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Politics 2016 (election edition)

lost highway

By lost highway,
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sonicshoulder

sonicshoulder

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Last night was the first full debate I've tuned in for. As a person really lacking any party affiliation the only individual on that stage that I feel could "run" this country was John Kasich. If Trump wins this nomination its a slam dunk for Hillary. I just can't imagine anyone who is not on the far right actually pushing Trump's button when that curtain closes behind them. Trump seems to run out of policy answers once he gets past his obligatory "I am not a politician...these guys are...they are all talk". Rubio looks like he would get run over in a room full of world leaders...just doesn't seem like hes ready. Cruz is a creep and I honestly think his ego might exceed Donald's. This is really frightening. Favorite line of the evening though was by Ben Carson when after not being addressed by anyone for 20 minutes  asked..."would someone please attack me?".

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calvino

calvino

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Christie endorses Trump. Wtf?

 

Leading candidate for VP?

 

Both are bullies.

 

I immediately thought that, too  (the VP thing) - but I think two men from New Jersey/York won't fly as a ticket. But who knows with the current state of Republican party.

 

Another fun press conference with Trump/Christie -- I guess Rubio still sweats a lot and wears too much make-up....

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Hixter

Hixter

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I drove by the Fort Worth Convention Center this morning and the line for the Trump rally was already really long.

He hasn't graced us with his presence. Hillary was here a few months ago, but the rest seem to stick with Dallas and Houston.

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Doug C

Doug C

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To me, Christie endorsing Trump, isn't a WTF moment. Christie likely knows Trump and believes that he is more in line with Christie's agenda rather than a religious nutter like Cruz/Rubio. He won't endorse Kasich because he doesn't think he has a chance. There could be some craven self-interest there, a la veep, but as was said, a NY/NJ ticket won't fly. This election is very interesting and entertaining.

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jff

jff

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I'm sure there are a lot of people salivating over a Trump VP slot.  My money is on Trump (if he becomes president) quitting before his first term is up.  He's in this to win, not to serve.  Obviously.  Which means Trump's VP gets to be president.

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tinnitus photography

tinnitus photography

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great op-ed in the NYT:

 

 

 

The Governing Cancer of Our Time

David Brooks David Brooks FEB. 26, 2016 



We live in a big, diverse society. There are essentially two ways to maintain order and get things done in such a society — politics or some form of dictatorship. Either through compromise or brute force. Our founding fathers chose politics.

Politics is an activity in which you recognize the simultaneous existence of different groups, interests and opinions. You try to find some way to balance or reconcile or compromise those interests, or at least a majority of them. You follow a set of rules, enshrined in a constitution or in custom, to help you reach these compromises in a way everybody considers legitimate.

The downside of politics is that people never really get everything they want. It’s messy, limited and no issue is ever really settled. Politics is a muddled activity in which people have to recognize restraints and settle for less than they want. Disappointment is normal.

But that’s sort of the beauty of politics, too. It involves an endless conversation in which we learn about other people and see things from their vantage point and try to balance their needs against our own. Plus, it’s better than the alternative: rule by some authoritarian tyrant who tries to govern by clobbering everyone in his way.

As Bernard Crick wrote in his book, “In Defence of Politics,” “Politics is a way of ruling divided societies without undue violence.”

Over the past generation we have seen the rise of a group of people who are against politics. These groups — best exemplified by the Tea Party but not exclusive to the right — want to elect people who have no political experience. They want “outsiders.” They delegitimize compromise and deal-making. They’re willing to trample the customs and rules that give legitimacy to legislative decision-making if it helps them gain power.

Ultimately, they don’t recognize other people. They suffer from a form of political narcissism, in which they don’t accept the legitimacy of other interests and opinions. They don’t recognize restraints. They want total victories for themselves and their doctrine.

