‘Trump Is What Happens When a Political Party Abandons Ideas’

[sun rise]

Every so often I read a piece by a thoughtful Republican. I don't necessarily agree with his politics but he's sure right about how it's operating today. I'd love to see an honest, fact-based conservatism that would renounce hypocrisy, power lust and sloganeering. Maybe we could then have real debates about policy based on what might or does work.

When I became active in the Republican Party in the mid-1970s,...

One real-world result of the lobotomizing of conservative intellectualism is that when forced to produce a replacement for Obamacare—something Republican leaders had sworn they had in their pocket for eight years—there was nothing. Not just no legislation—no workable concept that adhered to the many promises Republicans had made, like coverage for pre-existing conditions and the assurance that nobody would lose their coverage. You’d think that House Speaker Ryan could have found a staff slot for one person to be working on an actual Obamacare replacement all these years, just in case.


With hindsight, it’s no surprise that the glorification of anti-elitism and anti-intellectualism that has been rampant on the right at least since the election of Barack Obama would give rise to someone like Trump. Anyone who ever read Sinclair Lewis’ “It Can’t Happen Here,” which imagined a fascist dictator taking power in 1930s America, recognizes that Trump is the real-life embodiment of Senator Buzz Windrip—a know-nothing populist who becomes president by promising something for everyone, with no clue or concern for how to actually accomplish it. Windrip was “vulgar, almost illiterate, a public liar easily detected, and in his ‘ideas’ almost idiotic,” Lewis wrote. “Certainly there was nothing exhilarating in the actual words of his speeches, nor anything convincing in his philosophy. His political platforms were only the wings of a windmill.”

‘Trump Is What Happens When a Political Party Abandons Ideas’

 

[Sunstone]

Few things would make me happier than to see some sanity on the conservative side of the aisle. A stupid, insane party -- which is what the Republican brand has become -- is no good for the country.

 

[Twilight Hue]

Thus is the tyoe of America people get and deserve. It's both parties that are responsible for the way things are.

 

[james bond]

Every so often I read a piece by a thoughtful Republican. I don't necessarily agree with his politics but he's sure right about how it's operating today. I'd love to see an honest, fact-based conservatism that would renounce hypocrisy, power lust and sloganeering. Maybe we could then have real debates about policy based on what might or does work.

When I became active in the Republican Party in the mid-1970s,...

One real-world result of the lobotomizing of conservative intellectualism is that when forced to produce a replacement for Obamacare—something Republican leaders had sworn they had in their pocket for eight years—there was nothing. Not just no legislation—no workable concept that adhered to the many promises Republicans had made, like coverage for pre-existing conditions and the assurance that nobody would lose their coverage. You’d think that House Speaker Ryan could have found a staff slot for one person to be working on an actual Obamacare replacement all these years, just in case.


With hindsight, it’s no surprise that the glorification of anti-elitism and anti-intellectualism that has been rampant on the right at least since the election of Barack Obama would give rise to someone like Trump. Anyone who ever read Sinclair Lewis’ “It Can’t Happen Here,” which imagined a fascist dictator taking power in 1930s America, recognizes that Trump is the real-life embodiment of Senator Buzz Windrip—a know-nothing populist who becomes president by promising something for everyone, with no clue or concern for how to actually accomplish it. Windrip was “vulgar, almost illiterate, a public liar easily detected, and in his ‘ideas’ almost idiotic,” Lewis wrote. “Certainly there was nothing exhilarating in the actual words of his speeches, nor anything convincing in his philosophy. His political platforms were only the wings of a windmill.”

‘Trump Is What Happens When a Political Party Abandons Ideas’

Not really.

Here is a more accurate state of the affairs. The left is worse than the Mafia.

"President Trump, if he has not figured it out yet, needs to grasp that those who oppose him cannot be won over with negotiation and are not interested in finding the sort of "win-win" solutions Trump was accustomed to finding in the business community. His enemies on the left are warlords whose whole reason for living is to channel wretched levies into battle against imagined enemies.

Not only are these leftist warlords indifferent to policies that would improve the lot of these levies, but because their power rests entirely on the misery and anger of their embittered masses of followers, these warlords would actively oppose anything that lifts people into prosperity and hope.

