All these outspoken Republicans (and others) who are sure the Sky Is Falling as Trump wins the nomination, need to ask themselves one Big Question - why, in this nation with 150 million adult males why have they failed to find even ONE fit to be the President of their Dreams.
155
Tim, yes as soon as "the convention closed, fear had won the hall" as rightly said by you.
But this time we the good people who're anti Trump should be afraid of a madman who copies Hitler's nuances but doesn't acknowledge it.
Yes, Trump is the same man who came into prominence by calling Obama not an American. Challenging and rejecting every documents Obama produced proving his place of birth.
He could do that to Obama who is really a nice man .
If it was me I'd shoved the a copy of my birth certificate down the throat of anyone who challenged my birth certificate.
But then that was me and not Obama who is still a good man even after 7 and a half years' of Presidency which is nothing but full insults and horrible calling by Trump and almost all the Republicans only because he defeated their 2 White candidates and sat in the Oval office where no Black person sat on the executive desk.
Being the first African American President he was little timid and couldn't go all out against some White people like Trump who're so very intimidating .
But if it was up to me I'd challenge anyone for a one on one hand duel if anyone behaved like that with me.
So, Trump is really lucky and too coward to pick up a fight with an African American President . And now he's picking up a fight with the first female President of this country through horrible name calling .
What a coward.
But this time we the good people who're anti Trump should be afraid of a madman who copies Hitler's nuances but doesn't acknowledge it.
Yes, Trump is the same man who came into prominence by calling Obama not an American. Challenging and rejecting every documents Obama produced proving his place of birth.
He could do that to Obama who is really a nice man .
If it was me I'd shoved the a copy of my birth certificate down the throat of anyone who challenged my birth certificate.
But then that was me and not Obama who is still a good man even after 7 and a half years' of Presidency which is nothing but full insults and horrible calling by Trump and almost all the Republicans only because he defeated their 2 White candidates and sat in the Oval office where no Black person sat on the executive desk.
Being the first African American President he was little timid and couldn't go all out against some White people like Trump who're so very intimidating .
But if it was up to me I'd challenge anyone for a one on one hand duel if anyone behaved like that with me.
So, Trump is really lucky and too coward to pick up a fight with an African American President . And now he's picking up a fight with the first female President of this country through horrible name calling .
What a coward.
345
Just got back from the berry stand, where everyone smiles and people visit and kindness is met with kindness. (Some customers bought berries, made pancakes, and brought breakfast to the people in the berry stand.)
I hope the majority of those delegates went home to some kindness, love, respect, and joy. We all need the nourishment that comes from sharing those with each other.
I watched too much of that toxic convention. Looking for opportunities to nourish my soul as I interact positively with others.
I hope the majority of those delegates went home to some kindness, love, respect, and joy. We all need the nourishment that comes from sharing those with each other.
I watched too much of that toxic convention. Looking for opportunities to nourish my soul as I interact positively with others.
210
This is what I posted on FB this morning: Listened to a part of Trump's speech last night and this is what I saw. And it is no joke. It hit me in the face: Republican America is the new fascism. Should we be wary? Absolutely. Cause if this bad joke becomes reality, it could create a New Order indeed.
462
I usually have sympathy for someone with serious mental problems like D Trump.
217
The GOP, this Grand Old Party that had long presented reasonable balance in governing, has transformed itself over recent years to the POG, the Party of Greed. It seems to matter no longer what the cost to our nation is, as long as they see a path to power (the echos of "shut it down" resonating in Congress), and in their lust for power, have seen fit to pave that path with primal fear and blind hatred. The results of this fear mongering and mob incitement will present real risks to our nation's future, regardless of the election outcome, undermining our strength in unity, while these "leaders" see a chance to take what they can for themselves, leaving behind whatever residuals of a great nation and once united United States there may be.
259
Isn't it wonderful that all his beautiful, intelligent, creative, hard working, perfect children never had to work a day in their lives for anyone other than their father. Never had to worry about getting a job. Never had to worry about getting laid off. Never had to work for minimum wage or for low pay. Never had to put up with a boss who are not their father. Never had to ask for a raise. And never have to fear for their financial future, retirement, health care costs, or if they can afford to live in NYC.
Apparently, none of them have a mother (except for the 10 year old) since none of them ever ever talk about any mother who raised them. Did Donald get sole custody from his divorces from his first two wives.
Also, the only apparent explanation that they give for being able to relate to blue collar, working class people is that they walked through a few construction sites with their Dad when they were young, and were allowed to get up on a Caterpillar tractor (for a fun ride no less). Yahoooo! Daddy can I ride on the tractor.
Donald Jr. made a revealing slip in his speech when he claimed he "pored sheet rock, and hung concrete". I wouldn't want him doing any construction work on my home. And Ivanka has a "line" of cosmetics, perfume, and hand bags. No doubt if my father had a few hundred million my daughter could have a "line" of bras, pantyhose, and ear rings, or whatever.
The entire family, including Donald----born with a large silver spoon in their mouths.
Apparently, none of them have a mother (except for the 10 year old) since none of them ever ever talk about any mother who raised them. Did Donald get sole custody from his divorces from his first two wives.
Also, the only apparent explanation that they give for being able to relate to blue collar, working class people is that they walked through a few construction sites with their Dad when they were young, and were allowed to get up on a Caterpillar tractor (for a fun ride no less). Yahoooo! Daddy can I ride on the tractor.
Donald Jr. made a revealing slip in his speech when he claimed he "pored sheet rock, and hung concrete". I wouldn't want him doing any construction work on my home. And Ivanka has a "line" of cosmetics, perfume, and hand bags. No doubt if my father had a few hundred million my daughter could have a "line" of bras, pantyhose, and ear rings, or whatever.
The entire family, including Donald----born with a large silver spoon in their mouths.
986
I guess Democrats rioting at Trump events, burning flags and trashing streets is not a reflection of " hatred,madness and loss of reason". Give it a rest. Dems are every bit as dark as repubs. Just ask anyone who deigns to disagree with the party mantra on any subject from race, to LGBT or any other issue. The only thing that will be different at the Dems convention will be the addition of unicorns and the stampede to pander to any and all groups of disenchanted folk who will soak up their empty promises like a sponge. Very sad that America can only offer up the 2 worst polling politicians in our history to lead us.
136
Trump is the reason for the uptick in deaths among blacks with police officers and blacks killing police officers.
Both rogue cops and as a result cop killers feel safe in coming out of the woodwork with the frenzied hate atmosphere that Trump has created...
Both rogue cops and as a result cop killers feel safe in coming out of the woodwork with the frenzied hate atmosphere that Trump has created...
127
Trump channels Big Brother, and has cast Hillary as Emmanuel Goldstein.
Just look at his imagery.
The only remarkable difference is in the book the hate sessions only lasted 2 minutes. Here they lasted for hours.
Just look at his imagery.
The only remarkable difference is in the book the hate sessions only lasted 2 minutes. Here they lasted for hours.
126
And this is how the Nazis rose to power. The thugs, the petty criminals, the low lives, the know-nothings, those were the first of the Nazi supporters. They blamed all of Germany's ills on the Jews. And we all know how that turned out. I am really afraid, for the first time in my life, I am afraid of what this country might become.
606
I fear so much for the country. Even if Trump loses (and I am not at all sure about that), I am sick with worry that his followers, laden with guns and explosives, will engage in homegrown terrorism. Remember Timothy McVeigh and Oklahoma City?
279
Since I used to be Republican, I get constant emails from the RNC, etc. how scary and radical Hillary Clinton is and with Nancy Pelosi's help will lead the US down a very DANGEROUS path. Given the tone of all these emails, the Republican platform, and the nasty hatred exhibited during the convention, I can only surmise these right wing Republicans are afraid of women. These right wing rants sound more like a Wahabist cleric than someone from the USA.
Hopefully Hillary Clinton is wearing Kevlar clothing and hats - given the "almost" invitation that she should be shot.
Hopefully Hillary Clinton is wearing Kevlar clothing and hats - given the "almost" invitation that she should be shot.
229
The GOP has become nothing more than an angry mob, with their pitchforks, out for blood. Beneath their whining about political correctness is this: "We have no interest in expressing ourselves in respectful and dignified ways. We should be permitted to treat our fellow human beings with derision, and in demeaning, savage and heartless ways, without judgment from society. In short, we have no interest in being civilized. We want to be free to string up anyone we perceive as a foe. Due Process and the Constitution be damned (except for the Second Amendment, in which we ignore the critical phrase, 'a well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state'). We want to return to the Wild West, where people used guns to settle disputes." Unless, of course, someone else's gun is trained on them.
So much venom. And, for a party that preaches personal responsibility, the venom seems to emanate from a refusal to take any responsibility for whatever lot in life is causing their resentments. It is always the fault of someone else. Illegal immigrants. Muslims. African-Americans. Women. The government. The President. The Democrats. Not to suggest that there are not many, many people who are genuinely helpless and hopeless, but for the party of personal responsibility, the absence of personal responsibility in every corner of the party -- including the 1% - is breathtaking.
So much venom. And, for a party that preaches personal responsibility, the venom seems to emanate from a refusal to take any responsibility for whatever lot in life is causing their resentments. It is always the fault of someone else. Illegal immigrants. Muslims. African-Americans. Women. The government. The President. The Democrats. Not to suggest that there are not many, many people who are genuinely helpless and hopeless, but for the party of personal responsibility, the absence of personal responsibility in every corner of the party -- including the 1% - is breathtaking.
272
Trump and the Republican party are making much of the fact that a large majority of people polled in the US believe conditions here are bad. What's not said is 'why'. Mr. Trump has unleashed a level of meanness and intolerance I had not previously seen in my lifetime. I fear expressing my opinions in public, given his support of spewing one's hatred toward anyone with whom one disagrees. And his rhetoric helps drive disaffected youth to outright violence. Fortunately I don't comment at this site under my own name, or I'd surely receive death threats. So, yes, Mr. Trump, conditions in the USA have greatly deteriorated, just in the past year!
143
The visual says 'Big Brother'. The rhetoric and scapegoating and lack of policy says 'weak sister'.
Hillary is preferable to this pretender, thanks.
Hillary is preferable to this pretender, thanks.
109
Thank you, Timothy Egan. This should be a Pulitzer essay. Keen observation, all the right words. This country is experiencing its lowest point since......as you said, the Civil War.
How did the Trumpet get nominated without opposition?
How did the Trumpet get nominated without opposition?
115
I will vote for Hillary. But, sadly, I don't see her leading the charge against Trump, as in Delacroix' "Liberty Leading the People."
21
Timothy Egan wrote: We are facing our "gravest peril since the Civil War." Apparently, in Egan's view, the colossal threat of Adolf Hitler's Nazi Germany and the Nazis' attempt at global hegemony was a far less serious peril to the United States than Donald Trump. Likewise, Joseph Stalin's Soviet Union and the specter of nuclear annihilation wasn't a "lesser" threat to the United States than Trump. Is Trump a graver peril to the USA than Hitler or Stalin was? No.
If a random blogger had written this essay, we would have laughed at his oversights and publicly ridiculed him. Thankfully, Egan's views are published in The New York Times; hence, he is impervious to such basic criticism.
If a random blogger had written this essay, we would have laughed at his oversights and publicly ridiculed him. Thankfully, Egan's views are published in The New York Times; hence, he is impervious to such basic criticism.
45
Please don't focus on the disgusting things said about Ms Clinton at the republican convention. I will vote for Ms Clinton. And, I cannot see a single republican leader who deserves to be the next President of the United States. Furthermore, I am not supporting Ms Clinton because there is no other choice. I will vote for her because she is the most qualified and should be the next President. However, I am worried sick about Ms Clinton. While I agree with everyone who considers her smart, capable, hardworking and all, I am worried that we might experience another significant scandal during her presidency. I worry about this because I still cannot understand how she could have voted for the Iraq war. And I don't understand how she could have made the decision she made concerning her e-mail account as the secretary of state. I hope she will find better advisors while in the white house than those, including Mr. Clinton, she has surrounded herself with to date.
66
In the 1995 film, "The American President," written by Aaron Sorkin, a telling criticism of a fictional Republican presidential candidate is made as the fictional Democratic president speaks to an American public whose common sense and good judgment he is trying to awaken.
I quote it below--changing only the name of the Republican candidate.
"We have serious problems to solve, and we need serious people to solve them. And whatever your particular problem is, I promise you Donald Trump is not the least bit interested in solving it. He is interested in two things, and two things only: making you afraid of it, and telling you who's to blame for it."
Sorkin and director Rob Reiner were able to create a hopeful and rational ending for the film in 1996. In 2016, a rational and hopeful outcome will depend entirely on the ability of the American voter to see hate mongering and self-aggrandizement for what it is.
I quote it below--changing only the name of the Republican candidate.
"We have serious problems to solve, and we need serious people to solve them. And whatever your particular problem is, I promise you Donald Trump is not the least bit interested in solving it. He is interested in two things, and two things only: making you afraid of it, and telling you who's to blame for it."
Sorkin and director Rob Reiner were able to create a hopeful and rational ending for the film in 1996. In 2016, a rational and hopeful outcome will depend entirely on the ability of the American voter to see hate mongering and self-aggrandizement for what it is.
181
That photograph scarily reminds me of the photographs of Adolph Hitler addressing his Nazi hordes. So does Trump's speach for that matter.
110
Why Trump is bad news for America: Confession of a co-conspirator is must-read. See Jane Mayer's "New Yorker" article on Schwartz's ghost-writing book "Art of the Deal" which has come back to haunt him. He details the 18-month saga of trying to herd-cats Trump into a meaningful sit-down discussion of life. An eye-opener.
He had to eaves-drop on Trump's myriad conversations with financial and political elites -- with Trump's enthusiastic endorsement. And no one knew about it, which will now become apparent with this stirring of the sea-bottom where all the detritus has now settled.
Finally, a personal and perhaps premonitional observation on the four-day sturm und drang drama: after Der Drumpf's 75-minute clarion call to fear and arms last night, the RNC played, “You Don’t Always Get What You Asked for” as a good-night kiss to the delegates on their way out the door.
Aures lupi
He had to eaves-drop on Trump's myriad conversations with financial and political elites -- with Trump's enthusiastic endorsement. And no one knew about it, which will now become apparent with this stirring of the sea-bottom where all the detritus has now settled.
Finally, a personal and perhaps premonitional observation on the four-day sturm und drang drama: after Der Drumpf's 75-minute clarion call to fear and arms last night, the RNC played, “You Don’t Always Get What You Asked for” as a good-night kiss to the delegates on their way out the door.
Aures lupi
60
I'll bet dollars to doughnuts that when Trump inevitably falls way behind in the polls (somewhere around mid September) he will withdraw from the race creating a crisis like nothing ever seen before. I'm sure he'll say that the election process is rigged and therefore he won't take part. His ego will not allow him to lose, so he will be looking for an out, no matter what it does to the country. Donald Trump is a true agent of chaos and hate.
179
Trump is using the basic sales pitch for fascist dictatorship. My wife's grandfather came from Italy and retained clear memories of Mussolini, whom he (somehow) still admired. His words about Il Duce, the law and order guy, sound like what Trump supporters say about The Donald. It's worth remembering how this sort of thing ended up last time.
272
We left Lebanon after the Beruit truck bombing-Reagan pulled out.
This is what you must nver do in the face of terrorism-to cave in the face of terrorism is to send the message that it works and to create more of it.
Ironic that Reagan should be the one to make this mistake-since Trump wants to abandon all our overseas allies I wouldn't count on him to do any better.
This is what you must nver do in the face of terrorism-to cave in the face of terrorism is to send the message that it works and to create more of it.
Ironic that Reagan should be the one to make this mistake-since Trump wants to abandon all our overseas allies I wouldn't count on him to do any better.
34
This country needs a national shrink to determine why a majority of so-called "conservatives" are so filled with hate.
161
I went to bed last night feeling sad and defeated. I fear for our country. If John McCain had been elected we would be in ten more wars and Sarah Palin would have had some power. But the republic would have survived. If Mitt Romney had been elected the neocons would have returned and the rich would be richer. But we would have survived. At the risk of being melodramatic, I truly believe that if Trump is elected we will be thrown into a state of chaos, at home and in the international picture. We need to take this very, very seriously. It stopped being amusing a few months ago.
286
Try hard to ignor the popular support from a significant number of voters who don't share your view. They understand equality of opportunity, diversity, freedom to choose with tolerance and domestic security. You may not like or understand Trump; but he is our best and only choice.
27
They're easy to ignore- like crazy people on street corners.
26
But the Republicans don't support ANY of those things. Read the platform.
74
"Make America Hate Again" - Timothy Egan
The President of the United States has asked all of us to stop the "inflammatory rhetoric" in this country, I'm looking at you Mr. Egan and quite a few of the writers of comments in the NYT. I've read more inflammatory rhetoric here than I've heard during the entire week of the RNC. Stop the hate, it's not being returned.
The President of the United States has asked all of us to stop the "inflammatory rhetoric" in this country, I'm looking at you Mr. Egan and quite a few of the writers of comments in the NYT. I've read more inflammatory rhetoric here than I've heard during the entire week of the RNC. Stop the hate, it's not being returned.
30
Isn't this a bit like the kettle calling the porcelain black?
40
Then you clearly weren't watching the RNC.
77
Surely, when Mr. Trump and his speech writers chose to insert the declaration, "America First" in his speech, they were aware of the its origins--the America First Party of Gerald L. K. Smith. I'm old enough to have shivered when I heard Trump declare, "America First".
57
Beware of the Trump candy. It might initially taste good - but it will eventually rot your democracy.
93
"And we should fear — for the republic, for a democracy facing its gravest peril since the Civil War."
Good grief. Deep breath, Tim. I mean, really...
Good grief. Deep breath, Tim. I mean, really...
27
How do you know that many of the trump people are nice? Very doubtful.
28
If you missed the Republican Convention or enjoyed it so much that you would like to relive it I recommend the following movies:
William Wellman's The Oxbow Incident
Fritz Lang's Fury
William Wellman's The Oxbow Incident
Fritz Lang's Fury
19
Terrorism's greatest ally is Donald Trump.
81
I know that I wrote at least a hundred posts predicting this place in the campaign-- Hillary under fire for the emails and Trump tearing her up in the propaganda department-- but the New York Times doesn't believe in free speech and squelches all but token amounts of dissent from its message.
Know this-- we are going to wake up one morning in November to the reality that Donald Trump is POTUS and 12 million of us are going to say we told you so.
Oh but wait, this won't make it into the New York Times either so if a tree falls in the forest and....
Know this-- we are going to wake up one morning in November to the reality that Donald Trump is POTUS and 12 million of us are going to say we told you so.
Oh but wait, this won't make it into the New York Times either so if a tree falls in the forest and....
19
So, Timothy Egan, you think the convention harkens back to the Civil War? You maybe correct. But the news media, it must be acknowleged, contributed to the rise of Trump for U.S. President! You all must get away from practicing 'yellow journalism' and back to authentic, unbiased reporting. Of course, Trump, is absurd! But your op-ed suggests fear too. Don't forget FDR's saying about the only thing we have to fear is fear itself! Any how, let's not panic yet. As you wrote, more elderly wataching than younger generations--let's hope they vote!
18
Good God, How can anyone be blind to the reality of 2016 America that Donald Trump so bravely spoke of? Those who deny the corruption that has taking hold of Washington, are enabling it.
Why does the NYT enable corruption? Whose power are you protecting?
Why does the NYT enable corruption? Whose power are you protecting?
31
Hillary's.
19
You long for the old GOP? Who are you kidding? Your paper has been calling the GOP racist for decades. Now, all of a sudden, you long for the old GOP?
We have lived eight years under Obama/Clinton weakness, incompetence, and corruption. Spare us the lecture. Vote for your crook. If Trump wins, your anger and tears will nourish my garden of smiles.
We have lived eight years under Obama/Clinton weakness, incompetence, and corruption. Spare us the lecture. Vote for your crook. If Trump wins, your anger and tears will nourish my garden of smiles.
19
Great column, Egan!
The Democratic Convention's theme should be: Make America Sane Again.
I still read in these comments and here elsewhere that both parties are equally to blame. Both parties lie and are corrupt. Hillary is a bigger liar that T rump. Democrats are speaking just as much hate as republicans.
C'mon, people.....Wake up....
Reagan was guilty of breaking the law, everyone knew it, he was legally impeachable. Tip O'Neill knew it would not be good for the Nation. He forced Reagan to move to the center instead.
The entire bush ii White House, from Cheney and Rummy on down, could have been, should have been, indicted and tried for war crimes. Obama knew that would not be good for the Nation. Cheney showed his gratitude by dissing the President at every opportunity.
There is a big difference between me saying that republicans make me ill and wishing they would all just go away or die, and those feelings become national policy.
If you really think that Clinton is as bad as T rump says she is then you have drunk the right wing smear machine's kool aid as heartily and as readily as any of the fascists and brownshirts at T rump's convention.
I only hope it is all downhill from here for T rump and the republican chances of holding on to Congress this year.
The Democratic Convention's theme should be: Make America Sane Again.
I still read in these comments and here elsewhere that both parties are equally to blame. Both parties lie and are corrupt. Hillary is a bigger liar that T rump. Democrats are speaking just as much hate as republicans.
C'mon, people.....Wake up....
Reagan was guilty of breaking the law, everyone knew it, he was legally impeachable. Tip O'Neill knew it would not be good for the Nation. He forced Reagan to move to the center instead.
The entire bush ii White House, from Cheney and Rummy on down, could have been, should have been, indicted and tried for war crimes. Obama knew that would not be good for the Nation. Cheney showed his gratitude by dissing the President at every opportunity.
There is a big difference between me saying that republicans make me ill and wishing they would all just go away or die, and those feelings become national policy.
If you really think that Clinton is as bad as T rump says she is then you have drunk the right wing smear machine's kool aid as heartily and as readily as any of the fascists and brownshirts at T rump's convention.
I only hope it is all downhill from here for T rump and the republican chances of holding on to Congress this year.
149
One sane voice:
Peter Thiel's was probably the most pertinent speech of the RNC. Did any one listen? Pay attention? This is what, more or less, Republicans used to be, prior to 1964.
In my ever humble opinion, what he said was important, true and non-partisan, mostly. With the obvious exception of his “proud to be Republican” (The party despises you, Peter…) this speech could have been given at the DNC…
Peter Thiel's was probably the most pertinent speech of the RNC. Did any one listen? Pay attention? This is what, more or less, Republicans used to be, prior to 1964.
In my ever humble opinion, what he said was important, true and non-partisan, mostly. With the obvious exception of his “proud to be Republican” (The party despises you, Peter…) this speech could have been given at the DNC…
28
fabulous column...I am terrified. My just turned 13 year old granddaughter with a bewildered look on her face asked, "How can ANYBODY like him?" A simplistic answer: those who hate and who share the same adjectives we have been applying to Trump, fascistic, misogynistic, racist, etc. God help us...
