We didn't know just how good we had it with ordinary liars and incompetents for our Presidents. After what I've seen from Trump, give me Harris all day long.
I just now read your 4-part series on Trump. I respectfully but vehemently disagree. Rob, with all due respect, I think you’ve completely missed the Trump phenomenon.
Trump won the presidency eight years ago for one reason: After 25 years (1990-2016), lower middle class white males were sick to death of being called racist.
If you’re a white male earning $40,000 a year, you don’t believe that white males were “born on third base.” You don’t believe that women and minorities “have to work twice as hard” as white males. But these are things that most Americans today believe, including most upper middle class whites. Here in Austin, most of the Black Lives Matter yard signs are in rich, white neighborhoods.
Trump is a 78-year-old white rapper. Like all rappers, white and black, he says outrageous things that millions of his fans wish they could say without getting fired or punished for. Note that when Trump began his presidential campaign in the summer of 2015 with some highly-provocative statements, he was immediately called a racist. And his poll numbers went up. And this phenomenon repeated itself throughout the spring of 2016 when Trump defeated 16 primary challengers.
Let me be clear: In my view, Trump is definitely not a racist. He’s just a very rude person. But in today’s “more tolerant and sensitive than thou” world, Trump's incredible rudeness is falsely interpreted as racism.
Trump’s supporters think that when the mainstream media call Trump racist, they’re also calling Trump’s supporters racist.
I think this entirely explains Trump’s capture of the Republican Party. On this view, if not for the last 35 years (and counting) of political correctness and the social justice movement, Trump would still be a reality TV star. He never would have garnered more than a few percentage points in any 2016 Republican primary.
On this view, lower middle class whites support Trump not because of his illiberalism, but in spite of it. And unfortunately, MAGA Republicans think that more immigrants mean more Democratic voters. I think they’re wrong, but realistically, before we can have Ellis Island immigration again, we need to kill wokism.
So although I share almost all of your concerns about Trump, Rob, I think that the danger of the DEI, ESG, Green New Deal, and Medicare For All movements leads me to hope for a Trump victory. These ideas need to be stopped in their tracks. And once that happens, we need to ensure that they’re not replaced by worse ideas or other bad ideas.
Unfortunately, an anti-intellectual like Trump is the face of the anti-DEI and ESG movements today. In our anti-intellectual age, Trumpism is the only force, short-term, that can at least slow down these movements and give us some time to put forth principled, reasoned arguments against DEI and ESG.
Just as Black America over the last 50 years needed more Thomas Sowells, and fewer P Diddys, America over the last 35 years needed principled arguments against political correctness and “wokism.” Instead, it got Donald Trump. Unfortunately, in our anti-ideological age, a man like Trump who doesn’t believe in ideas, on principle, is the best antidote to people like Harris who believe in toxic ideas like DEI, ESG et al. Again, I respectfully disagree with you, Rob.
Don’t forget that Trump is also the anti-Romney. Here, I use Romney as the stand-in for the endless stream of wussy Republicans who would get pushed around by Democrats and never fight back, and he is probably the epitome of all of them. Just remember the debate when Romney laid the case for Russia causing trouble in Eastern Europe, and Obama responded with his snide joke, “1980s calling, they want their policy back.” Besides history proving Obama to be the stupidest SOB on earth, Romney’s response was telling. He sort of smiled and laughed, instead of defending himself and his statement. Since most Republicans are so sick and tired of that kind of timidity, they love to see Trump attack, even when not fully called for.
I totally agree. "Living in Ordinary Times" with Harris: I can feel my blood pressure falling even as I write those words. It's been so long. I didn't even enjoy "ordinary times" during the Biden years because Trump was still alive and kicking. But I feel like a Trump defeat this time could finally put a nail in his coffin. Literally or figuratively, I'll take it either way. Oh, and jail. Jail would be nice. Justice would be nice. Yeah, that would feel like ordinary times again. That would feel like the America I used to believe I lived in. A place where there are consequences for deplorable and tyrannical behavior. Yeah, that would be nice.
Let us make it so! I think we are living in an extraordinary time now with many dangers lurking that could dramatically negatively affect our lives in ways we can’t even imagine, much less fathom. Robert has done a great job here in capturing what is at stake. He has covered all the important issues- from individual, political, military, health and economic freedoms. It boils down to a choice between one candidate who demonstrates a “primacy of existence” thinking style with its favourable outcomes vs. another with primarily a “primacy of consciousness” style and the resulting disasters it would lead to.
