November 14, 2016

"We should subject him to merciless scrutiny and criticism, just as we should with any other president."

"In fact, that will be possible only if we accept that he is legitimately the 45th President of the United States, and the time for protesting Trump's holding this office has passed. If you drown out any discussion of the specifics of his presidency with the familiar refrains that he's abnormal, racist, sexist, etc., you'll remove yourself from the realm of productive debates about the president."

Writes my son, John Althouse Cohen, urging us to get past the shock of Trump's election and start taking him seriously. Trump wasn't taken sufficiently seriously as he ran for President, but he achieved everything he said he would. We should assume he's going to do the specific things he's got in his first-100-days plan and focus on what we'd like and not like to see happen. As John puts it, none of Trump's proposals "involve turning America into a fascist dictatorship, forcibly removing citizens from the country, systematically violating due process, instituting apartheid, or squelching free speech." And some of the proposals are or might be good ideas that even Trump opponents might want to nudge him to focus on.

I remember a couple days before the election, when Newt Gingrich said: "[I]f Trump is elected, it will just be like Madison, Wisconsin with Scott Walker.... a Madison, Wisconsin kind of struggle if Trump wins." But the Wisconsin protests did not happen at the point of Scott Walker's election in 2010. They began in February 2011, after Scott Walker had taken office and the GOP legislature had presented a bill — Act 10 — with specific proposals people objected to. The anger and outrage was directed at legislation, not at the outcome of the election.

So the not-my-President protests against Trump are not like what happened in Wisconsin. Protesting an election — and election that is not contested or unclear — doesn't make much sense unless you're opposed to preserving our constitutional system of government. Perhaps some protesters fall into that category. Some may be a bit confused and think the electoral college ought to be changed, but that's not to say there's something illegitimate about the result of the election. Trump won clearly under the rules of the game everyone was playing. The protesters seem mostly to be afraid of what Trump will do, so they ought to address their protests to the specific proposals.

That's not only how the Wisconsin protests worked, that's how the Tea Party originated. It was not at the point of the election or the inauguration, but the following month, in February, when something particular was proposed. It happened to be — did you remember? — Obama's mortgage relief plan.

The Tea Party has had a lasting effect on American politics, and I don't think we'd have seen the same thing at all if it had begun as a freakout on seeing Barack Obama elected.

147 comments:

rhhardin said...

When merciless scrutiny is about political correctness, it's just the same old same old.

That's what was voted out. That's the tea party.

Michael K said...

The "Freakout" is an attempt at revolution by "purple revolution" advocates like George Soros and some leftist Democrats.

It won't work and I'm OK with them continuing until they have shat their own nest enough.

After all, the places being trashed are their own cities.

David Begley said...

I don't think the MSM subjected Barack Obama to merciless scrutiny at any time. Sorry, JAC.

tim in vermont said...

Dissent just became the highest form of patriotism again, so John needn't worry.

The correct formulation, as any liberal knows, of course is "Agreeing with me is the highest form of patriotism!"

rehajm said...

This analysis misses the mark. The point of the protests is to lay the groundwork for equating hate with Trump. A few weeks of angry protesters combined with the media blaming Trump for somehow inciting the riots. Just for existing? The logic does not matter. It's serves only to equate Trump with hate and violence..,

It's a Scott Adams level persuasion.

MayBee said...

I have noticed - noticed it in the Lesley Stahl interview- that they are trying very hard to make it not ok to mention these protests are organized and sponsored.

Wince said...

But the Wisconsin protests did not happen at the point of Scott Walker's election in 2010. They began in February 2011, after Scott Walker had taken office and the GOP legislature had presented a bill — Act 10 — with specific proposals people objected to. The anger and outrage was directed at legislation, not at the outcome of the election.

Although now that the Wisconsin protest infrastructure has been built, it looks like they are prepared to protest the outcome of the election.

Badger Coaches lined up for blocks at Chicago Trump protests?

buwaya said...

This all is simply a messaging strategy.
No doubt Scott Adams could explain it.
Make the perception one of illegitimacy and oppression to color all later controversies.
Its not too early to start.

The Republicans/conservative media did some of that WRT to Obama early on, but there was an overriding economic crisis ongoing so it wasnt very prominent and of course they didnt have the more effective press and more visible street activists.

The tea party also was a purely organic reaction; this stuff is, much of it, manufactured, except for the Seattle-Portland stuff which is organic and latent. The leftist boheme there is real.

Paul said...

""We should subject him to merciless scrutiny and criticism, just as we should with any other president.""


Hahahahha.... yea I saw for eight year that 'merciless scrutiny and criticism' of Obama and Hillary. At least from the MSM there was... 'crickets'.

trumpintroublenow said...

I think people are taking the phrase "not my president" much too literally. What they mean is that he doesn't represent their viewpoint and doesn't have the character one should expect in a president. But if we must be literal, the slogan is technically correct because he is not the president. Obama is the president.

Henry said...

I've long though the direct action movements favored by the left could have learned something from the Tea Party, but they were too busy condemning to learn. They could even have realized that the white working class voters active in the Tea Party were potential allies -- at least on economic centralization and trade, but they were too busy condemning to make alliances.

There's one thing the left needs to recognize. The Tea Party has succeeded. Direct action has failed. The Tea Party got people elected, at all levels of government. It pushed the Republicans to the right. Meanwhile, direct action movements -- the anti-war movement in Bush's term, the anti-globalization activists, the Black Lives Matter movement -- all of these have failed to elect politicians or move policy.

Yet the left continues to be wedded to direct action, oblivious to its impotence.

MayBee said...

I think people are taking the phrase "not my president" much too literally.