147
T'is scary and surreal...it's frightening how close the US is to total disaster.
47
Another headline in the Times: "Trump Hails Party Unity". I guess Donald Tramp lives in a different world than I do. Ask Ted Cruz what he thinks is 'party unity". I bet you would get a different appraisal. There is little or no "unity" in the GOP. Just watch how many Republicans vote for Hillary or not at all. Hooray for party unity, I say!!!!
28
How about "Make America White Again."
23
Will anyone be able to put the ugly genie of Trump's and all-too-many of our fellow-Americans' hate back in the bottle and screw the cap down tight?
28
Yeah, well, a little hate is good for the soul sometimes.
3
I expected Mad MAX to come roaring through the arena at any second.
21
best part of Trump being elected: people like Timothy Egan will head for Venezuela (oops -- I meant New Zealand. Wonder why that's such a nice place . . . . )
11
So the BEST part of Trump being elected president for you, a Trump supporter, is that it fits into a fantasy of any American who doesn't agree with you leaving the country?
That any American can feel this way let alone not understand that it is hatred and completely contrary to Americanism baffles me. Yeah sure it's the liberals who are the haters.
That any American can feel this way let alone not understand that it is hatred and completely contrary to Americanism baffles me. Yeah sure it's the liberals who are the haters.
49
Can you imagine Donald Trump managing a nuclear showdown on the Korean border when all of his great people, his incredible people, his best people, his tremendous people couldn't manage a well-timed balloon drop?
64
Tim, you apparently missed your buddy Charles Blow's piece the other day in the Times. It was all about his interaction with the family of Tamir Rice. What you didn't miss was your buddy Charles Blow's piece about his interaction with Tayshawn Lee's family. That's because the Times is very selective about the way it reports the "news".
It will be good to see the Times Travelling Clown Car arrive in Phillie next week so that we can get some feel good vibes from the Times for a change.
Kumbaya, here we come.
It will be good to see the Times Travelling Clown Car arrive in Phillie next week so that we can get some feel good vibes from the Times for a change.
Kumbaya, here we come.
16
A psychiatrist friend notes a dramatic spike in PTS in patients he describes as "political junkies." His offers each, irrespective of political affiliation, three levels of advice to help regain emotional, psychological and intellectual health:
#1 Extreme - watch no TV, listen to no radio, read no newspapers, magazines, do not write, Tweet, or email any comments to anyone
#2 Moderate: watch only Fox or MSNBC, listen only to FOX or NPR, read only NYTimes or Daily News.
#3 Minimal: restrict yourself to a maximum 1 hour a day of political news or analysis from media resource of your choice.
"What can any of these strategies accomplish?" I asked.
"Survival," he answered without conviction.
#1 Extreme - watch no TV, listen to no radio, read no newspapers, magazines, do not write, Tweet, or email any comments to anyone
#2 Moderate: watch only Fox or MSNBC, listen only to FOX or NPR, read only NYTimes or Daily News.
#3 Minimal: restrict yourself to a maximum 1 hour a day of political news or analysis from media resource of your choice.
"What can any of these strategies accomplish?" I asked.
"Survival," he answered without conviction.
14
The mob scene calling for Hillary's imprisonment...and death...reminded me of those who yelled "crucify him" 2000 years ago. And these people call themselves "Chritian"?
125
What can I say? These folks are all grifters, family included -- taking what they can when the taking is right! Is the country so ignorant that it can't see behind the Donald's curtain? Voting for The Donald is like casting a ballot for fascism ... sorry but that's my take! The "love fest" of his rallies has morphed into a "hate fest" -- what a shame! I'm with You? Not hardly.... Donald's with "the Donald,." and that's where he's always going to be The one semi-truthful statement he made was he knew how to play the system ... unfortunately to the detriment of the American people! Let's see, Donald -- bring the jobs back that you sent overseas for your companies and your children's/wife's companies -- currency issues be damned! Just another way to male a quick buck for yourself and screw (sorry!) the American people whom you claim you want to help??. And, by the way, why use your properties that you stay in during the campaign and charge back to yourself to make money when you can stay at other places and actually help people at hotels, etc.? Wow! I understand they're "the best" but perhaps you can help someone else who's not quite the best? What a concept!
25
If Donald Tramp is elected, THEN we will see the riots that he mentioned. Just you wait. I am glad that I am very old......
22
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_E._Neuman
It just occurred to me that Trump bears a striking resemblance to ALFRED E. NEUMAN, from Mad magazine. I looked him up on Wiki and recalled that he too, ran for president!
Trump has that goofy smile, but what gets me is his WHAT ME WORRY slogan. That's Donald, to a T. People are attracted to him because he does not seem to be worried about anything.
I believe it is this total confidence of Trump that attracts voters. But I worry that if he becomes president, the ECONOMY will be a risk. "It's the economy, STUPID." People will lose confidence in Trump and in the economy.
What if we saw an (Alfed E. Neuman) Trump as president?
------------------------------------------------------------------------
It just occurred to me that Trump bears a striking resemblance to ALFRED E. NEUMAN, from Mad magazine. I looked him up on Wiki and recalled that he too, ran for president!
Trump has that goofy smile, but what gets me is his WHAT ME WORRY slogan. That's Donald, to a T. People are attracted to him because he does not seem to be worried about anything.
I believe it is this total confidence of Trump that attracts voters. But I worry that if he becomes president, the ECONOMY will be a risk. "It's the economy, STUPID." People will lose confidence in Trump and in the economy.
What if we saw an (Alfed E. Neuman) Trump as president?
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12
What I find strange about Trump is that he claims he will do everything QUICK. He will totally destroy ISIS---quick. He will bring back factories and jobs quick. He will punish China's currency manipulation---quick.
Once he gets inaugurated on January 20th it sounds like ISIS will be totally destroyed by February; millions of factories/jobs will pop up by March at the latest; China will be totally put in it's proper subservient place by January 21st; our military will be the best by April at the latest; complete law and order in our major cities will be restored about 1 hour after his inauguration, blah, blah, blah.
My guess is that he will have the White House torn down and have a big Trump skyscraper built in its place----and his followers will cheer him on.
Once he gets inaugurated on January 20th it sounds like ISIS will be totally destroyed by February; millions of factories/jobs will pop up by March at the latest; China will be totally put in it's proper subservient place by January 21st; our military will be the best by April at the latest; complete law and order in our major cities will be restored about 1 hour after his inauguration, blah, blah, blah.
My guess is that he will have the White House torn down and have a big Trump skyscraper built in its place----and his followers will cheer him on.
71
Our military is already the best, by far, but if Generalissimo El Trumpo wants it better, he'll have to raise somebody's taxes. How about starting with a fat tax on gross income from all sources for himself and all his fellow 1-percenter Vietnam draft dodgers?
34
Wow! Just Wow! Great writing! Thanks!
33
I'm worried that Trump IS the antichrist. It's really frightening to SEE, to WITNESS the amount of hate and the deceptions promulgated by these people. I can't understand how we can all be living in the same country and have our experiences be so enormously different.
60
Tim Egan is so cool and calm with his teeth-gritting hatred that I bet he didn't even have to pick this picture - DESIGNED to be scary - picture of the Times' Number One Enemy.
All you cats who moaned about the media taking it easy om Trump - just look at the pictures you'll be seeing of Trump from now on. They are chosen to keep children and small pets awake at night screaming.
The setting and atmosphere in Cleveland were perfectly like all Democratic Conventions that I have watched since the LBJ's. Anyone telling you otherwise is intentionally following a script written weeks ago - OR needs to back off the peyote.
This may be the saddest example of poor Timothy's work I have seen yet. Tim, Please don't drive when you're like this.
All you cats who moaned about the media taking it easy om Trump - just look at the pictures you'll be seeing of Trump from now on. They are chosen to keep children and small pets awake at night screaming.
The setting and atmosphere in Cleveland were perfectly like all Democratic Conventions that I have watched since the LBJ's. Anyone telling you otherwise is intentionally following a script written weeks ago - OR needs to back off the peyote.
This may be the saddest example of poor Timothy's work I have seen yet. Tim, Please don't drive when you're like this.
21
It's important to read an article before you comment. You write this every day.
49
Lots of democrats and independats will be crossing over for the win. It is time to let a psychopath move us forward. With a 9% favorable rating we are through with a do nothing congress that no longer represents the people. Our reps have excelled in only one thing......bagging money. "Make America Hate Again." YES. We hate our senators and representatives .
13
Thank you, Mr. Egan. 4 days of hate. I thought was watching a Leni Riefenstahl production.
63
For a moment last night, the orange cotton candy hair blew back and we could all see the large 666 tattooed on Donald Trump's scalp. Apparently, there were many folks in the audience who can' t wait to get to hell in a hand basket. God help us all...
29
All republicans are evil and Bernie Sanders, a self-proclaimed socialist,could have beat Trump but not Clinton? What the NYT and the vast majority of its readers do not grasp is that they do not hold the view or reality of most people in the US. Sad, I am watching Obama's press conference with Mexico President but looks like another attack in Europe. Just after he said that claim of danger is exaggerated and that the birds will be chirping when we walk outside. Where will all the liberals move to if Trump gets elected....
17
"I alone," he said, "can fix it."
If this doesn't wake up voters I fear nothing will.
If this doesn't wake up voters I fear nothing will.
97
He's feeling confident... good for him!
5
No. They actually believe this proven con man.
27
He speaks to something vicious in our collective soul, I find it frightening and want to yell that we're not like that. Obviously a lot of us are.
49
And where does all that hate go after he's not elected? He is working hard to convince everybody that Clinton is an arch-criminal and only death and destruction can follow in her wake. If you believe that to be true, drastic actions are justified. The explosions if hate and violence to come scare me. I fear for my country.
72
"Individually, many of these Trump delegates are nice people."
Reminds me of every frat guy I knew in college. One-on-one, all great guys, but, when acting together, destructive and terrifying.
Reminds me of every frat guy I knew in college. One-on-one, all great guys, but, when acting together, destructive and terrifying.
70
Individually the Germans were nice people. Collectively they participAted in genocide. That is what is so scary about Trump.
37
Ted Bundy was attractive and charming.
34
Reminds me of Kurt Vonnegut's definition of terror: " ... is waking up one morning and suddenly realize that your high school class is now running the country."
19
The mood wasn't just generic "mob rule," it was lynch mob rule.
Don't say you can't vote for her, there's no rational option, particularly not staying home.
Don't say you can't vote for her, there's no rational option, particularly not staying home.
90
So, many think the GOP of today and the GOP of yesteryears are miles apart. Perhaps. But many things today do not have even a nodding acquaintance with what they one were. Fitting right into the category is none other than the New York Times. Always left of center, The Times of yesterday at least printed differing opinions within its op-Ed section so that at least balance could be achieved. Today, there's not even a modicum of allowing the other point of view. Is this what it's all about today? Reading only the newspapers newspapers that only side with how you think or watching TV news channels that line up one way and one way only? What are we afraid of? Both sides are so closed minded toward each other that the present system is guaranteed for failure, no matter who wins in November. The Republicans want to throw up walls and the Democrats wish to keep pumping in the immigrants- not for the right reasons but rather so they can give them stuff and get them hooked so they vote for them. It'll get even darker before light dawns once more.
7
Where is your criticism of the lies Fox News continues to present as the truth? Or the far right slant of the Wall Street Times? Yes, the Times is a Liberal paper. No one forces you to read it.
11
As evidenced by the vast majority of comments here, it is the Left who is "making America hate again" by slinging insults (Fascist! Racist! Bigot! Ignorant! Xenophobe!) at anyone who does not mindlessly parrot the Liberal party line.
How about listening the people's concerns, instead of dismissing and insulting them?
Give it a try or get used to saying "President Trump".
How about listening the people's concerns, instead of dismissing and insulting them?
Give it a try or get used to saying "President Trump".
19
We're talking about the show your guys put on, and it was indeed a hate-filled lynch mob being stoked by a wannabe dictator. There was one shining moment, but it turned out she filched it from Michelle Obama.
41
That all depends on who you define as "The People", doesn't it?
5
I would've been a lot more impressed with Ivanka if she had admitted her father is a racist and a fraud.
28
If you vote based on the qualities that Ivanka Trump attributed to the candidate during her speech, then you should be voting for Hillary. Those are the issues that Hillary stands for, not Trump. Trump's speech, on the other hand, was full of anger and hate.
It's amazing to see how he transformed himself into a monster during that speech, after his daughter tried to canonize him as a saint.
It's amazing to see how he transformed himself into a monster during that speech, after his daughter tried to canonize him as a saint.
46
This hyperbolic and hysterical article would ring more true if the editorializing of the New York Times ever spoke remotely positively of the GOP and its candidates of the past as it does now. Every four years whether Bush, McCain, Romney, or whomever, the Republican candidate is a reprobate and closet fascist out to drink the blood of the workers and minorities of America and now suddenly the GOP was previously a positive and optimistic force? You didn't write that at the time. You've been crying wolf for so many years that now that we have a truly extreme candidate, your words ring hollow to all but the faithfully doctrinaire leftist readers of the Times. Great work.
16
"Certainly the elderly audience"? Huh? Since when is ageism acceptable in the NYT? Only when it is applied to Republicans I suppose.
I hate to be the one to break it to Mr Egan, but the world we currently live in is a dangerous and scary place. Singing songs from the 60's and open borders isn't going to help anything.
I hate to be the one to break it to Mr Egan, but the world we currently live in is a dangerous and scary place. Singing songs from the 60's and open borders isn't going to help anything.
19
Huh? Are you suggesting some PC? Donald would nit approve.
7
It's not an -ism when it comes out of the bowel of the Times. It's the god's honest truth.
1
This old man is totally against the NYT stereotype. Sadly, many of my age group do fit that profile.
3
Hopefully, the Khalisi, her large flotilla and three dragons will make it to our shores before November and save us all from this evil tryant. Hope Gendry makes it too.
14
Mr.Egan you have perfectly captured the unsettling and fevered mob hysteria of this hellish(literally) RNC spectacle of doom, destruction, and threat that accompanied the public lynching of Hillary Clinton, a demonstrably devoted and brilliant public servant. The id is out of the bottle and it's name is Donald; a dangerous sociopathic menace, who must be not just defeated in November, but crushed under tidal wave of revulsion, and pro Clinton votes.
31
Sociopath? Come on, you can do better than that. Give your bile a full venting. Call Trump a psychopath for goodness sake.
6
I didn't watch one second of the convention. Why would anyone?
You knew exactly what was going to happen and it did. Why anyone is surprised at this point about what this man and his surgically enhanced family would say about anything is mystifying.
He's not going to win and, as a bonus, we'll never have to deal with Ted Cruz or Marco Rubio again.
Calm down.
You knew exactly what was going to happen and it did. Why anyone is surprised at this point about what this man and his surgically enhanced family would say about anything is mystifying.
He's not going to win and, as a bonus, we'll never have to deal with Ted Cruz or Marco Rubio again.
Calm down.
32
Good god. I just hope you're right.
23
Hillary NEEDS to pick Elizabeth Warren as her running mate. That win over the Bernie supporters and create passion for her campaign. But, she won't do it - it's too daring and this country isn't ready to elect two women to the highest office of the land. A sad commentary but it's true.
13
I think Tim Kaine is a better choice. Let Warren stay in the Senate and be an attack dog during the rest of the campaign.
Tim Kaine seems to have a lighter personality, sense of humor, and does not appear to take himself too seriously.
The perfect foil for the "fire, hell, and brimstone" twins of Trumpolini-Repent.
Tim Kaine seems to have a lighter personality, sense of humor, and does not appear to take himself too seriously.
The perfect foil for the "fire, hell, and brimstone" twins of Trumpolini-Repent.
20
This past week America has witnessed an orgy of racism, bigotry, hate, xenophobia, and fear coming from the Republican National Convention. It culminated last night with Donald Trump's speech.
In his first Inauguration Speech in 1933, FDR told Americans that the “Only Thing We Have to Fear Is Fear Itself” - last night we had a candidate for President telling Americans to do just the opposite, he told Americans to fear.
In 1974, another President, Gerald Ford, told Americans at his swearing in ceremony - "My fellow Americans, our long national nightmare is over... Our Constitution works; our great Republic is a government of laws and not of men. Here the people rule. But there is a higher Power, by whatever name we honor Him, who ordains not only righteousness but love, not only justice but mercy."
If by some calamity, Donald Trump is elected in November, then I fear that a new national nightmare will just be beginning.
In his first Inauguration Speech in 1933, FDR told Americans that the “Only Thing We Have to Fear Is Fear Itself” - last night we had a candidate for President telling Americans to do just the opposite, he told Americans to fear.
In 1974, another President, Gerald Ford, told Americans at his swearing in ceremony - "My fellow Americans, our long national nightmare is over... Our Constitution works; our great Republic is a government of laws and not of men. Here the people rule. But there is a higher Power, by whatever name we honor Him, who ordains not only righteousness but love, not only justice but mercy."
If by some calamity, Donald Trump is elected in November, then I fear that a new national nightmare will just be beginning.
51
Why is the Black Lives Matter movement deemed more violent than the Trump GOP? Talk about hypocrisy. The Trump GOP should appear on the Southern Poverty Law Center's terrorist watch list. So white people who support Trump believe that it's worth marshal law, deportation, and extermination so that they can feel secure again? What happened to all of their bootstrap mentality and rugged individualism?
17
You betcha, bubbha. Let's lynch them there Trump GOPers.
3
This is a sad piece of liberal hate mongering . It accomplishes nothing and serves only to destroy whatever middle ground there exists between Republicans and Democratics.
19
It is the Republicans not the "liberals" who have worked hard to destroy the middle ground by demonizing all those who disagree with the GOP!
7
Hate mongering? From my perspective, its pretty much on the money. As I see it the only one spewing hatred and fear is Donald Trump and his legions of followers. If this is the best the GOP can do, they have no one to blame but themselves. Hopefully the rest of the electorate will see right through this shameless charade.
18
You're blaming the "hate-mongering" on liberals? Any chance for a "middle ground" evaporated during these last 4 days in Cleveland when the GOP sunk to a new low.
16
From last night's speech, it is clear that Trump will never be able to work with Congress, should he get elected. We will be in chaos for a long time should he get in.
12
Few are old enough to remember the xenophobia of the 1930s -- the demonizing, the racism, the visceral hatred, the right-wing radio pastors who spewed their bile to an eager nativist audience. But it all came back with Trump's acceptance speech -- an undiluted paean to himself, full of dark omens and dystopian predictions, served up like raw meat to a baying mob of furious Hillary-haters.
And yet, the pundits -- incredibly, amazingly, unbelievably -- say they expect the election to be "close." How is this possible? What in God's name have we become?
And yet, the pundits -- incredibly, amazingly, unbelievably -- say they expect the election to be "close." How is this possible? What in God's name have we become?
33
Well, it seems "we" have become a baying mob of Donald-haters. "We" being the typical Times reader.
7
"And we should fear — for the republic, for a democracy facing its gravest peril since the Civil War."
Well, that's sort of a doom and gloom assessment about doom and gloom, isn't it? Only, if the American voter buys-in. This newspaper is on record of stating that he on the black horse hasn't a chance of being elected. There's a Donald Trump who shows up at every coffee shop in every town, in these United States. Many patrons, when they see him arrive, gulp their last swill of coffee and depart the building. If the NYT assessment is valid (kinda scary though about polls, these days), most voters will be like the departing coffee shoppers and vote for someone else.
Well, that's sort of a doom and gloom assessment about doom and gloom, isn't it? Only, if the American voter buys-in. This newspaper is on record of stating that he on the black horse hasn't a chance of being elected. There's a Donald Trump who shows up at every coffee shop in every town, in these United States. Many patrons, when they see him arrive, gulp their last swill of coffee and depart the building. If the NYT assessment is valid (kinda scary though about polls, these days), most voters will be like the departing coffee shoppers and vote for someone else.
6
What was on display during the past week is the result of years of hate-talk radio, Fox"News" and an entirely fictional alternative universe in which Democrats and "liberals" are portrayed as inherently "evil." Otherwise decent people have been convinced that all of the nation's problems (real and imagined) are due to "the other." In Indiana where I live.....AM and FM radio is awash in thousands of hours of extremist, right-wing talk radio that daily spews out nothing but lies, hatred and poison. Not a single radio station, anywhere in Indiana, has even one, single progressive voice. Millions of mostly white, mostly male listeners who drive to work or travel for a living have listened to this garbage for decades and believe every word of it to be true! They believe "political correctness" is the greatest threat to America since the Civil War and that 99% of federal government spending is attributable to "welfare cheats" and bloated "entitlements." This is the shameful legacy of years of deregulation of broadcasting. All of this proves the disturbing effectiveness of shameless propaganda and a political party that thrives on "fear and smear" and outright lies! Sadly, the majority of these deluded Americans also believe that this hatred and hysteria is also the "Christian" point of view. It's destroying our democracy and turning Christianity into little more than a political entity in which the Gospel of Jesus Christ is being replaced with a "gospel" of far-right extremism!
54
The fact that the writer describes Ted Cruz as "the most disliked politician in the United States" shows what a bubble he lives in, and by extension, the invalidity of the entire piece. Yes, among a certain category of people, namely liberals, Ted Cruz is no doubt "the most disliked politician in the United States". Among conservatives, however, that label would likely apply either to Barack Obama or, currently, Hillary Clinton. I'm not personally a supporter of Ted Cruz (in fact I plan to vote for the LIbertarian candidate, Gary Johnson, since I cannot in good conscience support either Clinton or Trump), but the fact is that Cruz has a large base of support, and he certainly is not MY most "hated" politician. It would be nice if NY Times opinion writers realized that their particular positions are not shared by everyone, since this kind of gross generalization is common in the pages of The Times, including the news sections.
10
This Trump character needs to be crushed in the voting Booth. Then he needs to be brought to Justice for the various and sundry frauds and thefts he as masterminded.
His 15 minutes are coming to an end.
His 15 minutes are coming to an end.
18
The photo reminds me of "Citizen Kane"?
Unfortunately, this is no movie. Citizen Trump is a nightmare.
Unfortunately, this is no movie. Citizen Trump is a nightmare.
9
You seem to think that the U.S. isn't already a nation brimming with hate. All the Democrats are offering is to basically leave it as it is, which is resulting in killings on a daily basis and simmering racial hatred. The Democrats have not offered a single thing to fix the problem either. At least Trump is saying we need to fix it. The Democratic candidate is not.
11
Could not have said it better. The convention was similar to the Nuremberg rallies in Germany in the 1930's, filled with hatred and calls for blood-letting.
29
Kristallnacht is next.
