09.26.2016 10:32 AM

How high are the stakes tonight?

Really high.

I was back and forth, this morning, with a friend who is very senior Clinton guy – he’s one of the ones who goes on TV for her – and I told him that basically “everyone up here in the Great White North is crapping themselves,” but that we hope tonight goes well.

“From your lips to God’s ear,” he said.

Actually, it’s from her lips to the ears of undecided American voters.  She needs to remind them that, if this psychopath is elected, really bad things that will happen.  Here’s the top ten.

  1. He will ensure the press is free no more.  Trump has made very clear that he regards the media as the enemy.  He calls them “very bad people” and “the lowest form of life.”  He has yanked credentials for coverage he doesn’t like.  He has threatened an avalanche of legal actions – “open them up!” – against reporters if he wins.  He has approved physical attacks on journalists. And, most ominously, he has suggested he plans to limit press freedoms as president: “If I become president, oh, do they have problems. They’re going to have such problems.”
  2. He will ban abortion.  In March, Trump could not have been more clear.  When abortion is banned by his administration, he said, “some form” of punishment will come to women who get one anyway.  As in, prison.  He attempted to modify his statement later, but his objective is clear: no more reproductive choice for women.
  3. He will be have anti-women policies, because he hates women.  That devastating Clinton ad says it all.  He calls women “fat and ugly.” He talks about girls being “flat-chested.” He calls women “slobs” and “pigs.” He admits he doesn’t treat women with respect.  And, as Huffington Post and others have reported, he is being sued by a women who alleges he raped her when she was 13 years old – and, as is well known, his ex-wife also accused him of rape.
  4. He will build that wall, and more.  He has never wobbled on this one: he wanted to build walls around America, and make others pay for it.  The people who will, pay, however, are Americans.  As Obama said last week, walls around American make prisoners of the American people.
  5. He will ban religions and bar immigrants.  He said in December he wanted “a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States.” In June, he doubled down, saying “we have to do it.” Later that same month, he dramatically increased the scope of his ban: “We must suspend immigration from regions linked with terrorism until a proven vetting method is in place.”  It wasn’t just Muslims: it was any “region” that is “linked with terrorism.”  That’s everywhere but the Vatican, pretty much.
  6. He will institutionalize anti-black racism.  The past is present: in the past, Trump’s been sued by the Department of Justice for racial discrimination – twice.  He said Obama was not born in the U.S. He said in 1991 that blacks are “lazy.” He refused to disavow the Ku Klux Klan and promotes the words of racist groups. He blames blacks for most crime.  He dismisses police-on-black violence.  In his words, in his deeds, we know who he is.
  7. He will institutionalize bigotry generally.  He attacked Gold Star parents because they were Muslim.  He said a judge was biased against him because he was Mexican – and he said Mexicans are “parasites and murderers,” as is well known.  He has encouraged mob justice against non-whites.  He indulges in anti-Semitic stereotypes, telling Jews: “You’re not going to support me, because I don’t want your money. You want to control your own politician.”  He ran arguably anti-Semitic ads about Hillary Clinton. And so on.  His America will be one where it will be open season, rhetorically and otherwise, on anyone who isn’t a WASP.
  8. He will alienate the world.  He has attacked our allies in Mexico (repeatedly) and cosied up to our enemies in Russia (repeatedly).  He has suggested we don’t need NATO, and that Eastern European states should be left to defend themselves.  He is the most protectionist presidential candidate in modern history.  He says he will tear up treaties and agreements with allies.  Trump literally fills world leaders with fear.
  9. He will ensure there are more guns.  He’s invited gun nuts, twice, to murder Hillary Clinton. He’s said, falsely, that she plans to end the right to bear arms.  He opposes any restrictions on assault weapons; he’s against gun-free zones; he wants guns in schools; he even said – over the NRA’s objections – that guns should be allowed in drinking establishments.  The NRA: “No one thinks that people should go into a nightclub drinking and carrying firearms.” But Trump does.
  10. He will almost certainly start a World War.  And this, alone, should chill the blood of every American – and everyone on this planet.  As president, he will have access to the nuclear codes and to nuclear weapons.  He has asked: “Why can’t we use them?” He refused to say he wouldn’t bomb Europe: “It’s a big place.”  He has said, over and over, he would use nuclear weapons: “I’m not going to take it off the table. And I said it yesterday. And I stay with it.”  With his appalling judgment (see above), with his hair-trigger temper (see his Twitter feed), we cannot let this man get access to the codes.  It would mean a nuclear conflagration – I am convinced of that.