I think most people are just amused at how quickly not accepting election results went from ruing democracy to the legitimate voice of frightened Americans.

mockturtle said...

Obama will be so relieved to get out from under the 'merciless scrutiny' to which the media have subjected him.

Anonymous said...

Trump has been equated with hate and violence dating back to his early rallies. That ship has long ago left the docks. No need for anyone to try to make that case now.

Ron Winkleheimer said...

Protesting an election — and election that is not contested or unclear — doesn't make much sense unless you're opposed to preserving our constitutional system of government.

Some of it is paid for in an attempt to create an atmosphere where it will be more difficult for Trump and the Republicans to enact his platform. Others are genuinely afraid due to buying into the propaganda of Trump being some sort of moral monster who is going to start throwing people into interment camps. In other words, ill-informed, mal-educated idiots are acting out.

I too predict that the homeless problem, stagnating wages, hard-ship of zero interest rates impose on retirees, etc will suddenly start being reported again.

MayBee said...

The Tea Party was shot down because a bunch of Congressmen decided to lie and say protesters had yelled the N word at them. At that point, the Tea Party became racist and support of Obamacare became the new civil rights movement.
Remember how we used to hear how "overwhelmingly white" the Tea Party was?

Now we are seeing this method in reverse. Trump is racist, siding with him is racist, anything he does is going to be for racist reasons.

Hunter said...

Of course, the Tea Party was portrayed (and still is portrayed) as a freakout over Barack Obama, a black man! getting elected president. That it happened in February "before he had even done anything" is said to be proof of this.

And of course, the last time either side had an actual, timely freakout over the results of an election was... drumroll... 2000. When Bush was Selected Not Elected.

Now it turns out that Trump, like Bush, is the beneficiary of an unfair system where someone can get elected president even if someone else got more votes. This makes him, like Bush, illegitimate. (Not helping his cause is that he was already, like Bush, Literally Hitler.)

MayBee said...

Oh! And remember the threats people were saying they were getting from the tea party?

James Clyburn said he got a fax with a drawing of a noose on it. You see why? Because the tea partiers were so racist they were threatening to lynch him.

YoungHegelian said...

These riots come as no surprise. The same folks whose riots shut down Trump rallies, denying their fellow citizens their 1A rights, are now rioting because their plans failed. Remember, there are organizations out there like ANSWER, who do nothing but organize stuff like this. They hope one day they'll find a movement with legs, so that they can assume the power that they feel is rightfully theirs, instead of living in a garret. The problem with the far Left in the US is that they have the reverse Midas touch --- everything they touch turns to shit. If a movement has legs, it'll be a quadriplegic on life support by the time they're done with.

Anonymous said...

Trump tweeted that people should go out to the streets and protest when President Obama won in 2012.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/onpolitics/2016/11/10/trump-tweet-professional-protesters-media/93624612/

"Trump didn't seem to think protests against the election winner were "unfair" when Obama was re-elected in 2012. He tried to incite protests in a tweet on that election night four years ago, tweeting, "We can't let this happen. We should march on Washington and stop this travesty. Our nation is totally divided!""




Larry J said...

"We should subject him to merciless scrutiny and criticism, just as we should with any other president."

Yes, every president should receive merciless scrutiny and criticism. However, for a long time now, only Republican presidents are subject to that kind of scrutiny. The "Democrat Operatives with Bylines", as the InstaPundit so accurately calls them, routinely come up short when it comes to scrutinizing Democrat presidents. Trump has been on the receiving end of more scrutiny in the past few months than Obama has in the last 8 years.

MayBee said...

Obama is still President, and he's having a press conference today. So perhaps he'll finally do some of that racial healing he was going to do.

Matt Sablan said...

Unknown: There's a difference between a protest and breaking the windows of storefronts.

One is a perfectly acceptable action that the majority of Americans agree with, the other is a crime.

When your protest hurts people unrelated to the person you're protesting, YOU'RE DOING IT WRONG.

Anonymous said...

Oh please. Of course the Tea Party was in response to a black president being elected. How that isn't exceedingly evident is puzzling to say the least.

Hunter said...

QED.

Lewis Wetzel said...

Currently the MSM seems to be subjecting Trump to little scrutiny. The reaction to Trump is featured front and center, but is not scrutinized.
Conservative media is focused on actual Trump appointments and policy proposals. This probably explains the stock rally since his election.

Anonymous said...

Trump in 2012: "We can't let this happen. We should march on Washington and stop this travesty. Our nation is totally divided!""

Trump was trying to incite more than protests. Get real.

Matt Sablan said...

"Oh please. Of course the Tea Party was in response to a black president being elected. How that isn't exceedingly evident is puzzling to say the least."

-- Then why was one of their biggest, most notable political actions was a purge of old white men in the Republican party?

"Currently the MSM seems to be subjecting Trump to little scrutiny."

-- Read the news, and you'll realize how wrong you are. I know, no one WANTS to watch/listen/read the MSM, but you need to if you want to comment on where their scrutiny is.

bagoh20 said...

The disheartened are saying that their fellow citizens have chosen poorly, are stupid, or racist, etc. They are not claiming the election was fixed, which just proves to me that everybody knows that if the elections was fixed, it was fixed in favor of Democrats. It just wasn't fixed enough. These people would not be bothered by an unconstitutional outcome if Hillary won. It would be like having the electric company make a mistake and under-bill them. It's not right, but they could live with it, and nobody would make an effort to correct the mistake.

rehajm said...

But if we must be literal, the slogan is technically correct because he is not the president. Obama is the president.

It was hoped having to parse statements at this level died with the Clinton's plans. Now we have to do this with messages from protesters?

YoungHegelian said...

