We often see the Trump voter is a poor, red-neck hick who can't find his ass from a hole in the ground. We take education level as a proxy for income level and assume the less education you have the poorer you must be and since Clinton and Biden support went up as education went up then that means Trump was killing it with the poors.
However, Hillary and Biden both won the majority of those making less than $50k a year. Biden actually improved on Hillary's numbers with poor voters.
So the Trump phenomenon is not driven by some sort of worker revolution of poor people having had enough of the Demorat's crap and pushing to take their country back. It is a backlash from middle to upper income whites. And you know them as soon as you see them. The loudmouth small business owner with overly red cheeks who is perpetually pissed off about anything those minority and foreign folk are getting up to.
The election results in France are a timely reminder of how the rise of extremism is a global issue rather than merely a local one. As we struggle to understand the rise and continued popularity of Trumpism here, we should note France, with Le Pen running close to Macron, Alternative für Deutschland remaining a scary presence in mainstream German politics, and the similar existence of Vox in Spain, now partnering with the conservative Partido Popular to form a majority government in the state of Castilla y León. There are other examples. The question remains: why? Somebody please enlighten me as to what is so appealing in this era about extremism and turning away from fundamental humanistic values that have endured and prospered in these places for decades, even centuries. (For my part I blame social media as much as anything, the Pandora's Box that empowers the lowest common denominator among us and their ability to reach huge numbers of people with the logical and intellectual equivalent of fertilizer.) Perhaps this is simply a phase that some power on high has decided that we must go through in our evolution. Maybe human beings are overrated compared to our animal companions that aren't taking the Earth over the abyss. All I know is that each day/week/month/year seems to be a little worse than the one before and that gravity works in all manner of platforms -- bottom line: what rises inevitably falls.
Sometimes we get so caught up in where we are that it's helpful to take a step back and assess just how strange all of this really is.
The cult of personality around Trump is so intense that people are frantic over who he has endorsed, and none of these people ever stops and thinks, Should we actually care who this guy endorses? This has never been a thing for an actual former president, this whole endorsement business, until this guy. And yet people are falling over themselves over the endorsement of a guy who lost an election. And they all know he lost it, none of that Joe Biden and China stole it bullshit.
This is all so profoundly strange. I don't remember anyone fighting over that coveted George HW Bush endorsement, nor do I ever remember him endorsing anyone. These people need to ask themselves how in the hell has it gotten to this point, what did they contribute to get here, and are they happy with where they are? It's unwise to make gods of men, because when gods do stupid things, the cognitive dissonance one feels can be debilitating. And then you say silly things like, well, my god couldn't have done this thing I find disagreeable, so it must have been his staff. Or, maybe injecting bleach is not such a crazy idea, so I will defend it in conversation.
"Speaking of Pennsylvania, Democrats have a chance to nominate a solid centrist."
Shouldn't that be "Connor Lamb has a chance to win the nomination?" I've always been under the impression that primaries are about candidates convincing their allies who the best candidate is, but your formulation would seem to imply that it's the other way around; that it's the job of the party to find and anoint the most deserving. Which, if I recall correctly, is how we wound up with the dud candidacy that was Hillary "it's her turn" Clinton.
Elliot Rodger recorded a series of videos before he shot and killed a number of people in Santa Barbara 8 years ago. They are very similar in tone & style to Ethan's. Not saying this guy will go the same route, but it's not a laughing matter when narcissists get feedback from the real world that they're actually losers. Resolving that cognitive dissonance can end very badly.
Charlie - check out this tweet from JD Vance and the comments in response. It's amazing how stupid these people are. It's also very reassuring to see hundreds of people respond to his bullshit with reasonable takes that expose him for the fool that he is. https://twitter.com/JDVance1/status/1513241867726512133
That Ethan Schmidt video gives me the chills. And reminds me of my friend telling me that in the late phase of the Khmer Rouge, even wearing glasses was enough of a sign to mark a person as an elitist who should be killed. The Ethan Schmidts of the world who believe they are smarter than the Dr. Faucis and are angry that the world does not see it that way, if given enough rope & encouragement, eventually want to do something about it. So thanks for that, TFG, GOP, and Fox.
I will say it again….. far too many people are not capable of critically thinking. Understanding a Trump supporter (not the grifting sycophants, they are a class above the drooling fools that go to rallies) is quite easy. Just strip away all the reason, logic, and scientific method you were ever exposed to and simply go with “Yay, something shiny that makes me feel better about myself.”
