What in the world is wrong with us?

[kpete]

Let’s not be shy about why Trump is president
by: LEONARD PITTS JR.





(from a few days ago, keeps resonating with me)
MORE:
http://www.kansas.com/opinion/opn-columns-blogs/article161550868.html

[bearsfootball516]

1. Yep

The Russia interference didn't help.

BUT

The ultimate cause of the loss was the strength of the conservative base. The overwhelming fear among older, white rural Americans that the country was "changing" and they needed to reclaim what was theirs.

Couple that with probably tens of thousands of people being turned off by Hillary's email scandal, and it provided just enough for Trump to slip through in the key battleground states.

[Scarsdale]

3. Gerrymandering and voter suppression

are factors, too. That, plus the gop covering his flabby orange arse whenever he screws up, which is on a daily basis. He is their poster boy for a perfect president. Not too bright, smart or engaged. Send him golfing EVERY weekend, and they run the show. He represents their party to the rest of the entire world! How great is THAT?

[kimbutgar]

23. Incompetence should not be rewarded with blind loyalty

Heard that last night on the game of thrones. It so applies to thump and his supporters who are sticking with him now as he is imploding.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

9. Conservative base not too strong. Hillary won popular vote; be landslide without Russian conspiracy.

Plus, as scarsdale says above, voter suppression and gerrymandering.

[certainot]

17. democrats are studying fish without water

talk radio is the only major medium that escaped democratic/free speech challenge.

money in politics?

at a cheap $1000/hr x 15hrs/day x 5 = $75,000/wk x 1200 stations republican talk radio is worth $18MIL/day or 390MIL$ /month or 4.68 BIL$/ year FREE for coordinated global warming denial, pro republican free market deregulation and wall st think tank propaganda, swiftboating, and the hate and fear used to get people to vote republican.

as long as they ignore rw radio. they don't even poll for it.

it's really the biggest political mistake in history. republicans use 1200 radio stations pumping out the same message across 40 states with 80 senators with NO protests, boycotts, or even recognition from democrats or the left and then dems analyze the results as if those people have decided on their own that hillary clinton's private email server is more important than global warming and russian gangster collusion.

it's only about rural and white because those are the primary targets of the talk radio psyops and it is only like that because the left ignores it and gives that psyops a free speech free ride. in US there are no free easy alternatives for politics/news/traffic/weather other than those stations.

all the dumbass pollsters have to do to figure out the closest thing to trump outside of white is talk radio is do some polling.

they hate liberals because we let limbaugh and sons call us whores, and thieves, and traitors all day from soapboxes on every corner and stump in the country and we just stuck our fingers in our ears and walked by.

putin figured that out, got trump to study it in 2014 (new york magazine 4/3/16 by gabriel sherman), and is probably paying limbaugh and sons

meanwhile democrats continue to chase their tails, blaming symptoms

[AJT]

29. Exactly. I've been saying this for years.

[Nay]

31. "Yep" a thousand times to this. I've talked til I was out of breath about this, to

no avail. Hours and hours and hours of RW hate radio over the past 3 decades has turned this country into what it is today. Unless we get a handle on that, we're done. It's probably too late, though.

[Ligyron]

33. You're right - you're always right.

[ancianita]

34. I gotta admit you are ON what has built the hate culture and politics of spite.

[Dark n Stormy Knight]

37. That and FoxNews. Together, they comprise an extremely powerful propaganda

machine. They are experts. I've been saying for years that the Democratic party needs to put massive resources into finding the best way to counteract that influence. I can't understand how they can not see the necessity.

[NJCher]

39. as a former corporate marketing manager

I think of the Dems as a political party in the vein of Will Rogers: "I am not a member of any organized party — I am a Democrat."

The republicans, however, are a marketing department--one that uses mass psychology to the max. Think of the garbage they have to sell: and they do it! They actually excel at it, as they do it in the spirit of capitalism, which they claim is successful because it appeals to the baser nature of humankind: greed.

To be specific, they sell their concepts based on dividing people, appealing to their baser, selfish nature. They make people think that welfare, for example, is taking money out of their pocket rather than as an investment in a nation's people.

certainot has been educating us about this radio part of their campaign for years. When the hell is somebody in this party going to do something about it? Certainot has outlined a solution and it is not all that difficult, but it would take someone from within the party with tsome traction to get the ball rolling.


