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[Knoxcore]

Jesus. What is with the media obsession with Hillary?

 

[hydrophilic attack]

There are many other threads linking Mr. Trump and Mrs. Clinton. She lives in New York’s suburban Westchester County. He owns golf courses all over Westchester County. Mr. Trump’s television show “The Apprentice” aired on NBC. Until last year Chelsea Clinton was employed by NBC. Mr. Trump did his graduate studies at a snooty Ivy League school: Penn. Hillary got her law degree from Yale. See how it all fits together?

is the author a metal gear fan

 

[orochi91]

Agent Trump doing his thang.

 

[sangreal]

http://www.wsj.com/articles/clearly-the-donald-works-for-hillary-1438382894

Google search "Clearly, the Donald Works for Hillary" to read the entire piece.

Numerous experts have described Donald Trump’s “quixotic” presidential candidacy as a gift to Hillary Clinton. His hateful remarks about immigration, his disparaging of John McCain’s military service and his disrespectful comments about women who breast-feed have put the Republican Party on the defensive.

And why has that put them on the defensive? Oh right, because the Republican base agrees with him and has launched him to the front of the pack because of his incendiary comments

Dumb article -- the equivalent of Fox putting (D) next to the name of every Republican who fucks up

 

[Gr1mLock]

The Donald's thoughts go out, the poll results come back in. Science can't explain that.

 

[krazen]

I love that this piece completely misses the point. Any candidate can make obnoxious, insensitive, idiotic statements - plenty of candidates do! And most would be ridiculed or otherwise completely ignored, as most assumed Trump would be (and he was ignored up until about a month or two ago).

The problem for the GOP is that when Trump makes those statements and panders to the more extreme elements of their voter base, his support seems to go up rather than down, making him a contender in the primaries and a threat to their chances in the general election. As in - the problem isn't Trump, it's the crazy base voters who've unexpectedly taken a shining to Trump and are driving up his chances in the polls.

So the WSJ should really be asking if the GOP base voters are working for Hillary rather than Trump, because they're the ones who are screwing up the GOP's chances in the general election.

Beautiful. Thank You Based God.

 

[hal9001]

Nvm

 

[Relentless 757]

While the theory is ridiculous, if Trump runs third party, a Democratic victory is practically guaranteed...

Trump: The hero we need, but not the one we deserve?

 

[Ninja Scooter]

I love that this piece completely misses the point. Any candidate can make obnoxious, insensitive, idiotic statements - plenty of candidates do! And most would be ridiculed or otherwise completely ignored, as most assumed Trump would be (and he was ignored up until about a month or two ago).

The problem for the GOP is that when Trump makes those statements and panders to the more extreme elements of their voter base, his support seems to go up rather than down, making him a contender in the primaries and a threat to their chances in the general election. As in - the problem isn't Trump, it's the crazy base voters who've unexpectedly taken a shining to Trump and are driving up his chances in the polls.

So the WSJ should really be asking if the GOP base voters are working for Hillary rather than Trump, because they're the ones who are screwing up the GOP's chances in the general election.

On point. Even if this were true, the GOP would have nobody but themselves to blame for the monster they created by spending the last 10 years pandering to racist, ignorant bigots.

 

[Averon]

I love that this piece completely misses the point. Any candidate can make obnoxious, insensitive, idiotic statements - plenty of candidates do! And most would be ridiculed or otherwise completely ignored, as most assumed Trump would be (and he was ignored up until about a month or two ago).

The problem for the GOP is that when Trump makes those statements and panders to the more extreme elements of their voter base, his support seems to go up rather than down, making him a contender in the primaries and a threat to their chances in the general election. As in - the problem isn't Trump, it's the crazy base voters who've unexpectedly taken a shining to Trump and are driving up his chances in the polls.

So the WSJ should really be asking if the GOP base voters are working for Hillary rather than Trump, because they're the ones who are screwing up the GOP's chances in the general election.

Well said.

However, the bolded requires a level of self-reflection that I do not think the GOP currently have.
Whenever they get spanked in elections, the GOP always blame the RINOs and GOP candidate not being "conservative enough!"


Will losing a three straight presidential elections finally get GOPers to see the problem with their party?

 

[NobleXenon]

I guess the WSJ is afraid of Trump getting the nomination instead of their man Jeb Bush that they have to write equally-trashy Enquirer articles.

lol

 

[hipbabboom]

This is the sort of reality distorting mind-set that is representative of the republican party. They were fine with him at the beginning when he was spewing hate against minority and demanding war but as soon as they find out they may lose votes, the very symbol of their ideology becomes a liberal operative. I had coffee with one of my friends last week and he believes this shit. Its a whole lot easier to believe this than to come to terms that your entire platform is complete shit.

