March 6, 2016

Trump must be thinking: If I had all the material I've given them...

... I would destroy me.

ADDED: The way Trump speaks, if he were being Anti-Trump, he would totally call himself Hitler. 

127 comments:

Gahrie said...

The more outraged and scared the Establishment gets over Trump, the happier his supporters are.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

Seriously. Trump is so embarrassing, I am really astonished his supporters don't see it.

Trump for Hillary!

David Begley said...

Absolutely correct.

Biden will destroy Trump. Joe plagerized a speech. That's it.

Meade said...

It's all fun and games until someone loses 6 million or so untermenschen.

Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...

Max Boot - "but (the) Trump surge proves that every bad thing Democrats have ever said about GOP is basically true."

Bret Stephens, WSJ - "It would be terrible to think that the left was right about the right all these years."

With friends like these ...

Ann Althouse said...

Our politicians are just so woefully unskilled.

It's ridiculous that Trump can step in as a neophyte and slay.

I'd like to see less complaining about how bad Trump is and more other people being good.

You don't fight what's wrong by saying it's wrong over and over. You can't beat something with nothing.

It's the nothing that makes me angry here.

Trump swanned out onto an empty stage.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

Trump will hand Hillary a landslide. His supporters think a few big rallies prove that everyone is in love with him. No. His negatives are higher than Hillary for a reason.

Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...

Ann Althouse said...
It's the nothing that makes me angry here.


They have plenty. But what they have people ain't buying.

dreams said...

This is interesting.

"The Trump phenomenon is neither a disease nor a symptom – he is instead the beta-test of a cure that the American people are trying out. It won’t work. But this is where our politics are going: working and middle class Americans are reasserting themselves against a political and cultural establishment that has become completely discredited over time and due to their own actions. ...

"In other words, Trump is the unprotected class' beta test for a cure for the revolt of the elites. And its [sic]about damned time. Which leads me to hope Domenech is right about his next point:"

http://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2016/03/dynasty_2016_episode_2romney_v_trump_.html

Gahrie said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Snark said...

I don't see it as a lack of political skill. There is something fundamentally wrong with Trump. Narcissism, sociopathy...something. Comparatively normal people can't be expected to intuitively know how to waltz with that and somehow find the lead.

Gahrie said...

The only people who hate and despise the Republican base more than Democrats hate and despise the Republican base are the Republican Establishment.

Meade said...

"The way Trump speaks, if he were being Anti-Trump, he would totally call himself Hitler. "

In this age of anti-establishmentism, anti-PCism, one can't call Hitler Hitler. It's too politically correct.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

People keep quiet about the positives of Cruz or Rubio or Kasich - because Trump supporters suck all the air out of the room. They swoop in and label it all heresy -- or establishment suck-up hackery.


I like what ACE had to say about Cruz after the last debate:

Debate Scorecard

Ted Cruz: "Generally stayed out of the Rubio-Trump tangles, which is tactically smart, but gets few points for courage. Had good understated line, though: "Donald has a tenuous relationship with the truth."

Generally did a good job, but sometimes gives the impression that he is not actually a man, but rather a robotic man-suit piloted internally by a team of ultra right-wing ducks standing on each other's backs and quacking Fredrick Hayek quotes to each other.

Continues making the strategic mistake of telling people what he actually believes and what he'd actually do, which our current culture reads as "insincerity" and "sanctimony." "

The GOP is supposed to be perfect, and isn't. The democrats are supremely imperfect, but the expectation set by pop culture and the media is that their imperfections don't compute or matter. Look, over there, a squirrel.

Bob Ellison said...

As Anglelyne keeps pointing out, it's a mistake to conflate "the right" or even "Republicans" with "the people voting for Trump".

Trump voters are obviously voting more emotionally than anti-Trumpsters. They like his anger, his anti-PC attitude, and his straight talk.

But they are not conservatives, mostly. Conservative Republicans can't stand the guy.

Anonymous said...

AA: Our politicians are just so woefully unskilled.

I dunno. Western Europe has much "better" politicians, in terms of "professional" presentation, public-speaking skill, and keeping up a pretense of "substance" ("being the adult in the room" ha ha ha) but they're fucking up their countries even worse and faster than our clown club is managing to fuck up ours.


OT but not irrelevant: Interesting analysis; contradicts the line I've been flogging here re open/closed primaries.

Henry said...

The last debate showed pretty clearly that since Trump is Trump he will destroy himself.

The Republicans were not wrong to think that he would turn himself into a laughingstock. They miscalculated how much time it would take.

Bob Ellison said...

Anglelyne, Philip Bump is not a serious journalist, and that article is pretty stupid. The numbers are from exit polls-- about as good a source on subjects like these as Drudge polls.

Bump: "It's clear that Cruz has done better in states that are holding closed caucuses, but it's not necessarily clear why."

Oh, gee, what could possibly be the reason?

Gusty Winds said...

Seems an insult to Hitler's millions of victims to throw his name around in a desperate act of hyperbole.

Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...

Anglelyne said...
Interesting analysis; contradicts the line I've been flogging here re open/closed primaries.


Striking graph. There is enough data there to say with reasonable certainty that Trump's rise has little or nothing to do with non-Republicans voting for him.

Gahrie said...

I'd like to see less complaining about how bad Trump is and more other people being good.

Which other people?

A 75 year old Communist refugee from the 70's?

A 68 year old incarnation of corruption and evil?

If I was a Democrat I'd be enraged at my party......is this the best they have to offer us?

Or how about an entitled member of the Establishment who because of his last name could never earn the vote of 50% of the country?

A Senator who vows to slay dragons only to lie down with them?

An accomplished brain surgeon who is an eccentric and can't communicate?

A governor whose greatest accomplishments have pissed off his own base?

An outsider who has offended his party's Establishment, and his fellow senators?

Gahrie said...

Seems an insult to Hitler's millions of victims to throw his name around in a desperate act of hyperbole.

From a historical point of view, there are actually very good reasons to compare Trump to Hitler and Sanders to Mussolini. That is why they scare me so much.

Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...

Bob Ellison said...
The numbers are from exit polls-- about as good a source on subjects like these as Drudge polls.


But, as the only data on the topic they cannot be simply dismissed because they do not fit the narrative. Neither can the Drudge polls, for that matter, given Drudge's readership.

Fernandinande said...

"America has the best politicians money can buy." -- Rogers

Sebastian said...

@ARM: ""It's the nothing that makes me angry here."They have plenty. But what they have people ain't buying." Correct. GOP primary voters didn't want skilled conservative or moderate governors, nor a sensible glass-ceiling-breaking CEO, nor a somewhat hapless conservative black surgeon, nor, it appears, a right-of-center Senatorial counterpart to Obama. The range of skills, viewpoints, and traditional credentials was remarkable, and also irrelevant.

Political skill is not an intrinsic quality of a candidate. It's a market, and the customer is king. In this market, Trump is not a "neophyte." If Trump can't be stopped and flames out in the general, presumably everyone will complain about his lack of skill.

"Trump is the unprotected class' beta test for a cure for the revolt of the elites." Except the unprotected class is not unprotected and their problems are not due to "the elites" and whatever Trump is selling will provide neither protection nor a better elite. I'm not arguing, of course, that such rebuttals could stop such a revolt.

Hammond X. Gritzkofe said...

Waiting for someone to do the rant scene from "Der Untergang" or the 1935 Nuremburg stadium - video overlaid with sound bites from Trump at the debates or some of his sponsored events.

Bob Ellison said...

AReasonableMan, do you think the Drudge polls have any hold on reality?

Everyone reads Drudge, but only rightists and libertarians actually like his stuff.

What would you say if you were a non-Democrat walking out of a Democrat caucus or primary and asked by an exit-poller, "What is your party and for whom did you vote?"

The correct answer for such a person is, "I'm a liar, so you should disregard my comments." The standard answer would be "I'm a member of the Democratic Party, and I voted for ________."

Also, the answer I myself would give is, "I don't answer these useless surveys."

rhhardin said...

You want governments small just like you want babies small.

It limits the damage they can do.

Anonymous said...

re: happier. Indeed they are. As an Andrew Jackson of this day "the representative of the common man" your pTb has pretty much showed your existing houses of congress don't represent the average citizen who bothers to vote who wants little more than his or freedom, and freedom of their enterprise which means little more government than absolutely needed, doing only those jobs that only it can do, given the simple wants of the common man both parties have no players left on the field, not even a goalie to keep him from scoring from midfield. The traditional parties and their elites are facing their ruin. He has a far larger target than the GOP. Your pTb is like the child yelling "but he has no clothes!." Great fun. Especially from my and relative's country where the elites make no pretense of representing the interest of the common prole. So out of the ashes rises this traitor to his class. You are so fortunate. Then again America always has been. Now all you need is a law that requires all to vote. Elimating another way to voice your disgust with both parties.

Anonymous said...

dreams: "The Trump phenomenon is neither a disease nor a symptom – he is instead the beta-test of a cure that the American people are trying out. It won’t work. But this is where our politics are going: working and middle class Americans are reasserting themselves...

This is what people who are stuck in partisan politics aren't seeing - there's a re-alignment going on. Finding the right candidate to "save us from Hillary" isn't going to "save us from Hillary", in the sense of reversing the progressive, globalist juggernaut and restoring "true conservatism". (I don't think soi-disant "true conservatives" quite understand that economic globalism has political, cultural, and social consequences that negate the possibility of any such restoration.)

Trump the individual doesn't matter, he's not a one shot deal, an anomaly that just has to be dealt with successfully once and then we can get back to business as usual. He's an "end of a beginning" (to put it as pompously as possible).

Meade said...

"You want governments small just like you want babies small."

Bad analogy, man. Unless the parent is mentally ill, no one wants to keep his baby small. Just the contrary.