8
Interesting a person with as many failed businesses and bankruptcies as Trump thinks he can fix the economy when he cannot fix his own. And the persons following Trump, thinking he speaks for them and their sad and paranoid semi-neo nazi ideals, i.e. fear of "the other"? He has persons like you cleaning the toilets in his casinos and hotels and apartment buildings. He would not spend 5 seconds in your presence if paid millions to do so.
26
paranoid semi-neo Nazi ideals
You Progressives crack me up.
You Progressives crack me up.
5
Republican will soon realize they can survive a Trump loss and regain their party. What they will fear more is a Trump win where the Party as they know it will go into oblivion along with them. He has no loyalty to the Republican establishment only to himself.
For this reason, Republicans may choose to vote against him to regain control of their party establishment.
For this reason, Republicans may choose to vote against him to regain control of their party establishment.
11
The middle class better wake up. Trump is not on your side. He's espouses a middle class agenda but stands with the ruling class as always. Hillary may be a lot of things but she will actually fight for you and for progressive programs that will enrich our nation and bring us greater prosperity. Trump and his lackeys signify an end to the nuanced conversation that is needed to exist global situation. The danger of this approach may just be the straw that leads to our ultimate demise. Please please vote carefully and use a nuanced approach in your decision making.
7
I've been thinking about the genesis of so much civil unrest and shootings. My mother's church got shot up a few years ago, and several people died. In that instance, the shooting was perpetrated by an unbalanced man who watched a lot of Fox News, and soaked up the hatred and negativity that that particular news agency spews.
Recent shootings have been (as far as I know without exception) perpetrated by confused, angry, disturbed, and unbalanced individuals. I'm not a gun person. I don't like guns and don't have any. But I have to say, guns have been around in this country a long time, but this tendency to mass-murder I would blame more on the breakdown of civil discourse. Rather than holding our citizens to a high standard of civility and mutual respect, we descend into unrestrained discourses of hatred, fear, contempt, and disrespect. Our stance - on both right and left - is "it's my way or the highway."
It seems obvious that some news agencies have figured out that people like emotional candy (anger, self-righteousness, id) better than emotional vegetables (consideration, empathy, compromise, super-ego), and thus they have boosted ratings and income. But it is incredibly irresponsible and selfish. And now we have the politicians following suit. Our elected leaders and news agencies have a responsibility to practice restraint, self-control, and a general consideration for the entire body politic, instead of descending into this grotesquerie of appealing to the worst.
Recent shootings have been (as far as I know without exception) perpetrated by confused, angry, disturbed, and unbalanced individuals. I'm not a gun person. I don't like guns and don't have any. But I have to say, guns have been around in this country a long time, but this tendency to mass-murder I would blame more on the breakdown of civil discourse. Rather than holding our citizens to a high standard of civility and mutual respect, we descend into unrestrained discourses of hatred, fear, contempt, and disrespect. Our stance - on both right and left - is "it's my way or the highway."
It seems obvious that some news agencies have figured out that people like emotional candy (anger, self-righteousness, id) better than emotional vegetables (consideration, empathy, compromise, super-ego), and thus they have boosted ratings and income. But it is incredibly irresponsible and selfish. And now we have the politicians following suit. Our elected leaders and news agencies have a responsibility to practice restraint, self-control, and a general consideration for the entire body politic, instead of descending into this grotesquerie of appealing to the worst.
7
Yes the children are lovely .Thanks to the two Irish nanny's and Grandpa .
And thanks to Trump for paying for the nanny's .
But with narcissism in a parent a child must be lovely and behave to be accepted by the parent that also has to have a beautiful wife to feel like they are of value.
I read somewhere if a narcissistic parent is responsible for the everyday care of the child ,the child may very well learn to be narcissistic.
And our human nature influenced by society helps some to look no further than the beauty outside.
And thanks to Trump for paying for the nanny's .
But with narcissism in a parent a child must be lovely and behave to be accepted by the parent that also has to have a beautiful wife to feel like they are of value.
I read somewhere if a narcissistic parent is responsible for the everyday care of the child ,the child may very well learn to be narcissistic.
And our human nature influenced by society helps some to look no further than the beauty outside.
3
We deserve to see if a potential President has paid any taxes. Why there's no demand for him to show his, as every other past candidate has, is puzzling.
15
I suggest considering it this way. The Trumpster is the best covert op weapon the Democrat's could have ever, EVER, dreamed up in their wildest "let's destroy" dreams of eliminating their competition. Single-handedly he has obliterated the Republican Party. He has eviscerated what it means to be a Republican. What remains is, for lack of a better descriptor, a zombie party. This could be consider a moment of glee for the Dem's excepting one thing. We've a two-party system of governance in this country. One party being a zombie makes for an untenable situation for running the government of the prevailing Super Power on this planet. It's a case of being careful of that for which you wish. It will be interesting to see how it all plays out...
2
I can imagine. Easily. The contrast to earlier Republican conventions is not that stark. The one in 2004 for GWBush was a hatefest from start to finish. Remember Zell Miller's prime-time address? Hatred and spite toward alleged boogeymen has been a prominent feature of Republican conventions and campaigns at all levels for generations. The mythical welfare slouch who is bankrupting us is as alive today as the welfare "queen" was in nice-guy Reagan's era. The most urgent dire threat to our way of life has shifted from gays to immigrants (though anywhere it still sells, gays are certainly still targeted) but the playbook has not changed. And it really can't change, because the Republicans will always need an external cause to blame for the continuing disenfranchisement of the ordinary citizen that is ensured by their policies.
10
If Donald Trump is elected and keeps his campaign promises, the United States government would deport 11 million undocumented immigrants, presenting us with a new trail of tears, one that would dwarf Andrew Jackson's eviction of the Cherokee nation from its original lands. Property owning immigrants would lose their homes and businesses, to be snapped up by unscrupulous neighbors, families would inevitably be split up in the confusion, and millions would live in concentration camps until we succeeded in dumping them over the border. Trump's deportation would resemble the horrors inflicted on suspect nationalities by Joseph Stalin or our own panicky incarceration of Japanese Americans during the 40's. Some excuse their votes from Trump on the basis that he's probably lying or that Congress would never support such an inhumane act; others, including a frequent commentator in this space, support Trump because he would "shake things up". What fools they are! In my worst fears during the red scare of the 50's, I never felt that we would come to a situation like this. I'm too old to leave the country if Trump is elected, but I'm not too old to cry if it happens.
14
16 years after the Republican Party nominated Bush and Cheney, how can you imply this is qualitatively more dangerous Republican Party? The only difference between Bush-Cheney and Trump-Pence is the speechwriters. Bush's were way better, but the consequences of their rule were far more extreme than anything Trump could Trump up, precisely because Trump is not one of them.
Trump represents an upheaval of Republicanism. If he wins the election he will end up destroying their Party, both because of what he does and what he can't do. If he loses, hopefully lying Ted gets the nomination in 2020 and really put a stake in their heart.
As opposed to Bush-Cheney, as opposed to Cruz even, Trump's kind of dangerous because actually he doesn't believe in anything, but if you want to see real stealth nuclear brinksmanship in action; see a renewal of at least a cold war with a nuclear Russia, just elect Hillary Clinton.
Trump represents an upheaval of Republicanism. If he wins the election he will end up destroying their Party, both because of what he does and what he can't do. If he loses, hopefully lying Ted gets the nomination in 2020 and really put a stake in their heart.
As opposed to Bush-Cheney, as opposed to Cruz even, Trump's kind of dangerous because actually he doesn't believe in anything, but if you want to see real stealth nuclear brinksmanship in action; see a renewal of at least a cold war with a nuclear Russia, just elect Hillary Clinton.
2
No, this is the Republican party as I have always known it, hatred, fear, anger at the empowerment of women and minorities. That's been the rallying cry since McCarthy and Goldwater- Fear! Fear!
In previous decades, they had to polish it with just a patina of salesmanship, concealing bigotry with slogans like "law and order", fighting empowerment with "traditional family values". They have always been this way; their Morning and Points of Light are nothing but headlights on their economic locomotive coming down the tunnel they've forced us non-corporate slaves to dig.
In previous decades, they had to polish it with just a patina of salesmanship, concealing bigotry with slogans like "law and order", fighting empowerment with "traditional family values". They have always been this way; their Morning and Points of Light are nothing but headlights on their economic locomotive coming down the tunnel they've forced us non-corporate slaves to dig.
9
Texas will vote for Trump because he is not a Democrat and not "evil" like Hillary Clinton. This pains me because I know there are a lot of good, decent people in Texas who should be able to think for themselves, even though the legislature instructed the public schools not to teach "critical thinking" (causes too many problems, they say). The right wing is watching Texas anxiously for the moment when the urban, moderately liberal votes of the cities overwhelm the backward looking vote of the rural areas. It is coming.
Pennsylvania, the state of my birth, is in play in this election. The state almost always votes for the candidate who the voters believe will keep the economy humming and produce jobs. Traditionally, they vote Democratic with a strong pull toward social conservative issues, like anti-abortion. I would rate the odds at 49/51 that Mrs. Clinton can hold Pa. for the Dems. A blunderbuss loudmouth, Trump, will have a strong appeal to some.
These states are just two exemplars of the danger our nation faces. To say Trump is overconfident in his abilities is like saying the World Trade Center is a tall building. He is blinded by an irrational belief in Donald Trump, the hero of all stories, the rescuer of all direness. He should get credit only for showmanship and his enormous capacity to escape bankruptcies and huge business blunders without having been indicted or having his fortune sued to zero. Neither of these qualities has any value in a president.
Pennsylvania, the state of my birth, is in play in this election. The state almost always votes for the candidate who the voters believe will keep the economy humming and produce jobs. Traditionally, they vote Democratic with a strong pull toward social conservative issues, like anti-abortion. I would rate the odds at 49/51 that Mrs. Clinton can hold Pa. for the Dems. A blunderbuss loudmouth, Trump, will have a strong appeal to some.
These states are just two exemplars of the danger our nation faces. To say Trump is overconfident in his abilities is like saying the World Trade Center is a tall building. He is blinded by an irrational belief in Donald Trump, the hero of all stories, the rescuer of all direness. He should get credit only for showmanship and his enormous capacity to escape bankruptcies and huge business blunders without having been indicted or having his fortune sued to zero. Neither of these qualities has any value in a president.
6
It is true that Donald Trump complained that many Mexicans who enter the United States illegally are murderers, rapists and drug smugglers—an assertion supported by Federal Bureau of Prison statistics that show about 70 percent of foreign nationals in U.S. prisons are Mexicans. But President Obama tells Americans that so many illegal immigrants are criminals that we must focus all our efforts on removing unauthorized immigrants who have committed serious crimes and can no longer expend resources on deporting immigrants only for being illegally in the country. Of the 102,224 ICE deported from the interior of the country in 2015, 86,923 had criminal convictions—that’s 85 percent of deportees. So it seems that Trump and Obama agree that many illegal immigrants are criminal.
6
While I appreciate Mr. Egan's sentiments, it is unfair to tar all pastors with the same brush. We are not all characters from Nathaniel Hawthorne or confused ex-neurosurgeons. Most of us work hard and faithfully to promote human flourishing for all.
14
I agree....but far too many "conservative" pastors spend more time in the pulpit stirring up votes for Republicans than stirring souls!
10
Human flourishing? Have you ever actually listened to the words of your most famous peers? Hawthorne went easy on them.
8
This is true, but the majority of compassionate and educated pastors waited far too long to speak out publicly, or as a body, against the hate and racism which returned to the fore with the birth of the Tea Party and Religious Right. Of course, there were exceptions, but they were few and far between
5
I worry about:
1. Trump being elected by an idiotic majority
2. Trump deciding it is not so fun to be President, resigning, and giving the office to Mike Pence.
I am not sleeping well. There will have to be an unbelievably heavy turnout to avoid this nightmare
1. Trump being elected by an idiotic majority
2. Trump deciding it is not so fun to be President, resigning, and giving the office to Mike Pence.
I am not sleeping well. There will have to be an unbelievably heavy turnout to avoid this nightmare
18
Well, the only strategy for a GOP candidate to win a presidential election nowadays is to" Make America to hate again."
The question is whether a multicultural/multi ethnic American society will buy the hate/doomsday message and elect Donald Trump president. I don't believe it will.
By the same token, I don't believe in witches either, but...
The question is whether a multicultural/multi ethnic American society will buy the hate/doomsday message and elect Donald Trump president. I don't believe it will.
By the same token, I don't believe in witches either, but...
10
The Civil War analogy is appropriate. But it's not ahead of us. We're in it already, and one side won.
Now as then, the fight is between people who insist that there are such things as self-evident truths, and those who insist that truth is conditional, subjective, and determined by power. Now as then, the reality-based community has all the advantages, while the anti-fact thinkers must dwell in a fantasy. And as it has always been, every time the anti-fact side provokes a test, they fail.
The GOP miscalculated in thinking they could manage the anger fed. Trump spotted that opportunity. A fraud like Trump could promise them fulfillment, tell them anything, dump gas on the fire that the GOP had closely controlled.
No matter how badly they wish to be separate, the Red States are already occupied territories. They can hate it, they can hate their occupiers, they can hate reality, but their economies, their laws, and their futures are all firmly and irreversibly part of America. Their occupiers are the Fortune 500 and a million small connected companies. Sherman took Georgia by threatening to stay. The NBA will take North Carolina by threatening to leave.
Trump is a gesture, a disastrous attempt to reframe a war they lost already. He's an ugly exercise in prideful amnesiac nostalgia, and he has to be defeated, but this fight is over.
Now as then, the fight is between people who insist that there are such things as self-evident truths, and those who insist that truth is conditional, subjective, and determined by power. Now as then, the reality-based community has all the advantages, while the anti-fact thinkers must dwell in a fantasy. And as it has always been, every time the anti-fact side provokes a test, they fail.
The GOP miscalculated in thinking they could manage the anger fed. Trump spotted that opportunity. A fraud like Trump could promise them fulfillment, tell them anything, dump gas on the fire that the GOP had closely controlled.
No matter how badly they wish to be separate, the Red States are already occupied territories. They can hate it, they can hate their occupiers, they can hate reality, but their economies, their laws, and their futures are all firmly and irreversibly part of America. Their occupiers are the Fortune 500 and a million small connected companies. Sherman took Georgia by threatening to stay. The NBA will take North Carolina by threatening to leave.
Trump is a gesture, a disastrous attempt to reframe a war they lost already. He's an ugly exercise in prideful amnesiac nostalgia, and he has to be defeated, but this fight is over.
9
I never thought I would ever see the day in America when this sort of mob mentality would resemble almost identically the mobs that raised their right hands to another leader who said their country first and foremost.
That the enemies of that country were within it and must be gotten rid of.
How did this happen? How did we suddenly find ourselves in an actually fight for the future of our country from a would be dictator who riles the mobs using the exact same rhetoric as that man decades ago in another country did.
The hate and anger he makes his supporters feel is going to lead to disaster for America. I fear for my country more than I have ever in my 65 years on this planet. I fear for it greatly. I feel he and his supporters want an actual rounding up of those they fear and deported but a final solution is not that far behind for those they cannot deport. I fear they want to destroy all opposition.
What has happened to America that hate now rules half this country?
That the enemies of that country were within it and must be gotten rid of.
How did this happen? How did we suddenly find ourselves in an actually fight for the future of our country from a would be dictator who riles the mobs using the exact same rhetoric as that man decades ago in another country did.
The hate and anger he makes his supporters feel is going to lead to disaster for America. I fear for my country more than I have ever in my 65 years on this planet. I fear for it greatly. I feel he and his supporters want an actual rounding up of those they fear and deported but a final solution is not that far behind for those they cannot deport. I fear they want to destroy all opposition.
What has happened to America that hate now rules half this country?
26
Read "The Ox-bow Incident." I believe that book also makes mention of hanging as did those lovely people at the convention. Those people you saw this past week are a subset of America. Yeah, we built that.
9
I consider myself a conservative independent or maybe a moderate Republican. I have voted for Republican candidates for president every four years (with some down-ticket Democrats sprinkled in) since I was able to vote, except for 2008. That year I was fooled by Barack Obama's speeches (which we later found out were written by a 20-something ghost writer) and his promises of hope and change.
Although I agree with some of Donald Trump's ideas for change, I do not agree with his tactics--and some of his ideas I find repulsive. I have waited over a year for some moderate Republican to come out of the woodwork and sweep us off our feet; and provide a real challenge to Hillary Clinton. But none have come. That fact in and of itself is evidence of the change that is needed in American politics. However Hillary and Donald are not the change we need. I've described my feelings for Donald, but Hillary may be worse in the opposite sense. That woman cares about nothing but herself and that is just as scary as Donald's hot-headed cries for brutal change.
Thus, the first change in America that is necessary is the change within our political parties. Both sides running to their respective extremes will only continue to divide us. Let's remember the prosperity and peace of the '80s and '90s, when most Americans, and our two parties, spoke and acted with the moderation that is necessary to lead a great nation like ours.
Although I agree with some of Donald Trump's ideas for change, I do not agree with his tactics--and some of his ideas I find repulsive. I have waited over a year for some moderate Republican to come out of the woodwork and sweep us off our feet; and provide a real challenge to Hillary Clinton. But none have come. That fact in and of itself is evidence of the change that is needed in American politics. However Hillary and Donald are not the change we need. I've described my feelings for Donald, but Hillary may be worse in the opposite sense. That woman cares about nothing but herself and that is just as scary as Donald's hot-headed cries for brutal change.
Thus, the first change in America that is necessary is the change within our political parties. Both sides running to their respective extremes will only continue to divide us. Let's remember the prosperity and peace of the '80s and '90s, when most Americans, and our two parties, spoke and acted with the moderation that is necessary to lead a great nation like ours.
7
Hand wringing is not a solution anymore than waiting for a moderate saviour was this summer. Either you are with Trump or against him and his proposals. Choose.
14
Excuse me, but are you saying that Donald Trump cares for someone or something other than himself? I must have missed that.
10
This is what fascism looks like, hatred and more hatred, fear and loathing of he "others". A complete and total absence of any meaningful dialogue. Only the leaders thoughts matter. Only the leader understands us. Only the leader can save us. One on one some of them appear normal. Many have justifiable grievances. But they believe only the leader understands them. Any one who opposes the leader is traitorous and vilified. "Jail her". "Hang her". I pay to god this monster loses in the fall.
17
The Bush-Cheney regime created the illusion of weapons of mass destruction to obtain wealth for their friends. The illusion that the Republican party wants to expand on is that their "man" can do the same but in a much larger way. Republican Party will be behind the throne because Trump doesn't have a brain to think on solving anything. But these illusions are easy to believe once painted with fear, hysteria and a need to feel secure. The news of the day adds to the anxiety Trump's supporters feel. They want someone to be just to create the illusion. Hitler did the same thing, a propaganda machine that could create the same feeling of security. The good news is, it can't happen in America. We are not the Germans of 1930 nor have ever been European. We separated from them many years ago, it is this spirit of rebellion that has made us who we are. Hang on tight for Trump's show, it has laughs and deepening racist remarks. But we vote in Nov. not the elitists, our number is still far larger than they. We will win in Nov. not the Trumps of this world.
7
The patriotic thing to do is not vote Republican this November. I'm not encouraging voters to vote for Hillary Clinton, but I am encouraging voters to withhold votes from an American would-be Fuhrer. Only by having a gigantic loss for the Republicans in November will it be able to purge ignorance and intolerance from the party. This is not the Republican Party of my parents. It's time to isolate these haters and ideologues into their own party. It is not appropriate for them to get anywhere near government or governing.
12
Withhold your vote but don't vote for Hilary is not wise counsel. If you think the Republican Party is now the party you describe, then put your country first and vote for the one person who can topple this oddball.
27
"If you want an image of the future, imagine a boot, stamping on a human face-- forever."
George Orwell
Orwell never seems to go out of style.
Here's another, on Pat Buchanan "Sounded better in the original German"
George Orwell
Orwell never seems to go out of style.
Here's another, on Pat Buchanan "Sounded better in the original German"
18
The truth is that Trump is terrifying.....to leftists, the New York Times, the arrogant, mindless posters I see here. The other choice...Hillary...these are indeed scary times...The same rhetoric and correlations I'm reading in this comment section can be applied to Hillary's few speeches and her upcoming convention...exploiting parents of dead children, fascist control of our everyday lives, the moving of our country toward the failing European model...just without the law and order part....
10
Beware of false equivalence. Hillary Clinton is a politician. Donald Trump is a narcissistic, uninformed demagogue.
10
Could you possibly give a little more detail about "exploiting parents of dead children, fascist control of our everyday lives, the moving of our country toward the failing European model...". Which children? How exploit? what fascist controls are you upset about? what steps towards a failed European model (don't say Obamacare -- that came straight out of the playbook of the conservative think tank The Heritage Foundation)?
3
Trump is evening up the polls now in PA, OH and FL.
Hillary needs to tack way to the left, Bernie style, and do it NOW. She then needs to say she will appoint Bernie to the Supreme Court, or as Secretary of the Interior. Then, she needs to name Warren VP. This is the only way she will get all Bernie people on board, and also is the only way to break the lead Trump has with Independents, which she HAS to do, and do quickly.
But, alas, she will do neither. She is beholden to Wall Street, the Pharma Industry, Oil and Insurance. She CAN'T tack left. Her masters won't let her.
Do you really think Sanders and Warren want to campaign with Tim Kaine? HAHAHAHAH
No press conferences, no town halls, no interviews, only 3 debates. What kind of candidate is this ? Triangulation worked well for Bill in 1992. It is an absolute strategy failure in 2016. Yet, she sticks to it. It's almost as if the DNC wants Trump to be president.
The DNC in Philly will be almost as much of a joke as the Clown Show we just witnessed in Cleveland. The problem is these are not clowns, they are not funny. They are as real as a lightning strike to your temple.
Hillary needs to tack way to the left, Bernie style, and do it NOW. She then needs to say she will appoint Bernie to the Supreme Court, or as Secretary of the Interior. Then, she needs to name Warren VP. This is the only way she will get all Bernie people on board, and also is the only way to break the lead Trump has with Independents, which she HAS to do, and do quickly.
But, alas, she will do neither. She is beholden to Wall Street, the Pharma Industry, Oil and Insurance. She CAN'T tack left. Her masters won't let her.
Do you really think Sanders and Warren want to campaign with Tim Kaine? HAHAHAHAH
No press conferences, no town halls, no interviews, only 3 debates. What kind of candidate is this ? Triangulation worked well for Bill in 1992. It is an absolute strategy failure in 2016. Yet, she sticks to it. It's almost as if the DNC wants Trump to be president.
The DNC in Philly will be almost as much of a joke as the Clown Show we just witnessed in Cleveland. The problem is these are not clowns, they are not funny. They are as real as a lightning strike to your temple.
6
Trump is still behind in all three states. He'll get a temporary bump from the convention. Then she will from the DNC. So chill -- we have until at least September before we need to worry about the polls.
6
Delusional much?
