At one of the lowest points of his life Richard Nixon made a
speech after he had resigned the Presidency. He talked about his family and his
supporters and the people who worked in his administration and believed in him.
One of the things he said is often quoted and discussed:
“Always give
your best, never get discouraged, never be petty; always remember, others may
hate you, but those who hate you don't win unless you hate them, and then you
destroy yourself.”
I think about this quote when I see the reaction to Donald Trump. We have
seen many vitriolic responses to various political figures in the past few
years. Bill Clinton got it pretty bad. George W. Bush got hit with the
ChimpyMcHitler stuff and plenty of over the top hate. Obama was slammed
everyday by Republicans and conservatives in a very rough way. I know because I
did it myself. But I think Donald Trump
is unique in that he is getting from both the liberals and the conservatives.
The far left and the far right are united in attacking him in the most personal
and vitriolic terms. Calling him Hitler and his supporters Nazi’s are just the
starting point. The recent protests in California are just the tip of the
iceberg. The level of invective and
personal upheaval just seems different. At least to me.
This hatred of Trump permeates family discussions, blog posts, emails,
face book, social media and just about everywhere these days. Social media was
not the force it is now so that might have something to do with it. Trump does
add to it by his confrontational attitude but that is the thing that has
garnered most of his support and it is the reason he will be the Republican
nominee. He is not going to dial it back any time soon. So it is only going to
get worse.
The mini-riot at the California event is just the beginning of the
deluge. It will be worse in Cleveland. These protestors stormed the event and
tried to get in to do violence. I have been watching the new episodes of “Game
of Cards.” I think many political types are living out a fantasy of being in
that show. Somebody said that Trump’s campaign manager Corey thinks he is Doug
Stamper the evil dangerous minion of Frank Underwood. Life is not TV. I know
that small minded people keep putting this election in terms of a reality show.
It is reality not a reality show. It is not scripted but it is predetermined.
Predetermined by the attitudes and actions and reactions of the players.
Richard Nixon’s words have something to teach us. He had been through the
fire and had come out the other side. Those who forget history are destined to
repeat it. I understand that some people cannot wrap their head around Donald
Trump. But they need to rethink their responses both personally and
professional. Many pundits and personalities have burned their audiences and permanently
damaged their brand. Several blogs have imploded. The commenters have turned on
the bloggers and on each other. All because of Donald Trump and what he brings
to the table.
I must confess that I have seen this happen before but not to this
extent. I have no idea how it will end
up. But I suspect it will not be good.
27 comments:
Meanwhile, George Will has gone full Totalitarian. The will of the people must be overridden by the party for good of the state. Or is that full Monarchist? I'd call him a Nazi but they don't wear bow ties.
Who does Will think should be installed over the people's wishes?
I haven't read Will's column. A while back he suggested that Chris Christie be tapped. Like a keg? I think it's a little late for that, but who knows, maybe Trump is eying Christie for VP.
The thing that gets me about Will is that once again -- why the tone deafness regarding the tremendous disaffection this cycle? Peggy Noonan gets it. Why can't George Will get it?
The will of the people must be overridden by the party for good of the state.
It's a complicated mess, but a case can be made for the Founding Fathers to have put into place a system whereby this is exactly what they wanted to be able to do. The Electoral College, in a sense, was designed as a fail safe measure, should the ignorant masses vote for the wrong guy. Article II, Section 1, Clause 3 of the US Constitution doesn't set out the specific rules for how the electors must vote, i.e. whether they have to follow the popular vote of their state or not.
The origins of our republic weren't as democratic as people may want to think. There was a fair amount of aristocratic snobbery in the Continental Congresses. To think that women or common laborers who didn't own land could intelligently participate in the political process was as foreign an idea to them as traffic lights.
"Who does Will think should be installed over the people's wishes?"
He doesn't say as far as the convention goes but if Trump gets the nomination he wants the party to actively work to defeat him in the general.
So, Hillary.
Nixon was undone by his own character traits, just like Willie and just like Pissy (he hasn't been caught, but he goes down as almost certainly the worst PUS in history; some may still argue Buchanan, but we don't know what the future holds).
Trump seems to be a bit more open. Also, thes Surber piece makes a good point that Trump's rep as a dealmaker is based on his trustworthiness.
Trump also seems to take the heat a lot better, that he has a sense of humor undoubtedly helps.
But the Nixon analogy works on another level. He will also he helped into office by the hooligans who demonstrate against him. That sign is worth 10,000,000 votes and Hillary will have to defend it.
windbag said...
