THE WORST CANDIDATE EVER

This guy has an unstable personality, driven by unyielding resentments, poor emotion management, and suspicion of conspiracies everywhere against him. A creepy character for anyone -- but terrifying for someone who wants to occupy the most powerful position in the world

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2016/07/no-more-mr-nice-guy.html
He's just losing it . . .

http://www.politico.com/story/2016/07/donald-trump-hillary-clinton-debate-schedule-226464#ixzz4FuIVdICZ
Donald Trump late Friday accused Hillary Clinton of intentionally stacking debates against primetime programming to “rig” the election process, despite the fact that the schedule has been set since last September. . . The preliminary debate schedule for the general election has been set since September, 2015, by the non-partisan Commission on Presidential Debates . . .

http://crooksandliars.com/2016/07/donald-trump-throws-hissy-fit-over-rally

“So I have to tell you this. This is why our country doesn’t work,” Trump started as soon as he got onto the stage. “We have plenty of space here. We have thousands of people outside trying to get in. And we have a fire marshal that said, ‘Oh we can’t allow more people.’” . . . Trump continued. “Hey, maybe they’re a Hillary person. Could that be possible? Probably. . . .”

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/trump-wished-clinton-congratulations
Donald Trump lamented Friday that Hillary Clinton did not congratulate him during her acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention. . . . During a rally in Colorado Springs, Trump said he tuned in to Clinton's speech "out of curiosity" to see if Clinton would mention his name and was disappointed she didn't congratulate him for winning the GOP nomination. "I was curious to see whether she'd do a class act and not mention my name," Trump said. "Or mention it with respect, like, say, 'I'd like to congratulate my Republican opponent for having done something that nobody has ever done in the history of politics in this nation.'"

[NB: Does it even occur to this combed-over buffoon that he might have congratulated HER "for having done something that nobody has ever done in the history of politics in this nation."?]

Trevor Noah: http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/07/30/trevor-noah-trump-losing-his-sh-t-after-dnc-proves-he-doesn-t-have-the-temperament-to-be-president.html
“As a leader of democracy, you can’t just lose your shit at the slightest provocation,” the host continued. “It appears, though, Cinnamon Hitler didn’t get the memo.” [watch]

Thinking about the quote, above, is Trumpy trying to lay the groundwork for getting out of the debates (which would be a disaster for him)?

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/no-certainty-debates-will-happen-at-all
Donald Trump gave his first hint last night that he might try to get out of the Fall presidential debates. But I'd thought for months that he'd likely try to get out of them. I think he will be at a steep strategic and tactical disadvantage in any debate with Hillary Clinton . . . [read on]

What kind of man is this?

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/donald-trump-father-fallen-soldier-ive-made-lot/story?id=41015051
In his first response to a searing charge from bereaved Army father Khizr Khan that he’d “sacrificed nothing” for his country, Donald Trump claimed that he had in fact sacrificed by employing “thousands and thousands of people.” He also suggested that Khan’s wife didn’t speak because she was forbidden to as a Muslim and questioned whether Khan’s words were his own.  “Who wrote that? Did Hillary's script writers write it?” . . .  “I think I've made a lot of sacrifices. I work very, very hard.”  [watch]

More: http://www.vox.com/2016/7/30/12332922/donald-trump-khan-muslim
Horrifying, even for Trump . . . [read on]

http://washingtonmonthly.com/2016/07/30/donald-trump-is-a-coward-afraid-of-facing-mainstream-voters/
Donald Trump is a coward . . . [read on]

Ghazala Khan speaks! http://www.vox.com/2016/7/30/12333640/donald-trump-khans-muslim
Ghazala Khan: "First of all, I think all America who listened from their heart to my husband’s and my heart, and I’m so grateful for that. It was very nervous because I cannot [look at] my son’s picture. I cannot even come in the room where his pictures are. And that’s why when, I saw [his] picture [on the video screen behind me], I couldn’t take it. I controlled myself at the time. So it was, it is very hard."

https://twitter.com/capricious_/status/759408107583840256?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Ghazala Khan: "I begged my son, I begged him, do not come back a hero, come back to me a son. He came back a hero."

Why Rove's "accuse the other of what you are doing" strategy doesn't work for Trump against Clinton

http://washingtonmonthly.com/2016/07/30/karl-roves-tactics-wont-work-for-donald-trump-against-clinton/
 

Polls, grain of salt, blah blah -- but these are interesting. If true, Trump's numbers have dropped off a cliff

https://politicalwire.com/2016/07/30/clinton-opens-up-wide-lead-over-trump/
The new RABA Research tracking poll shows Hillary Clinton has opened a significant lead over Donald Trump, now leading him by 15 points, 46% to 31%. . . A similar poll conducted the day after the Republican convention showed Clinton ahead by only five points.

