This week in Republican politics

[It Aint Necessarily So]

[1] First, we saw a widely panned, bizarre Republican reply to the State of The Union address from the junior senator from Alabama delivered in a breathy, Marilyn Monroe kind of voice following a widely-praised, fiery, Biden speech:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/03/09/fact-check-katie-britt-sex-trafficking/

[2] McConnell then endorses Trump, who has insulted his wife and who McConnell formerly called out for leading an insurrection, but now I guess he wants Trump as president anyway:

https://thehill.com/homenews/campai...s-trump-endorsement-sad-professional-tragedy/

[3] Then, we hear Trump re-insulting E. Jean Carroll hours after posting a $90 million dollar bond that might land him back in court (some people just never learn; there's already noise about suing him again for this latest repeat of his slander):

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1766614743404388853

[4] And then this Republican Representative from NY degrading herself for Trump as he insults her (click on the four panels separately).

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1766561210231554279

What a ****-show. And Trump's first (of four so far) criminal trial is set to begin in about two weeks. Yet the polls still show Trump being competitive. How is this possible? Hanlon's Razor says to never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by incompetence or stupidity, but this can't all be the latter. Can it?

 

[PoetPhilosopher]

Hanlon's Razor says to never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by incompetence or stupidity, but this can't all be the latter. Can it?

I'd make the case that Hanlon's Razor is correct after recently reading in the news that a pretty substantial percentage of people - I thought 50% - aren't even aware Trump has been indicted.

 

[PoetPhilosopher]

I'd make the case that Hanlon's Razor is correct after recently reading in the news that a pretty substantial percentage of people - I thought 50% - aren't even aware Trump has been indicted.

@It Aint Necessarily So :

This isn't the article I was thinking of, but it's an interesting read nonetheless:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/02/02/most-republicans-arent-aware-trumps-various-legal-issues/

 

[Colt]

Cracks in the matrix!

 

[Twilight Hue]

[1] First, we saw a widely panned, bizarre Republican reply to the State of The Union address from the junior senator from Alabama delivered in a breathy, Marilyn Monroe kind of voice following a widely-praised, fiery, Biden speech:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/03/09/fact-check-katie-britt-sex-trafficking/

[2] McConnell then endorses Trump, who has insulted his wife and who McConnell formerly called out for leading an insurrection, but now I guess he wants Trump as president anyway:

https://thehill.com/homenews/campai...s-trump-endorsement-sad-professional-tragedy/

[3] Then, we hear Trump re-insulting E. Jean Carroll hours after posting a $90 million dollar bond that might land him back in court (some people just never learn; there's already noise about suing him again for this latest repeat of his slander):

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1766614743404388853

[4] And then this Republican Representative from NY degrading herself for Trump as he insults her (click on the four panels separately).

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1766561210231554279

What a ****-show. And Trump's first (of four so far) criminal trial is set to begin in about two weeks. Yet the polls still show Trump being competitive. How is this possible? Hanlon's Razor says to never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by incompetence or stupidity, but this can't all be the latter. Can it?

That's because we, meaning us common folks, out of the private club of politics, are not the privileged people behind the scenes to actually know what's really going on.

I'm quite sure the left wing has had quite a week as well, but that's my job not yours obviously.

 

[danieldemol]

That's because we, meaning us common folks, out of the private club of politics, are not the privileged people behind the scenes to actually know what's really going on.

I'm quite sure the left wing has had quite a week as well, but that's my job not yours obviously.

You'll be struggling to match Trumps antics as usual in my view.

 

[Revoltingest]

Trump either doesn't learn to control his mouth,
or he really wants to shed his wealth.
Even his fans should be concerned with his
stupidity & lack of control.

 

[Pogo]

Trump either doesn't learn to control his mouth,
or he really wants to shed his wealth.
Even his fans should be concerned with his
stupidity & lack of control.

Oh, his base will see it as persecution every time he gets dinged and love him some more.
As for Trump, he is just out of control.

 

[Stevicus]

What a ****-show. And Trump's first (of four so far) criminal trial is set to begin in about two weeks. Yet the polls still show Trump being competitive. How is this possible? Hanlon's Razor says to never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by incompetence or stupidity, but this can't all be the latter. Can it?

Well, incompetence, piled on top of stupidity, exacerbated by decades of complacency, apathy, and myopia.

As for the polls, it seems that they're running neck and neck.