2
I'm not a Republican & have never been but I find the mass propaganda, mobspeak, mob shaming that goes on in liberal circles to be very disturbing.
If you want to convince voters not to vote for Trump, smearing them, insulting supporters & engaging in hysteria & hypocritical hate will do *nothing*. Right now this is giant echo chamber.
Dems have been stirring up hatred or said outright hatred for months now. The only difference is that Dems believe in their own self-righteousness, so they feel free to be hateful.
Here is a small sampling. And no, you can't say, "but Republicans are hateful too!" The point is that you can't accuse Republicans of 'hate' & then speak your own hate, hysteria & fear-mongering. That's pure hypocrisy.
The article is a string of pure fear-mongering & ad-hominen attacks & dispenses almost entirely with reasoned support: "the madness & loss of reason..nightmare.savagery...dystopia, dread, darkness..fraud..panicked public..mob with a noose around her neck... sociopath..steroids, half-truths, mastermind, gravest peril." Etc.
In top comments, here is a small sampling of hate:
"He needs to be sprayed with the truth & with American dignity like a bug."
"Poison being spread"
"dark ugly speech by a dark ugly man"
"The dog who caught the car"
"Chilling & sinister"
Hitler etc
Say what Clinton offers. Ignore Trump. This sort of hysterical social media/blogspeech might feel good but it has no impact on non-subscribers. We can do better.
If you want to convince voters not to vote for Trump, smearing them, insulting supporters & engaging in hysteria & hypocritical hate will do *nothing*. Right now this is giant echo chamber.
Dems have been stirring up hatred or said outright hatred for months now. The only difference is that Dems believe in their own self-righteousness, so they feel free to be hateful.
Here is a small sampling. And no, you can't say, "but Republicans are hateful too!" The point is that you can't accuse Republicans of 'hate' & then speak your own hate, hysteria & fear-mongering. That's pure hypocrisy.
The article is a string of pure fear-mongering & ad-hominen attacks & dispenses almost entirely with reasoned support: "the madness & loss of reason..nightmare.savagery...dystopia, dread, darkness..fraud..panicked public..mob with a noose around her neck... sociopath..steroids, half-truths, mastermind, gravest peril." Etc.
In top comments, here is a small sampling of hate:
"He needs to be sprayed with the truth & with American dignity like a bug."
"Poison being spread"
"dark ugly speech by a dark ugly man"
"The dog who caught the car"
"Chilling & sinister"
Hitler etc
Say what Clinton offers. Ignore Trump. This sort of hysterical social media/blogspeech might feel good but it has no impact on non-subscribers. We can do better.
12
Actually he is commenting about the hatred he heard and saw in the RNC. That convention was nothing but hatred, anger and bitterness. It catered to the lowest common denominater. Frightening what could happen in America.
4
Please look up the Wash Post article with the interviews of Holocaust survivors. They speak of an uncomfortable familiarity, not so much with Trump, but THE RESPONSE, he is getting from citizen supporters. Their experience and unsettled fear I DO respect and listen to. So it is not all just Democratic liberal echo chambers you are hearing.
7
You're a Trump supporter. Don't try to give us this "we're better" crap. From you it's crap. But we are better. Why should only Trump and his "campaign supporters" be allowed to uncontestedly paint HRC as . . . satan? No one in HRC camp has called for shooting or even charging Trump with any crimes though his record indicates someone should have long ago. Not a Trump support . . . phew! throw off your sheet.
5
we should ALL be afraid when we remember that this country twice managed to elect a TV actor president. now this?
32
I am horrified by the possibility of Trump becoming President, but I do think it will happen. Thanks New York Times, and the DNC , for HRC. I will vote for her, but Senator Sanders would have beaten DT, HRC I don't think so.
6
Please stop. Bernie wouldn't have a chance against Trump. Meanwhile, repeating bought and paid for Republican talking points about Hillary is wrong. His uncompromising oversimplifications are important, but they are not the whole picture. For example, Hillary was the *subject* of Citizens United, and wants rid of it. She was working on universal health care when Safire branded her as a "liar". The Benghazi persecution has cost us millions and failed to convict her. Her server was a human mistake, and the details do not support the Republican narrative, no matter how hard you all try.
How do you like Trump's plagiarism of Bernie's "rigged" words? Why do you give Trump a pass for his behavior, while refusing to look outside HillaryHateTM?
How do you like Trump's plagiarism of Bernie's "rigged" words? Why do you give Trump a pass for his behavior, while refusing to look outside HillaryHateTM?
35
Wrong. Bernie wouldn't have had a prayer.
5
Agree Ms. Anderson, Bernie is a good man, but a country this far to the right with a majority of governorships, state legislatures, and national Congress, all controlled by extreme conservatism, is not going to swing that far to the left in one election cycle. Hopefully, Bernie put some fire in the belly of young liberals, who will answer the call for public service and, in an elected capacity, try to neutralize some of the bizarre fear and hatred being fomented and codified, again, by Republicans.
8
Thank you for using the word "stolen" about Melania's' speech. We need more clear straight talk.
46
You mean when Obama STOLE words from Deval Patricks speech?
You mean when Biden STOLE a whole speach from Neil Kinnoch
You mean when Michelle Obama STOLE parts of her speech from Saul Alinsky
Don't be a hypocrite!
You mean when Biden STOLE a whole speach from Neil Kinnoch
You mean when Michelle Obama STOLE parts of her speech from Saul Alinsky
Don't be a hypocrite!
7
Ah....doesn't the Democratic party showcase grief-stricken mothers for political benefit as well?
I mean, if one is exploitative, so is the other.
I mean, if one is exploitative, so is the other.
8
It goes well beyond exploitation to place a raving woman before millions of witnesses to deliver a screed so unhinged by grief and right-wing propaganda that she seriously accuses a Secretary of State of committing first degree murder.
8
Except one grief-stricken mother accused the other party's presidential candidate of being personally responsible for her son's murder. I know the Republicans aren't exactly the party of nuance, but these things matter.
14
No equivalence.
5
If I were someone who believed I had an invisible friend who lived in the sky, Trump would meet the definition of their Antichrist.
43
Rule of Law? Is killing your opponent, the law? Perhaps, I am having a nightmare that I am in the Middle East!
57
Dear Mr. Egan,
Thank you for this necessary column. I hope you will continue to speak out clearly, courageously, and continually about the real danger Donald Trump poses to the United States.
Thank you for this necessary column. I hope you will continue to speak out clearly, courageously, and continually about the real danger Donald Trump poses to the United States.
85
The 'I alone can fix this' is prescient. If Trump is elected and he fails to fix the economy, build the wall, eliminate ISIS, etc., he will simply blame everyone that didn't vote to finance or act on his solutions.
26
Trump is Voldemort incarnate, skilled in the dark arts. He is luring in mindless minions, leading them down the road of perdition. The underworld is rising in blinded adoration. Hate spread like wild fire at the Republican convention.
WAKE UP AMERICA this stuff makes for good fiction, but this is real, folks.
WAKE UP AMERICA this stuff makes for good fiction, but this is real, folks.
49
Bravo, Mr. Egan. Bravo.
57
Just when you think the GOP can't get any lower, the trap door opens and here comes Donald Trump, the Frankenstein they created.
Is anyone surprised that he admires the fascistic narcissist Putin, a man who recognizes a kindred spirit and knows how to play to his vanity? Now Trump has virtually given Putin carte blanche to invade other nations. Not a peep about this from Republicans.
But what do you expect of a group that treats Hillary Clinton like the anti-Christ, yet has no problem with a man who mocks the disabled?
www.newyorkgritty.net
Is anyone surprised that he admires the fascistic narcissist Putin, a man who recognizes a kindred spirit and knows how to play to his vanity? Now Trump has virtually given Putin carte blanche to invade other nations. Not a peep about this from Republicans.
But what do you expect of a group that treats Hillary Clinton like the anti-Christ, yet has no problem with a man who mocks the disabled?
www.newyorkgritty.net
92
time for the blue states to secede from the red states......
17
For Donald Trump and his campaign, their brand is Crisis. Pat Candy is looking forward to cashing a big paycheck.
5
You hold up Ted Cruz as an example of "courage" defending the little lady and his daddy from that nasty Donald? Suggestion: when you make comparisons in an effort to show how awful someone is, try not to choose as your contrasting model someone who is a misogynistic, homophobic, bible thumping demagogue himself.
43
Tony Schwartz knows the real Donald Trump and describes him in great detail in the current issue of the New Yorker. Not surprisingly, Trump has already sent him a threatening letter demanding he shut up.
54
Read also the Evan Osnos piece on the gun lobby's roll in pumping up the fear factor in the same magazine. Their profit motive happens to dovetail perfectly with Trump's messaging.
2
We don't need a dictator , we need a president.
42
Stolen goods: Melania's speech, purloined from Michele Obama's; "system rigged" - from Bernie; "make America Great" from Lindburgh; "childcare and parental leave" from Hilary; "law and order" and Paranoia from Nixon; the last straw - MY VOICE!
Trump is the Master Con Artist. Selling stolen goods! To willing GOP stooges.
Trump is the Master Con Artist. Selling stolen goods! To willing GOP stooges.
56
WHERE'S THE TAX RETURNS? SHOW US THE TAX RETURNS! Our President was humiliated into releasing his long form birth certificate by this circus master. Where are the media stories, bumper stickers, billboards and newspaper ads demanding that Donald Trump release the most recent return which is NOT under audit? Please someone start making some bumper stickers!
85
When all you've got is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail. When all you've got is fear, every problem looks like a personal threat.
The problem is, besides fear, all the Orange Buffoon has is a very large screwdriver to use on the US, while blind to the multiple loose screws in his own self-absorbed skull.
The problem is, besides fear, all the Orange Buffoon has is a very large screwdriver to use on the US, while blind to the multiple loose screws in his own self-absorbed skull.
53
Catchy slogan though: "Make America white again".
7
This article is just another pseudo-sophisticated anti-Trump rant that adds nothing to the debate. Doesn't it really depends on what is hated and why? Is there any good reason not to hate terrorism, evil, crime, willing disregard for the rule of law, etc. To make matters worse, Egan goes entirely too far when he suggests that people who support Trump believe that "all Mexicans are rapists, all Muslims are terrorists." That is comparable to saying that all people who write for the NYT hate Trump. Wait...the latter may be true. The former definitely is not.
6
Egan's statement begins: "the emotions of the Trumpites pool to hatred and mob single-mindedness." To anyone watching the convention and witnessing the delegates repeatedly screaming, "Lock her up! Lock her up!" -- the phrase "mob hatred" seems pretty accurate.
3
I repeat, the Republican party is now the American Nazi Party. If stupidity reigns supreme and Trump is elected, we're in for dark days ahead. It can happen here, if we let it.
17
When it comes to the Republican convention, the media doesn't even have to elaborate a simple headline: "Republicans Promote HATE" would suffice.
8
The only thing missing was the Bibi show, thought for sure he would show up, but sure Trump doesn't want his rapid followers to know he is supported by Jews.
1
FEAR? I fear that this mob had no realization that this event was place upon the world stage, not at the 'Trump Tower'. The world views, listens, they have an opinion and they will shut their border to ameriKa, not as Trump states... build a wall, it will be built in attitude and mind set, it will be built upon the world stage.
I fear for my grand daughters if this person is elected to position of POTUS.
I fear for my grand daughters if this person is elected to position of POTUS.
12
"dystopia" is making bathrooms safe for predators and perverts. "doom" is not targeting Islamist jihad. "darkness" is blaming the police for keeping a lid on the hate against them. Watch the parade of "victims" in Philadelphia and write that Hillary stands for brightness and optimism.
9
She'll have a lot more hope and optimism than you've seen this week - not to mention actual ideas and policies on how to actually do something about our problems instead of merely insisting "I'm great, I don't have a clue but I'm so smart I'll figure it our as I go, so vote for me. Oh, and by the way, be very afraid - the world will collapse if you don't turn off your mind and blindly accept my magnificence."
3
Yes, and let's put the 10 Commandments on public buildings and not the text of the Sermon on the Mount. You know, the part about "blessed are the poor...." Love Jesus, right, but you, and you alone, think he was a little misguided on that one. In the meantime, go look at that phony "victim" who got shot yesterday sitting beside the young man with autism. For the life of me I am trying to figure out why he was shot.
2
Good grief. Mr. Egan is another in a long line of flaming liberal progressives who sees "hate" in everyone but himself. It's dripping from him.
LOCK HER UP! is so, so appropriate. And where better to make the point than at the RNC!
Go Trump!
LOCK HER UP! is so, so appropriate. And where better to make the point than at the RNC!
Go Trump!
7
Get some help. Really, get some professional help.
4
My condolences on not getting the riot that you were longing for. Maybe you will get your wish when the Dems meet in Philly.
3
Egan's notion that the GRAND old party has been transformed is mystifying. Where has he been?
Some rudimentary historical notes are in order: Joe McCarthy, Nixon's "southern strategy," Reagan in Mississippi campaigning where civil rights workers had been killed, Bitburg, Willy Horton, Sarah Palin.......
Please! The bombastic style might be different, but there is nothing new under the GOP sun.
Some rudimentary historical notes are in order: Joe McCarthy, Nixon's "southern strategy," Reagan in Mississippi campaigning where civil rights workers had been killed, Bitburg, Willy Horton, Sarah Palin.......
Please! The bombastic style might be different, but there is nothing new under the GOP sun.
20
And Nate Cohn, McCarthy's guy, also helped Trump do his damnedest to ruin everything he touches. There's a cautionary tale about Midas. But Midas never had to declare bankruptcy or stiff contractors to make his pile.
5
That was Roy Cohn, Susan.
3
Lock the man away in his gilded tower.
6
"Starting on night one, when Republicans chose to manipulate the grief-deranged mother of a terrorist victim, the build-up to the hanging of Hillary Clinton was never subtle."
And yet the Democrats already have a slate of "grief-deranged" mothers they will "manipulate" at their convention to speak about the supposed police war on blacks and our "broken justice system". Will we read damning and raging comments in the NYT about that, regardless of the facts, just the emotion it will be used for?
{Insert sound of crickets chirping here.}
And yet the Democrats already have a slate of "grief-deranged" mothers they will "manipulate" at their convention to speak about the supposed police war on blacks and our "broken justice system". Will we read damning and raging comments in the NYT about that, regardless of the facts, just the emotion it will be used for?
{Insert sound of crickets chirping here.}
9
And if any one of those mothers at the Democratic convention blames Trump personally for her child's death, I'll vote for Trump.
3
The difference is that the meaningful issues brought forth by Ms. Clinton about racial unrest and needed improvements to our criminal court system are real, valid issues, but the silliness of Republican Benhgazi attacks are simply manufactured. You want false equivalence.
2
Very accurate and we'll statec!!
2
Let's face it America you can't get enough of Donald Trump.
2
Had to turn off my TV last night when his blaring ugly mug was everywhere, yelling obscenely nasty hate-filled threats to the country I hold dear.
36
I too, tried to watch. I was determined to sit through the whole thing so I finally hear about his plans. There were no plans. Nothing, nada, zip, zilch. Hate, hate, hate, and Look at Me, look at Me, look at me. I scanned the faces in the crowd, trying to understand who is believing all these lies and garbage. So sad.
6
Quoth the Donald: "I alone can do it."
Scary.
Scary.
19
"On one level, this convention was Fox News on steroids — the half-truths, the grievances, the demonizing,...."
I agree.
Now, check out the Times' coverage of events each time Israel must go to war to quell the latest Arab attempt to kill the Jews, extinguish Zionism, and return Palestine to its former glory as a Roman outpost.
You will find the Times coverage to be generally anti-Israel, and "full of half-truths, grievances, and demonizing", against Israel.
But you can pick any topic which currently enjoys progressive propaganda; gun control, censorship on American college campuses in favor of identity politics, or expanding the welfare state under the guise of compassion, and you will find the liberal media, exemplified by the Times, engaging in "half-truths, grievances and demonizing."
Which explains, in part, why the Times never re-printed the Danish satirical cartoon featuring the Prophet, or the Charlie Hebdo cartoons for which its colleagues were slaughtered;
Fox news is merely the opposite side of the same coin of journalistic partisanship disguised as "fair and balanced."
I agree.
Now, check out the Times' coverage of events each time Israel must go to war to quell the latest Arab attempt to kill the Jews, extinguish Zionism, and return Palestine to its former glory as a Roman outpost.
You will find the Times coverage to be generally anti-Israel, and "full of half-truths, grievances, and demonizing", against Israel.
But you can pick any topic which currently enjoys progressive propaganda; gun control, censorship on American college campuses in favor of identity politics, or expanding the welfare state under the guise of compassion, and you will find the liberal media, exemplified by the Times, engaging in "half-truths, grievances and demonizing."
Which explains, in part, why the Times never re-printed the Danish satirical cartoon featuring the Prophet, or the Charlie Hebdo cartoons for which its colleagues were slaughtered;
Fox news is merely the opposite side of the same coin of journalistic partisanship disguised as "fair and balanced."
7
Sounds like Tim hates Trump. But jumping on Trump is easy. Why not tell us why Hilliary is so wonderful, listing her accomplishments and all, and tell us how wonderful the last 7.5 years have been? Tell us what we have to look forward to if Hillary wins!
8
Thank you for your closing statement. This is a dangerous time for America and we voters need to throw Trump out of the public sector. Can't you just imagine him calling up his pal Putin with Manafort at his side and the two of them carving up Europe and then declaring Peace in our Time?
9
Too bad the democrats are so jealous of Trump and what he said in the most significant speech of his life last night. There was no fear mongering and the NY Times should stop the spin. He remarked about a U.S. that has spun out of control with violence, debt, terrorism and how this insanity needs to end. The biggest criticism this paper speaks about daily is the ONE PARAGRAPH in Melania's speech from Michele Obama while Barak Obama plagiarized everything in 2008 as well as Biden. And everyone knows Biden plagiarized his way through law school. It is common knowledge.
2
Step away from Fox and right-wing radio for a day-it might help.
4
You're relying on "common knowledge" that isn't actually knowledge, Janis.
3
So glad this is over, total exhaustion, Trump overload!
11
I hope it's really over.
1
Peter Thiel was cheered only because his statement about being gay was served with a YUGE spoonful of sugar in the form of proclamations regarding his pride in being a Republican and an American. THAT'S what the cheers were for.
Similarly, in Trump's speech he said he'd defend LGBT folks from TERRORISM. Had he simply said he'd be a defender of the LGBT community, he'd have been greeted with boos.
Both statements had to be buffered with something this crowd could get behind and cheer for. Disgusting.
Similarly, in Trump's speech he said he'd defend LGBT folks from TERRORISM. Had he simply said he'd be a defender of the LGBT community, he'd have been greeted with boos.
Both statements had to be buffered with something this crowd could get behind and cheer for. Disgusting.
9
Well, it's not as if an illogical hatred of Anything Clinton -- usually more hoped-for smoke than actual fire -- hasn't been supported and encouraged over the last twenty-something years by a complicit media hungry for readers *cough - NY Times, Maureen Dowd - cough*
And look at where it's got us.
And look at where it's got us.
12
Is it significant that DJT's endless stream of blather is so often punctuated by the word "incredible"? To most of us, and to il Duce himself, the word is synonymous with "wonderful" or "amazing", but every time I hear him use the word "incredible", I can't help but hear another meaning to the word. I can't help but hear this man extolling his incredible ideas and plans as "not credible".
If you listen to DJT this way, he makes a lot more sense.
If you listen to DJT this way, he makes a lot more sense.
10
Tony Schwartz said in an interview last night, what really sums up Trump. "Trump substitutes intensity for knowledge".
10
I wonder if other people watching Trump last night thought, "so this is how it starts" and then checked the expiration date on their passports......
12
The grammar school I attended was very strict, quite limiting and probably cultivated an adverse, but always polite response I've had for any authority.
It may be a lot of us raised in a relatively religious situation field a similar response to authority. In turn that same influence probably affected and guides those who seek positions of authority and may also contribute to crime statistics in some predictable way.
A bit off the wall, but not too far off the mark.
The photo chosen to headline this column is as close to 1984 as any compositions I've ever seen and it does reinforce the verbal image he presented to the world last night, and the world is our biggest stage.
While it is disturbing to know and not just think there are many people who are blindly following this image without any real idea of the person in front of, as well as behind, the screen, there are more than enough of us to offset the possibility of his election.
The only important thing is to register while there is still time and cast a ballot in November or whenever it is permissible. Vote as though our children's future depended on the way we cast our ballot.
It does!
It may be a lot of us raised in a relatively religious situation field a similar response to authority. In turn that same influence probably affected and guides those who seek positions of authority and may also contribute to crime statistics in some predictable way.
A bit off the wall, but not too far off the mark.
The photo chosen to headline this column is as close to 1984 as any compositions I've ever seen and it does reinforce the verbal image he presented to the world last night, and the world is our biggest stage.
While it is disturbing to know and not just think there are many people who are blindly following this image without any real idea of the person in front of, as well as behind, the screen, there are more than enough of us to offset the possibility of his election.
The only important thing is to register while there is still time and cast a ballot in November or whenever it is permissible. Vote as though our children's future depended on the way we cast our ballot.
It does!
17
OK, no one else will say it so I will. You're beset on all sides by evil, dark skinned enemies, both within and without? Rapists and murderers from other cultures roam free in the streets? A cabal of rich keep you down? Anyone who disagrees with me is Satan-inspired? I, and I alone can deliver you!
Who else made these claims and promises in recent history? I can think of one, in Germany, in the 1930's. Imagine if he seized power in the richest, most powerful country in the world, instead of a starving, defeated she'll of a nation.
The horror. The horror.
Who else made these claims and promises in recent history? I can think of one, in Germany, in the 1930's. Imagine if he seized power in the richest, most powerful country in the world, instead of a starving, defeated she'll of a nation.
The horror. The horror.
23
Donald has made the messaging of this election very easy for the Democrats. It is not in his nature to try and moderate himself, and time has run out. It is now completely a referendum on racism, fear, isolationism and divisiveness. If that is your America, vote for Trump. Fortunately, there are more Americans who do not want to take this path, than there are those you do. Not even tried and true Republicans and conservatives, like the Bushes, Romney, Cruz and many others will take this path. The Democratic convention will be all about this referendum, and they will hammer the choice all the way to victory.
10
After 60 years of delivering nothing, the only option for the GOP was to cobble together it's current coalition of hate, fear, greed, jealousy, and bigotry. It was always inevitable that the coalition would turn inward against itself.
The only question is whether it's implosion heralds in the hope and change that we need to make this country greater than it has been under decades Republican rot and obstruction, or whether it will herald in an ego maniacal bearer of doom and destruction.
It is certain that it will take a calm and steady hand to do the incremental work of promoting and building on hope and change rather than capitulating to siren songs of demagogues.
