National Politics

Trump was prepared to offer John Kasich the chance to be the de facto president

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At the end of May I posted about an interview of Donald Trump by the New York Times in which he “teased” that he does not really want to serve as president. Donald Trump doesn’t want to be president, he wants to be the celebrity chairman of a reality TV show.

Today, the Columbus Dispatch has a report that appears to confirm this, and reports that John Kasich is who Trump originally wanted to be his running mate. Trump’s offer to Kasich to be running mate: Be in charge of both domestic, foreign policy:

John_KasichJohn Kasich could’ve been the second-most powerful person in America, but overtures a couple of months ago to become Donald Trump’s running mate were rejected.

Donald Trump Jr. and campaign chief Paul Manafort both reached out to John Weaver, Kasich’s top campaign consultant, both shortly before and after Kasich dropped out of the presidential race May 4, Weaver told The Dispatch.

If Kasich became vice president in a Trump administration, he would have been put in charge of both domestic and foreign policy, four Kasich campaign sources told The Dispatch. Trump’s oldest son and Manafort portrayed the potential offer as making Kasich the most powerful vice president in U.S. history.

When asked what Trump would be doing, his son replied, “making America great again,” echoing Trump’s campaign theme.

Wow.

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Trump speechwriter falls on sword for plagiarized speech (updated)

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The Melania Trump plagiarism scandal that is the bright shiny object for the media is in its third day of the RNC Convention, which demonstrates that Team Trump does not know what the hell it is doing. Trump Campaign’s Shifting Story on Speech Raises New Questions.

Today Melania Trump’s Speechwriter Falls on Sword, But Trump Rejects Resignation:

MeredithMelania Trump’s speechwriter is stepping forward to take the blame for plagiarizing Michelle Obama’s 2008 speech.

Meredith McIver says the almost word-for-word lifting happened after Melania gave her passages, over the phone, from Michelle’s speech. McIver says she “wrote them down and later included some of the phrasing in the draft that ultimately became the final speech.”

As we first reported on Tuesday’s “TMZ Live” … Melania likes the First Lady and had watched some of her speeches for inspiration prior to her own speech in Cleveland.

Indeed, McIver says that’s exactly what happened, but the mistake occurred because, “I did not check Mrs. Obama’s speeches. This was my mistake, and I feel terrible for the chaos I have caused Melania and the Trumps, as well as to Mrs. Obama. No harm was meant.”

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RNC Convention day one: ‘Be afraid! Be VERY afraid!’

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The conservative media entertainment complex and the modern-day GOP are built upon a foundation of ignorance, fear and hatred of “others.”

This was on full display on the first evening of the RNC Convention. The day’s theme was “Make America Safe Again,” which is just another way of saying “Be afraid! Be VERY afraid!” playing to the ignorance, fear and hatred of “others” that the GOP base feeds on daily from the conservative media entertainment complex.

A series of convention speakers informed us that (1) illegal aliens, specifically Mexicans, are crossing our border and killing Americans; (2) Islamist extremist terrorists are “in all 50 states” waiting to kill Americans; and (3) Black Lives Matter is the enemy and is killing police officers. The whipped cream and cherry on the top was a huge dollop of Hillary Hatred and Obama Derangement Syndrome.

Screenshot from 2016-07-19 11:35:32It was not clear to me who the “keynote” speaker was meant to be, but The most important moment at the GOP convention was Rudy Giuliani. An Energized Giuliani painted a dystopian picture of America, shouting loudly, wildly gesticulating his arms, and spittle flying from his mouth and dripping down his chin.

Hmmm, who did this remind you of? The people who make the Hitler Rants Parodies on YouTube really need to make one for Giuliani’s speech from last night. As Molly Ivins said of “Pitchfork” Pat Buchanan’s 1992 RNC Convention speech, “it probably sounded better in the original German.”

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GOP Convention: mostly C and D List speakers

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Donald Trump promised ‘showbiz’ at GOP convention, but stars on stage will be relatively dim.

Here’s a helpful ratings guide. Learn The Difference between A-list, B-list, C-list and D-list:

“A-list” actors are exceptionally successful, their notoriety extends beyond the silver screen, and their name guarantees a box office hit.

“B-list” actors are usually television actors or less successful movie stars.

A “C-list” actor is a character actor that’s known by face and not by name. They are usually still good actors, but they receive less notoriety than an A or B-list actor.

“D-list” actors are the lowest on the celebrity hierarchy; they appear on celebrity game shows and reality television.

Wait, so Donald Trump is a “D-List” celebrity? What else have you got?

The New York Times reported on Thursday, Speakers at Donald Trump’s Convention: Tim Tebow, Peter Thiel, but No Sarah Palin?

tebow-bigA night highlighting the tragedy in Benghazi, Libya. An appearance by onetime football star Tim Tebow. A presentation detailing former President Bill Clinton’s sexual misconduct.

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The list, which is subject to change, as obtained by The New York Times:

Night 1: A Benghazi!!! focus, followed by border patrol agents and Mr. Shaw, whose son was killed by an undocumented immigrant. Senator Tom Cotton, Rudy Giuliani, Melania Trump, Senator Joni Ernst, and others.

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GOP Platform: collapsing inward and to the extreme right

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NewandImprovedRemember the RNC  “autopsy” report after the 2012 election?

The report, formally called the “Growth and Opportunity Project,” laid out an extensive plan the RNC believed would lead the party to victory with an extensive outreach to women, African-American, Asian, Hispanic and gay voters.

Yeah, that autopsy report was immediately filed in the waste basket. After every electoral defeat, the GOP listens to its propaganda ministers in the conservative media entertainment complex: the party must become more conservative, more radical, more extreme. Appeal to the hardcore foaming-at-the-mouth conservative base.

This is analogous to the process of The Death of a Star: once the core of the star has cooled and “turned to iron, it can burn no longer. The star collapses by its own gravity and the iron core heats up. The core becomes so tightly packed that protons and electrons merge to form neutrons. In less than a second, the iron core, which is about the size of the Earth, shrinks to a neutron core with a radius of about 6 miles (10 kilometers). The outer layers of the star fall inward on the neutron core, thereby crushing it further. The core heats to billions of degrees and explodes (a supernova), thereby releasing large amounts of energy and material into space.”

The RNC is collapsing into a supernova, and the death of the Grand Old Party.

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