A Two-Part Question for DU:GDP

[H2O Man]

“Expert, texperts choking smokers
Don’t you think the joker laughs at you?”
-- John Ono Lennon; I am the Walrus.


I have a simple, two-part question for all DU:GDP enthusiasts who would be willing to take a minute to respond. I ask this in a sincere manner, and I am convinced that if community members give an honest answer, it will provide a picture of how very differently we view “politics.”

The two-part question is based on the possibility that the November election will pit Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton against republican candidate Donald Trump. It is not to determine who you would vote for, or who you believe would win. There are more than enough OP/threads dealing with those topics already.

If the contest is between Clinton and Trump, who do you believe the Bush family will be supporting? Why?

I ask these two simple questions, not to focus on the general election. Rather, I am curious about people’s level of understanding of what factors come into play in the two party’s primary contests.

Thank you for your consideration.

Peace,
H2O Man

[Vincardog]

1. IMO the bush clan will support their old family friend HRC Because she offers to keep them safe.

[H2O Man]

3. Thank you.

[brooklynite]

13. Whereas President Sanders will have them indicted?

Care to point out when Senator Sanders ever called for criminal charges against GWB? Or called for his impeachment?

[H2O Man]

14. That is not part

of this survey. Let's keep this both simple, and civil. I appreciate your cooperation.

[leveymg]

79. I think any indictment is more likely sooner than later and nearer than farther. nt

[valerief]

2. I'm so tired of the Hillary is Inevitable posts, no matter what silly way you twist it. nt

[H2O Man]

5. I believe that

I am the very last person on DU who thinks Hillary is inevitable. A brief reading of the OP would have revealed why I ask the questions.

Please feel free to simply not read and/or respond.

[valerief]

156. Sorry, but I don't usually notice who posts what, so I don't have a memory

of your previous posts. I just took your post as another Hillary is Inevitable post (even though I have the Hillary group trashed and many of its favorite groupers). I don't even want to read Hillary's name until the convention.

I should have done what I usually do with posts I don't want to see (or interpret incorrectly). Trash it, instead of replying.

[malthaussen]

148. H2O man is no promoter of HRC...

... as a casual acquaintance with his posts would make clear.

IMO, in fact, he's actually being very cleverly anti-Hillary with this post, by hoping to evoke the answer that the Bush EE will support Mrs Clinton because she is an acceptable establishment candidate. I happen to agree with him, there, if so.

-- Mal

[djean111]

4. The Bush family would support Hillary.

They have a lot in common with her, they are close with her and Bill, and Trump threatens their party.
I don't see a lot of policy differences between the Bushes and Hillary, really. Fracking, war, regime change, TPP, etc. And, at that level, they are only in this for the money and the power and the chance to wage wars, not for any ideological reason.

This, of course, is why I cannot support Hillary.

[H2O Man]

6. Interesting.

Thank you.

[brooklynite]

37. It doesn't matter...Texas will go for Trump

They can vote for Clinton or not vote; the result will be the same.

[leveymg]

80. Well said. nt

[Myrina]

93. Agreed.

n/t

[Maedhros]

7. I think it's pretty clear that it would be Hillary.

Trump has obviously frightened and annoyed the puppet masters, and they will put their weight behind the candidate to whom they've attached so many of their strings. The Bushes, being loyal minions, will follow their masters' lead.

"Dance, Hillary, dance!" should be her slogan for the General.

[H2O Man]

9. Thank you!

[NCTraveler]

8. I really don't have a good answer for that.

The reason I don't? I am truly not sure where Trump stands on the issues or his overall ideology.

I also think Trump has absolutely no loyalty to anyone but himself. That is somewhat frightening for a past President.

[H2O Man]

10. Interesting.

Thank you!

[thesquanderer]

63. re: "Trump has absolutely no loyalty to anyone but himself"

I think that would be a reason it would be hard for the Bushes to support Trump. So maybe you have an answer after all!

[NCTraveler]

72. "That is somewhat frightening for a past President. " nt

[tularetom]

11. Clinton is in the club, Trump is not

The Bush family are charter members of the club.

Is there any doubt who they would support?

[H2O Man]

12. Thanks!

[Rebkeh]

15. I have no clue but my best guess,

and it's not a particularly strong one, would be not Trump. They will vote for the establishment just like every other codependent voter. Their money/power priorities will overtake party loyalties, regardless of who the nominees are.