The only question is whether it's implosion heralds in the hope and change that we need to make this country greater than it has been under decades Republican rot and obstruction, or whether it will herald in an ego maniacal bearer of doom and destruction.
It is certain that it will take a calm and steady hand to do the incremental work of promoting and building on hope and change rather than capitulating to siren songs of demagogues.
8
The title says it all. An ugly guy who's in it for himself and is dishonest about his record, which is full of taking what he can get and hurting working stiffs, along with the rest.
But I'll add one:
Turning America into a lynch mob.
Hillary's patience and courage in the face of a constant barrage of insult and detraction is outstanding. If you are inclined repeat bought and paid for Republican insults, please take a closer look and think of her as a fellow human who has done a lot of hard jobs well, and has stuck up for all of us to the best of her ability. She makes mistakes; so do we all. God forbid that any of us should ever been as "perfect" as this dumpster fire.
But I'll add one:
Turning America into a lynch mob.
Hillary's patience and courage in the face of a constant barrage of insult and detraction is outstanding. If you are inclined repeat bought and paid for Republican insults, please take a closer look and think of her as a fellow human who has done a lot of hard jobs well, and has stuck up for all of us to the best of her ability. She makes mistakes; so do we all. God forbid that any of us should ever been as "perfect" as this dumpster fire.
33
When Trump beats our widely unpopular Democrat candidate, the Times will be complicit. Thank you, NYT, for alternately ignoring and undercutting our best chance to beat this monster.
1
Trump/Pence as the standard bearer for Republicans makes perfect sense.
They are both for and against free trade.
They are for and against LGBT equality.
They are both for and against NATO and a strong defense.
They are both for and against religious freedom.
They are both for and against torture.
Republicans 2016 - you pay yer money, you take yer chances!
They are both for and against free trade.
They are for and against LGBT equality.
They are both for and against NATO and a strong defense.
They are both for and against religious freedom.
They are both for and against torture.
Republicans 2016 - you pay yer money, you take yer chances!
6
Do members of the Republican establishment who lined up to support Mr. Trump not realize that they are the very people he is trashing? After all, Republicans have been in control of one or both houses of Congress since 2010. Do Nothings are supporting a Know Nothing as President of the United States. They apparently think they will be able to contain him, either by touting how nice Mr. Trump's children are (who will surely contain Trump's darker instincts), or by depending on Gov. Pence (approved by and part of the dreaded establishment) to be Mr. Trump's minder should he become President.
Perhaps Speaker Ryan and Leader McConnell think Trump will roll over and support whatever legislation they put before him. They dream of repealing the ACA (after 50+ unsuccessful attempts), of overturning Roe v. Wade (after 50 years of unsuccessful attempts), of enshrining in laws discrimination based on religious beliefs (see Republican led states already doing that), of doing away with unions (they are well on their way on that one), of restricting voting rights (well on the way in Republican led states), and of being able to manipulate Trump into appointing rabidly conservative justices to the Supreme Court of the United States. In short, Ryan and McConnell dream of making the US like all those Republican states that are busy restricting many rights.
In some states, it's easier to buy a gun than it is to vote.
Perhaps Speaker Ryan and Leader McConnell think Trump will roll over and support whatever legislation they put before him. They dream of repealing the ACA (after 50+ unsuccessful attempts), of overturning Roe v. Wade (after 50 years of unsuccessful attempts), of enshrining in laws discrimination based on religious beliefs (see Republican led states already doing that), of doing away with unions (they are well on their way on that one), of restricting voting rights (well on the way in Republican led states), and of being able to manipulate Trump into appointing rabidly conservative justices to the Supreme Court of the United States. In short, Ryan and McConnell dream of making the US like all those Republican states that are busy restricting many rights.
In some states, it's easier to buy a gun than it is to vote.
28
I do not fear a Trump presidency. We have a system of checks and balances, and we have a military that takes an oath to defend and uphold the Constitution, not an individual. These will save us.
4
Two evils don't make a good. Republicans have positioned local, State, and Federal governance as an auction designed to sell off our common goods, including, natural resources, the right to pollute, the promotion of unprotected 'buyer beware' business practices', and last, but not least, the governing bodies themselves.
This, coupled with a wannabee Putin 'look alike' could be enough to tip the balance of democracy, perhaps imperceptibly at first, but none-the-less moving it another increment towards a classical, historical right wing solution to absolutist governance by the few. We are a hairs vote away from losing democracy itself.
The underpinnings of civilization is marked by the the cooperation of diverse groups of humans. We, as a species, have battled, prayed, and sacrificed to build the current pinnacle of civilized values represented by the United States of America. We can only achieve greater heights by increasing our diversity and our acceptance of others, not by 'walling' ourselves off from the diverse human resources that have traditionally been the driving force of our democracy itself.
Hope and change may have suffered a setback at the hands of self servers, absolutists, and those who inclined roll back civilization, but hope and change is our only weapon we have against the endless, and progressive happenstantial change inherent in our natural habitat (aka, the known Universe).
Hope and change will prevail or we will perish.
This, coupled with a wannabee Putin 'look alike' could be enough to tip the balance of democracy, perhaps imperceptibly at first, but none-the-less moving it another increment towards a classical, historical right wing solution to absolutist governance by the few. We are a hairs vote away from losing democracy itself.
The underpinnings of civilization is marked by the the cooperation of diverse groups of humans. We, as a species, have battled, prayed, and sacrificed to build the current pinnacle of civilized values represented by the United States of America. We can only achieve greater heights by increasing our diversity and our acceptance of others, not by 'walling' ourselves off from the diverse human resources that have traditionally been the driving force of our democracy itself.
Hope and change may have suffered a setback at the hands of self servers, absolutists, and those who inclined roll back civilization, but hope and change is our only weapon we have against the endless, and progressive happenstantial change inherent in our natural habitat (aka, the known Universe).
Hope and change will prevail or we will perish.
We had both those things in 1861 as well.
1
It's good to know that irrational optimism is not dead! In case one has failed to notice, numbers of important checks and balances have been negated, including the "fairness doctrine", anti-trust rules, rules against the consolidation of media, and rules against corporations making political contributions., that has paved the way to the current verge of fascistic overthrow we are now faced with.
3
As Tony Schwartz pointed out on MSNBC last night, Donald Trump's few minutes of fame last night means nothing. He is who he is, a xenophobic, misogynistic racist who drags the very idea of hope into the septage of fear, hate and rage.
Trump has shown America his true colors for decades. 90 minutes before a teleprompter doesn't remove a single hyena spot. He and his dutiful acolytes represent the worst angels of our national nature.
Never mind the dark loathing on the podium last night. Donald, we know who you are, far more than anybody should ever want. You are the man who wasted America's time with your wholly and knowingly unsubstantiated birther racism of 2011.
www.endthemadnessnow.org
Trump has shown America his true colors for decades. 90 minutes before a teleprompter doesn't remove a single hyena spot. He and his dutiful acolytes represent the worst angels of our national nature.
Never mind the dark loathing on the podium last night. Donald, we know who you are, far more than anybody should ever want. You are the man who wasted America's time with your wholly and knowingly unsubstantiated birther racism of 2011.
www.endthemadnessnow.org
12
"But in a group, the emotions of the Trumpites pool to hatred and mob single-mindedness — all Mexicans are rapists, all Muslims are terrorists, all crime is rising, Hillary Clinton is the devil and should be shot." — This is a lie. Trump supporters, and all Republicans do not believe this. This paragraph was written to divide people. This paragraph was written to inspire hate in your readers.
7
The paragraph was written to accurately summarize your candidate's outrageous speech. Goodness gracious, weren't you listening to it?
Trump is the one inspiring hate. What the Times is doing is called "Reporting."
Trump is the one inspiring hate. What the Times is doing is called "Reporting."
14
You could have fooled me. Perhaps other Trump groups are less hateful, but this one was scary and hate-filled. I agree one could see many individuals who were caught up in joyous celebration of their community, but they seemed blind to the scary similarities of the group dynamic to Hitler's rise in Germany.
Trump himself is hideous, and his followers seem blind to his actual record. Perhaps you should take a look:
http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/07/25/donald-trumps-ghostwriter-t...
And, of course, the expected threats have ensued:
http://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/donald-trump-threatens-the-ghost...
Trump himself is hideous, and his followers seem blind to his actual record. Perhaps you should take a look:
http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/07/25/donald-trumps-ghostwriter-t...
And, of course, the expected threats have ensued:
http://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/donald-trump-threatens-the-ghost...
10
Mr.Egan-what a brilliant column. But we might not have seen the end of Roger Ailes. A news item yesterday said that Ailes had been in touch with the Trump campaign in the last few days. Perhaps he's already scored a new gig-manager of Hair Duce's campaign. Trump and Ailes entwined? The mind boggles. We are facing a great peril, but we can't look away. Time to face it and defeat it.
10
Consider for a moment the words of our very first President: "However [political parties] may now and then answer popular ends, they are likely in the course of time and things, to become potent engines, by which cunning, ambitious, and unprincipled men will be enabled to subvert the power of the people and to usurp for themselves the reins of government, destroying afterwards the very engines which have lifted them to unjust dominion.”
Look at what party affiliations have wrought; LOOK at the choices before us and tell me George Washington's last bit of advice to the nation wasn't on point. Everyone has their own personal decisions to make. While I have a strong sense of loyalty for my country, I reject the very notion of loyalty to some political party. They're practically organized religions at this point and they've been waging a holy war against each other for a long time now. And as with all wars, casualties abound. It's scorched earth. One side will do ANYTHING, support ANYONE to see the other side laid low. In this way, the standards of leadership spirals because all one side has to do is seek to prove the other side is worse.
Political parties have, intentionally or unintentionally, brought us to this place. They shouldn't be strengthened, they should be disbanded.
Look at what party affiliations have wrought; LOOK at the choices before us and tell me George Washington's last bit of advice to the nation wasn't on point. Everyone has their own personal decisions to make. While I have a strong sense of loyalty for my country, I reject the very notion of loyalty to some political party. They're practically organized religions at this point and they've been waging a holy war against each other for a long time now. And as with all wars, casualties abound. It's scorched earth. One side will do ANYTHING, support ANYONE to see the other side laid low. In this way, the standards of leadership spirals because all one side has to do is seek to prove the other side is worse.
Political parties have, intentionally or unintentionally, brought us to this place. They shouldn't be strengthened, they should be disbanded.
3
Matt:
Indeed, though I would never go so far as to say they should be disbanded. To my mind it comes to this. Our system of governance is suffering the consequences of Empire. One with no real external enemies to guard against (I leave aside the likes of a ISIL which is really just a mere irritant in the larger scheme of things).
History shows time and again that when Empire reaches this stage it's leadership class tends to implode in delusional self-interest, driven by a lust for power, decadence and all the rest. Time and again it has happened. It seems to be setting up to happen yet one more time. It comes to this; so long as we the people are uneducated and unmindful to the lessons of history we will ultimately become victims of it.
So it goes.
John~
American Net'Zen
Indeed, though I would never go so far as to say they should be disbanded. To my mind it comes to this. Our system of governance is suffering the consequences of Empire. One with no real external enemies to guard against (I leave aside the likes of a ISIL which is really just a mere irritant in the larger scheme of things).
History shows time and again that when Empire reaches this stage it's leadership class tends to implode in delusional self-interest, driven by a lust for power, decadence and all the rest. Time and again it has happened. It seems to be setting up to happen yet one more time. It comes to this; so long as we the people are uneducated and unmindful to the lessons of history we will ultimately become victims of it.
So it goes.
John~
American Net'Zen
5
Washington and other founders knew that they could not thwart politicians, so they attempted to do the next best thing - keep the power of the federal government very limited. Lincoln dashed that hope. Once the federal government had usurped states' rights, it was just a matter of time until politicians destroyed the country.
D Reid, that's a new one on me. Blame Lincoln!!!
2
Of course no mention of the identity politics played by the Democrats and Hillary which are by nature divisive, and largely ineffective.
People are onto the hate that is promoted by the media, repeating their useless meme, every chance they get. But the people understand that the status quo isn't working for them. And they finally have a candidate that has listened and has some solutions that actually may bring some resolution.
And it drives the NYT and its writers, editors and owners (Carlos Slim) crazy. They can't influence like they once used to. Thank goodness.
People are onto the hate that is promoted by the media, repeating their useless meme, every chance they get. But the people understand that the status quo isn't working for them. And they finally have a candidate that has listened and has some solutions that actually may bring some resolution.
And it drives the NYT and its writers, editors and owners (Carlos Slim) crazy. They can't influence like they once used to. Thank goodness.
10
I hope you are correct.
1
Please. Please.ONE example of the identity politics. Just one specific example.
1
I am curious as to why you, and other media people, resurrect the Beirut and Benghazi incidents and totally ignore the eight attacks on various US diplomatic missions between 2004 and 2008, during the Bush years. Perhaps selective memory doesn't help make headlines.
13
Since your 61 Tim, I would have thought you would know that the fear/hate republican southern strategy started with Nixon!
Obama's election merely made the fear/hate people more vocal!
Obama's election merely made the fear/hate people more vocal!
6
...because their racism is showing
1
Let's hope this is all a bad dream and we will wake up on November 9 having dodged a fascist bullet.
13
A little perspective, Mr. Egan:
His "stiffed plumbers and carpenters" vs her rigor mortis of hundreds of thousands in Rwanda, Libya, Syria, etc.
"[H]is dark arts to 'make our country rich again'" vs her dark money to make herself rich (at last) at the expense of our economy, sovereignty and security.
His "stiffed plumbers and carpenters" vs her rigor mortis of hundreds of thousands in Rwanda, Libya, Syria, etc.
"[H]is dark arts to 'make our country rich again'" vs her dark money to make herself rich (at last) at the expense of our economy, sovereignty and security.
6
Listen. The Trumpet call. Taps. For the brave men and women who defended democracy. For the dissolution of the Republican Party. For the passing of civility and informed, compassionate discussion. ...day is done.
7
Please, everybody, Google Hermann Goering's comments at the Nuremburg trials, especially his analysis of how to control and direct the beliefs of the public. Donald Trump is following Goering's game plan.
Read it and weep.
Read it and weep.
16
This is a masterful analysis of the Republican National Convention by Timothy Egan. In a response to the NYT Editorial Board’s op-ed, I have already summarized Donald Trump’s culminating speech as “Midnight in America” at home. Given his foreign policy inklings with respect to NATO and Russia, we might as well set the doomsday clock right now at one second from midnight.
Also, not a single columnist that I have read so far has mentioned the tone/volume of Donald Trump’s speech – is it OK for a white man to rant and rave at the top of his voice for over an hour on national TV in prime time? Did his handlers not mention to him that he did have a microphone in front of him? Can anyone imagine Obama doing this pitch/tone of voice in 2008 or even 2012? In fact, would Hillary not get pilloried if she screamed like this in Philadelphia next week?
For heaven’s sake, Mr. Trump, you want to be the president of the most powerful nation on earth – get a grip!
Also, not a single columnist that I have read so far has mentioned the tone/volume of Donald Trump’s speech – is it OK for a white man to rant and rave at the top of his voice for over an hour on national TV in prime time? Did his handlers not mention to him that he did have a microphone in front of him? Can anyone imagine Obama doing this pitch/tone of voice in 2008 or even 2012? In fact, would Hillary not get pilloried if she screamed like this in Philadelphia next week?
For heaven’s sake, Mr. Trump, you want to be the president of the most powerful nation on earth – get a grip!
17
Ha! "is it OK for a white man to rant and rave at the top of his voice for over an hour on national TV in prime time?"
What, you no like that the Trumpster was channeling his inner Nazis? Heh!
What, you no like that the Trumpster was channeling his inner Nazis? Heh!
2
The GOP of Eisenhower and Reagan is gone. The GOP that is left has fewer policies differences from the Democrats. I don't much care for Mittens or Bush and I don't like Clinton or Obama at all.
You don't want a party with different views. You want the GOP to be just a clone of the Democratic party. Last night the party finally spoke to what I want, which it hasn't done since Reagan.
This what I dislike so much about liberals like you - you really want a one party system - you don't like diverse views in parties - you just 2 parties with the same views. For you America should be like Orwell's 1984 which it pretty much is now under Obama.
You don't want a party with different views. You want the GOP to be just a clone of the Democratic party. Last night the party finally spoke to what I want, which it hasn't done since Reagan.
This what I dislike so much about liberals like you - you really want a one party system - you don't like diverse views in parties - you just 2 parties with the same views. For you America should be like Orwell's 1984 which it pretty much is now under Obama.
2
What did last night give you? What exactly do you want? Crime is down, unemployment is down, the economy is good, and the Obama Administration has killed more terrorists than any administration in history. Gays have rights, people have health care. And that's what we have done with the most obstructionist Congress in history. If the GOP had cooperated in the smallest of ways wages would have gone up, our veterans would have been cared for, our roads and bridges would have crews working on them.
What didn't you get? Oh, right. Hillary's head on a platter. We can't give you that because we actually are governed by the rule of law, and the law has not been broken as more than a dozen trumped-up investigations over 25 years have shown.
What didn't you get? Oh, right. Hillary's head on a platter. We can't give you that because we actually are governed by the rule of law, and the law has not been broken as more than a dozen trumped-up investigations over 25 years have shown.
13
Sorry to say, you are wrong on all counts.
1
i want a government that implements the laws and does not spend time in scheming how to get round them with executive orders. I want Syrian Migration stopped as we really can't vet them and have only to look at Europe to see what massive immigration from the Middle East has done. I want to see immigration cut, visa lottery abolished, and no prosecutorial exceptions in casesl I want lower immigration from all areas reduced. I want investigation into H1B. We take into too many immigrants from the Middle East and I want that stopped until we have defeated ISIS. Those that come from Countries where ISIS active, should not be permitted in this country.
I want the US to meddle less in foreign affairs and cut back on the money we spend overseas. We must either pull out of NATO or insist on payment of fees. We must stop being the policeman of the world.
I want less of the budget devoted to the military and more to recovery of our crumbling infrastructure.
Over the years especially since Johnson, more and more power has been taken from the states by the Federal government. I want a return to genuine Federalism and see the states have more power.
Above all I want Law and Order and I want this attacking the killing police to stop. I want BLM rightly called a terrorist organization and banned.
I want the US to meddle less in foreign affairs and cut back on the money we spend overseas. We must either pull out of NATO or insist on payment of fees. We must stop being the policeman of the world.
I want less of the budget devoted to the military and more to recovery of our crumbling infrastructure.
Over the years especially since Johnson, more and more power has been taken from the states by the Federal government. I want a return to genuine Federalism and see the states have more power.
Above all I want Law and Order and I want this attacking the killing police to stop. I want BLM rightly called a terrorist organization and banned.
Rogr Ailes leaving at this precipitous moment is like Dr. Frankenstein being locked out of the castle just as his monstrous creation comes to life. Where are Gene Wilder and Marty Feldman when we need them?
7
"We have serious problems to solve, and we need serious people to solve them. And whatever your particular problem is, I promise you, Bob Rumson is not the least bit interested in solving it. He is interested in two things and two things only: making you afraid of it and telling you who's to blame for it. "
-President Andrew Shepard, The American President, 1995
-President Andrew Shepard, The American President, 1995
8
"Being President of this country is entirely about character."
–President Andrew Shepherd, "The American President"
–President Andrew Shepherd, "The American President"
Make America hate again indeed. The angry masses must hate each other or the whole Republican Party falls apart. Like a skilled magician, they must make you look at the hand they are waving in the air--those black, Hispanic, gay, female people are ruining your country--or they might notice that all you hold in your other hand is tax cuts for the rich and the trickle-down economics that never worked and never will. In an act of supreme hypocrisy they trot out Peter Theil despite a platform that would take away his civil rights and would have forced him into "therapy" as a teenager.
His word is his bond, except when it comes to the nation (or marriage). Then, your word and your treaties mean nothing. The withdraw of support from NATO allies and a foreign policy based on no considerations except money should frighten absolutely everyone. Welcome to disaffected America where dystopian literature comes to life.
His word is his bond, except when it comes to the nation (or marriage). Then, your word and your treaties mean nothing. The withdraw of support from NATO allies and a foreign policy based on no considerations except money should frighten absolutely everyone. Welcome to disaffected America where dystopian literature comes to life.
5
I was looking forward to Mr. Egan's piece today. Compared to the Editorial Board's weak piece on fear and Krugman's normal meander, I figured Timothy would engage in a full-out hate fest. Instead I get a nit pick of the convention telecast and a paen to Ted Cruz.
I guess I need to head over to MSNBC for some real vituperation.
I guess I need to head over to MSNBC for some real vituperation.
2
There's not a whole lotta love in the U.S. now.
5
As the late, great Molly Ivins once quipped about Pat Buchanan’s 1992 RNC speech: “It probably sounded better in the original German.”
17
They were cheering Thiel's money. Because in the end, they equate the accumulation of large sums of money with virtues, talents, etc. How often in my life have I heard the bromide retort offered, 'if you're so smart, why ain't you rich?' Having grown up in an upscale suburb that's rapidly being priced into the stratosphere as Masters of the Universe move in, just from observation of the locals, I would say rather, 'if you're so rich, why ain't you smart?"
Folks, lots of money does not necessarily correlate with any positive traits. It may well be a factor to rule them out, and the appropriate answer to 'if you're so smart, why ain't you rich?' may be 'because I have some principles and there are some things I just won't do, not even for money.'
Folks, lots of money does not necessarily correlate with any positive traits. It may well be a factor to rule them out, and the appropriate answer to 'if you're so smart, why ain't you rich?' may be 'because I have some principles and there are some things I just won't do, not even for money.'
12
The ten most dangerous words in the English language are "Hi, I'm from the government, and I'm here to help." Now we have-"Hi,I'm Donald Trump,I'm not here from the government but I alone am here to help so don't dare question me because I'm fabulous." Whoo-wee!!
3
Donald Trump is a demagogue. He envisions an autocratic rule, and says so, offering himself as our only savior and protector.
I genuinely hope that the press does not pursue its usual habit of creating false equivalencies between our two major party candidates, as they have so often done in the past. Now is not the time for such faux-impartiality.
I genuinely hope that the press does not pursue its usual habit of creating false equivalencies between our two major party candidates, as they have so often done in the past. Now is not the time for such faux-impartiality.
12
Mr. Egan, you unfortunately said it all exactly right. I can only hope that 10 years from now -- maybe five years from now -- we look back on this dark time and wonder how a plurality of Americans could have lost their minds like this.
10
This election is sort of a national IQ test, sort of like the Brexit referendum was for the UK. I sure how we do better than the UK.
5
Exactly. Trump is banking on the low-information voter. It would be a losing strategy except for one terrifying fact: most voters ARE low-information voters.
If that's a disturbing concept to anyone, then they need to start reading up on the issues and VOTE.
If that's a disturbing concept to anyone, then they need to start reading up on the issues and VOTE.