The will of the people must be overridden by the party for good of the state.
It's a complicated mess, but a case can be made for the Founding Fathers to have put into place a system whereby this is exactly what they wanted to be able to do. The Electoral College, in a sense, was designed as a fail safe measure, should the ignorant masses vote for the wrong guy
And who determines the right guy?
I'll bet the Founding Fathers wondered what would happen then.
Revolution, I'm guessing.
PS and FWIW, on the subject of Nixon, Surber thinks his VP choice will be a non-entity.
I think he'll go bold.
An analogy, if you'll allow. We're on a plane with no pilot. The GOP has had eight years to train one. Instead, the crucial moment has arrived, and...nothing.
We. Are. Going. To. Crash.
Trump and Cruz have both volunteered to attempt to pilot the plane. Nobody else has, including you and me. But those two have accepted the responsibility and risk of either landing the thing or crashing it.
So, instead of seeing what we can do to try to pull off this risky venture, we are in the back of the plane arguing:
---he's not a real pilot,
---he's a pilot, but none of the other pilots like him,
---his wife's a slut,
---his girlfriend's a slut,
---if you vote for him, the Wright Brothers would spin in their graves,
---his wife owns stock in American Airlines,
---I asked for the chicken, but got the salad,
---he's going to crash the plane on purpose.
And on and on it goes.
We. Are. Going. To. Crash. and we devote our dying breath to cursing one of the two guys who is trying to stop it.
The will of the people must be overridden by the party for [the] good of the state.
I think Rabel's comment is quite telling. Leftists obviously think the individual citizen is born to serve the state but - surprise surprise - so do establishment conservatives. To be more clear since to both the state is supreme the state exists to serve itself. Trump, though obviously no small government advocate, at least advocates the American State serving the American People. This is what galls the duopoly no end. And why a suicidal steal may still be attempted at Cleveland.
I think it's about time that George F Will enumerate each and every reason why Article II, Section 1, Clause 3 of the US Constitution should be used to prevent Donald Trump from being nominated and elected President. Otherwise, he's just blowing smoke. Maybe he's done that already. I know that bags tried to enumerate reasons, but he wasn't convincing. There seems to always be a whiff of personal dislike behind each and every attempt.
ricpic said...
Leftists obviously think the individual citizen is born to serve the state but - surprise surprise - so do establishment conservatives
Are those establishment conservatives or people who say they are, just to get elected? I doubt McConnell's been a Conservative for a very long time. If ever.
windbag said...
An analogy, if you'll allow. We're on a plane with no pilot. The GOP has had eight years to train one. Instead, the crucial moment has arrived, and...nothing.
George Washington wasn't a pilot, neither was Jackson, and Lincoln only spent 2 years as a pilot's shop steward. Moreover, the people who wrote the Constitution thought piloting was not a permanent occupation.
But the non-pilot knows a lot about funding and how to organize. We've seen any number of veteran pilots crash, so the analogy really doesn't fly.
It would be refreshing if the anti-Trump people would come out and say, "I just don't like the guy. In fact, I hate him. I don't really understand why and can only come up with exaggerations and distortions of his history and politics, and out-of-context quotes, and absurd conspiracy theories, and overwrought interpretations of his locker room insults to justify myself, but the truth is that I just don't like him and I'm willing to slash and burn the party, the country and my personal relationships to destroy him."
I've tried to understand the mania that infects so many of his opponents and the only thing that makes sense to me is hate - irrational hate on a personal level that overrides judgement and reason. That and a herd-like desire by some to follow those they see as their leaders without the clarity of mind to recognize that they are sheep being led by wolves.
One thing that this election is pointing out is that there are people letting their inner truth come out, and it's not anything that they should be proud of.
Also, I ordered 3 Trump lawn signs. After I receive them, I'll put one up and report on what that brings.
I think AllenS put his finger right on the facts. Also Rabel has a good handle on it.
I don't know. This just feels different in a lot of ways. A lot of people have blown up their shit over this election. Trump seems to do that to people.
edutcher, I don't know what bug ever crawled up your ass, but you seem to nitpick just about everything I say. What's up with that? And, it's an analogy of this election cycle, not the ones you cherry-picked to prove me wrong, so just shut up and go away, okay? That was simple enough to follow, but you managed to complicate and misconstrue it in order to shoot me down. I won't criticize your inanities, and you don't criticize mine. Deal?
Sheesh.