[H2O Man]

16. Thank you, Rebkeh!

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

17. Probably neither. They'll just have another cocktail and a good laugh.

[H2O Man]

18. Thanks!

[azurnoir]

19. I think the Bush family will either stay neutral on this or support Trump in that order

they can not support Hillary and retain any cred as Republicans, they may support Trump if as the nominee the rest of party warms up to him

[H2O Man]

20. Interesting.

Thank you!

[thesquanderer]

64. re: "they can not support Hillary and retain any cred as Republicans"

OTOH, they have made no bones about their friendship with Bill.

Though also, as pointed out elsewhere, the OP is not specific about "public" support vs. supporting privately, behind the scenes. If the latter, they can do whatever they want without working about their cred to the public at large.

[Lizzie Poppet]

21. Depends on whether the Bush clan is "issues first" or "party first."

If it's the latter, it's obvious who they'll support: whoever has their name on the GOP ticket.

If the former, Hillary. Peas in a pod, policy-wise, at least on a great many issues.

[H2O Man]

22. Thank you!

[Agnosticsherbet]

23. The Bush's will support the Republican Party and fall politely in line with their nominee.

though they will neither hug and kiss him as if he were a Saudi Prince nor campaign openly for him.

Their energy and money will be to save their party and their position in it, or if the Republican party shatters (I doubt this will happen, but it should be addressed) help set up the new establishment in a new party with themselves at the top.

[H2O Man]

24. Interesting.

Thanks!

[Agnosticsherbet]

26. Your welcome. It is a great question.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

25. If the contest is between Clinton and Trump, who do you believe the Bush family will be supporting?

They will either sit on the sidelines or support Hillary. No biracial family can in good conscience support support a man who foments racism and xenophobia.


I will eat my ear if Columba Bush's husband, George P. Bush's uncle or grandfather supports Donald Trump.

Remember, that George Bush Pere endorsed Edwin Edwards (D) against David Duke (R-KKK).

[H2O Man]

27. Thanks!

[DemocratSinceBirth]

34. More context

BATON ROUGE, Nov. 6— In his strongest comments to date on the Louisiana governor's race, President Bush said today that State Representative David Duke was a charlatan unfit to hold public office because he has espoused racist and neo-Nazi beliefs.

The President's remarks came after a statement by Mr. Duke on Tuesday that equated the extermination of Jews in Nazi Germany with affirmative action programs in the United States.

http://www.nytimes.com/1991/11/07/us/the-1991-election-louisiana-bush-denounces-duke-as-racist-and-charlatan.html

[Kip Humphrey]

28. Clinton, no question about it. The Bush crime family and the Clintons together have deep roots.

and



Say no more, say no more! eh? eh?

[H2O Man]

32. Thank you!

[7wo7rees]

40. Agreed. No doubt whatsoever.

Great pics to illustrate.

[SheilaT]

29. The likelihood of them supporting a nominee of the Democratic Party

over the nominee of the Republican Party is close to zero. Even if it's Hillary v the Donald. Party loyalty almost always wins out.

Just my take on this.

[H2O Man]

33. Thank you!

[H2O Man]

30. Good question, H2O Man!

But, if you had asked me before posting it, I'd have suggested noting that what position the Bush family takes publicly, may be very different than how they behave behind the scenes.

[H2O Man]

31. Well, thanks, H2O Man.

I purposely did not ask you, because your OP's are always so long and boring.

[Blue_In_AK]

46. LOL.

[bigtree]

68. Alert results

AUTOMATED MESSAGE: Results of your Jury Service

Mail Message
On Fri Mar 18, 2016, 01:29 PM an alert was sent on the following post:

H2O Man
31. Well, thanks, H2O Man.

I purposely did not ask you, because your OP's are always so long and boring.

REASON FOR ALERT

This post is disruptive, hurtful, rude, insensitive, over-the-top, or otherwise inappropriate.

ALERTER'S COMMENTS

H2O Man calls H2O Man 'long and boring.' This is an ugly personal attack and should not be allowed to stand on DU. I've always found H2O Man's OP's to be succinct and interesting.


You served on a randomly-selected Jury of DU members which reviewed this post. The review was completed at Fri Mar 18, 2016, 01:29 PM, and the Jury voted to MAKE FUN OF IT.

