mind. blown. We've been eagerly covering the complete mental disintegration of not one, but two, esteemed columnists at the paper of record lately. Both David Brooks, America's least intellectual public intellectual, and Ross Douthat, a freshman term paper on Opus Dei made flesh, are slowly devolving over the utter and complete collapse of the GOP. Douthat is alternately
Other Past-Life Brooksisms:"People living in Salem, Massachusetts would be wise to store up extra rye during the 1691 harvest.""1773 is a great year to buy a boatload of tea""Trust me, cotton futures will skyrocket in 1861""Just wait until your stock in Tucker Car Corporation matures"
I am sick to death of the whole freaking Repuke Party acting as though the Trump behemoth is some sort of aberration, when he is a Frankenstein precisely created by their own think tanks, media outlets and decades-long propaganda of hate, alienation and divisiveness. Trump is not the alien baby deposited on the GOP doorstep;he is the ugly progeny of 35 years of fucking the public.
And this is precisely the nightmare they are facing. Trump has absolutely bisected the party and I don't think there is anything they can do at the convention, short of resurrecting Lincoln, that could unite them again. Either they let Trump have the nomination, after which disgusted Republicans like your Mom will stay home (and probably turn Congress over to the Democrats), or they deny him the nomination, after which his frenzied supporters will either bolt to a third party or simply commit mass murder---at the very least, torch the convention center.Either way, win-win for us.....
I was reading something last night about how it's going to be a massive cluster fuck if Trump doesn't get the necessary delegates, because their convention is not really set up for a fight. It's more of an infomercial set up, so potentially even minor decisions could end up being a fight between Cruz and Trump.I've been predicting for years that the GOP would go so far to the right that they'd paint themselves into a corner with increasingly bizarre candidates. Oh, the schadenfreude, how deliciously sweet it is.
It wasn't really Ronnie. He wasn't bright enough. He got fed not just the lines from speechmakers but the ideas from the powerbrokers. I remember thinking back then that he could deliver lines with appropriate theatric pauses and the just right timbre...but I never saw him fully and intelligently bring forth an answer to a question. He was a spokesperson. And the powerbrokers knew that the union man had a sweet spot that could be touched tickled and stroked in several different ways. Wave the flag. Point the finger. Thump the bible. Good thing all that's changed, right?
But to play Devil's advocate for one post here. That orthodoxy, that a "rising tide economic tide would lift all boats" is not counter to logic. It just didn't take into account the basic greed and at times malevolence of certain actors (no pun intended) in both government and business. Maximizing return to investors was and is seen as the highest priority in corporate America. There is sense to this, after all. Because higher returns drives to further investing. OK, good. But higher return on investment can also lead to ceilings on wages and weaker worker benefits and less investment in communities by the private sphere. And the quality of living disparities grow over time. The latest trend I am aware of is the avoidance of full timers because part time workers are offered fewer benefits. But then the business tells employees they have to be "flexible" which is the equivalent of being "on call." So the worker can't take on another job because it can conflict with their hours in the other job. So they can't make a living wage. With less union support the employee is at the mercy of the corporation. I guess my Devil's advocate position sunk while the tide was rising.It didn't work. But still...I'm not sure that it couldn't have worked. Greed got in the way.
it couldnt have worked...it never has, and never will....that's why we organise governments (generally) and representative democracies (specifically)...to protect and serve (yeah, i went there, sorry) the weak from the powerful, poor from rich, etc...in theory, mind you...this also presupposes that the rich and powerful havent bought and corrupted said representative democracy
Somehow the Republican Party will have to rediscover a language of loving thy neighbor, which is a primary ideal in our culture, and a primary longing of the heart.
What lies! "Rediscover"?! "A language of loving thy neighbor"?! There's absolutely nothing to "rediscover" because the gop never had that language, sentiment, philosophy, mission or impetus. Not even under Lincoln. You cannot rediscover that which never existed Mr. Brooks.
I don't even know what he means by primary "ideal" and "primary longing of the heart" but if Brooks is suggesting that the ideal political primary is about loving one's neighbor and that primaries are an expression of the "heart's longing", well that's about as pollyannaish and saccharine a belief I've heard in a very long time.
The gop reminds me of that wealthy ostentatious family that used to exist in Everytown USA. They were obnoxiously religious, did charitable work (and made damn sure the town knew about it), were the largest employer and casted judgement upon all the townsfolk. And then it's revealed through a very public scandal that there is madness and illness and immorality from inside this rich privileged clan. I mean, most healthy minded people have known that the gop is full of madness, illness and immorality but for those inside the party (and for some reason much of the media) - they've been delusional and unable to clearly see themselves.
Donald Drumpf is their baby. And because they never reprimanded their baby and never gave their baby boundaries and they allowed their baby to do whatever baby wanted - they now have 1 big bully baby they can call their very own.
Recall after Romney-Ryan lost big time and how their party pontificated about how they had to change their outmoded ways. How the repubs had to become a more inclusive party. They had to change fast or they'd never win the White House again. What a bunch of assholes.
We were wondering when Brooks would whip out that particular security blanket and start sucking on its edges.
Have I told you lately that I love you? Brilliant as always, Snipy. :-)
"The Reagan worldview was based on the idea that a rising economic tide would lift all boats. But that’s clearly no longer true."
No, David, it never was true. Ever. You get a D minus.