They say that over 300,000 Americans died needlessly due to not taking Covid-19 precautions including vaccines due to the spread of misinformation spread by mainly republican activists- some of whom profited during the pandemic and still are.
The other issue that neither candidate talks about is the national debt. I saw some projections that under a Harris presidency another 3.5 Trillion US$ would be added during her term, but it would be 7 Trillion US $ under a Trump term. As Robert mentioned in one of his past articles, … “you may not care about the debt but the debt cares about you”…!
The choice to be made here is whether you go by the facts and rely on reason and logic, or do you go by your emotions and rely on faith and force that it will work-out somehow.
If I could make this choice at the ballot-box- it would be the same as Robert’s planned action.
As much as I admire your clarity of thought and with your spirit in abhorring Trumpism in all its malignant forms…there is absolutely nothing good to say about the D.E.I. hire Harris, as her being more right on Ukraine and against Pro Palestinian jihadist protestors and sympathizers just brings new meaning to a blind squirrel finding acorns. The quandary of democracy is stupid people can vote, resulting in Idiocracy vs Veep being on top of we the people’s ballot today. God help U.S.
Oh, yeah, my preamble for all my MAGA Supporters #REMEMBERASHLIBABBITT The young looney tune lost her sacred life by a whisker because she bought by crook, line and sinker a BIG FING LIE uttered over and over and over again by a shameless, mendacious, narcissistic, megalomaniac conman, crony capitalist pig, sociopath, serial adulterer, reality tv porn star, FTX, I mean NFT huckster, GOP crasher, formerly the world’s biggest twitter troll and America’s Biggest Sore Loser Donald J Trump. Gotta run on. ASHLI BABBITT STILL CANNOT BE REACHED FOR COMMENT. Thanks for taking my rant Tracinski Letter…hope I don’t get banned or get you in trouble with the next administration for my odious opinion “Calgon take him away”. Peace through superior mental firepower
I loved your series of posts on the election. You are absolutely correct about the moral disqualification of Trump to be President. I agree with your conclusion to go Harris, but the margin of "greater evil" is fast closing between the parties.
The Republican Party's Convention and Platform dropped its support of capitalistic values. The Democratic Party switched its focus to "freedom and rights" --but a mix of valid and invalid rights-- showing them as dishonest politicians simply out for power.
We didn't know just how good we had it with ordinary liars and incompetents for our Presidents. After what I've seen from Trump, give me Harris all day long.
I just now read your 4-part series on Trump. I respectfully but vehemently disagree. Rob, with all due respect, I think you’ve completely missed the Trump phenomenon.
Trump won the presidency eight years ago for one reason: After 25 years (1990-2016), lower middle class white males were sick to death of being called racist.
If you’re a white male earning $40,000 a year, you don’t believe that white males were “born on third base.” You don’t believe that women and minorities “have to work twice as hard” as white males. But these are things that most Americans today believe, including most upper middle class whites. Here in Austin, most of the Black Lives Matter yard signs are in rich, white neighborhoods.
Trump is a 78-year-old white rapper. Like all rappers, white and black, he says outrageous things that millions of his fans wish they could say without getting fired or punished for. Note that when Trump began his presidential campaign in the summer of 2015 with some highly-provocative statements, he was immediately called a racist. And his poll numbers went up. And this phenomenon repeated itself throughout the spring of 2016 when Trump defeated 16 primary challengers.
Let me be clear: In my view, Trump is definitely not a racist. He’s just a very rude person. But in today’s “more tolerant and sensitive than thou” world, Trump's incredible rudeness is falsely interpreted as racism.
Trump’s supporters think that when the mainstream media call Trump racist, they’re also calling Trump’s supporters racist.
I think this entirely explains Trump’s capture of the Republican Party. On this view, if not for the last 35 years (and counting) of political correctness and the social justice movement, Trump would still be a reality TV star. He never would have garnered more than a few percentage points in any 2016 Republican primary.
On this view, lower middle class whites support Trump not because of his illiberalism, but in spite of it. And unfortunately, MAGA Republicans think that more immigrants mean more Democratic voters. I think they’re wrong, but realistically, before we can have Ellis Island immigration again, we need to kill wokism.
So although I share almost all of your concerns about Trump, Rob, I think that the danger of the DEI, ESG, Green New Deal, and Medicare For All movements leads me to hope for a Trump victory. These ideas need to be stopped in their tracks. And once that happens, we need to ensure that they’re not replaced by worse ideas or other bad ideas.
Unfortunately, an anti-intellectual like Trump is the face of the anti-DEI and ESG movements today. In our anti-intellectual age, Trumpism is the only force, short-term, that can at least slow down these movements and give us some time to put forth principled, reasoned arguments against DEI and ESG.
