America deserves much, much better than this and frankly, so does the rest of the free world.

It is kind of funny, though, once you're accepted you can't change anything so it's pointless worrying.

as i've said before, this only confirms my thesis that half of the US is racist, stupid or selfish. the perfect description of people who are able to fall for a conman.
http://www.slate.com/articles/business/the_bills/2015/09/trump_university_how_donald_trump_s_for_profit_seminar_company_allegedly.html

Actually for what it is worth, trump commands 40% of a party that represents some 45% of the US so it isn't clear that he tops 20% overall

It could be worse, of course. The Yanks are fortunate to have the right-wing Sanders brother running for President. Larry Sanders is a complete lunatic even on the Trump scale.

Policies on the Larry Sanders manifesto:
Abolish NATO
Abolish the Queen
Unilateral nuclear disarmament
(and I kid ye not) Giving animals a voice in policy-making

Cruz is funny too. He's even crazier than Trump :p

Don't worry, some of us are tryna bern it all down

Actually, with regards to Bernie, does his properly socialist British brother have any impact on his campaign, or is that largely left out? Also, with religion being a big aspect of American politics traditionally, does being Jewish play any part?

"Being that we live in a society that views "going viral" as an accomplishment, I'd say that in many ways we're getting exactly what we deserve. "


Most intelligent thing I've read in a while on here. That being said, essentially what you are saying is that Donald Trump is the most *brilliant* politician in a lifetime, because his entire campaign - which has cost him minimal cash - has been built on the idea of "going viral" with the exact rhetoric required to get people lined up behind him - republican, democrat and moderate alike. To deny that Trump has run a masterful campaign and tapped into the American psychosis would be to utterly fool yourself. Both parties and the media have done everything in their power to tear him down...and he side-steps, slaps them to the ground, goes to his own media channels to spread his message (ignoring/disregarding the "normal" media) and in so doing has discredited the entire political class on both sides, revealing them all to be just blabbering, brainless mouths who don't have a clue about the American people.

Not saying I support Trump -- I'm just saying that he is a master of media manipulation. And because of that, it's very probable that as eventual President, he may be able to bully Congress into passing his initiatives, because he will utterly destroy any opposition using his increasingly massive podium as President.

it means a very, very wild ride ahead for this country.

"Actually, with regards to Bernie, does his properly socialist British brother have any impact on his campaign, or is that largely left out?"
No. I've seen an article about him once, but that's literally the only I've ever heard of him. He isn't mentioned in any discussion I'm aware of, especially major and public discussion.

We hear almost nothing about Larry Sanders. There was a small news item about them disagreeing recently, but that's about it.

Bernie's Jewish upbringing is almost a non-factor right now, but it is still primary season. In the general election, it may become an issue, especially if either Cruz or Rubio, both of whom court religious conservatives, can stop Trump.

That's interesting. Is family generally left out of American political campaigns, or is it something that me be used against him or in his favour later?

Agreed with Jeff on the religion point. It could play a role in the general election, just as could his largely secular view on a lot of things. The Democrats will throw him around as being the first Jewish president just like they had the first Catholic president and the first black president, and the Republicans would likely have some backlash.

"That's interesting. Is family generally left out of American political campaigns, or is it something that me be used against him or in his favour later?"
That depends. If they're prominent American politicians or have major American spotlight before now, then they easily could. Like Bush and Clinton.

Bernie being Jewish is not really in play in the election here because the most powerful and influential Jews in America are on the Republican side with AIPAC, and Bernie doesn't flaunt his Jewish heritage much at all. However, there was a video that surfaced where at a Nevada caucus, a Hillary supporter told the room that they could not vote for "a socialist Jew" and upset a number of people in the process.

We're talking about 30% of the republican primary voters, which is considerably less than 1/2 the population.

I don't care for Trump's politics. He has however tapped into a feeling of marginalization by a portion of the population. The United States is not the only country with population making unfortunate decisions based on their own fears. The national Front in France has never been more popular, and was considered a contender in the last election. Geeters is popular in The Netherlands. Angela Merkel is facing growing difficulties in Germany for a humanitarian effort.

The United States has no corner on the scared xenophobic or crazy markets. It's nation of 350 million people, there is going to be a percentage with odd views.

So Bill Clinton will play a massive role in Hillary's campaign. But having a brother as a high ranking official in a foreign socialist political party might not?

If Larry Sanders were an American politician, we'd hear more about him. He's been in England for almost 50 years.

Americans do like hearing about political dynasties--Kennedy, Rockefeller, Roosevelt. It is our substitute for royalty in many ways. The Sanders family doesn't really have the glitz and glamour and doesn't get the attention since they're not super wealthy.

Believe in us. The American people will find a way -- we always do. Granted, there are times when radicals rise to power and misshapen the Maericsn perception, but in the end, change is slow and steady. Nobody is perfect, even though we try. We will find a way to make things right.

"Tapped into the American psychosis" is as good a description as any for what Trump has done. They say the heat can drive people mad, so I'm blaming global warming for this.

The most positive thing i've heard anybody say about trump is 'at least he knows who elects the president, he's talking to the people'

About how he is breaking with political convention and playing the system the way it was designed. With the people deciding, and that in itself is very popular with American people.

Also, this: http://politicalcompass.org/uselection2016

krellin: I'll give Trump excellent manipulator, but I'm going to reserve judgement on his political acumen until a later date. He's poked his nose in to politics before only to have it slapped, so beating this sad sack of Republican hopefuls doesn't put him in "brilliant" territory to me. If he wins the general (something that I have a hard time picturing the reality of), or even comes close, then I'd say he did a masterful job of politicking.

It's rich hearing this from redhouse after all he's done on these boards is bash Obama non-stop. Now he's here to tell us that he was wrong this whole time?

"Abolish NATO
Abolish the Queen
Unilateral nuclear disarmament
(and I kid ye not) Giving animals a voice in policy-making"

Good for him. Especially #1.

Out of curiosity, how does one go about "giving animals a voice in policy-making"?

http://usuncut.com/politics/idiocracy-writer-says-his-satire-of-america-has-become-reality/

"Out of curiosity, how does one go about "giving animals a voice in policy-making"?"

Probably by defending their rights and advocating for them when it comes to policy making. I didn't know Oct thought animal rights advocacy was humorous. Learn something new every day.

"Abolish NATO
Abolish the Queen
Unilateral nuclear disarmament
(and I kid ye not) Giving animals a voice in policy-making"

Have to say, these all sound quite nice to me.