Rolling Stone article: "How America Made Donald Trump Unstoppable"

[ryoder 1,590]

A very long, scathing, and thoroughly entertaining article that skewers the US political machine, and everyone in it:

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/how-america-made-donald-trump-unstoppable-20160224

"There are only three things of value: younger women, faster airplanes, and bigger crocodiles" - Arthur Jones.

[lurch 0]

I love it. I absolutely love it.
I have despised this system and the way it works since I became aware of it. The bought and paid for pols, the endless mealymouthed lies meant to pander to whoever they think will vote for them... The system that has been thoroughly and seamlessly redesigned to ensure that all decisions are made not by what would be best for the country or the people but what would be best for the corporate campaign sponsors...

To a political nihilist, Trump is the best thing to happen to this system, ever. This article nails it. The sonofabitch has hacked that system and now, he's gonna make it eat itself, on camera. And the american public, long ago sick of being lied to and having their own asses sold to the highest bidder, are gonna back him like the latest all-the-rage reality TV show.

Trump is taking the entire circus and making it what it is... a circus, an entertainment spectacle- and the guest stars, the bad guys everyone wants to see get their comeuppance, are all the "establishment" candidates and the political establishment itself.

I think of Trump's ascendancy as, in essence, the revenge of the american people against their politicians. The politicians haven't represented "us" in decades, and everyone knows it. It's payback time, bitches!

I see this is a sort of comic-opera version of the french revolution. Only instead of dragging them out and guillotining them, in the 21'st century we subject them to reality-TV-style public ridicule. After Trump is elected it's going to be awful hard for the rest of the political establishment to take themselves so seriously. While Trump runs around playing rock star and winning, everyone else looks like droning boring bureaucrats with monotonous scripted lines and zero charisma.

I'm starting to think Trump is inevitable, and utterly unstoppable. The republican party has nobody and nothing even close as a viable alternative, and the democratic party offers us either "Hillary The Power-Mad Bitch" (Nobody trusts you, lady!) or Bernie "Recycled Socialism" Sanders whose pitch line is "Free stuff for everybody, at someone else's expense... yours!" Bernie, that shit got old back when the Soviet Union fell apart. Get some new material, champ.

I never saw Trump coming and neither did anyone else and that's why he's going to win. I think people are going to vote him in by a landslide as an act of mass defiance against the political establishment that sold us all down the river lock stock and barrel to prop up whoever paid for their election.

It's gonna be one hell of a show. For the first time ever, politics has become -entertaining-. I think half the country are sitting there earnestly hoping to see Trump shove all the other politicians' heads firmly up their asses, he's got the charisma, momentum and star power to do it, the more momentum he builds, the more people believe he can do it, and his election will be the big comeuppance for our political system, richly deserved and long overdue.

It's the biggest, best and most spectacular practical joke in recorded history and we all get a front row seat. I swear, if he gets elected the system itself is going to drop dead out of sheer outraged dignity. I can't wait to see this.
-B

Live and learn... or die, and teach by example.

[GD64 1]

Dude, kudos on your writing/verbal skills. I'm envious, and I agree with EVERY word.

[Rick 67]

"the revenge of the american people against their politicians"


I believe you nailed it

You can't be drunk all day if you don't start early!

[rehmwa 2]

GD64

Dude, kudos on your writing/verbal skills. I'm envious, and I agree with EVERY word.

Lurch's rant. Absolutely great.

If you can't stand Trump (me and others) - the rant is STILL dead on target

If you actually like Trump (??!!) - the rant is STILL dead on target


I'm still hoping it shakes up the place to the point that someone decent shows up mid process and just cleans house

...
Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants

[Croc 0]

A tour de force.

"Here's a good specimen of my own wisdom. Something is so, except when it isn't so."

Charles Fort, commenting on the many contradictions of astronomy

[billvon 3,078]

>It's the biggest, best and most spectacular practical joke in recorded history
>and we all get a front row seat. I swear, if he gets elected the system itself is
>going to drop dead out of sheer outraged dignity.

And maybe . . . just maybe . . . we will replace it with something better. Perhaps not; we are experts at not learning the lessons of history. But there's a chance that after a Trump presidency, the country will wake up and decide that voting for something other than the letter behind the guy's name, and that getting involved in politics at a local level is actually important. And that would be a very good thing.

[JerryBaumchen 1,445]

Hi bill,

Quote

we are experts at not learning the lessons of history.

^^^^ This!!!!!!

Jerry Baumchen

[turtlespeed 226]

JerryBaumchen

Hi bill,

Quote

we are experts at not learning the lessons of history.

^^^^ This!!!!!!

Jerry Baumchen

So we all agree on this?

I'm not usually into the whole 3-way thing, but you got me a little excited with that. - Skymama
BTR #1 / OTB^5 Official #2 / Hellfish #408 / VSCR #108/Tortuga/Orfun

[gowlerk 2,253]

turtlespeed

***Hi bill,

Quote

we are experts at not learning the lessons of history.

^^^^ This!!!!!!

Jerry Baumchen

So we all agree on this?


I think this is one of those areas where America is not particularly exceptional. History repeats itself everywhere.

Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

[lurch 0]

Bill, I've long believed this system so far beyond redemption, that "Get involved" is a bad joke. As the saying goes, "If voting actually changed anything, it'd be illegal."

Voting doesn't fix the spectacularly broken mechanisms. It instead diverts energy into endless rah-rah enthusiasm that which would have otherwise been used productively fixing things. It is a form of evolved-in resistance to change.

