"Nota bene: I’m not saying any of this because I want it to be true. "
It's sad that you have to mention that. But it's necessary because most people are clueless about the "is/ought" fallacy. Trump certainly is, yet has an uncanny instinct for baiting people into committing it.
Is it possible that without the pressure of getting re-elected as President, in a Trump 2nd term he’d dump the pro-lifers and Christian right? He has zero loyalty to anyone or any world view. We know he’s not anti-abortion or Christian. He takes joy in putting people in their place once he’s used them up. I wonder if the Christian right even sees how transactional the relationship is.
2) You are right about Trump vis-a-vis abortion. it isn't as useful a weapon against him as many seem to think.
The thing about Trump is that he isn't anything--at least not in the normal political spectrum. While he has his personal pecadillos, he has no ideology. He has no real alliegance to conservatism (and he certainly isn't a progressive or a liberal, either).
Trump actually sees himself as a dealmaker and a rather skilled one at that (except he isn't a dealmaker and isn't skillled). It is a big part of his self image. Trump also doesn't really understand deals. To Trump, a deal is something where he wins and the other side loses. It is a zero sum game.
Being a "dealmaker" means that Trump doesn't have to have a plan or a policy. He doesn't have to explain anything. It is just going to happen, because he is Trump and he is the best dealmaker ever (and I think he actually does believe this, it fits in with his narcissism and lack of larger principle).
In his mind, who wouldn't fall over themselves to make a deal with the Donald? I think one of the things that pisses him off over all of his legal issues is that no one seems to be interested in making deals. He made plenty of legal deals over the years--but all of a sudden things have dried up in that direction. Why don't these people want to make a deal?
And remember, making a deal means that he won (meaning he got what he wanted out of it).
There is an illuminating quote from a NPC in Starfield (RPG from Bethesda game company) where a CEO tells an underling:
We need a good deal..., not a fair deal, a GOOD deal.
Donald would make that statement, if he ever bothered to think that there was actually such an animal as a fair deal (but he doesn't).
Because Trump doesn't actually have a stake in (for exampl) the whole abortion thing (I doubt that he has ever wasted any effort over it other than realizing that it was an electoral loser). The win for Trump in this "deal" isn't what comes out of it WRT law or whatever, the win for him is in "brokering" the deal.
Because of his nature, Trump believes that he can make a deal on anything. He does not really believe that people have principles or goals that they will NOT make deals on. Which is why he tends to be confident about the idea that he can make deals.
Trump does not actually understand other people other than as (lesser) reflections of himself. In his heart he believes that everyone else is just like him (only not as good as him, not as strong, etc). This is totally in line with his narcissism.
The Republican debate looked like a flock of Compsognathi (you know the little nasty dinosaurs in Jurassic Park) bickering over a scrap while T. Rex is wrecking the park.
A desperately needed break from the trump 24/7 doom-loop we are and have been trapped in for far too long now. Thanks JVL, for sharing Sara's story. Never heard of her, but took the time to click on the link (sorry, at 75 i'm picky about who and where i spend what time i have left). I was not disappointed, not even a little. Good writers draw and ultimately drag you into their world and their characters. In this case, Sara was the character, not a fictitious creation of the mind, but the result of a life well lived. Can any of us ask more than that from the time we have been given?
JVL, love you a ton. But you are the winner of a dubious award. Someone had tweeted -"Tuesday night was a bad night for pundits who will have to work hard to come up with how it was bad for Biden." Ding ding. WE HAVE A WINNER!
JVL, your points are well taken and indeed we must remain clear eyed and sober. But don't forget the importance of hope and a dash of happiness - we have a long slog ahead and a break is and was needed, and is not based on only wishful thinking.
Trump can and will be tied to abortion IF the Biden campaign does its job effectively, and the money I'm sending to them sure hopes so. There is plenty of footage out there tying him to his bragging about Roe v Wade and how he delivered. Get it out there, DNC and everyone else.
I never thought I would say this but I would take DeSantis over Ramaswamy ten days out of ten. If I never heard Vivek’s voice again, I would consider it a mercy of biblical proportions
False equivalence. Anti-Trumpers don’t pretend that votes for Trump never happened, they attempt to persuade those voters to make a different choice next time through reasoned argument. A forlorn project perhaps, but not one remotely comparable to the promulgation of the big lie.
My problem with the anti-Trumpers is where they overlap with the Trumpers. Trumpers want to overturn Democracy because they don’t trust the young, non-white, educated voters. Anti-Trumpers say they want to save Democracy even while not trusting in it because of low information voters. I’m sorry some elections haven’t gone the way you wanted but Democracy is the voters, and if you don’t trust them then you don’t really trust Democracy.
"Nota bene: I’m not saying any of this because I want it to be true. "
It's sad that you have to mention that. But it's necessary because most people are clueless about the "is/ought" fallacy. Trump certainly is, yet has an uncanny instinct for baiting people into committing it.
