The Hamilton Rule

[Ogre]

At least you have weighed your options and are choosing what you believe to be the lesser of two evils.  My issue is that I'm not convinced Trump wouldn't be worse than Hillary, and I say that as someone who loathes Hillary with every fiber of my being.

[Ogre]

Some have formed an opinion listening to MSM and get a little holier than thou when it comes to Trump. From a Christian perspective, Trump claims to be Christian and has openly expressed disdain at the way muslims are getting the "benefit of the doubt" from the current administration. He is not what I would call a devout or even pious Christian, but there are many in the same boat.
He does not have to be a staunch conservative to espouse the same beliefs as conservatives on the main topics.

I want to circle back to the "Trump is a Christian" discussion briefly.  I'm the first to acknowledge that I'm not the judge over someone's soul.  Whether Trump is actually a Christian is between him and God.  However, he has said on multiple occasions that he's never asked for forgiveness.  Here's a quote:

After months of reflection, Donald Trump says he still doesn't regret his decision not to ask God for forgiveness for his sins.

In an interview on Sunday with CNN, the Republican presidential frontrunner said that he does not regret never asking God for forgiveness, partially because he says he doesn't have much to apologize for.

"I have great relationship with God. I have great relationship with the Evangelicals," Trump said in the interview before pivoting to his poll numbers among Evangelical voters.

"I like to be good. I don't like to have to ask for forgiveness. And I am good. I don't do a lot of things that are bad. I try to do nothing that is bad."

Link

Now I'm not the smartest guy, but I am pretty sure that one of the core tenants of Christianity is repentance - which is a level above simply asking for forgiveness.  So this leaves me with one of three choices:

1.  Trump is ignorant about what true Christianity is, and if that's the case I pity him and pray he finds the truth, or
2.  Trump is a fraud and playing the "religion" card to win votes, or
3.  A combination of the two choices above.

I tend to believe it's the third, but I would believe the second option as well. 

[CCTAU]

This is an area where we need to quit condemning. I have been bad about this.

You just described about 90% of all Catholics. If one believes in the trinity and that Christ is God's son, then by definition that makes them a Christian. Whether of not they are saved is not the definition.

It is an are that we must decide, with us, or against us.

[Ogre]

This is an area where we need to quit condemning. I have been bad about this.

You just described about 90% of all Catholics. If one believes in the trinity and that Christ is God's son, then by definition that makes them a Christian. Whether of not they are saved is not the definition.

It is an are that we must decide, with us, or against us.

No condemnation here, brother.  Romans 8:1. 

We have different definitions of what it means to be a Christian.  That's another debate for another time (and another forum). 

Who is "us"?  I need to know who I'm with (or against) before choosing sides.  The way I see it, Trump and Hillary are on the same side. 

[Token]

1.  Trump is ignorant about what true Christianity is, and if that's the case I pity him and pray he finds the truth, or
2.  Trump is a fraud and playing the "religion" card to win votes, or
3.  A combination of the two choices above.

I tend to believe it's the third, but I would believe the second option as well.

I'm not a fan of Trump, I voted Rubio (which appears to have been a wasted vote).  With that said.....

1. That can be said about a lot of people who attend church on Sundays. 
2. That can be said about nearly EVERY person who has ever tried to be elected to any position.  Not just the Christian card, EVERY card.  There is a reason Hillary is winning black states and losing in white states, and there is a reason a majority of the youth is voting Bernie.  Because they are saying shit that isn't true (and they probably don't believe) to pander to those groups.  As much as I don't like it, that's what the voting population has allowed.  Created, even.

Which is why Richard Shelby has been in office since 1988.  The man switched parties sometime in the 90s and nobody blinked an eye.  The man is over 70 and has been in the same elected position for nearly 30 years.  Has he been that fantastic of a Senator?  Can you name 30 things he has done in 30 years to make this state better?  Probably not.  Judging from the fact that we are nearly dead last in every aspect of what makes the best states, it's safe to say he's probably part of the problem.

Our system is flawed.  It's flawed in the worst kind of way, and people are starting to see it.  Obama ran his campaign on "Change".  Has a damn thing changed in the last 8 years?  Aside from Obamacare?  Has anything changed for the better?  Obama is a politician.  They all are.  They all have to do things they don't want to do to get things passed that they want to be passed.  They are all bought and paid for.  Trump likely will be as well if he takes office.  But people know he doesn't NEED their money.  To quote the movie "Gambler", Trump rests comfortably in the position of fuck you.  He has fuck you money, and a large percentage of people are willing to give him a chance to see what he can do with it. 

Personally, he scares me because of his current position.  I don't think he can be reasoned with, I think he has the possibility to be a dictator.  I've said it before, the conspiracy people believed Obama would declare martial law and keep from turning over his presidency.  Those people are idiots, he's not power hungry.  He was in it for the money.  Trump isn't in it for the money.  He's in it for the power.  That in itself should scare the shit out of people.  BUT, I don't blame people for voting for the guy.  Or wanting to change how politics work in this country.  Actually, I'm glad people are finally ready to do something extreme to break the current trend.  I just hope it isn't the worst move in our great nation's history. 

