This week in Republican politics

[fantome profane]

So if someone accuses you of something you cannot defend yourself and say you did not do it?

You can at the risk of a defamation suit as happened with Trump where a jury determined that he did do it in spite of what he said.

The irony here is that in 2016 Trump promised to make it easier to sue for defamation. He didn’t do anything about it, by Carroll obviously found it easy enough.


(Is that ironic, or just hypocritical? Either way)

 

[Clizby Wampuscat]

Sure you can, but apparently not in the manner Trump chose.

But that misses the point, a point Trump apparently missed as well. He said certain things about Carroll and lost a $5 million judgment. Then he did it again and lost an $83.3 million dollar judgement, the increase apparently punitive damages to ensure that he cease that behavior, which he did until he posted the bond, and within hours, returned to making the same comments that cost him before.

What does that say about the man's judgment? He's impulsive and can't think well. The timing suggests that he somehow thinks that posting the bond made it safe to return to that behavior. And he wants to be your president.

What's your definition of a fool? Does this fit it?

Do you suppose Carroll and her attorney have been discussing litigating again? Why wouldn't they be?

All he said was he didn't do it and she is lying. How is that worth $83M? So people can accuse him of anything and because he is Trump has can not refute the claims?

 

[Clizby Wampuscat]

Is lying under oath acceptable?

No, when did he lie?

 

[Clizby Wampuscat]

You can at the risk of a defamation suit as happened with Trump where a jury determined that he did do it in spite of what he said.

Did what exactly?

 

[metis]

No, when did he lie?

If you don't know, then there's for any of us to answer this. But maybe do some reading: Donald Trump's History of Lying Under Oath

and Federal judge finds that Trump lied under oath about voter fraud in Georgia while trying to overturn the 2020 election results

...and there's plenty more if you do the research.

 

[Clizby Wampuscat]

If you don't know, then there's for any of us to answer this. But maybe do some reading: Donald Trump's History of Lying Under Oath

and Federal judge finds that Trump lied under oath about voter fraud in Georgia while trying to overturn the 2020 election results

...and there's plenty more if you do the research.

I thought you were talking about the Carroll case.

 

[fantome profane]

All he said was he didn't do it and she is lying.

No, that is not all he said.

 

[Stevicus]

Agreed. When I asked how this could happen, the question was rhetorical. You are exactly correct. About half of Americans are susceptible to conservative propaganda. They are defenseless against indoctrination. One only need repeat something enough times and they believe it. This is from a post I left last week on another thread, which addresses both this matter and your next comment as well:

"But yes, the Court is corrupt because the Republican party is corrupt, and that's because of the incessant conservative indoctrination of an insufficiently sophisticated electorate that began with repealing the Fairness Doctrine."

The best way to fight an idea is with another idea. Somehow, the message from the liberal/left side of the spectrum is getting tuned out - even though people can access it just as easily as they can the conservative propaganda. It would be different if there was no legal alternative view at all, as one might find in a fascist country. They enter these echo chambers by their own choice, and they choose to remain even though they could easily leave.

Of course, there's more to it than just the propaganda. It's really an old message which has been part of Americana almost since its inception. So, there's that, too.

No doubt, but how ridiculous is that? If you read the post I linked to above, you read, "If you're still unsure about whether to vote for Trump or Biden, then you're not paying attention." Most of those people likely still won't have an opinion on election day, and if they vote, it will be at random and based on no information as @PoetPhilosopher alludes with his statistic.

Well, there's always going to be those few percentage points which fluctuate. The undecideds and swing states tend to get a lot of attention. The conventions are like giant pep rallies which tend to solidify candidate support and party platforms. We'll see where the polls stand by the end of this summer.

To digress a bit, when we were young, democracy's enemies were generally foreign. Democracies had become well established in North America, Westen Europe, and a few in the southern hemisphere in the English-speaking countries south of the equator. Threats came from Hitler and the Soviets, but democracy seemed to the new paradigm for human society and the future for the world as other countries assimilated Western humanist philosophy.