@Matthew,

When your protest hurts people unrelated to the person you're protesting, YOU'RE DOING IT WRONG.

Who the hell else are the protestors going to hurt? You try & hurt the Trumpies where they live, e.g. Texas, & your commie ass is going to end up tomato paste. The police in those places aren't quite so accommodating, the citizenry tends to be armed, too.

On the one hand, I feel very sorry for the innocent business owners in the crosshairs of the protestors. On the other hand, these riots are occurring in deep blue areas where the local authorities are really much too indulgent of these lefty thugs (e.g. Portland). So, in some ways, it couldn't happen to a nicer bunch of people.

Lewis Wetzel said...

"How that isn't exceedingly evident is puzzling to say the least."
Unknown presents yet another assertion as fact. Perhaps Unknown should take a few moments to reflect on the massive errors she has already made in assessing the viewpoints of her fellow Americans.
"TEA" stands for "Taxed Enough Already", not "I hate Obama because he is Black."

Curious George said...

Unknown said...
Trump has been equated with hate and violence dating back to his early rallies. That ship has long ago left the docks. No need for anyone to try to make that case now.

"Unknown said...
Oh please. Of course the Tea Party was in response to a black president being elected. How that isn't exceedingly evident is puzzling to say the least."

Couple of powerful fucking arguments there.

What a colossal bore.

Matt Sablan said...

"Trump in 2012: "We can't let this happen. We should march on Washington and stop this travesty. Our nation is totally divided!""

Trump was trying to incite more than protests. Get real."

-- And the people with "rape Melania" signs surely are truly advocating raping her.

AllenS said...

Protesting is fine, breaking car windows, and storefront windows, and breaking other peoples heads, and burning cars is not fine. Try wrapping your small little brain around that.

Matt Sablan said...

"On the one hand, I feel very sorry for the innocent business owners in the crosshairs of the protestors."

-- If I lived in a city, I'd have pro-Democrat signs displayed prominently in my windows whenever I left, in hopes it might spare my property.

Anonymous said...

So why did Tea people hold signs depicting Obama as a African native with a bone through his nose at those Tea Party rallies? Let's not forget all the blatantly racist signs we saw at those rallies where peop,e were only worried about their taxes. What a laugh. Rewriting recent history, always amusing.

Matt Sablan said...

"So why did Tea people hold signs depicting Obama as a African native with a bone through his nose at those Tea Party rallies?"

-- Many of those signs were proven to be planted, and many of them were nearly direct parodies of the "Chimp McBush Hitler" ones. Were there some racists? Yes.

The thing that set off the movement was economic policy though, and they elected people like Mia Love. So, to say the movement was racist is... deliberately blind.

YoungHegelian said...

@Matt,

If I lived in a city, I'd have pro-Democrat signs displayed prominently in my windows whenever I left, in hopes it might spare my property.

It wouldn't help. The guys that far left hate Hillary, too. A crowd in a mood to burn, burns what's in front of it. It isn't a rational process.

Anonymous said...

Complete bullshit Matthew Sablan. We saw the racism, we heard the racism, we knew and know it's a real phenomenon on the right. Look who you elected President. My God.

traditionalguy said...

The Tea Party was a spontaneous uprising demanding Congress people stop lying about how they were selling out Medicare entitlements to ration the old folks' care and set up suicide clinics for them instead.

The summer of 2009 was the stand at Lexington Common and the 2010 mid term elections was the counter attack at Concord Bridge that lasted all the way back to Boston Harbor.

Anonymous said...

Steve Bannon, alt right. Trump's closest advisor. That says it all.

Matt Sablan said...

"Look who you elected President."

-- A man with a woman, black man and an openly gay man on his transition team, who ran a campaign with the two best spokespeople being two women.

I don't like Trump, but I'm not going to lie about him. He's clearly just fine with accepting people on their merits, even if his immigration policy might be a bit more reactionary than I'd like [or not. I'm still waiting for an actual legislation/proposal to weigh in on instead of the posturing statements from team Trump and Congress.]

Anonymous said...

Steve Bannon. alt right.

Michael K said...

Inga seems to have recovered her keyboard after a couple of days of mourning.

Trump has been equated with hate and violence dating back to his early rallies.

You mean the rallies where attendees were beaten up by thugs ? You do but won't admit it.

Of course the Tea Party was in response to a black president being elected.

That was when you thought you could use racism. The BLM rioters has hurt that theme, perhaps fatally.

Matt Sablan said...

"Steve Bannon, alt right. Trump's closest advisor. That says it all."

-- This would mean a lot more if I wasn't also told Romney was a slave to the alt right. I've seen things from people saying Bannon is, while socially conservative, not a racist asshole. And then the people on the left, who told me Romney was a racist asshole, want me to just take their word for it? I've seen black conservatives called alt right, for crying out loud!

Sorry. I'll read more about him before coming to any conclusions. The left has lost too much good will/authority on who, exactly, is "alt right."

Quaestor said...

Oh please...

Inga, this is why:

1) You didn't see it coming. (It wasn't just Trump, Democrats lost more of their share of all public offices, e.g. consider heretofore reliably blue Minnesota.)

2) Your appearances on Althouse generally include personal abuse of those who oppose your opinion (i.e. nearly everyone).

3) You thought changing your nickname would change your reception.

4) Few take you seriously (few is being generous).

5) You'll never learn.

rehajm said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
YoungHegelian said...

@Unknown,

Now that your candidate lost, & you're not getting that position in a HRC administration, you may want to reconsider your "getting paid by the word" style of writing. Let's start by actually posting some evidence for your claims when making blanket generalizations about the political opposition. Evidence other than "Well, every lefty knows....", please, because that doesn't carry much water around here.