Juror #1 voted to BOOKMARK IT
Explanation: No explanation given
Juror #2 voted to HIDE IT
Explanation: I hate it when people talk to themselves.
Juror #3 voted LET THEM HAVE AT IT
Explanation: The two commenters were provoking each other. Wrong to suppress one of them. The spat is a little personal but I wouldn't suppress it.
Juror #4 voted LEAVE ME ALONE
Explanation: No explanation given
Juror #5 voted to ELECT HILLARY
Explanation: OP was very persuasive in favor of the former SoS.
Juror #6 voted to HIDE IT
Explanation: These types of responses make DU suck! Stop this shit. DU can be better than this!
Juror #7 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: I don't see any personal attack, just a minor slur, to be expected in primary season. I almost voted to hide, but didn't because the poster appears to be bored.

Thank you very much for participating in our Jury system, and we hope you will be able to participate again in the future.

[H2O Man]

85. Well done!

[H2O Man]

98. ......

and I'm fully confident that you knew exactly which conversations inspired the OP ....even if I didn't mention you by name!

Keep up the Good Work. Your contributions to this forum are appreciated.

[Sensitive soul]

117. You guys

Are funny. And I say the Bush family should back Clinton but will not openly support either.

[malthaussen]

149. ...

I was Juror 7, and I stand behind my verdict.

-- Mal

[Hell Hath No Fury]

151. That was my initial thought --

they would give Trump minimal lip service in public but absolutely vote for Clinton when it came time. Not a chance in hell they would do otherwise, IMO. Gotta keep the Presidency "in the Family" and Trump is NOT Family.

[Beowulf]

35. Publicly, they stay neutral.

Privately, they support Hillary. Actually, I think they would privately support Hillary against all of the GOP challengers except, of course, for Jeb. Why? The Clintons and Bushes are two branches of the same crime family.

[H2O Man]

36. Interesting.

Thank you!

[LonePirate]

38. Who cares? Why does it matter on DU what the Bush family does in their private lives?

The Bushes are not in office and none are running for federal office. I couldn't care less what they say or do.

[CalvinballPro]

44. It's an artful smear, to imply that whoever the Bushes support must be "the worst."

[LonePirate]

49. It's an obvious attempt to tarnish Hillary by connecting W and company to her.

Maybe I am mistaken but the hidden agenda of this topic leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I could at least respect a post that offered evidence of W and other Bushes supporting Hillary for whatever reason.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

70. Bush Pere endorsed Edwin Edwards (D) against David Duke (R-KKK) so there is precedent...

[H2O Man]

51. Thanks!

[peacebird]

39. Clan Bush will support their good buddies in Clan Clinton

[H2O Man]

52. Thanks!

[CalvinballPro]

41. This is what is known as "guilt-by-association" and I'm not falling for it.

[H2O Man]

53. Thanks!

[Fumesucker]

120. A Calvinball Pro should be able to play any game and win

[immoderate]

42. I think they go with Hillary.

There appears to be some empathy there.

--imm

[H2O Man]

54. Thank you!

[ljm2002]

43. That's a tough one...

...since it would be hard for the Bush family to support a non-Republican candidate. OTOH, they probably consider Trump to already be a non-Republican...

I suspect they might just sit it out without endorsing either candidate. I'm pretty sure they won't endorse Trump, and I would be very surprised if they came out and endorsed Clinton, since she is a Democrat.

So that's my call: no endorsement, because they can't endorse the xenophobic Trump and they won't endorse the Democratic Clinton.

Hell, even GWB publicly asked us not to hate on Muslims. I gave him credit for it at the time and I still do, much as I loathed his presidency overall.

[H2O Man]

55. Very interesting!

Thank you.

[Blue_In_AK]

45. In that scenario,

I believe the Bush family would support Clinton. Maybe not vocally, so as not to upset the Republican powers that be, but I can't imagine even the Bushes supporting the monstrosity that is Donald Trump. The Bushes and Clintons have much in common with their years in the White House and similar ideas about foreign policy and so on. Clinton, hands down.

[H2O Man]

56. Thank you!

[griffi94]

47. They would support Hillary

Because politics is the Bush family business.
Trump makes a complete mockery of serious political discourse.

Any serious public servants regardless of ideology or political persuasion has to reject
the very idea of Trump as president.

He is a real life President Dwayne Elizondo Mountain Dew Herbert Camacho.
Trump invalidates the process and the very idea of sober thoughtful serious governance.

