A smarter 'Trump' will rise to power

[PunkTheFunk 125,719]

Interesting article from The Atlantic titled "America’s Next Authoritarian Will Be Much More Competent"

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/11/trump-proved-authoritarians-can-get-elected-america/617023/

"...Trump is just one more example of the many populists on the right who have risen to power around the world: Narendra Modi in India, Jair Bolsonaro in Brazil, Viktor Orbán in Hungary, Vladimir Putin in Russia, Jarosław Kaczyński in Poland, and Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in Turkey. [...]  But there’s one key difference between Trump and everyone else on that list. The others are all talented politicians who win elections again and again. In contrast, Trump is a reality-TV star who stumbled his way into an ongoing realignment in American politics, aided by a series of events peculiar to 2016 that were fortunate for him: The Democrats chose a polarizing nominee who didn’t have the requisite political touch that can come from surviving tough elections; social media was, by that point, deeply entrenched in the country’s politics, but its corrosive effects were largely unchecked; multiple players—such as then–FBI Director James Comey—took consequential actions fueled by their misplaced confidence in Hillary Clinton’s win; and Trump’s rivals in the Republican primaries underestimated him. He drew a royal flush."

"Luck aside, though, Trump is not good at his job. He doesn’t even seem to like it much. He is too undisciplined and thin-skinned to be effective at politics over a sustained period, which involves winning repeated elections. [...] Trump ran like a populist, but he lacked the political talent or competence to govern like an effective one. "

"I suspect that the Republican leadership is sanguine, if not happy, about Trump’s loss. It’s striking how quickly Fox News called Arizona for Biden, and how many Republican leaders have condemned the president’s rage-tweeting and attempts to stop the count. They know that Trump is done, and they seem fine with it. For them, what’s not to like? The Supreme Court is solidly in their corner; they will likely retain control of the Senate; House Republicans won more seats than they were projected to; and they are looking at significant gains in state Houses as well, giving them control over redistricting for the next decade. Even better for their long-term project, they have diversified their own coalition, gaining more women candidates and more support from nonwhite voters."

"The situation is a perfect setup, in other words, for a talented politician to run on Trumpism in 2024. A person without the eager Twitter fingers and greedy hotel chains, someone with a penchant for governing rather than golf. An individual who does not irritate everyone who doesn’t already like him, and someone whose wife looks at him adoringly instead of slapping his hand away too many times in public. Someone who isn’t on tape boasting about assaulting women, and who says the right things about military veterans. Someone who can send appropriate condolences about senators who die, instead of angering their state’s voters, as Trump did, perhaps to his detriment, in Arizona. A norm-subverting strongman who can create a durable majority and keep his coalition together to win more elections.  "

"Make no mistake: The attempt to harness Trumpism—without Trump, but with calculated, refined, and smarter political talent—is coming. And it won’t be easy to make the next Trumpist a one-term president. He will not be so clumsy or vulnerable. He will get into office less by luck than by skill."

"At the moment, the Democratic Party risks celebrating Trump’s loss and moving on—an acute danger, especially because many of its constituencies, the ones that drove Trump’s loss, are understandably tired. A political nap for a few years probably looks appealing to many who opposed Trump, but the real message of this election is not that Trump lost and Democrats triumphed. It’s that a weak and untalented politician lost, while the rest of his party has completely entrenched its power over every other branch of government: the perfect setup for a talented right-wing populist to sweep into office in 2024. And make no mistake: They’re all thinking about it."

[ToxicHot 6,444]

I believe it. Perhaps it’ll be someone not as ego-driven, but more manipulative and influential.

[PartySick 173,116]

But will the Americans latch onto them? Trump is flashy and exciting. He harnessed the right's feral instincts. I don't see a mundane candidate doing that.

Scary either way.

[Lion Heart 15,041]

This made me think of Tucker Carlson. 

[AnglerfishbraBENUS 5,734]

1 minute ago, Lion Heart said:

This made me think of Tucker Carlson. 