Michael K said...

We saw the racism, we heard the racism, we knew and know it's a real phenomenon on the right.

"You Cannot Reason People Out of Something They Were Not Reasoned Into"

Inga is beyond the reach of reason.

rehajm said...

The other mistake to make is that these are spontaneous outbursts when in fact they are highly coordinated generic disruptions from international organizations like Answer, MoveOn, BLM and other Soros funded operations. With coordination from MSM notice how they 'cover' these events interviewing 'grassroots' protesters while providing anonymity to leaders and organizers and those who commit the violence and vandalism.

Matt Sablan said...

Explain Mia Love and Dr. Carson if the Tea Party movement was truly a racist movement.

Anonymous said...

KKK celebrating!

JAORE said...

How that isn't exceedingly evident is puzzling to say the least.

Because some of us don't look at life by the reflections of the Fun House mirrors.

Matt Sablan said...

... Wait, what does Alt-right even MEAN?

It's a bunch of racist homophobes according to CBS... but: " There’s no real dogma or central text to the alt-right ... It’s a loose grouping with a few unifying figures, such as Trump and the Breitbart editor Milo Yiannopoulos."

So... this "alt-right" is a hate group, with one of the people it loves being openly gay?

CBS also describes Milo's act as "... it makes him annoying, and perhaps a little sad," which I doubt is how they describe left leaning shock celebrities, but whatever.

Does alt right actually HAVE any meaning? I mean, they say that they're anti-Jewish, yet, one of their heroes is... the Jewish Andrew Breitbart?

I think I'm going to have to dismiss ravings about the "alt-right" until I can get a coherent, consistent definition of it.

Mick said...

So what "mercilous scrutiny" of the Usurper Hussein Obama did your son engage in?

Anonymous said...

Whoever Inga was, he/she left his/her mark. Good for Inga, wish he/she was here. Echo chambers get boring.

readering said...

I suspect these demonstrators are very much influenced by the success of the tea party movement. And think the sooner they get started the better.

rhhardin said...

The thing about white racists today is that they wish blacks well.

Maybe racism isn't the problem so much as is pretense, the pretense of helping, on the left.

Anonymous said...

And right on cue, here is one of those racists, waving at you Mick. Hi Mick!

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Matt Sablan said...

Wikipedia states: "The alt-right has no formal ideology, although various sources have stated that white nationalism is fundamental."

Ah, OK then. It is the left's current bogeyman, and I can dismiss it as such. I mean, I can say the Democrat party was associated with white supremacists (the KKK), ethno-nationalism, populism and a host of these other things Wiki cites, so... yay, I guess?

I mean, if Wiki says this: "There is no formal organization and it is not clear if the alt-right can be considered as a movement; according to a 2016 description in the Columbia Journalism Review: "Because of the nebulous nature of anonymous online communities, nobody’s entirely sure who the alt-righters are and what motivates them. It’s also unclear which among them are true believers and which are smart-ass troublemakers trying to ruffle feathers."" -- then why is everyone on the left trying to lie to me about what the Alt Right is?

Lewis Wetzel said...

BLM is an explicitly racist organization:

Black humanity and dignity requires black political will and power. In response to the sustained and increasingly visible violence against Black communities in the U.S. and globally, a collective of more than 50 organizations representing thousands of Black people from across the country have come together with renewed energy and purpose to articulate a common vision and agenda. We are a collective that centers and is rooted in Black communities, but we recognize we have a shared struggle with all oppressed people; collective liberation will be a product of all of our work.

https://policy.m4bl.org/
This is Black nationalism. Nationalism (as opposed to patriotism) is the belief that your nation is your destiny. It is your most important characteristic, and it cannot be changed. Your nation, for lack of a better word, is your soul.

Unknown said...

everybody is a racist now.
everyone is a rapist now.

therefore, nobody is a racist. nobody is a rapist.

Matt Sablan said...

"How many times did we here from the right gnat Obama wasn't "their" president?"

-- That, much like Trump's "I won" comment, are reflections on how Democrats reacted, first to Bush, then to Trump's win. I'd like it if both sides settled down and were civil, unfortunately, the right tried two presidential election cycles of civil and polite, and lost both. So, I've been out voted by both the left and right now. Protests and "I won" hubris are what the people wanted, so that's what they got for eight years, and it looks like four more too.

rhhardin said...

This was the ctrl alt del movement.

Hunter said...

Terry said...
"TEA" stands for "Taxed Enough Already", not "I hate Obama because he is Black."

Yes, but...

"They don't say 'spic' or 'nigger' anymore. They say, 'Let's cut taxes.'"

Lewis Wetzel said...

"Matthew Sablan said...
I mean, I can say the Democrat party was associated with white supremacists (the KKK), ethno-nationalism, populism and a host of these other things Wiki cites, so... yay, I guess?"

The Democrats have always believed that the purpose of government is to assign people privilege according to their ethnicity. That hasn't changed since the party was founded in the early 19th century.

alan markus said...

"Trump in 2012: "We can't let this happen. We should march on Washington and stop this travesty. Our nation is totally divided!""

Marches on Washington are institutional, going back decades. Think of Million Man March, March for Jobs & Freedom, upcoming Woman's March on Washington, etc. List of Protest Marches on Washington

Hell, you need to have the proper permits to "March on Washington"


bagoh20 said...

" We saw the racism, we heard the racism, we knew and know it's a real phenomenon on the right."

You have been proven wrong about so much for so long, that this is all you have left. Unfortunately it is a big part of why you have been wrong so much. You have a very faulty image in your head about your fellow Americans, and it leads you far astray of the truth. This makes you feel better about being wrong, but it does force you to be wrong over and over. If you just dumped that crutch, you would find the joy of being correct, and also the joy of finding the virtue in some very good people - your own people.


rhhardin said...