More: http://washingtonmonthly.com/2016/07/30/post-convention-polling-going-well-for-clinton/ 

http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2016/07/chart-day-hillary-now-commanding-lead-over-trump-sort

https://politicalwire.com/2016/07/30/trump-has-few-paths-to-victory/
“Donald Trump, confronting a daunting electoral map and a significant financial disadvantage, is preparing to fall back from an expansive national campaign and concentrate the bulk of his time and money on just three or four states that his campaign believes he must sweep in order to win the presidency,” the New York Times reports. . . . 

Trumpy's been reduced to this. Sad!

https://politicalwire.com/2016/07/30/trump-says-republicans-have-no-choice-except-him/
Said Trump: “If you really like Donald Trump, that’s great, but if you don’t, you have to vote for me anyway. You know why? Supreme Court judges, Supreme Court judges.” He added: “Have no choice, sorry, sorry, sorry. You have no choice.” 

[NB: Love it! Can we get some bumper stickers made?]

So, Trumpy reaches out to the Koch Bros, because he is clearly having money troubles and apparently doesn't want to spend his own money. They tell him no. So, what does he tweet?

http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2016/07/donald-trump-pathological-creep
"I turned down a meeting with Charles and David Koch. Much better for them to meet with the puppets of politics, they will do much better!"
  
Trumpy's debt

http://fortune.com/2016/03/23/donald-trump-debt/
Donald Trump Is Understating His Debt by $500 Million
    
How the world appears to a hard-core Trump supporter

http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/07/backing-donald-trump/493619/
Perhaps the hardest thing to do in contemporary American politics is to imagine how the world looks from the other side. . . .    

Clinton versus Trump on climate change

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2016/07/not-dimes-worth-of-difference.html

Hillary's campaign is forcing us to think in new ways about women's leadership styles

http://www.vox.com/2016/7/30/12319520/democratic-convention-hillary-clinton-speech-women-leadership

In other news . . .

More good news on the voting rights front

http://crooksandliars.com/2016/07/federal-judge-overturns-more-walkers-voter

More: http://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/three-voting-rights-laws-gop

Fox World blows up

http://crooksandliars.com/2016/07/bombshell-report-paints-picture-knowledge
Bombshell Report Paints A Picture Of Knowledge And Cover Up Of Ailes Sexual Harassment At The Top

Bonus item: Food

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/07/30/1552715/-Six-questions-for-Simran-Sethi-on-slowly-losing-the-foods-we-love-biodiversity-and-consumption

***If you enjoy PBD and support what we are doing, you can help by forwarding a copy of this issue to your friends (using the envelope link below) or by sending them a copy of its URL: http://pbd.blogspot.com

I don’t get anything personally out of this project, except the satisfaction of doing it (I don’t run ads, etc.). The credit really all goes to the people whose material I copy and redistribute. But if I do have a “mission,” it is to get this information into the hands of as many people as I can.***

HER

Hillary Clinton, feminist

http://washingtonmonthly.com/2016/07/29/stronger-together-a-deeply-feminist-approach/

More: http://www.vox.com/2016/7/29/12320238/hillary-clinton-dnc-speech-policies
Hillary Clinton is using conservative rhetoric to lay out a remarkably liberal agenda

The no-win dilemma of women in politics

http://www.vox.com/2016/3/15/11243422/hillary-clinton-dnc-speech-smile-shouting-voice
It was Hillary Clinton's big moment, and all some pundits could talk about was her voice

More: http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2016/07/okay-not-to-like-hillary-clintons-speaking.html

I just heard a talking head on TV say Clinton has no plan for the economy. Here it is

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/07/29/hillary-clinton-has-a-very-detailed-plan-for-the-economy-that-may-be-a-problem/

More: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/07/29/a-transcript-of-hillary-clintons-interview-with-the-washington-post-on-economic-policy/
A transcript of Hillary Clinton’s interview with the Washington Post on economic policy

Hillary on trade: she's changed her position, but a lot of people don't believe it

http://www.vox.com/2016/7/29/12319646/hillary-clinton-down-with-tpp

More: http://www.cnn.com/2016/07/27/politics/tpp-what-you-need-to-know/  

Road trip!

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/on-three-day-bus-tour-clinton-hopes-to-woo-blue-collar-voters-away-from-trump/2016/07/29/e0988c56-5598-11e6-b7de-dfe509430c39_story.html
On three-day bus tour, Clinton hopes to woo blue-collar voters away from Trump

No question, the Democratic convention was better run, more spirited and unified, and more hopeful than the apocalyptic Republican hate fest

https://politicalwire.com/2016/07/29/democrats-win-the-convention/

http://prospect.org/article/three-powerful-messages-democratic-convention 

Top ten moments from the convention

http://www.salon.com/2016/07/29/from_the_mothers_of_the_movement_to_michelle_obamas_speech_relive_the_10_most_memorable_moments_from_the_dnc/ 

A convention that looked like America

http://www.vox.com/2016/7/29/12295830/republican-democratic-delegates-diversity-nonwhite
Half of the Democratic delegates were people of color. For Republicans, it was only 6%.