[H2O Man]

57. Thank you!

[sorechasm]

48. House of Saud = House of Bush and the

Clinton Collection Plate runs to the House of Saud
I wouldn't be surprised if the Bushes send campaign contributions to Hillary (secretly of course).

[H2O Man]

58. Thank you!

[Hiraeth]

50. neither. they won't have to. either way, they win.

[H2O Man]

59. Thanks!

[Hiraeth]

61. yw

[Gregorian]

60. Hillary.

I believe they would support her because they think they could control her.

I say that for really only one reason, and that is because Trump cannot be controlled.

Honestly, I'm not able to give anything more reasonable than that.

Hey, I hope you're doing well. And vertical.

[H2O Man]

62. Thank you.

I'm able to walk today, which is pretty darned good!

[tblue37]

65. They will support HRC, but quietly. Their surrogates (like W's speechwriter Michael Gerson) are

already hinting publicly that it might be necessary, no matter how unpalatable, to back Hillary if Trump is the GOP candidate. The Bush family would not make public noise in her favor themselves, though.

Hillary is not a significant danger to banks, corporations, or the MIC, but Trump IS a significant danger to the GOP establishment (and to a lot of other people and things, too, of course).

I still think the GOP powers will find a way to keep him from the nomination.

[H2O Man]

66. Very interesting.

Thank you!

[tblue37]

67. I added a point on edit, so maybe reread the first paragraph of my post. nt

[H2O Man]

87. Very good!

[Autumn]

69. The Bush family would support Hillary. After his presidency Bill developed close ties with them.

And here's something else I think, if Bernie were the nominee and it's Trump versus Bernie they would go with Trump.

[H2O Man]

88. Thanks.

Interesting point!

[iscooterliberally]

71. I honestly think it could go either way.

On the surface it sure seems like the Bush family would go with Hillary because of their long time close family connections. I think they both belong to that same religious club know as 'the family' that many of the senators and house reps belong too as well. Maybe that's just a rumor or conspiracy theory? Who knows? The reason I say it could go either way is because Trump could make a back room private deal with the Bush family to win their support. The Bush family always seems to go where the money is. They have consistently put profits over people for generations now. They always seem to be 'up for sale' if you know what I mean. I think they will go wherever they can amass more money and power. I'm not convinced the Trump is a good business man though. What I mean is that if someone would just give me a small loan of a million dollars, backed up by several billion in inheritance, I'm pretty sure I could be a way better business man than Trump is.

[H2O Man]

89. Interesting.

Thanks!

[baran]

73. Clinton

Probably behind the scenes. I can't see them endorsing Trump; he's a loose cannon. They couldn't count on him to support their interests. A Wall Street puppet would be more to their liking.

[H2O Man]

90. Very good!

Thanks.

[thesquanderer]

74. I can't imagine their supporting Trump.

His interests are not clearly aligned with theirs. (Or really, anyone's but his own.) Bush interests and Clinton interests at least align in terms of being generally supportive of the establishment and big money interests, even if they differ in how they would tinker around the edges. I think Trump would also be kind to the monied interests, that's still his mileau, but he is more of a wild card, and may not be as, shall we say, receptive to suggestion.

Also, Trump did quite a number on Jeb. Yes, politics is politics, but also, family is family.

Plus he went on national TV with the assertions that, no, W did NOT keep us safe, and also, he lied us into war.

There is clearly not going to be any love lost between these folks. Whereas the Clintons are practically family themselves at this point.

I would be surprised if they publicly endorse Hillary, but I wouldn't rule it out entirely. I do think they would support her over Trump "behind the scenes." If circumstances prompt them to support Trump publicly, I would expect nothing more than lukewarm lip service.

[H2O Man]

95. Really interesting!

Thanks.

[Peace Patriot]

75. Very complex question, H2O Man.

Don't have time for full answer right now, but hint of how I'd approach it. Robert Kagan (Pnac-neocons) intend to ride back into WH on Clinton. If Bush Sr still has a say, I'm not sure he likes neocons. I think he helped oust Rumsfeld & curtail Cheney to prevent them nuking Iran & for risking Jr's neck with CIA over CIA outings (Fitzgerald investigation). But sons are much dumber than Sr. They wouldn't know how to handle rogue like Trump. They'll go with Clinton. Pnac angling for total US military Protectorate in ME/No Africa to plunder last of oil before death of planet.

