Posted by moy23 on 1/29/2016 11:56:00 AM (view original):

Posted by MikeT23 on 1/29/2016 11:39:00 AM (view original):
There isn't much I can dispute there except "despite his bombastic demeanor".    That's really problematic.

Nonetheless, do you think he can build a wall and get MEXICO to pay for it? 

Maybe. I'm sure he could build a wall... He's a builder. Lots of ways to pay for it.... Withholding $400 million in annual aid to them, find a way to dip into the $23 billion in remittances sent tax-free to mexico, charge more for visas from Mexico, etc. I think it could be done.... But I wouldn't expect it to happen overnight. A wall done right, paid for by Mexico should take years to fund, and build.

Of course a wall can be built.   China built one many years ago that's still standing.    Technology wasn't quite as good back then. 

So, really, Mexico wouldn't be paying for it per se, we'd just withhold aid or figure out a way to bill them for current funds that are/are not being collected.   I'm not sure how well that sits with the international community.   Most rational people agree that Obama's foreign policy has been a failure.   Does Trump want to take that path?

Posted by MikeT23 on 1/29/2016 12:19:00 PM (view original):

Posted by moy23 on 1/29/2016 12:16:00 PM (view original):

Posted by MikeT23 on 1/29/2016 11:55:00 AM (view original):
I'll add, after more thought, refusing to attend the debate because "Megan Kelly doesn't treat me fairly" is a black mark on Trump's resume.    You know who else won't treat him fairly?    Congress and foreign leaders.    Will he just refuse to deal with them?

I think anyone that believes that spin is a moron. Do you REALLY think Trump is scared of Megyn Kelly?

This is a power play. Follow the money. Watch the reactions. FOX news says he's scared of Megyn. CNN says barely mentions Megyn, instead focusing on how his anti-debate event is unprecedented. FOX sour grapes. CNN got the bump in viewership Trump provides. Money. Power. Not Megyn Kelly.

Megyn thinks Trump can't control the media..... But Trump is doing exactly that - Controlling the media. Did you see Hannity and O'Reilly pleaing with Trump to do the FOX debate (ratings)? Or hear that Ailes called Trump yesterday to get him to reconsider? (Ratings). They don't do that if it wasn't about ratings.

I think Kelly presents an interesting challenge for him.   One I don't think he's equipped to deal with at this moment.   Much like pro-choice women's groups.   I don't think he's scared, I just think he's unsure how his "flair" works in this situation.

IOW, he can't be condescending and insulting to her as a woman.   He can go after her as a journalist but he has to choose his words more carefully.   It's already backfired with her and Fiorina.   In fact, when Clinton went after him for his attitude towards women, he attacked Bill.   He can call Rosie a fat pig and no one but TMZ cares.   How he goes after women during his political run matters.   

He's leading the republican woman vote by a large margin over all the other candidates, in every poll, despite everything he's said re: women.

Posted by MikeT23 on 1/29/2016 12:31:00 PM (view original):

Posted by moy23 on 1/29/2016 11:56:00 AM (view original):

Posted by MikeT23 on 1/29/2016 11:39:00 AM (view original):
There isn't much I can dispute there except "despite his bombastic demeanor".    That's really problematic.

Nonetheless, do you think he can build a wall and get MEXICO to pay for it? 

Maybe. I'm sure he could build a wall... He's a builder. Lots of ways to pay for it.... Withholding $400 million in annual aid to them, find a way to dip into the $23 billion in remittances sent tax-free to mexico, charge more for visas from Mexico, etc. I think it could be done.... But I wouldn't expect it to happen overnight. A wall done right, paid for by Mexico should take years to fund, and build.

Of course a wall can be built.   China built one many years ago that's still standing.    Technology wasn't quite as good back then. 

So, really, Mexico wouldn't be paying for it per se, we'd just withhold aid or figure out a way to bill them for current funds that are/are not being collected.   I'm not sure how well that sits with the international community.   Most rational people agree that Obama's foreign policy has been a failure.   Does Trump want to take that path?

