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For A Man Who Praises The Constitution, Trump Knows Very Little About It

October 10, 2016 By John DeProspo 2 Comments

If elected president, Donald Trump would be the first commander in chief never to have been elected to previous office, or have served as a high-ranking military officer, or have served as a federal government official.

But beyond his lack of experience, Trump would perhaps become the president with the least amount of knowledge of the United States Constitution and its workings. He gives every indication he does not understand the brilliant concept devised by our Founding Fathers, the separation of powers.

Trump has often stated his admiration of Russian strongman Vladimir Putin.

Last night, Trump actually said that if he were elected president, one of his first jobs would be to jail Hillary Clinton. Could there be more red meat for his base than this?

“If I win, I am going to instruct my attorney general to get a special prosecutor to look into your situation because there has never been so many lies, so much deception,” Trump said to Clinton during the second presidential debate.

Clinton replied, “It’s just awfully good that someone with the temperament of Donald Trump is not in charge of the law in our country.”

The man with no self-control interjected, “Because you’d be in jail.”

American’s do not elect a dictator, or even a quasi-autocrat like Putin, to lead the country. A fifth grader with minimal knowledge of our system of government would be able to tell you that.

“Be afraid of any candidate who says he will order DOJ/FBI to act on his command,” said Eric Holder, who served as Attorney General under President Obama.

The activist Michael Moore tweeted, “Never has a candidate threatened to jail his opponent. This happens in dictatorships. Scariest man ever to run for WH.”

What makes Trump so dangerous is he seems to have no interest in learning about a government he seeks to run. Equally dangerous is that his uninformed supporters believe Trump would be able to do all the things he promises to do even though most are clearly not within a president’s powers or are flat out unconstitutional.

Trump is a graduate of the distinguished Ivy League school, the University of Pennsylvania. He either never took the required civics class or was able to avoid the requirement through some sort of “son-of-a-rich-man” deferment.

Photo | slate.com

Trump Holds His Own In Second Presidential Debate

October 9, 2016 By John DeProspo 4 Comments

The predication that Donald Trump would self-immolate in tonight’s second presidential debate proved to be wishful thinking on the part of the Democratic faithful. The Trump campaign lives to see another day!

With all the negative press surrounding Trump following the release of the now infamous Hollywood Access “sex” video, many analysts thought this topic would consume the debate and prove fatal for Trump.

Yet very little time was spent on the video or Trump’s treatment of women. The reason for this is that the debate was held in a town hall format where audience members ask prepared questions of the candidates. Many different questions were asked; many different topics were discussed.

The most interesting question of the night came at the very end of the debate.

Carl Becker asked the candidates, “Regardless of the rhetoric, would either of you name one positive thing that you respect in one another?”

Hillary Clinton answered first. “I respect his children. His children are incredibly able and devoted and I think that says a lot about Donald,” Clinton said.

For his part, Trump paid a huge compliment to Hillary, whether wittingly or not. The man who loves winners and fighters said, “I will say this about Hillary. She doesn’t quit. She doesn’t give up. I respect that.” Trump called his opponent a “fighter.”

To me this was a most unexpected answer from Trump. I had to ask myself if I really heard Trump’s words correctly. I did.

I don’t know how that answer will play with a base that believes Hillary is the devil incarnate, but Trump’s gracious, seemingly sincere compliment might sit well with many undecided voters or independents. But not enough, I believe, to swing the momentum of the race in Trump’s favor.

One could almost see the Clinton camp preparing an ad with Trump’s kind words being used against him.

Whether the Access Hollywood video will continue to have legs going forward remains to be seen. Whether more unflattering tapes from Trump’s past are made public also remains in doubt but, with the many videos of Trump over the years, you can bet it’s a good possibility.

Rejoice. There will be a third and final debate!

Photo | chicagotribune.com/Jim Lo Scalzo / EPA

Trump’s Lewd Remarks … Is Anyone Really Surprised?

October 8, 2016 By John DeProspo 6 Comments

Yesterday, the nation was hit with a tidal wave … Donald Trump’s 2005 audio of vulgar, sexist comments made during a taping of Access Hollywood. The Republican presidential candidate boasted to the show’s host, Billy Bush, he could do anything he wants to women because he is a star. He could even “grab them by the p_ _ _y” with impunity.

As shocking as the tape turned out to be, is any one really surprised?

