It seems at every turn, Donald Trump is sabotaging whatever chance he has of winning the presidency. Instead of pivoting towards the general election after clinching his party’s nomination, he remains stuck in the campaign style that brought him to the dance. Going against his own staff’s advice and the hopes of the Republican powers that be, Trump just keeps doubling down on his divisive rhetoric, committing one unforced error after another.

Since becoming his party’s presidential nominee, Trump has belittled the Muslim parents of a fallen soldier; suggested his “Second Amendment” people would prevent a President Clinton from appointing liberal Supreme Court justices; and, most recently, made the absurd claim President Obama is the actual founder of ISIS.

It is no wonder why more and more members of his own party are abandoning ship. The man just can’t find the resolve, or the desire, to change his ways.

“He can’t simply continue to preach to the choir and think he’s going to put together a coalition that will win the White House,” said Ryan Williams, a party strategist and former aide to 2012 GOP nominee Mitt Romney. “He’s essentially guaranteeing that he will lose by refusing to clean up his mistakes and stop committing future ones.”

Some are calling Trump the candidate of self-destruction.

However, there are still those who believe Trump, even with his hateful form of campaigning, can win the White House. Hillary Clinton’s high negatives give the self-proclaimed billionaire a puncher’s chance.

Which raises the scary thought of a thin-skinned, erratic and vindictive Donald Trump as the nation’s commander in chief.

“I think anyone who listens to what Donald Trump has to say on foreign policy should be concerned, “said John Noonan, a former nuclear missile officer (and former adviser to Mitt Romney and Jeb Bush). “This is not the first time that he has talked about nuclear weapons in a reckless manner. Remember, he was interested in maybe having Japan or South Korea leave the U.S. nuclear umbrella and develop nuclear weapons of their own. That is contrary to decades’ worth of nuclear weapons policy and is, frankly, a terrible and dangerous idea.”

While many Americans have no problem with Trump being the candidate of self-destruction, they are terrified with Trump as the man with the nuclear launch keys. They rightly fear Trump as the candidate of mass destruction.

Photo | markamerica.com

The GOP is undoubtedly in meltdown mode. Many Republicans are refusing to support their party’s presidential nominee, while others are officially abandoning the Party of Lincoln.

Like other Americans of conscience, Chris Ladd, Texas Republican and founder of the website goplifer.com, is leaving his political party of thirty years. Below is his letter of resignation as a York Township Republican committeeman:

“The Iraq War, the financial meltdown, the utter failure of supply-side theory, climate denial, and our strange pursuit of theocratic legislation have all been troubling. Yet it seemed that America’s party of commerce, trade, and pragmatism might still have time to sober up.  

Remaining engaged in the party implied a contribution to that renaissance, an investment in hope. Donald Trump has put an end to that hope.

From his fairy-tale wall to his schoolyard bullying and his flirtation with violent racists, Donald Trump offers America a singular narrative – a tale of cowards. Fearful people, convinced of our inadequacy, trembling before a world alight with imaginary threats, crave a demagogue. Neither party has ever elevated to this level a more toxic figure, one that calls forth the darkest elements of our national character.

With three decades invested in the Republican Party, there is a powerful temptation to shrug and soldier on. Despite the bold rhetoric, we all know Trump will lose. Why throw away a great personal investment over one bad nominee? Trump is not merely a poor candidate, but an indictment of our character. Preserving a party is not a morally defensible goal if that party has lost its legitimacy.”

“Fast-forward to our present leadership and the nature of our dilemma is clear. I watched Paul Ryan speak at Donald Trump’s convention the way a young child watches his father march off to prison. Thousands of Republican figures that loathe Donald Trump, understand the danger he represents, and privately hope he loses, are publicly declaring their support for him. In Illinois our local and state GOP organizations, faced with a choice, have decided on complicity.


Our leaders’ compromise preserves their personal capital at our collective cost. Their refusal to dissent robs all Republicans of moral cover. Evasion and cowardice has prevailed over conscience. We are now, and shall indefinitely remain, the Party of Donald Trump.


I will not contribute my name, my work, or my character to an utterly indefensible cause. No sensible adult demands moral purity from a political party, but conscience is meaningless without constraints. A party willing to lend its collective capital to Donald Trump has entered a compromise beyond any credible threshold of legitimacy. There is no redemption in being one of the “good Nazis.”

I hereby resign my position as a York Township Republican committeeman. My thirty-year tenure as a Republican is over.”

Photo | videezy.com

Just when you think Trump couldn’t get any lower, out pops his golden shovel and the Republican presidential nominee just digs a deeper hole for himself.