Snark said...

@Gusty Winds ... If you know history you know Hitler's slogan in his rise to power may as well have been "We're going to make Germany great again!" The other parallels are quite real. It is of course impossible to envision anything as remotely catastrophic unfolding. However if some paramilitary force arises that could scratch right through the thin veneer of civilization before you can say ID badges for Muslims. I think the whole thing is scarier than people credit. It's hyperbole...but maybe only just. And for now. It should be constantly evaluated.

Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...

"Trump is the unprotected class' beta test for a cure for the revolt of the elites."

The problem with the 'beta test' line is that you only get one shot at the king. The establishment is circling the wagons now that they see that the threat to them personally is real. There will not be another Trump. If he doesn't win this time there will not be a next time. To shift the needle in a huge system you need a close to perfect convergence of factors. You could wait another fifty years to see a similar opportunity for change.

Michael K said...

"Trump will hand Hillary a landslide"

Exit polls= "All Cretans are liars, said the Cretan."

Trump is getting votes from both sides and, especially conservatives, are not telling pollsters, who are mostly college kids with presumed left wing bias and superior attitudes, who they voted for.

Trumps winning secret ballots and lost a couple of caucuses where secrecy is pretty weak.

I'm not yet a Trump guy but I think he is still building steam. Cruz would be OK with me but I doubt he will get anything like the cross-over vote that Trump would.

Michael K said...

"There will not be another Trump. If he doesn't win this time there will not be a next time. "

Yes, this is why the Democrats have super delegates.

That doesn't mean they will win the general.

Meade said...

A better analogy would be:

"You want government limited just like you want blog comment moderation limited."

traditionalguy said...

Trump is shaming us by exposing how easy it was for the Bush-Clinton-Bush-Obama tag teams to sell us off for cash after Reagan left.

All Trump does is show what reality looks like. That is what embarrasses us

Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...

BE, I am not saying that the exit polls are perfect. They do seem to be the best predictor available.

I have a bias. I do not believe any of these Operation Chaos theories, people are just not that motivated, more's the pity.

Bob Ellison said...

How about "You want government limited like a zebra wants fewer stripes"?

Paco Wové said...

"Except the unprotected class is not unprotected and their problems are not due to "the elites""

So you say. But why do you think they think otherwise? Who's giving all those deluded proles their delusions?

Bob Ellison said...

You want government limited as much as a fish wants less water.

chickelit said...

Michael K wrote: Trumps winning secret ballots and lost a couple of caucuses where secrecy is pretty weak.

And don't forget that Republicans like Chuck are compiling lists of Trump supporters.

Meade said...

"All Trump does is show what reality looks like."

I commend him for that but my commendation ends there.

Here's one: "You want Donald J. Trump limited just like you want government limited."

Trouble is — Donald J. Trump does not want to be limited. He wants to be Caesar.

Paul said...

Althouse is right to a degree. With all the talk of the republican deep bench we were offered a panoply of weak contenders. I can't see any of them doing anything to stop our mad rush to national destruction. Cruz may have some good ideas and policy positions but he is so unlikeable he will never be able to move his agenda forward in the extremely unlikely event he was able to be nominated and elected. The rest are just losers deserving to lose.

Trump is the wild card, and sometimes a wild card is your only play. He has the rare ability to excite and motivate people. He is the only one who can potentially harness enough energy to actually effect a change of direction. That's why he is so popular. Most of his supporters realize he could go either way...be a really good president or a really bad one. I certainly do. But like Althouse says you can't beat something with nothing. You can't beat a chance with no chance.

You people who insist he can only be a disaster and a failure, or cannot win the general, lack the reasoning ability or are too emotionally overwrought to assess the situation in my opinion.

Anonymous said...

ARM: The establishment is circling the wagons now that they see that the threat to them personally is real. There will not be another Trump. If he doesn't win this time there will not be a next time. To shift the needle in a huge system you need a close to perfect convergence of factors. You could wait another fifty years to see a similar opportunity for change.

True, but this scenario assumes an elite in control of events within this huge system, and/or that the system is sufficiently robust to tolerate pretty serious screw-ups. (And the U.S. is not a closed system.) If those assumptions aren't correct, then there will be "opportunities for change", to be blackly euphemistic, for everybody.

Paul said...

A constantly expending government is like a slow growing malignant tumor, eventually lethal for sure but an open border is like sepsis and a serious terrorist attack like a gunshot wound to the chest.

It's foolish at this juncture to make reducing the size of government the first priority.

Anonymous said...

Bob Ellison: Anglelyne, Philip Bump is not a serious journalist, and that article is pretty stupid. The numbers are from exit polls-- about as good a source on subjects like these as Drudge polls.

Could be, Bob. I think the open/closed model still holds up pretty well, and will continue to hold up. But I thought the Nevada outlier was interesting; it'll be interesting to see if it remains an outlier.

grackle said...

The more outraged and scared the Establishment gets over Trump, the happier his supporters are.

