The view from the Center

[drumdude]

There have been few influencers who have criticized Donald Trump more than Sam Harris. He is even the subject of a meme: “Donald Trump broke Sam Harris.” This is in reference to Sam having spent the last 10 years focusing almost entirely on Trump, the insanity of his presidency and his supporters.

From this position Sam Harris criticizes the left. He says Democrats have to understand that far left activists are responsible for this second Trump president. Activists who want us to say “menstruating person.” Activists who want to see people with Y chromosomes dominate women’s sports.

It’s well worth a listen to get a view from the actual center. And if you think he’s not on the center, you’re the problem.

https://youtu.be/txjr4IdCao8

[yellowstone123]

Thank you for this post, drumdude.

Being a big fan of Sam Harris, I was concerned that there was no immediate response from him. This podcast was great so it was worth the wait. I hope those in the Democratic Party take time to reflect what their message will now be to those in the center. The next election for the House and for some senators is just two years away.

[drumdude]

Thank you for this post, drumdude.

Being a big fan of Sam Harris, I was concerned that there was no immediate response from him. This podcast was great so it was worth the wait. I hope those in the Democratic Party take time to reflect what their message will now be to those in the center. The next election for the House and for some senators is just two years away.

I was glad to see him hold off and not just put out a kneejerk reaction. I loved the podcast too.

However, he doesn't hold off on criticising Trump in the second half, either. As much as the Democrats are responsible for losing this election cycle, Trump is still responsible for literally damaging our democracy. Possibly so much damage that it won't be repairable in our lifetimes.

Sam's point that we could have easily experienced a civil war had Kamala turned the tide towards the end of election night was salient and terrifying. Influencers like Elon Musk and Joe Rogan had literally set a bomb ready to explode upon her victory, and they will get away with it because Trump won.

[Gadianton]

There have been few influencers who have criticized Donald Trump more than Sam Harris. He is even the subject of a meme: “Donald Trump broke Sam Harris.” This is in reference to Sam having spent the last 10 years focusing almost entirely on Trump, the insanity of his presidency and his supporters.


From this position Sam Harris criticizes the left. He says Democrats have to understand that far left activists are responsible for this second Trump president. Activists who want us to say “menstruating person.” Activists who want to see people with Y chromosomes dominate women’s sports.

It’s well worth a listen to get a view from the actual center. And if you think he’s not on the center, you’re the problem.

https://youtu.be/txjr4IdCao8

How does he explain Biden's record win in 2020 then? I do agree with him -- and I have for a long time -- that the single biggest rhetorical weapon right-wingers have is gender war stuff.

[drumdude]

There have been few influencers who have criticized Donald Trump more than Sam Harris. He is even the subject of a meme: “Donald Trump broke Sam Harris.” This is in reference to Sam having spent the last 10 years focusing almost entirely on Trump, the insanity of his presidency and his supporters.


From this position Sam Harris criticizes the left. He says Democrats have to understand that far left activists are responsible for this second Trump president. Activists who want us to say “menstruating person.” Activists who want to see people with Y chromosomes dominate women’s sports.

It’s well worth a listen to get a view from the actual center. And if you think he’s not on the center, you’re the problem.

https://youtu.be/txjr4IdCao8

How does he explain Biden's record win in 2020 then? I do agree with him -- and I have for a long time -- that the single biggest rhetorical weapon right-wingers have is gender war stuff.

I think that's a questions for historians. The massive leap in votes that Biden got, assuming it wasn't fraud, really needs to be studied. My uneducated guess is something related to the fear about COVID (remember back then we still had no idea how bad it would get) and Trump not being able to effectively manage that crisis.

[Moksha]

I think that's a question for historians. The massive leap in votes that Biden got, assuming it wasn't fraud, really needs to be studied.

Perhaps studied by the Psycho-Historians once they get a better handle on the mutant power of mind control.

[Gadianton]

I listened to most of it. I dunno. I think gender war stuff is the baseline issue that captures simple folk of all racial backgrounds. "enemy of my enemy". I have no feeling that it was the determining issue of this election. Sam even goes into depth about how Trump's messaging has radicalized people in regards to election fraud, DOJ corruption, and on and on, and so maybe it was the energy behind those things that made the difference? Maybe it was the feeling of being part of something big -- the cult of personality Sam spoke of -- my turning point was the day I went to vote and the sheer energy of Trumpism on display this year vs. 2020; I figured we were f'd. The hundreds of robo-calls and texts I got from Trump vs. nothing from Harris. People are easily influenced.