No one knows what rock bottom is for the real estate tycoon, turned TV celebrity, turned cult leader, but suggesting his gun-loving, “Second Amendment” enthusiasts resort to gun violence in order to stop a President Clinton from appointing liberal judges has to be pretty close.

Of course, Trump’s rabid group of followers is defending him and blaming the media for deliberately misrepresenting his words in order to stir up a controversy where none exists.

Here are Donald Trump’s exact words:

“Hillary wants to abolish — essentially abolish the Second Amendment. By the way, if she gets to pick, if she gets to pick her judges, nothing you can do, folks. Although the Second Amendment people, maybe there is, I don’t know,” Trump said.

This is not the first time Trump has spoken about “Second Amendment” rights or remedies.

At an Arizona rally this past April, Trump told a cheering crowd, “We’re going to win with our Second Amendment. We’re gonna win big league with our Second Amendment!”

If you believe many Trump supporters are nothing more than textbook cultists hanging on to his every word, be worried … be very worried.

Trump may have once just been a bombastic buffoon and a great source of entertainment, but he has now clearly evolved into a national security threat. Realizing this, some responsible members of his own party are  determined to stop him at all costs.

By alienating moderate Republicans, independents, women, African-Americans, Hispanics, Asians, Muslims, the disabled, and veterans, there is no way Trump could ever win a general election.

So what could he possibly be thinking?

The one conclusion many have drawn from Trump’s dangerous and erratic behavior is that he is building up his base for a media empire to be created once he is crushed at the polls come November.

Of course, Trump will claim the system was rigged against him and that he’s still a winner. And his cultists will believe it.

(AP Photo)

The 2016 presidential election is unprecedented for a number of reasons. Republicans have a candidate who single-handedly, and without bloodshed or violence, hijacked the Party of Lincoln. A self-absorbed, self-described billionaire and political novice is carrying the GOP’s hope of regaining the White House.

For Democrats, we have a political candidate who has been around so long, and accumulated so much baggage, that her standard mode of transportation is not a limo but a semi. And oh, the Democratic presidential nominee is trying to become the nation’s first female Commander in Chief.

As unusual as this pair of presidential candidates may be, there is one singular fact that is truly unparalleled – with Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, we have two of the most disliked presidential candidates in U.S. history competing against one another!

While it not unusual for a candidate to be disliked by members of the opposing party, both Trump and Clinton are hated by a significant number of voters from within their own party!

According to RealClearPolitics averages, Trump has an unfavorable rating of 65 percent. Clinton has 55 percent.

It seems with each passing day, Republicans are running away from Trump like rats on the sinking Titanic. Not only are some refusing to endorse their party’s nominee or give him their vote, an ever-increasing number are publically stating they will vote for Clinton.

On the Democratic side, for many disappointed voters who supported the Bernie Sanders revolution, the game plan is to sit out the election or vote for Jill Stein, the Green Party candidate. Some diehard Bernie or Bust enthusiasts have even vowed to vote for Donald Trump.

With such a bizarre election cycle, the White House may go to the candidate with the least number of defections from within their own party!

The election of 2016 is shaping up as a field day for presidential historians.

Photo | abcnews.go.com

Speaking at last week’s Democratic National Convention, Sarah Silverman was roundly booed by Bernie or Bust supporters when she called for party unity.

The booing only increased when Silverman, a Bernie Sanders supporter, said, “Hillary is our Democratic nominee and I will proudly vote for her.” She concluded her speech by saying,” “As I continue to be inspired and moved to action by the ideals set for by Bernie, who will never stop fighting for us, I am proud to be a part of Bernie’s movement, and a vital part of that movement is making absolutely sure that Hillary Clinton is the next president of the United States.”

As the booing became mixed with chants of “Bernie! Bernie! Bernie!,” comedian Sarah Silverman had had enough.

“Can I just say to the Bernie or Bust people,” scolded Silverman, “you’re being ridiculous!”

Suffice it to say Sarah’s admonition to Bernie supporters did not go over well. She was labeled a traitor to the cause and an out of touch elite.

What Sarah failed to realize is that you do not change hearts and minds by belittling people. You do not get people to come around to your point of view by implying they are stubborn or stupid.

But perhaps Silverman’s attempt to talk sense to Bernie enthusiasts was an exercise in futility in the first place. It appears some Bernie supporters will never change their minds, no matter the reasoning. They will never vote for “Crooked Hillary” who they see as the embodiment of all that is wrong with our politics. Hillary to them is just another corrupt, untrustworthy establishment hack out to line her pockets and those of her Wall Street buddies. Regardless of what Bill may call her, Hillary, to them, is no “change-maker.”

