[XXL]

http://www.politico.com/story/2016/07/hillary-clinton-video-deposition-225316

Judge sets hearing on demand for Hillary Clinton deposition

A federal judge has set a hearing for later this month on a conservative group's demand that Hillary Clinton testify in a civil lawsuit relating to the home-based email server she used as secretary of state.

After Judicial Watch made the request Friday afternoon, U.S. District Court Judge Emmet Sullivan almost immediately ordered the government to respond by Tuesday and he set a hearing on the issue for July 18. That happens to be the first day of the Republican National Convention and a week before the opening of the Democratic National Convention, where Clinton is expected to receive the Democratic presidential nomination.

Sullivan previously authorized the conservative watchdog group to conduct depositions of several former aides to Clinton, including former chief of staff Cheryl Mills, deputy chief of staff Huma Abedin, computer specialist Bryan Pagliano and current Undersecretary of State for Management Patrick Kennedy. The testimony was ordered in connection with a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit Judicial Watch filed seeking records about Abedin’s employment arrangements.

In its motion Friday, Judicial Watch said the deposition of Clinton is needed because the earlier testimony failed to clarify why Clinton used the private email system and whether it was intended to frustrate Freedom of Information Act requests.

“Secretary Clinton’s testimony is necessary to answer the ‘questions surrounding the creation, purpose and use’ of the clintonemail.com system,” Judicial Watch attorney Michael Bekesha wrote. “It was her system. She was the primary driving force behind it and was its principal user. She chose to make exclusive use of the system for all of her official email communications and to allow one of her key aides, Ms. Abedin, to use the unofficial system for official communications as well. Without Secretary Clinton’s testimony, there can be no fair, rightful, and conclusive answer to the Court’s questions.”

The motion says it remains unclear why Clinton clung to the system, even when it interfered with her job after her messages were caught in State Department spam filters. Records obtained by Judicial Watch and others show Clinton expressed concerns about using an official State account, writing in one message to Abedin: “Let’s get separate address on device but I don’t want any risk of the personal being accessible.”

“This evidence suggests that, despite the recurrent problems, frustration, and security issues associated with Secretary Clinton’s use of the clintonemail.com system (and after her staff was reminded about FOIA obligations), the secretary nonetheless decided to continue using the system to conduct official government business instead of switching to an official, State Department email system,” Bekesha wrote. “Only Secretary Clinton can answer why she chose to continue using this flawed, frustrating, non-secure system for her official State Department emails, as well as what she meant about not ‘want[ing] any risk of the personal being accessible.’”

Spokespeople for the Clinton campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the proposed deposition.

In May, Judicial Watch sought a deposition of Clinton in another FOIA lawsuit the group is pursuing, seeking records related to the creation of talking points about the 2012 Benghazi attack. That case is pending before another judge, who has not yet acted on the request.

The State Department opposed that request for Clinton's testimony. State is also opposing the latest request, Judicial Watch said. Judicial Watch's new motion also seeks depositions of two individuals who were not called to testify in the earlier round: a key FOIA staffer in Clinton’s office, Clarence Finney, and former State information technology supervisor John Bentel.

[Skin]

Well another good thing Bernie staying in did, and he is pleased with Hillary coming out for it...

She said she will push for a public option within Obamacare and try to lower the age to get medicare to 55. Of course all of this totally depends on the makeup of Congress. The dems had BOTH houses and couldn't even get a public option through.

Cant wait to hear his endorsement of her which they say is taking place next week at a joint rally.

[tuckeye]

so i'm canadian, so i'm a little lost here, but what i can piece together is:

election is trump vs. hillary

everyone hates hillary because of some emails? and that's why they do not want to vote for her?

[Guest Mauro]

so i'm canadian, so i'm a little lost here, but what i can piece together is:

election is trump vs. hillary

everyone hates hillary because of some emails? and that's why they do not want to vote for her?

No, everyone doesn't hate Hillary. Republicans hate Democrats, thus they hate her, although many will vote for her because they fear what Donald will do to this country more, and a portion of Bernie Sanders' fringe far-Left radicals are still butthurt that he didn't win the nomination. They definitely hate Hillary. Donald Trump is way more unpopular than Hillary Clinton, 7 in 10 hate him, and every group except white males he has negatives with through the roof. There are more Democrats than Republicans in America. There is a Libertarian candidate running and they are viable and are going to take even more votes away from the Republican ticket.

