Casual Observation

14 Comments

Parallax on August 18, 2016 at 9:58 am

Never a dull moment for Mr. Alt-Right Brexit and his merry band.

on August 18, 2016 at 10:00 am

In some sense, the organization is also the first significant American outlet to articulate and represent, in a large-scale way, a new philosophy of nationalism and populism that has found strong purchase in American society, and in many other parts of the globe. The Breitbart philosophy revolves around the core belief that a wildly corrupt ruling class, of both parties, has abandoned American workers in favor of policies that line its own pockets and the pockets of corporate interests. And its white-hot anger stems from how the leading institutions of American life have engineered all sorts of arrangements hostile to American workers: trade deals that favor the interest of large multinational companies over American workers, open-border policies that serve the needs of agro-businesses at the expense of low-wage Americans, and, more generally, a set of globalist policies that support transnational business interests without regard for the deteriorating status and position of middle America.

http://www.vanityfair.com/news/2016/08/breitbart-stephen-bannon-donald-trump-master-plan

This resentment is not going away after Trump does. And Hillary’s appointment of TPP BFF Ken Salazar to lead her transition team is further evidence, if any were needed, that her administration’s policies will exacerbate that resentment.

Arthur Gilroy on August 18, 2016 at 12:12 pm

Precisely.

Win or lose…probably better losing…the Trump campaign has opened a sluice gate that will not be easily closed by a PermaGov administration.

The anti-PermaGov flood will continue…hopefully with someone better than Trump in the role of Noah.

Amen.

AG
Joelcr on August 18, 2016 at 2:20 pm

That summary is a load of shit, as anyone who has had a cursory reading of Breitbart knows full well.
Frank Schnittger on August 18, 2016 at 3:38 pm

That is a hard left policy position that is being described, not a hard right bait and switch strategy designed to dupe the working classes into supporting another elite shyster whose schtick just happens to be railing against other elite shysters duping people out of their own money. If Trump had an ounce of credibility on any of this, he might actually get some progressive support.

Jordan Orlando on August 18, 2016 at 10:02 am

People have been speculating for months about Trump’s “exit strategy” — about how he’ll throw the race since he clearly doesn’t actually want to be President (since he’s terrified and knows he can’t do it and is already tired of all the “hard work” and doesn’t have the attention span or the diligence for any of this — we know he was basically offering the entire job to each potential running mate). How would he get out of it without losing face; without being “a loser” which is the worst thing he thinks anyone can be.

I think it’s now clear what he’s decided to do. He’s going to pretend that the goal of winning the Presidency (which most candidates pursue as if their lives depended on it) and the goal of simply continuing what he’s doing — doubling down on all his ridiculousness (that “got him here”) are the same thing. He’s going to become so outrageous that he’ll flame out and leave a 1945-Berlin-sized crater where the GOP used to be. He’ll then be able to tell himself that he was “true to himself” and “did what was necessary” even as he throws the race — he will pursue pure craven self-destruction as a candidate, and call it purity and strength.

He’s found his exit, and it’s working.

(I don’t, by the way, think this is necessarily a conscious, deliberate process. I think he’s operating on some weird Freudian level that’s probably totally invisible to him. He’s not exactly a self-aware person; remember that he responded to charges that he was “thin-skinned” by insisting that he has “very thick, strong skin.”)

Arthur Gilroy on August 18, 2016 at 12:16 pm

Conscious or not; deliberate or not…what if he wins anyway?

UH oh!!!

AG
- Jordan Orlando on August 18, 2016 at 1:43 pm
  
  I thought you’d gone away.
  - Arthur Gilroy on August 18, 2016 at 7:30 pm
    
    Where did you get that idea?
    
    AG
- Frank Schnittger on August 18, 2016 at 3:41 pm
  
  That will tell us more about the American people than we want to know…
Frank Schnittger on August 18, 2016 at 3:48 pm

A common reaction to stress is to double down on what you know best, even if that is exacerbating the situation you find so stressful. You solve a drink problem by drinking even more. You react to a situation where you feel nobody loves or appreciates you by being even more noxious to those whose love and appreciation you crave.

The only way Trump can get out of this situation is to act so bizarrely that even his supporters give up on him. He doesn’t want the expectations they are heaping on him. He can’t handle the responsibility of delivering on his promises. So he makes sure he never has to.

It’s entirely logical…until you realise that 40% of the US electorate will happily follow him over the cliff. The thing is, he will have a safety line. They won’t.
oaguabonita on August 18, 2016 at 4:50 pm

RE:

I think he’s operating on some weird Freudian level that’s probably totally invisible to him.