The argument often used to get Bernie supporters to see the light – that their actions or inactions could lead to a President Trump – holds no sway. To them, if electing Trump hastens their political revolution, then bring it on!

Bernie or Bust supporters do not think they are being “ridiculous.” They see themselves as true, principled patriots – left wing Teabaggers, if you will. They believe they are involved in something bigger than any one person, even Bernie Sanders. That many of these revolutionaries are labeling Bernie a sell-out and fraud for endorsing Hillary tells you how passionate these people are about their movement.

The only good news for Democrats is that for every diehard Bernie or Bust voter who vows to sit out the election, vote for the opposing candidate or third party, there is an equal number (perhaps more) of Republicans threatening to do the same.

Photo | thegodlessliberal.blogspot.com

No matter how crazy, or dangerous, voting for Donald Trump may be, there are still millions of Americans who will cast their votes for the racist, narcissistic self-described billionaire. And there are millions of Bernie Sanders supporters who vow never to vote for Hillary Clinton, whether or not this makes a Trump presidency more likely.

Here is a reprint of an article by a passionate, diehard Bernie supporter, Amanda MacDonald,  on why she is voting for Hillary:

I want to talk about our candidate Bernie. He’s a man who has been loyal to his causes and political beliefs for his entire life. He has integrity, boundless determination, and seemingly endless hope for the overall good in human nature. He’s been in the right side of history, almost without fail, for his entire political career. He’s been right about how the tides of our country are changing for decades. He’s never strayed from his message, he’s never said he was anything he wasn’t, and that is why we all rallied behind him, isn’t it?

Bernie woke us all up to how gritty and oftentimes nasty the world of politics is, and refused to run his campaign the same way as his running mates, so that his campaign could remain honest and focused on the issues he champions. Bernie told us who he is, and never wavered in his honesty about it once. He walks the walk. That is why the people of Vermont voted for him time and time again, and why we all voted for him in the primary.

It felt like finally, just maybe we could all have a Presidential candidate that was honest. A candidate who when we filled out our ballots, we didn’t have to cringe. But he lost. He won’t be the candidate. There are factors in that loss that irk me: stories of voter suppression, the DNC emails, super delegates declaring for Hillary Clinton before she even announced her candidacy. The loss doesn’t feel clean. Hillary’s win doesn’t feel clean to me.

And I am angry. I feel like the wool has been taken away from my eyes and the Clinton campaign is asking me to close them once more. I know a lot of you are angry. I don’t blame you for it one bit. I won’t ask you to get over it, and I won’t ask you to forget how you feel right now. But I also want to talk about this election, because it may just be the most important election of our lifetime. 

I desperately want to be Bernie or Bust. I want to stand up to corrupt politics and say “No more”. But the more I think about it, the more I don’t think I can. There is too much at stake. Mike Pence swore yesterday that if Donald Trump is elected “We’ll see Roe vs. Wade consigned to the ash heap of history where it belongs.” And it could happen. There is one Supreme Court Justice position open. There are probably going to be more openings during the next presidency. The Court is split evenly right now. If a conservative Justice is appointed, it is highly likely that Mike Pence’s vow will come to fruition; just look at what he’s done in his own state. I don’t want women to lose their right to their own bodies. So I can’t be Bernie or Bust.

The RNC platform this year is incredibly unfriendly to the LGBTQ community. The platform states that adopted children should be raised in a “traditional household” and that parents can force their LGBTQ children into conversion therapy. The platform also states that marriages should be between one man and one woman only. The RNC had its first openly gay person on its platform committee this year, and she begged them to include people like her in the platform. They voted against her 112-30. So I cannot bring myself to be Bernie or Bust, because I can’t risk losing equal marriage rights. How am I supposed to look my friends in the eye and tell them I failed to fight for them, if their marriage rights disappear?

There are many, many more reasons why that as much as I want to, I cannot be Bernie or Bust. But this next one is the one I most want to stress: Bernie Sanders told us exactly how to continue his political revolution. He wants all of us to get involved, to run for local government, and work our way up. Because that is how you get a legitimate third party. That is how you change the game. Bernie Sanders knows that real change doesn’t happen overnight, and he’s been playing the long game for his entire career. He’s asked us to play the long game too. He told us from the beginning that he would support the Democratic Nominee, even if it wasn’t him, and we screamed out against it when he followed through on that promise. But wasn’t his integrity why we followed him in the first place?