But not anymore. Democracies are being threatened from withing now. America's is. Why? I have to believe that it's the advances made in telecommunications and with it, the ability to indoctrinate citizens. No longer are newspapers and news magazines with journalistic integrity vanguards of what news the public sees. The news has gone from being a public service to just another for-profit enterprise trying to improve revenues with click-bait and false narratives. And I see those forces as winning. I see a dark 21st century and perhaps beyond for mankind as democracies fail and the planet warms. I see wealth, power, and privilege concentrating again in pre-Enlightenment ways - the rise and return of the ancien régime. And it seems that this propaganda and the ease of delivering it to defenseless minds is the difference.

Strictly speaking, both the Weimar Republic (which produced Hitler) and the socialist revolution in the Russian Empire (which produced Stalin) were supposed to have been democratic republics. They turned into dictatorships because, for various reasons, the democratic processes weren't working to achieve a desired result. Of course, this isn't very new to human history. Even back in the days of the Roman Republic, they, too, turned from a republic into a dictatorial empire.

And even in the U.S., we weren't really all that democratic in the early years. It would be a while before we'd have universal suffrage, and a heck of a lot longer before there was any real effort made to enforce it on a national scale.

I do agree that the advances in telecommunications have played an enormous role here, although one thing I would consider is that, there are no borders in telecommunications. The internet has no inherent nationality, and yet, what we're talking about here is a rise in nationalism in the U.S. and in other countries. In the U.S., they might call it "white nationalism" or "Christian nationalism" - or it might be thinly masked as "America First." And yet, the prevailing view has been that much of this has been bolstered by Russia, apparently wanting to stoke some sort of nationalist/racist sentiment in the U.S. Russia's government itself is also extremely nationalistic.

 

[F1fan]

All he said was he didn't do it and she is lying.

Right, he didn;t keep his mouth shut. That's all he had to do, just move on. But he is a disturbed man that can't control himself. And you want him to have the nuclear codes?

How is that worth $83M?

It was the second time, and what the jury decided. Now he has defamed her again, and there is already an indication he is going to be sued yet again. How much will he have to pay before he finally learns to keep his mouth shut? Maybe $200 million?

So people can accuse him of anything and because he is Trump has can not refute the claims?

He has been accused (and indicted) of many crimes for which there is evidence that he did them. He's not a smart man.

 

[It Aint Necessarily So]

All he said was he didn't do it and she is lying. How is that worth $83M?

I'm not an attorney, and don't know specifically why the judge declared that he was a sexual predator or why he thought Carroll deserved the $5 million judgement. Whatever the legal theory, I DO know why he lost the $83.3 million judgment after losing the first one. If a third trial and judgment is in the offing, the punitive damages will need to be increased. $250 million sounds about right. It looks like easy money for Carroll and her attorney, and they both despise Trump, who just called the attorney a very offensive name.

But you keep deflecting.

I asked you if, having lost an initial judgment, repeating the offense and losing a second judgment, and then repeating the offense a third time met your definition of a fool. It's the most glaring example of reckless, foolhardy, self-destructive behavior I am aware of.

Do you agree? And if so, do you consider Trump to be fit for the presidency?

Also on that topic, have you seen this? As of March 8th, over 600 licensed psychologists and psychiatrist have signed on to a declaration that Trump is probably clinically demented: Sign the Petition

 

[Clizby Wampuscat]

I'm not an attorney, and don't know specifically why the judge declared that he was a sexual predator or why he thought Carroll deserved the $5 million judgement. Whatever the legal theory, I DO know why he lost the $83.3 million judgment after losing the first one. If a third trial and judgment is in the offing, the punitive damages will need to be increased. $250 million sounds about right. It looks like easy money for Carroll and her attorney, and they both despise Trump, who just called the attorney a very offensive name.

But you keep deflecting.

I asked you if, having lost an initial judgment, repeating the offense and losing a second judgment, and then repeating the offense a third time met your definition of a fool. It's the most glaring example of reckless, foolhardy, self-destructive behavior I am aware of.

What is the offense that he is committing?

Do you agree? And if so, do you consider Trump to be fit for the presidency?

I agree he is fit for the presidency.

Also on that topic, have you seen this? As of March 8th, over 600 licensed psychologists and psychiatrist have signed on to a declaration that Trump is probably clinically demented: Sign the Petition

interesting, thanks for sharing.