The only way for Hillary to have any kind of impact in her first term is if she wins in a landslide.
That would mean taking back the Senate and making significant gains in the House.
Against Trump, such a landslide is possible.
Against a more mainstream Republican, it is not.

We have no control over what happens externally between now and November. Terrorist attack, Wikileaks, whatever. Even complacency amongst Dems could do it. I DON'T think that will happen - I think Hillary will win. But as long as Trump is in the race, there's a possibility he'll win. And that is a chance I don't think the world can take.

make it worth having Trump in the race. The odds of him winning are slim. The odds of Trump losing in a big way, and in a bigger way than any other Republican candidate, are pretty good and, I think, worth the risk.

And they hate Paul Ryan and don't much care for Mike Pence either. They won't vote.

The republicans, I believe, are screwed either way- unless some unforeseeable event(s) or information arise. But then that's always possible in any election.

Alas, Trump will never have zero chance of winning. We'll just have to be satisfied with the strong odds against him (or anyone who replaces him if he drops out). And if he did drop out, the republican replacement couldn't even get on the ballot in quite a few states.

cheers, auntpurl

where he can't do further harm. In addition to the fears in my OP, I think his candidacy and inflammatory rhetoric has set back race relations (and increased other forms of bigotry) in this country by years. I want him AND his supporters fully repudiated and rejected, by Dems and Repubs alike. But I see your point - that can happen at the polls in November too.

chase the emboldened racists and xenophobes back into their bolt-holes.

bolt·hole

/ˈbōltˌhōl/

noun: bolt-hole

a place where a person can escape and hide.
"he thought of Antwerp as a possible bolthole"

•British
a hole or burrow by which a rabbit or other wild animal can escape.

... or even September. By then, the Republicans would likely be screwed by the state ballot deadlines. There would also be Trump supporters too disgusted to vote.

Any possibility of Trump as President is frightening.

He is not sane and I don't believe any civilized country should have someone like him on the ballot for president.

The calculation is (quality of Republican president - quality of Clinton as president) * (probability of beating Clinton).

I agree that Trump would be a worse president than Ryan. But I think Ryan would probably be twice as likely to win, and quite possibly three times, and I don't think Trump would be two or three times as bad.

How that happens is irrelevant as long as it happens.

What we have to do:

GOTV!
GOTV!
GOTV!

It is the one weapon against the GOP. They tend to vote; we somehow do not. That's a problem only solved by GOTV.

I don't give a damn if Drumpf stays in or not as long as the GOP loses big this year.

My current opinion is that there is no mechanism to replace him at this point, so talk of him bowing out of the campaign is just utter silliness.

That is the best way to insure Trump loses and loses yuge.

You need to hear the lamentations of their women.

Cut off all routes of escape. Crush them until they weep in agony. Claim your victory.

To the victor goes the spoils.

I concede. BUT NOT IN THE ELECTION. Crush those bastards!

I want the trumpectomy to be work for politicians who still want to call themselves Republicans. I want the stench to linger as Trump himself spends the next decade revising the history of his failed campaign and the assholes who first endorsed, then betrayed him. I want it widely known that during the Trump outbreak of 2016, the GOP stalled out, doing even less than their usual nothing about useful policy. Finally, I want Trump supporters everywhere to see that he is a fraud who fucked them all over for money.

I see your point. Well said.

Otherwise, it'll be back again in four years - potentially with a stronger messenger.

he needs to stay in.