How about that swastikas on the dorm door hate crime at New School in NYC?

The mayor himself has already deplored it. There are sound bites from a distraught resident.

I haven't seen an analysis yet. Nobody seems suspicious, anyway not before putting it on the news.

Hunter said...

I'm fairly sure the Alt-Right is most accurately defined as "conservatives and libertarians who enjoy trolling oversensitive lefties."

Naturally, it's very hard to explain the joke to the oversensitive lefties, who by this point are too worked up into a froth over the imminent re-emergence of the Third Reich.

n.n said...

There is no evidence that Trump is Pro-Choice: selective and opportunistic, unprincipled and vindictive, or a class diversitist who judges people by the "color of their skin" and is an advocate for institutional racism, sexism, etc.

Amadeus 48 said...

My vote for Trump was preventative therapy--no one at NBCCBSABCCNNNYTWAPO was going to do anything but defend Hillary and all her works. So Trump, as JAC says, will be criticized as all presidents should be criticized...and more.
The George Soros-style direct action demonstrations are a bit pointless right now and hard to understand except as an attempt to frustrate the principles of our representative republic. Soros did a lot to overturn the Soviet-dominated oligarchies in Eastern Europe and that is much to his credit. The fact that he views the US governmental structures in the same way is instructive and gives one pause. Part of demonstrated vitality of our system is the fact that the parties in power in the presidency can be turned out (Nixon/Ford to Carter to Reagan/HW to Clinton to W to Obama to Trump), as can the parties in Congress. You can quibble about whether the government apparatchiks are ever really turned out, but Reagan and Trump represent victories by outsiders, as do to a degree Carter and Clinton.
I don't think Soros has got this right, and I think his willingness to sponsor this type of street action is fundamentally illiberal and destructive.

Rick said...

Once again we see the joke that is the Democratic Party. Their attempt to brand themselves as inclusive was always a lie. Hate rules them.

Stronger Together.

rhhardin said...

Derb says alt right is anti-(anti-white), not against any group at all.

I think this is a bad formulation. It's pro Western enlightenment values, and in particular pro American rules that we agreed to in being Americans.

The enlightenment connection is from English common law, which came from Roman law, and went into the Constitution.

That one country can agree to rules is beyond the left. There are so many origins and colors.

Lewis Wetzel said...

"Hunter said...
"They don't say 'spic' or 'nigger' anymore. They say, 'Let's cut taxes.'"
11/14/16, 10:06 AM"

Black people and Mexicans like to pay taxes? Who knew?
White people, of course, are the biggest recipients of welfare dollars. Equating Blacks and Hispanics with high taxes seems like a bad idea.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

Love Trumps hate.... and stuff

Anonymous said...

We should call ourselves the "Not My President" movement. How many times did we hear from the right that Obama wasn't "their" president? Maybe it'll have to go underground at some point.

Quaestor said...

Explain Trump getting a larger share of black voters than Romney, McCain, or Bush....

Forget it. We're all wasting valuable disk space trying to reason with Unknown/Inga. She has no interest in facts. She has no reverence for truth. The only opinions worth respecting are hers. The only will is her will. The only desire is her desire.

We must all face facts; some people in this world just don't turn a profit: They play and spoil the fun. They are schooled and learn nothing. They labor and the product is worthless. They plant and the harvest is weeds. They write and what is written is gibberish. They sing and what is heard is noise. They breathe and the only result is pollution. They eat and the only output is shit.

Rick said...

Steve Uhr said...
I think people are taking the phrase "not my president" much too literally.


When you say it about a Democrat it's racist, but when you say it about a Republican it's innocuous.

Bias in action.

rhhardin said...

Sometime after the 70s the FCC said if you move you can keep your call letters, instead of having to get new call letters appropriate to the place you live.

So a lot of stuff can be learned from the 6-area (CA) guys living in TX (a 5-area).

Just now for instance, which brought it to mind,

Mon Nov 14 11:17:14 EST 2016 0 K6CAB MUNDING, DONALD L (COOPER, TX).

FullMoon said...

Unknown said... [hush]​[hide comment]

KKK celebrating!


Ya know, it is not the stupidity of your comments that is most offensive. It is the complete lack of originality or imagination.

Annie said...

I'm still waiting for obama, and hillary, to be scrutinized.

Professional lady said...

I held my nose and reluctantly voted for Trump because I thought the alternative was worse. The effect of these largely manufactured protests is to make me glad I did. I suspect others like me feel the same way.

Anonymous said...

"The anger and outrage was directed at legislation, not at the outcome of the election."

Not so. The anger and outrage was because a Republican favored law was going to be passed. Any Republican favored law would have gotten the same response, because to the Left, it's a Crime when anyone besides them gets their way.

Rick said...

Ron Winkleheimer said...
Others are genuinely afraid


No one is genuinely afraid. They're applying the lesson they've learned on campuses across America: that pretending to be afraid gives institutional allies greater ability to act.

The Godfather said...

Is anybody aware of Obama or Clinton ever condemning the anti-Trump since the election?

Drago said...

Professional lady: "I held my nose and reluctantly voted for Trump because I thought the alternative was worse. The effect of these largely manufactured protests is to make me glad I did. I suspect others like me feel the same way."

Quite so.

Did you read the article at Huffington Post where the author is calling a vote for Trump an actual hate crime?

The mask is fully off of our North Korean loving lefties and no amount of make believe stories of KKK support or other manufactured outrages (as the left attempts to move all of America into their safe-space campus framework) will change it now.

