For the Record's week in review: We feel it in our toes

We have a tradition every election season where we sit down and watch that old classic, “Politics Actually.” We’re suckers for all the intertwined storylines, the romance, the intrigue. If you look for it, we've got a sneaky feeling you'll find that politics actually is all around.

If you’ve caught the spirit of the political season too, take a minute to sign up for the almost-daily For the Record newsletter, and follow the FTR crew on Twitter (@RGJBrettMcG, @jmestepa, and @joannaallhands). You can also show up at our office and propose to us in broken Portuguese if that’s your thing. Now, on to our favorite storylines:

The storyline where the guy wants to go overseas to find love

The character that absolutely dominated the headlines this week was Donald Trump, who announced his plan Monday to ban Muslims from entering the country. Don’t worry, it’s only temporary – he only wants it to stay in place until Trump deems that politicians “figure out what is going on.” So.

Nearly every one of Trump’s presidential campaign rivals jumped to condemn the plan, which prompted rumors that Trump would head to Jordan, or to Israel to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. By early Thursday, the trip was scrapped, although Trump said “I could have done it, it was semi-scheduled,” and that all the Israelis would seriously dig him with his cute American accent.

The storyline with the love triangle

Trump’s rhetoric has the GOP concerned that the party’s brand could be tarnished for years (and not inconsequentially, someone outside the GOP establishment could take the nomination.) GOP power brokers met this week to start talking about a “brokered convention” if Trump starts racking up victories in early states. Under normal circumstances, a party’s nominee is determined well before the convention; in this scenario, the Republican convention is going to be some must-see TV as the party’s mainstream delegates would have to coalesce around a Trump alternative in real time.

Still, the Republican Party doesn’t want to lose Trump’s supporters, because an independent candidacy by Trump could split the right and hand the White House to the Democratic nominee. Meanwhile, Ben Carson is threatening to break ranks, too. Let’s see if either or both of them can be bought off with a thoughtful Joni Mitchell CD while the party establishment offers a gold necklace to literally anyone else.

The storyline with the unrequited love

Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, once thought to be a formidable 2016 candidate, still hasn’t endorsed any of the Democratic candidates. Right now, Bernie Sanders is outside Warren’s door, playing Christmas carols and holding up a series of signs begging for an endorsement. He’s trailing Clinton by about 25ish points nationally and could really use a boost to his campaign heading into primary season. Warren told the Boston Herald earlier this month that “It’s just not time for me to (endorse a candidate) yet.”

More from the campaign trail

Unrelated movie clip

We couldn’t find a Trump/Love Actually mashup, so here’s a Trump/Star Wars one instead.