Il Douché and His Discontents: The 2016 Primary Voting Thread, Part 4

"has no appetite" is also antithetical to Trumpspeak

Europe, anger, America, me, you, anger. Sad! Torture, close border, America, great!

"And Europe doesn't get it! And the people don't wanna get involved! They don't wanna get involved."

just a few more generations and we can finally arrive at the much simpler Two Minutes Hate instead of bothering with arguing about what to do about things

what's interesting about trump pronouncements are that he appears to be unwilling or unable to speak in formal english or even in semi-educated language.

this is precisely the sort of thing that makes him strongly appeal to a certain person, and strongly anathema to even more people.

he never sounds rehearsed, because he isn't, really. he never pieces together a sentence that would sound out of place if you were making small talk with your mechanic while waiting for your brakes to be fixed.

I have never had small talk with a mechanic about the size of my hands.

live a little, DJP

My daughter's school is in the bluest of areas, like mega liberal territory. For some reason the PTA keeps catering events with Chik-Fil-A. I don't know whether it's political cluelessness, a deliberate sabotage operation from a closet social conservative on the board, or just a preference for a certain type of chicken sandwich that is strong enough to overrule all principles.

This is mainly owed to CFA having a serious community service interest--probably more so than any other fast food chain. Their franchisees are instructed as part of their corporate commitment to make a big presence in their communities by working with schools, charities, and community organisations by providing discount catering, food prizes, gift certificates, special nights at their restaurants etc.

http://wondermark.com/c/2016-03-22-1209destroy.png

funny you mention that. i went to Burger King yesterday for some onion rings and they had a big poster advertising how they will cater charitable events at a big discount.

xpost

plz book them for a PETA event and then film it

too soon

http://chronicle.com/article/On-One-Campus-a-Trump-Rally/235789

"It was very scary. A lot of racial slurs, a lot of vitriol, very, very, very angry, animated people," said Mr. Custer, who added that he had to create a human chain with other protest leaders to keep the groups separated. "There is not an exchange of ideas. There is violence, screaming, and shouting."

for some ppl violence screaming and shouting is the most idea exchanging they'll ever do

"Europe is a mess, and the people in America and the people in Europe are sick of trying to help people who treat them very, very badly. It's true."

he says that a lot. "it's very, very true." it's a rhetorical figure that seems to suggest he's worried about quite the opposite.

I think it was Tom Scharpling who pointed out a particular aspect of Trump's stupidity some time ago, the thing where he's clearly reading something representing his own opinion off a teleprompter or cue cards and punctuates it with, "That's true."

I think he's just a dumb idiot who barely understands English.

well it does often sound as if he literally just made up what he just said out of thin air (or it was whispered to him two minutes ago) so he seeks to reassure himself with phrases like, "that's very true," "that's true," "you wouldn't believe this," etc.

Oh god, I just realized that Trump is a bellowing Chauncey Gardner.

"people keep telling me"

"i hear this all the time"

he has a common rhetorical trick where he kind of outsources his authority to unnamed other folks, experts, just folks, whatever. same reason he re-tweets bullshit from dubious people.

Fifty or more people have complimented his strong, beautiful, completely normal (maybe even bigger than normal) hands.

http://www.davidbordwell.net/blog/2016/03/22/our-daily-barbarisms-leo-hurwitzs-strange-victory-1948/

Strange Victory is, it seems to me, the essential documentary of our moment. A nearly seventy-year-old film can remind us that, as the narration puts it, “hopelessness is next door to hysteria.” The frustrations, despair, and hatreds that surfaced during Obama’s tenure have crystallized in an American fascist movement of unprecedented breadth. The film reminds us that scapegoating is eternal, sometimes summoned quietly (they’re not like us, she’s a traitor, he knows exactly what he’s doing), sometimes conjured up in full fury. At a moment when America is one ISIS attack away from a Trump or Cruz presidency, it’s good to be reminded how the well-funded Hitler exploited Us vs. Them. Temporizing pundits give every sufficiently funded lunatic the benefit of straight-faced interviews, or even tongue-baths. Right-wing politicians and agitators, keen on power and uncommitted to principle, are ready to fall in line behind a leader if he might win. Forget Godwin’s Law. Facing today’s assault on peace and justice, Strange Victory can rekindle our energies, without a moment to lose.

Temporizing pundits give every sufficiently funded lunatic the benefit of straight-faced interviews

this is the most appalling thing to me; the media treats trump's demagoguery as if it's just another form of democratic deliberation.

is it true tho? fox news went after trump in that one debate more than i've ever seen a news org go after a candidate ever. what should they be doing? refusing to talk to him? badmouthing him to his face? why does anyone think that would turn off his supporters?

He thrives on people treating him very, very badly. It's true.

at what point will we see "gotcha" informational questions to the Yam, ie name the heads of state of these countries? The simpler the better.

is it true tho? fox news went after trump in that one debate more than i've ever seen a news org go after a candidate ever. what should they be doing? refusing to talk to him? badmouthing him to his face? why does anyone think that would turn off his supporters?