[Skin]

tuckeye, on 09 Jul 2016 - 3:43 PM, said:tuckeye, on 09 Jul 2016 - 3:43 PM, said:

so i'm canadian, so i'm a little lost here, but what i can piece together is:

election is trump vs. hillary

everyone hates hillary because of some emails? and that's why they do not want to vote for her?

Actually yeah it seems to be this dumb email thing. I mean she had a massive approval rating while Secretary of State. It's not like anything drastic has happened since.

[Jaz]

Well another good thing Bernie staying in did, and he is pleased with Hillary coming out for it...

She said she will push for a public option within Obamacare and try to lower the age to get medicare to 55. Of course all of this totally depends on the makeup of Congress. The dems had BOTH houses and couldn't even get a public option through.

Cant wait to hear his endorsement of her which they say is taking place next week at a joint rally.

It wasn't you.. but someone else said to me that Bernie staying in did not help Hillary shift to the left on some issues.

BULL FUCKING SHIT.

The Sanders movement made Hillary pivot the the left. I'm glad she is moving to the left on healthcare (which she supported in the 90's).

I hope she listens to Bernie (and Elizabeth Warren) on trade as well.

[Skin]

Jaz, on 10 Jul 2016 - 04:01 AM, said:

I hope she listens to Bernie (and Elizabeth Warren) on trade as well.

Well at least on TPP Clinton was forced to come out against that because of Bernie also, no?

And of course Bernie forced her to the left on a handful of issues. Now it is up to her if elected to be held accountable to sticking to those stances. It all depends on the makeup of Congress in the end though. Jack shit will get done if the House or the Senate remains in republican hands.

[Guest Mauro]

Trump Vows To Defend Every Article Of The Constitution (Including The Ones That Don’t Actually Exist)

From the Washington Post:

Donald Trump’s private meeting Thursday with Senate Republicans — designed to foster greater party unity ahead of the national convention in Cleveland — grew combative as the presumptive presidential nominee admonished three senators who have been critical of his candidacy and predicted they would lose their reelection bids, according to two Republican officials with direct knowledge of the exchanges.

Rep. Mark Sanford (R-S.C.) left the meeting worried about Trump’s grasp on the basics of the Constitution. At a lunch with reporters afterward, he recalled that the candidate did not seem to know what he was promising to defend.

“I wasn’t particularly impressed,” Sanford said. “It was the normal stream of consciousness that’s long on hyperbole and short on facts. At one point, somebody asked about Article I powers: What will you do to protect them? I think his response was, ‘I want to protect Article I, Article II, Article XII,’ going down the list. There is no Article XII.”

And this also happened:

Trump’s most tense exchange was with Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), who has been vocal in his concerns about the business mogul’s candidacy, especially his rhetoric and policies on immigration that the senator argues alienate many Latino voters and others in Arizona.

When Flake stood up and introduced himself, Trump told him, “You’ve been very critical of me.”

“Yes, I’m the other senator from Arizona — the one who didn’t get captured — and I want to talk to you about statements like that,” Flake responded, according to two Republican officials.

Trump said at the meeting that he has yet to attack Flake hard but threatened to begin doing so. Flake stood up to Trump by urging him to stop attacking Mexicans. Trump predicted that Flake would lose his reelection, at which point Flake informed Trump that he was not on the ballot this year, the sources said.

http://www.joemygod.com/2016/07/07/trump-vows-to-defend-every-article-of-the-constitution-including-the-ones-that-dont-actually-exist/

[Guest Mauro]

Caitlyn Jenner Is Heading To Cleveland For The GOP Convention

"I want to support courageous Republicans who advocate for LGBT freedom."

Caitlyn Jenner has announced she’s heading to Cleveland next week for the Republican National Convention.

While the world’s most famous trans woman hasn’t made plans to be at Quicken Loans Arena with the 2,470 Republican delegates—not yet, anyway—she will attend a separate seminar on making the GOP more inclusive of the LGBT community.

Jenner will join other conservatives at a “big tent brunch” meeting at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, aimed at tempering or removing anti-LGBT language from the party platform.

“The party conventions are like the political Olympics, and I’m excited to be headed to Cleveland to stand with my fellow LGBT Republicans and allies,” Jenner told The Daily Beast.