Personally, this is the most important outcome of this election: full exposure of the full fascist/totalitarian impulses of the left.

Quaestor said...

Ya know, it is not the stupidity of your comments that is most offensive. It is the complete lack of originality or imagination.

If asked to imagine a geometric form that isn't a square, Inga will think of a rectangle. If asked to think of something other than a rectangle her brain produces a rhombus. If asked to picture a non-rhobus Unknown will imagine a square.

Drago said...

Unknown: "We should call ourselves the "Not My President" movement."

LOL

Looks like some of paid lefties are much less competent than the others.

It's clear the Soros Brigade A-Team is assigned elsewhere.

Wilbur said...

Most of the "protestors" are the same losers and anarchists from the "Occupy Movement" and ACORN ilk. These are professionals. They get paid for doing this. If you doubt this, just look at the websites at Mother Jones nor The Nation just to mention a couple.

They are not "young well-meaning kids" who want to teach the world to sing. They want me and you to swing from a noose.

That is impossible for the sympathizing media to recognize, investigate and report.

Ron Winkleheimer said...

No one is genuinely afraid.

@Rick

I think some of them really are. Don't get me wrong, I think those people are hysterical nitwits who shouldn't be allowed to roam free without a keeper, but if the Internet has taught us anything, it's that there is no shortage of hysterical nitwits.

Michael K said...

We're all wasting valuable disk space trying to reason with Unknown/Inga

Yes. Arguing with trolls is like feeding stray cats. Pretty soon you have more of them.

Drago said...

Wilbur: "That is impossible for the sympathizing media to recognize, investigate and report"

Wrong.

Very very wrong.

The sympathizing media knows full well what is going on, and they fully support the ends as wells as the means to the ends.

The term "rigged" comes to mind.

Michael Fitzgerald said...

Unknown said...
Complete bullshit Matthew Sablan. We saw the racism, we heard the racism, we knew and know it's a real phenomenon on the right. Look who you elected President. My God.
11/14/16, 9:42 AM

The guy who we elected was awarded by the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition for promoting minority candidates for executive executive level positions in the business world. The guy we elected desegregates segregated private clubs. You see the racism because it mirrors your mindset. You hear the racist dog-whistles because you're a racist dog.

Quaestor said...

There was a shooting at a "Fuck Trump" megatrantrum in Portland. The circumstances are revealing.

The shooter was described as a teenager about 5' 8'', slight build, wearing a hoodie. No race was specified. The shooter stepped out of the back seat of a car containing a driver and at least one other passenger. The shooter fired at least six times. The victim was not killed, and is expected to fully recover from his wounds.

What can be surmised:
1) The shooter was black. If the shooter had been white that would have been the Page One lede in Sunday's NYT.
2) If the shooter had been a right-wing bigot the victim would have been killed with the first shot.
3) The victim and the shooter were a gang members.

The Left loves to talk revolution. The Right loves to prepare for revolution. Here endth the lesson.

Wilbur said...

"The sympathizing media knows full well what is going on, and they fully support the ends as wells as the means to the ends."

That should be obvious from what I wrote. The sarcasm at the end was evidently none too evident.

mockturtle said...

Quaestor, you have succinctly defined the Left/Right contrast.

Thuglawlibrarian said...

After an 8 year hiatus, comedians will make jokes at the president's expense. Dissent will be the highest form of patriotism.

Remember this in 2009.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/may/5/for-political-comedians-the-jokes-not-on-obama/

wendybar said...

Finally...Exactly what we all (Tea Partiers) have been trying to tell you...It wasn't about Obama..it was the spending and taxing....TEA...Taxed enough already. We were not violent....we cleaned up after ourselves afterwards. But we were called Racists, terrorists, barbarians and all kinds of other names by the current administration..

Now...we are sick of being called hillbillies, we are sick of the media sneering at us...we are sick of all of it and we voted.

Drago said...

Wilbur: "That should be obvious from what I wrote. The sarcasm at the end was evidently none too evident."

Well gee whiz Wilbur! Mea culpa!

Seriously.

I'm moving a bit fast this morning and I am sorry if I missed the, apparently, almost "non-missable" sarcasm.


n.n said...

racist dog-whistles

German shepherd whistles. Some people are stuck on class diversity, judging people by the "color of their skin", rather than the content of their character (e.g. principles).

grimson said...

Yes, the Tea Party came to be after TARP, but that was after 8 years of frustration with Bush and the GOP. It was not so much targeting Obama and the Democrats as the GOP, and a desire to be heard.

All the other protests are Democrats against those who disagree with them. Maybe we need a Democrat protesting group seeking to reform the Democrat party instead.

(BTW, what ever happened to the Coffee Party? Did it go the way of Air America? Democrats are so persuasive.)

Mike (MJB Wolf) said...

Unknown said...
Oh please. Of course the Tea Party was in response to a black president being elected. How that isn't exceedingly evident is puzzling to say the least.

Well then you are the racist, because you see race in everything. And your facts are wrong. The conservative swell against waste and corruption started in the Fall of 2008 with the TARP bailout. Grew along with the Porkbusters movement in early 2009 as the "stimulus" was being crafted, and got the name for what was happening when "Santelli's rant" went viral. That is the true and correct origin of the Tea Party and the name by which the movement is known, and it had very few goals:

1. Reduce taxes
2. Cut government waste (as illustrated by the porkulus bill)
3. Stop progressive "mission drift" of the gov't
4. Work for candidates that will do the above

That's it. There were people of all races, religions, creeds, and cultures at Tea rallies. To say otherwise is completely dishonest. There is exactly the same amount of racism in the Tea party as there is the Declaration of Independence. The way you interpret that last sentence is all I need to know about one's honesty and patriotism.