1
Interesting speech with a lot of good points. Someone want to explain why closing our borders to illegal immigrants is hateful. I realize that many on the Left no longer believe in national borders and support a world government, but I don't recall when we as a nation made that decision. If anything, the real foaming hate rhetoric is from the morons of the main stream press printing: "But in a group, the emotions of the Trumpites pool to hatred and mob single-mindedness — all Mexicans are rapists, all Muslims are terrorists, all crime is rising, Hillary Clinton is the devil and should be shot." Maybe Trump is seen as flamboyant, but the truth is he's was right about many things.
3
Sorry. he's not right. He's not right about the wall. And no nation has ever had a formal vote to join a world government because a world government doesn't exist, so there's nothing to join.
What has happened is that nations have become more inextricably connected to each other by global trade. Since WWI days, no nation exists, or even can if it wants to, in a self-contained vacuum. This is especially true of the world's most powerful nations with the biggest economies. We are deeply linked with China. if their stock market collapsed today, so would ours. So would the European Exchange. So would the Tokyo exchange.
You can't undo that by slapping tariffs on China.
But we have different military objectives than China. And we dont exist in a vacuum because of our alliances. If China attacks Japan or Taiwan, America is at war with China. If America bombs North Korea, China is at war with us.
Slapping a tariff on China will not stop them from appropriating large chunks of the South China Sea.
And abandoning our allies is a very bad idea. Suppose the Chinese invaded Taiwan. The worst possible response from us would be to shrug and say, we don't care until the Chinese attack American soil. That would give the Chinese the pass to take over as much of the South Pacific as they possibly can, because we will have given them a green light by saying we won't do anything as long as they don't invade us.
We'd be on to WWIII in short order.
That's why isolationism doesn't work.
What has happened is that nations have become more inextricably connected to each other by global trade. Since WWI days, no nation exists, or even can if it wants to, in a self-contained vacuum. This is especially true of the world's most powerful nations with the biggest economies. We are deeply linked with China. if their stock market collapsed today, so would ours. So would the European Exchange. So would the Tokyo exchange.
You can't undo that by slapping tariffs on China.
But we have different military objectives than China. And we dont exist in a vacuum because of our alliances. If China attacks Japan or Taiwan, America is at war with China. If America bombs North Korea, China is at war with us.
Slapping a tariff on China will not stop them from appropriating large chunks of the South China Sea.
And abandoning our allies is a very bad idea. Suppose the Chinese invaded Taiwan. The worst possible response from us would be to shrug and say, we don't care until the Chinese attack American soil. That would give the Chinese the pass to take over as much of the South Pacific as they possibly can, because we will have given them a green light by saying we won't do anything as long as they don't invade us.
We'd be on to WWIII in short order.
That's why isolationism doesn't work.
5
"Lock her up! Lock her up! Lock her up!" A common chant at the Republican convention.
"Traitor! Traitor!" was the Tea Party chant made to Representative Gabby Giffords in Arizona. In 2011, Gabby Giffords was shot in the head, and several around her killed. Surely the mentally ill man who murdered and injured people was vulnerable, affected by the hate speech, that was, before the murders, quietly accepted by then Governor Jan Brewer.
The Rev. Jessie Jackson pointed this out in a Huffpost editorial in 2011.
Maybe Jesse Jackson might also agree today that the fringe of the Black Lives Matter movement use hate speech that influenced the mentally vulnerable veteran black men (returning from the traumatic stress of war) to kill police officers in Dallas and Baton Rouge. The chant of "Hey Hey! Ho Ho! Racist cops have got to go!" that originated after Ferguson tourned into "Dead cops now!" for BLM fringe in Baton Rouge. Dallas Police Chief David Brown urges us to know that our police forces are the first to deal with our mentally vulnerable citizens who become violent.
"Lock her up" will lead to more of the same, and it's because of those shouting this phrase at the Republican National Convention. We Americans must collectively recognize that to end murderous mayhem stemming from such rhetoric, it takes a village devoted to care and good will for one another.
"Traitor! Traitor!" was the Tea Party chant made to Representative Gabby Giffords in Arizona. In 2011, Gabby Giffords was shot in the head, and several around her killed. Surely the mentally ill man who murdered and injured people was vulnerable, affected by the hate speech, that was, before the murders, quietly accepted by then Governor Jan Brewer.
The Rev. Jessie Jackson pointed this out in a Huffpost editorial in 2011.
Maybe Jesse Jackson might also agree today that the fringe of the Black Lives Matter movement use hate speech that influenced the mentally vulnerable veteran black men (returning from the traumatic stress of war) to kill police officers in Dallas and Baton Rouge. The chant of "Hey Hey! Ho Ho! Racist cops have got to go!" that originated after Ferguson tourned into "Dead cops now!" for BLM fringe in Baton Rouge. Dallas Police Chief David Brown urges us to know that our police forces are the first to deal with our mentally vulnerable citizens who become violent.
"Lock her up" will lead to more of the same, and it's because of those shouting this phrase at the Republican National Convention. We Americans must collectively recognize that to end murderous mayhem stemming from such rhetoric, it takes a village devoted to care and good will for one another.
10
Let's have a bit of backstory on German immigrant Peter Theil, cofounder of Paypal and proud proclaimer of his gayness at the GOP.
Is worth over $2.8 billion [Forbes],
Has contributed to scores of the most right-wing political candidates over the years - all of them anti-gay. A self-professed Libertarian, he backed Ron Paul for president in 2008, but, when John McCain got the nomination, immediately switched his support and contributions to McCain/Palin. He backed Rand Paul this year, but is now supporting Trump/Pense.
With money from the CIA. founded Palantir Technologies, which does massive datamining (including data collected about American civilians). Among his clients are DHS, CIA, NSA, FBI, CDC, the Marine Corps, the Air Force, Special Operations Command, and West Point,
Datamines your and my credit card information for large companies and financial institutions.
In 2009, told Bill Kristol of the neo-con Weekly Standard that he believes freedom is incompatible with democracy. Also said that Capitalism is incompatible with democracy. He doesn't believe in democracy as a form of government and prefers either more hierarchical, authoritarian systems or anarchic Libertarianism (he funded a group that wants to create an off-shore floating "libertarian paradise").
A major contributor to cryogenics, longevity, and AI research, with the stated goal of living forever.
A Director of the Bilderberg group.
Lots more disturbing details - but I've hit the text limit.
Is worth over $2.8 billion [Forbes],
Has contributed to scores of the most right-wing political candidates over the years - all of them anti-gay. A self-professed Libertarian, he backed Ron Paul for president in 2008, but, when John McCain got the nomination, immediately switched his support and contributions to McCain/Palin. He backed Rand Paul this year, but is now supporting Trump/Pense.
With money from the CIA. founded Palantir Technologies, which does massive datamining (including data collected about American civilians). Among his clients are DHS, CIA, NSA, FBI, CDC, the Marine Corps, the Air Force, Special Operations Command, and West Point,
Datamines your and my credit card information for large companies and financial institutions.
In 2009, told Bill Kristol of the neo-con Weekly Standard that he believes freedom is incompatible with democracy. Also said that Capitalism is incompatible with democracy. He doesn't believe in democracy as a form of government and prefers either more hierarchical, authoritarian systems or anarchic Libertarianism (he funded a group that wants to create an off-shore floating "libertarian paradise").
A major contributor to cryogenics, longevity, and AI research, with the stated goal of living forever.
A Director of the Bilderberg group.
Lots more disturbing details - but I've hit the text limit.
26
You've said what has been evident for a long time from all the GOP and right wing groups, that they want unfettered capitalism with no democracy;the GOP call for states rights already is ending democracy with red states passing laws that override any laws created by cities and counties that the state red leaders don't like;it's difficult to wake up to the facts, but if we don't we will be the People's Republic of Capitalist America, just like China, where there is fabulous wealth at the top and then poverty, no middle class.
2
What is so 'disturbing' about this?
That Thiel has opinions that do not align with the Left's worldview, especially the knee jerk NIMBY Limousine Liberalism of Silicon Valley?
That Thiel has opinions that do not align with the Left's worldview, especially the knee jerk NIMBY Limousine Liberalism of Silicon Valley?
1
You "conservatives" sure have a lot of cute, little catch phrases for your enemies!
3
A democracy facing it's greatest peril?
How about the disbarred former attorney spouse of the subject of an FBI criminal investigation unethically meeting with the sitting Attorney General of the United States only a few days before the FBI interviewed said subject of a Federal criminal investigation.
And no one in the main stream media said much of anything about the possibility that the Attorney General, who had once been appointed to a Federal, career enhancing, position by the same disbarred attorney, might have been colluding to prevent the disbarred attorney's spouse from falling into an FBI perjury trap during her interrogation.
Because you know, uh, hmm...Melania Trump cribbed a couple of sentences from Michelle Obama. Yeah, that's it. That's the ticket.
The greatest peril facing the Republic since it's founding might actually be the joining at the hip of the mainstream media, and the national democrat party.
How about the disbarred former attorney spouse of the subject of an FBI criminal investigation unethically meeting with the sitting Attorney General of the United States only a few days before the FBI interviewed said subject of a Federal criminal investigation.
And no one in the main stream media said much of anything about the possibility that the Attorney General, who had once been appointed to a Federal, career enhancing, position by the same disbarred attorney, might have been colluding to prevent the disbarred attorney's spouse from falling into an FBI perjury trap during her interrogation.
Because you know, uh, hmm...Melania Trump cribbed a couple of sentences from Michelle Obama. Yeah, that's it. That's the ticket.
The greatest peril facing the Republic since it's founding might actually be the joining at the hip of the mainstream media, and the national democrat party.
4
"nothing about this Republican Party . . . remotely resembles the Grand Old Party of before."
Dead wrong: this GOP is the faithful expression of decades of Republican playing to and exacerbating the racism, resentment, anti-science, anti-knowledge, fact-denying, hate-filled ignorance of its base. The KKKK and neoNazis who openly expressed their hatred of Obama for his race and Hillary for her sex at the Convention are the core constituency of the Republican Party because the Party has willingly catered to them since Nixon. They--and we--are reaping what the spineless, corrupt Republican leaders have sown.
Dead wrong: this GOP is the faithful expression of decades of Republican playing to and exacerbating the racism, resentment, anti-science, anti-knowledge, fact-denying, hate-filled ignorance of its base. The KKKK and neoNazis who openly expressed their hatred of Obama for his race and Hillary for her sex at the Convention are the core constituency of the Republican Party because the Party has willingly catered to them since Nixon. They--and we--are reaping what the spineless, corrupt Republican leaders have sown.
4
Perhaps it might be time for that follow-up question, television journalists.
1
The Trump convention was a massive gathering of white people up to no good!
2
So-cheers for a gay billionaire and later jeers for gay rights?
The GOP really has sold its soul to the highest bidder.
The GOP really has sold its soul to the highest bidder.
4
John Oliver had some fun with the name "Drumpf". The laughing now has to stop.
We need to start calling him Donald Trumpler. The parallels to Hitler are real and scary, and we need to remember that fact every time his name is spoken.
We need to start calling him Donald Trumpler. The parallels to Hitler are real and scary, and we need to remember that fact every time his name is spoken.
9
The Orwellian "Two Minutes of Hate"for Hillary Clinton, orchestrated by Trump sycophant Chris Christy, punctuated by an apparent Republican mob of thousands, screaming "lock her up", was a chilling metaphor for the intolerance and hateful rhetoric spewed by Donald Trump.
8
You have written an opinion that could have been written by me. The abject ignorance on display in Cleveland reminded me of the film "Idiocracy". The dumbing down of America has put up for President an empty suit, the Wizard of Oz, or President Comacho, the bare chested barbarian in the film.
5
I'll need to pick up Miller's "The Crucible" again. Trump is the Abigail Williams of our time. He is the one pointing his crooked finger at good people asking for hangings. That play has been compared to the McCarthy hearings, an allegory of the red-scare. It can now also be compared to the rise of Trump and his scare tactics. Like Abigail Williams, Trump is corrupt, yet he has the clergy and the people chanting kill kill kill...
6
The child-man Trump speaks to the American people like they were children. Simple-minded slogans and bromides, injecting fear, loathing, anger, bellicosity, paranoia, calls for law and order as code words for a crackdown on you know you, people who don't look like Trump's family and most of those inside the convention hall in Cleveland.
The others, it's always the others. They make for the good boogeyman. Blame all of America's ill on Mexico, Muslims, ISIS, gun-free zones, bleeding heart liberals, those who talk of love instead of hate, wimps all. This demagogue calls for law and order, strength, nuclear options always on the table, bullying nations into submission, threats of violence, good gun owners versus bad gun owners, us against them. Good God, what a way to live your life and preach as way for America to proceed into the future.
And mind you no specifics at all, just enormous generalities which demand an electorate to buy your snake oil simply based on faith. Like religious hucksters who warn you that unless you give until it hurts only then will you be saved from the fires of damnation.
People who sincerely believe the nonsense Trump preaches are losers no matter the outcome in November. They will either see Trump fail when faced with reality or the likely case of Hillary as president, a horrific thought by folks who they have been programmed to fear and hate for so long they will be besides themselves in anger. God pity them.
DD
Manhattan
The others, it's always the others. They make for the good boogeyman. Blame all of America's ill on Mexico, Muslims, ISIS, gun-free zones, bleeding heart liberals, those who talk of love instead of hate, wimps all. This demagogue calls for law and order, strength, nuclear options always on the table, bullying nations into submission, threats of violence, good gun owners versus bad gun owners, us against them. Good God, what a way to live your life and preach as way for America to proceed into the future.
And mind you no specifics at all, just enormous generalities which demand an electorate to buy your snake oil simply based on faith. Like religious hucksters who warn you that unless you give until it hurts only then will you be saved from the fires of damnation.
People who sincerely believe the nonsense Trump preaches are losers no matter the outcome in November. They will either see Trump fail when faced with reality or the likely case of Hillary as president, a horrific thought by folks who they have been programmed to fear and hate for so long they will be besides themselves in anger. God pity them.
DD
Manhattan
6
Trump is just an aging egocentric businessman who knows little else besides how to finance a construction project. He thinks that qualifies him to be a world leader. Is it the least bit surprising that the centerpiece of his platform -- his border wall with Mexico -- is a massive construction project? That wall, to him, is just a very big skyscraper lying on its side.
12
OK. I will not vote for Trump. Nevertheless, he is onto somethings that many people are rightly concerned about. It is not racist or rotten to believe that there should be a logical immigration system, based on the rule of law. Hardly anyone truly wants open borders, hundreds of millions of people would come (one survey I saw suggested 920 million) thus, we need a process. Personally, I would much rather have immigrants from India, China, and Mexico than from the Middle East. These groups are easier to assimilate. You can agree or disagree with that, but, given the volume of those who would like to come, you need to come up with a system that keeps many out. On NATO, as well as the Far East, many countries have been taking advantage of the U.S. military umbrella, all the while tut tutting at the size of the U.S. military budget that allows them to spend more money at home on social benefits. Trump sees these things. The Democrats better wake up or the country could actually get Trumped, with his outsized ego, and insulting demeanor included.
8
According to Trump, the U.S. has gone to hell in a henbasket. He conveniently neglects to note that the national unemployment rate has dropped below 5 percent, national incomes are on the rise, and the sustained, difficult efforts of our intelligence apparatus and defense department have made long strides in hitting ISIS and other terrorist organizations hard where it hurts the most.
Trump's speech reminded me of some lines in the movie "The American President". In that movie, the President railed against his Republican opponent near the start of the election cycle for his second term. He noted: "We have serious problems to solve, and we need serious people to solve them. And whatever your particular problem is, I promise you, Bob Rumson is not the least bit interested in solving it. He is interested in two things and two things only: making you afraid of it and telling you who's to blame for it. That, ladies and gentlemen, is how you win elections."
This approach is exactly what Trump is taking. Instill fear and loathing into the American public, and say that Hillary Clinton is to blame for many of the fears that the public has.
Trump has a virtually limitless history of bullying others, making underhanded deals, creating shady national and international relationships, causing failed businesses, making unwarranted insults, projecting racist comments, and producing made up facts. How anyone can believe that this guy is the solution to their problems escapes me.
Trump's speech reminded me of some lines in the movie "The American President". In that movie, the President railed against his Republican opponent near the start of the election cycle for his second term. He noted: "We have serious problems to solve, and we need serious people to solve them. And whatever your particular problem is, I promise you, Bob Rumson is not the least bit interested in solving it. He is interested in two things and two things only: making you afraid of it and telling you who's to blame for it. That, ladies and gentlemen, is how you win elections."
This approach is exactly what Trump is taking. Instill fear and loathing into the American public, and say that Hillary Clinton is to blame for many of the fears that the public has.
Trump has a virtually limitless history of bullying others, making underhanded deals, creating shady national and international relationships, causing failed businesses, making unwarranted insults, projecting racist comments, and producing made up facts. How anyone can believe that this guy is the solution to their problems escapes me.
19
OMG. He fears for our Democracy. Get real. That was over long ago. The wealthy get what they want and the desires of the bottom 90% have no effect. This has been proven scientifically. No doubt you heard about it but were unable to absorb it. Not so good with cognitive dissonance, are we Tim?
4
i dont think dumptrump represents how far the republican party has fallen. because of all his followers, he has really exposed how far the american experiment has fallen. i wish they did not all look like me
The similarities between Trump and Hitler become ever more striking.
6
Tim's Tunnel Vision…
Simply counting the dead bodies can miss the dystopia, the danger, the psychopathy, take Benghazi….
Terror works precisely because it is a random event impervious to quantification.
The Left's favorite demagogue's favorite flawed analogy—death by terrorism vs death by falls in the shower—illustrates the point.
This is not to say body count is irrelevant, consider the Clinton mess:
Libya, Syria, Benghazi, Yemen, Honduras, Russia reset, 2 irrational, nuke-proliferating, legacy-driven deals with insane, apocalyptic signatories, 250k+ deaths of innocents, incalculable future deaths, unleashing of al Qaeda/ISIS, destabilization of 4 continents, Armageddon the pope, the generals and King Abdullah call WWIII.
And then there is Rwanda:
The calculated indifference of the Clintons enabled Génocidaire slaughter of Rwandan men, women & children.
During the 100-day period from April 7, 1994 to mid-July 1994, an estimated 800,000 to 1M Rwandans were slaughtered in the genocide.
Declassified documents confirm the Clintons knew within the first few days that a "final solution" to eliminate all Tutsis was underway. They instructed officials not to use the word "genocide" lest it provoke public pressure to do something. Worse, they stopped others from doing anything.
"Be Careful…Genocide finding could commit USG to do something"
nsarchive.gwu.edu/NSAEBB/NSAEBB53/
The newly-minted security moms will drop Mrs. Clinton like a hot potato.
7
Gee, you have a hangnail? Guess that's Hillary's fault, too?
1
But "the Clintons" weren't in power. Bill Clinton was. And the POTUS is not a dictator (yet) and can't have fixed the problems in Rwanda alone. You can blame Congress and their ilk for that mess.
4
If you don't like the candidate, vote the ticket.
Using that logic, Hillary is our only choice.
Having said that, Democrats should be absolutely terrified because people are more motivated by hatred than they are when they are happy or, ahem, complaisant. I see a whole lot of hatred on the Republican side of things, but then, what's new?
Using that logic, Hillary is our only choice.
Having said that, Democrats should be absolutely terrified because people are more motivated by hatred than they are when they are happy or, ahem, complaisant. I see a whole lot of hatred on the Republican side of things, but then, what's new?
3
The 1850's "know nothings" (anti-Irish nativists) were part of the original Republican coalition. It seems that's all that is left -- the know nothings of our time.
6
A great American family and a great speech from Trump and his beautiful daughter Ivanka. Love for America and American values is not hate.
6
But Trump being fundamentally anti-immigrant is not an American value. Trump being more aligned with Putin than our allies in Europe, being more aligned with Putin's interests than our interests abroad is not an American value. Basing your entire business model on outsourcing labor to China and frequently hiring H1B guest workers over American workers surely doesn't seem like "love for America". Avoiding paying income taxes through use of off-shore tax shelters is not an example of "love for America".
9
Hate for Muslims and Mexicans is hate.
2
His first two wives were lovely too.
1
Dallas newspapers ran with headlines demanding the impeachment of JFK the week before his assassination. How can the Republican demands that Hillary face a firing squad or be thrown in jail be any less a declaration of open season on her life? Crazy people tend to soak hatred in the zeitgeist like a sponge and then act on it. We are left to wonder what this mob will do when/if Hillary Clinton is declared the winner of this contest.
15
Absolutely shameful behavior by absolutely shameless people. But I guess that's what mob rule does. Even if the GOP were to do a complete about-face tomorrow after starting this American Reign of Terror, the damage to the nation is already irreparable. Surely even Scalia must be rolling over in his grave today.
6
Donald Trump saying "Believe me" to the American people is the functional equivalent of a sexual predator saying "Trust me" to his prey.
23
Or Obama saying we can keep our plan if we like it.
1
Why does anyone assume that Trump will work for the benefit of anyone other than himself?
When has he?
Why would he?
He is working the little guy, the (I love the) uneducated - not for them.
I know the system - grin - and so I am the guy to fix it - smirk. And fix it he will as any con man fixes his game - laugh now ?
When has he?
Why would he?
He is working the little guy, the (I love the) uneducated - not for them.
I know the system - grin - and so I am the guy to fix it - smirk. And fix it he will as any con man fixes his game - laugh now ?
458
After 8 years of not working for the benefit of anyone other than Barack Obama, why do Obama supporters still insist that Trump won't do better?
We have a con man in the White House. Right now. Who didn't close GITMO, who didn't keep boots off the ground in Syria or Iraq, who didn't save us $2500 a year per family, who didn't let us keep our plan if we liked it, and who lied and said Bowe Bergdahl served with honor and distinction.
And I haven't even gotten to Obama's failed domestic policies.
We have a con man in the White House. Right now. Who didn't close GITMO, who didn't keep boots off the ground in Syria or Iraq, who didn't save us $2500 a year per family, who didn't let us keep our plan if we liked it, and who lied and said Bowe Bergdahl served with honor and distinction.
And I haven't even gotten to Obama's failed domestic policies.
2
When Mike Pence speaks about Donald Trump, his facial expression reminds me of someone who just passed gas and hopes no one can smell it.
1
List the personal benefits he has derived, please.
2
I think the one remark of Trump's that scared me the most was when he said that only he could fix things. That is the remark of a man who is not only a narcissist of the first order, but someone who thinks they should have dictatorial powers to make things right.
809
And that's different from Obama and how many countless other politicians who have told us that they were the solution to all that was wrong?
3
And Hitler "fixed" his Aryan nation. Trumpet is an animal of the same ilk.
