caulfield12

Staunch conservatives and American preservationists are Trump’s true base, representing about half of those who voted for him. They tend to be America-first nativists who are socially conservative and opposed to immigration, and may feel culturally threatened. Trump’s hard-line immigration policy is meant for them, and they’ll probably stick with him no matter what. The disengaged, a small portion of Trump voters, aren’t very knowledgeable about politics, but they do tend to feel powerless and left behind in the modern economy. Trump’s vilification of immigrants and Muslims may appeal to them and earn their loyalty. Free marketeers and anti-elites are more moderate. They tend to be traditional Republicans who may have voted for Trump simply out of party loyalty. They support free trade and a light government touch on the economy, which is at odds with Trump’s interventionist trade policy. Some of these people already regret voting for Trump, and he could lose more if his protectionist trade policy backfires or the economy weakens. Since these two groups represent about 45% of Trump voters, his approval rating could fall into the mid or low 30s if the economy begins to struggle, which would weaken Trump’s political power and his leverage over fellow Republicans in Congress. This is his biggest vulnerability. https://finance.yahoo.com/news/trump-supporters-never-waver-185256151.html More

Russell and Happ for deGrom would have been an interesting one...

Angels with lots of Asian fans due to Ohtani...and best player in MLB since Bonds.

Go Cubs, Go! I guess 2-3 more years of disparity between the two respective teams and we might not even have a Cubs’ thread, unless Fathom still cares to maintain it.

Can’t we also apply that to the 2008 and 2016 Clinton campaigns...? Simply because of experience and her husband’s political instincts, you’d think it would be impossible not to win. If Crowley were to beat her, somehow, then it would be 75% on her. That said, at least she’s on the radar screen on a national basis. She’s definitely a very intelligent woman, but she’s going to need time to get up to speed on a number of issues (especially related to international events and foreign policy.) Look what happened to Sarah Palin when she became McCain’s VP candidate and was forced into the spotlight with a decade more of government service. The media, and public in general, tend to be much harder on female politicians than men. Let’s see if Trump today in Dubuque goes after Reddy’s candidate by name and even gives her a nickname. That’s when you really start to matter, lol...

https://sports.yahoo.com/padres-introduce-controversial-ticket-plan-encourages-fans-root-losses-184500254.html

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2018/07/24/ron-desantis-wants-to-be-governor-of-florida-a-particularly-odd-place-to-dismiss-a-young-hispanic-woman/?utm_term=.91d395f704f2 De Santis elevating national profile of Ocasio-Cortez, at least he could attempt to learn how to pronounce a Spanish name in Florida. Jackass!

Trump is likely to reinforce his support for farmers when he travels to Iowa on Thursday because the state offers a test case for the sentiment of grassroots voters in the fall. In a sign that the administration is worried about trade blowback in the Hawkeye State especially, Vice President Mike Pence is just back from a visit and offering a promise: "Under President's Trump's leadership we are always going to stand with American farmers." Iowa's political significance to Trump's political future cannot be doubted. If Democrats flip the state in 2020 and add its neighbor, Wisconsin, and Florida, they have a path to the 270 electoral votes needed to win the White House. Before then, Democrats are targeting several races that they believe could help them recapture the House this year. Republicans do have advantages in Iowa. The unemployment rate, at 2.7 % in June, is below the national average. Trump won the state by nearly 10 percentage pointstwo years ago, though his approval rating has since dipped. Social and religious conservatives in Iowa and elsewhere were vital for the President in 2016, and he has repaid their loyalty with two Supreme Court picks and by moving the US Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. "The biggest fan may very well be the evangelicals. They wanted that built," Trump noted Monday, in another sign that he is watching his electoral coalition like a hawk. But Iowa's mostly Republican officeholders have also sounded the alarm, warning the President in a letter last month that his tariffs have "real consequences." And while there was a cautious welcome for the farm aid package on Tuesday, many Republicans warned that it was just a short-term solution. "Many US products face market barriers abroad. I don't fault the President for trying to get a better deal for Americans, but it's not fair to expect farmers to bear the brunt of retaliation for the entire country in the meantime," said Iowa's Sen. Chuck Grassley. "What farmers in Iowa and throughout rural America need in the long term are markets and opportunity, not government handouts," Grassley said. There was also evidence of an ideological divide between Republicans and their President. Bailing out farmers to mitigate the consequences of a tariff-raising strategy runs directly counter to generations of GOP economic orthodoxy. House Speaker Paul Ryan, a Wisconsin Republican who is often loath to criticize Trump, said: "I just don't think the tariff route is the smart way to go." There were grumbles about the farm aid package from inside the weekly caucus meeting of Republican senators. One GOP senator wouldn't name names, but said on condition of anonymity that members from agricultural states reported general frustration with the President. "It was people from farm country saying, 'Things have changed,' (a) lot fewer MAGA hats around," the senator said. cnn.com