More: http://www.salon.com/2016/07/29/a_story_of_dueling_racial_optics_the_democratic_versus_republican_national_conventions/ 

Another theme for the Dems: highly visible people with disabilities

http://www.vox.com/2016/7/29/12320210/democratic-convention-disability-rights-hillary-clinton
 
The Dems are trying to retake the religious issue

http://www.vox.com/2016/7/29/12320252/democrats-christian-religion-dnc-convention 

Fox World didn't cover the powerful speech from the parents of a Muslim soldier who died serving the US. You don't even need to wonder why

http://crooksandliars.com/2016/07/fox-doesnt-air-khizr-khans-powerful-anti

More: https://twitter.com/NateGoldman/status/758836007714164738?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
As soon as Khizr Khan finished his speech, "register to vote" spiked as a Google search. 

Best moments from the Trump-bashing

http://www.slate.com/articles/video/video/2016/07/best_donald_trump_insults_at_the_democratic_national_convention_video.html

Here's how you know the GOP convention was a disaster: Trumpy now wants you to know he had NOTHING to do with it 

https://politicalwire.com/2016/07/29/trump-says-he-didnt-plan-the-gop-convention/ 

More: http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/trump-not-responsible-differences-rnc-dnc
After promising a “showbiz” Republican National Convention that would dazzle the American public, Donald Trump shrugged off responsibility for staging it . . . 

http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/trump-throws-the-rnc-under-the-bus
“This is more than just a campaign setback for Trump. It’s a setback that cuts right to the core of what Trump considers valuable about himself.” . . . 

However, convention TV ratings are a poor predictor of electoral success 

https://politicalwire.com/2016/07/29/convention-ratings-dont-predict-the-winner/ 

Too bad dancing skills aren't 

http://www.slate.com/articles/video/video/2016/07/rnc_and_dnc_attendees_dancing_analysis_video.html 

Well, we'll hear no end of this. Trumpy's call to supporters to boycott Hillary's speech had an effect, it seems, giving his convention speech slightly higher viewership than hers. It's meaningless, but I'm sure he'll be bragging about it for days. And in the coverage so far, no one is pointing out how he worked to suppress her viewership

http://www.mediaite.com/tv/donald-trump-convention-speech-beats-clintons-in-ratings/

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2016/07/dnc-rnc-ratings-trump-clinton.html?mid=full-rss-di

On the other hand, there's this: http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2016/07/they-didnt-like-him-they-really-didnt.html
[Gallup] "Trump's speech got the least positive reviews of any speech we have tested after the fact: 35% of Americans interviewed last weekend said it was excellent or good. Of the nine previous speeches we have rated, the top one was Barack Obama's in August 2008, which 58% of Americans rated as excellent or good. The lowest-rated speech other than Trump's was Mitt Romney's in 2012, with 38% excellent or good. . . . The self-reported net impact of the GOP convention was also negative. Overall, 51% of Americans say the convention made them less likely to vote for Trump, while 36% said it made them more likely to vote for him. This is the highest "less likely to vote" percentage for a candidate in the 15 times Gallup has asked this question after a convention. The previous "less likely" high was 38% after both conventions in 2012, and after the GOP conventions in 2004 and 2008."

https://politicalwire.com/2016/07/29/poll-finds-clintons-speech-was-more-effective/
A CNN instant poll right after the Republican and Democratic conventions finds that Hillary Clinton gave a much more effective speech than Donald Trump. 71% had a “very positive” reaction to Clinton’s speech, as opposed to 57% for Trump. 

Yes, Trumpy actually said "no more Mister Nice Guy" and "I'm taking the gloves off." So you know that gentle, respectful campaign he's been running? That's all over now. He really seems to believe that people want to see more Angry Trump. I say, great! 

http://www.politico.com/story/2016/07/donald-trump-nice-226457
“Tell Hillary I’m not gonna be nice anymore” 

More: http://www.cnn.com/2016/07/29/politics/donald-trump-lock-her-up/
Trump on 'lock her up' chant: 'I'm starting to agree'

"A flawless campaign"

https://politicalwire.com/2016/07/29/trump-says-hes-run-a-flawless-campaign/
“I’ve had a beautiful, I’ve had a flawless campaign. You’ll be writing books about this campaign.”

Give me a break, will you?