Cher

[certainot]

47. the ball's not rolling! i appreciate the encouragement and want

to address the GREED you reference - imo greed is what happens when satisfaction-demanding reproductive energy gets diverted into the left, mathematical side of the brain, where numbers demand more, bigger, faster!!!

unfortunately, the left logical mathematical side of the brain is connected to the hand most humans learn sex with.....

[Skidmore]

2. Thee people described above

are being used by those the author of this article is talking to:

http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/07/18/to-my-fellow-plutocrats-you-can-cure-trumpism-215347

[Soxfan58]

4. Lets not panic

Republicans have won one presidential popular vote in the last 25 yrs.

[Gabi Hayes]

5. Why was my first thought upon reading your

post the year 1933?

[Bernardo de La Paz]

10. Exactly. Shows USA basically Democratic & progressive & liberal without voter supp & gerrymandering.

[Cosmocat]

13. Republicans have full control of congress

And control a clear majority of governorships and state legislatures. And, this didn't happen on November 8th, that was the case Before 45 was made POTUS.

They just seated a fourth extreme right SC justice, three who are young enough to be there a quarter century, and the swing justice is ready to step off.

There is no possible way it can be overstated how desperate the situation is.

[treestar]

14. That's what is wrong with us

We don't get that the Presidency is not all. The POTUS does not "run the country."

[Cosmocat]

22. YEP

Being democrats, lots of frustration that BHO didn't click his heels twice and poof, universal health care ...

There are 435 senators and congressmen who, collectively, have a BIG say.

[Texin]

26. Why is that comforting? They've SUCCESSFULLY rigged their other "wins".

It not only means they can - and did - screw with the election process, it's allowed to work! And in the case of Shrub the Inferior, the fucking Supreme Court was more than happy to install him to his throne by stopping the Florida vote recount.

I'm not comforted by the fact that they by themselves without help from the SCOTUS, down to the states' Secretaries of State and Vladimir Fucking Putin, can't win elections unassisted. Until the vote process in the country is secured For the People and By the People, we can no longer pretend that we even have an uncorrupted say in our electoral process any longer.

[CousinIT]

6. People who hate women too. n/t

[ehrnst]

7. Stoked by 8 years of seeing a black man with a Muslim name

giving the State of the Union address, nominating a Black AG, then a Black Woman AG, Latina SCOTUS nominee and saying that gays and atheists are human beings....

[Bernardo de La Paz]

8. These conclusions are well backed up by an academic study of Google search data

https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=9248015

Study by Seth Stephens-Davidowitz

[Cryptoad]

11. K&R

[Akamai]

12. The greedy uncaring press wanted a horse race to boost profits.

Therefore until it was too late, they have trump a free pass on lie after lie after lie after lie after lie and mercilessly attacked Hillary for nonsensical matters.

The hate is strong in the Republicans, their leaders, and the David right-wing media.

[lambchopp59]

15. goon's perspective: (was that over the top? I can never tell.)

Who have been taught by parents, church and general goodwill (us) to feel guilty about myriad greedy actions, seeing a man who unapologetically acts like a total stooge to cover up his white collar crimes running for president!
The perfect guilt catharsis.
Odd part is, most of the folks I know in this mindset are continually one dollar above homeless.

[Locrian]

16. good supporting data here

Beyond Economics: Fears of Cultural Displacement Pushed the White Working Class to Trump | PRRI/The Atlantic Report

https://www.prri.org/research/white-working-class-attitudes-economy-trade-immigration-election-donald-trump/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIxL7K342i1QIVC6O9Ch3bJQUIEAAYASAAEgIK7_D_BwE

[Paka]

18. It is not that simple.

I wish it were, but sadly it is not. Too many factors at play.

[happy feet]

19. I'm with you

Tired of press dancing around the reality of what 99% of Trump voters and supporters represent. There IS nothing wrong with Trump in their eyes. Stop seeking answers to the question. Maya Angelou said "...when a person shows you who he/she is, believe him/her." Enough said.

[progressoid]

20. Correction: What in the world is wrong with THEM

[FairWinds]

21. This may have been a factor as well . .

https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2989040

[58Sunliner]

24. There were people who voted for DT, but how many?

Until we know with certainty the votes weren't
hacked, all we know for certain is that HC won the popular vote and all the other voter issues had an effect. So what is wrong with people who won't ask the real question?? Why do we have a voter system that is vulnerable?? So really-until we know for certain about the votes, don't bother posting hand wringing that can't be bothered to look at the whole picture. It just looks like propaganda.

