Month: July 2016

Bill Maher May Have Just Won It For Trump

I like Bill Maher’s politics, but he may have just put Donald Trump in the White House. On his “Real Time” show this week, Maher noted that Bernie Sanders seems to defy normal age limitations and that “You can run again in four years” – sending that defiant message out to his predominantly liberal 4.4 million viewers, most of whom probably supported Sanders over Clinton.

Way to go, Bill! After several weeks of castigating Bernie Bros. for threatening to throw away their votes on Jill Stein or just not vote, which he knows could cost Clinton the election, he’s now given Bernie fanatics a perfect excuse to not support Hillary.

Their logic? “Sure, voting for Stein or Johnson might elect Trump. But so what if he fills a SCOTUS seat or two? In four years Bernie can run again, whup Trump’s ass, and all will be right with the universe.”

If only a tenth of Maher’s audience gloms onto that idea, that’s almost half a million lost votes right there. And I guarantee you that that message will spread on Facebook, Twitter and Reddit millions of times. That ahead of an election where just a few thousand lost votes could change the outcomes in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, New Hampshire, Colorado, and/or Iowa.

So if Jill Stein ends up exceeding expectations this year, costing Hillary the election, you have Bill Maher to thank for it. I’m sure Donald Trump is already thanking him.

Kevin Kelton is co-host of “The More Perfect Union” podcast and founder of the Facebook political discussion group, OPEN FIRE. Come join us for the best political debate in town.

Bye-Bye, Debbie Downer

Segments:

Republican Convention post-mortem

Trump’s speech

Citizen (Tim) Kaine

Debbie Downer gets dumped

Democratic Convention preview

 

Bye-Bye, Debbie Downer

More Perfect Union episode 46–a preview of the Democratic National Convention.

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The Problem Isn’t Our Candidates

by Kevin Kelton

I keep hearing the same forlorn complaint: “Why do we have such bad candidates this year? Why must we choose between the lesser of two evils?” But the truth is, our 2016 presidential candidates are not any worse than ever before.

Donald Trump, for all his personal peccadillos, is no worse on policy than Mitt Romney, who also promised anti-choice judges and a repeal of Obamacare, wanted to press immigrants to self-deport, and proposed tax cuts just as massive and just as onerous as Trump’s. And they are both just as recklessly hawkish and just as wealth-gap enabling as John McCain or George W. Bush. Take out Trump’s antipathy for trade deals (one of his few plusses), and you could line up all their policy positions in a spreadsheet and not be able to tell who belongs to which column.

Hillary Clinton, for all the GOP-inspired caricature myths about her trustworthiness and cozy relationship with Wall St., is very much in line politically and temperamentally with previous nominees Barack Obama, John Kerry, Al Gore, and Michael Dukakis. Read More

Unconventional Convention

Segments:

Emily goes to Cleveland

Who is Mike Pence and why should we care?

Warren or Kaine: Who will get Hillary’s rose?

Go Fund a Delegate

Unconventional Convention

In Episode 45 of the A More Perfect Union podcast, we chat with GOP delegate Emily Brewer about her trip to Cleveland, look at Donald Trump’s new running mate, and speculate on who Hillary Clinton might tap as her vp candidate.

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Politics, Policing, Pride, and Prejudice

Segments:

Hillary avoids indictment – what it means for her campaign

Race, Policing and Gun Violence – a painful discussion

The Kelly Thomas police beating death (video posted below)

Trump plays hardball with the party

What to expect at the GOP Convention

What happens when Bernie endorses

Kelly Thomas Police Beating Video

This is the video that is mentioned in our episode 44 podcast (“Politics, Policing, Pride, and Prejudice”) that shows the violent police arrest of Kelly Thomas in Fullerton, Los Angeles that led to his death.

Politics, Policing, Pride, and Prejudice

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Bill and Loretta: too much interest, not enough conflict

by Kevin Kelton

On our weekly political podcast, “A More Perfect Union,” I got into a spirited exchange with my co-hosts about whether Bill Clinton’s private tarmac meeting with Attorney General Loretta Lynch created a potential conflict of interest. I argued that it didn’t. They thought I was crazy.

They were wrong; I am right. Read More

Bill and Loretta’s Excellent Tarmac Adventure

Segments:

Clinton-palooza: deconstructing the Benghazi report

Dealing with Daesh in Africa

Was Bill and Loretta’s tarmac rendezvous a conflict of interest?

Trump embraces tariffs and protectionism

Libertarian Gary Johnson and the TPP

Can the GOP’s bound delegates become unbound?

The new “never Trump” movement – nominating nobody

Countdown to Garland’s SCOTUS confirmation and Sanders’ Hillary affirmation

Bill and Loretta’s Excellent Tarmac Adventure

Episode 43 of The More Perfect Union podcast ? July 3, 2016.

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