Bernie Sanders is a brilliant politician, and he’s been running as an outsider for his entire career. He’s very good at it and even he has come out and warned against voting for a third party in this election. I ask again for all of my Bernie Sanders supporter friends to look back at his record of being on the right side of history and of speaking out in warning before gigantic political mistakes were made. He has endorsed Hillary Clinton, and spoken of his own volition that he believes “…that, at this moment, our country, our values, and our common vision for a transformed America, are best served by the defeat of Donald Trump and the election of Hillary Clinton.” Historically when a candidate like Donald Trump is elected, in the next election people don’t swing wildly in the opposite direction. They move center. Center is a step away from his movement. So if Bernie Sanders believes that electing Hillary Clinton is the best way to achieve his vision, shouldn’t we give him the benefit of the doubt? Or do we abandon his revolution at the very moment it needs us the most?

Hillary Clinton is not my candidate. I know for a lot of you she isn’t yours either. But I trust Bernie. He hasn’t stopped fighting for his revolution. He hasn’t given up. So I won’t give up on him. I’m going to trust that he knows what he’s doing, and I implore you all think about whether or not you do too.

Let’s get involved, let’s run for local office, and let’s start building the party we want from the ground up. We’ve got the organization, and the motivation, and if we bite the bullet this time, we might have a real shot at making it the next time around.

So I am #StillSanders, even if it means #ImWithHer.

I know this might make me a target, and some of you might be upset, (Bernie, this next gray hair is for you buddy) but if you think I might be on to something, please share this around. It’s all I can ask.

– Amanda MacDonald, July 31, 2016, ReverbPress

Photo | thelibertarianrepublic.com

The “King of the Tweets,” let it be known a few days ago he is unhappy with the presidential debate schedule:

Of course Trump’s claim is bogus. The debate schedule was determined almost a year ago by the nonpartisan Commission on Presidential Debates, a private group made up of both Republicans and Democrats. The Commission announced the number, dates and sites for the 2016 general election debates in September 2015.

So why complain now?

Some political observers are speculating this latest tantrum may be the first step in Trump eventually backing out of debating Clinton.

Could Trump actually skip the debates? Isn’t he required to show?

The answers are “yes” and “no.”

Yes, just as with releasing tax returns, a candidate’s decision to participate in the presidential debates is completely voluntary. And, no, there is no law that requires a candidate to debate.

Of course a presidential candidate who refuses to debate would be committing political suicide. The attack ads would be out the following day branding the “no-show” candidate a coward.

But Trump is not your typical presidential candidate. And this has become an election year where all rules are thrown out the window, Trump may think his loyal followers ( and those leaning in his direction) will treat his not showing up for the debates the same way they’ve reacted to his not releasing his tax returns – who cares!

The talk on the street is that Trump will not release his tax returns because he is betting this will cause him less harm than if he were to put them out. In the same way, the political calculus might be that Trump would be better off skipping the debates than to get on a debate stage with the consummate politician and policy wonk, Hillary.

Then, of course, it is unlikely any presidential debate moderator would allow Trump to answer “we are going to look into that” or “we will make America great again, believe me.”

Photo | thehill.com

Republicans hate “Crooked Hillary.” But their Clinton-hatred does not match the level of animus felt by some Bernie Sanders supporters towards the former secretary of state.

Now that Hillary has chosen a middle-of-the-road political insider, Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine, as her running mate, their hopes of ever embracing Clinton have faded fast. About the only way avid Sanders supporters were ever going to get behind Hillary would have been an Elizabeth Warren VP pick or, perhaps, the ghost of Che Guevara.

The fact that Bernie Sanders has endorsed Hillary Clinton for president has not diminished the lust for revolution among Sanders diehards.

It is being estimated that about 30,000 to 50,000 protestors will be gathering at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia to protest Kaine’s selection as Hillary’s running mate, a man seen by many Bernie loyalists as just another Wall Street lackey.

But beyond protesting what they believe to be a bad VP pick, there are still some Sanders dreamers who think he can win the Democratic presidential nomination. They point to the fact that Bernie has not yet conceded the race to Hillary. They are still holding on to a thread of hope that a big showing in Philadelphia will persuade super delegates committed to Clinton to vote for Sanders.

During the lead up to the Republican National Convention, there was much talk about major protests, and violence, outside the convention hall. While there were some flare ups, the protests and violence were basically contained.

How ironic if the large-scale protests predicted for the RNC take place at the DNC, which starts tomorrow at the Philadelphia Convention Center.

