Grover Norquist once quipped that the GOP didn't need anything from a president other than the ability to sign his name. Both GW Bush and Trump filled that bill perfectly. I didn't think we'd have to suffer a president who was more ignorant and inarticulate than W, but Trump made Bush look like Churchill. Add the blog endeavor to Trump U, Trump steaks, Trump vodka and all of his other cons/frauds/grifts.
Trump is lazy. It is a central characteristic that assured his blog venture, just as his attempted coup, would simply join the list of his sloppy failures.
The big question of course is how a guy so patently lacking in popular support can continue to exercise such dominance over a major political party in a democratic system. The obvious answer is that the party isn't planning on HAVING a democratic system. Authoritarianism by definition is coercive, not democratic, and authoritarianism is the prize they're keeping their eyes on. Lack of majority support starts to be a feature, not a bug. What's the fun in having all those guns in your basement if you don't finally get to use 'em for something? Trump may not end up being the American Putin they were dreaming of, but American Putin is still the dream.
IMO, Trump's blog failed because it lacked the opportunity for engagement. When Trump was on Twitter, no one cared about his policy pronouncements. The only things his supporters cared about was the culture war that Trump was in charge of. And "owning the libs" is only fun when you can celebrate it collectively.
Not being able to comment on Trump's posts, and more crucially, to read others celebrating Trump's latest insult to civilized society, left those posts hanging out in the void of their own ridiculousness and absurdity. If you could read the comments, you didn't have to think about what Trump had written. Without the comments, Trump's posts no longer represented a reiteration of collective concern, but merely a repetition of Trump's own obsessions.
Trump's racism, nationalism, sexism and populism obscures the underlying truth about him--he began as a TV reality star. And that show was his only success. His business ventures failed, even though he inherited $413 million from his father.
But 2020 diminished him and his access, while introducing us to new reality stars, all playing to the base with full access to social media, TV and the DC press. These new stars brandish the same confused patriotism that rejects democratic values like fair elections, equality and a shared sense of reality. And who has the desire to find a page that won't let a follower spout victimhood in the comments?
I don't believe the Republican Party's loyalism is to Trump, but to the donors sponsoring him and other authoritarian-minded politicians. Tell a lie get a dollar. Well, hundreds of thousands. These donors, as well as established criminal authoritarians like Putin, are playing the long game--the gradual destruction of democratic norms and institutions. There is simply no way Trump understands this long game, or any complicated ideas, and so no way the donors will remain in his corner. It's not loyalty to Trump the donors want, its loyalty to destroying democracy.
His lack of popular support coupled with the eager and vociferous support he gets from Cruz and Graham strongly suggests that he has some serious dirt on them.
This is independent if the GOP shutting g down the Jan 6 commission as that is about the inevitable demise of the party when how they enabled that situation is revealed. I have faith that the truth will come out, commission or not.
I always thought people would just get exhausted by him. I thought it would happen sooner, of course; it’s not like he ever has anything actually new to say.
His blog did serve one purpose: It showed he wasn’t hampered by Twitter’s character limit; he just actually is illiterate.
Any truth to the rumor he’s back on Facebook though? I can’t bear to look.
Something is not lining up. Trump’s blog failed, his television interviews get pitiful ratings, he has no online presence yet 73% of Republicans believe the election was stolen from him, 66% want him to run again, and 46% would leave the GOP to join a Trump political party. Go figure.
I do believe that a large number of his Twitter followers were not his fans. "Know thy enemy and know yourself; in a hundred battles, you will never be defeated."
While I am happy that Trump's popularity is dwindling, the Republican Party, using the "Big Lie" as fuel, is in the throws of a major coup in this country. So yes, good news, Trump is fading, but the apathy among Democratic voters, believing that Trump is gone, will play into the Dems losing the Senate and perhaps the House next year with democracy falling for good shortly after. We don't learn from history and history shows that most coups fail in their first attempt. However, a subsequent attempt is usually successful. The idea that Reps are afraid of the Trump voter is just a cover while they pass bills at state level to suppress votes and use a corrupt census to gerrymander districts. I believe our democracy is in a more perilous state than it was when Trump was in office. Trump is yesterday's news. McConnell, McCarthy and the Republican Party is the current clear and present danger.
I wonder how much of the genuflecting is the thinking, if we keep saying we have to get along with him, the diseased millionth-of-a-cent streetwalkers who comprise the DC political media brothel and its satellites won't notice that this is who we actually are. Which, indeed, members of the republic party actually are.
One of the FEW pieces of good news is the Stansbury win in New Mexico, for the special election in the seat vacated when Deb Haaland left to join Biden's Cabinet. Theturnout by Dems was great...and I pray this is an omen for 2022, pundits be damned. " Early and absentee voting was promising for Stansbury. After in-person early voting ended on Saturday, 93,563 ballots had been cast, 58 percent of them by registered Democrats and 30 percent by registered Republicans. "
Is he saying anything new? He's old news now with nothing to offer. I just wonder when the Republicans will wake up and smell the coffee. Everyone else is moving on in a positive way and the Trumpers are being left behind. What about the "Rallys" he was going to be holding? What's happened to those? My guess is mayors and city councils want cash upfront unless the party is now going to pick up the tab. I happily envision money troubles. He's got nothing but lawsuits in the future. And he's the pathetic con he's always been.
