Curb Your Authoritarianism? The 2016 Conventional Wisdom Thread (Elections, Part 6)

related to Trump's religion speechifying and announcing of Evangelical leaders and "evangelical executive advisory board":

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/slacktivist/2016/06/21/donald-trumps-b-list-evangelical-advisory-board/

Lists of names like this are a fixture of the white evangelical subculture. This is what we have instead of ecclesiology or church polity. Some would say this is because evangelicals don’t have bishops or popes, but really it’s the opposite problem — we have more bishops and popes than we know what to do with. But these unofficial officials aren’t ordained by elders or elected by congregations. Their investiture as bishops and archbishops is based on book sales, income, radio outlets and — above all — the size and ROI of their direct-mail fundraising lists. It’s a hell of a way to run a church.

What that means in practice is that anyone who wants to mobilize large numbers of white evangelicals for any reason has to make a list of names. That’s true whether the cause is something benign, like promoting Bible reading, or something disgraceful, like trying to get a racist, misogynist, predatory authoritarian elected president. Recruiting white evangelical support always means giving those evangelicals permission to support your cause by listing the names of various celebrity gatekeepers who may have their trust. Hopefully, the folks whose support you’re seeking will see some name on your list of names that will allow them to believe they have permission to support you as well.'

In other words , this has fuck-all to do with religion as religion and entirely with tribal identification of a group sharing the name with a religious sect. Theology and morality and appeals to such have nothing really to do with it except as reinforcing subcultural shibboleths. He's effectively yelling "Woop! Woop!" and "Fam-uh-Lee! Fam-uh-Lee!" to let the crowd know he's down with the Clown, to torture a metaphor.

Tho I would never insult Juggalos en masse by accusing them of Trump support.

"When I see the crumbling roads and bridges, or the dilapidated airports, or the factories moving overseas to Mexico, or to other countries, I know these problems can all be fixed, but not by Hillary Clinton — only by me," Trump said from his Trump SoHo development in New York City, according to his prepared remarks. (Mexico is connected by land to the United States.)

Some would say this is because evangelicals don’t have bishops or popes, but really it’s the opposite problem — we have more bishops and popes than we know what to do with. But these unofficial officials aren’t ordained by elders or elected by congregations. Their investiture as bishops and archbishops is based on book sales, income, radio outlets and — above all — the size and ROI of their direct-mail fundraising lists. It’s a hell of a way to run a church.

the reformation was a good idea y/n

(Mexico is connected by land to the United States.)

Well, for NOW it is.

the reformation was a good idea y/n

― goole

didn't seem to do much for you if you happened to be jewish

The Reagan White House and Trump

lol:

In 1986, Trump sent a letter to Nancy Reagan inviting her to stay at his Mar-a-Lago property when she came down for the American Red Cross Ball at the Breakers in Palm Beach. (The staff in the East Wing had no idea what he was talking about; she had not been invited to the ball.)

“Security surrounding the estate is considered the very best protection available,” The Donald boasted to the first lady. “You may also know that Mar-a-Lago was originally designed … as the ‘southern White House.’”

Mrs. Reagan drafted by hand a thanks-but-no-thanks reply that included the line, “I am familiar with Mar-a-Lago.” Then she crossed it out.

Security surrounding the estate is considered the very best protection available

"We have a wall that was built, we believe, by Mexicans."

by the way the WaPost is not getting any less snotty about Trump headlines and stories ("The Donald" as an attribution!).

All media outlets should settle on a single diminutive for consistency's sake. I'd like to nominate Shrimpfingers McPeesmell.

Babyhands

The Oily Maniac

That Fucker

Orange Julius seems appropriate on several levels, and could even prove prophetic depending on how the RNC plays out.

Michele Bachmann joins Team Trump! Woo hoo!

http://bipartisanreport.com/2016/06/21/just-in-michele-bachmann-joins-trump-campaign-you-wont-believe-her-role-details/

David Rees trawling thru the FEC filing:

http://thebaffler.com/blog/40-hat-scratchers-trump-rees

32) The guy spent more money on hats than on data management and online advertising.

33) Hats.

34) Hats! It’s almost like he doesn’t know the future economy will be based on knowledge management rather than manufacturing

And lookee that, the news dovetails nicely with that Slacktivist link from earlier:

outspoken Tea Party Republican Michele Bachmann will be joining Trump’s Evangelical Executive Advisory Board.

Which doesn't necessarily she'll do jack shit aside from some tribal gatekeeping allowance for whatever Evangelical followers of hers to safely vote for Trump

http://thatswhatshesaid.jezebel.com/this-chrome-extension-replacing-the-words-donald-trump-1782453422

I've been so detached from everything the past few weeks that it always comes as something of a surprise when I tune into CNN and it's still Trump, all night long.

