Warning: Stoopid Ahead
Illinois Democratic voters are a grumpy bunch.
The polling firm of McKeon and Associates were polling Democratic voters for the presidential primary.
They are not sure about the poll’s accuracy because, “Many voters refused to take the survey because they were not allowed to vote for or against Trump.”
These were Democrats. Oh dear Lord.
Donald Trump’s poll numbers are so high because they put him on tv so much and they put him on tv so much that his poll numbers are high. I have a headache.
.
If I had to contend with the Chicago police and Rahm, I’d be grumpy. Grumpy, not st00pid; would never vote for Drumpf, but a shot at voting against him is always good.
1When Trump was approached several years ago to run for New York governor, he told those who approached him that he had bigger plans than that. He was going to run for president, he said, and he’d do it without spending huge sums of money. He said he’d simply ensure that he remained in the news constantly. And he said that alone would be enough to carry him to the White House. Time has proved him right.
He’s news. Good, bad or indifferent, he’s news. And as Oscar Wilde often said, there’s no such a thing as bad publicity – and that’s especially true if that’s your primary way of getting an audience. He’s mastered Hitler’s technique of inflaming hatred, fear, anger and resentment, and the rest, to all his emotionally inflamed followers, is quite unimportant, so the bad publicity doesn’t matter.
It doesn’t help that the corporate media think that journalism requires them to be “balanced” and “objective” as if there were such thing in a story (by that standard, the Rwanda genocide would have been reported as if the killers had a good reason for doing what they did). So his faults get glossed over and his popularity gets endlessly reported on – which reinforces it.
That’s flat-out bad journalism, but it’s what passes for journalism in this era of corporate media. Since public school students are no longer taught how to think critically, and are required to use genuine critical thinking, they can’t even tell that they’re being manipulated by journalism that is by its very nature, has to biased just to make it “balanced.”
Until authentic journalism standards replace this corporate fetish with “balance” and “objectivity” – when no such thing actually exists in the stories they are covering – and until the public is taught to think critically and is required by the educational system to use critical thinking until it becomes habitual, you can expect that even if that particular demagogue were to go away, another would rise in his place soon enough. Over and over. Trump has demonstrated how successful demagoguery can be in the present intellectual climate, so his rise will be studied closely – and emulated – by future demagogues on the right for decades to come.
The Powell Memo sought to undermine democracy (among other things, by lowering educational standards, particularly with regards to intellectualism and critical thinking), and it has succeeded brilliantly in the forty years it has guided conservative/Republican policy. So it’s not going away anytime soon – and, as a result, neither will Trump’s brand of demagoguery.
Because of that, I see little future for anything like democracy in the United States, and that’s why I moved to Costa Rica well over a decade ago. Time has only reinforced my conviction in the wisdom of that decision.
2The RKlan has brought shame to our democracy and unless the electorate shows a huge wave of disapproval by voting most of them out, we are doomed to stalemate, obstruction and regression no matter who wins the White House. We are re-fighting battles which were won decades ago over civil rights, equality for women, justice for immigrants, funding for superior education and separation of church and state.
3When I lived in Illinois they let me choose what which part party I wanted on primary day. Of course that WAS when Ford was President.
4I suspect one reason Trumps low-information voters choose him is because they actually know who he is and have never heard of any of the others. These voters don’t really follow politics or understand issues. They would probably choose any given Kardashian over Cruz or Rubio or Kasich because they’ve heard of the Kardashians.
5tRump reminds me of this kid, who later in life sold drugs, that attended elementary and middle school with my oldest boy. He acted up anytime he was not the center of attention, diverting the teacher or TA’s efforts back to him. tRump will do anything even outrageous things to stay at the center of attention. And so far doing so turns into votes for him in the nacilbupeR primaries.
6Latest poll from Florida rethuglicans
22% MORE likely to vote for herr drumpf because of his rabble rousing and specifically because last Friday night in Chicago.
I said it before that the Friday choas was the plan by the drumpf campaign to bolster his red neck appeal.
7Scott, you make some very excellent points re: the lack of critical thinking skills being used/taught and the Trump campaign following the Hitler example of how to succeed in a political environment. It is not looking good for America right now 🙁
8OT,but Dems ain’t nowheres near as dumb as wingnuts. Alaska just proved that in spades. http://www.themudflats.net/archives/46917#comment-500282
Imagine Texas paying Big Oil to take Texas oil.
9I think Scott made good points too, but I can’t dwell on them because I can’t lose hope. None of us can lose hope because people like us are America’s hope.
In fact, I believe this general election will prove that there is very good reason to feel hopeful about America. I also believe if congressional snacilbupeR continue to mindlessly obstruct, their dumb base will become even more fed up and fractured. Perhaps the Democrats will achieve majorities and those same dummies will see their lives improve. Retrograde snacilbupeR will sink into the slime they oozed up from, moderate conservatives will arise, and America will become a functional, compassionate nation the rest of the world respects and looks to for leadership.
Hey, I can dream, and it is possible. If not, there’s always Vancouver, BC.
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