My version: The more outraged and scared the Establishment gets over Trump, the more his supporters grow.

There is something fundamentally wrong with Trump. Narcissism, sociopathy...something. Comparatively normal people can't be expected to intuitively know how to waltz with that and somehow find the lead.

Translation: Trump is a sociopath. Why? Because people vote for him. Rigorous analysis.

From a historical point of view, there are actually very good reasons to compare Trump to Hitler and Sanders to Mussolini.

Here we go again.

But, as the only data on the topic they cannot be simply dismissed because they do not fit the narrative. Neither can the Drudge polls, for that matter, given Drudge's readership.

Bingo! A brand new Proctor Silex toaster for this player!

However if some paramilitary force arises that could scratch right through the thin veneer of civilization before you can say ID badges for Muslims.

We Trump supporters are arming ourselves and we are coming for YOU, civilization. We will rip the veneer off your faux-antique sideboards with our bayonets! Our bullets will shatter your fake Victorian hall mirrors! Our bombs will utterly destroy K Street and your DC cocktail parties will be invaded by an army of blunt but brilliantly hair-sprayed Trumpsters! Our vengeance knows no bounds!

Anonymous said...

Btw, Althouse - post very funny; belated kudos for that.

Fabi said...

It's pitiful that allegedly intelligent people are making strident comparisons of Trump to Hitler.

I'll keep it simple: Hitler wrote Mein Kampf, his ideological framework for citizen and country. Trump wrote The Art of the Deal, his vain recounting of real estate transactions. Do you really want to compare those two?

Buy a fucking clue, Godwinophiles. They're not that expensive.

Gahrie said...

Here we go again.

Hitler was a rabblerousing demagogue who took advantage of poor economic conditions, unstable and weakened political institutions, anger at the political class and personal charisma to tell the German people that the problems of the nation weren't their fault, it was those people's fault, and that if he was elected he would get rid of the non-Germans who were causing the problems and restore Germany to greatness.

Trump is a rabblerousing demagogue who is taking advantage of poor economic conditions, unstable and weakened political institutions, anger at the political class and personal charisma to tell the American people that the problems of the nation aren't their fault, it is those people's fault, and that if he is elected he will get rid of the non-Americans who are causing the problems and restore America to greatness.

Gahrie said...

One of the reasons I am mad at the Republican Establishment is because they made Trump possible.

Fabi said...

Hitler was an ideologue, Gahrie. Still want to compare the two or are you just happy displaying your foolishness for all the blogosphere to behold?

Paco Wové said...

Here we go again.

Hitler was a bipedal eutherian heterotroph, dependent on aerobic respiration and a constant influx of nutrients into a one-way digestive system.

Trump is a bipedal eutherian heterotroph, dependent on aerobic respiration and a constant influx of nutrients into a one-way digestive system.

Do I have to draw a fucking map?

Fernandinande said...

More Will Rogers:

"It looks to me like any man that wants to be President in times like these lacks something." -- 1932

"I would love to see [fill-in-the-blank!] in there, really. I don't know who started the idea that a President must be a Politician instead of a Business man. A Politician can't run any other kind of business. So there is no reason why he can run the U.S. That's the biggest single business in the World." -- 1923

Gahrie said...

Hitler was an ideologue, Gahrie.

Hitler was a power hungry megalomaniac who seized control of the NAZI Party to further his own ambitions for power.

Trump is a power hungry megalomaniac who is trying to seize control of the Republican Party to further his own ambitions for power.

Fabi said...

Take a deep breath, Gahrie.

Paul said...

"Take a deep breath, Gahrie."

It won't help. There is no cure for TDS.

Anonymous said...

Gahrie @10:53 AM:

I could go into exhaustive detail as to why your analogizing German Jews in Germany to illegal aliens in the U.S. is idiotic, but I think you're intelligent enough to figure that all out for yourself, and will eventually get a grip and stop embarrassing yourself.

Anonymous said...

"Trump voters are obviously voting more emotionally than anti-Trumpsters. They like his anger, his anti-PC attitude, and his straight talk.

But they are not conservatives, mostly. Conservative Republicans can't stand the guy."

Oh Please. What bullshit. Just a couple of months ago the Trump support here in these comments sections was almost at 90%. Now we see the back peddling. Liberals and Democrats hated the guy from day one, when he opened his big xenophobic bigoted mouth. Right wingers lapped it up.

Fabi said...

Very true, Paul. It's still highly entertaining to box the ears of retards, so I'm just enjoying a little morning exercise. Lulz

Anonymous said...

"It's still highly entertaining to box the ears of retards, so I'm just enjoying a little morning exercise. Lulz. "

Fabi, Dont you know that hurting yourself isn't normal?

Michael K said...

" Donald J. Trump does not want to be limited. He wants to be Caesar."

That is certainly the fear. I doubt that theory but could be wrong. I suspect we will get a chance to find out as I think he will probably be elected.

