02-07-2019, 06:09 PM
(02-07-2019, 01:51 AM)Eric the Green Wrote: People said in 2016 much the same thing. The worst thing Hillary and Democrats and progressives did in 2016 was to under-estimate Trump. He is a talented communicator; that's all that counts among American voters. Policies don't; approval polls don't. Unless Democrats nominate a talented candidate, I wouldn't bet on a Democratic victory. None of the announced candidates can beat Trump. They are opportunists merely taking up space on headlines. I have already stated who can, and who might be able to (maybe), win a 2020 election against Trump. They are very few.
Trump has been extremely effective in debasing the level of political discourse. He has taken it to the level of the Jerry Springer Show; one almost expect to see chairs tossed about.
It is long before the 2020 Presidential election, but Trump is not building support, which he absolutely must do if he barely won election the first time. Obama could lose a little and still get re-elected, but to lose as much as Obama did between 2008 and 2010 (1.85%) is enough for a loss for Trump. Attendance at Trump rallies has fallen steadily. Approval numbers are outside the range in which an incumbent catches up with a spirited and effective campaign.
The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the dedicated Communist but instead the people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction, true and false, no longer exists -- Hannah Arendt.