There is tons of footage showing the blowhard boasting about ending Roe. I wish they'd start showing it everyday until the election.
I don't see Trump's claim to bring everyone together and negotiate happiness between them on abortion as good positioning.
It's simply more Trump fruitcake stuff and anyone who cares about access will take a pass on relying on fantasy.
Is it possible that without the pressure of getting re-elected as President, in a Trump 2nd term he’d dump the pro-lifers and Christian right? He has zero loyalty to anyone or any world view. We know he’s not anti-abortion or Christian. He takes joy in putting people in their place once he’s used them up. I wonder if the Christian right even sees how transactional the relationship is.
No one did. Just a performance for a confederacy of dunces without trump
1) Yes, that essay was a treasure. TY.
2) You are right about Trump vis-a-vis abortion. it isn't as useful a weapon against him as many seem to think.
The thing about Trump is that he isn't anything--at least not in the normal political spectrum. While he has his personal pecadillos, he has no ideology. He has no real alliegance to conservatism (and he certainly isn't a progressive or a liberal, either).
Trump actually sees himself as a dealmaker and a rather skilled one at that (except he isn't a dealmaker and isn't skillled). It is a big part of his self image. Trump also doesn't really understand deals. To Trump, a deal is something where he wins and the other side loses. It is a zero sum game.
Being a "dealmaker" means that Trump doesn't have to have a plan or a policy. He doesn't have to explain anything. It is just going to happen, because he is Trump and he is the best dealmaker ever (and I think he actually does believe this, it fits in with his narcissism and lack of larger principle).
In his mind, who wouldn't fall over themselves to make a deal with the Donald? I think one of the things that pisses him off over all of his legal issues is that no one seems to be interested in making deals. He made plenty of legal deals over the years--but all of a sudden things have dried up in that direction. Why don't these people want to make a deal?
And remember, making a deal means that he won (meaning he got what he wanted out of it).
There is an illuminating quote from a NPC in Starfield (RPG from Bethesda game company) where a CEO tells an underling:
We need a good deal..., not a fair deal, a GOOD deal.
Donald would make that statement, if he ever bothered to think that there was actually such an animal as a fair deal (but he doesn't).
Because Trump doesn't actually have a stake in (for exampl) the whole abortion thing (I doubt that he has ever wasted any effort over it other than realizing that it was an electoral loser). The win for Trump in this "deal" isn't what comes out of it WRT law or whatever, the win for him is in "brokering" the deal.
Because of his nature, Trump believes that he can make a deal on anything. He does not really believe that people have principles or goals that they will NOT make deals on. Which is why he tends to be confident about the idea that he can make deals.
Trump does not actually understand other people other than as (lesser) reflections of himself. In his heart he believes that everyone else is just like him (only not as good as him, not as strong, etc). This is totally in line with his narcissism.
The Republican debate looked like a flock of Compsognathi (you know the little nasty dinosaurs in Jurassic Park) bickering over a scrap while T. Rex is wrecking the park.
A desperately needed break from the trump 24/7 doom-loop we are and have been trapped in for far too long now. Thanks JVL, for sharing Sara's story. Never heard of her, but took the time to click on the link (sorry, at 75 i'm picky about who and where i spend what time i have left). I was not disappointed, not even a little. Good writers draw and ultimately drag you into their world and their characters. In this case, Sara was the character, not a fictitious creation of the mind, but the result of a life well lived. Can any of us ask more than that from the time we have been given?
Thx for sharing Sara’s essay.
JVL, love you a ton. But you are the winner of a dubious award. Someone had tweeted -"Tuesday night was a bad night for pundits who will have to work hard to come up with how it was bad for Biden." Ding ding. WE HAVE A WINNER!
JVL, your points are well taken and indeed we must remain clear eyed and sober. But don't forget the importance of hope and a dash of happiness - we have a long slog ahead and a break is and was needed, and is not based on only wishful thinking.
Trump can and will be tied to abortion IF the Biden campaign does its job effectively, and the money I'm sending to them sure hopes so. There is plenty of footage out there tying him to his bragging about Roe v Wade and how he delivered. Get it out there, DNC and everyone else.
That doesn’t get around it
Voters are pretty skeptical of Republicans on abortion
I never thought I would say this but I would take DeSantis over Ramaswamy ten days out of ten. If I never heard Vivek’s voice again, I would consider it a mercy of biblical proportions
False equivalence. Anti-Trumpers don’t pretend that votes for Trump never happened, they attempt to persuade those voters to make a different choice next time through reasoned argument. A forlorn project perhaps, but not one remotely comparable to the promulgation of the big lie.
My problem with the anti-Trumpers is where they overlap with the Trumpers. Trumpers want to overturn Democracy because they don’t trust the young, non-white, educated voters. Anti-Trumpers say they want to save Democracy even while not trusting in it because of low information voters. I’m sorry some elections haven’t gone the way you wanted but Democracy is the voters, and if you don’t trust them then you don’t really trust Democracy.
JVL my least favorite.
Ugh