[H2O Man]

96. Very good!

I hope you will expand upon this as time allows!

[Scootaloo]

76. Oooh, tough one

I think they will ultimately either follow Reagan's 11th commandment, or not pipe up at all. Or, they'll support people writing in Jeb.

They're not going to come out for clinton; unless they plan to try to field the next generation of Shrubs as Democrats (which... ugh. Ugh now they're gonna do it, since I jinxed it!)

[H2O Man]

97. Solid answer.

Much appreciated.

[tk2kewl]

77. I believe the Bushes and Clintons have a great deal of power...

within the shadow government (or “Trumanite network” as described by Michael J. Glennon http://tinyurl.com/huogf7w) and their foreign and corporate partners.

Given that, I think they would likely go with Hillary, but may not feel there is a pressing need to choose.

It's also possible that the Bushes would strike a deal with Trump whereby he ensured they would get people in positions of power within his cabinet. I wonder what Trump might want in return.

One think I know for sure is that if Bernie were to be the Dem nominee they won't choose him over Trump.

[H2O Man]

99. Great answer!

Thanks!

[G_j]

78. Clinton

will keep them safe

[H2O Man]

100. Thanks!

[840high]

81. Trump. Trump.

[H2O Man]

101. Thank you.

[LostOne4Ever]

82. They will publicly claim to support the republican party, but will secretly all vote for Clinton

[font style="font-family:'Georgia','Baskerville Old Face','Helvetica',fantasy;" size=4 color=#009999]Trump destroyed Jeb, and the Bush family won't forgive that.[/font]

[H2O Man]

102. Interesting.

I was hoping that someone would mention Jeb. Thanks!

[Onlooker]

83. Absolutely, they will support Trump for a number of reasons ...

...

Providing lukewarm support for Trump is their best shot of maintaining a definable Republican base.
Supporting Trump will be necessary if they want to motivate Republicans to the polls to support candidates down the line.
Republicans are generally Germanic (the largest single ethnic group in the US), who historically tend to be attracted to tough, decisive leaders, even if they are lunatics. The Bushes have Germanic and English ancestry.
Republicans can't expect Hillary to help their party in any way, even if they back her.
The legacy of the Bushes is more threatened by the Democrats than by the Republicans.
Even if Trump gets elected, much of what he will do will be mundane Republican fare; there are not that many areas where he will bother to go nuts.
Trump, even if he wins, will not have control of the Republican Party, though will have significant power.

[H2O Man]

103. Very interesting!

Thanks!

[Chitown Kev]

84. Interesting question...

I think that the Bushes who have been public officials will stay quiet

I think that George P. (he would be the only elected Bush currently holding office, I believe), Barbara Bush and others (maybe even Laura Bush) would publically support Clinton.

That will communicate the wishes of the Bush clan and yet allow Shrub and Jeb! to have deniability

They would do so because the Bushes don't like a lot of chaos in GOP politics and, in effect, Trump would be running to be their successor....

[H2O Man]

104. Great answer!

[Cal Carpenter]

86. Clinton, obviously

Status Quo. Neoliberalism on the march, don'tcha know.

Despite his financial wealth, Trump is not tapped into the state power system whatsoever. While he wouldn't likely be able to change the course of things much as president, he wouldn't reflexively advance the neo-con/neo-lib march. Clinton will. Bill did, Hillary did under the state department, there is no reason to expect anything else from her.

[H2O Man]

105. Very interesting!

Thanks!

[liberal_at_heart]

91. Clinton. She will continue the wars in the ME and protect the Bush's oil legacy.

[H2O Man]

106. Thank you!

[SecularMotion]

92. I think the Bush family fears Donald Trump more than Hillary Clinton

Donald Trump threatens the Republican party structure through which the Bush family exerts it's power.

[H2O Man]

107. Interesting.

Thanks -- I appreciate that!

[Attorney in Texas]

94. The Bush family would support Clinton over Trump (and, behind the scenes, Clinton over Cruz).

On domestic policy, Clinton is to the left of the establishment Republicans (embodied by the Bush family) on social issues, but they are hand-in-glove on the perpetuation of the economic status quo.

On foreign policy, there is no meaningful distinction whatsoever between Clinton and the establishment Republicans.

