Saturday, March 19, 2016

To Trump or Not to Trump?

What is Reality?
I can't really figure this one out.  It looks like Trump has stumbled into some kind of fascist wet dream.  He loves playing the Mussolini strong man role, even if he has no idea on how to run the country if it is indeed handed to him.  Many people are taking it quite seriously,  He shows up to 'rallies' where he overbooks the capacity of the venue and gives the illusion of huge demand.  Protesters try and disrupt him, but does it have any effect?

Questions:
So, what I want to know is:
  1. Does Trump really want the job of President?  Perhaps it's just a big joke, and after he destroys the GOP, he goes back to being Trump.
  2. Are the protesters real?  Sometimes I wonder if they're just role players, pumping up Trump's ego.
  3. Should protestors disrupt Trump events?  Are they playing into Trump's hands?  How does it really help?
  4. Is this truly the American Fascist Apocalypse?  If so, it's hard to fault anyone for trying to disrupt his march to power.  Should the German people have tried harder to stop Hitler in the beginning?
Seriously folks.  What the hell is going on? 

3 comments:

Bob Mc said...

It's just bizarre - surrealistic really. My hope is that it is just that - the destruction of the Republican Party. I don't want to sound too condescending, but there are enough buffoonish Republicans out there to have re-elected George W. For them, the appeal of an anti-government, get er' done con artist who can take the anti-establishment line even further by bypassing the traditional party leaders/structure and Washington as a whole is just too much to pass on. I actually believe there are more moderate Republicans who cannot get past the Tea Party and Christian aspects of the other candidates, which has contributed to the creation of a sales opportunity for someone who can make shallow, unsubstantiated claims with flair and passion - remember PT Barnum. Hopefully something will be learned.

I don't see how Hilary doesn't beat him - it's a secret ballot, right? And does he want to be president? Sure - but he can't lose at this point - getting as far as he has will feed his ego for years. And if he were elected, I trust the system to paralyze him. But what another embarrassment for us on the world stage.

Anonymous said...

1. Some months ago I read an essay speculating that Trump's Presidential bid was
going to end as a publicity campaign for a property he owns in D.C. near the White
House. Like most of what the chattering class has written, it has proved to be
completely wrong. I think at this point, he is serious about being President.

As for the destruction of the GOP, don't hold your breath. It would be foolish
to underestimate the power they hold at the state and local level, and that won't
be going away anytime soon.


2. There is no reason to doubt the protesters are real. There was a credible
report that many attendees at Trump's campaign announcement last year were paid
to be there (there are a couple of companies that provide ready-made crowds),
and perhaps also some very early rallies, but he probably hasn't needed to fake
support since then.


3. It seems obvious to me that the protestors disrupting his events are indeed
playing into his hands. They are the perfect fuel for his demagoguery, and it
would be better if protestors stayed out of the venues. I have long thought
that most protests are pointless exercises in vanity anyway. Fifty people
protesting at a Trump rally is meaningless. Fifty thousand people protesting
might have some significance.


4. If predicting the future correctly was so easy, everybody would be doing it.
It's hard to know where Trump really stands because his statements are usually
either content-free or outrageously false. He's also reversed his positions
on issues from what he's said in the past. The comparison to Germany in the
early '20s is too complicated to address in this short comment, but I don't
think the conditions are similar. As for America turning into a facist police
state, there are reasonable arguments that we have already been heading in that
direction for years.


Trump is the Frankstein monster of the GOP. After years of training their base
that facts don't matter, that ideology is more important than policy, that
extremism is preferred over moderation, along comes Trump. He has correctly
realized that the Presidential race, and the Republican nomination process in
particular, has devolved into a reality television show. And with his experience
with wrestling, beauty pagents, and his own reality program, he has been able to
manipulate that process perfectly. The oligarchs are apoplectic at losing
control, and the villagers are siding with the monster.

Nonetheless, watch what is happening already... first Christie, then Gingrich.
The rationalization of Trump is beginning. After complaining that he is the
worst choice ever, I predict that more and more Republican bigwigs will reverse
and support Trump. Because in their fevered minds, even an out-of-control Trump
is better than Hillary and those awful Democrats.

Bob Mc said...

Oh gawd-you may be right. Damn - the last vestiges of faith and optimism are leaking from my soul...