Trump: 'My voters don't care' about lack of policy specifics

[Jewbacca]

http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/presidential-races/283023-trump-my-voters-dont-care-about-lack-of-policy-specifics#.V1rwkJaCI6c.twitter

June 10, 2016, 10:43 am

Trump: 'My voters don't care' about lack of policy specifics

Undoubtedly true.  Plus there are not enough crayons in the world to explain it to them.

[the_doc]

Trump's point does have some validity.  The truth is that those policy positions are very often written by flunkies sitting in cubicles, and their primary purpose is simply to pander to different interest groups during the campaign.  In other words, they're "election only" policies.  After the election, the candidate basically does what they want to do.

The problem is that most voters still want/need to have a strong sense of their candidate's basic philosophy, and the beliefs that will guide them in enacting policy after their election.  And that's what a lot of us aren't getting from Trump.  I don't have a sense on where he actually stands on limited government, federalism, government spending, taxation, individual liberty, free speech, etc., because he never/rarely talks clearly about his principles.

I agree with your opening remark.  Political scientists have shown that "charisma" is often the deciding factor in an election.  (They were able to show quite convincingly that Nixon lost to Kennedy mainly because he looked sweaty and unshaven and generally non-handsome as he clobbered Kennedy in their TV debate.) 

I do believe that most voters still need to understand their candidates at a policy level--but I am afraid that today's ignorant hoi polloi is becoming less interested in policy beyond the populist pandering stuff.   

[DCPatriot]

So is Trump right?  Do you not care what Trump does when he is elected because you know he'll do a good job, whatever it is?

Of course I care, @RedHead

But I have confidence that no matter what he does, it will be the exact opposite of what Hillary's goals are for this nation.

And I can sleep at night knowing I used my only weapon....my vote...to help accomplish it.

[Maj. Bill Martin]

I do believe that most voters still need to understand their candidates at a policy level--but I am afraid that today's ignorant hoi polloi is becoming less interested in policy beyond the populist pandering stuff.   

I agree with you there.  I was trying to point out that the exhaustively detailed policy positions that appear on most candidates websites are not something a lot of voters read, and are there as much to cover bases as they are an actual statement of what the candidate will do.  They're simply too specific to be a realistic statement of what that candidate will do.

There's a happy medium in terms of what level of specificity is credible, and Trump falls way off one end of that.  Hillary falls off the other end of that, because her "policies" have changed as necessary to co-opt Bernie's support, though I don't believe for a minute she'll stick with most of them.

[ABX]

I pray I live long enough to see all you nice folks beg forgiveness during his 1st term.

...to see you say...."I WAS WRONG!"    ....with no caveats.

Beg forgiveness? Really? This isn't a religion. If I'm wrong, oh well. But no one should have to grovel at the feet of some politician 'begging forgiveness' for not believing in him. Do you know how disturbing that sounds?

That is yet another reflection of the disturbing trend I'm seeing both in the Right and in this nation.

[DCPatriot]

Beg forgiveness? Really? This isn't a religion. If I'm wrong, oh well. But no one should have to grovel at the feet of some politician 'begging forgiveness' for not believing in him. Do you know how disturbing that sounds?

I specifically meant in the forum.

Geesh.....why so defensive?   


...do you know how disturbing YOU sound?

[ABX]

I specifically meant in the forum.

Geesh.....why so defensive?

Even to this forum, why should anyone have to 'beg forgiveness' to anyone else for having a differing opinion?

You ask why so defensive, I would ask why so authoritarian?

[geronl]

It's a cult of personality

[Oceander]

That's true, because they don't care about anything except getting rid of Mexicans and Muslims, starting trade wars with China, cutting off our remaining allies, and potty-mouth trash-talking. 

[DCPatriot]

Even to this forum, why should anyone have to 'beg forgiveness' to anyone else for having a differing opinion?

You ask why so defensive, I would ask why so authoritarian?

You're being a complete ass, @AbaraXas

Nobody's "ordering" anybody to do anything.  I couldn't care less what you do.

I'm referring to #nevertrumps such as yourself, being in this forum a couple of years from now with a President Trump having 85% favorability ratings....that's all.

It's going to shine a light on all you anarchists and pot-stirrers. 

[ScottinVA]

I pray I live long enough to see all you nice folks beg forgiveness during his 1st term.

...to see you say...."I WAS WRONG!"    ....with no caveats.

What "first term?"

Oh.. (snicker)... you actually think he's going to be elected...  OK, I'll play along.  "A-begging we will go!"

[DCPatriot]

What "first term?"

Oh.. (snicker)... you actually think he's going to be elected...  OK, I'll play along.  "A-begging we will go!"

 

[ABX]

That's true, because they don't care about anything except getting rid of Mexicans and Muslims, starting trade wars with China, cutting off our remaining allies, and potty-mouth trash-talking.

One of the most telling things I saw when it got heated up was a freeper of some redound saying something along the lines of 'we should have expected someone with the name of Cruz was fake...'

[catfish1957]

http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/presidential-races/283023-trump-my-voters-dont-care-about-lack-of-policy-specifics#.V1rwkJaCI6c.twitter

June 10, 2016, 10:43 am

Trump: 'My voters don't care' about lack of policy specifics

By Harper Neidig

Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump said on Wednesday that “voters don’t care” that he doesn’t give out many policy specifics on what he plans to do if elected.

In an interview with Time magazine, Trump said that he doesn’t need to release detailed proposals the way Hillary Clinton does because his supporters trust him to be an effective executive.
“My voters don’t care and the public doesn’t care,” Trump said. “They know you’re going to do a good job once you’re there.”

Trump mocked Clinton, his Democratic counterpart, for her focus on policy, saying it’s wasteful for a campaign.

