I routinely post 2016 Election commentaries involving the concept related to the wisdom of the ancient expression:
THE ENEMY OF MY ENEMY IS MY FRIEND
The net podcast
Secular Talk Radio - The Kyle Kulinski Show is a show dedicated to calling Hillary Clinton a criminal, while also denouncing Donald Trump and lauding the greatness of non-candidate Bernie Sanders. In numerous discussion threads, I have been called a "Hillary Troll" and a "Dumbass" for saying the Kyle position, and that of his most ardent followers has the effect of turning Democratic and Independent (or third party) Voters off to the prospect of voting for Hillary -- as opposed to tossing their votes away on someone who cannot win, or simply not voting at all, and thereby enhancing the significance of Trump vote.
NOTE:
1. Those voting for Trump have absolutely no reason to vote for Third Party candidates who oppose their ideological preferences -- especially when THE DONALD has voiced their bias and bigotry in such compelling terms.
2. Given all the investigations which have proven to be either baseless or common practice among her predecessors in the same Governmental Offices (private email servers used by Connie Rice and Collen Powel because they were actually more secure than the official government servers of the era), it seems ridiculous to single out Hillary and make believe that she did something wrong while they did not. It becomes even more silly when Dick Cheney uses an RNC server -- which had no security -- for millions of Whitehouse-related emails, then knowingly and willfully violates Federal Law by destroying 30 million of them ... with no investigation or prosecution (which, because the actions and law are explicitly clear, would have led to an easy conviction).
3. Fact Checking groups routinely give Hillary an 85% HONESTY rating -- which is among the highest ratings of any who have been rated to date. Yet she is called "dishonest". She is accused of "Pay-for-Play" because she meets with large donors to her charity foundation.
Yet EVERY CHARITY has a similar meeting between large donors and those who head the Charity; EVERY College and University has the board members and Faculty Presidents meet with large donors -- they even go so far as to name rooms/labs/buildings after those donors. Then to the are the Education Charity donors who fund and therefore have scholarships named after them.
But it's Hillary, Bill, and Chelsea, so the standard practices are to be abandoned -- even while no other person in the public limelight is expected to follow suit.
OK -- GUILTY of being a Dumbass because I expect everyone to be subject to the same rules of behavior. In this regard we have:
4. a. Donald Trump paid the IRS a $2,500 penalty this year after it was revealed that Trump's charitable foundation had violated tax laws by giving a $25,000 political contribution from the Donald J. Trump Foundation to a campaign group connected to Florida's Attorney General Pam Bondi was considering whether to investigate fraud allegations against Trump University. She decided not to pursue the case. Which appears to be a clear case of "Pay-for-Play" bribery (as opposed to being nice to a charity donor who made a sizable donation in exchange for absolute nothing of tangible legal or monetary benefit). Guilty of being a Dumbass because I can see the difference between 3 & 4a.
4. b. We can take 4a a step further: The resulting tax filing shows the Trump Foundation did not notify the IRS of this political donation. Rather it listed the amount as a "BOGUS" donation — for $25,000 not given the Kansas group — to a Kansas charity with a name similar to that of Bondi's political group. HUM sounds like willful tax fraud compounding the Foundation Charity fraud violation.
4. c. Trump Used $258,000 From His Charity To Settle Legal Problems that involved the billionaire’s for-profit businesses, and in a dispute over the height of a flagpole, Trump used charitable funds to pay off “$120,000 in unpaid fines from the town of Palm Beach, Florida. It has been discovered that Trump Foundation funds were also used to settle a legal dispute at one of Trump’s golf courses in New York. In addition $5,000 from the foundation bought advertisements touting his chain of hotels in programs for three events -- this one, if it promoted a charity related series of events, MIGHT pass muster, but using “$10,000 of the foundation’s money on a portrait of himself bought at a charity fundraiser” would seem to be questionable (but might be explained if permanently displayed at charity headquarters as founder portrait ) .
If we get into Trump loans and other financial involvements, from a purely business standpoint they would probably pass muster, but when involving a POTUS they introduce conflicts of interest that could arise to impeachable levels.
In terms of IMPEACHMENT, the past criminal activities, plus the frauds associated with TRUMP UNIVERSITY involving Criminal-Racketeering violations, have already been pointed to as Constitutionally Impeachable offenses which could see Trump removed from office before he is even sworn in. Which means a Trump victory yields four years of a POTUS Mike Pence. Once again, Guilty of being a Dumbass because I can see the reality resulting from convincing idiots to toss away their Hillary vote and thus shift the results so that the fixed Trump-Pence vote becomes the majority vote and results in POTUS Mike Pence and the first actually successful impeachment of an elected POTUS in American History.
Just because the Republicans have yelled "Dishonest" and "Criminal" at Hillary for two decades does not make it so. The PROVEN FACTS show the Republicans have been consistent liars and generally guilty of the crimes they accuse Hillary of. Again, Guilty of being a Dumbass because I can see the reality and routinely point it out to devout idiots.
