Chris Sununu highlights what is at the heart of the polling that you discuss here. Trump would be truly offensive if he seemed truly aberrant. But to young people - who have always lived in a world full of Trumpicans - there is no memory of how people COULD behave, Democrat OR Republican. I did not like a lot of Reagan/ Bush policies. Bu…
Chris Sununu highlights what is at the heart of the polling that you discuss here. Trump would be truly offensive if he seemed truly aberrant. But to young people - who have always lived in a world full of Trumpicans - there is no memory of how people COULD behave, Democrat OR Republican. I did not like a lot of Reagan/ Bush policies. But they did not behave like assholes 24/7, like young people would assume all politicians do (with a very few exceptions). Especially poilticians who are older white males (which I am too). So "grab 'em by the pussy" was a long time ago.
I have a theory as to why young people--at least a good chunk of them--support Trump or at least can hold their noses & vote for him.
I don't know how many people, yourself included, would like to hear it, however . . . The nastiness of today's politics, of which Trump is just the logical extreme, has its roots somewhere. There still are decent elected, or want-to-be elected, officials AND I fully recognize that there is no true equivalent to Trump on the far Left. I don't think anyone feels the need to take a shower after attending an Elizabeth Warren rally!
And, of course, our politics have been nasty before . . . one senator caned another in the lead-up to the Civil War!!
Trump may not have an equivalent as personally grotesque and politically vulgar in the Democratic Party, but his "everyone out for themselves" worldview resonates VERY deeply among the political Left--at least the far Left. Many call themselves "progressives" and talk about a kinder world . . . but they're just as enraged as MAGA die hards, While it's probably true that their constant vigilance for "toxic masculinity" will ensure a future Leftist populist never boasts of grabbing anyone by the pussy, do not minimize their rage factor.
Point being that as the Reagan/Bush generation & type of Republicans vanish, along with the simple aging out of Biden-type Democrats, we will get as new "leaders" two generations (at least) of folks reared on an education that is philosophically rooted in post-modernism & critical theory, both of which declare the US to be a fundamentally--"structurally"--racist, misogynistic, & unjust country and society.
Agree or disagree w/ their policies--and even go as far as to say their policies were or were not good for minorities & historically marginalized groups--the Reagans, Bushes (both of them), Gerald Fords of the GOP and their Democratic equivalents believed American to be a fundamentally good place and a force for good in the world . . . and thus deserving of half-way decent public servants and a genuine effort to truly make our country a "more perfect union."
Thirty or 40 years of education that laughs & scoffs at the above sentiment produces widespread cynicism, rage, bitterness, anxiety, and conspiratorial thinking.
And so . . . voila! You get today's anything-goes / "both sides do it" / "whataboutism" culture. One day there may be a Leftist Trump who--while he keeps his hands to himself--is just as enraged, unhinged, and supportive of violence. But in the meantime we have Trump on the Right. Not all of his support is from old white men. He gets a share of anyone driven by grievance & resentment. This includes African-American & Hispanic men. Thankfully, not too many . . . but statistically more, it appears, than Reagan, Bush or Ford ever did!
I don't have a Pollyanna-ish view of this nation or our past and I don't want a whitewashed--figuratively & literally--version of history taught to our kids. Don't get me wrong. But I also don't want such deplorable cynicism being taught instead of civics. I thought we won the Cold War, so its pretty abhorrent that variations of Marxism permeate education schools.
In other words, if its beat into peoples' heads as youngsters that this is a inherently unjust country with a dog-eat-dog / zero sum society . . . then you will of course get leftists like AOC. But you will ALSO get support for the Donald Trumps of the world and their nasty, volatile politics.
Sununu's rationalization that he s merely following the "51% of the polling" is weak, weak, weak. All patriots oppose Trump. Even if the polling were accurate, everyone else is doing it" is a childish rationale.
Chris Sununu highlights what is at the heart of the polling that you discuss here. Trump would be truly offensive if he seemed truly aberrant. But to young people - who have always lived in a world full of Trumpicans - there is no memory of how people COULD behave, Democrat OR Republican. I did not like a lot of Reagan/ Bush policies. But they did not behave like assholes 24/7, like young people would assume all politicians do (with a very few exceptions). Especially poilticians who are older white males (which I am too). So "grab 'em by the pussy" was a long time ago.
I have a theory as to why young people--at least a good chunk of them--support Trump or at least can hold their noses & vote for him.
I don't know how many people, yourself included, would like to hear it, however . . . The nastiness of today's politics, of which Trump is just the logical extreme, has its roots somewhere. There still are decent elected, or want-to-be elected, officials AND I fully recognize that there is no true equivalent to Trump on the far Left. I don't think anyone feels the need to take a shower after attending an Elizabeth Warren rally!
And, of course, our politics have been nasty before . . . one senator caned another in the lead-up to the Civil War!!
Trump may not have an equivalent as personally grotesque and politically vulgar in the Democratic Party, but his "everyone out for themselves" worldview resonates VERY deeply among the political Left--at least the far Left. Many call themselves "progressives" and talk about a kinder world . . . but they're just as enraged as MAGA die hards, While it's probably true that their constant vigilance for "toxic masculinity" will ensure a future Leftist populist never boasts of grabbing anyone by the pussy, do not minimize their rage factor.
Point being that as the Reagan/Bush generation & type of Republicans vanish, along with the simple aging out of Biden-type Democrats, we will get as new "leaders" two generations (at least) of folks reared on an education that is philosophically rooted in post-modernism & critical theory, both of which declare the US to be a fundamentally--"structurally"--racist, misogynistic, & unjust country and society.
Agree or disagree w/ their policies--and even go as far as to say their policies were or were not good for minorities & historically marginalized groups--the Reagans, Bushes (both of them), Gerald Fords of the GOP and their Democratic equivalents believed American to be a fundamentally good place and a force for good in the world . . . and thus deserving of half-way decent public servants and a genuine effort to truly make our country a "more perfect union."
Thirty or 40 years of education that laughs & scoffs at the above sentiment produces widespread cynicism, rage, bitterness, anxiety, and conspiratorial thinking.
And so . . . voila! You get today's anything-goes / "both sides do it" / "whataboutism" culture. One day there may be a Leftist Trump who--while he keeps his hands to himself--is just as enraged, unhinged, and supportive of violence. But in the meantime we have Trump on the Right. Not all of his support is from old white men. He gets a share of anyone driven by grievance & resentment. This includes African-American & Hispanic men. Thankfully, not too many . . . but statistically more, it appears, than Reagan, Bush or Ford ever did!
I don't have a Pollyanna-ish view of this nation or our past and I don't want a whitewashed--figuratively & literally--version of history taught to our kids. Don't get me wrong. But I also don't want such deplorable cynicism being taught instead of civics. I thought we won the Cold War, so its pretty abhorrent that variations of Marxism permeate education schools.
In other words, if its beat into peoples' heads as youngsters that this is a inherently unjust country with a dog-eat-dog / zero sum society . . . then you will of course get leftists like AOC. But you will ALSO get support for the Donald Trumps of the world and their nasty, volatile politics.
Sununu's rationalization that he s merely following the "51% of the polling" is weak, weak, weak. All patriots oppose Trump. Even if the polling were accurate, everyone else is doing it" is a childish rationale.