“If Clinton has reached out to Bernie supporters, it appears that she has done so to stick triangulating thumbs in their eyes,” said Norman Solomon, the coordinator of a group billing itself as the Bernie Delegates Network. Solomon has called Kaine, “a loyal servant of oligarchy.”

It is hard to predict how many true Bernie revolutionaries there are. Whether or not Hillary can convince them she is the best hope for change remains to be seen. Certainly the pressure is on Clinton to stop this group of Bernie fanatics from either sitting out the election, voting Trump or voting third party.

Photo | abcnews.go.com

Trump likes to portray himself as a friend of the LGBTQ community. He made history last Thursday night with an explicit pledge to protect LGBTQ people during his speech accepting the GOP presidential nomination.

But while many are praising Trump for this rare act of inclusiveness, a close reading of what Trump actually said (and didn’t say) paints a totally different picture.

Referring to the Orlando shooting at a gay nightclub a few weeks ago, Trump said, “As your president, I will do everything in my power to protect our LGBTQ citizens from the violence and oppression of a hateful foreign ideology. Believe me.”

Yes, Trump may want to protect our LGBTQ community from foreign terrorists, but what about the more immediate threat from domestic terrorists?

Trump does not believe in federal protections for LGTBQ people, opting instead for a “state’s rights” solution. He is perfectly OK with states deciding whether transgender people may use restrooms matching their gender identity; he has no problem with states trying to restrict same-sex marriages; he has no issue with states trying to make discrimination legal by passing “religious freedom” laws.

One of the most restrictive of those “religious freedom” laws was passed in Indiana this past March. The law, called the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, prohibited state and local laws that “substantially burden” the ability of people — including businesses and associations — to follow their religious beliefs. In other words, a business could now discriminate against anyone that offended the owner’s “deeply held religious beliefs” without fear of being sued. Now, a person’s religious beliefs trumped another person’s federally guaranteed rights.

And who was the governor that signed this anti-LGBTQ, pro-discrimination bill into law? Mike Pence, Donald Trump’s vice presidential pick.

Try as he might, many inside and outside the LGBTQ community are not buying Trump’s professed humanity and decency. Well except, perhaps, for a curious subset of Republicans.

Gregory Angelo, the president of the Log Cabin Republicans, which represents LGBT Republicans, has said, “Donald Trump here is showing leadership on LGBT issues and we haven’t seen that from Republican presidential nominees in decades. Certainly we’ve never seen a nominee so directly engage with and seek the support from LGBT voters.”

Trump’s chances of attracting members of the LGBTQ community to his camp are about as great as those of attracting blacks. Latinos and Muslims.

Photo | usatoday.com

There is nothing presumptive about Donald Trump anymore. After yesterday’s roll call vote of delegates, the political novice and self-described multi-billionaire IS the Republican Party’s 2016 presidential candidate.

What began as a joke to many political observers, is now the standard bearer of a major political party. The man who launched his run for the presidency by riding down an escalator with his beautiful wife, now carries the GOP’s hope of regaining the White House. The man who on the day he announced his candidacy claimed Mexico was sending us “their criminals, drug dealers and rapists” is the Republicans’ pick to unify a divided country.

In case political amnesia sets in, here is a list of how some Republicans have described their 2016 presidential candidate:

Rick Perry: Trump is a “cancer on conservatism.”

Marco Rubio: “We’re on the verge of having someone take over the conservative movement who is a con artist.”

Ted Cruz: “This man is a pathological liar. He doesn’t know the difference between truth and lies. He lies practically every word that comes out of his mouth.”

Chris Christie: “Showtime is over. We are not electing an entertainer-in-chief. Showmanship is fun, but it is not the kind of leadership that will truly change America.”

Lindsey Graham: “He’s a race-baiting, xenophobic, religious bigot. He doesn’t represent my party. He doesn’t represent the values that the men and women who wear the uniform are fighting for. … He’s the ISIL man of the year.”

Carly Fiorina: “Donald Trump reminds me of the Kim Kardashian of politics.”

Mitt Romney: “Here’s what I know: Donald Trump is a phony, a fraud,”

Jeb Bush: Trump is “not a stupid guy, so I don’t assume he thinks that every Mexican crossing the border is a rapist. He’s doing this to inflame and incite and to draw attention, which seems to be the organizing principle of his campaign.”

Yes, politicians say all sorts of things during political campaigns. But do you notice a common theme here?

Out of a primary field of 17 candidates, Republicans have decided to go with their most divisive, disliked, least experienced, double-talking candidate of the bunch.

Word of warning to the many Republican politicians who have bought their tickets on the USS Titanic – there is a limited number of life boats.

Photo | chicagonow.com