3
Egan thinks that "...nothing about this Republican Party ... even remotely resembles the Grand Old Party of before." Amnesia? The sitting President is a foreigner, a secret adept of a hated non-Christian religion, a friend and promoter of terrorists --- these are the daily bread and butter of the ultraright, coyly hinted at and never rejected by the national and local leaders of the Republican party. For years on end. The President and his former secretary of state are responsible for the actions of psychotics in Europe? --- claimed days ago not by some radio shouter, but by John McCain, Senator, distinguished figure, and purveyor of Trump-scale poison. Could it be that Egan is lamenting only the loss of a certain cute phraseology?
While it's true that Trump is not going on about 'points of light,' 'morning in America,' 'compassionate conservatism,' and the like, the ideas he appeals to are exactly those behind the pretty phrases of yesteryear. We're in this swamp now because we've been in it for a long time.
While it's true that Trump is not going on about 'points of light,' 'morning in America,' 'compassionate conservatism,' and the like, the ideas he appeals to are exactly those behind the pretty phrases of yesteryear. We're in this swamp now because we've been in it for a long time.
3
Sir, do you even know the meaning of the word "shame"?
"Half truths" Mr. Egan?
Your piece states that "boos and obscenities greeted the lead singer for Third Eye Blind (TEB), who had earlier urged delegates in the audience at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame to be more accepting of gays and not live your life in fear".
It took me 15 seconds to Google TEB and find a Rolling Stone piece about their show.
Mr. Jenkins, front man for the band, announced to the audience before starting the show "We are in direct opposition to the Republican party and everything it stands for" followed by "raise your hand if you believe in science".
That was the trigger to the initial booing, nothing like dividing the audience.
Can't we just have a good time at a show? I'm a conservative and I have friends and acquaintances who are liberal-so what! We have similar interests and passions.
BTW, your reference to the Salem Witch Trials, Mrs. Clinton's remains would be skeletal with their due process.
Part of Trump's appeal is calling out the media who lie by omission, take statements out of context or, my favorite, ' in others words, you feel blankity blank.
Mr Egan, you justify Trump's perspective of the media.
Your piece states that "boos and obscenities greeted the lead singer for Third Eye Blind (TEB), who had earlier urged delegates in the audience at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame to be more accepting of gays and not live your life in fear".
It took me 15 seconds to Google TEB and find a Rolling Stone piece about their show.
Mr. Jenkins, front man for the band, announced to the audience before starting the show "We are in direct opposition to the Republican party and everything it stands for" followed by "raise your hand if you believe in science".
That was the trigger to the initial booing, nothing like dividing the audience.
Can't we just have a good time at a show? I'm a conservative and I have friends and acquaintances who are liberal-so what! We have similar interests and passions.
BTW, your reference to the Salem Witch Trials, Mrs. Clinton's remains would be skeletal with their due process.
Part of Trump's appeal is calling out the media who lie by omission, take statements out of context or, my favorite, ' in others words, you feel blankity blank.
Mr Egan, you justify Trump's perspective of the media.
7
Oh no. The "Feel Safers" are back. Those same people who voted for W in 2004, because he made them "feel safer." As a friend, politically incorrectly, put it at the time, "What? They think Osama Bin Laden is going to bomb their trailer parks?"
What ever happened to, "The only thing to fear is fear itself"?
I wish the US all the best, but I'm staying 6000 miles away from this disaster.
What ever happened to, "The only thing to fear is fear itself"?
I wish the US all the best, but I'm staying 6000 miles away from this disaster.
10
“all Mexicans are rapists, all Muslims are terrorists, all crime is rising, Hillary Clinton is the devil and should be shot.” the Republican election platform so says, David Brooks… As opposed to the Democrat’s polarizing claims that all Mexicans are hard working wannabe tax payers, hopping the border only to help support the tax sucking sloth of the American welfare state… all Muslims are tolerant Christian loving people, who would never, ever protest sharia-free societies by shooting lots of people…and all whites deserve the discrimination of affirmative action because they are all racist oppressors, every white Walmart worker enjoying the profits of slavery, and still vicously oppressing blacks every time they go to work.
Not to mention the Democrat’s diversity scam claim that too many whites in one place is irrefutable “proof” of white supremacy, requiring minority favoritism/white discrimination. And did Brooks forget the Democrat’s racist tool in White House encouraging black racists to kill cops, by claiming that there is no disproportional black criminality responsible for increased black/cop interaction…it’s all the fault of racist cops.
Oh yes, and Trump is the devil and should be shot. “Make American Hate Again…haha….Americans never stopped hating, perhaps the recent change in those targeted for perpetual bigot vote buying Democrat hate from minorities to whites, has confused you, David.
Not to mention the Democrat’s diversity scam claim that too many whites in one place is irrefutable “proof” of white supremacy, requiring minority favoritism/white discrimination. And did Brooks forget the Democrat’s racist tool in White House encouraging black racists to kill cops, by claiming that there is no disproportional black criminality responsible for increased black/cop interaction…it’s all the fault of racist cops.
Oh yes, and Trump is the devil and should be shot. “Make American Hate Again…haha….Americans never stopped hating, perhaps the recent change in those targeted for perpetual bigot vote buying Democrat hate from minorities to whites, has confused you, David.
5
Um - In case you're confused, which appears to be the case on any number of levels, this column was not written by David Brooks.
3
It is frightening to consider the modern GOP makes the movie "Idiocracy" seem very prescient.
1
If, as Trump says, things are all so terrible in the U.S. then why is President Obama so popular?
7
Plenty of polls show that at least half of the country doesn't agree with your assessment of the president's popularity or approval. The echo chamber of NYT comments is hardly a big measure.
2
And now we all wait obediently for what we know will come, bringing more harm to us and to the world since Hitler's ascendance. All the tools are in place for massive repression: Facebook's global databank, NSA's all-knowing eyes and ears. Buckle up, folks. We are about to go straight down the rabbit hole in the manner of obedient sheep.
2
There was something eerily familiar about the convention last night.
Thousands of somewhat blank faces contorted with hate yet mesmerized by speaker after speaker screeching about the horrors Hillary Clinton has laid at our feet: ISIS, dead cops, torrents of black and brown criminals sneaking through every mousehole of our security fences to steal our good jobs. She's ruined our economy, demanded that we not be allowed to pray to Jesus, allowed only elites to become educated and is confiscating our guns. She wants to replace our courts with sharia law and hates the military.
I know that much of what I heard was already resident in the recesses of my memory and then it surfaced.
I'm old. That's the key. Some eighty years ago another snake oil con-man said very similar stuff and blamed one group of people.
Every time you hear Trump or his thugs spew vitriol and blame Hillary for all things evil, just substitute the word "Jew" for "Hillary" and you will understand their playbook.
Thousands of somewhat blank faces contorted with hate yet mesmerized by speaker after speaker screeching about the horrors Hillary Clinton has laid at our feet: ISIS, dead cops, torrents of black and brown criminals sneaking through every mousehole of our security fences to steal our good jobs. She's ruined our economy, demanded that we not be allowed to pray to Jesus, allowed only elites to become educated and is confiscating our guns. She wants to replace our courts with sharia law and hates the military.
I know that much of what I heard was already resident in the recesses of my memory and then it surfaced.
I'm old. That's the key. Some eighty years ago another snake oil con-man said very similar stuff and blamed one group of people.
Every time you hear Trump or his thugs spew vitriol and blame Hillary for all things evil, just substitute the word "Jew" for "Hillary" and you will understand their playbook.
14
I'm with you, Tim Egan... I can see from some comments that Trump supporters are blind to the fact that they have been influenced by his boastful, hateful rhetoric. He says he alone can fix everything that is wrong with the country and indeed the world as easily as l, 2, 3. To me this borders on blasphemy.
6
This country has too much of a future for any of us to allow Donald Trump to win.
1
You're so ridiculous Tim. There was nothing in that speech that could remotely be considered "hate". Having a border and a functioning immigration system instead of allowing illegals to across the border and stay here even when they commit crimes is not hate. Standing up for cops and law and order is not hate. Opposing trade deals that have gutted the middle class and shipped jobs our of country is not hate. Restricting immigration from countries that support terrorism is not hate.
5
"for a democracy facing its gravest peril since the Civil War." For a moment there I thought I was reading a Times editorial about the nomination of Ronald Reagan.
Best Presidential Nominee speech. Nothing against it. We will see his actions.
1
Fear has been the republican mantra for decades. From when we cowered under our desks in grade school practicing for when the atomic bombs came in the 1950's to trying to stop an entire religious group from entering our country, hate and fear is all they have. Maybe they should try a little love and compassion. We do not need to see or hear Rudy Guilliani any more riling up the uneducated about all the future crimes Hillary will commit; your claim to fame, 9/11, is over Rudy, go away.
2
Out of this Pandora's box, some hope emerges. The Republican convention leaves no doubt what horror awaits the world should Trump become President. Many Bernie-or-Bust voters will become Never-Trump.
2
It's truly enjoyable to sit back and watch the collective hysteria of the punditocracy over the rise of Trump.
The entire establishment, the media, the political class, Wall Street, the corporate board rooms, ALL were totally blindsided by the rise of Trump, AND the phenomenal near-miss of Bernie Sanders. Sanders' concerns have already been dismissed with a sigh of relief in NY and Washington.
But this entire wave of revulsion from below was a creation of and reaction to these same elites, whose endless greed, self dealing, and total lack of concern for the lives of the common American, has only itself to blame for this 'annus horribilis'.
From Obama's "Grand Bargain" that attempted to shaft seniors (thank God for Republican intransigence on that one!), to Paul Ryan's budgets that seek to undermine, underfund and destroy our pathetic safety net for the love of Ayn Rand, to the brazen Wall Street raiding of the treasury, our clueless, rapacious ruling elite entered this political season in snooze mode.
Either Jeb or Hillary would be guaranteed to continue more of the rape of the American people for the 1% with hardly a ripple on the pond, they thought. All was under control.
Now they desperately run to Hillary, herself a leaky vessel in a stormy sea of actual *gasp*! democracy.
The cocktail parties in Manhattan and Georgetown must buzz with hope that the constitution's built-in anti-democratic firewalls will spare them from the consequences of what they have wrought.
The entire establishment, the media, the political class, Wall Street, the corporate board rooms, ALL were totally blindsided by the rise of Trump, AND the phenomenal near-miss of Bernie Sanders. Sanders' concerns have already been dismissed with a sigh of relief in NY and Washington.
But this entire wave of revulsion from below was a creation of and reaction to these same elites, whose endless greed, self dealing, and total lack of concern for the lives of the common American, has only itself to blame for this 'annus horribilis'.
From Obama's "Grand Bargain" that attempted to shaft seniors (thank God for Republican intransigence on that one!), to Paul Ryan's budgets that seek to undermine, underfund and destroy our pathetic safety net for the love of Ayn Rand, to the brazen Wall Street raiding of the treasury, our clueless, rapacious ruling elite entered this political season in snooze mode.
Either Jeb or Hillary would be guaranteed to continue more of the rape of the American people for the 1% with hardly a ripple on the pond, they thought. All was under control.
Now they desperately run to Hillary, herself a leaky vessel in a stormy sea of actual *gasp*! democracy.
The cocktail parties in Manhattan and Georgetown must buzz with hope that the constitution's built-in anti-democratic firewalls will spare them from the consequences of what they have wrought.
3
Good morning from Washington DC!
I can tell you the buzz in Georgetown isn't hope...it's helplessness.
As a Black lawyer in Washington, I share this town with the establishment Obama status quo of lobbyists, political hacks, groupies, D-list cable news "celebrities" and the bureaucrats who have made 6 figure livings off the backs of the American taxpayer.
Trump is sending a clear signal--if you are in Washington DC, and you're a useless hack who creates more problems than you solve, so you can stay in Washington pretending to solve them--you're out. Done. Fired.
Condo prices are actually dropping here in Washington because the political class are getting nervous about a Trump presidency and getting a head start on the mass exodus of the hack elite.
It's the best thing I've ever seen since moving here in 2008 before Obama and his gang of losers rolled into town to bring America to this low place in our history.
I can tell you the buzz in Georgetown isn't hope...it's helplessness.
As a Black lawyer in Washington, I share this town with the establishment Obama status quo of lobbyists, political hacks, groupies, D-list cable news "celebrities" and the bureaucrats who have made 6 figure livings off the backs of the American taxpayer.
Trump is sending a clear signal--if you are in Washington DC, and you're a useless hack who creates more problems than you solve, so you can stay in Washington pretending to solve them--you're out. Done. Fired.
Condo prices are actually dropping here in Washington because the political class are getting nervous about a Trump presidency and getting a head start on the mass exodus of the hack elite.
It's the best thing I've ever seen since moving here in 2008 before Obama and his gang of losers rolled into town to bring America to this low place in our history.
4
"I have not sought this enormous responsibility, but I will not shirk it. Those who nominated & confirmed me as Vice President were... of both parties, elected by all the people & acting under the Constitution in their name. It is only fitting then that I should pledge to them & to you that I will be the President of all the people.
...Thomas Jefferson said the people are the only sure reliance for the preservation of our liberty. And down the years, Abraham Lincoln renewed this American article of faith asking, "Is there any better way or equal hope in the world?"
Even though this is late in an election year, there is no way we can go forward except together & no way anybody can win except by serving the people's urgent needs. We cannot stand still or slip backwards. We must go forward now together.
...I believe that truth is the glue that holds government together, not only our Government but civilization itself. That bond, though strained, is unbroken at home & abroad.
...Our Constitution works; our great Republic is a government of laws & not of men. Here the people rule. But there is a higher Power, by whatever name we honor Him, who ordains not only righteousness but love, not only justice but mercy.
As we bind up the internal wounds of Watergate, more painful & more poisonous than those of foreign wars, let us restore the golden rule to our political process, and let brotherly love purge our hearts of suspicion and of hate."
Gerald Ford-what a Republican used to be.
...Thomas Jefferson said the people are the only sure reliance for the preservation of our liberty. And down the years, Abraham Lincoln renewed this American article of faith asking, "Is there any better way or equal hope in the world?"
Even though this is late in an election year, there is no way we can go forward except together & no way anybody can win except by serving the people's urgent needs. We cannot stand still or slip backwards. We must go forward now together.
...I believe that truth is the glue that holds government together, not only our Government but civilization itself. That bond, though strained, is unbroken at home & abroad.
...Our Constitution works; our great Republic is a government of laws & not of men. Here the people rule. But there is a higher Power, by whatever name we honor Him, who ordains not only righteousness but love, not only justice but mercy.
As we bind up the internal wounds of Watergate, more painful & more poisonous than those of foreign wars, let us restore the golden rule to our political process, and let brotherly love purge our hearts of suspicion and of hate."
Gerald Ford-what a Republican used to be.
4
"Ailes will be an asterisk. When the convention closed, fear had won the hall. And we should fear — for the republic, for a democracy facing its gravest peril since the Civil War."
The irony you point out that the dark lord of Fox Roger Ailes is forcibly removed on the day that his greatest creation is nominated for president is something you would see in a comic book or a movie, not in real life.
Make no mistake, Trump is the direct, inevitable result of the hate fest that Fox News created 20 years ago.
This man is not a savior, he is Roger Ailes' Frankenstein monster, and he's now roaming free around the countryside.
The irony you point out that the dark lord of Fox Roger Ailes is forcibly removed on the day that his greatest creation is nominated for president is something you would see in a comic book or a movie, not in real life.
Make no mistake, Trump is the direct, inevitable result of the hate fest that Fox News created 20 years ago.
This man is not a savior, he is Roger Ailes' Frankenstein monster, and he's now roaming free around the countryside.
2
It was more like a Klan rally than an American political convention. I just hope the GOP reaps what it has been sowing for decades.
5
After the Dem Convention I want the same article about the exploitation of the 'grief deranged mothers' such as Gwen Carr, Sybrina Fulton, Lezley McSpadden, etc! How can Mr. Eagan insult one mother's loss? Will he follow up after the speeches at the Dem Convention?
3
Some of America and some Americans never stopped hating.
Barack Hussein Obama was not the Presidential choice of 57% and 59% of white American voters in 2008 and 2012. In the USA, Barack Obama is not half-white by biological nature nor all white by cultural nurture. President Obama was and is an imaginary Kenyan Luo Arab Muslim socialist usurper.
Donald J. Trump is Ronald W. Reagan without any of the political or acting experience or talent. Trump is Reagan without the gift for rhetorical racist euphemism. Trump is Reagan without an American wife. Trump is Reagan without military veteran status.
Trump is all snarling barking wolf pack bombast. Reagan was all smiling sly solo stealthy fox bombast. The latter Reagan was and is far more dangerous, duplicitous and deceptive than the former Trump.
Barack Hussein Obama was not the Presidential choice of 57% and 59% of white American voters in 2008 and 2012. In the USA, Barack Obama is not half-white by biological nature nor all white by cultural nurture. President Obama was and is an imaginary Kenyan Luo Arab Muslim socialist usurper.
Donald J. Trump is Ronald W. Reagan without any of the political or acting experience or talent. Trump is Reagan without the gift for rhetorical racist euphemism. Trump is Reagan without an American wife. Trump is Reagan without military veteran status.
Trump is all snarling barking wolf pack bombast. Reagan was all smiling sly solo stealthy fox bombast. The latter Reagan was and is far more dangerous, duplicitous and deceptive than the former Trump.
3
What struck me about the kids' attempts to "humanize" their father was that none of the fine qualities they alleged have been seen over the past year in the candidate himself. It is as if they were talking about a different person whom only they knew. And writing notes on a child's report card??? Too busy to speak to the child himself? He told Ivanka to "think big", but he is not a big thinker at all, or he would have more knowledge of world affairs. He is a small thinker in grandiose terms, whose model is not Hitler but his good friend, lawyer, contract-breaker and fellow bully, Roy Cohn.
The trouble is, he has misled a lot of voters down a wrong path, misinforming them of facts and American values. They will need to be taught what it is to be an American—knowing and believing that all are created equal, endowed with inalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Teaching this will be up to the Democrats in this election.
The trouble is, he has misled a lot of voters down a wrong path, misinforming them of facts and American values. They will need to be taught what it is to be an American—knowing and believing that all are created equal, endowed with inalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Teaching this will be up to the Democrats in this election.
7
The Tony Schwartz revelation actually genuinely frightens me.
But the Day of the Don isn't unexpected nor some sudden scandal.
The GOP always is a belligerent mob, they always unify behind their fear-mongering & hatefulness, & they will always obstruct, vilify, denigrate, & attack anything they see as thoughtful, open-minded, etc. It's an extremely backward attitude, but it's nothing at all new.
Nothing about the Don himself should surprise. He's always been ambitious & outrageous. The extent of his apparent willingness to press the buttons of nationalism & racialism has been eyebrow-raising, but we all remember his Birther blather.
Where this leads we don't dare predict. I'm still stunned that this nation and the GOP came so close to Palin.
But the Don isn't entirely daft. Assuming his show doesn't quite make it to prime time Presidency, there were important points that only he could get away with saying, and not a single republican has ever dared utter (with the exception of perhaps Ron Paul):
Thank the Don for finally finished the Bushes, and for saying on stage that Dubbya was a disaster.
And consider not throwing out the bathwater with the baby when you indict the Don for calling NATO like it is.
I'm no student of history but WW1 should have taught us to beware of obsolete international war-treaty agreements.
And no, we do not need nor want military bases all around the globe. The Post-war, Cold-War American global militaristic empire needs to be dismantled.
But the Day of the Don isn't unexpected nor some sudden scandal.
The GOP always is a belligerent mob, they always unify behind their fear-mongering & hatefulness, & they will always obstruct, vilify, denigrate, & attack anything they see as thoughtful, open-minded, etc. It's an extremely backward attitude, but it's nothing at all new.
Nothing about the Don himself should surprise. He's always been ambitious & outrageous. The extent of his apparent willingness to press the buttons of nationalism & racialism has been eyebrow-raising, but we all remember his Birther blather.
Where this leads we don't dare predict. I'm still stunned that this nation and the GOP came so close to Palin.
But the Don isn't entirely daft. Assuming his show doesn't quite make it to prime time Presidency, there were important points that only he could get away with saying, and not a single republican has ever dared utter (with the exception of perhaps Ron Paul):
Thank the Don for finally finished the Bushes, and for saying on stage that Dubbya was a disaster.
And consider not throwing out the bathwater with the baby when you indict the Don for calling NATO like it is.
I'm no student of history but WW1 should have taught us to beware of obsolete international war-treaty agreements.
And no, we do not need nor want military bases all around the globe. The Post-war, Cold-War American global militaristic empire needs to be dismantled.
2
That the Democrats will nominate a weak candidate like Clinton and risk a Trump presidency is immoral. There is too much at stake to take the chance that Clinton will lose. What should be a landslide victory for Democrats will be at best a squeaker with Clinton, at worst a Trump victory. It's not worth the chance.
1
It may not be the Republican Party of our parents and grandparent's but the Democratic party sure isn't that either. The Democrats, which used to have a solid base of blue collar union workers, who cared about the common man, have become a party of affluent ultra liberals. They show disdain for unions, preferring to court the well educated affluent professionals. Bowing to the altar of political correctness, they court the votes of those of color, but only as those in need of their assistance. So far as I'm concerned, I don't think either party resembles what it was in the past.
5
The GOP has been trying to break the back of the unions for decades. They have succeeded.
3
How easily the mindless drones of the GOP have rolled over to accept this narcissistic sociopath as their nominee is just mind boggling. Republicans are in such dis array that a sociopath whom just talks about himself and how great he is can walk in and parade a token gay billionaire across the stage and drop a few LGBTQ platitudes in his speech and suddenly the rank and file have their messiah. The politicos refer to this as "pivoting"...after months of racist, misogynist hateful rhetoric at his essentially glorified Klan rallies, the GOP is ready to embrace him as normal. Shame on them. Cannot believe I am on the side of Ted Cruz for this one.
9
Watching the mob, watching and listening to the nominee and his surrogates fan the flames of hatred, seeing reports of plagiarism denied by Manafort and then blamed by him on Clinton until a Trump staffer 'fessed up--there are too many examples of this new reality that are both absurd and, quite frankly, shocking and abhorrent. Am I the only one who likened the mob's outstretched, fist-pumping as Guiliani rabidly foamed at the mouth, or its screaming at Cruz, to something filmed by Leni Refienstahl? Make America Hate Again indeed. We have the demagogue and soon I suspect we'll start seeing the brown shirts. This is what's really so sad.
3
Trump is an expert on everything and can solve every problem immediately, our savior. What a pity that to date he has not devoted a minute of his life to public service.
2
Unfortunately, the pain is real, and it has led to the rage. Working people have been left behind, without any resources or support. If we'd enacted policies that encouraged corporations to use a percentage of their record profits (which persisted, even in the depths of the Great Recession) to do something, ANYTHING, except take the money and run, we wouldn't be here.
The "lucky" people who kept their jobs had to pick up the work of their coworkers who had been let go, or get fired themselves. Only now, nine years later, is *real* employment picking up. It's been awful, and any attempt President Obama made to address it got shut down.