 

[Chariot]

All these theories. Smoke and mirrors. You want to see Trump as marionette controlled by some puppeteer from the shadows, because you refure to look up to see your own strings. We are all just reading the lines of the script Trump wrote. The act that is reaching it's climax as ultimate democrat Trump is forging the USA into something great. Keep moving your oiled limbs puppets to end this play like he has forseen. That goes for you too, Hillary Clinton. Dance.

 

[Third Strike]

Well said.

However, the bolded requires a level of self-reflection that I do not think the GOP currently have.
Whenever they get spanked in elections, the GOP always blame the RINOs and GOP candidate not being "conservative enough!"


Will losing a three straight presidential elections finally get GOPers to see the problem with their party?

Nope, not as long as the Tea Party exists. It would only take for someone like Trump or Cruz to run and lose in the general election for the base to realize that they need to push more to the center. Or maybe not. Even in such a scenario, many in the Tea Party would still think that they would need someone even further to the right to win an election. They'll also use their mid-term election wins to justify their ability to win the White House, completely ignoring any data or numbers that say otherwise.

The Dems need to focus on maintaining the White House, gaining as many seats in the Senate during the general elections, and wait for many of the baby boomers to die off. The Tea Party will do the rest.

 

[FireAndBlood]

They give Trump too much credit. Like he would go through all this effort to help out the Clintons.

I don't know how long Trump can remain in the spotlight. Americans are fickle. We tend to move on to other things quite quickly.

 

[Ninja Scooter]

Nope, not as long as the Tea Party exists. It would only take for someone like Trump or Cruz to run and lose in the general election for the base to realize that they need to push more to the center. Or maybe not. Even in such a scenario, many in the Tea Party would still think that they would need someone even further to the right to win an election. They'll also use their mid-term election wins to justify their ability to win the White House, completely ignoring any data or numbers that say otherwise.

The Dems need to focus on maintaining the White House, gaining as many seats in the Senate during the general elections, and wait for many of the baby boomers to die off. The Tea Party will do the rest.

They should have learned this lesson in the last cycle but didn't. The writing has been on the wall for the last 4 or 5 years that pandering to the tea party nutjobs is not going to lead to success but the problem for the GOP is that they can't put the genie back in the lamp now.

 

[FairyD]

I hate that this theory is being echoed.

It's like people can't believe Trump really is this much of a buffoon and they're trying to piece together a reality that he's just some kind of double agent doing it for reason x.

 

[BigDug13]

The only way I believe that he is secretly working for the Democrats is if he decides to run independent to split the Republican vote. Then I'll know he's in it for sabotage.

 

[rjinaz]

The only way I believe that he is secretly working for the Democrats is if he decides to run independent to split the Republican vote. Then I'll know he's in it for sabotage.

Even then I wouldn't think so. Trump isn't dedicated to either party, Trump is dedicated to himself. Don't really think he cares if the Republicans crash as a result of his.

 

[Guevara]

Trump needs his own hecantkeepgettingawaywithit.gif

 

[Glass Joe]

Well, one thing I will say is that when Trump talks about Hillary, he calls her "the worst Secretary of State ever," but never gets into details as to why she's a bad SOS. With every other candidate or situation, he loves tearing into them about WHY they're bad. So that would be a point in the WSJ's favor.

However, Trump's recently been really vocal about the email scandal, calling Hillary a criminal, which is a point against that WSJ's opinion piece. Unless maybe his polling has turned out so good that Hillary has created a monster she can no longer control.

But yeah, Trump's getting too much credit here. For better or worse, he speaks his mind and you never have to wonder about what's really going on in his brain. I don't see some grand manipulation going on. That may be why he's appealing to many.

 

[Link]

They should have learned this lesson in the last cycle but didn't. The writing has been on the wall for the last 4 or 5 years that pandering to the tea party nutjobs is not going to lead to success but the problem for the GOP is that they can't put the genie back in the lamp now.

Midterms keep them thinking they're doing fine.

I hate that this theory is being echoed.

It's like people can't believe Trump really is this much of a buffoon and they're trying to piece together a reality that he's just some kind of double agent doing it for reason x.

This is more about demonizing Hillary and painting her as manipulative and untrustworthy than condemning Trump.

 

[Polari]

Trump has always been a dumb person. He's getting all of this attention because his remarks make for good headlines and he's also low hanging fruit that can be used to discredit his party.

This attention has actually gotten him some support from voters. It seems like americans are more influenced by publicity whether it be good or bad and name recognition (hence Bush and Clinton being top candidates). Maybe he sees this and is intentionally trying to create controversy.

Trump might be a jackass, but he's no dummy. He's hit all the right notes with his strategy so far. I think he has more of a shot at the nomination than people give him credit for.

 

[Maximus.]