Trump has demonstrated his disdain and disrespect for woman throughout his adult life. To Trump, women are mere objects that exist to satisfy his personal pleasure. And they must meet his high standards of beauty! If a woman is not a “10,” he’s not interested. He simply tosses those “losers” into the garbage heap of “dogs, fat pigs and slobs.”

No, no one who has paid any attention to Trump’s history of treating women is surprised.

Republican establishment types are outraged over the latest development. Some good Christian Republicans, like Utah Congressman Jason Chaffetz, are unendorsing Trump.

“I’m out,” said Chaffetz on Fox News. “I can no longer in good conscience endorse this person for president. It is some of the most abhorrent and offensive comments that you can possibly imagine.”

Chaffetz is not the first, nor will he be the last, Republican to jump ship.

The Hollywood Access video is forcing the hands of many Republicans who have tired to straddle the fence … criticizing Trump’s rhetoric on one hand, while promising to vote for their party’s nominee on the other.

Tomorrow night we will be treated to “must see TV.” The second presidential debate will be held at Washington University in St. Louis. There is little doubt Trump’s “sex” audio will be a topic of discussion. How Trump handles the situation may be the difference between a simple loss in November and a landslide victory for Clinton.

The dye is set. Trump is done. He will not be able to talk or bully his way out of this predicament. Any other candidate with an ounce of self-respect would skip the debate or drop out of the race. But, hey, we’re talking about Trump here!

Many voters, especially the undecided, are finally seeing Trump for what he is: the most crass, sexist and racist candidate to earn the nomination of a major party in American history.

Photo | mashable.com

Round Two For Trump… Second Verse Same As The First?

October 7, 2016 By John DeProspo Leave a Comment

The second presidential debate will be held this Sunday at Washington University in St. Louis.

While Trump and his surrogates tried to spin his first debate encounter with Hillary Clinton as a win, the consensus among analysts was that he got his clock cleaned. Not only did his poll numbers sink nationally, but he lost ground in many of the key battleground states he needs to win to get to the 270 electoral votes necessary to reach the White House.

Trump’s handlers are spreading the line that he will be a more prepared, polished debater this time around. Advice on how he can turn things around is popping up everywhere.

“Look and act calm,” advised Jo-Renee Formicola, a political science professor at Seton Hall University in New Jersey. “Be a gentleman. Smile.”

Republican pollster Frank Luntz believes that during the town-hall debate, Trump “needs to empathize and sympathize with the voters and forget that Clinton is standing next to him.”

There is a decent chance we may be treated to a more presidential performance by Trump in round two (well, at least temporarily!). Maybe Trump can replicate the smooth performance his running mate, Mike Pence, gave during the vice presidential debate earlier this week?

But Trump has shown that against a seasoned debater like Hillary Clinton, he will undoubtedly revert to form once she starts getting under his thin skin. Look for Trump to go “off script” and make some wild statements or crazy accusations against Clinton … the kind that will send some of his campaign staff packing!

Beyond the misplaced optimism of Trump’s people, some political observers are clearly delusional.

“He’s proven to be a quick study during the campaign and reports of Trump’s debate obituary could be greatly exaggerated,” said Aaron Kall, director of debate at the University of Michigan.

Kall noted that President Obama got negative reviews after his first debate against Mitt Romney in 2012, but then rallied in a town hall debate to change the trajectory of the race.

There is only one small problem with this Romney/Obama analogy.

In a memorable vice presidential debate between Lloyd Bentsen and Dan Quayle, the Democratic nominee told his opponent, after he had likened himself to JFK, “Senator, you’re no Jack Kennedy.”

It is safe to say, Donald Trump is no Barack Obama.

The second verse could be worse than the first.

Photo | newsday.com

Sharing Is Caring … A Reader’s Comment

October 6, 2016 By John DeProspo 6 Comments

Articles on this site generate a variety of comments. While some are ill informed, cringeworthy and even downright nasty, the majority are positive and constructive.

Occasionally, a well-written, well thought-out comment comes along like the one below by Will A Kelly. I have taken the liberty of posting it in its entirely. No editing. I believe it is worth the read:

Dear Mr. Trump,

It’s taken me a while to realize this and to admit it, but I’m grateful to you.

For the past few months, I’ve spent a good deal of time lamenting your campaign and the poison it has so effortlessly generated. I’ve watched our country imploding, our public discourse become polluted, our political climate grows ever more corrosive, and wrongly assumed you were to blame.

