On the same day that Republican nominee Donald Trump calls the political press “the most dishonest people I’ve ever met” in order to distract from his multiple lies about how much money he was giving to veterans’ organizations, Senator John Thune told Minnehaha County Republicans at their big fundraising dinner that they must elect a billionaire reality TV star as President because Clinton is Obama and we’re all going to die:
“We have to get it right in 2016 because the future of our country is hanging in the balance in so many different ways,” Thune said. “And there are three words that ought to scare everyone in this room: President Hillary Clinton.”
While the line got a laugh from the hundreds of attendees, Thune said the matter was serious. He said allowing Democratic front-runner Clinton to win the candidacy would be like a third term of President Barack Obama’s administration.
And that could be dangerous, the chairman of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee said, as Obama doesn’t adequately address terrorist threats and, as a result, the country has been put at risk. The solution, he said, is to back a candidate that would work with Republicans in Congress.
“We have a president who can’t say the words radical Islamic extremist in the White House,” Thune said. “America’s national security interests are very much at stake in this election. We need to make the right choice this November” [Dana Ferguson, “Thune: ‘If People Want Change, I Think Their Answer Is Trump’,” that Sioux Falls paper, 2016.05.31].
Senator Thune shares candidate Trump’s resistance to facts:
- Fewer terrorist attacks have taken place per year in the United States under President Barack Obama than under President George W. Bush.
- Fewer Americans have died in terrorist attacks per year under President Obama than under President Bush.
- Terrorism kills fewer Americans than car crashes, medical error, food contamination, obesity, excessive alcohol use, falls, workplace accidents, or police.
Dangerous, Senator Thune, is electing as President who loathes the press and the First Amendment that keeps us free. Dangerous, Senator Thune, is refusing to pull the plug on the Mussolini that your party created. Dangerous, Senator Thune, is trusting America’s security and reputation to the biggest liar in the Presidential field.
I know you don’t have many options, Senator Thune. You aren’t the only person who finds Hillary Clinton objectionable. The Libertarians are nuts. And you chose not to run, so you share the blame for your party’s failure to produce a reasonable nominee.
But you always have the option of conscience. And your words last night make clear you don’t believe in Donald Trump; you cling to not-Clinton, not-Obama, but you don’t believe in Donald Trump.
So don’t vote for Trump. Don’t tell others to vote for Trump. Cut your losses, admit that Hillary Clinton won’t be any worse for this country than Bill Clinton (maybe better, since she won’t be distracted by sexy interns in the Oval Office), and admit that Donald Trump is not qualified to be President of the United States.
Update 13:30 CDT: Senator Thune releases video clips of his speech to assure us that he and his fellow Republicans are still fighting for principles, despite their willingness to follow Donald Trump to destruction:
“We have an administration today that doesn’t seem to grasp the important role that America plays in the world,” says Senator Thune, who endorses for President a man whose Unpredictability Doctrine rattles America’s allies but wins praise from North Korea.
I’m fairly confident at this point had we elected a granola bar to the Senate in place of John Thune it would have been more effective.
Loony Thune: Chump 4 Trump.
Thune is hoping to be Trumpy McTrumpface’s VP choice. He’s practicing for the job by being the silent cardboard cutout behind McConnell at press conferences. He can do that for Trump too. Oh yeah! He can be Trump’s stage prop. Does Trump not see that!? Gotta figure out another ruse like the Facebook inquisition to get Trump’s attention again!!!
At least granola bars help keep you regular.
The only thing that justifies Hillary’s nomination for president is Donald Trump.
McConnell – sad. Cornyn – worried. Barasso – concerned. Thune – distracted.
Once again, a Repub tells us what he is against. They seem to have all the criticism, but none of the answers. I would like to hear one decent proposal…, just once! What the hell are you folks FOR?
Thune looking for another camera. Surprised he wasn’t spinning a basketball on his finger tip.
Trump is a bit over-the-top, but his criticism of the press is not inappropriate. He has a right to blast them. The national press seems incredibly lazy and always looking for a celebrity moment of video. The information on the contributions was available to them. In any case, they are stupid to jump into this because it just gives Trump more TV time and a lot of people on the right do not like the Press because now and then it presents science which contradicts their religious nonsense. Trump confirms their often inappropriate perspectives about the press. The national press is as interested in getting their faces on TV as is Trump.
From people that I talk to in DC, Thune is down the list as VP, but high on the Secretary of the interior one. I’m not sure what those qualifications are, but I’m pretty sure John aint got any of em.
The only job Thune is really qualified for would be our Canadian ambassador.
