Republican leaders who are uncomfortable with Donald Trump as their presidential nominee keep urging Trump to act more mature and respectable on the campaign trail. It probably won’t happen. But even if it does, how can they forget the outrageous things he already said and proposed? How can we voters? Not that Hillary Clinton is any better.
Ameresia
Ted Rall
Ted Rall is a syndicated political cartoonist for Andrews McMeel Syndication, WhoWhatWhy.org and Counterpoint. He is a frequent contributor to The Wall Street Journal, 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 "The Stringer."
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Mr Trump is not Ms Clinton ; Ms Clinton is not Mr Trump. Now those of you who enjoy the franchise in the United States – and whose ability to cast a vote has not been limited in practice via various political manoeuvres – know all you need to know in order to make an informed choice….
Henri
Henri,
Of course Trump is not Clinton, and vice versa. But the concept of “informed” choice negates the distinction.
Every day, I make a whole slew of “informed” decisions. I won’t buy a $600 wristwatch in the window because I don’t have that kind of money to spend on something like that. I don’t eat at 21 because I can’t spent the rent on a single meal. I am “informed” by the awareness of the future consequences of my actions in the present.
Voting for HRC? I look at what it means down the line. I “inform” myself. And it’s a disaster no matter how I slice it. She will usher in four years of stalemates. That vacant Supreme Court seat that Obama doesn’t care about anymore? Think about that. The Republicans pretty much kicked his ass, and they didn’t even raise a sweat. And that’s what HRC’s presidency will be. Four years of the Republicans doing what they do best: making sure people understand who is in charge, and it sure as hell won’t be a batch of milquetoast Democrats staging “sit-ins.”
Trump will also be a disaster. But with Trump, it will be harder for people in the D column to ignore the things going on (as they would with St. Hillary). Look at what the Obama presidency did: Manning, Snowden, all the other whistleblowers, Gitmo, etc. And the Dems just stand there pretending nothing’s wrong. If Bush had done this shit, the Dems would be foaming at the mouths. But because it’s one of their own, they’ll keep quiet.
And in that way, HRC is actually worse than Trump.
Congress, the only domestic criminal class, should not feel that they have sufficient votes in their pocket so as to feel comfortable in not taking action in the interest of the people.
Let the Democrats in the Senate show some courage in holding a real filibuster instead of a fakey after-session-occupation.
And let the Senate force Obama to select a Supreme Court justice, one not just an appeasement of a supplicant to the Republicans.
Alex_the_tired, as I’ve pointed out earlier on these threads, with Mr Trump, one doesn’t know what one will get, with Ms Clinton, one does, and vestigia terrent ! My comment above was meant ironically – always a dangerous manoeuvre on the internet. I obviously failed to understand that some commentators on Ted’s threads could take seriously the notion that the fact of non-identity between Ms Clinton and Mr Trump would be sufficient basis for making an informed choice. Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa !…
Henri
You’ve coined the word to the concept I’ve been ranting about for years.
I don’t like Trump.
I don’t like his macho racist posturing style; his history of economic exploitation of the socially disadvantaged; his indifference to its consequences.
I don’t like anything he stands for.
But will Democrats protest any murderous wars Hillary would engage in (in light of her blood lust cackle after the death of Libya’s Qaddafi), especially any war that serves no purpose other than to establish her credibility as a Commander in Chief worthy of the title?
Will Democrats protest her domestic or foreign policies with any but the feeblest passionless demeanor demonstrated on the occasion of Obama’s breaking faith with those who took his campaign promises at face value?
My Democratic Representative gathered people to a downtown Chicago office to speak out against George W. Bush’s invasion of Iraq. But when Obama invaded Afghanistan she was very less vocal to the point of responding to me with a letter tantamount to an apology for her support of it.
Democrats do not hold Democrats’ feet to the fire.
We do not need another war, not another person of questionable guilt murdered, one whose murder will inspire more blow-back in the form of a more murderous retaliation on a citizenry left vulnerable before a rage inspired by more racist wars for empire.
Obama announced modifications to the nuclear weapon stockpile that will make their blast yield scalable. This will make their use more thinkable and cost in the neighborhood of a trillion dollars. The NATO push east to Russia’s border is unsettling but more so under the control of one who has something to prove.
Hillary is more dangerous because Democrats don’t protest Democrats, and Republicans don’t protest war.