When people on the left were warning of the danger they were called alarmists. When Schiff said at the first impeachment trial that Trump would do it again he was vilified by the right. What the majority of Republican voters did not want to admit (until maybe now, and probably too late) was that they were conned by a WELL KNOWN con artist and it was visible to anyone with a brain that functioned above the 4th grade level.
I love the Bulwark. I really do. I love the writing, topic choice, etc. I know we're looking at the writing and philosophy of right-centrists tired of the radicalization of their party. What bothers me about it, though, and the national conversation in general, is that centrism doesn't really excite voters, especially Democrat voters, who want the government to move in a different direction. Centrists are commonly thought to be more "electable," but that strikes me as ten-year-old thinking.
As you should have two armies there already two navies. At least when it comes to the USA. You have your surface Navy shlubs, as we affectionately called "targets", and then you have your submarine fleet. Those sailors with such pluck that they do the impossible with less. 36 hour work days the norm. And the elite of the elite are our nuclear trained submarine enlistedmen. Never has so much been done by so few. I had the privilege to serve in this capacity early in my adult life and it made me an industry leader in my 38 year civilian career. Because the Navy educated me that with teamwork the impossible is possible. Rule 1? Never give up! Icing on the cake? Instead of being saddled with student loans I was able bank funds while I served matched by the Navy for my post service education. Double win. More importantly every job I had it didn't take more than a month or two for management to figure out I was the guy they wanted in charge of things. Spent a long career in civil engineering and surveying. Nothing prepares you better for participating in large projects like being part of a submarine shipyard overhaul.
Sykes, you'll be no closer to the true Q-MAGA opinions on Dr. Oz unless and until you get a quote from Ginny Thomas. These washed-up rightwing opinionists you quote aren't active duty like Ginny is
The GOP’s Huckster-Hoaxer Axis
We often see the Trump voter is a poor, red-neck hick who can't find his ass from a hole in the ground. We take education level as a proxy for income level and assume the less education you have the poorer you must be and since Clinton and Biden support went up as education went up then that means Trump was killing it with the poors.
However, Hillary and Biden both won the majority of those making less than $50k a year. Biden actually improved on Hillary's numbers with poor voters.
Here's the beef:
Hillary Clinton: https://www.statista.com/statistics/631244/voter-turnout-of-the-exit-polls-of-the-2016-elections-by-income/
Joe Biden: https://www.statista.com/statistics/1184428/presidential-election-exit-polls-share-votes-income-us/
So the Trump phenomenon is not driven by some sort of worker revolution of poor people having had enough of the Demorat's crap and pushing to take their country back. It is a backlash from middle to upper income whites. And you know them as soon as you see them. The loudmouth small business owner with overly red cheeks who is perpetually pissed off about anything those minority and foreign folk are getting up to.
The election results in France are a timely reminder of how the rise of extremism is a global issue rather than merely a local one. As we struggle to understand the rise and continued popularity of Trumpism here, we should note France, with Le Pen running close to Macron, Alternative für Deutschland remaining a scary presence in mainstream German politics, and the similar existence of Vox in Spain, now partnering with the conservative Partido Popular to form a majority government in the state of Castilla y León. There are other examples. The question remains: why? Somebody please enlighten me as to what is so appealing in this era about extremism and turning away from fundamental humanistic values that have endured and prospered in these places for decades, even centuries. (For my part I blame social media as much as anything, the Pandora's Box that empowers the lowest common denominator among us and their ability to reach huge numbers of people with the logical and intellectual equivalent of fertilizer.) Perhaps this is simply a phase that some power on high has decided that we must go through in our evolution. Maybe human beings are overrated compared to our animal companions that aren't taking the Earth over the abyss. All I know is that each day/week/month/year seems to be a little worse than the one before and that gravity works in all manner of platforms -- bottom line: what rises inevitably falls.
Are Trump's staff now Deep State too? Pretty soon one half of his brain will be accusing the other half of being Deep State and RINO.
this Mark Hertling piece is really interesting. Thanks for publishing it.
Sometimes we get so caught up in where we are that it's helpful to take a step back and assess just how strange all of this really is.
The cult of personality around Trump is so intense that people are frantic over who he has endorsed, and none of these people ever stops and thinks, Should we actually care who this guy endorses? This has never been a thing for an actual former president, this whole endorsement business, until this guy. And yet people are falling over themselves over the endorsement of a guy who lost an election. And they all know he lost it, none of that Joe Biden and China stole it bullshit.