I have a hard time believing such a wealthy man would seemingly destroy his image (even more than it may have been damaged) to help someone else become president. I mean it could lead to lucrative deals for his company down the road potentially, but it just seems a bit reaching.

I think the only benefit of Trump is having someone who isn't playing the typical political game and just being a person, even if a lot of his statements are politically incorrect and hateful. Would be nice to have politics who weren't so caught up in their own world and remember that they are supposed to represent everyone.

 

[entremet]

Murdoch empire upset they can't control the story with Trump so they throw out a ridiculous conspiracy theory.

I don't particularly care much for Trump, but I will say his run for president is interesting as outlets that are usually so used to controlling the narrative don't know how to deal with him because they can't get their hooks into him and control him with promises of funding.

Exactly. I love it.

 

[NeoXChaos]

They should have learned this lesson in the last cycle but didn't. The writing has been on the wall for the last 4 or 5 years that pandering to the tea party nutjobs is not going to lead to success but the problem for the GOP is that they can't put the genie back in the lamp now.

It has in midterms. The Republicans are at the height of their power since the 30's. Arguably they are doing fine. The only thing stopping them from full majority country control is the White House.

Presidential elections are a different story and challenge for them. If they lost again I expect them to reflect but I dont see any major changes especially if they win again in 2 years time.

 

[truly101]

I don't get why this pic is being used against Trump. Have Republicans never come in contact with Democrats before this or something? It's total hypocrisy.

Most political maneuverings like this aren't direct at people who think objectively and are neutrally skeptical.

 

[CygnusXS]

1) This must be an odd time to be a moderate or establishment Republican. It has to be really uncomfortable for them to be aligned with the far right base. So I can understand if they would prefer to avoid reckoning with their political coalition and instead take this as another opportunity to throw out weird conspiracy theories about Hillary.

2) I'm pretty sure Trump's ego would prevent him from doing what this article is suggesting.

3) If I were a moderate Repub I'd be more worried about how Trump's success seems to be based on a platform that is essentially "loud racist Democrat." Trump's campaign just seems to be a white-supremacist populist movement, and it should be terrifying to everyone that this is striking a cord with ~20-25% of the Republicans.

 

[Stinkles]

1) This must be an odd time to be a moderate or establishment Republican. It has to be really uncomfortable for them to be aligned with the far right base. So I can understand if they would prefer to avoid reckoning with their political coalition and instead take this as another opportunity to throw out weird conspiracy theories about Hillary.

2) I'm pretty sure Trump's ego would prevent him from doing what this article is suggesting.

3) If I were a moderate Repub I'd be more worried about how Trump's success seems to be based on a platform that is essentially "loud racist Democrat." Trump's campaign just seems to be a white-supremacist populist movement, and it should be terrifying to everyone that this is striking a cord with ~20-25% of the Republicans.

The number of gafers who have genuinely thrown support behind him, unironically is terrifying.

 

[aliengmr]

This is the Republicans working to destroy Trump. They know he doesn't stand a chance in the general election. The party leaders are going to destroy him so he doesn't win.

Reap what you sow I guess.

 

[Glass Joe]

This is the Republicans working to destroy Trump. They know he doesn't stand a chance in the general election. The party leaders are going to destroy him so he doesn't win.

Reap what you sow I guess.

Trump said if doesn't get a fair shot by Republicans he'll go 3rd Party, which will destroy them right back so they can't win.

As for not standing a chance, who knows? He's polling really high. Time will tell if he says something TOO stupid and I think Thursday will be a telling day, since IIRC that's when the 1st debates are. How he handles himself there is anyone's guess (including Trump). I'm going to wait until then to make a judgment about his chances.

 

[saelz8]

This is the Republicans working to destroy Trump. They know he doesn't stand a chance in the general election. The party leaders are going to destroy him so he doesn't win.

Reap what you sow I guess.

They can't though. They can't touch Trump. That's why all of this is hilarious.

 

[aliengmr]

Trump said if doesn't get a fair shot by Republicans he'll go 3rd Party, which will destroy them right back so they can't win.

As for not standing a chance, who knows? He's polling really high. Time will tell if he says something TOO stupid and I think Thursday will be a telling day, since IIRC that's when the 1st debates are. How he handles himself there is anyone's guess (including Trump). I'm going to wait until then to make a judgment about his chances.

In a foreign policy debate with Hillary, he loses, no question. But he isn't all bad since, domestically, he's more moderate than the rest.

Though he kind of has to stop being a douche as well. That may get the base, but up against Hillary it's a losing strategy.

It's definitely fair to say that Trump, and possibly Jeb, stand the best chance at appealing to moderates.

 

[Elman]

They can't though. They can't touch Trump. That's why all of this is hilarious.

Trump is the unforeseen variable in the equation...

