MeDotOrg wrote:honorentheos wrote:[snip]...And frankly more people loved it than will admit it. Some people loved the fact he wasn't the person the party was trying to sell them as the front-runner. Some loved the middle finger he represented to what they saw as the sissyfication of America, and some thought a billionaire would be the right guy to run a country. He took out his opponents one by one using reality tv tactics and even people who didn't care for establishment Republican party politics would brashly say they were entertaining voting for him if the alternative was Clinton...
What gets me is that this is exactly where we are today, except that more and more people see the picture that is forming between the dots. But it doesn't matter. It didn't matter then, and even if most of the nation gets to where they can't miss the picture it paints of a dangerously naïve and narcissistic bigot gaining the Presidency it doesn't change the underlying dynamics that got us here. It's not like people are stepping back and saying, "Let's consider how we got here and what we need to do differently." If Trump had been minimally competent and been able to help congress pass meaningful legislation I'd bet we would see the majority of the Nation ignoring the Russia issue.
The world hasn't changed, it's not even really being that much better illuminated as crazier and crazier ____ gets revealed. The scales aren't falling from people's eyes. There's just a momentum building is all, and it has less to do with any particular chain of events as it seems to have to do with the overall vibe people have.
And that's still scary.
First of all, very nice piece of writing.
In Greek Mythology, Zeus gave Cassandra the gift of prophesy to seduce her, then cursed her so that no one would believe her prophesies when she rejected him.
There was a Cassandra-like quality to the past fall. I remember thinking the Republicans doomed themselves when they nominated Trump. Like Cassandra, the prophesies of doom fell on deaf ears. You're right: the lines are being connected between the dots, and Trump supporters still don't give a damn. Many mainstream Republicans would privately admit that they don't trust the man, but his ideological flexibility gives them the opportunity to accomplish the impossible dream: dismantling the Federal bureaucracy.
The Republicans have the majority in most state houses, the House, the Senate, the Executive branch, and if you're counting ideological influence, the Supreme Court. They wield considerable power right now, but demographically the future does not look good. If the Trump Presidency goes down in flames, it could be an unmitigated disaster for the Republican Party.
Thomas Jefferson said slavery was like holding a wolf by the ears. You didn't like it, but you didn't dare let go. I think many Republicans feel the same way about Trump. If they can just keep him under control until they can pass their agenda...eyes on the prize and all. They are so close to the finish line. They exert influence over most of America. It's now or never.
That explains Trump's sway with the old Party regulars. It doesn't explain the Trump supporters who still think he's on the right track, but being stymied by the Fake Media and the Deep State's witch hunt on the Russia thing.
The Cassandras said that Trump's views didn't comport with the way that government worked. Now that this being validated, his supporters are saying the problem isn't with Trump's views, it's with everybody else. And now that he's President, that includes most of the rest of the world as well.
Fared Zakaria said it best: Trump is a ____ artist. He plays the room, he wins the room. But the lies and the inconsistencies from room to room don't seem to bother his supporters. Donald Trump is the shiny object that distracts them from the truth.
The coalition of traditional Republicans and Trump supporters that make the fabric of the Republican majority has not yet been sorely tested by 'the Russia thing'. I think there are Trump supporters that will excuse his actions, even if there was active coordination between his campaign and the Russian government. Some voters are that angry, that immature and that nihilistic.
If ever there was a issue to see Trump's nihilism, it is health care. Now that it appears that replacing Obamacare is dead, Trump cannot walk away and admit defeat. He now floats the idea that it is better to let Obamacare die, which will force the Democrats to the table.
In short, he is willing to blackmail the Democrats using the health of millions of Americans as his bargaining chip. Hopefully most Republicans will reject this idea.
Well said, Me. The best summary I've seen here.