He does have some similarity to Mussolini. Hitler was different as Germany had lost a war. The Weimar Republic deliberately debased their own currency to get out of paying war debts. There is a little similarity to our politicians running up trillions in debt to buy votes but I don't think the analogy is exact.

The Jews were a part of German society and many could not believe that the society would turn on them. That's why so many did not leave. Hitler's anti-Semitism may have been part of the resentment toward the German Socialists who signed the Armistice. The German Army bears a lot of responsibility for that resentment as they got the politicians to sign. Then the Army used the "stab in the back" excuse to deny their own failure.

That is a big reason why FDR insisted on unconditional surrender.

Michael K said...

"Just a couple of months ago the Trump support here in these comments sections was almost at 90%. Now we see the back peddling. "

I avoid Amanda's comments but that one popped out and is a lie.

Saint Croix said...

It's ridiculous that Trump can step in as a neophyte and slay.

He's a billionaire. A billionaire can cause a politician a lot of problems, if you make him your enemy. Trump figured all the politicians were corrupt and self-serving, and nobody would say boo to him.

He figured wrong.

We might say Marco Rubio is young and impetuous. Maybe he should have been more cautious. Not say anything. Protect himself. He's so young, maybe he didn't even think about how a billionaire could cause him problems.

Or maybe he did think about it, and discuss it with his advisors. And he decided, fuck it, I'm not scared.

And he's not.

Gahrie said...

I notice no one seems to object to my characterization of Trump as a power hungry rabble rousing megalomaniac....which is the whole point of my Hitler comparison.

I have never once claimed that Trump will gas the Mexicans, or start World War III.

I am not saying that Trump is evil, but I have no idea why anyone trusts him, and he clearly is not a true Republican.

Krumhorn said...

Bad analogy, man. Unless the parent is mentally ill, no one wants to keep his baby small. Just the contrary.

Hmmmmm.....I'm thinking that the writer was referring to size at birth wanting to keep the holiest-of-holies somewhat intact.

- Krumhorn

Fabi said...

Res ipsa loquitur, Inga.

Gahrie said...

but I think you're intelligent enough to figure that all out for yourself, and will eventually get a grip and stop embarrassing yourself.

says the person intending to vote for a 75 year old Communist refugee from the 70's, or the 68 year old physical incarnation of evil and corruption.

Fabi said...

Gahrie said...

"I am not saying that Trump is evil..."

Of course you're not, Gahrie. In no manner at all. You're just comparing him to Hitler. Repeatedly.

Anonymous said...

Not Fab, your thing keeps speaking, maybe you should just keep your thing from speaking garbage. Gahrie is actually right, for once.

Gahrie said...

You're just comparing him to Hitler. Repeatedly.

...and I have explained in detail why I have.

They are both power hungry megalomaniacs manipulating a party and a people in the quest for personal power...something you have never denied by the way.

Krumhorn said...

when he opened his big xenophobic bigoted mouth

It's comments just like this that will put Trump into the White House with votes to spare. Folks are flat fed up with this line of attack on anyone who doesn't accept the leftie orthodoxy. Trump wasn't my first or even second choice, but he now has my attention. If he can dispatch a meddling Pope, he can deal with the legions of smug, sanctimonious Amandas out there waddling around in their Birks and mumus.

- Krumhorn

Anonymous said...

Michael K,
All one has to do is go back and look at all the comments. Even the polls Althouse posted regarding Trump tells the tale. It's lazy calling someone a liar when the evidence is still in numerous threads of the past few months.

Birkel said...

As somebody who has not ever supported Trump, and is unlikely to support him (although he might get my vote) I am oddly at ease with a Hillary Clinton presidency.

I doubt the House will flip so she will get little accomplished, I hope.

Michael K said...

"he clearly is not a true Republican."

Another "No True Scotman" fallacy. Of course he's not a "true Republican."

He is a populist and will probably run a bipartisan campaign. Both parties have failed "the country class." They are professional politicians and most of them, like Paul Ryan, have never held a job outside politics. It's all they know.

A lot of people, and I'm one of them, have decided to see what a non-politician can do. I'm not yet a Trump voter but I am watching to see what happens. I like Cruz, too, but fear he could not win the general election because he will be demonized by Democrats and get no cross-over votes.

I was originally for Walker, then Carly. She went PC on immigration and lost me.

The person I like best is Carson and I will probably vote for him in the meaningless CA primary.

Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...

Birkel said...
I am oddly at ease with a Hillary Clinton presidency.


Trump - already bringing people together.

Fabi said...

I'm not interested in defending Trump, per se, Gahrie, just laughing at the inept comparisons between a political novice with no guiding political philosophy and one of the most vile ideologues in history. That the extraordinary differences with distinction aren't readily obvious to you is an indictment of your analytical firepower, not mine.

Anonymous said...

Krummy,
I have faith in the majority of voting Americans that Trump will lose in a landslide to the Democratic nominee. So you go ahead and vote your protest vote, it means nothing in the end.