Alas, Glenn, that’s precisely the point ; Democrats won’t (effectively) protest the new wars of imperialist aggression in which Ms Clinton is likely to involve the United States – and, given that country’s militarised stance throughout the globe (800 – 1000 military bases outside its own borders, depending on how one counts), the rest of the world as well. That’s what makes this years version of the evil of two lessers so utterly evil….
Henri
Not to go off the beaten path …
I notice Trump is holding a book by Slavoj Žižek. I’ve tried to read some of his stuff and I am just not impressed. I don’t mean that I can compete against him on these topics intellectually, but he seems to just fire off 100 ideas, and he does them oneafteranotherinarapidfireway so that you can’t refute Point A because by the time you get to ask a question, he’s already on Point D.
Am I just not paying attention?
Žižek spews ideas vocanically and I find some gems among the sediment.
I’ve read a few of his books but I find his public presentation to be more performance art.
I like his expansion of Rumsfeld’s known knowns, known unknowns, unknown unknowns, to include the unknown knowns.
The unknown knowns being the common denial of facts and exclusion of them from discourse to the point of becoming repressed memory.
That’s my take. He is a philosophical and punditry swap meet. It takes time to dig through the crap to find the stuff worthy of Antiques Roadshow. But it’s there.
Agree (I think) with Alex, Glenn, and Ted ; while I’ve not read any of his books, I’ve read quite a few of Žižek’s articles, and while one can there often find a few gems, all the bullshit surrounding them make for a hard slog. But I’m glad there are types like him around, even if I fear that Professor Sokal would rip him limb from limb….
Henri
The British voted for Brexit. The Americans voted that the next president will be either Billary or Trump. An objective observer would say that…
I have no idea what an objective observer would say. A Brit said that Brexit was worse.
But given the choice of Billary or Trump, both are terrible choices, and it’s almost certain to be Billary and War! Trump is probably running only as a favour to Bill, to make sure 2016 isn’t a reprisal of 2008. And (as best anyone can tell) Trump is succeeding in guaranteeing that Bill will be back in the White House Intern room.
Putin has said Russia’s sole Med port is a strategic necessity to Russia, and he’ll fight for it. Billary says they’ll boot Putin out of Syria, out of the Crimea, and out of the Eastern Ukraine.
Our only hope is Churchill’s ’24 article, in which he wrote that the new poison gasses were 100% lethal, no gas masks were protection against them, and aeroplanes would drop them over every city in Europe if there were ever a war after the War to End All Wars. So no one used any WMD in Europe in WWII.
Will we be as lucky when Billary starts WWIII?
I have reached two conclusions about Billary.
1. I think Bill Clinton has become mentally impaired. Whether it’s Alzheimer’s, generic senility, alcoholism, or whatnot, only decreased mental capacity explains how he — a lawyer — did not comprehend that he couldn’t go onto the plane and have a “friendly conversation.” Simply indefensibly inappropriate.
2. If 1 is correct. Should Hillary be crowned, she will not have Bill’s political abilities to fall back on, and she will simply make mistake after mistake after mistake.
The Clintons are not the real rulers as you well know. Their banker masters keep tabs on them and will surround them with advisors as always.
«… and she [i e, Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton] will simply make mistake after mistake after mistake.» It’s when Ms Clinton doesn’t «make mistake[s]» that she frightens me….
Henri
«Our only hope is Churchill’s ’24 article, in which he wrote that the new poison gasses were 100% lethal, no gas masks were protection against them, and aeroplanes would drop them over every city in Europe if there were ever a war after the War to End All Wars. So no one used any WMD in Europe in WWII.» The thing to keep in mind about Churchill is that he never let a minor matter like truth get in the way of what he felt was a good story ; o f the 8 million estimated combat deaths in WW I, some 90 000 were caused by the use of gas, and, of course, WW II, in which such gas was little used in combat (save by the Japanese in China) came about anyway, with far more effective weapons of mass destruction, i e, the firebombing of cities and the nuclear destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, being employed. (Churchill did, of course, continue to advocate the use of poison gas in colonial wars, in which their was little risk that the other side could strike back….)
Albert Einstein’s adage retains its relevance : «I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones.»
Henri
Happy Independence Day, y’all.
“Celebrate the birth of your country by blowing up a small piece of it” – Apu.Nahasapimapetalan.
This seems appropritate to both the day and the cartoon’s subject.