In terms of the Demopublican establishment, the candidates rank as follows:

Sanders - least acceptable because he vows to disrupt the economic status quo
Trump - second least acceptable because he is unpredictable and petulant and inclined toward populism
Cruz - not quite acceptable because he is vindictive and unafraid of exploiting populism to achieve ideological ends
Clinton - perfectly acceptable (plus 4 years of Clinton will allows us to get our house in order to stop Warren)

[H2O Man]

108. Great answer.

I like it, a lot! Thank you!

[malthaussen]

150. I like that answer.

Mrs Warren will be 70 in 2020. I wonder if she wants to have the job as President, or would prefer to remain a legislator, or possibly hold a cabinet post. While the job has perks, it also has problems she might not want to deal with.

-- Mal

[rogerashton]

109. When William Jennings Bryan took over the Democratic Party

a New York Democrat said "I am a Democrat still. Very still." My guess is that they will be Republicans still.

[H2O Man]

110. Very good!

[democrank]

111. My guess.....It`s a "birds of a feather" thing so the Bush family would most likely support Hillary.

After all, Hillary was on Dubya`s side in Cheney`s "Shock and Awe" campaign and I believe Dubya once said Bill Clinton is his "brother from another mother" or something similar.

At Nancy Reagan`s funeral, I didn`t see Hillary having much of a conversation with the progressive Ron Reagan Jr., but I did see a photo of her hugging Dubya.

[H2O Man]

112. Thank you!

[rock]

113. This would be a double conflict problem for the Bushes

As it is, it's too close to call. So I flipped a coin. The Bushes would go for ... Trump. If you don't like my method, toss it out!

[H2O Man]

114. Thank you!

[PufPuf23]

115. Clinton because Clinton is status quo establishment with a

track record as a war hawk.

Clinton's foreign policy is that of a neo-conservative.

Kagan supports Clinton so one expect the neo-conservative deep state to support Clinton.

Trump is an outsider and a loose cannon who scares many leaders of the GOP.

The Clintons and the Bushes are buddies.

[H2O Man]

116. Good answer.

Thanks!

[ret5hd]

118. One interesting (to me) aspect of the replys to this OP...

Just a quick glance and I see 5 replys with Bernie avatars and one with a Hillary avatar.

All 6 of those with identifiable avatars believe the Bushes would at least privately support Clinton.

The vast majority (I didn't bother to count) of the others also believe the Bushes would support Clinton.

[H2O Man]

123. Right!

[Blue_Tires]

119. I don't know the Bush family well enough to speak

on their voting tendacies with any confidence...

If you twist my arm, I'd say the family vote will be split.

[H2O Man]

124. Thank you.

[HereSince1628]

122. So, You're asking for replies so you can judge the repliers' levels of understanding?

That seems to implicity require that you are privileging your position in the universe of understanding the two parties' primary contests.

Seems to me this place hostile enough without us getting graded for our posts, LOL

[H2O Man]

125. Thanks!

I am unaware of a time when people on DU were discussing politics, where people did not evaluate the quality of other people's contributions. That seems a rather obvious part of any and all political discussions. It's difficult to imagine any meaningful discussion that this dynamic was not a part of, isn't it?

[HereSince1628]

128. Well 3 things...

It's not hard to imagine people not making that so explicit.

It is sort of hard in the current environment to think anyone is having a meaningful discussion

Objective evaluation suggests that evaluation of most posts is for potential insults that can be alerted on.

[H2O Man]

135. Interesting.

I'm not sure that it being "so explicit" is a bad thing. I had thought that it might be a means of lessening the harsh tone found on too much of DU:GDP. I have attempted to thank everyone who has participated, and noted that very different opinions are interesting and of value.

As with all of my previous "H2O Man surveys," there is no "right" or "wrong" answer to the two-part question. Normally, I state that in the OP; here, perhaps I should have. An oversight, not an intentional attempt to twist results.

The "alert" business is a sad factor these days -- in my opinion. I've rarely ever alerted on any post on DU; those times I have, it has been because an obvious republican rat came to DU through the sewers of republican internet sites. When I serve on a jury, I try not to allow my feelings about the poster -- good or bad -- to influence my decision. Something has to be pretty vile for me to advocate "zapping."

I had hoped both sides would enjoy this OP/thread. Oh, well. Can't please everyone.

[malthaussen]

152. "level of understanding" is infelicitous, agreed.

