Merge, two different things...Hillary still in the lead and hers to lose if the email scandal magically goes away. I just think she's a horrible option as a President...has the poorest character of all candidates and hasn't accomplished anything (unless we are counting frequent flier mileage earned).
Seton 75
- Thread starter HALL85
- Start date
The Trump plan assumes massive growth (because of the incentives/penalties to business for bringing jobs back). I think you're right...people only think about how it effects them personally.
Just some off the cuff speculation
1. Cutting taxes to the 1% doesn't get you too many votes and costs you votes from the other 99% who only see it as a tax cut for the rich
2. Cutting taxes at the bottom is good. The question is how many additional people become "tax free". The people at the very bottom are already not paying taxes. Then he has to convert that group into votes.
3. The best way to attack Trump will be to ask where is the relief for the middle class? I am glad he's helping the poor and even if I take his word that lowering the tax for the rich trickles down to the middle class, it would be nice to have a direct bone thrown to that large middle group.
Just to play devils advocate, I don't see Romney entering the race at any point. In a general election I don't see much of a difference between Clinton/Bush or Clinton/Romney. In both cases, even moderate Democrats that don't love Clinton will hold their nose, vote for her and hope for the best. I think a more likely scenario will be party elites moving their support away from Bush and towards Rubio. Rubio offers voters a clear difference from Clinton that neither Bush nor Romney will be able to claim.
Not sure if you have seen the full plan yet but there is a fairly large middle class tax cut.
Fyi - Just saw the first analysis pop up
http://ctj.org/ctjreports/2015/09/t...an_10_trillion_over_10_years.php#.Vgmab8tViko
They claim a 10 trillion dollar price tag for this plan over 10 years.
Thanks for finding the analysis. I am sure there will be more. And yes, I just went to the Trump website for the full plan. As far as i can tell, the biggest winners at the lower levels are the people the CTJ calls the middle 20%. They receive a tax savings of $2,571 on average, certainly not chump change (although some might call it Trump change. Rimshot).
The question remains, how are we financing what the CTJ says on average will cost the government $1 Trillion dollars per year. Per Trump's website, "With this huge reduction in rates, many of the current exemptions and deductions will become unnecessary or redundant." I interpret that to mean someone who no longer has to file a tax return because the filing threshold is higher will also no longer qualify for the goodies the government doles out (Earned Income Credit, for instance). At the end of the day, if you cut my taxes to zero but that is offset by a reduction in credits, i didn't really receive a tax cut; I am still not paying any tax, just in a different way.
The plan also calls for the elimination of the marriage penalty, the Alternative Minimum tax and the Death Tax. Impressive stuff if he can pull it off. The marriage penalty affects everyone but the Alt Min Tax and Death tax are, generally speaking, savings for people in the upper echelon of tax payers.
I am also concerned by this "one-time deemed repatriation of corporate cash held overseas at a significantly discounted 10% tax rate." As i understand it, there are 2.5 trillion corporate dollars tied up overseas. At 10% that is $250 billion in tax revenue which is not chump change (even for Trump) but far short of the $10 trillion of tax revenue we supposedly are losing. In any event, it is a one time thing so as a practical matter he will eventually have to replace that revenue stream with some other revenue.
Repub party elders seem to be beside themselves with the fear of a Trump candidacy. They are rumored to be getting together to sabotage him, which will insure the next pres is a Dem cause Trump will run third party of they f around with him regardless of his earlier pledge.
You reading the Enquirer again?? lol
I still wonder what Trump's end game is....bringing up 9/11 and Bush didn't seem smart to me, but then again, trashing McCain, Mexican's and Carly's face didn't seem very smart either...what do I know. Regardless, the Rep's should be kissing Donald's hair weave...the country actually now knows who Carson, Rubio, Kasich, Fiorino, etc. are...he put fannies in the seats for the debates, while the Dem debate was a snooze (thank you Mets!), with Hillary, Bernie and three other guys.
I don't see Trump doing the third party thing. That's a whole different playbook and he'll have to use his own money.
You reading the Enquirer again?? lol
I still wonder what Trump's end game is....bringing up 9/11 and Bush didn't seem smart to me, but then again, trashing McCain, Mexican's and Carly's face didn't seem very smart either...what do I know. Regardless, the Rep's should be kissing Donald's hair weave...the country actually now knows who Carson, Rubio, Kasich, Fiorino, etc. are...he put fannies in the seats for the debates, while the Dem debate was a snooze (thank you Mets!), with Hillary, Bernie and three other guys.