It’s only lately I’ve come to understand that you haven’t manufactured our current national ugliness—you’ve simply revealed it.

By saying the irresponsible, mean-spirited, ignorant things you say so freely and so frequently, you’ve given other like-minded people license to do the same. You’ve opened up the floodgates for our corporate sewage to flow fully. People no longer conceal their vile mess, they now revel in it, they broadcast it and retweet it.

You’ve made bigotry and racism socially acceptable again and that has been a kind of twisted gift because it’s allowed me to really see people; not as they pretend to be on the surface—but in the very depths of their wounded, weaponized hearts.

Over and over as your campaign has persisted, your supporters would tell me that they like you because you “speak your mind”. It wasn’t until recently that I’ve realized that you speak their minds. You’ve given credence to their prejudices and made those prejudices go mainstream.

Thanks to the terrible ground you’ve broken, politicians, pastors, friends, and strangers, both in person and on social media now regularly out themselves as hateful, intolerant, and malicious—and they remind me just how close they are to me, just how deep the sickness in us runs, and just how far we have to go together.

You’ve emboldened people to be open about things they used to conceal for the sake of decorum, and though it turns my stomach, I know that this is the only way we can move forward; to have that cancerous stuff exposed fully so that it can be dealt with. Our progress as a nation is predicated on authentic dialogue, no matter how brutal and disheartening that dialogue is.

In other words, you’ve let us know what we’re really dealing with here and while it’s been rightly disturbing, it’s also been revelatory. That’s the thing about that kind of harsh light: you’re forced to see everything. Beauty and monstrosity equally illuminated.

Now don’t get me wrong, I think you’re the least qualified, least knowledgeable Presidential candidate we may ever have had participate this far into the process, and if you somehow were elected I’d fear gravely for the world my children would inherit—should it survive your Presidency at all. I believe you’re reckless, bitter, and completely reprehensible; the very worst kind of bully.

But whether you win or lose, you’ve already allowed me the blessing of Truth; about me, about you, about other candidates, about our nation.

And in the process, you’ve also shown me that I am not alone in resisting you and this ugly thing you’ve revealed about us.

You’ve generated an equally loud, equally passionate response to it and this is where I find my hope these days.

I find it in those for whom equality isn’t just a cheap buzzword, it’s the most precious of hills to die on.

I find it in those people who refuse to be silent in the face of our impending shared regression.

I find it in those willing to be bolder in defending the inherent value of all people.

I find it in the growing army of those who will not tolerate hatred as a core American value.

I find it in those who reject violence as our default response to dissension.

I find it in the ever rising voice of people who will not let malice and bitterness represent them in the world.

Today I find my hope in those who, like me, will not be complicit in allowing bigotry and intolerance to become a source of national pride because we’ve seen where that leads.

Yes, Mr. Trump, you’ve unearthed our hidden sickness and you’ve allowed it to go viral.

You brought every awful thing about us out into the open.

You will NEVER Get My Vote!

Image courtesy of Gualberto107 at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

VP Candidates Remind Women Roe v. Wade Is Very Much At Stake

October 4, 2016 By John DeProspo 4 Comments

Tonight’s one and only debate between Republican Mike Pence and Democrat Tim Kaine will be talked about for a day or two … and then forgotten. There were no memorable zingers historians will quote years from now.

The best that can be said is that for most of the debate, over an array of issues, each candidate held his own. There were no outrageous gaffes from either candidate that could reflect badly on the person at the top of the ticket.

But towards the end of the debate, when each man of faith was asked how he juggles his religious beliefs and public service, viewers were treated to a stark difference between the two men.

Tim Kaine replied, “For me the hardest struggle in my faith life was the Catholic Church as against the death penalty.” Kaine went on to say when he ran for governor of Virginia, a capital punishment state, he promised to uphold the law and he did.

“It is really, really important that those of us who have deep faith lives don’t feel like we can just substitute our own views for everybody else in society,” said Kaine.

Mike Pence never answered the question asked him. But he did talk about his strong pro-life position.

“For me the sanctity of life proceeds out of the belief, that ancient principle, when God says before you were formed in the womb, I knew you,” said Pence. “My faith informs my life. I try and spend a little time on my knees each day.”

“But it all for me begins with cherishing the dignity, the worth, the value of every human life,” Pence added.

“It is not the role of the public servant to mandate that (their religious views) for everybody else,” Kaine replied. “We respect Roe v. Wade. Governor Pence wants to repeal Roe v. Wade.”