The fact that Donald Trump is even with Hillary Clinton in numerous polls is an unmitigated disaster – and the most significant threat to all of us now.  Nothing matters, politically, as much.

She must beat him tonight, and in the days ahead.  And all of us who believe in freedom and decency and security need to help her – this is not the year to have a protest vote, America.

So, me and the missus are heading to Hillary’s NYC headquarters this weekend to help out for a week, in any way we can.

We can’t stand by and let this happen.  We can’t.

You can’t, either.

31 Comments

  1. Lukelele says:

    I think the Republicans should have imported and nominated Kim Jong-un instead.

    • Charlie says:

      Who knows, if Trump wins Kim Jong-Un might become the Secretary of Propaganda in his cabinet.

      Accompanied by Roger Ailes as Secretary of Women Advancement along with Chris Christie as Sec. of Transportation and Bridges.

      All they need is a place to put David Duke and Doctor OZ and they’ve got a stellar team in the WH.

  2. doconnor says:

    I don’t think he will try very hard to ban abortion. He is on record as being pro-choice before. He was just saying what he thought anti-abortionists wanted to hear.

    His attempt to build a wall will probably fail, but Mexico might pay for a wall to stop all the Amercian refugees trying to escape Trump.

    Clinton’s problem it that many of the undecided votes believe the horrible things they say about both candidates. It’s more important that she show herself to be not a terrible as they say, then to show Trump is terrble.

  3. Michael Bluth says:

    The histrionics of this post epitomize why Trump has narrowed the gap and is, potentially winning.

    I see ten reasons to vote against Trump and not one reason to vote FOR Hillary.

    The “almost certainly start a World War” point is a bit much.

    Reasonable people can have reasonable disagreements. The way this entire post is written there is absolutely no way a reasonable person could even consider voting for anyone but Hillary. Is that really the best approach with undecideds? Seems like it hasn’t worked so far. Only appeals to those who absolutely agree with Hillary and her “Why an I not 50 points ahead?” Those aren’t the people who will decide this election.

  4. MikeTO says:

    I think all here will enjoy this Global poll:
    https://worldwide.vote/hillary-vs-trump/#/results

  5. Heric says:

    In many of the close states Trump is finally advertising. She had a month of no competition. now it’s on.

    most people only care about their own safety. the Charlotte riots make this an issue again. Places like Pennsylvania and Michigan care about jobs. Clinton and her deplorables comment hurt her there. especially with the union vote.

    this is also a change election what is she changing?

  6. MississaugaPeter says:

    All 10 points valid.

    Why are we here? Two words: Hillary Clinton

    I criticized Hillary here for pulling a Mulcair last month when she pulled this stunt:

    http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/16/us/politics/hillary-clinton-transition-team.html?_r=0

    It is probably too late. The damage may already be done. All Trump has to do is stay steady (like Justin did) and he may win by 5-10 points if the idiot Democrats don’t replace Hillary ASAP. Sorry WK, I know you like her. I believe, flaws and all, Bill was the best president (other than Reagan) in my lifetime (since 1964). But us 99%ers that are not with her (I am with Johnson) know that she is no Bill. Threatening nuclear Armageddon is not resonating.

    If Trump stays calm and pushes his Maternity Leave program sufficiently, it’s over, no matter how many times the above 10 points are rehashed tonight.

    You want to see a campaign in crisis, go to Hillary’s twitter. You want to see a campaign on the verge of winning, go to Trump’s twitter.