Countries respect power. They ONLY care about the US when we give them money, weapons, etc. Obama's problem is 'when you try to please everyone, you please no one'.

Mexico is taking our jobs, our money, and our weapons.... For decades. It's time we stop being nice to everyone and grow a sack. The international community doesn't 'have' to like us but if they want $80 billion in foreign aid they will have to work with us. 'it is better to be feared than loved, if you cannot be both'.

Oops

Debate Without Trump Gets Better Ratings Than Last Debate with Trump

A) I'm not overly concerned about polls.   Do you think Trump's remarks to/about Kelly/Fiorina caused some backlash?   Do you think he'd like to avoid that again?
B) Not sending money to Mexico isn't conveying "power".  That's akin to smacking your neighbor's 8 y/o because there's nothing he can do about it.

Posted by bad_luck on 1/29/2016 1:06:00 PM (view original):
Oops

Debate Without Trump Gets Better Ratings Than Last Debate with Trump

While Id think Trump might not bring up the ratings.... I wouldn't brag if I was FOX about barely eking by a debate that was on fox business network with limited reach. CNN and MSNBC had 2.7 million viewers for an event that was set up 24 hours earlier and no one knew was televised.

Posted by MikeT23 on 1/29/2016 1:07:00 PM (view original):
A) I'm not overly concerned about polls.   Do you think Trump's remarks to/about Kelly/Fiorina caused some backlash?   Do you think he'd like to avoid that again?
B) Not sending money to Mexico isn't conveying "power".  That's akin to smacking your neighbor's 8 y/o because there's nothing he can do about it.

A. Maybe. Maybe he was up big in Iowa and he didn't want to face Ted Cruz? He accomplished both avoiding Cruz and Kelly last night, while raising $6 million for vets and getting Evangelical support (Huck and Santorum).... And in the end he wins Iowa.

Like Trump said to O'Reilly... The debate is not THAT important. He's won 6 debates already. The media is making it a bigger deal than what it really is.


B. Money is power. We can agree to disagree. I think a wall can be built, and paid for by Mexico. I wouldn't care if we paid for it as long as it made it more difficult for illegals to get in this country.

Posted by moy23 on 1/29/2016 1:30:00 PM (view original):

Posted by bad_luck on 1/29/2016 1:06:00 PM (view original):
Oops

Debate Without Trump Gets Better Ratings Than Last Debate with Trump

While Id think Trump might not bring up the ratings.... I wouldn't brag if I was FOX about barely eking by a debate that was on fox business network with limited reach. CNN and MSNBC had 2.7 million viewers for an event that was set up 24 hours earlier and no one knew was televised.

The reach of the Fox Business channel is almost as large as the regular Fox News channel. 74m households vs 94m.

And the debate audience is somewhat inelastic, you are'n't going to see huge swings one way or the other. Without Trump, Fox did just fine.

And seriously, I wish this wasn't the case. Trump is a circus that will leave town soon. Fox News is here to stay and Fox News ******* sucks.

And 2.7m combined really isn't that high for a special event shown on two channels. Maddow usually gets about a million viewers for her regular nightly show. So they picked up an extra 350k?

Posted by bad_luck on 1/29/2016 1:59:00 PM (view original):
And 2.7m combined really isn't that high for a special event shown on two channels. Maddow usually gets about a million viewers for her regular nightly show. So they picked up an extra 350k?

Trump today in New Hampshire:

"It was an incredible evening, and this way we made our point," Trump said at a rally in Nashua, referring to his event in Iowa the previous night in which he raised money for veterans. Trump even admitted that skipping the debate was, in part, an act of self-preservation.

"You know, it tells you a little bit about risk, because risk is interesting, you know, in theory I would have rather have done the debate, because you're leading, you don't want to change the wheels, right?," Trump explained.

"You want to just go, get it done, win, and go to the next one," he said. "And I took a chance. I mean, I took a chance, and it's something you have to do, but I took a chance and I don't even know what the end result -- I heard we went up, but whatever the result is, I did the right thing."

moy, I'm surprised you're able to type with both hands wrapped around trump's **** all the time.