The Blindman
“He said allowing Democratic front-runner Clinton to win the candidacy would be like a third term of President Barack Obama’s administration.”
It would also be like another term of GW Bush.
So even though I don’t totally agree with Thune, it is still sad to read a hate-filled anti-Thune post that motivates others to express their hatred toward Thune.
McConnell – sad. Cornyn – worried. Barasso – concerned. Thune – distracted. Sibson – sad.
Thune just knows how to read a scorecard. Clinton cannot beat Trump. Thune has a chance to move onto the gravy train even further and he knows it. She cannot even beat Bernie no matter how you look at those scorecards, they tell the tale of the tape. Clinton has made it clear that she has no intentions of reaching out to Bernie supporters, and there are millions of us. Democrats and Republicans, have you ever had a nominee that is being investigated? Proud moments. These two ding a lings, Clinton and Trump, are the worst America has to offer. Time to vote the down ticket and save some ink.
Thune is a GOP Frankenstein. He’s like a partially living anti-liberal robot.
Yup. Thune is hoping for bigger and better things and wants to be in with all the right people that can promote him. Good luck with that. Based on what he has done for South Dakota; it wouldn’t improve a thing. Party follower like the other two.
NO he is lip service and photo ops. plus facebook John.
This guy is full of of you know what its all about me and not about you,Hey i will bail out those banks and big farm subsidies;
Neo liberalism will save the day, not even. Thune knows the gifts will flow http://www.washingtonpost.com/sf/investigative/wp/2016/05/27/fat-leonard/
Cory writes:
Thinking of people in groups is generally bad. Slapping derogatory labels on people is generally bad. Slapping derogatory labels on groups of people is generally very bad.
Trump issues blanket condemnations of ethnic and religious minorities. I’m not sure why the blanket condemnation of a political minority should be any less offensive. The linked article about the Libertarian convention embraces the Trumpish tactic of trying to define an entire group based on the least appealing members of that group (although not all of the cited examples are even members of the Libertarian Party) and trying to define individual members based on their least appealing characteristics.
Gary Johnson strikes me as a fake libertarian and a lousy presidential nominee, possibly worse than Clinton but not nearly as bad as Trump. Dismissing him as “nuts” strikes me as misleading and counterproductive.
Your broader point about Thune backing Trump strikes me as essentially spot on.
Trump said he did not want people to know how much he gave the vets and shamed the press for telling. Well if he wanted us to know how honest or dishonest he is when he does his taxes he could have leaked that instead. But now he got to make a big show of how bad the press is for asking him questions and show how much he gave to vets at the same time. Totally deceitful all at once. He gets more and more disgusting, well maybe he is consistently disgusting and inconsistent on everything else.
Thune’s problem is he is too tall and the air is too thin up there. How else can you explain his absurdity.
Jay Williams can use this against thune, make him sweat and spend some of that $11-13 Mil Thune has amassed for his protection from doing nothing… and some republicans may be impressed with Jay’s military pilot/high tech entrepreneur qualifications which exceed those of George Bush, who participated in running the country along with dick cheney and Donald Rumsfeld, for the republicans.
I would say Colin Powell too, but republicans froze out and set up and vilified him. And now, still John Thune is “aggravated” with the republican General, saying, mockingly:
“Retired Gen. Colin Powell, who served as Secretary of State, National Security Advisor and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, didn’t send me a news release.
He never does, for some reason. And it’s starting to AGRAVATE me.
But I’ll get over it, since he’s a general and all and probably knows a little bit about national defense and foreign relations.” (emphasis added)
Powell did tell Woster and a few million others on Meet the Press last Sunday that he thought the Obama Administration had struck a pretty good deal on an awfully difficult issue.
Powell says that while critics of the deal argue that it still provides Iran a path to nuclear development, the deal addresses one of the great concerns, Iran’s travel on a “superhighway” of nuclear development now. And he noted that Iran went — over the last decade or so — from 135 centrifuges to 19,000. The deal, Powell said, cuts it back to 5,000.
As for uranium, the Iranian stockpile of 12,000 kilograms goes down to 300 kilograms, Powell said.
“It’s a remarkable reduction, and I’m amazed that they would so this,” he said. “But they have done it.”
Powell says Iran gets no incentives until requirements are met, and that “a very vigorous verification regime has been put in place.”