Grover Norquist once quipped that the GOP didn't need anything from a president other than the ability to sign his name. Both GW Bush and Trump filled that bill perfectly. I didn't think we'd have to suffer a president who was more ignorant and inarticulate than W, but Trump made Bush look like Churchill. Add the blog endeavor to Trump U, Trump steaks, Trump vodka and all of his other cons/frauds/grifts.
Trump is lazy. It is a central characteristic that assured his blog venture, just as his attempted coup, would simply join the list of his sloppy failures.
The big question of course is how a guy so patently lacking in popular support can continue to exercise such dominance over a major political party in a democratic system. The obvious answer is that the party isn't planning on HAVING a democratic system. Authoritarianism by definition is coercive, not democratic, and authoritarianism is the prize they're keeping their eyes on. Lack of majority support starts to be a feature, not a bug. What's the fun in having all those guns in your basement if you don't finally get to use 'em for something? Trump may not end up being the American Putin they were dreaming of, but American Putin is still the dream.
Trump cannot grasp the fact that most of his followers are not engaged in the art of reading. That is my guess.
IMO, Trump's blog failed because it lacked the opportunity for engagement. When Trump was on Twitter, no one cared about his policy pronouncements. The only things his supporters cared about was the culture war that Trump was in charge of. And "owning the libs" is only fun when you can celebrate it collectively.
Not being able to comment on Trump's posts, and more crucially, to read others celebrating Trump's latest insult to civilized society, left those posts hanging out in the void of their own ridiculousness and absurdity. If you could read the comments, you didn't have to think about what Trump had written. Without the comments, Trump's posts no longer represented a reiteration of collective concern, but merely a repetition of Trump's own obsessions.
Trump's racism, nationalism, sexism and populism obscures the underlying truth about him--he began as a TV reality star. And that show was his only success. His business ventures failed, even though he inherited $413 million from his father.
But 2020 diminished him and his access, while introducing us to new reality stars, all playing to the base with full access to social media, TV and the DC press. These new stars brandish the same confused patriotism that rejects democratic values like fair elections, equality and a shared sense of reality. And who has the desire to find a page that won't let a follower spout victimhood in the comments?
I don't believe the Republican Party's loyalism is to Trump, but to the donors sponsoring him and other authoritarian-minded politicians. Tell a lie get a dollar. Well, hundreds of thousands. These donors, as well as established criminal authoritarians like Putin, are playing the long game--the gradual destruction of democratic norms and institutions. There is simply no way Trump understands this long game, or any complicated ideas, and so no way the donors will remain in his corner. It's not loyalty to Trump the donors want, its loyalty to destroying democracy.
His lack of popular support coupled with the eager and vociferous support he gets from Cruz and Graham strongly suggests that he has some serious dirt on them.
This is independent if the GOP shutting g down the Jan 6 commission as that is about the inevitable demise of the party when how they enabled that situation is revealed. I have faith that the truth will come out, commission or not.
I always thought people would just get exhausted by him. I thought it would happen sooner, of course; it’s not like he ever has anything actually new to say.
His blog did serve one purpose: It showed he wasn’t hampered by Twitter’s character limit; he just actually is illiterate.
Any truth to the rumor he’s back on Facebook though? I can’t bear to look.
"the aging Florida blogger" well played, sir.
Something is not lining up. Trump’s blog failed, his television interviews get pitiful ratings, he has no online presence yet 73% of Republicans believe the election was stolen from him, 66% want him to run again, and 46% would leave the GOP to join a Trump political party. Go figure.
I do believe that a large number of his Twitter followers were not his fans. "Know thy enemy and know yourself; in a hundred battles, you will never be defeated."
While I am happy that Trump's popularity is dwindling, the Republican Party, using the "Big Lie" as fuel, is in the throws of a major coup in this country. So yes, good news, Trump is fading, but the apathy among Democratic voters, believing that Trump is gone, will play into the Dems losing the Senate and perhaps the House next year with democracy falling for good shortly after. We don't learn from history and history shows that most coups fail in their first attempt. However, a subsequent attempt is usually successful. The idea that Reps are afraid of the Trump voter is just a cover while they pass bills at state level to suppress votes and use a corrupt census to gerrymander districts. I believe our democracy is in a more perilous state than it was when Trump was in office. Trump is yesterday's news. McConnell, McCarthy and the Republican Party is the current clear and present danger.
oh duh....everyone knows that his followers do not read.
I wonder how much of the genuflecting is the thinking, if we keep saying we have to get along with him, the diseased millionth-of-a-cent streetwalkers who comprise the DC political media brothel and its satellites won't notice that this is who we actually are. Which, indeed, members of the republic party actually are.
One of the FEW pieces of good news is the Stansbury win in New Mexico, for the special election in the seat vacated when Deb Haaland left to join Biden's Cabinet. Theturnout by Dems was great...and I pray this is an omen for 2022, pundits be damned. " Early and absentee voting was promising for Stansbury. After in-person early voting ended on Saturday, 93,563 ballots had been cast, 58 percent of them by registered Democrats and 30 percent by registered Republicans. "
Is he saying anything new? He's old news now with nothing to offer. I just wonder when the Republicans will wake up and smell the coffee. Everyone else is moving on in a positive way and the Trumpers are being left behind. What about the "Rallys" he was going to be holding? What's happened to those? My guess is mayors and city councils want cash upfront unless the party is now going to pick up the tab. I happily envision money troubles. He's got nothing but lawsuits in the future. And he's the pathetic con he's always been.