Surely the $12 billion in farmers’ welfare payoffs will trick them, lol... https://finance.yahoo.com/news/socialists-coming-democratic-party-190305177.html Article that could have been written by Reddy attacking the charismatic Ms. Ocasio-Cortez...

Lock him up!!!

https://www.cnn.com/2018/07/23/opinions/trump-is-taking-us-down-the-path-to-tyranny-sachs/index.html US on the path to tyranny...has fallen from 7th to 31st on world democracy index

Probably a good idea with all this focus on past social media posts getting people in hot water...I’m sure this current age of political vitriol is going to eventually bring about a string of lawsuits about job discrimination/bias based on one’s political beliefs and social media postings. I’m older, and could care less...but someone in their 20’s or 30’s has to be more vigilant.

Seems it is more aimed at John Brennan, reading between the lines...

I think most would prefer Encounters Unlimited, lol...

Trump is going after Reddy....campaign stop/rally in Dubuque this week .

Season high in K’s, because...of course!

Twice...this is becoming like a baseball-wide conspiracy against Moncada.

Poor Moncada...

Heard Rush’s fill-in today making fun of that list and Ocasio-Cortez’s knowledge of Middle East economics. Right now, there’s certainly nobody that scares you if you’re Trump. That’s probably a good thing, if he underestimates his opponents, as opposed to taking them quite seriously.

Trump has to be a complete idiot if he thinks the Chinese are trying to devalue their currency intentionally... If it wasn’t for tariffs/threat of tariffs and the US raising interest rates, so much money wouldn’t be flowing into the dollar and yen and away from emerging markets. You can’t complain about trying to prevent inflation (slowing down “Trump’s economy”) and simultaneously whine about all the predictable market reactions around the world. If Trump wouldn’t have gotten into this trade war in the first place, they might have successfully been able to sustain a 4-5% GDP growth rate into 2019 or even 2020 (still, that hot an economy would force rate hikes eventually.) No way they can pull that off with the current uncertainty. As it stands now, the economy’s going to slow down to a standstill in his election year.

Does it work on politicians, too? I’ve managed to injure Tatis, Puig, bring back Ohtani from the dead...so far Madrigal hasn’t been affected, lol.

5/8 so far for Madrigal...seems to be getting out of his late collegiate and AZL “slump” quite nicely.

Fast, you mean? Or you think he should be at 100-102?

Trump is the master of “woe is me-ism/everyone’s out to get me.” But he loves to attack nearly everyone else...just doesn’t react particularly well when it’s turned back on him. It’s the classic mixture of hubris and complete lack of empathy, served up every day.

https://www.cnn.com/2018/07/19/politics/2020-democrats-rankings/index.html Chris Cilizza put out a list of Top 10 Dem candidates for president and will update every month...a bit surprised Holder and Bullock are so high. Seems to be favoring Warren over Sanders mostly on gender (see Harris and Gilibrand). Still Biden’s pole position to lose at this point. Trump’s already leading with his Crazy Joe attacks.