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/sean-spicer-jeffrey-lord-clinton-plagiarism-de-tocqueville
Team Trump Cries 'Plagiarism' Into The Void After Clinton's DNC Speech 

Trump keeps accusing Clinton of deleting 30,000 "missing" emails. He says it over and over again. But the FBI recovered those emails -- they aren't missing

http://www.cnbc.com/2016/07/27/trump-hope-russia-finds-the-30000-emails-that-are-missing.html

More: http://www.businessinsider.com/fbi-recovered-clintons-deleted-emails-2015-9

Trumpy's tax returns. Here's what we know -- whatever is in there is so terrible, so fatal to his campaign, that he has decided that no damage he gets for not releasing them can be worse than if he does

http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/trump-draws-even-harder-line-tax-returns 

Trumpy is hoping that scaring people about the terrible nominees Hillary will appoint to the Supreme Court will force even people who find him repulsive to vote for him. It isn't working 

http://washingtonmonthly.com/2016/07/29/trumps-supreme-court-pleas-are-falling-on-deaf-ears/ 

Smart move, Trumpy, keep attacking military guys

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2016/07/29/trump-attacks-retired-general-who-spoke-forcefully-against-him-at-the-democratic-national-convention/

Thin-skinned Trumpy's feud with Michael Bloomberg heats up -- he says he want to "hit" him

http://www.vox.com/2016/7/29/12324696/donald-trump-michael-bloomberg-dnc

More: https://politicalwire.com/2016/07/29/trump-says-he-wanted-to-hit-several-dnc-speakers/ 

It is wonderful to watch him returning to real or imagined slights again and again and again

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2016/07/29/trump-dismissing-clinton-attacks-revives-primary-election-controversies/
“These are sick people. But really, it was nose” [read on] 

Mike Pence, who has the most miserable job in politics, tries to accuse Obama of name calling. NAME CALLING!

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/mike-pence-name-calling-no-place-public
Trump himself is not one to shy away from taunting nickname: Crooked Hillary, Lyin' Ted, Pocahontas (for Masschusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren) and Little Marco are staples of his repertoire. . . . 

Thanks for clearing that up. Now we know 

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/07/29/1554074/-Pence-Elect-Trump-and-Roe-v-Wade-will-be-consigned-to-the-ash-heap-of-history
Pence: Elect Trump and Roe v. Wade will be 'consigned to the ash heap of history' 

Remember when Trumpy got in trouble for soliciting campaign contributions from foreign governments (which is, you know, ILLEGAL)? They explained that it was just an email glitch, a teeny mistake. Well, THEY'RE STILL DOING IT 

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/sad--6 

What do polls mean now? 

http://www.vox.com/2016/7/29/12324674/polls-trump-clinton-winning 

http://www.salon.com/2016/07/29/dont_worry_about_trumps_lead_yet_its_too_early_to_stress_about_the_polls/

In other news . . .

Both candidates will now get a classified intelligence briefing. Is it unthinkable that the undisciplined orange-faced one will blurt something out?

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/war_stories/2016/07/the_presidential_candidates_are_about_to_get_an_intelligence_briefing_relax.html

Another Democratic campaign committee gets hacked, and it looks like it's the same people

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/dccc-confirms-hack

And now the Clinton campaign itself: http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2016/07/report-clinton-campaign-also-hacked.html
This would be the third cyberattack on Democratic party groups . . . 

The GOP-controlled Congress wants to investigate the hacking (what could go wrong?)

http://crooksandliars.com/2016/07/over-two-dozen-republican-security-experts 

Where Wikileaks went bad

https://www.wired.com/2016/07/wikileaks-officially-lost-moral-high-ground/

More: http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2016/07/will-a-wikileaks-email-get-clinton-imprisoned.html

There is no "war on cops"

http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2016/07/war-cops-right-wing-invention 

North Carolina voter suppression law struck down

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/07/29/1554166/-In-a-huge-win-for-voting-rights-federal-appeals-court-blocks-North-Carolina-s-voter-suppression-law

http://www.vox.com/2016/7/29/12328550/north-carolina-voting-laws-racist

More: http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2016/07/horrible-north-carolina-voting-law-struck-down

Bonus item: A depressing reminder of how many people are 'way smarter and funnier than I am

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2016/07/remembering-mary-ann-madden.html?mid=full-rss-di

***If you enjoy PBD and support what we are doing, you can help by forwarding a copy of this issue to your friends (using the envelope link below) or by sending them a copy of its URL: http://pbd.blogspot.com

I don’t get anything personally out of this project, except the satisfaction of doing it (I don’t run ads, etc.). The credit really all goes to the people whose material I copy and redistribute. But if I do have a “mission,” it is to get this information into the hands of as many people as I can.***