He also argues that a hundred other countries are ready to make the deal with Iran, which will go forward with or without U.S. support. And he rejects the idea that the nuclear deal must somehow be tied to concessions from Iran on other worrisome or dangerous activities. Work in addressing those concerns should continue, but should not block gains on fighting nuclear development in Iran, Powell said, arguing that the administration’s deal does just that.
woster, http://kelolandblogs.com/tellkevin/politics-in-keloland/the-noem-thune-rounds-powell-perspectives-on-the-iran-deal/
without you republicans re-electing thune over and over, the GOP would not have an oar in the water. that boat is going to tip, i’m hoping. Captain Thune, remain at your post! Blub, blub…blub (mocking democratic value)…blub….
Nick, on regularity, the notionof President Trump does scare the poop out of many Americans.
Kurt, would it be acceptable to say that many attendees at the Libertarian national convention exhibited nutty behavior that does not appear to present an alternative for the governance preferable to Trump’s erratic and destructive bloviations?
Thune for Secretary of Interior? Bill D, that would surely lead to unrestricted grazing on federal lands, private development of every acre he could shuffle off to his corporate friends, and probably the closure of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, if not the dissolution of the reservations.
The Libertarian Party had some real nutballs running for President, but the nutballs doing the nominating managed to select the most sane, most electable team. I don’t see a path to victory for that team, but maybe they can get more people thinking about and voting for the Libertarian Party. And if they can siphon enough votes from Trumpy McTrumpface in a few states like Nader did to Gore in 2000 and Kurt did to Thune in 2002 then the Libertarian team will be doing the USA one heck of a service in 2016.
If the Libertarian Party wants to grow beyond its fringe nutball base and become a viable third party it will need to recruit Democrats, Republicans and independents who are socially liberal, fiscally conservative – and maybe not pure Libertarians. People like Gary Johnson and William Weld. Then they should run people like Austin Petersen for an office that he’s qualified for and experienced enough to handle at age 35 – which is not the office of President. And they should start running state legislative candidates in every state.
That’s an interesting way to look at it, Ror: offered several choices, the Libertarians, nutty as they may be, still managed to settle on the best. The Republican Party, offered 17 candidates, managed to settle on one of the worst (I think I could come up with rational arguments for the superiority of 15 of those candidates compared to Trump; I’m not sure I could conscientiously argue that Ben Carson could be a better President than Trump).
Terrorism kills fewer Americans than car crashes, medical error, food contamination, obesity, excessive alcohol use, falls, workplace accidents, or police……or them brainwashed toddlers who slay family and parents every chance they get playing with loaded weapons that wingnuts and the NRA aren’t concerned about.
“We have an administration today that doesn’t seem to grasp the important role that America plays in the world,” says Senator Thune,
Damn you,Obama! If you had ignored Iran they would have nukular weapons like North Korea got because dumbass dubya ignored Kim Young Dumbass. Obama and his diplomacy-sheesh.
Ror makes a good point about Libertarians’ need to get serious. As long as they are more interested in treating their conventions like a cosplay festival than a real organizing event, they’ll remain cyphers on the political landscape… or dupes for hijackers at the South Dakota convention.
Cory asks:
That wouldn’t be acceptable to me. It creates the impression that Gary Johnson is somehow responsible for the behavior of the convention’s least appealing attendees. Plus the word “nutty” isn’t one of my favorites, as it can be used to insinuate mental illness.
“Rorschach” writes:
That perspective on the 2002 election is a dishonest Thune talking point:
http://jacobtlevy.blogspot.com/2002/11/rachel-dicarlo-at-weekly-standards.html
http://humanevents.com/2012/11/26/did-libertarian-party-cost-gop-9-races/
Cory writes:
Actually the suggestion that Libertarians aren’t serious is extremely misleading.
Libertarians are America’s best-organized minor party of the modern era, having undertaken millions of dollars worth of petition drives and lawsuits to obtain ballot access in all 50 states. They did nearly as much “real organizing” at their national convention as the major parties will do at theirs, despite having only a tiny fraction of the money. Your suggestion that they’re “more interested in treating their conventions like a cosplay festival” is a smear worthy of Pat Powers.
With one possible exception, the only people duped at the 2014 state convention were the hijackers themselves, and to the best of my knowledge no one who attended the 2014 state convention attended the 2016 national convention. This is the kind of guilt-by-association to which I was referring when I wrote above that thinking of people in groups is generally bad.
If the best-organized minor party of the modern era doesn’t win any elections or advance any discernible policy initiatives or even get recognized in South Dakota, does that organization matter?
Johnson gets his guilt by association, just as Trump rightly suffers because of the support he gets from white supremacists, and just as Sanders inevitably suffers when his supporters get nasty. All members have an obligation to help shine the best light possible on their organizations. Libertarians who treat conventions like cosplay make everyone at the convention look like a nut, the nominees included.