Trump and the Alt-Right: Bigotry Goes Mainstream

August 25, 2016 by Steve Stoft

Alt-right enabler Bannon now heads Trump’s campaign

TRUMP DOUBLES DOWN

Whatever else emerges from this year’s presidential campaign, one thing is certain: Donald Trump is mainstreaming bigotry.

How could I seriously suggest this, given the widespread outcry against his repeated bigoted belches, and given the political harm they have caused him?

Here’s how: The Republican Party nominee has voiced and validated many voters’ worst instincts, to much tut-tutting but no disavowals of him by his party’s leaders. What’s worse, he recently doubled down by bringing on the far right’s [Read more…]

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Benghazi: CIA took an hour to go a mile. Amb. Stevens died

August 21, 2016 by Steve Stoft

John Tiegen and Mark Geist (right) speaking at Trump’s Convention

CIA agent Geist at Trump’s convention:

“CIA Bob told us to wait, to stand down.”

It was “Bob,” the chief of the nearby CIA base, who gave the order that Trump & Geist blame on Clinton. The CIA’s so-called “Quick Reaction Force,” less than a mile away, was supposed to protect Amb. Stevens. But Bob made them wait, and wait some more. Click here to watch Tiegen say this at Trump’s convention (it takes only half a minute).

Bob caused such a delay that when his “Quick” Reaction Force finally arrived at the State Dept Mission, Ambassador Stevens and Sean Smith were dead. And had probably been dead for half an hour. Clinton and the State Dept were not contacted by Bob or the CIA while he delayed. This was a 100% pure CIA operatoin. But here’s the real kicker … [Read more…]

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Dan Rather on Trump-Backing Hypocrites

August 18, 2016 by Steve Stoft

What did Trump really mean? The media plays that guessing game every day. Then Trump changes his tune, and they guess again. Dan Rather is telling you how to see through Trump and avoid this trap. To understand Trump, understand Dan Rather’s punch line.

The rhetoric is the candidate.

There are two parts to a normal candidate: policy positions and [Read more…]

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Trump: I Was the Mastermind Behind ISIS

August 17, 2016 by Steve Stoft

Clip from ISIS recruitment video featuring Trump and the Belgium attack

Trump invented ISIS. Sound ridiculous? Then you haven’t mastered Trump-think. Until you understand him, he can con you. So let me walk you through this.

In 2007, Trump said Bush should “Declare victory and leave.”
In 2008 Bush signed the agreement to get out of Iraq by Dec. 31, 2011.
In Dec 2008, Trump said: “I’d get out of Iraq right now.”
In Feb 2011, Trump said: “I’d get them [US troops] out real fast.”

So Trump was the visionary behind “get out now.” And as he now claims, getting out created ISIS. Yes, he wanted to get out much quicker than we did. But he can still claim credit as the ISIS mastermind, because his plan worked. ISIS is here. Get it? Now you understand Trump-think. Or maybe not. There’s method in his madness, and we will get to it shortly. [Read more…]

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Trump’s Benghazi Lie — You have no idea how wrong

August 12, 2016 by Steve Stoft

John Tiegen and Mark Geist speaking at Trump’s Convention

New Overview, Aug 21: Why the Left is Backing the CIA at Clinton’s Expense

The book, “13 Hours: What Really Happened in Benghazi,“ now a “major motion picture” and DVD, has gone viral with Trump’s base. Trump hired the two CIA-agent heroes of 13 Hours for his main act on Day-1 of his convention. You might think the book involves Rambo-style heroes fighting off evil attackers despite a spineless government official who tries to hold them back. You’d be right on target.