I don't see Trump doing the third party thing. That's a whole different playbook and he'll have to use his own money. You get a lot of air time when you are outrageous and leading in the polls. As a third party, he won't be leading and the outrage won't be as newsworthy.
IMO, nothing wrong with the 911 comments. His bro said W kept us safe. But 911 was on his watch. Trump never said it was his fault, but it was on his watch. (And he did hire defense people more knowledgeable on the USSR.) Jeb asked if FDR was to blame for Pearl Harbor? Well, he was a helluva lot more to blame than Cal Coolidge and Warren G. And try as I may, I have not yet seen a repub say how Obama kept us safe. If no attacks here is the test, he is golden. lol When DT gets after it with Jeb, to me it looks like a tough kid on the street and some pansy rich kid trading words. Jeb's ineffectualness has really shocked me. W had balls and some wit (though few good ideas...). Jeb is a blah.
If Don sees it as them screwing him, I think he will run 3rd party just to f them. Funny thing about Carly's face (I mean beyond how it looks...lol)...she made a catty comment about Barbara Boxer when she ran for that Senate seat, criticizing her hair. Carly is a nothing in this race. I don't see it but Rubio seems to be making his presence known. Kasich I hope gets some steam.
You reading the Enquirer again?? lol
I still wonder what Trump's end game is....bringing up 9/11 and Bush didn't seem smart to me, but then again, trashing McCain, Mexican's and Carly's face didn't seem very smart either...what do I know. Regardless, the Rep's should be kissing Donald's hair weave...the country actually now knows who Carson, Rubio, Kasich, Fiorino, etc. are...he put fannies in the seats for the debates, while the Dem debate was a snooze (thank you Mets!), with Hillary, Bernie and three other guys.
I don't see Trump doing the third party thing. That's a whole different playbook and he'll have to use his own money. You get a lot of air time when you are outrageous and leading in the polls. As a third party, he won't be leading and the outrage won't be as newsworthy.
Nothing wrong with Trump's 9/11 comments. I've never understood the "Bush kept us safe" line. Don't tell that to the families of the 3,000 people who were murdered that day.
It sure seems like the GOP race will come down to Trump, Carson, Rubio and maybe Bush. Of the four, I think Carson is least likely to get the nod. It's hard for me to differentiate the other three when it comes to their staying power.
With Biden staying out of the race, Hillary's path to the nomination has been paved. Speaking of Biden, it's funny that he announced he wasn't running then went on a 10 minute speech that sounded 100% like a candidate.
It sure seems like the GOP race will come down to Trump, Carson, Rubio and maybe Bush. Of the four, I think Carson is least likely to get the nod. It's hard for me to differentiate the other three when it comes to their staying power.
With Biden staying out of the race, Hillary's path to the nomination has been paved. Speaking of Biden, it's funny that he announced he wasn't running then went on a 10 minute speech that sounded 100% like a candidate.
I think Biden's speech was more of a victory lap than a campaign speech. Seemed like it was a combination of I'm not running and that also VP would be his last public gig. As much as I disagree with Biden, after 45+ years in the public sector, the last couple of weeks gave him some time in the limelight and he got some attention for his last hurrah...good for him. As Obama's second term winds down, it's going to be all about Barry and Biden is going to get pushed to the back stage.
The "My brother kept us safe" was Jeb's response to Trump's comments. Maybe I'm a little sensitive to 9/11 comments because of how it effected me personally, so I take Trump's comments in poor taste.
I think Biden's speech was more of a victory lap than a campaign speech. Seemed like it was a combination of I'm not running and that also VP would be his last public gig. As much as I disagree with Biden, after 45+ years in the public sector, the last couple of weeks gave him some time in the limelight and he got some attention for his last hurrah...good for him. As Obama's second term winds down, it's going to be all about Barry and Biden is going to get pushed to the back stage.
The "My brother kept us safe" was Jeb's response to Trump's comments. Maybe I'm a little sensitive to 9/11 comments because of how it effected me personally, so I take Trump's comments in poor taste.
In somewhat breaking news, Lincoln Chaffee has ended his Presidential Campaign and has asked the 0% (that's correct z-e-r-o) of his supporters to back Clinton. Clinton should be free to sail to the nomination now.
lol. Guess he never got you .(..horrible option, not person...). I am no Hillary fan. But she was a US Senator and Secretary of State. She was a powerful lawyer. I heard a military guy aligned with Jeb say she was the quickest study on security matters of any one in the Senate. Her resume tops mine...
and the republicans have pretty much gift-wrapped the election for her between McCarthy's comments and the complete mess of a hearing yesterday. Hillary comes out looking significantly better than if they would have never investigated at all.