This antipolitics tendency has had a wretched effect on our democracy. It has led to a series of overlapping downward spirals:

The antipolitics people elect legislators who have no political skills or experience. That incompetence leads to dysfunctional government, which leads to more disgust with government, which leads to a demand for even more outsiders.

The antipolitics people don’t accept that politics is a limited activity. They make soaring promises and raise ridiculous expectations. When those expectations are not met, voters grow cynical and, disgusted, turn even further in the direction of antipolitics.

The antipolitics people refuse compromise and so block the legislative process. The absence of accomplishment destroys public trust. The decline in trust makes deal-making harder.

We’re now at a point where the Senate says it won’t even hold hearings on a presidential Supreme Court nominee, in clear defiance of custom and the Constitution. We’re now at a point in which politicians live in fear if they try to compromise and legislate. We’re now at a point in which normal political conversation has broken down. People feel unheard, which makes them shout even louder, which further destroys conversation.

And in walks Donald Trump. People say that Trump is an unconventional candidate and that he represents a break from politics as usual. That’s not true. Trump is the culmination of the trends we have been seeing for the last 30 years: the desire for outsiders; the bashing style of rhetoric that makes conversation impossible; the decline of coherent political parties; the declining importance of policy; the tendency to fight cultural battles and identity wars through political means.

Trump represents the path the founders rejected. There is a hint of violence undergirding his campaign. There is always a whiff, and sometimes more than a whiff, of “I’d like to punch him in the face.”

I printed out a Times list of the insults Trump has hurled on Twitter. The list took up 33 pages. Trump’s style is bashing and pummeling. Everyone who opposes or disagrees with him is an idiot, a moron or a loser. The implied promise of his campaign is that he will come to Washington and bully his way through.

Trump’s supporters aren’t looking for a political process to address their needs. They are looking for a superhero. As the political scientist Matthew MacWilliams found, the one trait that best predicts whether you’re a Trump supporter is how high you score on tests that measure authoritarianism.

This isn’t just an American phenomenon. Politics is in retreat and authoritarianism is on the rise worldwide. The answer to Trump is politics. It’s acknowledging other people exist. It’s taking pleasure in that difference and hammering out workable arrangements. As Harold Laski put it, “We shall make the basis of our state consent to disagreement. Therein shall we ensure its deepest harmony.”
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KevinG

KevinG

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Did you guys catch this "Donald Trump won't condemn former Ku Klux Klan leader who endorses hom" story?

 

John Oliver last night did a fantastic segment on Trump.  He did a fantastic job taking him down.  Trump is so thin skinned I am sure he will threaten to sue Oliver and HBO.   He went on over 20 minutes (got I love HBO).  Here is a HuffPo article about it.  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/donald-drumpf-john-oliver_us_56d40adee4b0bf0dab32a73c

 

Also I went to http://www.donaldjdrumpf.com/ downloaded the Chrome extension to change Trump to Drumpf, and it is fantastic.  

 

Unfortunately, I don't think many of Trump's supporters watch Oliver and will be swayed by this segment.  But if Trump succeeds and wins the GOP nomination, conservatives/moderates/independents who do watch Oliver will understand what a charlatan and huckster this man really is.    

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Hixter

Hixter

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Just arrived at the Ted Cruz rally. The place is packed and they're going to have to turn people away.

 

I'm wearing a Wilco shirt and I'm almost tempted to cause a commotion to get on TV and make Jeff Tweedy's head explode. ;)

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KevinG

KevinG

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Just arrived at the Ted Cruz rally. The place is packed and they're going to have to turn people away.

 

I'm wearing a Wilco shirt and I'm almost tempted to cause a commotion to get on TV and make Jeff Tweedy's head explode. ;)

 

What was the rally like?  

 

Would be really surprised if did not win on his home turf.  

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lost highway

lost highway

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Oliver hit it out of the park with that one.

 

Yeah, he nailed it on the weird "he tells it like it is" mythology. Trump is proof that if people repeat things enough times they can seem true, even when it's about the biggest liar in a field crawling with them.

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