So the left has long opposed sensible reforms to raise inner-city blacks to become productive and functioning members of society, because their only purpose to these leftist moguls is political: votes and deranged agitators. So leftists have long opposed thoughtful environmental regulation that balances economic and environmental concerns, because destroying the economy and artificially creating poverty are part of their goal.

Negotiation never works with enemies whose purpose in life is totalitarian control and crushing utterly all opposition. Winning this war requires a complete shift in thinking for a president who has built his career in the business world, where finding common ground and reaching mutually beneficial compromises are the order of the day.

The left, in this regard, is even worse – indeed, much worse – than the Mafia. Don Corleone, after all, was willing to divide territory with the other families, and his principal purpose was to make money. The Mob sought to move into "legitimate businesses" and disliked moves that were "bad for business." It was anything but totalitarian, even if it was also immoral and vicious."

Articles: Not Business, Mr. President, but War

 

[Mister Emu]

Not just no legislation—no workable concept that adhered to the many promises Republicans had made, like coverage for pre-existing conditions and the assurance that nobody would lose their coverage.

They went for the Dem playbook. Promise everything, shrug when it's 3/4ths lies, and (probably, we don't have Reps on tape yet)joke about how stupid people were to believe them.

Actually, that isn't just Dems playbook, I was unfair; that book belongs to all politicians.

 

[Revoltingest]

Thus is the tyoe of America people get and deserve. It's both parties that are responsible for the way things are.

Uh oh....someone's going to beat you with the false equivalency fallacy stick.
Each side believes that only the other is to blame, so no comparison is valid.

But I like to think we deserve better. We just need to step up, & do a better
job of picking leaders. Will we? One can work & hope.

 

[Quetzal]

But I like to think we deserve better. We just need to step up, & do a better
job of picking leaders. Will we? One can work & hope.

Correct, we deserve better and how do we get there? By making better choices and holding both parties accountable. I hold the DNC accountable for Hillary just as I hold the GOP accountable for Trump. Neither were good choices, imo, and that is a problem. Vote in midterms, folks!

 

[tytlyf]

Uh oh....someone's going to beat you with the false equivalency fallacy stick.
Each side believes that only the other is to blame, so no comparison is valid.

But I like to think we deserve better. We just need to step up, & do a better
job of picking leaders. Will we? One can work & hope.

Both sides aren't equal, it's a false equivalency.

GOP media is to blame for the current state of affairs and division.

 

[Stevicus]

‘Trump Is What Happens When a Political Party Abandons Ideas’

The guy who wrote this article is a Reaganite, whose administration turned the US economy from day into night. A lot of Democrats also supported Reagan, giving him a virtual blank check to gut the US economy and allow foreign interests to loot America. Reagan and his robotic followers ruined America long before Trump came on the scene, and if the author of this article can't recognize this, then he and others like him are part of the problem. (Besides, Reagan was also guilty of the same kind of pandering that Trump has been accused of. This guy doesn't seem to remember the "Moral Majority.")

Democrats, too, abandoned their ideas and principles by embracing identity politics and put economic issues on the back burner, merely paying lip service rather than making any serious reforms or proposals.

In the weeks before the November election, I predicted a Clinton presidency would fix much of what ails our country.

It should be noted that whatever ailed our country prior to the election was not caused by Trump. It was partly caused by Clinton, so again, electing someone who is/was a part of the problem is not going to fix anything.

Needless to say, I was as dumbfounded by the election results as Max Bialystock was by the success of “Springtime for Hitler.” For two months after Trump won, I couldn’t read any news about the election, and considered abandoning political commentary permanently. It wasn’t just that Trump disgusted me; I was disgusted with myself for being so stupid. I no longer trusted my own powers of observation and analysis.

Well, at least he admits, but here again, he's obviously learning the wrong lessons here.

And yet as surprising as this all has been, it’s also the natural outgrowth of 30 years of Republican pandering to the lowest common denominator in American politics. Trump is what happens when a political party abandons ideas, demonizes intellectuals, degrades politics and simply pursues power for the sake of power.

What he is describing here is reflected in the overall political culture which has been fostered and encouraged by both parties and the mainstream media for decades. If they couldn't see someone like Trump coming around the corner, then it's only because they've been out of touch and not paying attention. You can't really blame it on Trump or even on the people who voted for Trump.