Americans split on who they trust to do a better job as president: POLL

As Biden and Trump gear up for another general election campaign, Americans are split on who they trust to do a better job, a new ABC News/Ipsos poll finds.

abcnews.go.com

National : President: general election : 2024 Polls

The latest political polls and polling averages from FiveThirtyEight.

projects.fivethirtyeight.com

Democrats see polls as overestimating Trump’s strength

Former President Trump led President Biden in a recent national New York Times/Siena College poll by 5 percentage points, prompting a campaign spokesperson for the Democrat to argue polling “c…

thehill.com

It would seem the polls are in flux, and some people may not have made their final decision yet. The conventions are another few months away, so the poll numbers could be different by then.

As for how it's possible, there could be a number of contributing factors. One thing that seems often overlooked is right-wing radio. Ever since Rush Limbaugh died, little attention has been paid to the right-wing radio stations as they currently stand - especially some of the local right-wing jocks out there, who tend to slip under the national radar. Yet, they're out there every day, in towns and cities across the country. I listen to it once in a while, for about 10-15 minutes on my way to work. (The station is owned by IHeartMedia, which used to be Clear Channel Communications.) I can gauge what kind of effect it might have on Middle America for those who listen to it all day long. Talk about an echo chamber.

Of course, there are liberal alternatives, such as NPR, where they have talk shows about gardening or the Mesopotamian Empire - which are quite fascinating and educational. They also speak in a somewhat quiet and subdued tone of voice, while the right-wing jocks are yelling and angry all the time. The liberals unsuccessfully tried to compete with Air America, but that ended up in failure. They could try again, only they should put more zing into their message and put some fire in their bellies.

 

[tytlyf]

Republicans aren't known for their integrity

 

[It Aint Necessarily So]

I'd make the case that Hanlon's Razor is correct after recently reading in the news that a pretty substantial percentage of people - I thought 50% - aren't even aware Trump has been indicted.

Agreed, but I think you mean the voters, especially the ones who vote Republican. They're typically ignorant, and only a minority maliciously want to scorch the earth.

In my opinion, that doesn't describe the elected Republicans and the conservative think tanks. These people are not ignorant. They are malicious. They are enemies of America, democracy, the rule of law, egalitarianism, church-state separation, and the middle class, while being allies to Putin.

As for how it's possible, there could be a number of contributing factors. One thing that seems often overlooked is right-wing radio.

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."

some people may not have made their final decision yet.

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.

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.

 

[Clizby Wampuscat]

[3] Then, we hear Trump re-insulting E. Jean Carroll hours after posting a $90 million dollar bond that might land him back in court (some people just never learn; there's already noise about suing him again for this latest repeat of his slander):

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1766614743404388853

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

 

[Kathryn]

Republicans aren't known for their integrity

Neither are Democrats. That's why I'm an Independent. I'm not going to vote for any of the yahoos running on the Democrat or Republican tickets.

 

[It Aint Necessarily So]

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

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?

 

[Pogo]

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?

We all know that Trump doesn't believe the justice system applies to him rather like the sovereign citizen groups.
Maybe jail time for contempt of court is in order this time.

 

[Evangelicalhumanist]

I'd make the case that Hanlon's Razor is correct after recently reading in the news that a pretty substantial percentage of people - I thought 50% - aren't even aware Trump has been indicted.

Some of us learned, rather early in life, that if we really wanted to know "what is going on," it was best to check multiple sources. I get my news from a variety of newspapers, each with a different political bent, and a variety of other media sources, again with different viewpoints.

Too many people -- and I think possibly more conservatives than liberals -- want to read or hear only that which conforms to their existing world-view. Sadly, if they only listen to Fox, they will not hear a lot of things that it were best they had some knowledge about, because Fox will bury it.

 

[Evangelicalhumanist]

Trump either doesn't learn to control his mouth,
or he really wants to shed his wealth.
Even his fans should be concerned with his
stupidity & lack of control.

His lack of control really is -- it has to be said -- infantile.

Hell, I started my life in an institution for the care of badly disturbed (through abuse) children, and I can govern myself.

 

[Evangelicalhumanist]

It would seem the polls are in flux, and some people may not have made their final decision yet. The conventions are another few months away, so the poll numbers could be different by then.

Never, never trust polls this far in advance of an election. In fact, there are people who will poll one way a day before the election, and mark their ballot otherwise when faced with it. When you finally have to make that choice for real, a lot of people actually do have that "aha" moment when they know, at last, what their vote could really mean.

I've done this myself. I am a strong Liberal supporter (and a hard-core liberal to boot), and I have polled Liberal up until the day I got my ballot and pencil, and chose the Conservative (or New Democratic Party) candidate, because "it's just time for the Liberals to sit it out for a while."

 

[metis]

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

Is lying under oath acceptable?

 

[Pogo]

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.