One of my favorite lines from the 1989 movie, Batman, was the Joker’s explanation of his origins; he said to Batman, “You made me!”1
In a December 31, 2015, interview with National Public Radio, Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush gave a similar explanation for the political rise of Donald Trump, crediting President Obama with making it possible. Here is what Bush said:
I would argue that Donald Trump is, in a fact, a creature of Barack Obama. But for Barack Obama, Donald Trump’s effect would not be nearly as strong as it is. We’re living in a divided country right now and we need political leaders, rather than continuing to divide us as President Obama and Donald Trump do, to unite us.
Steve Inskeep of NPR put it this way:
In this bit of the interview, Bush aims to link Trump with Obama — which, if it were to work, is one of the most toxic things one Republican can do to another during a primary fight. Bush’s theory is that the president created an opening for a candidate such as Trump by making so many Republicans so enraged.
1”You idiot. You made me, remember? You dropped me into that vat of chemicals. That wasn’t easy to get over and don’t think that I didn’t try.”
— The Joker
The Joker’s hair reminds me a little of Trump.
@Doc re Bush said
[I would argue that Donald Trump is, in a fact, a creature of Barack Obama. But for Barack Obama, Donald Trump’s effect would not be nearly as strong as it is. We’re living in a divided country right now and we need political leaders, rather than continuing to divide us as President Obama and Donald Trump do, to unite us.]
I would argue that Donald Trump is, in a fact, a creature of Barack Obama made so by the near total support of [Establishment Republicans] who are now FREAKING OUT! because that support has their hundred million for Bush flushed down the toilet.
They simply are the JOKER’S play when he walked in, put a pencil in the head of one min boss, and told the other job bosses he wanted 50% to kill the Batman.
Trumps blown their mind!
So far in the 2010, 2012, and 2014 Elections [Establishment Republican] support for Obama has won over 1, 000 Elections across America.
They can’t comprehend losing the one they wanted most because America got on to their “using Obama” to win elections rather then stopping him to win elections.
Obama’s been the Best ESTABLISHMENT Republican, Republican’s have ever had.
Democrats are recognising how BAD they’ve been PUNKED too.
Only one way to beat Trump now, and that’s depict him as a Blowhard Birther.
To do that though, you’d have to support a True Birther whose made it a bi partison Constitutional Principle .. To contrast Trumps Blowhard Birther Status.
Only one Person in America with THAT kind of Record.
https://twitter.com/CodyRobertJudy/status/683848039304331265
Of course, 8 years of demonization, fearmongering, obstruction, and outright sabotage by the GOP (especially the leaders of its lunatic fringe) had nothing to do with people being enraged.
It looks kinda like Jeb! has figured out that his career is gutshot, so he’s strapping on a political suicide vest in hopes of taking Trump with him before he bleeds out.
My own opinion is that Jeb never really wanted to be President, and it shows. Sort of like his father when he campaigned for a second term: it was clear his heart wasn’t in it. I think people feel that.
Maybe he was wise enough to realize that he doesn’t want to be President of the current makeup of the Republican base.
That is an excellent observation. I think Jeb felt obligated to run since his last name is Bush but only if he is anointed as the nominee without having to do the dirty work of campaigning for the nomination. I imagine Jeb saw 2016 as “his turn” much like 2012 was Romney’s turn and McCain in 2008. Let’s face it Romney wasn’t up against anyone in the primaries who was a serious contender. Huckabee and Santorum were jokes. Trump really rained on Jeb’s coronation parade.
I am sure that the CEO crowd would love Jeb. He is their guy. He would put foxes in every regulatory hen house just like his brother did and appoint corporate whores like Roberts to SCOTUS. But Jeb is only in it if it’s given too him. He’s an entitlement kind of guy for life.
Dubya may have been a dumb as a weasel, but he had a natural cunning and rabid hungry side to him that sort of came through and appealed to the crypto-fascists.
Jeb OTOH is like a fattened weasel who can’t be bothered.
JEB is a waste. It would be a damn crying shame if the GOP were to nominate Bush. His posturing is very poor. Trump is right. JEB is a stiff and kind of “Low Energy”. We need to have someone come at Hillary Clinton with Both barrels. In 2008, Sarah Palin wanted to come at Obama with both barrels but the MCCain camp wouldn’t allow it and MCCain was wasted.