 

[Josh7289]

Jesus Christ, Wall Street Journal.

 

[Mrs. Manky]

"Your state is a pile of shit." is exactly the kind of criticism everyone should be leveling towards Walker. Minnesota and Wisconsin are not all that different demographically or culturally. They're two of the most similar states in the country to be honest. Yet Minnesota is doing well while Wisconsin has done nothing but flounder under Walker's leadership. The political contrast between the two states is like night and day. It's clear that Walker is a terrible governor, so why the hell should he be given the national equivalent of that state position?

I'm amazed more Republicans DON'T bring this up

They don't bring it up because most of them AGREE with Walker's policies. Just as most of them agree with Brownback's policies in Kansas, to name another Republican-led state that is falling apart.

 

[dramatis]

Though he kind of has to stop being a douche as well. That may get the base, but up against Hillary it's a losing strategy.

I think it's impossible for Trump to stop being a douche.

 

[Coriolanus]

I'm amazed more Republicans DON'T bring this up

You're amazed that republicans don't bring up that a guy that followed the party rethoric to the letter fucked his state? Really? Really?

 

[The Technomancer]

"Your state is a pile of shit." is exactly the kind of criticism everyone should be leveling towards Walker. Minnesota and Wisconsin are not all that different demographically or culturally. They're two of the most similar states in the country to be honest. Yet Minnesota is doing well while Wisconsin has done nothing but flounder under Walker's leadership. The political contrast between the two states is like night and day. It's clear that Walker is a terrible governor, so why the hell should he be given the national equivalent of that state position?

I'm amazed more Republicans DON'T bring this up

They don't bring it up because most of them AGREE with Walker's policies. Just as most of them agree with Brownback's policies in Kansas, to name another Republican-led state that is falling apart.

Exactly. Trump would be terrifying as an actual president but right now his statements don't toe the party line at all, and its fucking awesome. Sometimes that means forgetting to dogwhistle and just being racist. Other times it means saying "hey your state is shitty because you don't pay for anything"

 

[Valnen]

Everything is proceeding as I have foreseen

 

[makingmusic476]

"Your state is a pile of shit." is exactly the kind of criticism everyone should be leveling towards Walker. Minnesota and Wisconsin are not all that different demographically or culturally. They're two of the most similar states in the country to be honest. Yet Minnesota is doing well while Wisconsin has done nothing but flounder under Walker's leadership. The political contrast between the two states is like night and day. It's clear that Walker is a terrible governor, so why the hell should he be given the national equivalent of that state position?

I'm amazed more Republicans DON'T bring this up

Everything I've read about Walker and his handling of the state sounds exactly like what Jindal's been doing here in Louisiana, only without all the crazy prayer rallies. And unions were already broken here.

It's crazy that Jindal's popularity is at extreme lows while Walker's isn't. Though I guess people's attachment to LSU's Tigers and the BP bullshit are more specific and obvious sources of anger than more generalized poor economic performance and the erosion of government services.

 

[speculawyer]

They should have learned this lesson in the last cycle but didn't. The writing has been on the wall for the last 4 or 5 years that pandering to the tea party nutjobs is not going to lead to success but the problem for the GOP is that they can't put the genie back in the lamp now.

Well, the problem is that they have been successful with this nuttery....but only in their heavily gerrymandered districts and during mid-term elections. But for a national presidential election.....what they are selling doesn't work well anymore. War & gay-bashing are not a winning formula.

 

[User 406]

Gee, another crazy fuckbag acting the fool on WSHH WSJ.

WAAAAAAALL STREEEEEEET!

 

[gabbo]

Exactly. Trump would be terrifying as an actual president but right now his statements don't toe the party line at all, and its fucking awesome. Sometimes that means forgetting to dogwhistle and just being racist. Other times it means saying "hey your state is shitty because you don't pay for anything"

He's doing what a Dem nominee would do to Walker if he ever got that far into the process.

 

[bomma_man]

He's a bit like an old fashion andrew Jackson democrat or Dixiecrat. Certainly makes things interestingm.

 

[The Technomancer]

Trump is the unforeseen variable in the equation...

Despite having never seen this piece of art before, I instantly recognized what it was

Trump the Mule is a scary thought

 

[Mechanized]

Except Trump is going to win. The Democrats are really sleeping on him right now if they're foolish enough to think he's helping them by being so outrageous.

 

[Toxi]

Except Trump is going to win. The Democrats are really sleeping on him right now if they're foolish enough to think he's helping them by being so outrageous.

Correct. Trump is really going to beat us. We have no chance against him. Vote for him in the primaries Republicans, and you'll totally beat us.

 

[Enron]

he isn't even trying to win - he's just trying to garner attention to fuel interest in whatever thing he goes on to try and make money off of next.

 

[Instro]

Agent Trump