The Triumph of Stupidity in American Politics

[pbrower2a]

(11-25-2020, 05:23 PM)Mickey123 Wrote:

(11-25-2020, 02:26 AM)pbrower2a Wrote: A mere 3% of voters for President Donald Trump think President-elect Joe Biden won the 2020 election, while 73% think the incumbent was the victor, according to a CNBC/Change Research poll.

As Trump repeatedly loses vote challenges in court as his lawyers fail to prove wrongdoing in the election count, two-thirds of his supporters think he should never concede to Biden.

The findings underscore the harm Trump’s unsubstantiated claims have done to confidence in the U.S. electoral system.

What you're missing here is that Trump's action is just one step in a long process.

The electoral system was already broken, as the entire media organization of the U.S. chose to abandon their historical role as objective (more or less) reporters of the news, and openly opposed Trump.  When the media openly oppose one of the two political parties, that party can't have a fair election.  This is why Trump is able to get away with claiming the election was stolen.  Because it was stolen, but far earlier than election day, and not by anyone messing with ballots.

Some media are highly sympathetic to Trump. The Republican party has morphed from a center-right Party to a semi-fascist Party, and it acts as if power means more than does service. This is not the Gerald Ford era in the GOP any more. 




At the top is pure news reliable because the blitz style of reporting (AP and Reuters wires) largely keep reporters from putting their personalities or beliefs into the story. One gets news fast and succinct -- but at the cost of depth. To get more depth one needs people capable of doing analysis. If you want to know consequences, then one needs to tolerate some tugs on the emotions. But here is where one finds what the social problems are. Or, if you are concerned with economic activity, the Wall Street Journal lists somewhat to the Right -- but investors and executives tend to be to the Right of center. This said, WSJ does fine reporting on financial topics. 

The more that one leaves the realm of raw news and goes into analysis, the more likely that one goes away from the political center... and the more likely that the material that one consumes confirms one's bias. Toward the bottom the news content may be irrelevant  (supermarket tabloids such as the National Enquirer) or suspect. InfoWars looks like the worst, as it is full of conspiracy theories.   

Quote:Of course, the media themselves did this because under the old system, Donald Trump never would have been the Republican presidential candidate in the first place.  Under the old system, each party only nominated someone reasonable, someone who plays by the rules.  Trump wasn't a politician and didn't play by the rules, and Republicans broke the old rules by nominating him.

I fault the media for deciding that Donald Trump was worth plugging because he was supposedly fresh. Know well that Trump is an excellent exploiter of exposure, which in the past has helped him sell stuff. Not everything has been a success (he really is an awful businessman). The really-good businessmen don't dabble. Disney was late to go into live-action movies, and when he did so he made them on low budgets. Roy Kroc (McDonald's) could have decided to add gas pumps to his fast-food places... but thought that those would be a distraction. Penney did not go into the grocery business, and the Skaggs brothers (Safeway) didn't add clothing to their grocery business. It is best that certain businesses not have the same persons involved; you don't want physicians, pharmacists, and undertakers sharing duties; you don't want CPA firms doing retail banking, insurance, or investment banking. I know, I know, I know... everybody with loose cash has the dream of owning a winery, but wineries are hobbies at best. We all know that Donald Trump has a horribly-flawed character. Poor character is trouble. If one has poor character and command over people or high-value assets, then bad character creates the possibility of abuse or embezzlement. 

Quote:This is how it goes in a Crisis.  The system becomes increasingly unstable, and every reaction to this leads to yet more instability. 

Not everything. There are cautionary figures who delay rash responses. On the other side are people who take risks such as pressing for lopsided deals or diplomatic bullying. "Surrender this chunk of territory or yield your practical independence and there will be no war" , if done enough times, culminates in someone calling the bluff. Poland called Hitler's bluff in August 1939 by refusing to turn over its short coast on the Baltic Sea for nothing but worthless promises to stop. Hitler cut a deal with the Soviet Union to dismember Poland and invaded Poland with ferocious hatred. Lose territory and then become a satellite? That was unacceptable.    

Quote:This process will continue until everything spirals out of control and the country is in a civil war or a revolutionary war. The only thing that can "save" us from this is a major external war, against China or Russia.

Are you sure?

Quote:I think you, and the members of this forum in general, are making a mistake when you try to root for one side in this conflict.  You have no idea where this is headed, and there's no way to even predict whether the outcome of any battle is good or bad in the long run.  Maybe Biden winning the election results in Trump refusing to leave office and we have a successful fascist takeover of the U.S.  Maybe Trump leaves, and Biden in time takes us to war against Russia, and this ends in nuclear war.  The outcome of all this is currently unknowable.

...and if our political system gives in to the demands of Donald Trump, then we have sold out democracy. But for what? Nullification of a popular vote is valid only in the event of certifiable fraud in the election. Trump lost the 2020 election much the same way that he won the 2016 electino, the only difference being that states had to accommodate the Trump virus by allowing absentee balloting without excuses.