Just as Black America over the last 50 years needed more Thomas Sowells, and fewer P Diddys, America over the last 35 years needed principled arguments against political correctness and “wokism.” Instead, it got Donald Trump. Unfortunately, in our anti-ideological age, a man like Trump who doesn’t believe in ideas, on principle, is the best antidote to people like Harris who believe in toxic ideas like DEI, ESG et al. Again, I respectfully disagree with you, Rob.
Don’t forget that Trump is also the anti-Romney. Here, I use Romney as the stand-in for the endless stream of wussy Republicans who would get pushed around by Democrats and never fight back, and he is probably the epitome of all of them. Just remember the debate when Romney laid the case for Russia causing trouble in Eastern Europe, and Obama responded with his snide joke, “1980s calling, they want their policy back.” Besides history proving Obama to be the stupidest SOB on earth, Romney’s response was telling. He sort of smiled and laughed, instead of defending himself and his statement. Since most Republicans are so sick and tired of that kind of timidity, they love to see Trump attack, even when not fully called for.
I totally agree. "Living in Ordinary Times" with Harris: I can feel my blood pressure falling even as I write those words. It's been so long. I didn't even enjoy "ordinary times" during the Biden years because Trump was still alive and kicking. But I feel like a Trump defeat this time could finally put a nail in his coffin. Literally or figuratively, I'll take it either way. Oh, and jail. Jail would be nice. Justice would be nice. Yeah, that would feel like ordinary times again. That would feel like the America I used to believe I lived in. A place where there are consequences for deplorable and tyrannical behavior. Yeah, that would be nice.
Let us make it so! I think we are living in an extraordinary time now with many dangers lurking that could dramatically negatively affect our lives in ways we can’t even imagine, much less fathom. Robert has done a great job here in capturing what is at stake. He has covered all the important issues- from individual, political, military, health and economic freedoms. It boils down to a choice between one candidate who demonstrates a “primacy of existence” thinking style with its favourable outcomes vs. another with primarily a “primacy of consciousness” style and the resulting disasters it would lead to.
They say that over 300,000 Americans died needlessly due to not taking Covid-19 precautions including vaccines due to the spread of misinformation spread by mainly republican activists- some of whom profited during the pandemic and still are.
The other issue that neither candidate talks about is the national debt. I saw some projections that under a Harris presidency another 3.5 Trillion US$ would be added during her term, but it would be 7 Trillion US $ under a Trump term. As Robert mentioned in one of his past articles, … “you may not care about the debt but the debt cares about you”…!
The choice to be made here is whether you go by the facts and rely on reason and logic, or do you go by your emotions and rely on faith and force that it will work-out somehow.
If I could make this choice at the ballot-box- it would be the same as Robert’s planned action.
As much as I admire your clarity of thought and with your spirit in abhorring Trumpism in all its malignant forms…there is absolutely nothing good to say about the D.E.I. hire Harris, as her being more right on Ukraine and against Pro Palestinian jihadist protestors and sympathizers just brings new meaning to a blind squirrel finding acorns. The quandary of democracy is stupid people can vote, resulting in Idiocracy vs Veep being on top of we the people’s ballot today. God help U.S.
Oh, yeah, my preamble for all my MAGA Supporters #REMEMBERASHLIBABBITT The young looney tune lost her sacred life by a whisker because she bought by crook, line and sinker a BIG FING LIE uttered over and over and over again by a shameless, mendacious, narcissistic, megalomaniac conman, crony capitalist pig, sociopath, serial adulterer, reality tv porn star, FTX, I mean NFT huckster, GOP crasher, formerly the world’s biggest twitter troll and America’s Biggest Sore Loser Donald J Trump. Gotta run on. ASHLI BABBITT STILL CANNOT BE REACHED FOR COMMENT. Thanks for taking my rant Tracinski Letter…hope I don’t get banned or get you in trouble with the next administration for my odious opinion “Calgon take him away”. Peace through superior mental firepower
oops.
Thanks for the info on Harris as promised.
Not ungood is the best I can do at this time.
I loved your series of posts on the election. You are absolutely correct about the moral disqualification of Trump to be President. I agree with your conclusion to go Harris, but the margin of "greater evil" is fast closing between the parties.
The Republican Party's Convention and Platform dropped its support of capitalistic values. The Democratic Party switched its focus to "freedom and rights" --but a mix of valid and invalid rights-- showing them as dishonest politicians simply out for power.
Thanks for the article Rob. Are you concerned at all about a revival of DEI under Harris?