Billionaire cage match
by digby
I've been wondering for some time if it wouldn't just be easier to quit this charade we call "democracy" and have the billionaires decide who is going to rule us directly. They are anyway, and it's just a big waste of money and makes people feel bad when it becomes obvious that their participation in their own government is illusory.
Anyway, here's how it might play out. That Florida billionaire Bush supporter, Mike Fernandez, the man who said he would vote for Hillary over Trump has been threatened with a lawsuit from Donald Trump, also a billionaire:
Though we believe your decision is fool hearted [sic], please be advised that in the event your ads contain any false, misleading, defamatory, inaccurate or otherwise tortious statements or representations concerning Mr. Trump, his business or his brand,” [Trump's attorney Alan]Garten wrote, “we will not hesitate to seek immediate legal action to prevent such distribution and hold you jointly and severally liable to the fullest extent of the law for any damages resulting therefrom ... and will look forward to doing it.”
Because Trump is a public figure, however, he’ll have trouble successfully suing for defamation.
Garten also listed the Bush-backing super PAC, Right to Rise, on the letter. The super PAC, however, had nothing to do with the ads, Fernandez said. The fact that Fernandez – who contributed $3 million to Right to Rise – felt personally compelled to run ads against Trump indicates a level of frustration some donors have had with the committee’s effectiveness in helping Bush.
For Fernandez, the threat from Trump’s organization was exactly what he was looking for: a fight. Fernandez, in prior interviews, said he looks forward to comparing his record as a rags-to-riches Cuban immigrant with that of Trump, who inherited the money and was “born on third base.” Fernandez later told The Miami Herald that Trump was so bad that he would vote for Hillary Clinton instead of the Republican if he had too.
After Fernandez first told POLITICO of his plans to run newspaper ads, he was mocked on social media for using a dead medium to communicate. Some said the attack would be feckless and unseen.
But Trump’s organization gave it new life.
In the full-page Trump-bashing ads Fernandez proposed for papers in Miami, Las Vegas and Des Moines, Fernandez referenced how “Hitler in Germany, Mussolini in Italy and Peron in Argentina” took advantage of economically hard times and misled the masses.”
He's got the money to fight Trumpie --- if he wants to. And Trump tends to be a blustering bully who just tries to intimidate people into backing away without following through. So we'll see what happens.
I do wonder about the level of professional expertise from Trump's legal team though. How could this attorney send out a threatening cease and desist letter, especially one that is bound to be heavily publicized, with a mistake as embarrassing as "fool hearted" in it? If I were Trump, I'd say "you're fired!"
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