trump is the status quo though. he stands outside nothing except decency, morality, and tolerance. if he can make someone bow to him through fear and intimidation, thats what he does. if he cant do that he insults and denigrates and lies about. he is the most status quo fucker in the country
Just like conservatism, the problem is what parts of it you push.
Focus on divisive issues like gun control, open immigration, and hyper inclusion of any possibly marginalized group and you push people away.
Avoid the wedge issues, and focus on things that will make everybody’s lives better, like honest government, social safety net, and good health care, and you bring everybody together.
If you look at the entire range of issues, including the ones politicians don’t often talk about, you might find that Americans generally agree on more than they disagree on.
But rather than focusing on those shared agreements and trying to build a better country, both parties are focusing on wedge issues where there is strong disagreement.
So far that solution seems to be to ignore it as a problem and continue the policies that created it.
Dems are a little better on unions, but neither one is addressing the systemic problem.
And you are doing the same thing that the other Democrats are doing, focusing on the steak rather than the sizzle.
If you look at the things Trump has actually done in his life, most of it is just looking out for #1. And after his first 4 years, I don’t think we need another 4. I was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt, but I was not impressed by his presidency.
But that’s looking at steak. He may not have much steak, but he has an awful lot of sizzle in excess.
You have a country that is (to continue the analogy) starving and malnourished. One candidate shows you a ton of sizzle and steam and flame and makes your mouth water. The other one just keep saying that eating red meat is bad for you.
That’s why Trump won. You need to understand that for a lot of people, voting involves emotion and desperation. You see the factories you work at closing, hearing about a giant tariff on Chinese goods sounds fucking awesome. You work lower end jobs and see companies switching from full-time American workers with salary and benefits to part-time immigrant workers making minimum wage, closing the border sounds like a great idea. And that’s not because of racism, it’s because you don’t want to be competing for jobs with people who will accept minimum wage and live 10 to a flat so they can all send money back home.
There is of course little or no steak behind the sizzle, Trump’s first term showed that.
But to an emotional voter who is desperate…
Once again, you’re looking at steak.
Obviously sizzle doesn’t keep you alive. But someone desperate for meat is going to follow the smoke and fire and sizzle in the hope that there is steak at the bottom of it.
trump is the status quo though. he stands outside nothing except decency, morality, and tolerance. if he can make someone bow to him through fear and intimidation, thats what he does. if he cant do that he insults and denigrates and lies about. he is the most status quo fucker in the country
The difficulty is convincing 14m Americans of this.
yep. and that is why the shitshow will continue until it can no longer be stopped
There are certainly mechanisms that can change this. Step one is admitting liberalism has become a caustic ideology to the majority of Americans.
all political pigeonholes are guilty. not a single one operates wholly for the public good.
Just like conservatism, the problem is what parts of it you push.
Focus on divisive issues like gun control, open immigration, and hyper inclusion of any possibly marginalized group and you push people away.
Avoid the wedge issues, and focus on things that will make everybody’s lives better, like honest government, social safety net, and good health care, and you bring everybody together.
If you look at the entire range of issues, including the ones politicians don’t often talk about, you might find that Americans generally agree on more than they disagree on. But rather than focusing on those shared agreements and trying to build a better country, both parties are focusing on wedge issues where there is strong disagreement.
The issue here being wealth inequality. A problem where the conservatives and liberals have the same solution.
So far that solution seems to be to ignore it as a problem and continue the policies that created it. Dems are a little better on unions, but neither one is addressing the systemic problem.
And you are doing the same thing that the other Democrats are doing, focusing on the steak rather than the sizzle. If you look at the things Trump has actually done in his life, most of it is just looking out for #1. And after his first 4 years, I don’t think we need another 4. I was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt, but I was not impressed by his presidency.
But that’s looking at steak. He may not have much steak, but he has an awful lot of sizzle in excess.
You have a country that is (to continue the analogy) starving and malnourished. One candidate shows you a ton of sizzle and steam and flame and makes your mouth water. The other one just keep saying that eating red meat is bad for you.
That’s why Trump won. You need to understand that for a lot of people, voting involves emotion and desperation. You see the factories you work at closing, hearing about a giant tariff on Chinese goods sounds fucking awesome. You work lower end jobs and see companies switching from full-time American workers with salary and benefits to part-time immigrant workers making minimum wage, closing the border sounds like a great idea. And that’s not because of racism, it’s because you don’t want to be competing for jobs with people who will accept minimum wage and live 10 to a flat so they can all send money back home. There is of course little or no steak behind the sizzle, Trump’s first term showed that. But to an emotional voter who is desperate…
sizzle doesnt keep you alive. but hey you die pretty huh
Once again, you’re looking at steak. Obviously sizzle doesn’t keep you alive. But someone desperate for meat is going to follow the smoke and fire and sizzle in the hope that there is steak at the bottom of it.