^^ agreed

every single time I walk into the coffee shop in my building that orange fucker is on cnn

i just realized i still had that goddam "Drumpf" thing on, i kinda forgot that wasn't his name. so now onto the next extension.

https://jsjammersmith.files.wordpress.com/2015/12/reagan-mondale-debate-there-you-go-again-again1.gif

Missed this: http://www.wired.com/2016/03/gremlins-trump/

i've been hoping all my life to see congress yelling at each other parliament style

is anyone else still watching this? it's insane.

I'm watching, jumping from stream to stream on friends' FB walls.

i've been hoping all my life to see congress yelling at each other parliament style

ikr

just gotta stay clear of brooks-sumner territory

http://gawker.com/democrats-shout-in-protest-as-paul-ryan-attempts-regula-1782468564

does anyone think Johnson will wind up being a factor in this election? I'm a little surprised CNN went as far as giving the Liberatarians a town hall.

"Donkey boy, I'm comin' for you! Take off that mask!"

Next thread title? (from the Vice video of a Trump supporter hassling a protester).

I saw one poll with Johnson at 9% (can't remember if it was a state or national poll, or general public or Republican identified).

Well, that's a relief:

Former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld told the Daily Mail in a Wednesday interview that Donald Trump will have his full support in November.

Rumsfeld said his decision to vote for Trump over Clinton was “not a close call,” citing the threat from “radical Islamists” and the need to limit how many refugees the U.S. accepts.

As the former secretary of dense put it, “Mrs. Clinton is a known known. Donald Trump is a known unknown who's a recent entry into the equation. And I am a lot more comfortable with a known unknown, who I will support, than with a known known who is unacceptable.”

The language is borrowed from Rumsfeld’s 2002 comments describing the intelligence community’s lack of firm evidence affirming that the Iraqi government possessed weapons of mass destruction, the justification for the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq.

Rumsfeld was particularly supportive of Trump’s opposition to resettling refugees from Syria over concerns that some who enter the U.S. may be terrorists.

“He's absolutely right,” Rumsfeld told the Mail. “Anyone who thinks the radical Islamists are not going to try to utilize every venue they can find to infiltrate in the United States, and in western European countries, to achieve their goals – these people just don't get it.”

Still playing his greatest hits.

As the former secretary of dense put it,

Is this a typo or

maybe the WaPo's approach to covering The Donald has been taken up by Talking Points Memo.

followup from the dude who tweeted Trump's rally (no surprise - he's receiving death threats)

https://newrepublic.com/article/134534/told-truth-donald-trump-rally-trolls-threatened-life

does anyone think Johnson will wind up being a factor in this election?

Trump's johnson has already been a factor.

xpost In all honesty, speaking as a straight white American male, I'm way more afraid of a lot of straight white American males than I am of ISIS. How does the shit in that article not fall under the rubric of terrorism? This place is coming apart at the seams.

for some of us. this place has always been like this

my mom's friend works at the marriott marquis where trump met with evangelical leaders the other day. she allegedly saw him walk up to a mirror in one of the hallways, kiss his fingers, and then press them against his reflection.

hey it's rough when you're the only one that loves you

aside from those 11 million ppl who voted for ya

I'm seeing news on Twitter that a federal judge has just ruled in favor of the ACLU in this suit against the city's protest/parade restrictions during the RNC: http://www.cleveland.com/rnc-2016/index.ssf/2016/06/aclu_sues_cleveland_over_repub.html

cnn has hired corey lewandowski as a political commentator

smdh

This is pretty bonkers:

http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2016/06/2016-donald-trump-paul-manafort-ferinand-marcos-philippines-1980s-213952

A prominent neoconservative intellectual and early promoter of the Iraq War is headlining an official campaign fundraiser for Hillary Clinton next month, Foreign Policy has learned. The move signals a shift in the Clinton campaign's willingness to associate with prominent Republicans and is the latest sign of how far some GOP defectors are willing to go to block a Donald Trump presidency.

Robert Kagan, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and a co-founder of the Project for the New American Century, will speak at a Hillary for America fundraiser in Washington's Logan Circle neighborhood on July 21. According to an invite obtained by FP, the "event will include an off-the-record conversation on America's continued investment in NATO, key European allies and partners, and the EU."

robert fucking kagan

ahhh, the consensus

Kagan is one of those classically educated ivy leaguers who has made no better use of his fancy education than to lend a patina of respectability to deeply reactionary policies and positions. I hope Hillary's connection with him serves no purpose other than to suck whatever money and votes she can derive from the association, discarding him afterwards back onto the trash heap of the Brookings Institute, where he shall forevermore be viewed with distaste and distrust.