I have great compromise for JEB. JEB should quit the Presidential race and quickly restructure his campaign to do one thing – Run for Senate Seat of Florida because Rubio is stepping down. If JEB acts quickly, he would surely get the Senate seat handed to him on silver platter. If JEB has problem with Trump, he could become Trump’s Keeper (Congress is the President’s Keeper.)
Bush should leave Trump alone and let Trump do his thing and capture the presidency.
Trump has put almost all of GOP candidates through meat grinder and turned them to mush. It’s to put Hillary Clinton through her meat grinder.
Bozo the Clown was a “high energy” guy.
I believe the RNC encouraged Jeb to run as a way of trying to improve W’s very poor legacy. They were trying to pretend they weren’t embarrassed by W.
In December 2008 Conservatives gave W a 72% approval rating:
http://www.gallup.com/poll/113083/Conservative-Republicans-Still-Widely-Support-Bush.aspx
@Magic M [Maybe he was wise enough to realize that he doesn’t want to be President of the current makeup of the Republican base.]
Bingo! Deep in the Pocket of the [Establishment Republicans] comes the Truth.. They pretty much support Obama and aren’t conservatives of economics, and most social issues, and they really loved Obama’s Arab Springs war thrashing fueling the Military machinations pockets.
“If this election is about how we’re going to fight to get nothing done, then … I don’t want any part of it,” said Bush.
http://downtrend.com/71superb/jeb-bush-says-he-has-better-things-to-do-than-being-president-endorses-donald-trump
Trump’s playing the field pretty smart. Appealing to the R Base, but keeping the D cross-over vote enchanted with Entitlement Security.
Jeb got ahead of himself and just went for the cross overs without the Base.
That’s where @Reality Check ‘s comment is excellent..
[only if he is anointed as the nominee without having to do the dirty work of campaigning for the nomination]
Jeb’s a natural introverted rebel. That’s the annoit me with cash mentality. . no running around the track without pay.
Trump’s weakness is the “Gang Mentality” , if he sees a loss in the Crowd it wounds him to the core.
This is an Eminent Domain guy, that’s not that good on Individual Rights.
If you’re not with him , prepare to get squashed.
Democrats normally would be very concerned about that. But with Obama they have kind of evolved and morphed into the Trump Kingdom where those rights are not as important as they used to be.
Really I see the R field as unqualified and weak. They are exposed, running thin unqualified Candidates, and a Bully is leading in the Polls.
Trumps reputation for quick deals is a weakness. If a deal goes sour he bails. .and gets out of Atlanta.
That’s gonna be a rough riding Presidency if we are saddeled up with it.
With what? Some SPETSNAZ borrowed from his new buddy Putin?
60% of the electorate have an “unfavorable” view of Trump. 50% say they’d be “embarrassed” to have him as president. And most of them haven’t had enough exposure to his antics to get really sick of him yet, so it’s only going to get worse.
there were 2 very important things the GOP miscalculated with palin
the first was seeing her appeal to RW conservatives and not realising that it was more down to the `Caribou Barbie’ image, and though she was devious and bloody minded enough for state politics, as far as national and international politics were concerned she was totally clueless.
the second was possibly the most important demographic in any election – the swing voter. swing voters will vote according to how they percieve a candidate will help them on a personal level, and as a result will vote dem in one election, and GOP in the next.
swing voters do not respond to extremism favourably (hence why the GOP will not run trump) and tend to shy away from it.
many listened to palin, and got to thinking about mc cain’s health, and the possibility of palin being president if he became ill they found terrifying.
if the GOP do decide to run with trump, i’d be inclined to think they were deliberately throwing the election.
The calculation of Democrats that Hillary can beat Trump as the R Nominee with the consideration Democrats have a corination going on, and there’s a blood fight over in the Republican camp is grossly miscalculated. . speaking of the “`Caribou Barbie’ image Roadrunner.
“and if Hillary gets it, he will dig up everything in the past 40 years and use it — and won’t mince words in using it.”
http://m.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/jan/3/democrats-unsure-hillary-clinton-can-beat-donald-t/
Any poll comforting Democrats now takes into account a divided GOP Primary Race and a Coranation DNC Race.
It’s defying common sense with the circumstances Americans comprehend now, that TRUST word blows sky high in Hillary’s word-salad.
I’m not even sure Democrats are aware of the Trouncing a junk-yard dog gives a primped poodle in a cage match they think rules will help?
The carnage and disbelief is so overwhelmingly embarrassing. Scratching their heads at a realization of how far out they’ve strayed from MainStream America will be an undertaking of years.