 

[Ogre]

I don't disagree with anything you just said.  You just hit on the biggest concern I have about Trump - that he may be our last president.  He has fascist undertones that scare the bejeebus out of me.  He's threatened to "open up" libel laws to make it easier for him to sue newspapers that write bad things about him.  In a live debate last week he overtly stated that he'd force our military to commit war crimes.  He threatened Speaker Ryan would "pay a big price" if he didn't work with him.  I could go on and on.

Obama has already paved the road with his pen and his phone.  Trump has the guts to finish what Obama started.

[War Eagle!!!]

From the bookface:

Donald Trump answers the question: What is 2+2?

"I have to say a lot of people have been asking this question. No, really. A lot of people come up to me and they ask me. They say, 'What's 2+2'? And I tell them look, we know what 2+2 is. We've had almost eight years of the worst kind of math you can imagine. Oh my God, I can't believe it. Addition and subtraction of the 1s the 2s and the 3s. It's terrible. It's just terrible. Look, if you want to know what 2+2 is, do you want to know what 2+2 is? I'll tell you. First of all the number 2, by the way, I love the number 2. It's probably my favorite number, no it is my favorite number. You know what, it's probably more like the number two but with a lot of zeros behind it. A lot. If I'm being honest, I mean, if I'm being honest. I like a lot of zeros. Except for Marco Rubio, now he's a zero that I don't like. Though, I probably shouldn't say that. He's a nice guy but he's like, '10101000101,' on and on, like that. He's like a computer! You know what I mean? He's like a computer. I don't know. I mean, you know. So, we have all these numbers, and we can add them and subtract them and add them. TIMES them even. Did you know that? We can times them OR divide them, they don't tell you that, and I'll tell you, no one is better at the order of operations than me. You wouldn't believe it. So, we're gonna be the best on 2+2, believe me.

[AUJarhead]

What if neither candidate holds a position which I believe in? 

http://www.unprecedentedmediocrity.com/an-honest-case-for-writing-in-general-james-mattis-for-president-in-2016/

[GH2001]

From the bookface:

After that and knowing it's pretty accurate, you admonish Cruz for sticking to his constitutional "belief"? I'll take belief all day long. I'm sick of these so called constitutional types that aren't actually so. Cutting deals is a damn code word for caving. Reagan didn't cut deals. That's a misnomer. He got most of what he wanted by giving a little. And picking battles. But he never cut deals as the norm and dropped his convictions in doing so. His one big fuck up was believing congress would secure the border when he was ok with amnesty. That was the one deal he cut. And it backfired.

Also, Cruz as a senator against a dem president is a different dynamic than Cruz as president with a GOP house. Think about it. Plenty of shit would get done. It would just be the right shit. It's not that the GOP doesn't wanna do the right thing. It's that they are too afraid of putting up resistance to the dems or Obama so they cave. That dynamic won't exist with if Cruz is Potus.

[War Eagle!!!]

Also, Cruz as a senator against a dem president is a different dynamic than Cruz as president with a GOP house. Think about it. Plenty of shit would get done. It would just be the right shit. It's not that the GOP doesn't wanna do the right thing. It's that they are too afraid of putting up resistance to the dems or Obama so they cave. That dynamic won't exist with if Cruz is Potus.

Hope so. But I don't think even the Repubs like Cruz.

If Kasich and Rubio drop out, Cruz has a legit shot to get the nod. Not sure if he does with those two staying in.

[CCTAU]

I don't disagree with anything you just said.  You just hit on the biggest concern I have about Trump - that he may be our last president.  He has fascist undertones that scare the bejeebus out of me.  He's threatened to "open up" libel laws to make it easier for him to sue newspapers that write bad things about him.  In a live debate last week he overtly stated that he'd force our military to commit war crimes.  He threatened Speaker Ryan would "pay a big price" if he didn't work with him.  I could go on and on.

Obama has already paved the road with his pen and his phone.  Trump has the guts to finish what Obama started.

I think this part is being misrepresented. It is not about going after them for "writing bad things". It's about the damn lies that they write and NEVER retract. Do you know how hard it is to go after a media source that outright lies? The first amendment was not written to protect libel. But it is almost impossible to hold them to the truth. Nobody vets their source. Hell one media cites another media as their source all of the time.

[wesfau2]

I think this part is being misrepresented. It is not about going after them for "writing bad things". It's about the damn lies that they write and NEVER retract. Do you know how hard it is to go after a media source that outright lies? The first amendment was not written to protect libel. But it is almost impossible to hold them to the truth. Nobody vets their source. Hell one media cites another media as their source all of the time.

The real problem with a libel/slander claim is the difficulty in proving damages.