[Rabrrrrrr]

25. a damn good question.

Though there is also the issue of gerrymandering, which isn't about "What is wrong with us?" but this should be a good time for some introspection as a country, and some confession, to figure out what the hell is wrong with us.

[ananda]

27. It's the one foundation that binds us all.

Genocide and slavery ... basically, oppression
and capitalism on corporate steroids.

We are ALL complicit in it, even when we do our
best to contradict it since all of our contradictions
so far have been one big fail.

[broadcaster90210]

28. Humanity has been horrible from the get go.

I see no change ever coming.

If there was a god he'd hit this shithole with a comet.

[ancianita]

30. There is no "us." To me, this country is simply too big to be monolithic.

Unity does not equal uniformity. Not in a country this big.

With any large group, there's 'good' ones and 'bad' ones. The bad ones always make the rest of the group look bad, don't they. We've known it since grade school.

The bad ones foment conflict, cover up with "both sides do it! so get used to it! " The bad ones cost the rest of the group on all kinds of levels, don't they. The bad ones -- often children in grownup's bodies -- their mess-ups cause fear, exclusions, hate, assassinations, civil wars, "new rules" while they scream for their freedoms. They love to cunningly "con" or stupidly project. That's a child's view of power. The powerful like them to stay that way.

For the rest of "us," there were no liberal slave captors, traders or owners. There were plenty of liberals who died to end slavery and racism. Liberals do admit to flawed belief and try to change. They make a lot of good law for everyone. They leave pharasaic, punitive religions, too.

James Weldon Johnson's novel, The Autobiography of An Ex-Colored Man, promotes a great idea -- that every group should be defined by its best members, not its worst, whether it's a race, gender, religion or party.

This country has always fought for what's liberatory over what's repressive, and I want to believe that the smart Trumpers hoped for some elevation and recognition from his leadership. They were lied to, and now we're all lied to.

Now the bad ones' nightmare has enveloped all of us.

But simply put: there is nothing wrong with the The Best Of Us that defines Us.

Take heart. Hold on to hope. We're going to come out of this for the better.

[DefenseLawyer]

32. How did President Obama win?

Just curious how your analysis can explain that.

[Skittles]

42. Obama inspired young / minority folk to vote

Trump inspired the hate vote

[Nay]

49. In our totally mixed-race neighborhood, it was the turnout of my mixed-race

neighbors. The lines at the polls were longer than I had ever seen them in 25 years of voting in the same place; it was a historic vote, for sure. No one wanted to miss this vote. I think the fact that it was a historic vote was the big factor.

[Orsino]

35. Inequality is the reason for the season.

In a booming economy, when the middle class was still expanding, average Americans were more willing to grant more rights to minorities. This was a fragile thing, and when the oligarchs began hoarding in earnest in the past several decades, we saw the white Christian male supremacists start to hoard their empathy, too.

The economic anxiety is real...but manifests as sexism, racism and xenophobia because those things are always there, waiting for an excuse to explode.

[Skittles]

36. there is NO acceptable excuse for voting for that incompentent piece of shit

if you REALLY couldn't bring yourself to vote for Hillary there was another option - NOT VOTING

[Honeycombe8]

38. It's not US. Certainly not ME. The Trumpers are pathetic haters and/or stoooopid. nt

[zentrum]

40. Lack of truth

....and reconciliation trials that address the civil war, our history of slavery and the racism built into the Constitution.

Our lack of accountability or honesty for 400 years.

The refusal to do reparations, the way the Germans did after WW2 which set them on the path to true recovery.

[Amaryllis]

41. Dumber than a sack of mackeral? Tha's giving mackeral a bad name. Innocent little fishies.

[MrPurple]

43. I like the article, but wouldn't think it gets much support in Wichita

[RussBLib]

44. come in, Democrats, come in

Golden opportunities here for a clear-spoken Dem to counter Trump continually and forcefully. Don't fart around until 2018, do what you can to right this ship NOW.

[Mr. Evil]

45. There's a lot more scared shitless racists in this country

than most people care to admit.

[bora13]

46. gotta

make a change.

try and be kind and helpful to
others even if a (**yack**) trump lover.

[Nitram]

48. "Us?" What do you mean "us", white man?