Democrats don’t want Debate from Bernie or O’Malley, they want a polite Date Night.
The real cage of R and D nominee will be cringing to watch with Trump and Hillary.. Cringing! You wanna see what Trump does to Hillary before hand, put CRJ in a Democratic Party Debate.
They are scared to.. Because the Truth hurts so bad.
Obama even knows..
All you have to do to beat Hillary in a Presidential Debate is begin every sentence with..
“It’s really hard to Trust you… Hillary”
Boom! Debate Won! In fact you could even do that with a little W-twinge in your statement and it would sail out the ball park.
Democrats are just thrilled about how good their horse looks against.. ? SMH Oh boy.. McCain v. Obama bring any memories back?
you dont actually live in the real world, do you?
@Roadburner [you dont actually live in the real world, do you?]
Are you talking about the real world that has a STATE CONTROLLED Breaker Box that blows for the rest of the day when an hour of trading doesn’t look good for you?
[Chinese officials announced plans for the circuit-breaker system in December, as a measure to prevent the wild swings that accelerated this summer’s stock-market crash. ]
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-stocks-set-for-tumble-at-open-as-china-fears-return-2016-01-04
No, I don’t have any Stocks in that [real] world your living in.
Come on.. Give me a “Breaker Box” so I can live in your REAL WORLD.
//I’m not even sure Democrats are aware of the Trouncing a junk-yard dog gives a primped poodle in a cage match they think rules will help?//
Junk Yard dogs that attack poodles in a cage get shot.
What are you talking about? Trump’s favorable rating among Democrats is 8% vs. 88% unfavorable.
I don’t know a single Democrat who is “enchanted” by Trump.
Works for me.
We have John McCain to blame for Sarah Palin. It was his choice, and IMO his mistake. She was a last-minute substitute for Joe Lieberman, who turned McCain down, and the McCain campaign failed to vet Palin. They didn’t even know she was pregnant.
Fox News Poll conducted by Anderson Robbins Research (D) and Shaw & Company Research (R). Dec. 16-17, 2015. N=1,013 registered voters nationwide. Margin of error ± 3.
“If the 2016 presidential election were held today, how would you vote if the candidates were Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican [see below]?” If unsure: “Well, which way do you lean?” Options rotated. Split sample. Margin of error ± 4.
Hillary Clinton (D): 49%
Donald Trump (R): 38%
Other: 3%
Would not vote: 6%
Unsure: 4%
I got a telephone poll last week. The first question was “how likely are you to vote in the Republican Primary”? I replied “very unlikely.” Next question: If the Republican Primary were held today, would you vote for “Donald Trump, Ben Carson …” I hung up.
I would have thought the Trump line would be:
“Hillary, you ignorant slut.”
You didn’t give a source for that highly interesting poll result.
But I think it’s fascinating that it can be found at Fox News — after following a link from an article entitled “Fox News Poll: Government is broken!,” you can find it buried in a long report for which the headline is “Fox News Poll: 2016 GOP race, Trump’s Muslim ban, terrorism & ISIS.” Not a mention of the Clinton-Trump matchup.
Thanks for fishing the gold coin out of the bucket of mud!
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2015/12/22/fox-news-poll-government-is-broken.html
registered voters nationwide. Margin of error ± 2.9.
Quinnipiac University. Dec. 16-20, 2015. N=1,140 registered voters nationwide. Margin of error ± 2.9.
“Is your opinion of Donald Trump favorable, unfavorable or haven’t you heard enough about him?”
Favorable
Republicans: 60%
Democrats: 8%
Independents: 32%
Unfavorable
Republicans: 30%
Democrats: 88%
Independents: 59%
Haven’t heard enough
Republicans: 6%
Democrats: 2%
Independents: 5%
Refused
Republicans: 2%
Democrats: 2%
Independents: 3%
@Rickey [What are you talking about? Trump’s favorable rating among Democrats is 8% vs. 88% unfavorable.]
That was before “Diamond & Silk”
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2016/01/04/stump_for_trump_ladies_at_trump_rally_weve_got_to_get_out_to_the_polls_and_vote.html
Never underestimate the appeal of two wonderful Americans. ❤
So.. What your saying is Democrats are going to close their ears when the Case is made Trump said:
“”they created ISIS, and Hillary Clinton created ISIS with Obama.”
Trumps First Commercial
Cutting the Head Off ISIS
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=itsSDhgKwhw&feature=youtu.be
My case in insinuating Polls that Are taken now cannot be relied upon is that Hillary’s a Corinated candidate. She’s already got enough Superdelegates in the bag. . unless she’s endicted by the FBI very soon.
