A Clue for the Naïve

Published by

Clarissa

January 23, 2017

Maybe I’m naïve, but I can’t see what benefit the Trump Administration is gaining from picking a fight over the estimates of the comparative crowd sizes.

Distracting attention from the dismantling of the ACA that started on the same day and nobody fucking noticed or cared about, that’s what.

Here, solved the mystery for you.

A small clue: whenever it looks like Trump is getting overwrought, wounded, offended, angry or hurt, it means he’s putting on a show while his hand is in your pocket cleaning you out.

It’s a show. He’s a massively successful TV star. Are people ever going to wake up?

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17 responses to “A Clue for the Naïve ”

matt

January 23, 2017

This is a pretty good point. I was thinking it might be a goof up by him, but if this was strategic then he is honestly way smarter than even I would give him credit for. I don’t really know at this point, but definitely the media risks covering the sensational not the substantive issues.

His ACA directive is big. Ultimately, for good or bad, that executive order is sort of an insurance policy on them not passing health care reform / repeal and replace. If they indeed don’t enforce the individual mandate then old insurance policies with underwriting and fewer mandated benefits will be allowed potentially. You would have the healthy buy those for cheaper, and then the sick and lower income would stayo n the exchanges. The excchanges would become a subsidized high risk pool..in some ways not that far away from what many conservative health economists (not conservative politicians necessarily) advocate for.

It doesn’t make me that mad, because the real issue is not insurance coverage as it is insanely high underlying healthcare costs which need to be addressed, and then the insurance conversation can be constructively had. This is a big miss by the republicans to not focus more on the underlying cost of healthcare. Part of this is most conservatives are not true capitlalists / market believers and are more crony / capture capitalists and hence they don’t won’t that there monopolies busted. Trump in theory could take them on, but appears captured by the republican mainstream on this one, but time will tell.

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The Dark Avenger

January 23, 2017

You’re assuming that Trump has the psychological stability to do his job in the first place. He can’t chew gum and walk at the same time if he’s always “defending” himself in the first place.

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1. Clarissa
  
  January 23, 2017
  
  While we’ve been psychoanalyzing him, he won the presidency. Please wake up to reality.
  
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  1. The Dark Avenger
    
    January 23, 2017
    
    I’m doing some voter registration work here locally, I’m that rare liberal who can walk and chew gun at the same time. 👽 ☣
    
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    1. Clarissa
      
      January 23, 2017
      
      We all do what we can but for now it’s not working. We keep losing. Something must be wrong with our strategy if we are losing constantly and so badly.
      
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      1. cliff arroyo
        
        January 23, 2017
        
        “Something must be wrong with our strategy”
        
        The current democratic messages don’t appeal strongly enough to enough people in enough places.
        
        Whether this is the fault of the ideas behind the messages or their packaging is a matter for analysis (if they really want to start winning).
        
        Policy is important, but the best policies in the world don’t matter if you can’t get elected.
        
        Getting elected is a question of symbols and emotional connections and the democrats haven’t been great with that recently as I wrote about here:
        
        The Slogan Gap, pt 1 – Clinton’s Terrible Two
        
        The Slogan Gap, pt 2 – Make Political Slogans Great Again
        
        Right now the democrats are caught between the clueless leadership (still not fired?) and misguided actions (violent protests are a turnoff for anybut but the protesters themselves).
        
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        Clarissa
        
        January 23, 2017
        
        “The current democratic messages don’t appeal strongly enough to enough people in enough places.”
        
        Absolutely. Right now, the White House press secretary managed to make himself and the administration look serious and dignified and the hostile reporters look like petulant kids. And he’s clearly a dumb fellow! But he did it without having to blink. I’m so worried that by 2020 Trump will have approval ratings in the 50s% and only because these idiots will make him look stable and normal compared to themselves.
        
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      2. The Dark Avenger
        
        January 23, 2017
        
        It’s the midterm elections where the Democrats screw up. We also have to get people running or serving on local boards and offices as well.
        
        Nobody said it would be easy.
        
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    2. Shakti
      
      January 23, 2017
      
      I’m doing some voter registration work here locally
      
      Good. I don’t know how it is in your state, but in practice, for example, it is very difficult for out-of-state students to vote in my state because of a conjunction of photo id voter laws & the fact my state is REAL ID compliant (most people show their driver’s license as an acceptable id).
      
      My local statehouse rep & senator had nobody running against them in this election.
      
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      1. Shakti
        
        January 23, 2017
        
        https://mobile.twitter.com/JoyAnnReid/status/823615220555935746
        
        🤔
        
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Shakti

January 23, 2017

It hardly matters for Republicans’ political purposes whether he’s really that way or it’s a persona he’s adopted. The result is functionally identical.

Now if the Republicans in Congress are smart they’ll use his current dumpster fire popularity get him to sign off on things they want but are opposed in his platform, while hanging impeachment over his head. I don’t see him vetoing anything they put in front of him.

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Glenfilthie

January 23, 2017

No doubt. Now ya know how it feels, chickie. You’ve had it coming for 8 years at least.

Hope you’re enjoying that! Would you like some more? Or would you like some more?

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1. Clarissa
  
  January 23, 2017
  
  Of course, I’m enjoying the sight of you idiot being robbed blind. Yes, I absolutely want Trump to rob you some more and more. And he absolutely will deliver.
  
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Shakti

January 23, 2017

In protests don’t mean anything and never accomplish anything:
REPUBLICAN LAWMAKERS IN FIVE STATES PROPOSE BILLS TO CRIMINALIZE PEACEFUL PROTEST

In North Dakota, for instance, Republicans introduced a bill last week that would allow motorists to run over and kill any protester obstructing a highway as long as a driver does so accidentally. In Minnesota, a bill introduced by Republicans last week seeks to dramatically stiffen fines for freeway protests and would allow prosecutors to seek a full year of jail time for protesters blocking a highway. Republicans in Washington state have proposed a plan to reclassify as a felony civil disobedience protests that are deemed “economic terrorism.” Republicans in Michigan introduced and then last month shelved an anti-picketing law that would increase penalties against protestors and would make it easier for businesses to sue individual protestors for their actions. And in Iowa a Republican lawmaker has pledged to introduce legislation to crack down on highway protests.

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1. Clarissa
  
  January 23, 2017
  
  Protests accomplish things when they address specific demands to institutions that can fulfill these demands.
  
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2. Dreidel
  
  January 23, 2017
  
  Blocking ambulances and emergency response vehicles — which always happens when major highways are obstructed — isn’t merely “peaceful protest.”
  
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  1. Stringer Bell
    
    January 23, 2017
    
    The party of ‘let poor people die in the streets’ suddenly develops compassion! Who are you kidding, dude?
    
    If only republicans had the same compassion for people as they do for broken starbucks windows at a protest, the world would be such a different place.
    
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