I have a second email address that I tend to ignore for the most part until I realize that it is collecting over one hundred emails — mostly spam, of course. When I was emptying the trash from that site yesterday I came to realize that there were dozens of urgent requests from some group that calls itself “DCCC” wanting me to donate money to Donald Trump’s campaign. Oh yeah! You bet. Right away: I’ll get out my checkbook. . . .
But as I gave some of the frantic notices some attention I came to realize an odd and somewhat disturbing fact: these people don’t see this election as a campaign; they see it as war! It’s Us against Them! It’s the little guy against the giant Establishment. They sprinkle their appeals with quotations from various sources on the “enemy’s” side that prove (to them) that the enemy is on the run. They are panicking! We are winning!
For example, one recent appeal quotes Barack Obama (their favorite hate target: he is the source of all evil, together with Hillary Clinton, of course) to this effect: “All the progress we’ve made is at stake in this election.” The DCCC see this as a sign that the “other side” is weakening and is in panic mode. Every time Fact Check is quoted to show that their leader has told bald-faced lies it is dismissed as a pure fabrication, a Lie to end all Lies. They lie, we don’t. They won’t listen to criticism of their leader because they know before time that whatever that criticism might be it is pure fiction. Their man can do no wrong.
Ironically, of course, the appeals are full of lies and distortions about how their leader is winning the war, though their minions cannot possibly recognize them as such because they see only black and white: US against THEM. They lie, we don’t. The thought that they are winning the war and that they have the enemy on the run keeps them energized and (I suspect) keeps the dollars coming in. Promises of doubling and tripling donations are sprinkled throughout the appeals that include the aforementioned lies and distortions about their leader’s winning ways. And the appeals have a frantic tone to them, designed to evoke emotional reaction, not thought.
The whole thing would be funny except for the fact that it is deeply disturbing. When, for example brilliant people like Stephen Hawking convince a couple of hundred reputable scientists to sign a letter to the American people urging them not to vote for Trump this is not seen as a weakening of their own lines; it is seen as a sure sign that the “other side” is on the run. “They,” one quickly realizes, is anyone who disagrees with them. And it doesn’t matter if “they” are reputable scientists, former Republicans, Pulitzer Prized winners, or even the Pope: they all lie when they dare to say anything critical of their leader.
This is not merely the refusal of someone to hear or read anything that might sully their leader, because they have determined that their leader defines the Truth — though this is certainly the case. This is not a matter of any attempt to draw rational conclusions from scattered, legitimate evidence. It is pure, unadulterated, visceral, hatred-driven determination to beat the opposition at any cost. And this is deeply disturbing because it suggests that these folks will stop at nothing to see their man win. And if he doesn’t win there will be Hell to pay, because it means that they have lost as well.
So much for the democratic ideal of open and honest debate among different political ideologies in an attempt to persuade voters to back their man or woman. This is the darkest form of warfare disguised as a political race — which Trump himself describes as a “movement.” He’s right. It is a movement, much like a cult. And reason and logic have no place at the table. It’s all about gut feelings, rage, hatred, and fear bundled up against the Establishment that has always been out to get those who are ready and able to do battle for their man.
hughcurtler 
Hugh, I get those but ignore them, as well. Now, that serious journalists are starting to actually look at Donald Trump and his history, this is a war that if he wins, we all lose, including the rest of the world.
The recent Newsweek pieces speaks of his global financial dealings. Highlighting just two examples, he has a financial partner whose father launders money for some bad apples in Iran. He so offended the Turkish government, Erdogan arrested his business partner and said these words – if Trump wins we will deny US access to our air base. The reporter said his dealings would pose huge conflicts of interest and he said on PBS Newshour last night, that Trump placing his business is a blind trust managed by his children is not enough and he knows that.
Then there is the extensive work by David Fahrenthold of The Washington Post on Trump Foundation. In this report, he reveals evidence of self-dealing (using donated money for Trump’s personal benefit in at least four transactions, which is illegal. He discovered an administrative error on the Foundation tax return with one illegal donation (Trump recognized after the article it was illegal and made restitution), and there is the prima facie evidence of his using the money to bribe a public official in Florida to not purse litigation against Trump Uninversity.
These are tip of the iceberg examples. But, it should be shouted from the rooftops that irrespective of his winning or losing, he has three class action lawsuits against him and Trump University for alleged misrepresentation, which is a nice way of saying lying.
To me, it come back to what I tell Republicans – is your country more important than your party? Keith
Actually, I was focusing on his minions rather than the man himself. He’s certainly a problem, but those who blindly follow him pose a completely different problem altogether.
Hugh, agreed. The problem with some news folks finally doing their job is the minions have been told they are all out to get Trump, so they can be ignored. Our only hope for a sane conclusion to the election is people that at least pay attention to better news sources.
I watched one of his minions on Bill Maher Friday night. Sally Ann Conway, his new Campaign advisor. She = can now lie as well as Trump. She said numerous things that just are not true. Maher noted many, but overlooked many as well. It is like a floodgate of lies, that some of them get through.
Keith
The interesting thing about his minions is that they simply don’t CARE what the “other side” says. They know in their hearts that their man is the one to save the country (and them). Their hatred and fear are steeped in a putrid liquid of self-pity. They want what they think is theirs and they think Donald will bring it to them. It’s not about politics, it’s about social psychology. Rather disturbing when you get close: the stinks makes you wrinkle your nose!
