What supporters of Hillary Clinton fail to understand about many Donald Trump voters is that their argument that Trump would destroy everything is doomed to fail precisely because that’s what they want: to see the system blown up.
Loose Cannon
Ted Rall
Ted Rall is a syndicated political cartoonist for Andrews McMeel Syndication and WhoWhatWhy.org and Counterpoint. He is a contributor to Centerclip and co-host of "The Final Countdown" talk show on Radio Sputnik. He is a graphic novelist and author of many books of art and prose, and an occasional war correspondent. He is, recently, the author of the graphic novel "2024: Revisited."
12 Comments. Leave new
What was it that Ms Clinton’s supporters failed – and fail – to understand about Mr Sander’s supporters ?…
Henri
Perhaps the fact that we want real representation in governmental affairs?
Monbiot has written a blog about that.
http://www.monbiot.com/2016/10/06/what-we-are/
tl;dr: There are real problems with democracy, but the alternative is likely to be worse. It is perhaps better that we disabuse ourselves of the notion that popular vote leads to the greater good, and instead realize that popular vote leads us to the lesser evil. Changing the lesser evil to the greater good requires more than just democracy. It is not reasonable to expect a majority of the voting populace to rationally weigh the issues at hand and select a representative that best supports their views.
“Democracy is a poor system of government at best; the only thing that can honestly be said in its favor is that it is about eight times as good as any other method the human race has ever tried.”
R. A. Heinlein, but Churchill has been quoted as saying something similar – as have other luminaries.
The best form of government is a benign dictatorship. Obviously the only person capable of properly holding such an office is myself. Unfortunately, I am otherwise occupied.
And on this approach, Trump won last night’s debate. He neatly sidestepped the videotape. His argument was sufficient enough for his supporters to accept: It was locker room talk. I’m not proud of it. HRC’s husband DID worse. My stuff was talk; his was action.
Upshot has Trump at 1 in 6 to win. I think the Clinton e-mails are going to drag her down just a little more. At this point, unless there’s something utterly devastating, Trump will make it to the election. And he doesn’t have to even win. He just has to hope that it’s close and a third-party candidate captures a state or two. Then it goes to the Senate.
Well, I can agree with Trump’s supporters that the system does need to come down. It’s irreparable, unsustainable, and already holds the seeds of its own destruction. Trump is less a problem than a symptom.
But the “debate” was fun to watch. It’s the first time I’ve watched actual TV in years. I do think that Trump got short shrift from the moderator and anchor. Hillary evaded the questions and went over as well, but they called him on it more often.
One change I’d like to see: connect the timer to the mic. When your two minutes are up, the mic goes dead with no human intervention.
A decade or more ago, T-rump talked about grabbing some hot snatch by the “pussy.” Consequent to that, Kankles confirms in her secret speeches for the .001 percent that she will pursue their global “Open-Borders” agenda so that they can finish owning the rest of the whole goddamn world. You know, a global “common-market” where those who can purchase will, and those who can’t will only continue producing … for the .01% … until they’re dead.
If Orangutan-hair becomes president, it may then take the globalists an extra 7-20 years or so to complete their trans-continental corporate coup. By then I’ll be fuckin’ dead (or diapered) and won’t give a shit.
DanD
Trump didn’t do very well in the debate. He repeated the lie that there was a division 5 minutes away from the Benghazi compound, but Secretary Clinton was asleep when the ambassador sent 600 calls for help, and the officer in charge of the division begged to be allowed to help, but Secretary Clinton ignored all calls.
It’s proven that there was no division, absolutely no way to rescue the ambassador, who should have been safe in the Embassy, but was ordered to the Consulate for illegal weapons-dealing with al-Qaeda to support the innocent, peaceful, unarmed al-Qaeda protesters in Syria.
And Trump said that failing to send in the military after the evil Syrian regime crossed the red line by using poison gas on civilians made the US a laughingstock.
If the evil Syrian regime had really used nerve gas, and Obama was a laughingstock for not removing the evil regime, why does Trump say he would never attack the evil regime, but focus on the Daesh?
Hillary said she knows how to remove Russia from Syria and remove the evil regime and remove Abu Bakr without risking a single life. She learned as Bill’s wife and as Secretary of State how to use leverage to force Putin to resign and how to get rid of evil regimes like Syria just as she did in Libya, transforming Libya from a horrible, impoverished brutal dictatorship and state sponsor of terrorism into a peaceful and prosperous democracy without the loss of a single life (just read the New York Times, Washington Post, and the new and improved Guardian: every Libyan is now eternally grateful to the US-led coalition for liberating them, just don’t try asking any Libyans yourself, that’s the MSM’s job).
538 says it’s all over now, there is no way Trump can possibly turn things around.
And I’m sure President Clinton will have the leverage to replace Putin with a good, Russian-American without any problems at all, because she assured us that she can, and, as she kept saying, every Fact Checker has said that she has never told a lie, and Trump just keeps repeating disproved falsehoods.
Double-plus-good — negativ-y-ness … your ability to express the truth is profound. But can the rest of the hoi-polloi navigate it?
DanD
«… the ambassador, who should have been safe in the Embassy, but was ordered to the Consulate for illegal weapons-dealing with al-Qaeda to support the innocent, peaceful, unarmed al-Qaeda protesters in Syria.» You mean, Michael, like those so-called «White Helmets», who now share this year’s so-called «Alternative Nobel Prize» (the Right Livelihood Award) – here in Sweden we’re pretty naive, even when we’re at our best and not being directly run from Foggy Bottom ?….
Henri
Trump isn’t the loose cannon. The Republican Party’s leadership is. They’ve egged on the fringe for so long that the fringe has worked itself into a frenzy of glee about finally “making Americuh great again.”
First was Reagan, an actor from central casting — good at projecting confidence and selling you cigarettes. Hand him the script and he’ll deliver it with conviction.
Then came Poppy, a dilettante in the vein of Thurston Howell, great for chitchat at a garden party, a good head for business (sit back, let others do the work, take the profits from having enough brains to surround yourself with smarter people willing to work for you).
Then was Dubya. Lenny, the idiot manchild with a trustfund accidentally forced to try to run things in the spotlight. Dick Cheney would have been the perfect George for Dubya, but 9/11 forced too much direct light on the act and the strings became too obvious.
So now we get Donald Trump. He can’t deliver the lines as well as Reagan could (too much repetition). He doesn’t have the relaxed, faux-inebriated slouch manner of Bush the Elder, which can only come from several generations of uppercrustery. He even lacks the frat boy ignorance/intimidation that Bush the Junior had. The closest Trump can manage is to look downright menacing as he stalks Hillary across a stage.
The Republican Leaders are, almost certainly, trying to figure out a way to slide Donald off into a corner.
And I’ve seen these guys at work. When it comes to stealing elections, when it comes to convincing the public to vote against its own best interests, they have almost no equals. The likelihood that they’ll just shrug their shoulders and go, “Oh, well.” is about zero.
: golf clap :
You nailed it. They made their beds, and now they are reluctant to lie down with dogs therein.
It’s hard to scrape up any sympathy. But it is fun to watch. Uncork a beer, sit on the porch, and watch the world burn.