Gahrie said...

@Michael K:

Another "No True Scotman" fallacy.

I'm not using the fallacy to dent Trump, I am using Trump's history.

Trump has clearly been a liberal and a Democrat in the past. Some of it was possibly kissing ass to those in power, some of it was trying to win the approval of the MSM and political class......but it always went one way. Name an issue, and Trump has either changed his mind, or contradicted himself.

Bleach Drinkers Curing Coronavirus Together said...

Hitler? Hitler, you say?

This guy's done.

You cretins had better start finally using your brains quick, register as Democrats (if necessary) and go out and caucus or vote for Bernie in any of the 30+ states that still have primaries left or it's hello President Hillary.

Saint Croix said...

If he can dispatch a meddling Pope

wow

Bob Ellison said...

Amanda, most conservatives do not like Trump simply because he is not a conservative.

It's a strange trait of leftists that they think conservatives have no ideals.

Another strange trait of leftists is that they seem ready to abandon their ideals in the pursuit of power at any cost.

Conservatives are ready to deny Trump the election, even if he's the GOP nominee.

And Michael K, "No True Scotsman" is not a fallacy, but an expression. It's shorthand for what a person with principles would do when confronted with a problem wherein principles and/or tribalism are in conflict.

No true conservative would vote for Trump.

Anonymous said...

The guiding political philosophical similarities between Trump and Hitler should be exceedingly evident to most thinking people. Most of the rational thinking conservatives here have taken note and are speaking out now, a bit late, but they are distancing themselves from Trumpism.

Bob Ellison said...

Hey, Amanda, revise history as you wish. It's the communist way!

Gahrie said...

The guiding political philosophical similarities between Trump and Hitler should be exceedingly evident to most thinking people.

Trump is still a better choice than Hillary or Sanders....he might turn out not be evil and he might be effective. We know Hillary or Sanders will be a disaster.

Anonymous said...

"Trump is still a better choice than Hillary or Sanders....he might turn out not be evil and he might be effective. We know Hillary or Sanders will be a disaster."

I withdraw my support of Gahrie, he falls back into idocy. Tsk, tsk, I thought you had potential there for a minute Gahrie. Yes Gahrie Hitler lite would be a better choice than either Democratic candidate.... Oy.

chickelit said...

Meade wrote: Trouble is — Donald J. Trump does not want to be limited. He wants to be Caesar.

Render unto Caesar, those who be cheezers.

Fabi said...

Inga brings the vapidity on cue at 11:51. Which guiding political philosophy is Trump espousing? He's been all over the map on most every topic -- it's one his his greatest criticisms! So regale us, please: what is this rigid political philosophy to which he adheres?

chickelit said...

Amanda said...Most of the rational thinking conservatives here have taken note and are speaking out now, a bit late, but they are distancing themselves from Trumpism.

Whom are they embracing then, Amanda? Who's your hucklebarry?

Anonymous said...

Gahrie: I have never once claimed that Trump will gas the Mexicans, or start World War III.

Of course you didn't, Gahrie. Temperate, fair-minded people often rely on the disinterested surgical precision of a Hitler analogy to make their points clearly.

chickelit said...

I just got off the phone with my mother. She lives in Madison. She was Walker supporter but definitely is against Trump. All of my feelers tell me that Wisconsin is going to slip back to the left this cycle.

She asked me where I thought Trump would end up. I said, I think they will try to kill him. When you go so far as to equate someone to Hitler, it doesn't take but one idiot to take it a step further. The Begleys and Chucks will secretly applaud.

Fabi said...

Looks like Inga is unable to succinctly answer what should be an easy question. I fear that another massive and tangential cut-and-paste will be proffered.

chickelit said...

Amanda said...The guiding political philosophical similarities between Trump and Hitler should be exceedingly evident to most thinking people. Most of the rational thinking conservatives here have taken note and are speaking out now, a bit late, but they are distancing themselves from Trumpism.

Aren't you Austrian by birth? Could you be projecting just a bit?

Gahrie said...

Temperate, fair-minded people often rely on the disinterested surgical precision of a Hitler analogy to make their points clearly.

This is one case where a Hitler analogy is historically accurate. I am not calling Trump Hitler because my arguments are weak, or non-existent, but because it supports my argument.

Gahrie said...

Yes Gahrie Hitler lite would be a better choice than either Democratic candidate.... Oy.

My Hitler analogy is about Trump's campaign, not his presidency. Trump might be a disaster, we know Sanders or Hillary would be a disaster.

One of the reasons I am mad at the Establishment is because they have allowed Trump to rise, and are about to force me to choose the lesser of two evils. Again.

Fabi said...

Remember during Hitler's campaign when he wanted to build that wall to keep the Poles out? Good times!

Anonymous said...

Gahrie: This is one case where a Hitler analogy is historically accurate. I am not calling Trump Hitler because my arguments are weak, or non-existent, but because it supports my argument.