Trumps polls compared to Hillary are still mixed up basically because of the very tough Primary.
If it follows TRUMP’s the R nominee, the cross-over will astound you because Trumps soft on Pro-life and Entitlements, pretty hard on Tax-the-rich all BIG TIME appealing issues for Democrats and he’s much more favorable on National Security.
Trumps ” likability” among R was in the Tank when he started. That has dramatically changed in just a few months. The same thing will happen as his message is re-focused on Hillary.
She’s just got no answer to what she has pinned on herself, I’m sorry to say. She’s a walking talking “Trump-Lunch”.
Hillary has lost the edge she had in 2008. She never attacked Obama using the Constitution. She made that choice and like Romney lost. Her powder is wet.
Trump attacked Obama with the Constitution on the View. He never filed a paper, but it kept his powder dry.
My second most watched video +11,000
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=DMFrdr6QMP8
Given that Trump has no military or foreign affairs experience, he is the logical birther candidate.
How would this work, and why would they bother? Why would the RNC care what GWB’s legacy is? He’s not running for anything ever again.
There is no money or power to be had in GWB having an improved legacy or in people having the warm fuzzies for the Bush family.
What makes you think anyone, including these two ladies, can polish a turd?
You greatly overestimate the appeal of the distorted view of reality that is prevalent among Tea Party people and Trump supporters.
The whole “Democrats are evil and hell-bent on destroying the country” crap alienates moderates and independents quicker than Trump’s occasional racist outbursts.
Do you remember the last time an “extremist” candidate (far right or far left) was elected? Me neither. Which is exactly why neither Cruz nor Sanders stand a chance.
As for Trump, we will see how the media frenzy translates into actual votes. If Kobe Bryant or Ryan Reynolds ran for Prez, they’d get an awful lot of media coverage and “I will vote for him” statements as well, but when it comes to actually making the guy President, people will probably start paying attention to what that would mean for the country.
I only know one Republican who is “enchanted” by Trump.
None of the other Republicans I know say they’ll vote for him. None of the Democrats seem to be on the Trump train.
Most of our more liberal friends and relatives, honestly, seem to be Bernie Sanders fans.
Many of our friends and family are military and Trump simply does not resonate with those who would have to fight the wars started by his idiotic, half-baked ideas about foreign policy.
Republicans in general don’t seem to see what we’re seeing, or they don’t seem to vocalize it if they do: a weariness on the part of military members and families to put “boots on the ground”. The people who fight are tired of fighting.
Living in a military community, the level of exhaustion over being at war for so long is palpable.
I thought CRJ was a (Democratic) Presidential Candidate.
Why is he pushing Trump’s cart so hard?
Could it be that he actually thinks that if he were to win the (Democratic) nomination, Trump would be the only candidate that he could beat?
😉
This cartoon always struck me as on the dot:
http://blogs.denverpost.com/opinion-cartoons/files/2015/07/trump-and-immigration-cartoon-darkow.jpg
Appeal to what? Those two look like a skit that was rejected by SNL because it’s offensive without being funny or making a point. I really do wonder whether the Trump people brought them out because they “appeal” to his followers’ stereotypes.
It’s just as well that he’s self-financing: he’d probably put on an Amos ‘n Andy film festival as a fundraiser…
Poe’s Law in action: many people seeing it on Youtube are asking whether it was produced by The Onion.
Cody is obviously a DINO, by which I mean a hyperactive dinosaur who can’t sing.
I gotta say, using The Joker as a metaphor for Donald Trump makes perfect sense to me. In this case though The Donald must have fallen into a vat of Dippity-do.
Yes, they will close their ears because Trump is wrong about that. And, as a candidate for President, you should know better.
The group [ISIS] originated as Jama’at al-Tawhid wal-Jihad in 1999, which pledged allegiance to al-Qaeda and participated in the Iraqi insurgency following the March 2003 invasion of Iraq by Western forces. Joining other Sunni insurgent groups to form the Mujahideen Shura Council, it proclaimed the formation of the Islamic State of Iraq (ISI) in October 2006,
You do know who the President was in 2006, I assume.
Why are your praising Trump? I thought that your goal was to run against whoever gets the Republican nomination. Why should anyone contribute to your campaign if you are supporting another candidate?