Kind of mind boggling that we have spent more time investigating Benghazi than 9/11.
Kind of like the Bridgegate witchhunt… LOL. Partisan politics at its worst on both sides.
I don't think this hearing and outcome will affect the election one way or another. The people that love Hillary love her even more. The people that don't trust her still don't trust her and will vote elsewhere. I doubt yesterday changes any of that. Plus I think the bigger thing she needs to worry about is the FBI investigation. It's a long way off until next year.
Bridgegate = after two years we still can't find a direct link to Christie. Lets wrap it up.
Benghazi = After a bunch of investigations, no one has found the cover up. Lets wrap it up.
Email= Clinton was an idiot for taking the server private. Leave cyber security to the government. When they screw it up you can blame them. However, i am not sure just what the FBI is investigating.
Benghazi = After a bunch of investigations, no one has found the cover up. Lets wrap it up.
Email= Clinton was an idiot for taking the server private. Leave cyber security to the government. When they screw it up you can blame them. However, i am not sure just what the FBI is investigating.
My problem with Christie (who I voted for) is not Bridgegate, but rather that he stopped being Governor of NJ the day he decided that he was running for President.
TK
It's true. today's politicians now vote for what is best for their party not what is best for the country. I've been reading a book on the lead up to WW2 and the battle between the isolationists and the interventionists. One person who comes out great was GOP Presidential candidate Wendell Wilkie. When FDR found a loophole in the "Neutrality Act" that enabled him to send military equipment to Great Britain, the isolationists of both parties were screaming for Wilkie to go after the President on this issue. Wilkie refused saying " I am an American first and a Republican second. The President is doing the right thing here". Where is that kind of patriotism & leadership today ?
Tom K
We'll see. I'm not a fan of Hillary but after watching some of the hearing yesterday I had a better impression of her than the day before.
She looked intelligent, poised and presidential.
I have seen that sentiment echoed from some of the sites I read.
That kind of leadership will not get you elected, or get you voted out of office by a primary challenger in the current political climate.
Really hoped that Christie could have run on that type of platform. He was even given the opportunity during the 1st debate with the Obama hug comments.
The isolationist/interventionist debate was a huge problem back then and very nearly cost us the war. The story of how FDR moved the nation towards war is fascinating and is still relevant today. The extreme right wing of the Republican party sort of kidnapped the more mainstream Republican portion over this issue. It seems not much has changed in 75 years.
I've been on record here saying I will not vote for Hillary under any circumstances. That remains true and will not change. But I actually felt bad for her yesterday. What a ridiculous hearing. Congressmen/women with agendas on both sides. How pathetic was it when Gowdy and Cummings were shouting at each other? Both are at fault.
Exactly. And these idiots can't figure out why Congress has such a low approval rating. They think they are reality TV show celebrities and their constituents want to see them act like juveniles.
Seriously! What is wrong with these people? Rubio might have absolutely just killed his chances. Are conservative voters going to be ok with walking away from your job because you aren't running for reelection?
Carson? Good lord, how does anyone take him seriously as a politician at this point? Brilliant surgeon obviously but beyond that is absolutely crazy. I love Lindsay Graham's quote "On our side, you've got the No. 2 guy tried to kill someone at 14 and the No. 1 guy is high energy and crazy as hell, How am I losing to these people?"
Looking forward to the next debate. Should get very interesting with the recent comments.
Sadly, right now there is no bottom of the barrel for the non-politcians that are running as far as the republican base is concerned. Carson & Trump do better the dumber they look to serious people. The voters that will be coming out in the primaries (or at least saying so now when polled) do not care what racist, ugly or just plain mind-numbingly moronic or naive things these guys say. They aren't politicians, so they are getting their votes. That's why the one serious adult in the room on the right, Kasich, can't make any headway despite having a decent record of accomplishments.
Another way to look at it… The top for polling for presidency today: Clinton, Sanders, Trump, Carson. Good luck America.
I guess that shows how stupid the American public has gotten. Experience and integrity, two things you would think would be critical for the position don't seem to matter. Two candidates who have never served in any office or political capacity; One candidate who the public indicate dishonesty when using word association; and one candidate who is a self-proclaimed socialist. You can't make this crap up. I don't care what your political affiliation is. But tell me you feel proud of this bunch.
I guess that shows how stupid the American public has gotten. Experience and integrity, two things you would think would be critical for the position don't seem to matter. Two candidates who have never served in any office or political capacity; One candidate who the public indicate dishonesty when using word association; and one candidate who is a self-proclaimed socialist. You can't make this crap up. I don't care what your political affiliation is. But tell me you feel proud of this bunch.
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