    Note 1: While I agree Twitter supporters can be bought, Trump has been adding about 75K per day for the last month.
    Note 2: Yes, 99% white. But have you ever seen campaign rallies (other than Justin’s big one in the GTA) like the ones the MSM is not showing.
    Note 3: Wikileaks still has a dossier on Hillary that they are keeping close to their chests. If Hillary rebounds, she will be hit with it. I hate to say it but Trump and Wikileaks patience and commitment remind me too much of Justin’s win last year.

    • MississaugaPeter says:

      And Canada survived a decade of Harper. It will survive Justin’s years. And the United States will still continue to decline like other Empires before them, with or without Trump or Hillary.

  7. dave constable says:

    I’ll put more money into the military than you will.
    So what, I’ll give more weapons to the Israelis and Saudis than you will.
    Oh yeah, well, I will bomb more Muslims than you will.
    So what, I will bomb Russia.
    Oh yeah? Well I will bomb both Russia and China.
    I’ ll make America great.
    So what, I’ll make America strong.

    …and I am ready to be president, and you’re not.
    Am so.

    • dave constable says:

      Old people like me will catch the debate on tv.
      Younger people will catch it some other way…maybe on twitter, where Johnson and Stein are lurking.
      A part of what Clinton and Trump have to do is avoid any bleed off of votes to other parties, and messing up the cozy little 2 party thing they have going.

      That figure of 24% of young voters being for Johnson caught my eye this morning.

  8. Eric Weiss says:

    The Dems are blowing it. They arrogantly underestimated Trumps populism, belittled his supporters, and nominated a candidate people hate. Clinton is hemorrhaging support in key battleground states. Trump is peaking. They’re going to blow it. I hope I’m wrong, but it was all very predictable.

  9. Charlie says:

    At this point, I think reminding people about all the bad things about Trump on a stage like this is a waste of time. Its not a strategy that seems to be working and it only consumed valuable airtime. For the most part, people who are for Trump are completely comfortable with the risks and those who are undecided aren’t totally convinced they should even care about said risks.

    Thats the problem here.

    Hillary can go up on that stage and categorically lay out everyone of Trump’s indiscretions but she wouldn’t be letting the audience get their themselves. Its one thing to have surrogates and ads hammer Trump on deplorable behaviour, but Hillary needs to allow for Trump to show people how horrible he is and not tell the viewers. Let him defeat himself with his total lack of viable policy, his utter lack of grasp of what governance is entails and his absolute stupidity on the basic of presidential functions.

    I think the road to a successful debate for Hillary is with being intelligent, calm and in a way, snarky. Tear Trump down by making him look and feel like an idiot by contrast; don’t try to nag him into submission.

    Nevertheless, if Donald so much as goes 15 minutes without raising his voice or even mentioning Clinton’s name, people are going to call him the winner simply because he didn’t bring up his dick size. The task is much harder for Clinton, but she has an opportunity not to tell, but to show the world how retarded Trump actually is.

  10. jen says:

    I think many democrats are confusing and intermingling fear based strategies with shame based strategies. Fear based strategies can work in politics. But trying to shame voters as racists and misogynists will not work and will continue to backfire. I’m perplexed that democrats are as hapless as they are in comprehending the underlying issues behind Trumps rise – most of which relate to the collapse of the blue collar workforce. The white working poor and middle class has been drifting from the party of Roosevelt for over 25 years.

    Canada shouldn’t be smug either. If we are being honest politically, Harper did not lose the election over the Syrian election issue. The polling showed that his base of supporters and much of the electorate agreed with his approach. The tide turned when Trudeau was able to make his own narrative through the pledge to run deficits. The HRC campaign has not shown an similar ability to derail Trumps messaging.

    • Maps Onburt says:

      EXACTLY! Ten reasons not to vote for Trump doesn’t do anything except convince the people that Hillary already has that they are smarter than anyone else. Belittling Trump’s supporters is beyond stupid. That’s one of the reasons Mulclair was never able to capitalize on the dump Harper movement. You don’t convince people by telling them they are racists, stupid, ill-informed or any other adjective you can use to describe Hillary’s basket of deploreables. Harper lost the last election not because of the 60% that didn’t support him, but because Trudeau was able to convince nearly 75% of that 60% that he had a plan to make Canada better than Harper did (which was don’t vote Trudeau or Mulclair because they’ll wreck the place). Right now only Trump is promoting positive solutions for America… His slogan is “Make America Great Again”. Hillary’s is “I’m with her”. Which one do you think resonates most with voters who see things as not being good enough? Trump has been gaining in every area… even Nate Silver now has him winning if the election were held today. And yet Hillary campaigns on fear. Not smart.