Give it up, Gahrie. You lost control for a spell and made a lame-ass comment. It happens. No need to go full-retard.

...says the person intending to vote for a 75 year old Communist refugee from the 70's, or the 68 year old physical incarnation of evil and corruption.

Oops, too late.

The Cracker Emcee Refulgent said...

Gahrie finds himself in bed with Amanda. He's going to hate himself in the morning.

"If you know history you know Hitler's slogan in his rise to power may as well have been "We're going to make Germany great again!" The other parallels are quite real"

This kind of transparently moronic attempt to draw a false equivalence is exactly why anti-Trump hysterics are so impotent. Whatever Trump's actual faults may be, pissing and slobbering all over yourself is hardly a convincing argument against him.

Gahrie said...

Oops, too late.

...says the person intending to vote for a 75 year old Communist refugee from the 70's, or the 68 year old physical incarnation of evil and corruption.

Fabi said...

@The Cracker Emcee: We've tried to help him (her?) and the other anti-Trumpsters, but they've let a real estate huckster drive themselves completely insane. I've never seen anything like it in my life, but I'm laughing my ass off and enjoying every second of it. Go Cruz!

Krumhorn said...

Krummy,
I have faith in the majority of voting Americans that Trump will lose in a landslide to the Democratic nominee. So you go ahead and vote your protest vote, it means nothing in the end.


Well, you're right in one important respect. I live in LA. My vote counts for absolutely nothing.

As for the rest of it, I think that Trump can bring it to the Hilldebeast and reduce her to gibbering tears. Sanders hasn't a prayer against any R candidate in the field.

-Krumhorn

Saint Croix said...

If Trump is sincere about the wall, and the threat of illegal immigration...

why is he scared of a brokered convention? He can pledge his delegates to Cruz or Rubio and achieve his policy goals.

of course this assumes he has policy goals, as opposed to a lust for power over as many people as possible

Saint Croix said...

Amanda is Inga?

hey Inga!

Anonymous said...

Gahrie: ...says the person intending to vote for a 75 year old Communist refugee from the 70's, or the 68 year old physical incarnation of evil and corruption.

And here I thought making up silly porkies and posting and re-posting them with a triumphant snot-nosed flourish was a job for the more cognitively-challenged lefty members of our little blog community.

Freder, garage, machine, Amanda - look to your laurels!

Fabi said...

She replied to it upthread, Saint Croix! She temporarily forgot her sock and self-revealed. Do I win a prize for baiting her out? lol

Phil 314 said...

I witnessed a telling moment yesterday. Earlier in the day my mother in law declared her support for Trump. Later that day and in her presence I listened to my three kids and their spouses to varying degrees bad mouth Trump. My mother in law sat silent.

Bottom line: She'll vote; I'm not sure any of my kids or their spouses will.

Paco Wové said...

"he would totally call himself Hitler. "

Would you Godwin me? I'd totally Godwin me

Rosalyn C. said...

No one is too concerned about Cruz's crazy supporters or their desire to amend the Constitution to ban gay marriage.I know Cruz built an extensive network of pastors in Iowa and apparently did the same in Kansas. Nothing like a pastor to get his flock to caucus.

Speaking of Hitler, Ted Cruz earned the support of Pastor Mike Bickle, an evangelical pastor who once characterized Hitler as “a hunter” sent by God to go after Jews who don’t to convert to Christianity. In fact Cruz welcomed Bickle's support. Presidential candidate Ted Cruz today announced the endorsement of Mike Bickle, Founder and Director of the International House of Prayer of Kansas City, an evangelical missions organization based on prayer.

Finally, I just want to say that the comparison of Trump to Hitler and Nazis is way off the mark, if you know anything about the level of hatred and evil of the Nazis. Trump is directing attention to the fact that we can not criticize or even defend ourselves when we are being ripped off or attacked, because of the mind lock of Political Correctness. That's a far cry from the language of Nazi Germany:

"As long as there have been men on the earth, the struggle between man and the subhuman will be the historic rule; the Jewish-led struggle against the mankind, as far back as we can look, is part of the natural course of life on our planet. One can be convinced with full certainty that this struggle for life and death is just as much a law of nature as is the struggle of an infection to corrupt a healthy body." Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler 1935 Der Untermensch


Birkel said...

Amanda is NOT Inga.
Of course, Ings was not Ings either.

AmandInga is like the spoon in The Matrix.

grackle said...

I'll keep it simple: Hitler wrote Mein Kampf, his ideological framework for citizen and country. Trump wrote The Art of the Deal, his vain recounting of real estate transactions. Do you really want to compare those two?

I’ll make it even simpler: Both Hitler and Trump were born obviously Caucasian. They both had mothers. They both had fathers. They were both born blue-eyed. These are all as relevant as the fact that they both wrote a book. Some lessons in elementary logic would seem to be in order.

Hitler was a rabblerousing demagogue … [blah, blah blah] … Trump is a rabblerousing demagogue … [blah, blah, blah.]