Putting it as simply as possible, Kaine said, “ That is the fundamental difference between a Clinton/Kaine ticket and a Trump/Pence ticket that wants to punish women who make that choice.”

Referring to abortion, Kaine asked Pence, “ Why don’t you trust women to make this choice for themselves?”

Pence did not answer that question either.

For a Trump campaign that is having a difficult time attracting more female voters, this exchange on abortion rights surely won’t help them. Women will be reminded that Roe v. Wade could be just one conservative Supreme Court justice away from being overturned.

Donald Trump’s favorite Supreme Court Justice? Clarence Thomas.

Photo | insider.foxnews.com

This Time, VP Debate May be Worth The Watch

October 3, 2016 By John DeProspo 4 Comments

lloyd-bentsen-dan-quayle-vice-presidential-debate-oct-5-1988-8x6

The one, and only, vice presidential debate will be held tomorrow at Longwood University in Farmville, Virginia.

While vice presidential debates are normally as exciting as watching paint dry on a wall and as useless as an ejection seat in a helicopter, this debate between Republican Mike Pence and Democrat Tim Kaine could prove the exception to the rule.

Historically, vice presidential debates don’t move the needle much. A review of voter preferences before and after the eight vice presidential debates held between 1976 and 2008 “reveals that past vice presidential showdowns have had almost no influence,” a Gallup analysis found.

But it is safe to say there is nothing normal about this year’s presidential contest.

If for no other reason, it will be fun to watch the deeply religious Mike Pence defend someone being labeled the most vile, despicable and morally bereft candidate ever to seek the White House.

Mike Pence, if you recall, is the Indiana governor who signed one of the nation’s most odious anti-LGBT bills into law. All in the name of “religious freedom,” of course!

If we’re lucky, we may be treated to Lloyd Bentsen moment.

For all those too young to remember, Lloyd Bentsen was Michael Dukakis’s running mate in 1988. During the vice presidential debate with George H. W. Bush’s VP pick, Dan Quayle, Bentsen delivered one of the most memorable zingers of all time.

The young, unseasoned Dan Quayle foolishly likened his political experience to that of John F. Kennedy in one of his answers.

Not skipping a beat, Bentsen brilliantly retorted,” “I served with Jack Kennedy. I knew Jack Kennedy. Jack Kennedy was a friend of mine. Senator, you’re no Jack Kennedy.”

Proving that vice presidential debates do not amount to a hill of beans, even Bentsen’s winning performance against the dim-witted Quayle could not help Dukakis win the election.

If the Clinton campaign has any sense, it will advise Kaine to speak as little as possible. Let Pence try to defend the indefensible.

Photo | thisdayinquotes.com

Trump: “If Hillary Can’t Take Care Of Her Man…”

September 30, 2016 By John DeProspo 6 Comments

After Monday night’s first presidential debate, excitement is rapidly building for round two to be held on October 9 at Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri.

Anticipation has grown now that Donald Trump has declared it’s “no holds barred” next time around. The Republican nominee told Fox News he would “hit her harder” in their next encounter by raising the subject of former President Bill Clinton’s infidelities.

Two of Trump’s most trusted advisors, Rudy Giuliani and Newt Gingrich, have come up with what they believe is the perfect attack line against Hillary Clinton: “If she can’t take care of her man, how can she take care of the country?”

Giuliani and Gingrich know a thing or two about women who cannot satisfy their husbands. Each is on his third marriage.

Some Trump aides are counseling against bringing up the former president’s affairs and blaming his cheating on Hillary.

One Trump staff member, who chose to remain anonymous, said it is “just stupid to blame the victim. A man cheating on a woman is: 1) the man’s fault, 2) not in any way representative of the woman’s character, and 3) inexcusable.”

Many political analysts agree blaming a wife for her husband’s infidelity is a losing proposition. It will alienate women and could make Hillary a more sympathetic figure.

Donald Trump, however, is not a man guided by sound advice but by his gut instincts. Playing dirty and punching below the belt is what helped him defeat his 16 primary opponents. He sees no reason to change tactics now.

Trump knows he will have a hard time securing the women’s vote no matter what so he is looking to nail down the large, all-important “philanderer” vote.

Even Vladimir Putin called Trump ”brilliant.”

Photo | moommontchronicle.com

Eric Trump Praises His Dad For Not Acting Like A Dirtbag … For Once

September 29, 2016 By John DeProspo Leave a Comment

Eric Trump lauded his father for having the “courage” not to get into the gutter during last Monday’s first presidential debate.

