Did you see the politico article where a survey of Trump supporters found almost every last one of them were authoritarian.
http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2016/01/donald-trump-2016-authoritarian-213533
It fits with the fact that when I suggest to Trumpsters that they are backing a strongman, they all say they’re ok with that.
I mentioned this on Bill Bennett this morning.
He did not seem to agree with my position that authoritarian = strongman.
But I have talked to people who say we need a strongman on "our" side.
How many strongmen have ended up being on "our" side?
What do you think?
I think they are authoritarians and I think you're right..NEVER on OUR SIDE. Particularly egomaniacal authoritarians. This is so troubling.
ReplyDeleteI think they are authoritarians and I think you're right..NEVER on OUR SIDE. Particularly egomaniacal authoritarians. This is so troubling.
ReplyDeleteI am as distraught as Trump supporters are elated.
DeleteZ is so right she said it twice! :)
ReplyDeleteauthoritarian in this case DOES = strongman, IMO. I know many of you are not Glenn Beck fans, but his show is one of many I listen to - and he has been stumping for Cruz. Certainly he is by no means impartial, but he says it is downright scary how angry and threatening the Trump supporters are. Many tell him they don't care about the constitution and admit they just want someone bullying (like Obama). There is no talking sense to these people.
I'm beginning to think the primary motivator is anger, not a thirst for a "strongman" only.
DeletePerhaps both.
Anger is not a good place to make decisions from.
Oh, NO! That usually only happens at AOW's blog..WHY? WHY? WHY? :-)
DeleteANGER is DEFINITELY the primary motivator for TRUMP....to deny that is to be a Trump fan.
Given the choice between a strong man and a weak man in the Oval Office, I know which one I would select.
ReplyDeleteFredd: Is there a difference to you between a strong man and a strongman?
DeleteEd: yes, I get the distinction.
DeleteThere's no doubt that Trump is no strongman, but rather a strong man. A strongman is not constrained by anything but his imagination, strongmen such as the late Idi Amin, the late Saddam Hussein, Robert Mugabe and the late Hugo Chavez.
Trump is severely constrained by the Constitution, and accordingly really doesn't meet the criteria of strongman. This constraint also applies to Barry Obama, although constrained would be stretching the definition of constraint quite a bit.
Probably why those of us who oppose Trump think he would be the mirror image of Obama.
DeleteI wasn't okay with the current Apologist-in-Residence ignoring the Constitution, and am not okay with the new guy doing it, either. Trump seems to be a tabula rasa upon which the frustrated electorate projects its desires. And a bully is a bully, no matter which ideological slant he claims to hold.
ReplyDeleteToo much ego, support for Planned Parenthood, single payer healthcare.
DeleteWe would have the first First Lady who would have been a professional model with all the scantily clad and topless photos. There's a first.
Darn. I hit sign out instead of publish. Lost 3 paragraphs.
ReplyDeleteI tend to agree with you Ed. I don't see much hope in reasoning with Trump supporters. Most all seem emotionally tied to him rather than by reason.
ReplyDeleteFrom what I've seen, that emotion is beyond anger. They're after revenge for all past betrayals. No way you can convince them that Trump knows this and is manipulating them. No way you can give them the Sir Thomas More speech and they'd stop and think what opportunity they're throwing away. In part because the Establishment is among them fanning the flames of their lust. The Progs have always wanted the overturning of the constitution, and Trump would finish off its shredding from the actions of the last 15 years. This election cycle may be the last chance to elect a more solid constitutionalist (by no means a sure thing but a better chance is what I see) when we really need one, and all the media is doing its level best to bury him.
And I'm sad to say that your good buddy would not agree with my view either. He's too tied to the insiders.
Thio was our chance to have a Constitutionalist, as you say Pasc, and we get the crude real estate salesman.
Delete
ReplyDeleteInteresting concepts and question, Ed. As English is technically my second language (Thank goodness ESL was still in its infancy when I started Kindergarten and besides, Japanese speakers were ignored by then blossoming liberal mindset in education.), I can't intelligently speak to the difference you question - between authoritarian and strongman.
However, to the chagrin of my blogging friends, I will vote for Trump at this time. BUT, I am not a "supporter", if that makes any difference. He simply vocalizes what I personally want and very badly. A wall or just heavily reinforced borders. (I can't go to Lowe's without driving by an "undocumented alien" in the driveway looking for cash work.) A real kick ass military to kick jihadists' arses. Keep Muslims out. Leave our 2nd Amendment rights totally alone. Political correctness. It's NOT all right to kill cops - especially White ones. Et cetera. I think we basically share the same wishes?
Simply, I am disgusted with politicians. When was the last time you heard of a congressman filing for bankruptcy, for example? They no longer speak for us, the voters. They think of their own personal gain or vendetta, first and foremost in my opinion. I just don't trust them. Look at all the evidence they have on Killary and what have they done? And I am not implying Trump doesn't have any skeletons in his closet. You can bet Killary and the rest of the "against Trump" folks will open the door to that closet very soon.