Please no

[NichuuB 43,788]

Girl, Bolsonaro a talented politician? Trump is a much better politician than him. Bolsonaro is not even able to act as a normal human being. He is like a walking joke

[Ziggy 14,131]

Yup. I thought that even on election night. Regardless of whichever way this goes, this election was a complete and pathetic embarrassment for the democrats. CLEARLY centrism isn't doing any winning since the only person able to win right now are leftists, far right folks, or deeply entrenched incumbents, and guess what, with control of districting, they'll shut out chances of leftists rising up. AOC's district? Why would they allow her to remain in place easily if at all? The democrats dropped the f***ing ball here, and their terrible strategists (many of whom worked for Clinton in 2016 btw) are to blame. Put plainly, after the COVID handling by MANY GOP across the country, a bowl of hair running blue should have been able to make gains. Instead, we are BARELY scraping a presidency together, might not have a senate majority, and lost seats in the house.

And now Pelosi comes in going "don't be too hasty to go far left!!! You'll put people off!!" Like, girl, sit, every critical election you lose Dems seats. They only gain when community organizers get in the game and push HARD. So yeah, America is in a pretty poor spot imo (though I *am* personally living for Trump's slow and very public demise lol).

[PunkTheFunk 125,719]

2 minutes ago, Ziggy said:

Yup. I thought that even on election night. Regardless of whichever way this goes, this election was a complete and pathetic embarrassment for the democrats. CLEARLY centrism isn't doing any winning since the only person able to win right now are leftists and guess what, with control of districting, they'll shut out chances of them rising up. AOC's district? Why would they allow her to remain in place easily if at all? The democrats dropped the f***ing ball here, and their terrible strategists (many of whom worked for Clinton in 2016 btw) are to blame.

Agreed. Aside from the obvious good news of Trump being kicked out, the fact that this election was a squeaker should make everyone uncomfortable. Almost 70 million people voted for him, which is even more than the number of people who voted for Obama in 2008. That's half the electorate who, after the shenanigans of the last 4 years, thought "hm, I think Trump is the guy to run this country"  Those 70 million people aren't going anywhere in 2024 and that's what scares me.

[AndyDWUW 3,971]

This is guaranteed because Biden won’t fix any issues that resulted in us getting Trump. He isn’t going to regulate corporations, he isn’t going to offer healthcare to all, he’s barely ever talked about a minimum wage, he isn’t going to stop the war on drugs (won’t even legalize weed). He courted republicans while spitting in the face of the left, spitting in the face of his base.

 

Mr. “Nothing will fundamentally change” is going to run us right over the cliff into a worse, smarter Trump in 2024.

 

We are literally going back to the status quo of pre-trump, which led us straight to Trump.

With a GOP senate and a blue house they will most likely implement right-wing ideals.

 

Fun fact on what has been passed in the past in this kind of congress: Attempts to cut social security and medicare in the name of a grand bargain during Obama’s locked congress, wall street deregulation, 94 crime bill during Clinton.

 

At minimum, dems need to stop Biden and McConnell from doing deals they’ve tried in the past, including right-wing budget austerity deals.

 

it’s a short-term win of getting trump out now, but in the long-term a huge disaster

 

good video I just found:

 

[HotLikeMexico 6,654]

18 minutes ago, Lion Heart said:

This made me think of Tucker Carlson. 

ew he can choke. 

[weed 79,059]

21 minutes ago, Lion Heart said:

This made me think of Tucker Carlson. 

smarter than Trump 

[ARTPOPSTER 4,246]

The problem is that the Democrats are still playing the old game of politics. IT DOESNT WORK. Republicans had the brains to realize that they needed to turn themselves into a cult and movement rather than a political ideology. Democrats still haven’t figured out their brand and they’ve had plenty of time. Better get to work or they’re going to lose it again.

[Gagaloo911 12,959]

Yup. This is why it's so important people don't take Trump's defeat as the end of authoritarianism somehow.

If Biden wins and the Senate remains Republican and nothing happens or changes, there is a very real chance a smarter, more competent Trump character rises and wins. Trumpism and all Trump's minions aren't going anywhere, and if things stay the same or get worse they're gonna get even more angry and turnout for someone even worse.

So let's not take this win as the ultimate defeat or anything. We must remain vigilant and the Democratic Party must learn how to change and deal with the very real problems that allowed for Trump's rise in the first place.

[Curunir 7,510]

This article is spot on.

[vyniildisk 12,689]

Gaga 2024 confirmed luvz