So it’s a gotcha by virtue of the fact that Trump is a Republican? But it also means he’s a Republican?
I guess I can’t really argue with that, the fact that’s running as a Republican and Republican’s practically require that block to win (especially in the primary) is both true and damning.
Duke does not at this time represent the views of the Republican party’s general membership, despite his having been an elected Republican in the past.
Racists. Duke openly and happily represents active, open racism and those who support it.
That segment.
Edit - And we’re being fair, so we can’t ascribe racists to a particular party. Just the other day an adamant Clinton supporter on BB advised that they hoped that black criminals would be rounded up, put into the cargo holds of ships like sardines and sent back to Africa. That’s not an anti-crime sentiment.
Better and funnier now than at the inauguration.
Probably safer too …
I think the reasons his strategy works are simple. It’s classic
demagoguary, there are library shelves full of research on this topic.
It works like this:
Bernie’s appeal actually works in a similar way, his appeal is that he’s
authentic and not the politicians you’ve seen before.
Of course what helps Trump the most is that the GOP has been training it’s
voters for decades to love this guy. They always say govt and politicians
are terrible (neglecting to mention that they themselves are politicians),
dogwhistle racial animus, and generally reassure people that simplistic
solutions to complex problems are obviously correct (building a wall).
The conservative mind is already naturally attracted to the idea of
certainty, to knowing the simple and perfect answer, and the GOP has
fanned this instinct for a long time. It was only a matter of time before
someone like Trump came in and took advantage.
Since he has nothing to lose, (I don’t think he’d care much at all if he
actually won which makes him even more appealing to his base) he can say
absolutely anything. He’s not worried about political economy, has no
worries about past statements coming up to ruin future political
advancement, and so he can push the heretofore much more subtle GOP
rhetoric to its extreme.
No one in the GOP can counter him. They dismissed rational arguments long
ago in discussing immigration, healthcare, etc. so they’ve got nothing to
push back with. So far the only thing holding GOP’ers back was a fear they
might say or do something which hurts them in the future when/if the tides
change. Since he doesn’t care, they can’t win.
It’s like this: Once I played poker with someone who was really good at it.
I am terrible at it. We were playing with not much money and I’d already
lost most of it. So I decided to flip the table, I refused to look at my
cards and just bet haphazardly. The other guy was flabbergasted, “You have
to look at yours cards!” he said, he insisted that one must play the game
rationally. But I refused, and won several following hands because he
couldn’t see through my obvious tells, and just didn’t know what to do. I
almost got my money back, but as the night wore on I just started going
“all-in” on everything and eventually lost due to sheer bad-luck.
Trump thus is doing well for the same reason, because he’s not playing the
game rationally. He’s not doing the dance of who can say pander the most
without going too far, and so he wins. Lately the only way you can win in
the GOP is by saying the most extreme stuff you can get away with, and
because he has nothing to lose, doesn’t need donors, and (I think) doesn’t
even care much if he wins, he’s unstoppable.
Other GOP’ers have failed at this so far I think because they actually have
principles to some extent but also just lack the charisma to convince
people they actually believe what they’re saying.
So it comes down to this:
The only way to beat him is to have a charismatic opponent who can use
rationality. Trump success so far doesn’t depend on rationality (the GOP
base gave up on that long ago). Up against a Democrat I don’t think he’d
have much luck. The American public isn’t that far gone (I hope).
Naw. There’s no way that Trump would settle for mere brass when he can have an ivory tower. Schmuck.
Good analysis that makes sense to me, thanks. I’ve known people like that. They’re Bill O’Reilly types, who seem to think the winner of any discussion (which automatically becomes an argument) is whoever can argue the loudest and talk over other people the most. Trump is exactly like them, and his fans are like people who tend to like these men (they’re always men) that I’m talking about – the fans listen FAR less to anything such people have to say than to the confident, bold, and thus surely correct way in which they say it.
Thanks!
Yap!
The more I think about it, the more I recall interviews with Trump fans who say things like, “He really knows what he’s talking about!” It’s clear that if you asked them just what he is actually talking about, they’d hardly know what to say.
John Oliver actually focused much of his comedy segment yesterday on item number two.
The branding of Trump represents major commercial investment that mystifies (and polices with litigation threats) the market value of licensing the word “Trump” for commercial projects.
When Oliver began decoupling the myths branded to the Trump “name” from the actual facts, he even joked about “the spell” being broken.
Drumpf is a guy behind a curtain. Laughter breaks the spell.
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