I also believe that whoever gets elected as president this time around will fail... The country is just too messed up - divided is another word. Not just politically, but racially, religiously, culturally, educationally and financially (working versus welfare for example). I blame that on the Progressives that have pandered to their voting base for decades - plus seven years of BS "hope".
Does the above put me automatically into the authoritarian or strongman bucket? I just want America to be the country it once was - like the one that raised the flags over Iwo Jima - and I don't feel in my limited intelligence that any career politician right now can do that.
On the other hand, I do understand what the Colonel has been trying to say - Trump will divide the Conservatives and allow Killary to become the nail in our coffin.
I hope I didn't rile too many feathers... I just miss the America I knew.
February 26, 2016 at 4:00 AM
Koji,
DeleteMany are in the same camp -- in that we are fed up to our eyeteeth with weasel politician (that is, career politicians).
Trump is resonating for good reasons. Even though the man himself has all the markings of a bully, a huckster, and a demagogue.
AOW: "has all the markings of a bully, a huckster, and a demagogue."
DeleteAnd that is what gives me pause.
Sure I want a strong man (not a quisling like Carter), but I don't want a strongman who once in office will feel unconstrained by the Constitution, like the current one.
Koji:
DeleteI think we can get all that with Cruz and without a man who self-identifies as a liberal.
Trump is a politician. He just hasn't gotten elected yet.
Cruz is a politician, but one term is not a "career".
AOW and Ed, I hear both of you. But one area in which I feel a difference in position exists between Trump and Cruz involves illegal immigrants. Here in California, we are overrun by them. If you look at state literature, they have printed such literature in almost every conceivable language when there should only be one: English.
DeleteI am not, of course, addressing only Hispanics. There are thousands of "law abiding" Japanese who just came here and overstayed their 90 day or student visas. I know because my ex knew quite a few of them - and they did NOT file income taxes. Yet, their kids were attending our public schools. These are "law abiding" Japanese. ;-) I just want illegals gone - quick. They simply aren't supposed to be here without regard to race. Some folks bring up "police state" to put off deporting or removing them through a much slower "PC" way. Funny thing is, we know exactly where many of these illegals live: the Lib dufus governor signed a bill allowing such illegals to be issued driver's licenses which unbelievably have their home addresses.
I just don't feel comfortable with Cruz's stance. Besides, he's a lawyer. ;-) J/K
Koji,
DeleteI'm where you are on this topic.
Here in Northern Virginia, we're seeing taxpayers' resources sucked down to support ESOL programs and the printing of literature in almost every conceivable language when there should only be one: English. Furthermore, library materials in English are being crowded out (to a certain extent) so as to provide ESOL materials.
And, if I couldn't speak Spanish, I couldn't order fast food in certain establishments.
Not to mention the necessity of knowing Spanish at the scene of car accidents! On more than one occasion, I've acted as interpreter for the police or until the police arrived.
Not far from me, MS-13 has made a particular strip malls a no-go area. Too bad! Two of our favorite local restaurants are in those malls. Can't go to either of those places to eat anytime except the middle of the day -- when most of the immigrant children (middle schoolers and high schoolers) are in school. And forget the nearby convenience stores!
I didn't realize it was that bad there.
DeleteEd,
DeleteAdditions upon additions to accommodate all the children of illegal immigrants. You should see the size of the school buildings here! Areas little affected so far: Great Falls and McLean.
But Falls Church and Vienna and Fairfax City and Bailey's Crossroads? We're overrun!
Prince William County is even worse.
Fairfax County and Prince William County are "sanctuary cities."
I use the word strongman in Kipling's manner:
ReplyDeleteOh, East is East and West is West, and never the twain shall meet,
Till Earth and Sky stand presently at God's great Judgment Seat;
But there is neither East nor West, Border, nor Breed, nor Birth,
When two strong men stand face to face, though they come from the ends of the earth!
HERE is the full poem.
That's a heck of a poem.
DeleteI don't see Trump with his born to the manor, silver spoon, gilded upbringing, as that sort of a strong man.
I actually see him as a bit of a whiner and complainer.
Thin skinned and petulant.
Now only if they'd get out to vote in higher percentages. According to 2/23/2016 Salon article "a great percentage of young people, despite their enthusiasm, never bother voting". If their turnout matched their enthusiasm the 2016 Democratic potus nominee would win by a large margin. And they'd ensure that Bernie Sanders was that nominee. Instead I think the nominee will be Hillary Clinton (and she will win by a narrower margin).
ReplyDeleteI'm thinking mum's the word for me! ;-) (And blogspot still only allows me to log in through Google. Same thing happened on Gunny's site.)
ReplyDelete