The establishment-level Democrats and Republicans have been both out of touch, arrogant, overconfident, and conceited for far too long, but now they're in a tizzy because they realize their machinations and manipulations can no longer control the game as it once did. Now they're claiming "foul ball" over Russia's alleged interference, yet they're the ones who set up the system to be vulnerable to that in the first place. If you live by propaganda and accept the idea that money influences elections, then don't be surprised if a "competitor" tries to beat you at your own game. All of this is still the fault of the establishment politicians and their cohorts (such as the Reaganite who wrote this article) for their own myopia and blindness to what has been going on in this country for these past decades.

As I've said before, Trump is merely a symptom of a deeper problem which these so-called "experts" can't seem to fathom.

Talk radio and Fox News, where no idea too complicated for a mind with a sixth-grade education is ever heard, became the tail wagging the conservative dog. Conservative magazines like National Review, which once boasted world-class intellectuals such as James Burnham and Russell Kirk among its columnists, jumped on the bandwagon, dumbing itself down to appeal to the common man, who is deemed to be the font of all wisdom.

This is an example of the problem at hand, such as using a phrase like "dumbing down" in reference to the "common man." There's a hint of disdain and derision for "the Great Unwashed" in a lot of the political rhetoric that comes from the elite, and this is what has to stop. Just stop. In the end, nobody really likes an arrogant intellectual who thinks he knows everything and what's best for everyone.

The "common man" is treated like some kind of idiot, which is also reflected in how the coastal elite constantly derogate Middle America. This is the real reason for all the hatred we keep hearing about. You can't keep crapping on people for decades and not expect some kind of backlash eventually.

 

[Revoltingest]

Both sides aren't equal, it's a false equivalency.
GOP media is to blame for the current state of affairs and division.

I still say that someone is training you to say "false equivalency"
every time your party is criticized. You need new material.

 

[leibowde84]

Not really.

Here is a more accurate state of the affairs. The left is worse than the Mafia.

"President Trump, if he has not figured it out yet, needs to grasp that those who oppose him cannot be won over with negotiation and are not interested in finding the sort of "win-win" solutions Trump was accustomed to finding in the business community. His enemies on the left are warlords whose whole reason for living is to channel wretched levies into battle against imagined enemies.

Not only are these leftist warlords indifferent to policies that would improve the lot of these levies, but because their power rests entirely on the misery and anger of their embittered masses of followers, these warlords would actively oppose anything that lifts people into prosperity and hope.

So the left has long opposed sensible reforms to raise inner-city blacks to become productive and functioning members of society, because their only purpose to these leftist moguls is political: votes and deranged agitators. So leftists have long opposed thoughtful environmental regulation that balances economic and environmental concerns, because destroying the economy and artificially creating poverty are part of their goal.

Negotiation never works with enemies whose purpose in life is totalitarian control and crushing utterly all opposition. Winning this war requires a complete shift in thinking for a president who has built his career in the business world, where finding common ground and reaching mutually beneficial compromises are the order of the day.

The left, in this regard, is even worse – indeed, much worse – than the Mafia. Don Corleone, after all, was willing to divide territory with the other families, and his principal purpose was to make money. The Mob sought to move into "legitimate businesses" and disliked moves that were "bad for business." It was anything but totalitarian, even if it was also immoral and vicious."

Articles: Not Business, Mr. President, but War

Not surprising, as this is from the American Thinker. A known far-right media outlet. The trick is to not listen to far-right or far-left media. You have to take it all in and form your own opinion. It's all biased, but American Thinker is extremely biased.

 

[leibowde84]

Not really.

Here is a more accurate state of the affairs. The left is worse than the Mafia.

"President Trump, if he has not figured it out yet, needs to grasp that those who oppose him cannot be won over with negotiation and are not interested in finding the sort of "win-win" solutions Trump was accustomed to finding in the business community. His enemies on the left are warlords whose whole reason for living is to channel wretched levies into battle against imagined enemies.

Not only are these leftist warlords indifferent to policies that would improve the lot of these levies, but because their power rests entirely on the misery and anger of their embittered masses of followers, these warlords would actively oppose anything that lifts people into prosperity and hope.

