I misread that, now I’m just thinking of this guy:
Not that he would be better, mind you…
You people are just cruel. She’s actually very cleverly dressing in a way to foreshadow how Trump’s America will negotiate with the rest of the world.
“Nice oilfield. Stand and deliver, rogue!”
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Actually, yeah…
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That is not how you practice firearms safety…
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I think a historical comparison to the Nazis is not helpful. This is our mess. Not the one of our grandparents (or their parents). The neofascism displayed by Trump, Farage, Le Pen, Wilders, Petry, Orbán, Kaczyński and others still falls short of the Nazi comparison, and even Putin, Lukashenko and even Erdoğan play in different leagues.
That said, I am with you. Fascism must be smashed. Never again, we vowed. And yet, we are deep in terrible trouble not to loose our faith in democracy, and following authoritarian, racist, law-perverting leaders.
We need to answer two questions. One: how to win back those for democracy who already believe that this is the only change they can believe in? Two: how to prevent more, probably even lethal damage?
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those who are lizard people cannot lie about it; when asked if they are lizards, they either have to avoid answering the question or say yes
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The outcome may be a lesser or different kind of shit but it’s also about the methods employed.
The language used in public (political) discourse in the US was always self-congrulatory aggrandizement (We are/have the best X of the world) clear to see from the outside perspective but probably par for the course from the inside.
Trump just turns this style to 200% and sees himself as pars pro toto - a common topoi used by fascist leaders:
“Die Partei ist Hitler! Hitler aber ist Deutschland wie Deutschland Hitler ist!”
Rudolf Heß
(Translation: The Party is Hitler! Hitler is Germany, Germany is Hitler!)
BTW Making fun of Kellyanne Conway because of her or just for her clothing has a whiff of misogyny …
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To be fair, Spicer and his big suit were also ridiculed.
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I agree that the (popular) political discourse in the US has a tendency towards a form of very publicly displayed nationalist symbolism. However, the principles and history of the US constitution can be seen as the source of this. Most Europeans are watching these displays with a certain kind of bewilderment, but at least the French and, to a lesser part, the British have a similar traditions.
However, the Teapartyists and Trumpist@s have used this narrative, culminating in the now probably seminal “America First” rhetorics. (FTR, similarly positioned but differently phrased doctrines existed in US politics for a very long time, which can be traced back even to the Declaration of Independence, historically.)
That said, I would like to maintain and to stress that we still don’t need to invoke the Nazis for self-aggrandizing, populist rhetorics. Seriously.
If the Trump administration would start to do politics (not only propaganda, mind) in a way the Nazis did, we would be even more fucked than we are know. They certainly seem to have no clue how to be diplomatic, and how to deal with the press in a non-inflammatory, civil way. Which might both be on purpose, or not. But while they are cultivating the Donald-against-Goliath tropes, and might have taken a lot of lessons from neofacist, nationalist and populist playbooks, I certainly don’t think they will try an American version of Gleichschaltung. Let Conway try her verbal con tricks, and Spicer try to spice up his scripts - then call them out, and let them further show their colours. But don’t compare them to the Nazis. Keep the perspective, both in regard to the future, and past. At the time of the Machtergreifung, quite some journalists and satirists in 1933 Berlin had to fear for their life. I certainly hope that anything remotely like the Naziherrschaft is impossible to repeat, in the US as well as in the EU.
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Sure, 2017 USA is no 1932 Germany but such things don’t happen overnight - it’s a gradual slide.
Hoping is ok because it hints at doubts and preserves a certain watchfulness. My concern is that USians often express a certainty in this regard: “Can’t happen here!” because “Freedom! Constitution! Best democracy of the world! USA! USA!”. I fear that unreflective nationalism/patriotism and american exceptionalism (are blinders preventing the public to see the dangers ahead.
A lot has already happened before Trump - who would’ve thought two decades ago that the US public is A-OK with e.g. torture prisons?
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What makes you think that? Or are you joking?
From listening to his podcast for several years, even though he tries not to talk politics, I get the impression that he’s a dyed in the wool democrat.
Jamie Hyneman, on the other hand, might be ok with it.
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What makes you think that we’re A-OK with torture prisons? When the public found out about Abu Ghraib, there was and still is a huge outcry against torture. It was a disaster for the Bush administration. Only extreme righties are ok with using it.
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I’d put him on the Democrats left wing, from what I have heard him say.
He’s an atheist sceptic. I don’t know what his politics are, but I can’t see him approving of Kleptocrat Trump’s views on reality.
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I don’t know … perhaps because the general public recently elected a person who endorses torture? Because the person responsible for Abu Ghraib got re-elected (George Bush, November 2004) after the scandal broke public? No consequences at all? Because there are still torture prisons?
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Also: Jamie really doesn’t like taking on TV. So that’s not a great thing for a spokesperson.
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Is Sean Spicer trying to be David Byrne?
Spicer should just stop trying, he can’t pull it off.
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You forgot the prefix.
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This is nicely put.
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He wore it better. 
