Pay attention party politicians

Back in 2012, neither the Libertarian nor the Green Party presidential candidates received 15 percent support in the polls, so they weren’t allowed to take part in the debates with Barack Obama and Mitt Romney.  Last year a suit was filed by those parties and their candidates Gary Johnson and Jill Stein respectively.  The grounds were the “…the Commission on Presidential Debates violated federal antitrust laws and the First Amendment by excluding third-party candidates.” Today, a judge threw out the suit.  According to Politico, U.S. District Court Judge Rosemary Collyer ruled:

“Plaintiffs’ alleged injuries are wholly speculative and are dependent entirely on media coverage decisions. The alleged injuries––failure to receive media coverage and to garner votes, federal matching funds, and campaign contributions—were caused by the lack of popular support of the candidates and their parties sufficient to attract media attention.”

So basically, they weren’t popular enough and that’s why they couldn’t take part in the debates.  Seems reasonable.  I can see where a threshold is necessary. I mean, if everybody who was running for president got a spot on stage we could have 17 or more candidates jostling behind podiums. Imagine how that would turn out.

 Reading tea leaves shows a possible win-win scenario

As of right now you don’t have to read the tea leaves to know Donald Trump is just plain bad at this political stuff.  His opponent isn’t worried. In fact Hillary Clinton has already decided to stop ads in Virginia because Trump’s doing so badly there. But since he can’t admit he’s clueless when it comes to campaigning he does the next best thing by claiming everything is rigged. And now that he’s put out that meme it’s time to look at the tea leaves.  Former Trump advisor Roger Stone warns of chaos:

“But if Hillary Clinton defeats Trump in 2016, one of the Republican nominee’s former campaign advisers predicts there will be protests.

“I mean civil disobedience, not violence, but it will be a bloodbath,” Roger Stone told Breitbart News in a recent interview. “The government will be shut down if they attempt to steal this and swear Hillary in.”

This could be a win-win. If Trump loses, it’s a win. And then if the government gets shut down for a while it’s another win. Heck, they can’t pass bad laws if they’re not working.

 It starts tonight..almost

The Olympics kick off tonight with the opening ceremonies.  Check out NBC at 7pm ET for the tape-delayed pomp and hoopla. Don’t be surprised if social commentary gets thrown in the mix. From Yahoo:

“Really pay attention to what directors Meirelles, Waddington and Daniela Thomas are trying to say with this presentation. It may be the music, or the revelation of social issues that need to be resolved. Either way, there’s a message that will be sent.”

Competitions start up tomorrow with various swimming events.

No schnitzel for you

Let’s go to New York where everyone loooves Trump. Or not. The Schnitzel Haus is a German restaurant that has lost some business and received bad reviews on Yelp and it’s all because of a picture of the Donald. Yahoo explains the owners had an autographed picture of the cheeto the presidential candidate hanging on a wall, and while some diners took selfies with the pic, others cancelled reservations. Some of the Yelp reviewers even claimed to be offended.

Today is International Beer Day.  Do with it what you will. Not sure if this means you should try out some international beers or if it’s one of those holidays celebrated around the world. Either way, enjoy.

That’s it for today’s cooler fellow conservatives.  Remember to drop all your thoughts, rants, news and rumors down below. It’s all good since the cooler is an OPEN THREAD.

* all emphasis mine