So the left has long opposed sensible reforms to raise inner-city blacks to become productive and functioning members of society, because their only purpose to these leftist moguls is political: votes and deranged agitators. So leftists have long opposed thoughtful environmental regulation that balances economic and environmental concerns, because destroying the economy and artificially creating poverty are part of their goal.

Negotiation never works with enemies whose purpose in life is totalitarian control and crushing utterly all opposition. Winning this war requires a complete shift in thinking for a president who has built his career in the business world, where finding common ground and reaching mutually beneficial compromises are the order of the day.

The left, in this regard, is even worse – indeed, much worse – than the Mafia. Don Corleone, after all, was willing to divide territory with the other families, and his principal purpose was to make money. The Mob sought to move into "legitimate businesses" and disliked moves that were "bad for business." It was anything but totalitarian, even if it was also immoral and vicious."

Articles: Not Business, Mr. President, but War

This is the kind of "fake news" that is harmful to our country.

 

[Revoltingest]

Not surprising, as this is from the American Thinker. A known far-right media outlet. The trick is to not listen to far-right or far-left media. You have to take it all in and form your own opinion. It's all biased, but American Thinker is extremely biased.

Really?
I survey both.
Sometimes, one will break a valid story the others didn't touch.
Other times, it's a window into a very different perspective.

 

[SpaceAgeLove]

The two-party system farce will only continue to give the American people worthless candidates intended to keep up business as usual. Freedom to pick who they pick for us. He's no worse or better than anyone else we've had the past couple decades despite his pre-election drama. He's just much harder to take seriously since he was a reality TV star and has the worst hair style of the century.

 

[tytlyf]

I still say that someone is training you to say "false equivalency"
every time your party is criticized. You need new material.

I say false equivalency because that's exactly what it is. When I see it I point it out. Want me to back it up with evidence as well?

 

[Revoltingest]

I say false equivalency because that's exactly what it is. When I see it I point it out. Want me to back it up with evidence as well?

Your evidence smells like cheese.
Colby, I'd wager.

 

[Twilight Hue]

Vote in midterms, folks!

For who?

What exactly new is going to happen?

More garbage can politics?

 

[omega2xx]

Every so often I read a piece by a thoughtful Republican. I don't necessarily agree with his politics but he's sure right about how it's operating today. I'd love to see an honest, fact-based conservatism that would renounce hypocrisy, power lust and sloganeering. Maybe we could then have real debates about policy based on what might or does work.

When I became active in the Republican Party in the mid-1970s,...

One real-world result of the lobotomizing of conservative intellectualism is that when forced to produce a replacement for Obamacare—something Republican leaders had sworn they had in their pocket for eight years—there was nothing. Not just no legislation—no workable concept that adhered to the many promises Republicans had made, like coverage for pre-existing conditions and the assurance that nobody would lose their coverage. You’d think that House Speaker Ryan could have found a staff slot for one person to be working on an actual Obamacare replacement all these years, just in case.


With hindsight, it’s no surprise that the glorification of anti-elitism and anti-intellectualism that has been rampant on the right at least since the election of Barack Obama would give rise to someone like Trump. Anyone who ever read Sinclair Lewis’ “It Can’t Happen Here,” which imagined a fascist dictator taking power in 1930s America, recognizes that Trump is the real-life embodiment of Senator Buzz Windrip—a know-nothing populist who becomes president by promising something for everyone, with no clue or concern for how to actually accomplish it. Windrip was “vulgar, almost illiterate, a public liar easily detected, and in his ‘ideas’ almost idiotic,” Lewis wrote. “Certainly there was nothing exhilarating in the actual words of his speeches, nor anything convincing in his philosophy. His political platforms were only the wings of a windmill.”

‘Trump Is What Happens When a Political Party Abandons Ideas’

The conservative short coming of Trump are still better then the liberal strong points of Clinton.

 

[Quetzal]

For who?

What exactly new is going to happen?

More garbage can politics?

I prefer cautious optimism.

 

[It Aint Necessarily So]

Correct, we deserve better and how do we get there? By making better choices and holding both parties accountable. I hold the DNC accountable for Hillary just as I hold the GOP accountable for Trump. Neither were good choices, imo, and that is a problem. Vote in midterms, folks!

I hold the voters accountable unless is can be shown that the Russians hacked the electronic voting machines or that the election was otherwise rigged.