If Brooksy wants to lay claim to peace and love, let him. I always knew he was a Hippie!
Other Past-Life Brooksisms:"People living in Salem, Massachusetts would be wise to store up extra rye during the 1691 harvest.""1773 is a great year to buy a boatload of tea""Trust me, cotton futures will skyrocket in 1861""Just wait until your stock in Tucker Car Corporation matures"
David Brooks should read Jim Wright: http://www.stonekettle.com/...
I am sick to death of the whole freaking Repuke Party acting as though the Trump behemoth is some sort of aberration, when he is a Frankenstein precisely created by their own think tanks, media outlets and decades-long propaganda of hate, alienation and divisiveness. Trump is not the alien baby deposited on the GOP doorstep;he is the ugly progeny of 35 years of fucking the public.
...or is a college professor,or a scientist, or a furreigner, orafreethinker,or a vegetarian,or.....
And this is precisely the nightmare they are facing. Trump has absolutely bisected the party and I don't think there is anything they can do at the convention, short of resurrecting Lincoln, that could unite them again. Either they let Trump have the nomination, after which disgusted Republicans like your Mom will stay home (and probably turn Congress over to the Democrats), or they deny him the nomination, after which his frenzied supporters will either bolt to a third party or simply commit mass murder---at the very least, torch the convention center.Either way, win-win for us.....
I was reading something last night about how it's going to be a massive cluster fuck if Trump doesn't get the necessary delegates, because their convention is not really set up for a fight. It's more of an infomercial set up, so potentially even minor decisions could end up being a fight between Cruz and Trump.I've been predicting for years that the GOP would go so far to the right that they'd paint themselves into a corner with increasingly bizarre candidates. Oh, the schadenfreude, how deliciously sweet it is.
Dave, for a better description of political "model failure" I would like to refer you to Yeats "The Second Coming" and especially the final two lines.
"And what rough beast, its hour come round at last,
Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?"
You can substitute Short Fingered Vulgarian for rough beast.but it throws the meter off.
Saint Ronnie busted all the unions, and still the union man voted for him...
It wasn't really Ronnie. He wasn't bright enough. He got fed not just the lines from speechmakers but the ideas from the powerbrokers. I remember thinking back then that he could deliver lines with appropriate theatric pauses and the just right timbre...but I never saw him fully and intelligently bring forth an answer to a question. He was a spokesperson. And the powerbrokers knew that the union man had a sweet spot that could be touched tickled and stroked in several different ways. Wave the flag. Point the finger. Thump the bible. Good thing all that's changed, right?
But to play Devil's advocate for one post here. That orthodoxy, that a "rising tide economic tide would lift all boats" is not counter to logic. It just didn't take into account the basic greed and at times malevolence of certain actors (no pun intended) in both government and business. Maximizing return to investors was and is seen as the highest priority in corporate America. There is sense to this, after all. Because higher returns drives to further investing. OK, good. But higher return on investment can also lead to ceilings on wages and weaker worker benefits and less investment in communities by the private sphere. And the quality of living disparities grow over time. The latest trend I am aware of is the avoidance of full timers because part time workers are offered fewer benefits. But then the business tells employees they have to be "flexible" which is the equivalent of being "on call." So the worker can't take on another job because it can conflict with their hours in the other job. So they can't make a living wage. With less union support the employee is at the mercy of the corporation. I guess my Devil's advocate position sunk while the tide was rising.It didn't work. But still...I'm not sure that it couldn't have worked. Greed got in the way.
it couldnt have worked...it never has, and never will....that's why we organise governments (generally) and representative democracies (specifically)...to protect and serve (yeah, i went there, sorry) the weak from the powerful, poor from rich, etc...in theory, mind you...this also presupposes that the rich and powerful havent bought and corrupted said representative democracy
Succinct and well said.
Somehow the Republican Party will have to rediscover a language of loving thy neighbor, which is a primary ideal in our culture, and a primary longing of the heart.
What lies! "Rediscover"?! "A language of loving thy neighbor"?! There's absolutely nothing to "rediscover" because the gop never had that language, sentiment, philosophy, mission or impetus. Not even under Lincoln. You cannot rediscover that which never existed Mr. Brooks.
I don't even know what he means by primary "ideal" and "primary longing of the heart" but if Brooks is suggesting that the ideal political primary is about loving one's neighbor and that primaries are an expression of the "heart's longing", well that's about as pollyannaish and saccharine a belief I've heard in a very long time.
The gop reminds me of that wealthy ostentatious family that used to exist in Everytown USA. They were obnoxiously religious, did charitable work (and made damn sure the town knew about it), were the largest employer and casted judgement upon all the townsfolk. And then it's revealed through a very public scandal that there is madness and illness and immorality from inside this rich privileged clan. I mean, most healthy minded people have known that the gop is full of madness, illness and immorality but for those inside the party (and for some reason much of the media) - they've been delusional and unable to clearly see themselves.
Donald Drumpf is their baby. And because they never reprimanded their baby and never gave their baby boundaries and they allowed their baby to do whatever baby wanted - they now have 1 big bully baby they can call their very own.
Recall after Romney-Ryan lost big time and how their party pontificated about how they had to change their outmoded ways. How the repubs had to become a more inclusive party. They had to change fast or they'd never win the White House again. What a bunch of assholes.