Actually, we did - we still are, every day! - but not a lot of folk got, or get, the chance to listen because the other kind of folk that control the switch to the free speech megaphone refused to turn it on for Democrats.

the media has to agree to work with you.

Follow the money. The biggest share of money spent on political campaign goes to media operations. The big networks and the cable companies are making a fortune off the present political system. They don't want it changed. They work hand in hand with the Republican Party... and most establishment Democrats, also.

They would like nothing better than for Donald Trump to spend a billion dollars out of his pockets.

ridiculous amount of free advertising?

Does that make so much sense that no one wants to mention it?

As if anyone can control the message of the corporate media. We will hear what they want us to hear, see what they want us to see.

A mistake by an EPA worker sent mine pollution into a Colorado river; corporate media hangs the EPA and shows pictures of the orange river for days after the orange was gone. Radioactivity discovered in PA rivers, probably from fracking? Crickets.

know.

emails...Pfftt!

nor our discourse.

Where did it begin?

All we have to do is point it out.

Voters want politicians who get shit done or at least seem like they do.

Trump is new, Trump is provocative, Trump embodies the desire that "finally something gets done in Washington". And this reputation will last until voters realize that he's not that much talking about how he would solve their problems. Why would he solve their problems? They are losers!

The republican party has a similar problem, but right now, not some time in the future:
1. They don't get shit done. They have no accomplishments to run on.
2. A party in disarray won't get shit done. 16 candidates sniping at each other! Establishment vs Tea Party! Super-PAC vs Super-PAC! That doesn't look like a party that can do what you want it to do.

The Democrats do have accomplishments to run on: Obamacare (God, Republicans will be sorry they coined that word 5 years from now), Bin Laden, a rebouncing economy, Cuba, Iran...
And with only 3 major candidates so far, and very little sniping, the Democratic Party looks calm and orderly and on point.


Republicans have a clown-car full of candidates delivering story after story. The Democrats are the boring adult in the room. And in the good old tradition of "both-sides-do-it", the media is trying to come up with some scandal (Any scandal! Pretty please?) for Hillary to even things out. And why do they ignore Bernie Sanders? Because there's not even the potential for sensationalist headlines in this one. He's a bore who always talks about serious stuff. Boooooooooring! Tell us something about Hillary's hair!

He is a bombastic misogynist who has had 4 draft deferments, 4 bankruptcies, 3 wives, and $10 billion dollars and is on a power trip. He would like nothing better than to give himself another tax break. He is full of "you know what"...

Also, they are not attacking Bernie because they want him to be their opponent. They believe they can destroy him personally with the "socialist" label. Who knows? The media will do everything they can to help them, I am sure.

Launching too many attack-ads (which Trump would definitely do) will cost the Republicans some fractions of percentage points:

A too high ratio of attack-ads means that you don't get your proposals across. So your opponents talks about what he would do to make the voter's life better, while you are gossiping how the other guy is a bad person.

As Hillary's polls continue to plunge?

The people are captivated with the gore, but I doubt that the poll-numbers stay like this when push comes to shove.

For example: McCain. He was among the Top 3 or 4 but not the frontrunner. And then he won the primary because he seemed like a reliable guy. (Even though the topic of the election had shifted from national security, his specialty, to economy.)

For example: Romney. He consistently polled at ~20-25%. He was never the frontrunner. He never caused excitement among republican voters. And in the end everbody compromised on him because the alternatives were simply horrible.

More or less, called him a loser.

Sometimes you have to fight fire with fire. The other Republican candidates have no idea how to handle Trump's attacks.

Democrats simply refuse to fight with the same weapons.

With these clowns, however, I wonder if they decline to discuss real issues because maybe they just don't understand those issues very well.

It also seems a little early in the cycle for them to be relying on the emotion issues like abortion and immigration. They don't usually pull this crap out of their flaming bag of poo so early in the cycle. And they've gone full-tilt on them already.

I'm hoping it's because the real poll numbers don't look so good, and they're worried about their base.

...and Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio would be able to siphon away a ton of Latino votes from the Democrats. They were the perfect candidates to do it.

However, something happened on the way to the Forum.... Donald Trump.

So what issue did he decide to push? Illegal Immigration. Instantly, the Tea Party gravitated toward him.

So much for the big idea...

In all the hullaballoo over that ass Trump, I had forgotten all about those other guys need for Latino votes.

Oh, dear...we may have us a situation here. There's two or three clowns in the car that must have been counting at least some of those votes.

Is Trump for real? Or is he trolling the Republicans?

The attacks on Hillary Clinton have a very Rovian type feel