Trump's policies, {such as building a border wall, deporting undocumented immigrants, and an institutionalize ban on the basis of religion -- initially the banning of Muslims -- with its focus on the Middle Eastern countries, reminiscent of the Chinese Exclusion Act} would be carried further to right by POTUS Pence, and would ‘violate the 1st, 4th, 5th, and 8th Amendments to the Constitution. Thus opening the way to a Constitutional Crisis, possible 2nd POTUS Impeachment. Excluding any impeachment -- assuming Republicans retain control of the Senate and Congress -- It has also been legally established that Trump “could retain as much control or ownership [over his businesses] as he wants, because Presidents are not bound by the same conflict-of-interest statute that restricts Cabinet officers and White House staff.” Thus, the idea that he kids would run the business -- which they are effectively doing already -- would not introduce the "Blind Trust" legal problem, even while defeating its purpose. Again, Guilty of being a Dumbass because I can see the reality and don't want to go there.
In terms of the "DUMBASS IDEA" that an attack on Hillary is effectively a call to secure votes for Trump, one might consider this logic stream:
1. If someone sits home and doesn't vote -- basically saying "none of the above", and also negating any say they might have in the Senate or Congressional races (as well as purely local issues or candidates) Third Party votes -- their voice declares they will blindly and quietly accept whatever everyone else decides. THAT IS a truly dumbass position to take.
2. If someone decides to vote for a third party, and there is no Independent candidate who can win (Noone like Angus King in Maine, or Bernie Sanders in Vermont), then they have thrown their vote away. On the POTUS level, there are no potential third party winners -- none have sufficient support to even make it into the debates. On other levels of Government, the issue is determined state-by-state and I have no interest in doing that analysis on state-by-state levels. Let the voters decide the reality -- assuming they aren't too stupid to realize their future and that of their families depends on their choice ... now, possibly, more than other time in history. It is pure DUMBASS to throw your vote away on a loser or "pointless symbolic gesture" which nobody cares about or will even recognize as anything other than pure stupidity.
3. Someone decides they want the demonstrated criminal and bigot -- so they vote Trump. It goes with being a Republican and promoting THE MOST HARM TO THE MOST PEOPLE in the most efficient "once in a lifetime" manner available. With luck, they win, the nation goes to war -- builds the Mexican wall and spends every bit as much as the Bush-wars will ultimately cost. That might be dumbass, but it is a citizen voter's right to be as stupid as they wish in the goals they seek to accomplish and force upon other. We saw it long before voting ... with the Inquisitions and Crusades ... and every other time a nation or governing group has gone to great lengths to attack others in distant lands.
4. Someone decides they want the accused "establishment member" who is called a criminal -- that's their choice. What do we know? That she was a good Secretary of State, has been the First Lady of the United Staes for eight years and so knows how the White House works ... and during those eight years, the economy prospered (Bill is there to advise and see the Obama economy continues). Of course, according to those who do not vote Hillary, that's the Dumbass view.
So here are the logical options:
A. Third Party candidate wins ... makes me a dumbass for doubting it could happen.
B. Trump wins and does a GREAT JOB proves to be the GREATEST POTUS in history; again, makes me a dumbass for doubting it could happen.
C. Hillary wins, becomes First Female POTUS in nation's history and:
C1. falls flat on her face thus making me a dumbass for thinking a woman, or this woman could be a viable POTUS and therefore no different than the average incompetent Republican criminals which have marked every one of them since NIXON.
C2. Manages to out Obama Obama and delivers on anything Bernie can get through Congress thereby fulfilling the dreams of Bernie supporters, making them the proven DUMBASS.
C3. Manages to do a respectable or passable job... those who opposed her are shown to have been wrong and remain the DUMBASS.
c4. She wins but so does the Republicans in the 470 seats up for grabs ... obstructionism rules the day and nobody among the citizens wins ... the economy manages to stall and collapse ... blame will be placed on Hillary and women in general -- meanwhile, breadlines will return as America sinks into the status of a nation dependent upon Third World charity for survival. Gee, the anti-Hillary people got everything they wished for, and my projection proved correct ... those who voted Republican prove to be the DUMBASS we already know they are.
According to a September 2016 POLITICO analysis of campaign finance filings, Donald Trump’s presidential campaign has paid his family's businesses more than $8.2 million, and reveals the nature of the integrated business and political operation economic model which motivated Trump to run for and grab the Republican nomination. This also reveals the nature of the pattern of operations (seen in his criminal usage of Foundation funds) which Trump would bring to the American Economic model into without precedent in national politics.
Of course, by extension, it proves Hillary is a crook and therefore there is no reason to vote, or if you do vote, you should be careful to toss the vote in the garbage.
Then too, like the honest PT BARNUM he is, in 2000, Donald Trump told you all about his political business model: “I could be the first presidential candidate to run and make money on it.”