Mercury is in retrograde, people get twitchy over minor things. Best to hunker down until it's over.
Trump is a showman. He takes up all the air in the room. Okay, we all know that. But think of the people Trump displaced when he announced for the presidency and more important, when he gave his first dazzling performance in the first GOP debate. The people he displaced were all, every one of them, egomaniacs. You have to be to run for president. It's not a knock on them it's what they are. So along comes a more effective egomaniac and blows them out of the water. Of course they hate him. And then his support doesn't subside as they have every right to expect based on past history and this drives them stark staring bonkers.
I know that's not the whole explanation but I tried. Can I have my fish now?
windbag said...
edutcher, I don't know what bug ever crawled up your ass, but you seem to nitpick just about everything I say
No, I just disagree on this. Or, at least, I present an alternate viewpoint.
It's what we do here.
It's what we do here.
It lacks substance, which is NOT what most commenters do here.
We disagree without substance lots of times.
Don't let it get you Windbag, the deflection, misdirection and general incoherence of Trump Fans. The dishonesty. They're in love and they can't just admit that it's an emotional thing so they try to get you to admit that it's you being emotional. It's a whole pitiful theme today. Just admit you "hate" Trump, you hateful NeverTrumper. It's like ObamaFan trying to get you to admit there's an "element of raaaacism" in your refusal to like Obama. It's stupid. Don't even worry about it.
They disagree without substance on a regular basis.
I just point out the facts. That really annoys some people.
You know what undid Nixon? His need to record his conversations about what his underlings did and how he went out of his way to defend them. He tried to play it straight and fucked himself in the process. Then he doubled down on it. He was a dope.
windbag said...
An analogy, if you'll allow. We're on a plane with no pilot. The GOP has had eight years to train one. Instead, the crucial moment has arrived, and...nothing.
We. Are. Going. To. Crash.
Trump and Cruz have both volunteered to attempt to pilot the plane. Nobody else has, including you and me. But those two have accepted the responsibility and risk of either landing the thing or crashing it.
It isn't the responsibility of the party to train it's next leader. Leadership is a function of character and the willingness to convince enough people that you are right in your convictions and that they believe you and will follow your leadership to those ends. The GOPe is reaping a whirlwind of their fecklessness. Their desire to be liked in DC and to the media overshadows any other consideration. They can't message, they can't lead and when given leadership they squander it on furthering their corruptible aims, which again is to retain their power structure. Now you may think I've also described democrats and to some extent I have. But the difference between the GOPe and the DNCe is that the DNCe actually believes their rancid bullshit and will do anything to zealously push their agenda. Even to the point of directing their apparatchiks in the media to shit on the GOPe. Then when assaulted by the media the GOPe retracts, begs not to be hated, and that some sort of compromise can be struck and more often than not it is. Hence why jackholes like Boehner no longer are in positions of power anymore.
So the GOPe isn't in the business of training the next president because they are to busy trying to lick their own asses clean to worry about it. Cruz is detestable to them, they will use him as a scapegoat for all kinds of shit. He's also kind of proving them right for this tenacious grab for power in the most douchey and sanctimonious way possible. Trump is a total X factor for them. They have no idea from which direction he's coming from until he basically tells them, "Hey, I'm about the country, not myself, even though in the end it's about myself, but the country will still win." Trump at the outset appears to be genuine in his national patriotism. He believes it and in that belief of making America great again, he has convinced others of the same. This country is not going to crash because the GOPe can't get their shit straight and only care about themselves. Colorado was the tipping point.
One thing you neglected in the pilotless plane/crash scenario. That is the air traffic controllers. That would be the American people. It's going to be on them to see if they give Trump good enough instructions to at the minimum bring the plane in for a hard landing. Because someone like the cackle pants harpy is basically the saboteur on the plane fouling the controls.
HenryW said...
If you don't love Trump you are a faggot. A fucking dick sucking shit packing faggot.
Titus?
Nixon was the most widely disliked President of my lifetime. He got some things right, but he was a charmless man. It was easy for the left to make him an arch villain. Trump can be obnoxious and a jerk, but he has a personality that is far bigger and more attractive than what the liberals say about him. It was easy for the liberals to portray Nixon as small minded and malicious because to some extent he was those things. I just don't believe that Trump is stupid and bigoted, and I distrust the people who say that about him more than I distrust Trump.......There are a lot of safeguards and redundancies built into the system. Neither Hillary nor Trump are charismatic or smart enough to destroy America during their term in office. I take comfort in that.
Post a Comment