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03-21-2022, 04:26 AM
(This post was last modified: 03-21-2022, 04:27 AM by Eric the Green.)
(03-20-2022, 09:22 PM)JasonBlack Wrote: (03-20-2022, 02:41 AM)Eric the Green Wrote: So then why are 43% of Americans supporting a white nationalist? You tell me.
They don't. Trump isn't a white nationalist (though he's willing to lead them on so that they vote for him, just like Obama was willing to let Black Panthers vote for him)
I disagree. They do, and he is.
Obama did not "lead on" the Black Panthers.
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America did reject a re-election bid of Donald Quisling Trump. The Michigan plot to kidnap a governor of a politically-significant state has imploded, with the leader facing a long prison term after his deputy got sixteen Federal years. The January 6 plot seems to be a route to political oblivion. The Religious Right is on the fade.
Donald Trump is on the brink of disgrace of the most unwelcome type for himself.
The political polarization between Right and Left remains, though. and that will continue to make politics chaotic for a time.
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.
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(01-01-2023, 03:21 PM)pbrower2a Wrote: ... Donald Trump is on the brink of disgrace of the most unwelcome type for himself.
Until Trump is prosecuted, convicted and sentenced, we're still in Trump country where I live. Having him in prison may not be enough either.
Intelligence is not knowledge and knowledge is not wisdom, but they all play well together.
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01-02-2023, 04:49 PM
(This post was last modified: 01-02-2023, 04:50 PM by Eric the Green.)
(01-01-2023, 04:32 PM)David Horn Wrote: (01-01-2023, 03:21 PM)pbrower2a Wrote: ... Donald Trump is on the brink of disgrace of the most unwelcome type for himself.
Until Trump is prosecuted, convicted and sentenced, we're still in Trump country where I live. Having him in prison may not be enough either.
I agree. I guess it will be tough for him to lead huge rallies from prison, though. Maybe he can broadcast or tweet. But those rallies are what most cements him to his cult.
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(01-02-2023, 04:49 PM)Eric the Green Wrote: (01-01-2023, 04:32 PM)David Horn Wrote: (01-01-2023, 03:21 PM)pbrower2a Wrote: ... Donald Trump is on the brink of disgrace of the most unwelcome type for himself.
Until Trump is prosecuted, convicted and sentenced, we're still in Trump country where I live. Having him in prison may not be enough either.
I agree. I guess it will be tough for him to lead huge rallies from prison, though. Maybe he can broadcast or tweet. But those rallies are what most cements him to his cult.
Eugene Debs ran from prison and did well, all things considered. Trump could play super-martyr and do even better. As a third party, that may work out okay, assuming he sucks votes primarily from Republicans.
Intelligence is not knowledge and knowledge is not wisdom, but they all play well together.
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Most likely it is a race between prosecution and poor health, the latter the result of poor habits.
Trump's cult is itself likely to go elsewhere after the Personal Nightmare himself disappears. It is not going into conventional politics for a long time. Peronismo, a partial analogue for its corruption and ideological confusion, eventually normalized into conventional politics in Argentina after a few decades. Trump, like Peron, campaigned on behalf of the forgotten "common man", whatever that is.
There are differences between Peron and Trump, including that (1) Peron really was a military man, and Trump isn't, (2) that Peron fused some minor parties into his Partido Justicialista, in contrast to Trump taking over an existing Party, and (3) Peron encouraged his two wives to become leading activists for his Party in contrast to Melania having practically no role in creating or pushing any agenda. Both are erratic and autocratic, and both tended to concentrate power. Both are populists.
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.
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01-07-2023, 01:25 PM
(This post was last modified: 01-07-2023, 01:28 PM by Eric the Green.)
(01-07-2023, 05:09 AM)pbrower2a Wrote: Most likely it is a race between prosecution and poor health, the latter the result of poor habits.
Trump's cult is itself likely to go elsewhere after the Personal Nightmare himself disappears. It is not going into conventional politics for a long time. Peronismo, a partial analogue for its corruption and ideological confusion, eventually normalized into conventional politics in Argentina after a few decades. Trump, like Peron, campaigned on behalf of the forgotten "common man", whatever that is.
There are differences between Peron and Trump, including that (1) Peron really was a military man, and Trump isn't, (2) that Peron fused some minor parties into his Partido Justicialista, in contrast to Trump taking over an existing Party, and (3) Peron encouraged his two wives to become leading activists for his Party in contrast to Melania having practically no role in creating or pushing any agenda. Both are erratic and autocratic, and both tended to concentrate power. Both are populists.
I estimate that Peron had some genuine populist agenda, meaning bringing more power to the people instead of money. Trump had only one agenda item that could genuinely be called populist: trade protectionism. However, this was also part of his nationalist ideology. "USA! USA USA!"
Populism properly defined is not appealing to the prejudices, fears and hatreds of large segments of ignorant people, but that is how pundits today use the word. It remains a false definition. There is no excuse for people being ignorant or believing lies. So using the word "populist" to equate "the people" with ignorance is false.
No, Trump is no "populist". He was, however, a liar and a demagogue, as well as a narcissitic thug whose only real goal is his own power and ego. In these respects, he has much in common with Peron.
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(01-02-2023, 04:49 PM)Eric the Green Wrote: (01-01-2023, 04:32 PM)David Horn Wrote: (01-01-2023, 03:21 PM)pbrower2a Wrote: ... Donald Trump is on the brink of disgrace of the most unwelcome type for himself.
Until Trump is prosecuted, convicted and sentenced, we're still in Trump country where I live. Having him in prison may not be enough either.
I agree. I guess it will be tough for him to lead huge rallies from prison, though. Maybe he can broadcast or tweet. But those rallies are what most cements him to his cult.
He will have a steady stream of visitors to offer his purported wisdom. Ayatollah Khomeini did not need to have freedom of presence and movement in Iran to get his ideas disseminated.
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.
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05-18-2023, 11:52 PM
(This post was last modified: 05-18-2023, 11:54 PM by Tim Randal Walker.)
(11-15-2021, 03:58 PM)galaxy Wrote: (11-14-2021, 06:06 PM)Eric the Green Wrote:
For what it's worth, it increasingly looks like the "sides" of the Cold Civil War - which are basically equivalent to the parties these days - are actually converging on a lot of issues, even as they claim to be further apart than ever. I view that as a good sign.
It has been stated that we are in a Cold Civil War, being quite similar to America's hot civil war. A civil war based on secession. However, I think we have been experiencing something more similar to the War of the Roses, with the struggle centered on the question of who would rule.
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