Mike (MJB Wolf) said...

Unknown said...
So why did Tea people hold signs depicting Obama as a African native with a bone through his nose at those Tea Party rallies? Let's not forget all the blatantly racist signs we saw at those rallies where peop,e were only worried about their taxes. What a laugh. Rewriting recent history, always amusing.


Your facts have been found wanting already. Proof please of "all those signs" etc. These were individuals with home-made signs, not the pros in the streets now with DNC-approved signage. So there were a million different signs. Maybe ONE showed the bone-nose. I don't know and I don't care. They did not DEFINE the movement, and they were far outnumbered by the millions marching for freedom from government tyranny. It takes a great deal of effort to overlook 99.999999999999% of the signs (Steve reference!) and take that one racist sign as The Movement.

Is Sunny Johnson a racist for starting a Tea chapter in TX?

Wilbur said...

These goals:
1. Reduce taxes
2. Cut government waste (as illustrated by the porkulus bill)
3. Stop progressive "mission drift" of the gov't
4. Work for candidates that will do the above

are racist goals, ergo, you are a racist. No other explanation is needed. That's why it's "exceedingly evident" to whoever the hell "unknown" is.

Drago said...

Unknown does not realize this yet but the jig is completely up.

Everyone knows that this is simply a continuation of the lefts big lies and narrative constructing and meme building designed to suffocate any debate, any pushback, etc.

It's what the left has done only about 100% of the time throughout history in every locale they have ever gained sufficient power.

Over the weekend CNN actually had Dan Rather on to lecture about being an honest broker and unbiased.

Let that one sink in.....

Mike (MJB Wolf) said...

Right now if you go to this site you'll see CBS say "After months on the campaign trail of Donald Trump’s divisive rhetoric about black communities.

But if you click through the 2nd link to another CBS story to see what horrible divisive things Trump said, you know -- instead of just taking the progressive assertion without checking, you'll find that the incredibly monstrous Trump actually used the word, "ghetto" to describe where a "lot of poor Black" people live. That was it. That was their complete list of things said to "undercut Donald Trump's minority outreach" in the article.

So like Unknown and Inga and so many others, the Progs and their lickspittle Media toadies are just hoping to prove Goebbels correct by repeating this big lie over and over and over and over and over and over. He didn't attack minorities. He attacked the spoils system and they are fighting for their lives to preserve it.

mockturtle said...

Unknown does not realize this yet but the jig is completely up.

No, she is blissfully undisturbed by reality.

Quaestor said...

Inga lied thusly: So why did Tea people hold signs depicting Obama as a African native with a bone through his nose at those Tea Party rallies? Let's not forget all the blatantly racist signs we saw at those rallies where peop,e were only worried about their taxes. What a laugh. Rewriting recent history, always amusing.

There was only one such "bone through the nose sign" at the Tea Party march on Washington. If that was typical of the Tea Party, then this is typical of your "Not My President" movement. Care to dispute that, Ms. Unknown?

hstad said...

".....but that's not to say there's something illegitimate about the result of the election......?" Truly astounding that a law professor would post such gibberish. Prof. Althouse, do you know the meaning of 'Anarchism'? This comment says it all about the culture in Universities today not only in the U.S. but Europe. People like Prof. Althouse are snowflakes and only push their views as being correct but can't summon enough honesty to see how they are destroying not only our culture but our society.

Howard said...

Jaltcoh is an example of a typical naïve millennial looking through the world with rose colored glasses thinking that people can be rational and adult about this. The response of the majority of althousian comentaristas is childish and revenge seeking, exactly like the Trump protestors. They are the same infantile, ignorant and arrogant humans who worships the opposite faces of a god who despises them.

None of these brainwashed masses wants to get shit done, they want to congregate in packs and argue with and pick on lone individuals who dare disagree.

Thank Gaia that these two opposite numbers are baristas, bike messengers, retirees and shut-ins, so they are powerless to effect real change. They whine because they are weak and know deep down in the lizard brain that they are evolutionary roadkill.

boycat said...

Althouse's apron string making the argument that we should ONLY elect straight white Republican males to the presidency because that's the only type of president to be held accountable.

n.n said...

ONLY elect straight white Republican males

Actually, any Republican, male, female, or transgendered; black, white, brown, etc.; will do. The opposition to female Republican was vicious. The outing of transgendered Republicans was aggressive. The discrimination of black, brown, yellow, etc. Republicans had the hallmarks of class diversity.

n.n said...

The cognitive dissonance should be deafening.
The beat of Tell-Tales Hearts should be overwhelming.
Fortunately, all is sanctioned by the Pro-Choice Church in the twilight zone.

Quaestor said...

... we should ONLY elect straight white Republican males to the presidency because that's the only type of president to be held accountable.

Modern journalistic ethics coupled with the political biographies of Obama and Hillary do make that argument rather convincing to anyone willing to think objectively — and the it's nobody's fault except the leadership of the Democratic Party and their myrmidons in the MSM.

mockturtle said...

These people are what they had accused Trump of being: Deranged. Unhinged.

They have, in the vernacular, 'lost their shit'.

Henry said...

Unknown: "We should call ourselves the "Not My President" movement."

Have some fun and call it the "I'm Not Spartacus" movement.

Quaestor said...

Have some fun and call it the "I'm Not Spartacus" movement.

No! No! They should call themselves the I'm Spartacus Movement.

I for one would find it amusing to see Unknown/Inga crucified along the Appian Way... Popcorn. Inga. Nails. Now THAT'S entertainment.

Roughcoat said...