However, I look at the emergent political phenomenon that is Trump, and I see a spectacular agent of chaos, right when this system could use one the most. Right when it looked like we were dead on course for one of several rather predictable forms of american decline, and this joker comes along. Reality just hung a hard left into "whatthefuckville."

I've been a political nihilist my entire life because of the simple fact... vote all you want, doesn't change the course of the ship.

I think the behavior of the United States over the last 15 years or so since 9/11 has proven that ad infinitum. The US polity got so sick of Bush and the behavior of those rulers that they elected the guy as opposite to them as possible- Obama.

Not a DAMN thing changed in any way that mattered. My insurance still doesn't cover jackshit, but now I'm required to buy it by law, thanks, asshole! Just as many wars, just as many lies, just as much decline of what's left of the middle class. Priced out of reach of most and getting worse fast.

Trump's election may represent the only possible disruption to the phenomena involved with that large scale decline. I think the reason he is becoming the phenomenon he is, is that people see him, and they see a chance to actually change the course of the damned ship. This time, voting may well break the mechanisms designed to make sure voting doesn't actually change anything.

Hopefully, he breaks enough of the system to force constructive overhaul and repair.

I hope he doesn't destroy too much while he's at it. We had enough Stalins last century.

Live and learn... or die, and teach by example.

[kallend 2,107]

Fact checking the debate:

abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/ap-fact-check-trump-objects-cursing-37214276

...

The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.

[rehmwa 2]

JerryBaumchen

Hi bill,

Quote

we are experts at not learning the lessons of history.

^^^^ This!!!!!!

Jerry Baumchen

just that? I thought the rest of his post was the better part

...
Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants

[brenthutch 444]

Fantastic rant!

[yoink 321]

That's a scarily good article. The more so because it makes Trump look good (or at least better than the alternatives), which is anathema to me.

[ryoder 1,590]

I read an article recently which was asking WTH Christie attacked Rubio in the previous debate instead of attacking the frontrunner Trump. Well, now we know:

http://www.nytimes.com/politics/first-draft/2016/02/26/chris-christie-endorses-donald-trump/

"There are only three things of value: younger women, faster airplanes, and bigger crocodiles" - Arthur Jones.

[normiss 858]

Palin, Trump, Christie...aren't there 4 horsemen?

[rehmwa 2]

ryoder

I read an article recently which was asking WTH Christie attacked Rubio in the previous debate instead of attacking the frontrunner Trump. Well, now we know:

http://www.nytimes.com/politics/first-draft/2016/02/26/chris-christie-endorses-donald-trump/

I'd rather had Christie in the running....

I'm not surprised at the endorsement. Christie is clearly pretty disgusted with establishment republicans, social republicans, christian conservative republicans. For that matter, just the typical career politician type.

He is philosophically diametric to Bernie, and Hillary is just an even more despicable flip side of the Cruzbio type of politician. So he can't even switch sides.

I guess there's no point in hoping Kasich or the Doctor makes a surge.....

- So that pretty much means he's anti-Cruz and anti-Rubio and that backs him into the only spot remaining.

...
Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants

[SkyDekker 1,465]

Quote

that backs him into the only spot remaining.

1 Of 2 spots remaining. He doesn't have to endorse anybody.

[rehmwa 2]

SkyDekker

Quote

that backs him into the only spot remaining.

1 Of 2 spots remaining. He doesn't have to endorse anybody.

true - but this is the only one where he gets to flip his middle finger off at Cruz and Rubio

...
Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants

[NewGuy2005 53]

normiss

Palin, Trump, Christie...aren't there 4 horsemen?

Hillary!

[billvon 3,078]

>I'd rather had Christie in the running . . .

Me too. Of the entire GOP field he seemed to be the most rational.

[billvon 3,078]

>Voting doesn't fix the spectacularly broken mechanisms.

Voting for one of the two parties surely does not fix anything. If the US as a whole decided to elect only third party candidates* the US government would change pretty rapidly.

(* - and note that this is all candidates. The presidential race gets all the attention but is far less important than the various congressional, gubernatorial and state legislature elections.)

>Hopefully, he breaks enough of the system to force constructive overhaul and repair.

I have little hope that this will force the government to "fix itself." I have more hope that seeing what a Trump could do to the country will be enough to drive people to see more than the R or D behind someone's name.

Indeed, probably the best possible outcome would be for the GOP to give Trump the boot, have him run as an independent - and win. That would set a much better precedent than having him win as a republican (or having him lose to Clinton.)

[kallend 2,107]

I only partly agree with your analysis, thoughtful as it is. The GOP brought this upon itself.

Ever since the 1960s civil right movement the GOP has played on the fear, resentment and hate of a significant segment of the population, in particular the southern Dixiecrats who became disenchanted with the Dems (just as LBJ predicted).

This exploitation of fear, resentment and hate became extreme after Obama received the nomination in 2008, with Sarah Palin, Rush Limbaugh and others leading the way. You only have to read what leading right wingers have written about Obama (and encouraged the ignorant to believe) to see that this is so. Kenyan, Muslim, communist, gun grabber, supporter of terrorists...

So the GOP created this monster piece by piece, and now finds itself unable to control its own creation. Familiar storyline.

...

The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.

[ryoder 1,590]

Uh, oh!
McConnell is promoting a GOP revolt against Trump: https://www.rawstory.com/2016/02/mitch-mcconnell-republicans-will-drop-trump-like-a-hot-rock-if-he-wins-the-nomination/

Looks like I need to stock up on popcorn.

"There are only three things of value: younger women, faster airplanes, and bigger crocodiles" - Arthur Jones.