You may know similar people, but where I am from in West Wales there was a growing sense of anti-Westminster sentiment through the austerity years. The idea, fairly reasonably arrived at, is the only things government ever does for the country focuses attention on London and the further away you are the more ignored you are. A significant segment of the Brexit vote came from these people who understood Brexit would come with significant downsides, but those downsides would be concentrated towards those who have had the most benefit over the years. To them, the post-brexit problems would be an equalizerâŚa way of making the haves experiences what those in the ignored provinces have felt.
That sort of thinking is a significant part of the Trump support. The belief that government can do anything productive is so low in many that the only thing they can think of government doing is hurting people. Their vote then becomes a way to target which people they want government to pay attention to hurting, and in that Trumpâs message is appealing to a large swatch of people.
Carterâs memoirs are generally regarded as the most interesting of any president, and while I havent read them in full I have read segments of them. They are more or less published diary entries, and there is one where he reconciles with himself the importance of informing Regan on his decision to finalize the Panama Canal treaty because he knew the decision was a relevant election issue and felt it was fair Regan was properly informed.
I dont know if it was that people were different then, or that Carter was really just a man apart. Because if we read comparable contemporary thoughts from Regan they would not read the same way.
Hear hear. Fuck the deplorables, they are not âdecent peopleâ
Yeah, although I suspect the rumbles may have started earlier. And it is this anti sentiment that the populists feed on.
We seem to be stuck in a downward spiral where people continually support for the more absurd as each layer fails.
Trump will fail and then what?
Itâs grim. During his first term I was conflicted about impeachment. While it was absolutely warranted a big part of me felt there was something underlying Trumpâs 2016 victory that needed to be defeated even more than Trump the person did. It felt like removing him would not fail to defeat the movement, but would embolden it by convincing them of their righteousness (the elites ARE out to get us). Instead he had to be shown as a failure who did damage to the country. That was demonstrated to a degree I never could have imagined when he was first inaugurated, and yet he now back stronger and more popular than ever. His list of failures and ways he damaged our civic life have been rewritten in real time, wiping those failures from collective consciousness of seemingly a majority of the country. I just donât know where society goes from here.
Is it because any of the terrible decisions and policies Trump enacted has either not had a material impact on their lives, or they are in a cognitive dissonance spiral whereby anything bad is âthe liberalsâ faultâ?
They keep bleating on about the economy/inflation/fuel prices etc. I donât remember if those markedly improved in Trumpâs term as compared to Obamaâs.
I think the key to all this has been facebook, twitter and some of the lesser social media apps. Once the misinformation started flowing there is no stopping it. And now less than ever (Thanks Mark you arsehole!). Remember the Tea Party segment of the GOP? And Trump starting the other-blaming, first with the birther bullshit about Obama?.
Same kind of shite was a huge reason for Brexit.
And the single biggest, most damaging, dismissive phrase to deflect any genuine concern or reason for punitive steps towards Trump? His heretofore (and still) indestructible shield?
âFake newsâ
I remember him first using it about anything that was in the least bit critical of him , but demonstrably true , and thought ; âheâs never gonna get away with thatâ. And lo and behold ⌠he did.
I think theyâll bend over backwards to try and keep fuel prices down at the expense of everything else. A good news story for everyone and a distraction.
I dont know how sensitive the US public is to interest rates to be honest. I expect that to stay low or even get lower in the early part of this year. The US has a big lump of debt to refinance but what happens after?
Iv got to admit, I do not know how he has gotten away with the âFake newsâ defence. I am guessing Solicitors/Lawyers across the country are now telling their clients to stop saying âno commentâ and instead say âfake newsâ.
And he and his supporters are the worst ones for spreading âfake newsâ, see the California fire for the latest example.
Itâs why Iâve largely disengaged from politics ; wtf is the point once facts (or the law) no longer matter ?
He just keeps repeating it in response to even actual convictions handed down by a court of law. Especially at those rallies which he loves. And the next move is to attack the federal prosecutors and judges by saying theyâre corrupt, painting himself as a martyr. And then thereâs the excuse of the âdeep stateâ which has terrible real-life consequences of his appointed cronies hitting US government departments.
Thatâs largely where Iâm at. I havenât seen the news since Trump won the election. Obviously I am aware, at least somewhat, of whatâs going on⌠but it all seems pointless right now. Truth. Facts. Law. All doesnât matter.
Edit
Wholly unsuited people in government, from the top down. Unqualified. Norms and protections being ripped up. Oligarchs caving in to the emperor. Soon enough they will be carving it up for themselves, more than they already have done. Allies will be enemies. Enemies will be allies. Atrocities will be overlooked.
Ugh. No thank you.
It is genuinely hilarious how hypocritical Musk is about free speech
What is it that people everywhere say these days"This is his/their truth" or something to that effect.
âThere arenât any versions of the truthâ - Dr Ian Malcolm