I don't read Jonathan Althouse Cohen because I don't like political blog dynasties.

viejo loco said...

Apropos of something: "For the Gods to destroy, first they must be made mad," or something like that--Euripides.

JAORE said...

The NYT has until 1-19-2017 to demonstrate that merciless scrutiny and criticism of the POTUS.

I can not, and would not, try to hold my breath that long.

effinayright said...

Unknown: "So why did Tea people hold signs depicting Obama as a African native with a bone through his nose at those Tea Party rallies? Let's not forget all the blatantly racist signs we saw at those rallies where peop,e were only worried about their taxes. What a laugh. Rewriting recent history, always amusing."
**************


"Signs"? Where's your evidence? YOU LEFTIST ASSHOLES ALWAYS TAKE **ONE EXAMPLE** AS PROOF THAT AN ENTIRE MOVEMENT IS RACIST!!!

And Unknown, does the name "Creamer" strike a familiar note? Don't you realize how gullible you are to accept every manifestation of GOP racism at public rallies as real?

THE REST OF US HAVE WISED UP.

(Thank you, Wikipedia.)

Face it: you're a fool. A Solid-Gold Electrostatic Asshole of a Certified Fool.

Althouse ought to give you a harlequin suit and a funny hat.

effinayright said...

Blogger Unknown said...
"Trump tweeted that people should go out to the streets and protest when President Obama won in 2012."
*********************************
Did he also go out and pay for buses to take people to demonstrations?

Did he also have a database of rent-a-mobs ? Did he pay those mobs to hop on those free buses and go to rallies for their "days of rage"??

Did he? DID HE????

tim in vermont said...

Remember that Hillary worked with the press to elevate Trump, because she thought he would be easy to beat. It's right there in Wikileaks.

This is more of the Clinton bullshit, Unknown, so Own it! Hillary thought that she could manipulate the process to get a candidate so unacceptable that she could actually win.

rehajm said...

The other mistake to make is that these are spontaneous outbursts when in fact they are highly coordinated generic disruptions...

Formerly a net importer, now an exporter of professional protesters. Fresh from Wisconsin!
Bulging Blocks of Badger Buses

effinayright said...

Roughcoat said...
I don't read Jonathan Althouse Cohen because I don't like political blog dynasties.
****************

Me neither.

It's no different than Hillary pushing her no-talent Daughter as being a "serious" person, running for Congress.

NO DIFFERENT, Ann. Let your kid rise or fall on his own merits!

Or else, he's just another continuation of Cuomo, Mika, Doocy, the Sinatra kid ('member him?).....

It's faux elites...all the way down.

Roughcoat said...

I don't read Jonathan Althouse Cohen because I don't like political blog dynasties.

I meant that as a joke. Guess I failed.

Wilbur said...

I thought it was a one of the better jokes here in a while.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

Jonathan Pie goes off on Inga.

Howard said...

Roughcoat makes joke, ends up successfully trolling for deplorables.

Howard said...

Podcast of a non-hysterical leftist view that you might like Inga.
Reckoning with Donald Trump

Original Mike said...

"The Tea Party has had a lasting effect on American politics, ..."

I wish.

Anonymous said...

"merciless scrutiny"?? The press would have used that on Obama but "scrutiny" is one of them racists code words.

Original Mike said...

Blogger Unknown said..."Oh please. Of course the Tea Party was in response to a black president being elected. How that isn't exceedingly evident is puzzling to say the least."

Perfect example of the topic of the last thread: mischaracterization of events by the press to push their political agenda. Althouse has the economic origins correct, but almost from the beginning the media started in with false racial and religious naratives with the purpose of tarnishing the movement.

The question here is whether Unknown is purposefully trying to feed and water that narative (not that it's going to work here) or if she was taken in by it.

Michael K said...

I see troll feeding is still going on. I need another bottle of wine.

Later.

Gahrie said...

The origins of the Tea Party are a rant by Rick Santelli on CNBC in Feb 2009 about a law just passed dealing with mortgages.

There is no, and never was any, racism in the Tea Party.

Original Mike said...

"I see troll feeding is still going on."

Sitting in an airport 26 hours into my journey home. Got nothing better to do.

walter said...

"that will be possible only if we accept that he is legitimately the 45th President of the United States"

Nope. They disproved that with W.

SukieTawdry said...

Jonathan Pie goes off on Inga.

That was one righteous rant.

Unknown said...

Wisconsin was like this in one sense; namely, in their attempt to recall Walker. Yes, they were angry about the legislation, but they tried to fight it by delegitimizing his office, and removing him from it. Which is very much like what the progressive loonies are doing now. It makes me laugh to remember the great outcry they raised when Trump refused to promise to respect the election results.

Unknown said...

Wisconsin was like this in one sense; namely, in their attempt to recall Walker. Yes, they were angry about the legislation, but they tried to fight it by delegitimizing his office, and removing him from it. Which is very much like what the progressive loonies are doing now. It makes me laugh to remember the great outcry they raised when Trump refused to promise to respect the election results.

walter said...

Walker was attacked for what he did. Trump is barely prez-elect.

walter said...

..and if anything,already showing signs of "moderating"..

Rusty said...

FullMoon said...
"Unknown said... [hush]​[hide comment]

KKK celebrating!

Ya know, it is not the stupidity of your comments that is most offensive. It is the complete lack of originality or imagination. "


But the total lack of self awareness is actually funny.
It's like a parrot saying dirty words.
Now give him a cracker.

Rusty said...

Howard said, "They could even have realized that the white working class voters active in the Tea Party were potential allies -- at least on economic centralization and trade, but they were too busy condemning to make alliances."

Two of the things the TEA Party were against. They could never be your allies.