Trump Shows His Ignorant Side And Takes A Dump On 40 Years Of Military Excellence

[Maj. Bill Martin]

Late to the party here, but I saw something on which I really wanted to comment: @Mesaclone

On a side note, so many here seem to be clinging to some fiction that a Trump loss will "teach a lesson" to conservatives and Republicans and make them look for a Cruz type candidate next time. That mentality is dangerously false. If Trump loses because conservative Republicans helped Hillary...via 3rd party or non-voting...they will become more adamant in supporting Trump-like candidates going forward...and the dedicated Trump supporters make up a good 30-40 percent of the party, and nobody will get nominated in the future without their support.

This is absolutely true.  And if there aren't Trump-like candidates moving forward, they'll just sit home.

The reality is that actual conservatives (of whatever stripe) are not a majority in this country.  So if we're going to win, it must be through coalitions -- the same way the left wins elections.  Deliberately alienating Trump supporters -- who took advantage of a crowded field to get their guy the win -- is just going to make it impossible to build a winning coalition in the future.  So I'm going to vote for Trump, and I hope the party establishment supports the guy even if they also want to make their disagreements clear.  And next time around, when there's no Trump, we'll have a better shot at rallying a coalition that includes the Trumpists around a more conservative candidate.

Deliberately alienating people with whom you disagree today, but with whom you might agree in the future, is counter-productive.  It is exactly what some Trumpists at places like FR have done, and we rightly criticize that self-defeating behavior as evidence of their overall irrationality.

Those of us who don't like Trump may be better served just riding this wave out, surviving it, and working for better next time.

[txradioguy]

Late to the party here, but I saw something on which I really wanted to comment: @Mesaclone

This is absolutely true.  And if there aren't Trump-like candidates moving forward, they'll just sit home.

The reality is that actual conservatives (of whatever stripe) are not a majority in this country.  So if we're going to win, it must be through coalitions -- the same way the left wins elections.  Deliberately alienating Trump supporters -- who took advantage of a crowded field to get their guy the win -- is just going to make it impossible to build a winning coalition in the future.  So I'm going to vote for Trump, and I hope the party establishment supports the guy even if they also want to make their disagreements clear.  And next time around, when there's no Trump, we'll have a better shot at rallying a coalition that includes the Trumpists around a more conservative candidate.

Deliberately alienating people with whom you disagree today, but with whom you might agree in the future, is counter-productive.  It is exactly what some Trumpists at places like FR have done, and we rightly criticize that self-defeating behavior as evidence of their overall irrationality.

Those of us who don't like Trump may be better served just riding this wave out, surviving it, and working for better next time.

And that kind of thinking got us Dole..McCain...Romney and now Trump.

Tell me how well the compromise candidate worked out in the past?

Trump isn't going to to be yje exception to the rule and your fooling yourself if you think otherwise.

You don't think there is a majority of Conservatives in this country? Wait and see what happens in November if Trump doesn't get his act together.  The 4 million that stayed home and didn't vote for Mitt will look like a drop in the bucket by comparison.

[Maj. Bill Martin]

And that kind of thinking got us Dole..McCain...Romney and now Trump.

It was the primaries that gave us Dole, McCain, and Trump, and I'm not advocating that we should vote for such guys over good conservatives in the primary.

You don't think there is a majority of Conservatives in this country?

No, I don't, and what is your evidence that they are?

If conservatives were a majority, surely they would be able to easily control the GOP nomination, given that the GOP itself barely represents 1/3 of voters as it is.  How is it even possible that a nation that is majority conservative hasn't even nominated a conservative for decades?

If the answer is "well, the real conservatives just don't vote", then I'd ask how you know that they exist at all.  More importantly, if they don't vote, then they are irrelevant to the discussion.  There have been plenty of "true conservatives" for them to get behind in the primaries since 1988, and if they didn't come out of the woodwork to vote for them in the primaries, then they're no more real or relevant than Bigfoot.