I agree 100%. Were it not for the family dynasty nonsense he’d be happily retired. My guess is he can’t wait for it to be over.
Lenin, in his tomb, is a “high energy” guy compared to Jeb!
Nothing particularly new here. Nixon perfected the strategy starting 60 years ago and explained it to Bob Dole when he ran thusly:
To win the Republican nomination, Nixon told Dole, “you have to run as far as you can to the right because that’s where 40% of the people who decide the nomination are. And to get elected you have to run as fast as you can back to the middle, because only about 4% of the nation’s voters are on the extreme right wing.”
There is a signifcant difference between a Republican primary election voter or a Republican caucus attendee and those who vote Republican in the general election.
In 2012 the much hyped Iowa caucuses had a turnout of 6% of eligible voters and the
hghest turnout rates for primaries were 31% in New Hampshire and North Carolina.
The lowest primary turnout was in New York where a paltry 1.4% of eligible voters actually participated. In Wyoming 0.3% of Republicans attended the caucus. In Minnesota 0.5% participated in the Democratic caucus.
http://www.electproject.org/2012p
That’s surprising: I had gotten the (obviously mistaken) impression that turnout was much higher in Iowa than in other states, as a matter of “First in the Nation” pride.
And disconcerting: given the high level of enthusiasm among Trump’s flock, he might well get out caucus-goers far out of proportion to his actual support.
I guess that’s the real reason Iowa hasn’t been a good predictor. I always thought it was because their political “demographics” are different from much of the rest of the country.
The Mythbusters did it. It was still a turd though.
Iowa caucuses – Only registered Republicans may vote in a Republican caucus, and only registered Democrats may vote in a Democratic caucus.
January 2012 Republican turnout: 121,503
January 2012 Republican registration: 614,913
2012 Republican caucus turnout rate: 19.76%
January 2008 Republican turnout: 119,200
January 2008 Republican registration: 576,231
2008 Republican caucus turnout rate: 20.69%
January 2008 Democratic turnout: 239,872
January 2008 Democratic registration: 606,209
2008 Democratic caucus turnout rate: 39.57%
January 2004 Democratic turnout: 124,331
January 2004 Democratic registration: 533,107
2004 Democratic caucus turnout rate: 23.32%
http://iowacaucusproject.org/2015/07/how-many-people-participate-in-the-iowa-caucuses/
Yes. And that’s what Nixon understood better than anyone then or since. He knew how to play the game and that’s why he won the Presidency twice. These folks don’t understand and as a result their chance of getting elected even once is painfully slim.
One can only hope.
The idea that Trump can capture the presidency is idiocy.
Like seriously, outside of angry white guys and some fans of his reality TV show, what demographics is he going to make in roads with? He’s pissed all over the Latin community, promised to violate the first amendment where Arabs/Muslims are concerned, offered nothing to people who are of Asian descent, Seems to have a huge hard on for getting the military bogged down in an unwinnable war that makes Vietnam look like Grenada…
Further, when he will be in for quite the shock when he runs up against hillary; She’s been dealing with petty attacks and political chicanery for the past 16 years so she isn’t going to just lie back and let him do whatever he wants like the rest of the republican candidates (and his last few wives) have.
No, she’s going to come back at him with all of his fuck ups, including his 4 bankruptcies, how he crashed a successful football league by trying to directly compete with the NFL, his casino that went bankrupt and point out how he freely talks about wildly violating both ROE and the Constitution.
What I find interesting about Iowa is that for quite a long time, when they had a choice among multiple candidates, caucus voters chose mainstream Republicans, including Gerald Ford, George H. W. Bush, Bob Dole, and George W. Bush. Then, starting in 2008, candidates with extreme religious positions started winning, including Mike Huckabee and Rick Santorum. This change may have something to do with the rise of marriage equality, and the right’s opposition to gay marriage.
I think in 2008 it had more to do with abortion, and the establishment of religion: the “establishment” was still strongly fighting gay marriage at that point. 2012 was different, because they were clearly losing the marriage equality battle.
The GOP had been promising the religious right that they would produce anti-abortion and prayer in school amendments for decades, and generally push the government towards social conservatism, then caved in to political reality when they got elected. The right wing saw, with some real justification, that they were being suckered. So they tried the Tea Party thing, and it also failed to deliver (though not for want of trying).
So now they’re trying Trumpism, and, sadly, don’t see that it’s doomed, too. The only part that’s still unclear is whether Trump is cynically suckering them like the establishment, or arrogantly foolish like the teabaggers.