You might think that spineless official was Hillary Clinton—especially when CIA agent Geist, standing on Trump’s stage, wraps up their performance with this:

The Trump Lie: “Had she done her job that night, [dramatic pause] had she done her job that night, … Ty, Glen, Sean, and Ambassador Stevens would be alive today.” — Spoken by Geist

You would be dead wrong. [Read more…]

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50 GOP Officials: Trump Puts Nation’s Security ‘at Risk’

August 11, 2016 by Steve Stoft

On Aug 8, 2016, 50 prominent Republican foreign policy and national security experts who have signed a letter denouncing Trump’s run for President and pledging not to vote for him. They have served under Nixon, Reagan, G. H. W. Bush and G. W. Bush.

“None of us will vote for Donald Trump.”

Their letter includes the following points. Donald Trump: [Read more…]

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Patriotism—that is the job!

August 6, 2016 by Steve Stoft

It should go without saying that patriotism—a love of country—is the essential requirement for someone seeking its highest office. If you are not committed to serving your countrymen, what basis can you have for leading them? Of course, anyone can claim they want to make America great; how you have demonstrated patriotism is the real measure of your words.

Donald Trump has virtually no record of public service.

He avoided serving during the Vietnam War, joking instead that [Read more…]

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I used to think of her as Darth Vader

August 4, 2016 by A. Weinberger

Why is the “real” Hillary Clinton so hard to know? Is charisma the most important quality for a President? Actually getting to know Hillary, changed Rebecca Traiser’s mind. She answers these questions—and more—in this insightful article.

by Rebecca Traiser — Excerpts

From NY Magazine, May 30, 2016

There’s nothing simple about this candidacy—or candidate

The idea that, at this point, there is some version of Hillary Clinton that we haven’t seen before feels implausible. Often, it feels like we know too much about her. She has been around for so long — her story, encompassing political intrigue and personal drama, has been recounted so many times — that she can seem a fictional character… As a young Hillary hater, I often compared her to Darth Vader — more machine than woman, her humanity ever more shrouded by Dark Side gadgetry. These days, I think of her as General Leia: No longer a rebel princess, she has made a wry peace with her rakish mate and her controversial hair and is hard at work, mounting a campaign against the fascistic First Order. [Read more…]

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Clinton’s Record-Setting Convention Bounce

August 3, 2016 by Steve Stoft

Nate Silver’s Now-cast: What are the chances if the election were held today?

Had the election been held on July 27, the last day of serious booing, Clinton would have had only a 44.6% chance of winning—her lowest ever. Nine days later on Aug 5, her chances of winning an election held today are 92.9%—her highest ever. While this is amazing, a lot can still happen in 95 days, so the chance Clinton will win the election is only about 78%. It’s way too early to rest easy.

On Tues (Aug 2) Obama said Trump was “unfit to serve as president” and “woefully unprepared” for the Presidency. The GOP must have been listening. The next day, Reince Priebus, Rudy Giuliani and Newt Gingrich launched a Trump personality “intervention.” His problem is, as Clinton explained, “A man you can bait with a tweet is not a man we can trust with nuclear weapons.” [Read more…]

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Benghazi: It Was the CIA, Not Clinton

July 23, 2016 by Steve Stoft

chris-stevens0600

For Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens, the CIA arrived too late

The most outrageous Trumpster lie is this: “She lied. People died. Lock her up.” Trump is vulnerable here because Trey Gowdy, the Benghazi committee chairman admitted he doesn’t believe this, and his report clearly proves it’s not just false, it’s absurd.

Arguing with fake scandals can increase publicity and backfire. But saying nothing can raise suspicions. This is the lie we should attack first. It’s most damaging, most outrageously wrong, and trivial to disprove—using Republican evidence. Here’s how.

The Republicans spent four years preparing to chant “Lock her up!” A lie they chanted, day after day, at their national convention. But that chant is not based on their eight Benghazi investigations. Those only turned up evidence of CIA “stand-down” orders and military delays. The chant is based on a false accusation by two boastful CIA agents Geist & Teigen, and their adventure tale (the “13 Hours” book and movie) about a deadly “stand-down order,” which they imply was from Clinton. It was from the CIA to the CIA on a CIA base in Benghazi. No one else even knew they were doing this! [Read more…]

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