Trump is going to round up and herd all the Latinos and the Muslims into the death camps Trump has disguised as casinos and luxury hotels. The staging areas will be those hellholes Trump deceptively labels “world-class golf resorts.” The victims will be warehoused while they await certain death in those buildings in Manhattan the uninitiated thinks are high-class apartments.

I have never once claimed that Trump will gas the Mexicans, or start World War III.

True, the commentor has never made such a declaration. Instead he has courageously limited his laughable opinions to implication and speculation. Glad he cleared that up.

No need to go full-retard.

Now you’ve done it! You have unleashed a beast, my naïve friend! I warn you; you will cringe when you hear his tropic thunder!

Saint Croix said...

You remember when Saturday Night Live was hitting on Sarah Palin and leaving Donald Trump alone?

I think that was a calculation. Sarah Palin is an easy target. Trump is a billionaire, he can cause problems, and he has a lot of fans. You hit Trump hard, maybe your ratings will suffer. So they took it easy on him.

Now watch this.

As more and more people speak out, it gets easier and easier to do so. Cascade effect.

Trump's campaign was very different, and it spooked a lot of people. He was rude and crude, vicious and mean. It sparked a revolt in Republicans, and now liberals are jumping on. And honestly, I don't know what is in his heart. But there are so many dog whistles, so many unknowns in his platform and his candidacy, that many people simply do not want to risk it.

I think he will implode. And if he's our nominee, complete disaster in the general election.

And I acknowledge this might be unfair to his supporters, and unfair to Donald Trump himself. But this isn't a criminal trial, where allegations have to be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.

Look, Trump started saying shit about the free speech clause. Does it really surprise you that Saturday Night Live would say, "Fuck it, he's a fascist," while they still have the right to say it?

buwaya said...

Gahrie,
Both Hitler and Trump were right; the population in either case was not at fault. Germany suffered from truly disastrous leadership which the population was in no position to select, and from the truly clueless victorious allies. This on top of five decades of enormous success, unprecedented economic growth and a "golden age" in every way. The psychological discontinuity was profound. See "Why Men Rebel" - Gurr.
The US is suffering the consequences of public choice economics, the fatal flaw of democracy.

mccullough said...

Grackle,

That was a hall of fame comment @ 2:02 pm. When aliens are reviewing the Althouse comment archives in 1,000 years they are going to chuckle.

mccullough said...

People are projecting onto Trump more than they did onto Obama in 2008.

The paranoia in this country is reaching outbreak levels

Meade said...

"People are projecting onto Trump more than they did onto Obama in 2008."

True. But you don't even have to add in 2009... 2015 and the first 2 months of 2016. Just add to 2008 the first 2 months of 2016 and you've got an equation.

Birkel said...

So people are projecting more onto Trump than they did onto Obama?

Did Trump claim he - personally - was going to make the oceans recede?

Then STFU with that nonsense, mccullough.

Fabi said...

The writing styles are slightly different, Birkel, but the mindset, sophomoric rants, and inability to process sequential thought are a dead match. I'm happy to take your word for it, but it won't decrease the pleasure of pulling her hysterical chain.

Saint Croix said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Birkel said...

Fabi:

The pretend personas, the sockpuppets, are probably written by the same person.

mccullough said...

Birkel,

You have Obama Derangement Syndrome. Like any president, Obama has said some dumb things. But making the oceans recede wasn't a campaign slogan on a red hat. But if we can deport 10 million illegals surely we can make the oceans recede. If we can spread democracy throughout the Middle East by invading Iraq and nation building in Afghanistan than we can make the oceans recede.

Your problem isn't a failure to see Obama's failings. It's your failure to see other people's failings.

Fabi said...

@grackle: I think you may have missed the point of my book comparison. I was trying to illustrate how absurd the Hitler / Trump meme was based upon book subjects, where one was laying out his ideology and the other was simply bragging -- one the rants of a mad man, one the preening of a wheeler-dealer. Other than that, your comment was a nice summation of such idiotic comparisons.

Gahrie said...

But if we can deport 10 million illegals

We have had mass deportations in the past, several at the request of the Mexican government.

But it isn't about midnight raids and cattle cars...it is about not allowing them to work and making it unpleasant enough for them to live here that they self-deport.

Phil 314 said...

Of course you didn't, Gahrie. Temperate, fair-minded people often rely on the disinterested surgical precision of a Hitler analogy to make their points clearly.

Anglelyne,
I don't often agree with you but I have to say your wit is finely tuned today and much appreciated by me.

Anonymous said...

Grackle and Anglelyne are killin' it today.

(For the record, that's a compliment, not a Hitler comparison.)

Saint Croix said...

Ya'll need to read the Ronald Reagan thread. Click on the Politico link, and see what Donnie has to say about Patrick Buchanan. Fair? Unfair?

grackle said...

@grackle: I think you may have missed the point of my book comparison.

Oh shit! I sure did. Fabi, I extend my sincere apology.