We must hope against hope that voters turn out in record numbers to vote for the sane candidate! Those who vote for a Third Party candidate are throwing away their vote at a time when the country desperately needs them to show some common sense.
This article shows just how serious the wrong outcome of this war would be. https://medium.com/@theonlytoby/history-tells-us-what-will-happen-next-with-brexit-trump-a3fefd154714#.r3utrnlrb
An excellent, albeit disquieting, article.
I’d like to argue that not all Trump supporters feel this is a war despite wanting a different election outcome than Clinton supporters desire. Having been in your classes and trained to be a critical thinker, there are many reasons why I have come to the conclusion that I could not be a Clinton supporter. These decisions were made in an attempt to think critically and not be ruled by emotions. I’ve also considered and wondered how fellow Americans could think critically and come to the opposite conclusion. That is a benefit of currently living in America, we should be able to disagree without being attacked by one another. I assume some Clinton supporters are ruled by emotion and others are critical thinkers in the same way that I make that assumption about supporters of Trump. There are Clinton supporters that view this election as a war, too, taking personally a decision to support Trump. Tragically, for our nation, BOTH parties are polarizing. I am trying to not take personally Clinton’s statement that half of Trump’s supporters are “a basket of deplorables.” Do I fall into this category because my belief system in some areas is fundamentally differs from hers? A possible commander in chief, I would hope, would not think this way about fellow Americans. I am not too naive or uninformed to think that similar comments could be make by Trump. Yet I continue to hope and pray that whatever the outcome, fellow citizens would show respect and courtesy toward people of different viewpoints. Is this not the tolerance espoused by many?
Well said. We need to agree to disagree civilly! I would like to hear your reasons for not voting for Hillary. She strikes me as eminently well-qualified for the job, even though she is flawed like the rest of us.
Just a few reasons I would not vote for Hillary. Some are party related.
1. Weakened US military under current administration and during her tenure as SOS. (Benghazi and her initial claims that attack was due to you tube video and not ISIS).
2. Federal health insurance program (Obamacare). Personally, in the last 8 years, we have been hit with an increase in premiums and a significant decrease in coverage. This program has not been advantageous to our family or anyone I know personally.
3. Common Core and federal standards for education. I feel this is best handled at the state level and not federally as supported by Clinton.
4. Her assertion that the unborn have no constitutional rights even up to the point of birth (9 month development). I double checked this and watched a video of her stating just this just to be sure.
5. She also stated that religious beliefs and biases must be changed. (Those were her words). I feel this statement by Hillary may be in opposition to the First Amendment to the Constitution. It is of concern to me because I know certain tenants of my faith are not in line with some of her beliefs.
Now I am off to cook dinner, do school work with my kids, and teach some online classes. Life goes on no matter what happens. Thanks for wanting to hear my thoughts.
Thank you so much for your careful and thoughtful response. I appreciate your reasons and respect them — though, as you can imagine, I do not agree with several of them. But, in the main, I would simply say that in a representative government it is impossible (in principle) for any representative to hold the same views as every one of his or her supporters. I do not agree, for instance, with a number of Clinton’s positions, and would find myself much closer to the Green Party candidate than to either of the two major candidates. But I strongly feel that this is not the time to vote for radical change in the system that we seem to be stuck with.
I do believe that if you vet Donald Trump as carefully as you did his opponent you would agree that he is not a viable candidate for president of the United States. I have held forth on this topic ad nauseam — as some might say — and will not elaborate here. This is neither the time nor the place.
I wouldn’t, therefore, try to change your mind about whom to vote for, but simply ask that you be as careful with your choice as possible. In my view this is the most important election in my lifetime. And our children and their children will have to live with the consequences of our votes.
Again, many thanks for taking the time to respond. I am impressed with your thoroughness.
It is as you said. The minions, the sheeple, the lemmings … they simply do not care. He was correct when he said he could shoot somebody and not lose voters. This says far less about Trump than it says about his lemmings … I repeat what I have said before … there are none so blind as those who will not see, and none so deaf as those who will not hear.
Yes, and how many times can a man turn his head
And pretend that he just doesn’t see?
The answer, my friend, is blowin’ in the wind
The answer is blowin’ in the wind
😥
Blowin’ in the wind. Exactly!
Speaking of thinking critically, all Americans might want to read the Newsweek piece on Trump’s global dealings and just for fun throw in The Washington Post detailed review of his self-dealings with his Foundation, which is a crime. As we have discussed before, people can set aside everything he said since the campaign started and just look at his history – it tells you all you need to know about his lack of veracity.
As for HRC, this far from perfect candidate has to compete with a caricature built piece by piece over time. Our self-professed RINO friend Gronda Morin has a series of pieces including articles which detail her history and how this caricature got started. Mind you, she has made mistakes along the way, but her opponent has a modus operandi of exploiting people for money that continues to this day. The more I dig, the worse my initial poor impression of him gets.
I am beginning to think I have said and read about as much as I can take about that man. It is beginning to affect my health. I may back off. If you receive few comments, don’t take it personally. I do appreciate your efforts on behalf of sanity and doing the right thing. But I seem to have reached some sort of limit.
Fully understand.
I have a couple of posts in the works that deal with Trump. I may post them, but otherwise I prefer not to think or write about the man any more. Thanks for understanding.