      • james elder says:

        “Deplorables.” the dumbest word I’ve ever heard a politician utter in public.
        Trump is the ultimate manisfestation of America’s fascination with celebrity and he’s going to win because people love shitshows as long as they aren’t the ones harmed. You only have to watch the ridiculous fawning over the royals to understand we’re no different.

  11. I Would Vote Trump says:

    Not a Trump lover, but I would vote Trump were I American. Not because it’s a “lesser of two evils” thing (and I consider Hillary Clinton a liar and corrupt), but rather because I’d enjoy watching the “elites” heads explode. Just like Brexit did, but x 100. For that reason alone I would vote Trump. Nothing sophisticated about the choice at all.

    By elites I mean a class of people that are largely insulated from economic fluctuations, for whom borders (and nationality) are quaint ideas that mean little to them because of their professional mobility, and who tend to associate almost exclusively like-minded persons of similar backgrounds – I don’t see the CBC talking head stopping for coffee at Tim’s in Little Somalia, instead she’s getting her frappacino at Starbucks in the commisarie of her downtown Toronto office building served to her by some arts grad hipster. The university professor who doesn’t know a single farmer whose hydro bills have gone from $2k a month to over $6k in two years. The political consultant who writes suggests referring to job losses as “carbon leakage” without ever taking a drive through some neighbourhoods in Windsor where you can get a house for under $25k because manufacturing jobs have fled.

    I think your list is filled with hyperventilating hyperbole. Trump is a piece of shit, I won’t deny it. In all likelihood he is going to lose. But I don’t think you understand the tsunami that is coming eventually.

  12. CM says:

    Tell your friend, the senior Clinton guy, that they’ll know if they’re scoring points and making him feel uncomfortable when Trump’s mouth gets dry. Watching debate clips from the Republican debates you can tell when Trump knew the other guys landed a solid blow on him when his mouth would get dry. Trump also will not drink water — he mocked Rubio for that — making things worse. When Rubio was landing blows on Trump about his use of repetitive talking points and his “lines around the states” quip Trump was in heavy dry mouth mode. When Cruz told him to “count to 10” it was a desert in Trump’s mouth. He’s very self-conscious about looking stupid so he lashes out … and his mouth gets dry — that’s his tell.

  13. monkey says:

    Cannot disagree. Won’t be campaigning in the US but any friends I have in the US who are eligible for citizenship I will encourage them to get it (if there is still time left) and likewise plan to encourage those with dual US citizenship to vote. Unlike any other presidential race in modern history including even George W. Bush’s re-election or Barry Goldwater, no one is as scary and as dangerous as Trump. And I am a moderate conservative who does not like Trudeau’s fiscal policies so no lefty either.

  14. WestGuy says:

    It would be interesting to find out, of your list of 10 things, what he can actually do on his own and what would require support of congress. I suspect President Trump would find a steep learning curve as he realizes the chasm between what he said he was going to do and what he actually has the authority to do.

    • Lou says:

      Problem there is the Nobel prize winner just set a precedent in terms of over reach. Trump would have “a pen” as well. This was the risk Obama took when he decided to circumvent or ignore congress entirely. The democrat$ created the monster, now they have to slay it. P.S. That is a figurative term, not a literal one. Did you get that NYT and WaPo?

      • Ron says:

        Trump thinks he is running for Emperor and can rule by edict.

        Congress won’t wear it, even if it does stay republican.

        The dickless Senate handed Rome over to the Julio-claudians. Not this time.

        The Great Inciter would be impeached within 100 days, even if he did win.

  15. Kelly says:

    So Clinton is God, now?

  16. Ron says:

    When was Drumpf god ? Maybe we should call the Ghost Busters.

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