Wasn’t directed at me, but last weekend he said he will open up the libel laws so he can sue and make lots of money off people who write bad things about him.
http://www.nationalreview.com/article/432037/donald-trump-libel-first-amendment
Push, you are really ridiculous. You just listed 3 of the most requisite qualities for fascism. Throw in some zenophobia, extreme nationalism (nationalistic is putting it lightly), the advocacy of violence against anyone who doesn’t hop to his tune and you have the epitome of fascism, whether you like it or not.
But what is ridiculous is for you to essentially state that you can’t be convinced and then demand that we try to provide 10-second quotes to defend our position. You’re asking us to engage in intellectual masturbation with you by demanding we defend a position that is pointless to defend since apparently even the most damning argument will leave you unconvinced. As if a quote or two would even be considered evidence of his fascist ways. His actions speak louder than his words, Tonto, so don’t come in here all rainbow-tutu-two-steppin’ or whatever and start demanding we back up an argument for your sake that you won’t ever agree with anyways.
Trump has fascist tendencies; there is no question about this (there is even something palingenetic about “Make America Great Again”). More importantly for me, he is stupid – literally, spectacularly, can-barely-speak-in-complete-sentences stupid. And undignified, and ignoble. Human garbage. Or, perhaps more aptly, he is a piece of shit, and other pieces of shit love him. I don’t know: I can’t settle on just one insult. He inspires such a variety of contempt and disgust.
Not in a very long time has someone too racist or too stupid to condemn the KKK on the first fuckin’ try been anywhere near the White House. And it goes beyond Trump: now you’ve got the sane Republicans having to say out loud that their party shouldn’t belong to people who are soft on the KKK. As predicted, it’s a train wreck and it’s happening in real time.
Edited.
There have been party splits and disagreements in the past…read some history. If Trump loses the nomination fairly which I doubt will happen at this point his supporters will not feel cheated. However, if they plan to group all of the five losing candidates (Bush has delegates) delegates together and defeat Trump at the Convention THEN Trumps supporters will feel cheated. And finally “folks that have a brain” WILL NOT join the democratic party and attach themselves to the Clintons and the previous 8 years of failure. Most will sit back and wait four more years. Others will drop out of the process.
As for a third party there needs to be plenty of money to make that work. Ross Perot funded the reform party back in 1992 and then ran for President garnering 19% of the vote and it took about 2 billion dollars to do all of that. Short of another cash rich billionaire entering the political realm there will be no third party. Certainly Donald Trump will not start one as he is not cash rich, he is asset rich- big difference.
As for your final comment about dems winning for a while. You forget that Hillary Clinton (should she stay out of jail) is representing the democratic party. Now I know there are a couple of youthful left wing loons on this site who are convinced Hillary Clinton is going to win because of her vast experience. But they forget that this is not the year where people win on experience and if Clinton had an outside challenger she would be losing worse than Bernie is losing to her! So, don’t place any bets on Hillary winning in November it’s not happening. Even if Trump is the nominee. Hillary has the wrong name, the wrong disposition(did you notice generally people don’t like her?). The wrong character and many skeletons in her closet. In addition to all of that she is burning through cash fending off Bernie. One more point, if you have checked the numbers in the democrat primaries they don’t even come close to the numbers that the republicans are generating. That tells me that the base in the democrat party is highly unmotivated and of course the reverse is true for the republicans. And while it would probably be the dirtiest Presidential campaign in my lifetime I don’t see Hillary coming out on top.
It’s going to be a true joy to observe your hysterical panic as this delusion crumbles.
This is true per what I saw this morning, from Super Tuesday results, but it would be unwise to assume that this will hold true in November. NBC was comparing the results from yesterday to the 2008 primaries and showing how the parties are now almost exactly reversed, right down to close figures, in this regard. Eight months is an eternity in politics.
It is an example of his fascist tenancies, which you asked for an example of. Like just about everything he says, none of it is true or realistic, but he is all for government power for his selfish purposes.
[quote=“pushharder, post:954, topic:212571, full:true”]
Possibly. But having fascist tendencies does not a fascist make. You’re so rabid about this deal you can’t see the extent that your emotions are clouding your intellectual judgment.[/quote]
There is no “possibly.” To various degrees, he hits the right notes, and he does it in a way that is unique in contemporary American political history. He is further along the line than anybody else. There isn’t a question about this.
The point at which fascist tendencies make a fascist is a semantic, vague, multivalent argument that doesn’t matter to me – hence my not calling him a fascist. He has fascist tendencies. That’s more than enough.
As for emotions, there is nothing in my assessment of Trump that is not grounded in cold, logical empiricism. I made the case earlier in this thread, on the objective evidence. It was objected to but never remotely diminished by the subtlest hint of a substantive counter-argument, because it couldn’t be. There is no question about the truth of anything I’ve written on the subject of Donald Trump.
Indeed, which is why it was explicitly separated from charges of fascism. It is, however, not irrelevant in terms of the subject of this thread.
My state’s primary is April 19th with 95 delegates at stake. I don’t know if it will still be a meaningful race at that point, but I have decided for the first time to register with a political party. I am going to change my affiliation from independent to Republican and cast a vote for Ted Cruz.
You asked for a quote that showed how is is like a fascist. The quote involved censoring critical journalism with libel-harassment lawsuits, which is an example. You don’t think it proves he is a fascist, that’s fine as I’m not trying to argue that point. I’m NOT saying is the second coming of Hitler, only that he has fascist qualities. Someone with fascist tendencies disqualifies him as a presidential candidate for me and as I previously said, I will not vote for Trump (even against Clinton).
And Trump has a certain obvious and quixotic appreciation for dictatorial powers. To take but one of so many examples:
“One of the things I’m going to do if I win, and I hope we do and we’re certainly leading. I’m going to open up our libel laws so when they write purposely negative and horrible and false articles, we can sue them and win lots of money.”
That’s a would-be president, saying that he’s going to “open up” (whatever the fuck that means) the libel laws so that he can sue the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times for criticizing him…as president. People who appreciate “a certain degree of dictatorial powers” – your words – love to try to constrain a free press.
This is child’s play.