Just wait and see, Trump will now start siphoning off Bernie voters by very slyly working many of Bernie’s rhetorical devices into his own speeches. And he’ll be successful, too, because there are so many folks in the Bernie crowd who are looking for any excuse not to vote for Hillary. These are people who – each for reasons of their own – are experiencing existential angst and are projecting their pain onto their vision of politics and economy. It’s very easy to exploit their unacknowledged psychological issues and make them dance like puppets. They are in too much private pain to care about any potentially deported Mexicans or persecuted Muslims. They’d throw every Mexican on the planet under a freight train just to hear a soothing, “Yes, Mommy is bad, how dare she not to nourish you constantly?”
26 responses to “Trump’s Puppets”
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They are in too much private pain to care about any potentially deported Mexicans or persecuted Muslims. They’d throw every Mexican on the planet under a freight train just to hear a soothing, “Yes, Mommy is bad, how dare she not to nourish you constantly?”
You are forgetting that there is somewhere else for Bernie supporters to go. And somewhere else for non-Trump supporting Republicans to go also. I predict that the Green Party and the Libertarian Party will do much better than they have in the past. Unfortunately, this could throw the choice of President to the House of Representatives.
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Let’s not kid ourselves: voting Green equals voting for Trump. Just like voting for Nader in 2000 equalled voting for Bush. Let’s at least be honest about what we are doing. Stein has zero chance of getting elected. A vote for her helps Trump get elected. Vote for whomever you wish but be honest with yourself about how much you are helping Trump.
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I disagree – there are some states which are safely going to vote Democratic where a significant number of 3rd party/protest votes might help push them towards policies you support. I certainly would not recommend it in battle ground states like Florida… but CA? MA? NY? I’d have to see what the exact numbers are, but I think you can hit 10% of Dem base voting “other” and still be very safe from accidentally getting that orange con artist elected.
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I commented this on another thread but the “safe states” argument doesn’t really hold right now. Maybe MA, NY, and CA are exceptions. But I think we should expect some shake up in the electoral map–particularly in Southern and “Rust Belt” states. I don’t think any truly civic minded voter should throw their vote away this election season.
I honestly think that if Jill Stein had any integrity, she would drop out of the race this year. And politically I’m closer to Jill Stein than I am to Hillary Clinton. But I’m mature enough to understand that my personal politics are to the left of the American electorate. I don’t need to grandstand more than I need a sane, competent president.
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“I honestly think that if Jill Stein had any integrity, she would drop out of the race this year.”
I agree. The time has also come for Bernie to drop out. I hope he figures it out in the next couple of weeks at most.
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“You are forgetting that there is somewhere else for Bernie supporters to go. And somewhere else for non-Trump supporting Republicans to go also.”
Right David! – Canada. And you don’t have to worry about your home because now you can get election insurance.:)
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Voting for a minor party candidate is a long term strategic vote. It is planning for decades in the future, not just the present election.
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Oh, how very convenient. Let’s ask women, immigrants and Muslims to lump it because white men – who will not be hurt by a Trump presidency – have grand strategic plans.
Of course, we are all still waiting for the strategic aims of the 2000 Nader vote to come to fruition. Maybe we should ask the Iraqis how that’s working for them.
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Which minor party candidates are you voting for at the state and local levels?
You’re voting for the minor party candidate for President because you agree with the platform/dislike the other candidates; not because you think it’s strategic. Did the Democratic party pivot to the left because Nader was in the race? They absolutely did not. Did the Republicans move to protect jobs because Perot ran for President? I would say not — and Perot would have won had he not temporarily dropped out of the race.
Bernie changed his party registration because trying to run as a 3rd party candidate is a waste if you’re trying to shift the Overton Window. If he ran as a 3rd party candidate, hardly anyone outside of Vermont would know who the heck he was. Will he end up shifting that window? It remains to be seen.
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Of course, we are all still waiting for the strategic aims of the 2000 Nader vote to come to fruition. Maybe we should ask the Iraqis how that’s working for them.
This is still short term thinking. The question is whether the Democratic party will be replaced by the Green Party by, say, 2050.
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You’re ignoring Clarissa’s point. The other progressives who voted for Nader in 2000 are directly responsible for electing George W. Bush. Beyond the damage which was done to the USA — which was and continues to be considerable — there is the damage that has been done to the rest of the world.
No pie-in-the-sky hope for 2050 or 2090 or whatever relieves those voters of that responsibility.
One should learn from one’s mistakes.
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“Beyond the damage which was done to the USA — which was and continues to be considerable — there is the damage that has been done to the rest of the world.
No pie-in-the-sky hope for 2050 or 2090 or whatever relieves those voters of that responsibility.”That’s exactly what I want to get across. Look at how actively Republicans close ranks around their candidates and push them through. In the meanwhile, the Democrats are turning their noses at candidates who are not sufficiently ideologically pure and we lose one governorship after another.
If Trump is not scary enough for us to unite in order to beat him, then I don’t know what needs to happen for us to wake up.
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“In the meanwhile, the Democrats are turning their noses at candidates who are not sufficiently ideologically pure and we lose one governorship after another.”
Exactly.
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Actually, many more FL (and other) Democrats voted for Bush in 2000 than for Nader, and it was the Supreme Court who handed that election to Bush.
“Nader only drew 24,000 Democrats to his cause, yet 308,000 Democrats voted for Bush. Hello. If Gore had taken even 1 percent of these Democrats from Bush, Nader’s votes wouldn’t have mattered. Second, liberals. Sheesh. Gore lost 191,000 self-described liberals to Bush, compared to less than 34,000 who voted for Nader.”
http://www.salon.com/2000/11/28/hightower/
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I care about politics because I care about what happens in the here and now and in my lifetime; not “will there be a Green Party when I’m old and my non-existent children are in their 30s”. If I’m worried about things that might happen after my death (widespread flooding of coasts, etc) I hardly give a shit about parties, and I suspect most voters feel the same way. Parties are a vehicle to get government to do what I want; I am not a vehicle to advance the interests of some party.
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“:This is still short term thinking. The question is whether the Democratic party will be replaced by the Green Party by, say, 2050”
Better yet, let’s lose all elections from now on in hopes that this will bring about a magical victory of Very Good Excellent Perfect Guys in 3050. That will be really long-term.
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Breaking news. Kasich is dropping out. Trump is officially the nominee. If Sanders truly has integrity, he too will drop out—Indiana win notwithstanding. Clinton needs to start her general election run now.
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“If Sanders truly has integrity, he too will drop out—Indiana win notwithstanding. Clinton needs to start her general election run now.”
Absolutely. Now is the time for Bernie to do the right thing by this country and by all of us. But. . . he’s 75. So I’m not holding many hopes.
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What’s the link you are drawing with age? Increased stubbornness comes with increased age?
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It’s not like he will be able to run in 8 or even 4 years. Now is his last chance to be a nationally prominent figure and after a lifetime of waiting for this opportunity it must be very hard to let go.
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Sander’s senate term ends in 2018. He has been quoted as saying that if he runs in any future elections, it will be as a Democrat and not as an independent.
He may well decide to try for re-election to the senate in two years, so he can continue his “revolution.”
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He’s been sitting in the Senate forever and nobody noticed him. And now he has young women throw panties on his stage. Who can easily give that up?
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Sanders is not ambitious for himself. He is a true believer in his cause. I think he will do what ever he thinks is best to advance his “revolution.”
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A conservative literary critic and college professor
Clarissa's Blog 
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