“She’s got people that sit in cubicles writing policy all day,” he said. “Nothing’s ever going to happen. It’s just a waste of paper.”

Trump often boasts about his campaign’s frugality, frequently noting that he spent significantly less than his defeated primary opponents.

At what point do the Rump supporters stop defending the undefendable?   

As in the military, and any other business, fitness for duty or service is a concern of management.  I think it is tine for the GOP to deny him the nomination for that reason.

[WAC]

Make no mistake..Trump knows his following very well and what they want to hear...it has thus far obtained for him the Primary Election he's sought, short of convention officially naming him.

But he's going into another ballpark now....the 'Big League' game is about to begin and he darn well better have the issues he's claiming down pat.

The grandstands will be full of serious bets and gambles and loads of money passed around and taken both inside the stadium and most assuredly outside. These guys play to win and the machinery that operates the entire system will be more brutal behind the scenes then what we see or hear.

Trumps slowly getting the point he's been dodging for months now.....he cannot "win" this by putting a bat in his hand and claiming he's there to play ball. ........

[sinkspur]

You're being a complete ass, @AbaraXas

Nobody's "ordering" anybody to do anything.  I couldn't care less what you do.

I'm referring to #nevertrumps such as yourself, being in this forum a couple of years from now with a President Trump having 85% favorability ratings....that's all.

It's going to shine a light on all you anarchists and pot-stirrers.

LOL!  I'm glad you've got a sense of humor.  You're going to need it on November 9.

If, by some unfortunate circumstance, Trump is elected, the opposition will continue from this quarter.  He is incompetent and unfit and I will point it out at every opportunity.

[DCPatriot]

LOL!  I'm glad you've got a sense of humor.  You're going to need it on November 9.

If, by some unfortunate circumstance, Trump is elected, the opposition will continue from this quarter.  He is incompetent and unfit and I will point it out at every opportunity.

...and I sincerely hope I'm still alive to see you do that.   

[Idaho_Cowboy]

At what point do the Rump supporters stop defending the undefendable?   

As in the military, and any other business, fitness for duty or service is a concern of management.  I think it is tine for the GOP to deny him the nomination for that reason.

Never, they'll die bitter old fogies cursing us all those who refused to follow the One we've been waiting for. At least that's my take. He has some supporters on this forum that will probally be mature enought to dust themselves off and move one so there's hope yet.

Look at how people react to why Romney lost (those blankity blank evangeicals, blah, blah, blah) He lost just as many of his supporters were were warned he would. Some fools never learn, as the old country song goes.

[BuckeyeTexan]

I pray I live long enough to see all you nice folks beg forgiveness during his 1st term.

...to see you say...."I WAS WRONG!"    ....with no caveats.

Beg forgiveness? Trump doesn't. Why should anyone else? ;)

That said, if #NeverTrump is lucky enough to be in the position of being wrong about Trump, you should welcome them with open arms because reversing the downward slide of America is a cause worthy of sacrificing vendettas.

[EasyAce]

Trump: 'My voters don't care' about lack of policy specifics

In the immortal words of the Temptations . . . . . . and the band plays on . . .

[Emjay]

I pray I live long enough to see all you nice folks beg forgiveness during his 1st term.

...to see you say...."I WAS WRONG!"    ....with no caveats.

Nothing in his past or present behavior makes me think any trump hater will have to ask forgiveness but if he is elected, I hope you're right.

[Henry Noel]

I pray I live long enough to see all you nice folks beg forgiveness during his 1st term.

...to see you say...."I WAS WRONG!"    ....with no caveats.

Here's my take on that. When I met my wife, I was what you might call a not very nice person. I was irresponsible, shiftless, lazy, uneducated (though I thought the world of my intelligence) and didn't give a damn about anything but myself. When my wife and I married, her relatives thought that they were giving her to the devil himself. All those bad things transpired over a period of two very difficult years, and I managed to get myself straight and make something of myself. Years later, my mother-in-law acknowledged how happy she was to have me as a son-in-law, and attempted to apologize for her bad opinion of me at the outset.

I wouldn't have it. "You've nothing to apologize for," I told her. "I gave you no reason to think anything of me other than what you did. If [my daughter] brought home such a man as I was at the time, I'd boot him right out the door."


If Trump wins the Presidency and turns out to be a better man than we've given him credit for, it will be despite everything we know about him now.

[Bigun]

Here's my take on that. When I met my wife, I was what you might call a not very nice person. I was irresponsible, shiftless, lazy, uneducated (though I thought the world of my intelligence) and didn't give a damn about anything but myself. When my wife and I married, her relatives thought that they were giving her to the devil himself. All those bad things transpired over a period of two very difficult years, and I managed to get myself straight and make something of myself. Years later, my mother-in-law acknowledged how happy she was to have me as a son-in-law, and attempted to apologize for her bad opinion of me at the outset.

I wouldn't have it. "You've nothing to apologize for," I told her. "I gave you no reason to think anything of me other than what you did. If [my daughter] brought home such a man as I was at the time, I'd boot him right out the door."


If Trump wins the Presidency and turns out to be a better man than we've given him credit for, it will be despite everything we know about him now.

  

[DCPatriot]

Nothing in his past or present behavior makes me think any trump hater will have to ask forgiveness but if he is elected, I hope you're right.

And that's good enough for me, @Emjay !

 

[Norm Lenhart]

Even to this forum, why should anyone have to 'beg forgiveness' to anyone else for having a differing opinion?

You ask why so defensive, I would ask why so authoritarian?

Because authoritarian is a trait of most liberals intent on eliminating conservative governance. And getting their way regardless of the outcome. Thats just a matter of history.