“As a proud Republican and transgender woman, I want to support courageous Republicans who advocate for LGBT freedom. Our country’s nondiscrimination laws must be updated and this cannot be achieved without bipartisan support. Congress needs to act, along with almost 30 Republican states, to update our nondiscrimination laws. I want to do my part to persuade more Republicans to support freedom for millions of LGBT Americans.”

The meeting is being co-hosted by Log Cabin Republicans, Equality Ohio, the College Republican National Committee, SAGE, the LGBT Community Center of Greater Cleveland, and the Ohio College Republican Federation.

TV personality Montel Williams is expected to introduce Jenner.

“As a veteran, I put my life on the line to defend all Americans,” Williams told The Daily Beast. “I’ll be there to help ensure the right of the LGBT community to serve and defend the Constitution… I’ll fight to defend [their rights] until I drop.”

Jenner has previously stated that Democrats “are better than Republicans” when it comes to trans issues, but also declared Donald Trump was “very much behind the LGBT community” because he opposed North Carolina’s “bathroom bill.”

Since then, Trump has done an about-face and supported HB2.

http://www.newnownext.com/caitlyn-jenner-is-heading-to-cleveland-for-the-gop-convention/07/2016/

[Guest Mauro]

Trump Is Falling Into Hillary Clinton’s Trap By Picking Loser Mike Pence For VP

It is being reported that there is a 95% chance that Trump will name anti-gay extremist Indiana Gov. Mike Pence as his running mate on Tuesday. If Trump picks Pence, Hillary Clinton couldn't have made a better choice herself.

It is being reported that there is a 95% chance that Trump will name anti-gay extremist Indiana Gov. Mike Pence as his running mate on Tuesday. If Trump picks Pence, Hillary Clinton couldn’t have made a better choice herself.

The Washington Times reported:

Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, little known nationally but highly admired in conservative circles, has a “95 percent probability” of being Donald Trump’s choice for vice president, The Washington Times has learned.

The sources for that assessment are Republicans close to the campaign and to the governor.

A tipoff came a few days ago when Indiana House Speaker Brian C. Bosma, 58, a conservative Republican, sought advice on running for governor from constitutional lawyer James Bopp, an Indiana delegate to the Republican National Convention and a member of the convention rule committee.

If Pence is Trump’s choice, it will signal that Trump is still trying to unify the Republican Party. Gov. Pence is only known nationally for his “religious freedom” law which was nothing more than a bill to discriminate against gay people in Indiana. Pence isn’t known nationally, and what is known about him is likely to push more voters towards Hillary Clinton.

The reality is that the kind of Republican who could have helped Trump wouldn’t be caught dead on his ticket, so the GOP nominee was forced to pick a running mate that could have been cast by Hillary Clinton herself. Pence is a red state governor with an extremist political history who does nothing to help Trump nationally, or with any key voting constituencies.

Trump wanted a star for his VP. Instead, he got Mike Pence.

Hillary Clinton has a clean slate and a wide open variety of choices for her running mate. If Trump goes with the extremist all white male red state appeal only ticket, the sky is the limit for Clinton.

Clinton set Trump up for this lousy decision, and the blustering political blunder stumbled helplessly into her trap.

http://www.politicususa.com/2016/07/10/trump-falling-hillary-clintons-trap-picking-loser-mike-pence-vp.html

[Skin]

Can't wait for Bernie to formally endorse Hillary at a rally together on Tuesday like reports are saying.

Hope it pans out.

[tuckeye]

can't bernie run as an independent? or is that not how it works? it's only these two choices - hillary vs. trump - the end?

[Ai Papi Si.]

He could in theory but if he did, he'd get Trump elected. He'd pull from Hillary but not from Trump, and wouldnt get a majority. Trump would. Hello President Trump. Bernie would forever be known for getting Trump elected and nothing else.

Bernie is annoying but he's not Ralph Nader arrogant/stupid. Thank god.

[LSD]

Bernie's been giving Nader the cold shoulder ever since that election

"Bernie Sanders does not answer my calls. Fifteen years, he’s never answered a telephone call, never replied to a letter, never replied to a meeting that I wanted to go down and see him. I even had to write an article on this, called 'Bernie, We Thought We Knew Ye!'"