― Mordy, Tuesday, March 22, 2016 7:51 PM (2 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

maybe they could ask follow up questions asking for specifics for the vague nonsense and bullshit he constantly spews

they do! did you see that wapost interview? but the question is still why you think his supporters would care that the NYT or CNN held trump's feet to the fire.

i feel like blaming the media for not doing enough to stop Trump, or for not letting enough people know about Bernie, is a cop-out that gives way too much power to a very decentralized industry in steep decline.

the point wdn't be to expose him to his committed supporters, but everyone else.

hell i wd only read an interview with him for money! time is precious.

one can understand the structural roots of the problem (="decentralized industry in steep decline") and still lament its effects on discourse and politics!

i think he exposes himself plenty the moment he opens his mouth but i love the idea of asking him easy trivia questions and trying to stump him

ok but isn't the consequence of a decentralized industry in steep decline that more ppl are getting their information from alternative and online sources and closing themselves off in echo chambers? whether network news is aggressive or not just seems like a total non-sequitar.

i was thinking of that too. i bet he couldn't specify any amendments beyond the first two. obviously this would play well to the anti-intellectualism of his "base," but it would repel everyone else.

i hope.

ok but isn't the consequence of a decentralized industry in steep decline that more ppl are getting their information from alternative and online sources and closing themselves off in echo chambers? whether network news is aggressive or not just seems like a total non-sequitar.

― Mordy, Tuesday, March 22, 2016 3:03 PM (25 seconds ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

mainstream media produces all kinds of "moments" that resonate through other, more niche platforms

I am pretty sure that everyone who has been exposed to the Trump phenomenon has already decided whether they find him repellent or attractive and that the calculus going on for people who are undecided have little to nothing to do with him and everything to do with what they think of his Republican/Democratic rivals.

Like, maybe I'm wrong in thinking that running your rallies like fascist othering parties is going to engender a strong reaction in people who see it but I don't think the problem here is that people don't know what Trump's all about; the problem is that people are so distrustful of those who represent The Establishment that they're willing to put up with all kinds of Trump-fueled nonsense for a shot at something different. IMO you're looking at a bunch of people who have decided that the devil they know is unacceptable and are evaluating whether the horrifying carnival act down the road will really be that bad or if it will shake things up enough that a few good things fall out of it. I think this is an insane, nonsensical component when applied to Trump but when you remember that this country is also made up of venal racists, it makes more sense (even as it becomes more depressing).

THAT BEING SAID, I don't think everyone in this country has forgotten the lessons of World War II and I don't think a majority of voters are willing to vote for for a fascist, so I don't think there's any serious chance of Trump becoming President. If they manage to back-door Ryan into the nomination, I will be more concerned about the Democrats losing the election and losing ground in the Senate/House.

if they go with anyone other than trump at the convention, they're already sacrificing the presidency in a feeble attempt to save the downticket senate/house races.

what's bugging me is that i couldn't imagine a world in which this moron would be a major party nominee. and that appears to be happening! so i'm necessarily questioning other things that i believed wholeheartedly... like that a plurality of morons could overturn the apple cart entirely.

If they manage to back-door Ryan into the nomination, I will be more concerned about the Democrats losing the election and losing ground in the Senate/House.

You mean Paul "Mitt Romney's VP pick"/"almost a real boy" Ryan? Yeah, there's no universe in which he beats Clinton.

whatever happens, the GOP will have to change in order to resolve its establishment vs freedom caucus vs trump dilemma, or be rendered fractured and irrelevant. and when one major party changes to such a degree, the other tends to adapt and change as well, correct?

just a preference for a certain type of chicken sandwich that is strong enough to overrule all principles.

most likely scenario imo is trump becomes the nominee and the rest of the GOP falls in line. i don't expect convention dealing and paul ryan is definitely not going to the nominee

i am as reluctant to evaluate Yam as a dope any more than It's Pat as brilliant. Or Clinton as astute, or Kasich as reasonable.

You mean Paul "Mitt Romney's VP pick"/"almost a real boy" Ryan? Yeah, there's no universe in which he beats Clinton.

it's not even about paul ryan (although i agree, he's certainly no ideal). if the convention ends with the GOP denying trump the nomination (this is assuming he continues to dramatically outpace cruz and kasich in delegates), it wouldn't matter if ronald reagan descended from the heavens riding a flying golden lion, they'd be doomed in the presidential race

GOP establishment's gonna get behind Trump for the most part, and then the party's gonna get crushed in the election, and the war between the rank and file and the "establishment" will revert to prior status - the establishment saying "see? we told you he was a loser!" and the base saying "you sold us out!" Rinse and repeat.

You mean Paul "Mitt Romney's VP pick"/"almost a real boy" Ryan? Yeah, there's no universe in which he beats Clinton.

"more concerned" does not necessarily mean I am actually concerned; more that if the Republican party manages to finagle someone like Ryan into being their nominee, I can see a scenario where voters reward them for not being stupid enough to continue backing Trump. This doesn't mean that I think that scenario will actually happen.

GOP establishment's gonna get behind Trump for the most part, and then the party's gonna get crushed in the election, and the war between the rank and file and the "establishment" will revert to prior status - the establishment saying "see? we told you he was a loser!" and the base saying "you sold us out!" Rinse and repeat.

― Οὖτις, Tuesday, March 22, 2016 4:37 PM (8 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

yup