I saw a CBS clip yesterday where a pro-Trump Mexican family was interviewed. It could have been staged it was so predictable. The mom and dad became citizens through Reagan's amnesty. The son liked Trump because he's real and not afraid to say whatever he wants. The mom when asked the obvious question, responded that when they immigrated, they were just normal people looking for a better life. The illegals coming over now are mostly criminals. You just have to say it with fervor over and over and don't stop and people just believe it.

I'm going to call the primary factor the energy and enthusiasm of the Trump campaign and base (and all the things Sam talked about in part 2) while other than standing against Trump, Harris didn't have a message. I would put my money that the most material issue was inflation, and folks rolled the dice that Trump might have something since the other side hasn't been able to fix it. I didn't vote for Obama, and I found the Obama supporters I knew annoying. The fact they actually said the word "change" seriously -- I'm like, I get it that it's a good slogan, but you went to college, you can't really believe things will magically change just because he's president? But, people were amped up about "change" and got behind the message.

[drumdude]

I'm like, I get it that it's a good slogan, but you went to college, you can't really believe things will magically change just because he's president? But, people were amped up about "change" and got behind the message.

Obama was one of the first presidents I voted for, I was definitely the target demographic for “hope and change.” Looking back the legacy he left was… Obamacare, I guess. Not much change, and not much hope for the future. I learned to tolerate and expect disappointment from political candidates that I believed strongly in.

The Trump supporters will be similarly disappointed, I think. There won’t be a wall. There won’t be mass deportation. He will leave the Paris climate deal and make other smaller decisions. The Supreme Court justices will be the lasting legacy.

[Dr. Shades]

As much as the Democrats are responsible for losing this election cycle, Trump is still responsible for literally damaging our democracy. Possibly so much damage that it won't be repairable in our lifetimes.

I doubt that. Think of when Biden took over; the so-called "damage" immediately vanished.

Sam's point that we could have easily experienced a civil war had Kamala turned the tide towards the end of election night was salient and terrifying. Influencers like Elon Musk and Joe Rogan had literally set a bomb ready to explode upon her victory, and they will get away with it because Trump won.

There was no "bomb." Neither one of them could've done anything to make anyone pick up a gun and start shooting.

[Kishkumen]

I listened to most of it. I dunno. I think gender war stuff is the baseline issue that captures simple folk of all racial backgrounds. "enemy of my enemy". I have no feeling that it was the determining issue of this election. Sam even goes into depth about how Trump's messaging has radicalized people in regards to election fraud, DOJ corruption, and on and on, and so maybe it was the energy behind those things that made the difference? Maybe it was the feeling of being part of something big -- the cult of personality Sam spoke of -- my turning point was the day I went to vote and the sheer energy of Trumpism on display this year vs. 2020; I figured we were f'd. The hundreds of robo-calls and texts I got from Trump vs. nothing from Harris. People are easily influenced.

I saw a CBS clip yesterday where a pro-Trump Mexican family was interviewed. It could have been staged it was so predictable. The mom and dad became citizens through Reagan's amnesty. The son liked Trump because he's real and not afraid to say whatever he wants. The mom when asked the obvious question, responded that when they immigrated, they were just normal people looking for a better life. The illegals coming over now are mostly criminals. You just have to say it with fervor over and over and don't stop and people just believe it.

I'm going to call the primary factor the energy and enthusiasm of the Trump campaign and base (and all the things Sam talked about in part 2) while other than standing against Trump, Harris didn't have a message. I would put my money that the most material issue was inflation, and folks rolled the dice that Trump might have something since the other side hasn't been able to fix it. I didn't vote for Obama, and I found the Obama supporters I knew annoying. The fact they actually said the word "change" seriously -- I'm like, I get it that it's a good slogan, but you went to college, you can't really believe things will magically change just because he's president? But, people were amped up about "change" and got behind the message.

Americans are trained consumers, and I mean that in a negative sense. Trump is a branding genius. Democrats were running yesterday’s presidential campaign. Consumers these days don’t even ask that a product be finished or completely work. They just want to be excited about it, and then they figure the details will get ironed out in their favor afterwards.