Some kids will never forget when their dad taught them to throw a baseball or catch a football but at age 32, Eric Trump will “always remember” when is father so bravely refrained from mentioning former President Bill Clinton’s infidelity during the presidential debate.

Said Trump’s third child, “I mean, he very well could’ve looked down — and he said it when he came off the debate stage, ‘I wasn’t gonna respond to that question because I saw Chelsea [Clinton] in the front row and I just wasn’t gonna go there out of respect for her.’ That was a big moment for me and probably will actually become … something I’ll always remember.”

What made the moment so memorable to Trump’s last child with Ivana Trump was the shear fortitude it must have taken for his father to break character and not to be his usual disrespectful self.

The young Trump said he thought it took “a lot of courage in so many regards” for his father to take “the high road” instead of retaliating against Hillary Clinton when she attacked him for his past poor treatment of women. “I’m really proud of him for doing that,” said Trump’s second son.

I wonder if all that praise will go out the window after the second presidential debate.

Donald Trump has threatened to change tactics for the upcoming debates. The Republican presidential candidate told Fox News Tuesday morning he “may hit her harder” at the next debate, though he didn’t provide specifics.

In December, Trump told TODAY that Bill Clinton’s infidelity would be “fair game” for him to bring up if the Clinton family accused him of being awful to women.

“There was certainly a lot of abuse of women,” Trump said of Bill Clinton’s time in office. “You look at whether it’s Monica Lewinsky or Paula Jones or many of them. That certainly will be fair game. Certainly if they play the woman’s card with respect to me, that will be fair game.”

While Eric Trump may be proud of his father for temporarily taking the high road, this whole issue of marital infidelity is one that Trump himself is very familiar with.

Perhaps it wasn’t “courage” that prevented Trump from attacking Hillary for her husband’s cheating (as if that has any bearing on her ability to be an effective leader) but knowing the well-prepared Hillary would have been ready to hit him back with all his many well-publicized “indiscretions.”

Photo | abcnews.go.com

Donald Trump Too Smart To Pay Taxes À La Leona Helmsley?

September 28, 2016 By John DeProspo 2 Comments

In what was arguably the most surreal moment during Monday night’s first presidential debate, Donald Trump, in effect, admitted to not paying taxes.

The well-prepared Hillary Clinton knew the moderator, Lester Holt, would bring up the issue of Trump’s returns and she was ready to pounce.

After Trump repeated his stock answer that he cannot release his returns while under IRS audit, Clinton said, “… maybe he doesn’t want the American people, all of you watching tonight, to know that he’s paid nothing in federal taxes, because the only years that anybody’s ever seen were a couple of years when he had to turn them over to state authorities when he was trying to get a casino license, and they showed he didn’t pay any federal income tax.”

At that point, Trump just couldn’t help being Trump. He had to get a word in edgewise.

“That makes me smart,” interjected the Republican presidential candidate.

But he wasn’t finished.

Clinton went on to add, “So if he’s paid zero, that means zero for troops, zero for vets, zero for schools or health. And I think probably he’s not all that enthusiastic about having the rest of our country see what the real reasons are, because it must be something really important, even terrible, that he’s trying to hide.”

Clinton speculated, “and maybe because you haven’t paid any federal income tax for a lot of years.”

Trump, well-known for doubling down on his blunders, reinforced the belief he does not pay taxes by implying such a civic duty is a waste.

“It would be squandered, too, believe me,” said the purported billionaire.

Donald Trump brings to mind another flamboyant New York real estate developer who years ago was convicted of tax evasion, Leona Helmsley. Known as the “Queen of Mean,” she was notorious for stiffing her employees and contractors. A woman of immense wealth, she took pleasure in “nickeling and diming” just about anyone, from her housemaid to major construction companies. But her greatest joy, of course, was stiffing the U.S. Treasury Department. She will forever be remembered as having bragged, “Only little people pay taxes.”

Leona Helmsley was convicted and received a 16 year sentence. However, she was required to serve only 19 months in prison and two months under house arrest.

Why the media hasn’t made Trump’s admission of possible tax evasion a bigger story is hard to understand. In a normal world, a politician who refuses to release his tax returns and brags about being too smart to pay taxes would be the target of a criminal investigation and not be one step away from becoming the chief executive of the land.

Photo | hlntv.com