I think H2O man is interested more in the content of the answer than if it is "right" or "wrong," however. In this he is a rara avis among DU contributors. Even the fact that he replies to posts above as "good answer" is not evaluating them in terms of correctness, so much as complexity. Perhaps I give him too much credit, but if so, it is an illusion I would prefer to nurture.

-- Mal

[RandySF]

126. Hillary in a landslide

[H2O Man]

136. Thanks!

[notadmblnd]

127. They will support Clinton because they know she will maintain the status-quo

and protect the establishment powers that be.

[H2O Man]

137. Thank you!

[Agony]

129. well… Trump has given money to both Clintons and Bushes

I think that they will be getting together Thursday evenings for cocktails and a good laugh.

So… I'd say it hardly matters.

No really.

[kgnu_fan]

134. Trump gave tons of $$$$ to Romney via Rove, I remember....

[H2O Man]

138. Interesting.

Thank you.

[Chichiri]

130. Trump...

...and because the Republican establishment's hatred of Hillary is rivaled only by the Bernie supporters on this board. Hate trumps love in Republican world.

[H2O Man]

139. Thanks.

[noretreatnosurrender]

131. Both

One candidate they will support out in the open, the other candidate they will support behind the scenes. They only care about POWER and they will not put all their eggs in one basket.

The Bush family will come out for Trump but as insiders they hope their support will tarnish him in the eyes of many of his anti-establishment voters. They will pretend they support Trump and more importantly "his voters". They will get inside Trump's campaign and tell everything they know about it to the Hillary campaign so that she has a better chance of winning. They know Hillary will support what they want so she would be their favored candidate. They just don't want to be seen supporting her in public. If Trump should win they have positioned themselves to be insiders in a Trump administration so no harm no foul. They win either way.

[H2O Man]

140. Very good.

Thanks!

[Warren DeMontague]

132. I suspect they'll quietly sit it out. Not because they love Hillary, but cuz they can't stand Trump.

[H2O Man]

141. Thank you.

[KoKo]

133. Simple answer to your question: Bush Family supports Hillary/Bill.

Hillary/Bill is far closer to their fundamental beliefs than Trump. Poppy Bush has stated he views Clinton as a son and Hillary has been shown hugging and sharing a laugh with Bush II at the Nancy Reagan Funeral. Bill playing golf with Poppy has many archived photos. Plus, there are photos of the Bushies and Clintons together, for years, in very chummy situations hugging and laughing at events they all are part of.

Has anyone ever seen former President Carter in a "Bush Family Clutch" at any event since he left the Presidency?

[H2O Man]

142. Very good!

Thanks!

[Vattel]

143. They won't openly support anyone, but privately they will be pulling for Clinton.

Just a guess.

[H2O Man]

144. Thanks!

[hootinholler]

145. No question they will support their adopted daughter in law

Since Bill is their adopted son, W's brother from another mother.

No doubt in my mind at all.

[H2O Man]

146. Thanks!

[malthaussen]

147. I would expect the Bush family to support Mrs Clinton...

... though they might be ill-advised to go public with it. Which means, given the level of political acumen they have been wont to display, that they'll probably take out a full-page ad in every major newspaper about it.

However, I would expect them to do everything in their power to ensure that Mr Trump is not the GOP candidate, so one could say I don't quite accept your hypothetical. As a question of last resort, though, they would support the candidate with whom they think they can do business, and Mr Trump is too much of a loose cannon for them to have that assurance; OTOH Mrs Clinton is a known quantity and one who presents no threat to the current oligarchy's hegemony.

-- Mal

[vintx]

153. Hillary.

They're both friends and enablers of the sick establishment that is sucking this planet dry.

[CrispyQ]

154. BFEE for Clinton!

HRC will see that the war machine marches on & that the Bush/Clinton investments continue to make profit.

Who knows what the Donald will do? All he says is he will make America great again & build a wall. The media never asks him how he's going to do it, but they pound on Sanders relentlessly on how he's going to do what he proposes.

[kydo]

155. They would probably not say much in the election

and quietly vote for Clinton. And it isn't for the love of Bill. They don't like tumpf. He cost Jeb the election. It was supposed to be Jeb but then the don ran and made fun of Jeb's low energy, called him a loser and blamed W for the Iraq war.

While trumpf is soooo rich, the Bushes are old money. Way older then trumpf. They are blue bloods trumpf is an usurp.