This is all so profoundly strange. I don't remember anyone fighting over that coveted George HW Bush endorsement, nor do I ever remember him endorsing anyone. These people need to ask themselves how in the hell has it gotten to this point, what did they contribute to get here, and are they happy with where they are? It's unwise to make gods of men, because when gods do stupid things, the cognitive dissonance one feels can be debilitating. And then you say silly things like, well, my god couldn't have done this thing I find disagreeable, so it must have been his staff. Or, maybe injecting bleach is not such a crazy idea, so I will defend it in conversation.
"Speaking of Pennsylvania, Democrats have a chance to nominate a solid centrist."
Shouldn't that be "Connor Lamb has a chance to win the nomination?" I've always been under the impression that primaries are about candidates convincing their allies who the best candidate is, but your formulation would seem to imply that it's the other way around; that it's the job of the party to find and anoint the most deserving. Which, if I recall correctly, is how we wound up with the dud candidacy that was Hillary "it's her turn" Clinton.
Elliot Rodger recorded a series of videos before he shot and killed a number of people in Santa Barbara 8 years ago. They are very similar in tone & style to Ethan's. Not saying this guy will go the same route, but it's not a laughing matter when narcissists get feedback from the real world that they're actually losers. Resolving that cognitive dissonance can end very badly.
Fetterman is at plus 18 over at RCP. Lamb is not winning this primary no matter how much you wishcast.
Fetterman will be the next senator from PA.
Fetterman will then have a good chance to be the face of Anti-Trumpism. And it is one we need if you are worried about Democrats being too soft.
Charlie - check out this tweet from JD Vance and the comments in response. It's amazing how stupid these people are. It's also very reassuring to see hundreds of people respond to his bullshit with reasonable takes that expose him for the fool that he is. https://twitter.com/JDVance1/status/1513241867726512133
Required reading for all who support the Bulwark's mission:
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2022/05/social-media-democracy-trust-babel/629369/
Today's column is worth it for Gen. Hertling's essay alone. Everything else is gravy.
That Ethan Schmidt video gives me the chills. And reminds me of my friend telling me that in the late phase of the Khmer Rouge, even wearing glasses was enough of a sign to mark a person as an elitist who should be killed. The Ethan Schmidts of the world who believe they are smarter than the Dr. Faucis and are angry that the world does not see it that way, if given enough rope & encouragement, eventually want to do something about it. So thanks for that, TFG, GOP, and Fox.
I will say it again….. far too many people are not capable of critically thinking. Understanding a Trump supporter (not the grifting sycophants, they are a class above the drooling fools that go to rallies) is quite easy. Just strip away all the reason, logic, and scientific method you were ever exposed to and simply go with “Yay, something shiny that makes me feel better about myself.”
When people on the left were warning of the danger they were called alarmists. When Schiff said at the first impeachment trial that Trump would do it again he was vilified by the right. What the majority of Republican voters did not want to admit (until maybe now, and probably too late) was that they were conned by a WELL KNOWN con artist and it was visible to anyone with a brain that functioned above the 4th grade level.
I love the Bulwark. I really do. I love the writing, topic choice, etc. I know we're looking at the writing and philosophy of right-centrists tired of the radicalization of their party. What bothers me about it, though, and the national conversation in general, is that centrism doesn't really excite voters, especially Democrat voters, who want the government to move in a different direction. Centrists are commonly thought to be more "electable," but that strikes me as ten-year-old thinking.
As you should have two armies there already two navies. At least when it comes to the USA. You have your surface Navy shlubs, as we affectionately called "targets", and then you have your submarine fleet. Those sailors with such pluck that they do the impossible with less. 36 hour work days the norm. And the elite of the elite are our nuclear trained submarine enlistedmen. Never has so much been done by so few. I had the privilege to serve in this capacity early in my adult life and it made me an industry leader in my 38 year civilian career. Because the Navy educated me that with teamwork the impossible is possible. Rule 1? Never give up! Icing on the cake? Instead of being saddled with student loans I was able bank funds while I served matched by the Navy for my post service education. Double win. More importantly every job I had it didn't take more than a month or two for management to figure out I was the guy they wanted in charge of things. Spent a long career in civil engineering and surveying. Nothing prepares you better for participating in large projects like being part of a submarine shipyard overhaul.
Sykes, you'll be no closer to the true Q-MAGA opinions on Dr. Oz unless and until you get a quote from Ginny Thomas. These washed-up rightwing opinionists you quote aren't active duty like Ginny is