Trouble is that the rage is out there now, and it's not going away, even if--maybe especially if--Hillary Clinton is elected. I suspect that this nation is now ungovernable. Maybe we should think about breaking it all up.
The "lucky" people who kept their jobs had to pick up the work of their coworkers who had been let go, or get fired themselves. Only now, nine years later, is *real* employment picking up. It's been awful, and any attempt President Obama made to address it got shut down.
Trouble is that the rage is out there now, and it's not going away, even if--maybe especially if--Hillary Clinton is elected. I suspect that this nation is now ungovernable. Maybe we should think about breaking it all up.
2
You simply don't get it, young man. There is an America west of the Hudson River. It is fed up with the politics of entitlement, of business-as-usual, of lies and deceit and of feathering one's nest and those of your pals. Trump isn't perfect, he's far, far from it. But he is change and those west of the River desperately seek it. Every thinking American is shaking her head because she has to cast a vote for one of them. Forget all the puffery, all the slogans and all the lame statistics offered by both sides. Vote change. And Mrs. Clinton isn't it.
4
"For moral justification this week, the pious Dr. Ben Carson linked Clinton to Lucifer — the devil himself" In his speech on Monday, Doctor Ben said Saul Alinsky dedicated his book, "Rules for Radicals" to Lucifer. The book was actually dedicated to Alinsky's wife. It says "To Ellen". The Lucifer thing is very popular on republican web sites and talk radio. Which is where most republicans get their "facts".
1
This piece beautifully expresses what many of us have know all along in a succinct and clear manner. Hopefully some others will be jolted back to the fundamental Trump message and think differently about him. I mean Bernie's not running so it's ok to vote for Trump? What's the logic?
2
While what you and others who oppose Trump say is true, it will do nothing to stop or even slow the enthusiasm of those who support Trump.
Must we just hope that the number of supporters is too small to carry him to the White House, or can we somehow get those who might be inclined to support Trump to see through the nonsense that many so adamantly want to believe.
Can't wait to see what Hillary does. If she can strike the right tone--a friendly way of addressing the fear, anger, hostility, etc. that animates Trump supporters without reacting to it, taking it personally, or putting down people who feel that way--while pointing out the truth, she might take a lot of the wind out of the wind bag's sails.
Must we just hope that the number of supporters is too small to carry him to the White House, or can we somehow get those who might be inclined to support Trump to see through the nonsense that many so adamantly want to believe.
Can't wait to see what Hillary does. If she can strike the right tone--a friendly way of addressing the fear, anger, hostility, etc. that animates Trump supporters without reacting to it, taking it personally, or putting down people who feel that way--while pointing out the truth, she might take a lot of the wind out of the wind bag's sails.
Egan is wrong:
This is American politics since: 1964
Democrats: Your problems are all the result of greedy rich people.
Republicans: Your problems are all the result of greedy poor people
This is American politics since: 1964
Democrats: Your problems are all the result of greedy rich people.
Republicans: Your problems are all the result of greedy poor people
3
Demagogues throughout history have resorted to the politics of nostalgia to whip up the masses and gain power. Trump is nothing new, but the real frightening part of the rise of America's DTs is that throughout history resort to the politics of nostalgia has worked----Mussolini, Hitler, are the most obvious examples of the past 100 years, but many lesser-known liars and scoundrels have used the same theme. Harding in 1920, with the support of the Klan (another example of nostalgia for a vanished social system and control of black people) and revulsion called for a "return to normalcy," a normality that was impossible to retrieve, given the technological and societal changes of the prior 20 years. Dare I mention RR and his sunny optimism in the 1980s? Confused and anxious folks look to the past for comfort, while the confident venture into the future. This election will tell us a lot about who we are as a people. Trump proves that it can happen here.
1
One of Trumps biggest supporters is China, though at first it may seem counter intuitive. Trump wants to essentially withdraw from the world, and China wants to expand, especially in the disputed the South China Sea. China has pegged Trump as a "businessman" and feels that he will "cut a deal" with them rather then risk conflict. They don't feel the same way about Clinton. Trump makes our enemies happy and our allies nervous.
This is what happens when you force a third of the country by gunpoint after a civil war of attrition to participate in the democracy. They don't want membership in the Union and they never accepted it. They hate us. So let them go. They need to re-form the confederacy and take their new GOP platform home.
I know, silly me, but after 65 years I'm tired of them.
I know, silly me, but after 65 years I'm tired of them.
3
Trump Republicans are like a big angry mob of drunken cowboys on a rampage. All we can do is get out of the way, free the horses and yell at them to skedaddle, and hope the rampaging drunks don't accidentally shoot themselves before they collectively pass out.
To all the drunks, Trump makes sense. To all the drunks, Trump looks like and sounds like a leader who knows where to take the country. The torches are lit. The ropes are tied into nooses. They're constructing the gallows as we speak. Go after Clinton who Trump accuses of every crime known to mankind including disciple of Lucifer. Guilty! Guilty! Go after Muslims who Trump knows are all terrorists or terrorists in the making. Guilty! Guilty! Go after Mexicans who Trump knows are rapists and criminals and violent. Guilty! Guilty!
Welcome the support of David Dukes and the KKK and White Supremacy. Welcome the support of anti-LGBT legislators. Welcome the support of the NRA and agree with its defense of a culture that murders over 10,000 people every year.
If Trump is to get credit, it is that he has helped get some egregious flaws in America out in the open. Yes, Trump's support is real. Those Americans are real. They can vote. Our challenge and our task is to accept all that and do the one thing that can defeat Trump and Trumpism. Vote.
To all the drunks, Trump makes sense. To all the drunks, Trump looks like and sounds like a leader who knows where to take the country. The torches are lit. The ropes are tied into nooses. They're constructing the gallows as we speak. Go after Clinton who Trump accuses of every crime known to mankind including disciple of Lucifer. Guilty! Guilty! Go after Muslims who Trump knows are all terrorists or terrorists in the making. Guilty! Guilty! Go after Mexicans who Trump knows are rapists and criminals and violent. Guilty! Guilty!
Welcome the support of David Dukes and the KKK and White Supremacy. Welcome the support of anti-LGBT legislators. Welcome the support of the NRA and agree with its defense of a culture that murders over 10,000 people every year.
If Trump is to get credit, it is that he has helped get some egregious flaws in America out in the open. Yes, Trump's support is real. Those Americans are real. They can vote. Our challenge and our task is to accept all that and do the one thing that can defeat Trump and Trumpism. Vote.
4
At the risk of pandering to the NYT, it appears that the only Trump truth tellers will be the print media. Too rarely did the major networks expose his phony veneer of civility this week as he preened before a national audience awash in accolades from his family and handpicked business associates. Really? History is full of busloads of political phonies, both nefarious and ridiculous, who were "family people", loved dogs and cats, and an occasion showed kindness to stranger. His collective words and deeds portray him as a vile man, absorbed with self, and incapable of leadership. If he didn't have money, what would he be?
5
At a time when Americans expect to be inspired by the words, ideas and plans of a future leader, Mr. Trump is just plain scary. While blaming President Obama and Hillary Clinton for the violence across America, it seems to me and others I know and talk with that it's actually Congress' inability to disarm America by enacting effective gun legislation, along with Fox News' biased, divisive style of journalism, that is really at the root of the racial tension and violence. It's time for our country to come together as the "United States of America." We're better than this!
5
kathywrites--It's actually Repuglican Congress' refusal to disarm America, because there's so much money in it for them. Most current US problems are the result of Repuglican fiddling or negligence. In November we must begin the task of cleaning the vermin out of Congress, and keep it up until we can see the blue sky again.
4
The four days of horror in Cleveland are over, but the banality of it all remains. Let us hope with the Democratic Party's convention in Philadelphia next week we will hear speeches using terms like compassion, malice toward none and charity for all... Pardon my plagiarism, Mr. Lincoln.
11
Mr Egan - you are right. I no longer buy the argument that Trump is taking advantage of the anger and resentment of the people left behind by the tax cuts and entitlement programs for the rich, and the forces unleashed by citizens united. It is clear now that the visceral anger and hate is deliberately being created and stoked by the politicians for their personal gain. We live in dangerous times!
16
This angle of resistance correctly allows him to be resisted without demonizing the human beings he has done all he can to corrupt. I certainly share this approach.
The Republicans vilify Hillary Clinton because they have no ideas of their own, save cutting taxes for the rich and slashing all manner of aid to the poor and the middle class. They know, in their heart of hearts, that those are tired notions and have utterly failed to bring prosperity to the masses. What else is left, save a public burning? I didn't watch a single minute of the Republican Convention--I'm a busy man and have many other more important things to do--but judging from the coverage, the GOP has chosen to give Americans circuses instead of bread.
2
It used to be that calling someone "Hitler" would end whatever common sense there was in a discussion. The republicans, in their hatred of Hillary Clinton, went flying past Hitler and right into the ninth circle of hell to liberate Satan and bring him to the floor of the republican convention. I gotta hope that when they've gone to this extreme the American public realizes there's more the republican insanity that meets the eye. While the republicans want to jettison political correctness so they can call anyone whatever vile epithet they feel necessary to get their point across, you'd think the religious among them would have stopped before they got to Satan...or at least have waited to the end of the convention. But then Dr. Carson is the religious among them and he spoke at the beginning of the convention. It could only go down hill from there!
Hillary Clinton for President!
Hillary Clinton for President!
5
The Grumpy Old Party is evolving (thank goodness) and it is likely that Mr. Trump is a something of a transitional figure in this development. If the the Republicans can make 'inclusiveness' and 'entrepreneurial-ism' front and center while taming their "all or nothing" approach they can become the relevant party of the future.
The fact is that crime is at a low level and not a problem. Cops not handling situations well is a problem but not a new one just a newly publicized one. You are more likely to get hit by lightening than killed by a 'terrorist'. The world is a scary place but it's always been one. The US is doing well but there are problems in the economy that Trump hasn't even begun to address or understand for that matter. It's not trade or globalization [which you can't reverse] but nature of our consumer economy [is that a sustainable thing?] the culture of corporate America and where they put their money. Plus, and it's real folks, the country simply wasn't ready to handle a black president. Followed by a woman president ? It's the end of the world as we know it. At least according to the GOP.
3
Trump needs to share how he would bring back "law and order" and essentially withdraw America from the rest of the world in order to pursue "Americanism", which seems to mean, toting guns and mining coal. His speech was built on recent headlines, which he exploited for the benefit of himself (not his party). As a citizen of the world, I need to hear about the environment, climate change, and de-escalating the Muslim/Christian divide. (Noted: he brought on a Republican gay. No thought about having a Muslim Republican speak? Or maybe they couldn't find one?)
2
We often look back at history at the terrible things that have happened, the evil things that men have done to each other, and question how it could ever have happened, how we could get to such a point, how we could come to hate so much to do the things we do, and yet we see now before our very eyes, not just in the US but increasingly around the world, how easy it is for hate to take root and for history to repeat itself.
3
Much as I may despise him, the only person to show any independence at this convention was lyin' Ted Cruz. All the others whom Trump openly denigrated (with the conspicuous absences of Kasich and low-energy Jeb!) fell into place like obedient little lapdogs - Walker, Carson, little Marco, Christie.
The other highlight was that high-energy preacher Mark Burns. I heard him loud and clear even after hitting the mute button.
The other highlight was that high-energy preacher Mark Burns. I heard him loud and clear even after hitting the mute button.
1
The Republican convention is over. It is now time for the adults to convene in Philadelphia.
3
It seems to me that Trump has merely ripped off the smiley face to make explicit what has been implicit for some time.
1
I watched this coverage of this convention. Not because I believed in any of the doom and gloom and or the hatred of millions of Americans that Mr Trump shouts over and over and over. I wonder why people believe it. Donald is not a nice man, he thinks he is, and I am sure his family benefits from his privileged lofty status. He is a very selfish person; only caring about himself. "Believe me" "I alone" . please stop.
3
I agree with Richard, who is far more eloquent than I, there is and has been a relentless parade of hatred of Trump and his supporters on display in all sections of the Times since day one. Now it reaches a crescendo.
2
I didn't realize Egan respected Cruz, wow cats playing with dogs. Egan wouldn't like Trump if Trump gave him a million dollars let's face it. Just amazed Egan came to the rescue of Cruz.
Hate, spite and vitriol is the only thing I've heard GOP since Newt Gingrich took up the George Wallace's Politics of Rage. I'm very afraid for my country.
Just the nomination of this man irepresents all the evil that the post Nixon Republican.
He has plenty of willing accomplices in the mob of nuts who drown out any and all opposition., expressed in almost any comments section.
Trump is disgusting. A wannabe Mussolini.
All these promises. Perhaps with a Republican Party in power they can solidify their overthrow of the American Government, the struggle of decades and centuriEs to a Trumpistas dystopia where the oligarchs rule and al the rest are serfs.
Just the nomination of this man irepresents all the evil that the post Nixon Republican.
He has plenty of willing accomplices in the mob of nuts who drown out any and all opposition., expressed in almost any comments section.
Trump is disgusting. A wannabe Mussolini.
All these promises. Perhaps with a Republican Party in power they can solidify their overthrow of the American Government, the struggle of decades and centuriEs to a Trumpistas dystopia where the oligarchs rule and al the rest are serfs.
7
There are enough people who see through the Trump con to put a stop to all of it--if they go out and vote. If they make the not very supreme effort of going to their polling places, waiting patiently if necessary, and performing the most basic of civic duties.
But, if not . .
In the end, we will get the government, and leaders, we deserve. It IS in our hands. Literally.
But, if not . .
In the end, we will get the government, and leaders, we deserve. It IS in our hands. Literally.
11
It sad to see that regular schmo could get a presidential candidacy without serving one day in public office. I guess the republican party is more concern of who makes the most money. What a shame.
2
Peter Thiel has no understanding of the so called "evangelicals", who don't just not accept gays, but wants them executed.
The denial is monumental, and all for a better tax rate.
All this, over the most antigay platform ever.
The denial is monumental, and all for a better tax rate.
All this, over the most antigay platform ever.
12
You're insane. Evangelicals do not want gays executed. You have just engaged in hate speech.
3
Listen to some of the preachers on Youtube...
3
I was seriously concerned for the health of our seniors after watching this man scream such ugly, divisive and misleading accusations. That's because I was feeling heart palpitations and worried about my own health, America and the world's at the same time.
3
It seems to me the people who are point fingers all the time at other people calling them liars and cheaters and the biggest liars and cheaters themselves. Just like the individuals who are claiming other people don't have family values are the ones with the least family values.
Is this a diversionary tactic or somehow rationalization?
Is this a diversionary tactic or somehow rationalization?
4
A man who wants to weaken NATO and admires tyrants like Putin and Kim Jong Il. A man who wants to politicize the civil service and thus be able to purge government employees who disagree with his politics. A man who wants to allow part-time employees of government agencies who can work outside and thus potentially regulate their own companies. A man whose mentor was Roy Cohn (the lawyer behind Joe McCarthy’s hearings). A man whose approach to getting elected is to convince the public that they are in danger and only he can protect them. Put that together with likely control of all three branches of government (executive, legislative, and judicial), and I am getting very scared for the future of our democracy.
12
Fear is the essential driver behind all that Drumpf is. The thing we must fear is the fear itself for it is the force behind him and his authoritarian message of bigotry and hatred.
7
How does a mother losing a son in conflict and taking a political stance get treated? If the stance is against Democrats (Patricia Smith), she gets treated with understanding and compassion. If the stance is against Republicans (Cindy Sheehan), she gets treated with hostility and ridicule.
10
I agree that Trump's speech focused on exaggerated negatives. The convention was certainly less than picturesque. The hate mongering persists. But really though? The "gravest peril since the Civil War." I find that statement hyperbolic to say the least.
Trump aside for a moment. You do realize that other democratic nations have entire holidays dedicated to ridiculing and burning politicians in effigy, right? The action signifies a symbolic protest that actually helps diffuse civil unrest rather than agitate real aggression.
I say let people parade floats representing any manner of disrespect against Clinton, authority, or whatever else. The preparation might give otherwise dangerous citizens a way to vent some hostility. As a plus, creativity might just add some levity to an otherwise dour conversation.
Check out Lewes bonfire night. You'll see what I mean.
Trump aside for a moment. You do realize that other democratic nations have entire holidays dedicated to ridiculing and burning politicians in effigy, right? The action signifies a symbolic protest that actually helps diffuse civil unrest rather than agitate real aggression.
I say let people parade floats representing any manner of disrespect against Clinton, authority, or whatever else. The preparation might give otherwise dangerous citizens a way to vent some hostility. As a plus, creativity might just add some levity to an otherwise dour conversation.
Check out Lewes bonfire night. You'll see what I mean.
After watching the convention (and I watched all four nights), I have come to the conclusion that the Republicans are a bunch of paranoid haters that have latched on to the words of the latest demagogue and blamed all the problems of the world on others. One sees in history this situation occurring in third world, despot ruled countries. I pray (and I am not religious) that the voters of America will be able to see through the rantings of the conman.
13
Don't count on it. Churchill once said that the greatest argument against democracy was a five-minute chat with the average voter.
1
We could look at the Trump convention as a harbinger of a potential Trump presidency. If memory serves correctly, I seem to remember Trump promising the nation a convention that would exceed our wildest expectations, with unexcelled political, and celebrity star power. It never happened. Even the Republican stars for the most part sat it out. Now as the official Republican candidate, Trump promises the nation a presidency that will exceed our wildest expectations, under a president who will single-handedly pull us out of the mire of terrorist threat (domestic and foreign), inequality, and economic disaster. Well we just witnessed his convention: how did that work out?
9
Listening to Trumps speech made me flashback to my seventh grade, junior high school student council presidential election.
Not that the stakes were particularly high, but the boy that won the election made ridiculous, slogan driven empty promises that everybody knew were entirely absurd and outright lies.
The crowd ate it up, hooted and laughed, and of course he defeated other more serious, deserving candidates.
In my wildest dreams, I never believed that was the way "adult" elections could be won.
I guess I was wrong.
Not that the stakes were particularly high, but the boy that won the election made ridiculous, slogan driven empty promises that everybody knew were entirely absurd and outright lies.
The crowd ate it up, hooted and laughed, and of course he defeated other more serious, deserving candidates.
In my wildest dreams, I never believed that was the way "adult" elections could be won.
I guess I was wrong.
20
He was also a chronic bully and trouble-maker - to the degree that his father had to take him out of public school and send him to a military academy in a futile attempt to make him a responsible, well-behaved adult.
2
It's a revoltin' development to be sure.
How could so many people be willing to follow an unabashed "bully" like this?
This man is so obviously devoid of empathy.
What I saw last night shook me, I am very concerned about where this country is headed.
How could so many people be willing to follow an unabashed "bully" like this?
This man is so obviously devoid of empathy.
What I saw last night shook me, I am very concerned about where this country is headed.
1
FDR said, "the only thing we have to fear is...fear itself."
Trump said, "the only thing we have is fear."
In fact, the truth is that Trump is terrifying.
One can only hope that Hillary Clinton will emerge from the Democratic National Convention with the wind at her back to help carry us out of the darkness that the Trump National Convention has just visited upon us.
Trump said, "the only thing we have is fear."
In fact, the truth is that Trump is terrifying.
One can only hope that Hillary Clinton will emerge from the Democratic National Convention with the wind at her back to help carry us out of the darkness that the Trump National Convention has just visited upon us.
7
Watching Trump and his rapt followers made me think of a cult. If he asked them to drink poisoned Kool-aid, they would swallow it happily. Instead, he feeds them lies, hatred, and dark visions and they lap it up without question. He must be stopped. I don't have any idea what to do about his followers, who seem to require more help than our damaged mental health system can provide.
8
The restoring law and order line scared me the most. The implication that the country is somehow in a state of utter chaos and lawlessness that needs a strongman reminds me of doe thing you'd here in a revolutionary politically unstable country - not Cleveland. It would be absurd if it weren't for the fact that the crowd roared in agreement. The not-so-subtle subtext was that non-whites have descended this once great nation into chaos and terror - but I am the great white savior you need to be safe again. It all left me terrified that people are actually taken in by this guy!
6
It seems that Trump and his family will take our country back--back to South Africa of 1979. Every media outlet has nothing but pictures of Trump's beautiful family smiling, confident. All the Trump that's fit to print.
2
Imagine waking up to President Trump on an early Nov morn. The stock market will fall of a cliff. Entire groups of Americans will know they are in peril and considered less than. Muslims will face harassment, as will women seeking abortion, gays, Mexicans, journalists and the transgender. Corporate America will be in a daze. Budgets will freeze, projects will go on hold. If Repubs in Congress retain power, the defense budget will swell, discrimination will become legal, abortion will become illegal and the EPA and National Parks will be a few months from eradication. Our country will become like this convention; chaotic, running on fear and mistrust. The rhetoric will be disconnected from the damage in big rock star, rambling speeches and Fox crazy-speak. Out of the chaos, uncertainty and deregulation, military contractors, gun manufacturers, banks and the Koch Bros can make piles of money. Take a good look around because this country as we know it, could become a hazy memory.
7
Timothy Egan compares the Republican loathing of Hillary Clinton, their determination to enforce existing immigration laws, and their desire to temporarily restrict travel and immigration from countries that export terrorism to the passions that split the nation during the Civil War. I wonder if he would regard the Democrat’s loathing of Donald Trump, disregard for immigration laws and eagerness to accept travelers and migrants from terrorist hotbeds as equally divisive.
6
All of these observations are well and good with but we must refuse to accept that so many in our nation can be so easily deluded and call to account the 4th Estate's complicity in the ascendance of Trump. 60s era newsmen would destroy this candidacy with nothing but sunlight and wholly without bias, except that for intellect, morality and the truth.
You can't just report what he says and say, "Can you believe he said that?" He needs to be sprayed with the truth and with American dignity like a bug.
You can't just report what he says and say, "Can you believe he said that?" He needs to be sprayed with the truth and with American dignity like a bug.
621
I wish that I have the same faith in the goodness in human nature as you do. I wish that truth can banish prejudices in people's heart. However, I think that history has shown over and over again that the fever of bigotry and hatred can burn deep into a population. Even in the 60s, McCarthyism scourged the nation for almost a decade. I am afraid that this struggle for truth and justice will take much longer; however, I have faith that evil will not be victorious in the end.
1
I am worried about people playing to their own galleries. How do the frightening messages about Trump being voiced by the rational people in this country get to all of those so alienated they believe that Trump is the answer to anything? Is the NYT just reaching its own readers? The news media IS complicit, having become entertainers not journalists, newsmakers not newsmen/women.
The people who believe Trump do not read the NYT. We are talking to ourselves. How can the message be crafted, and by whom, so the previously quiet racists now empowered by Trump's noisiness get it?
I don't think the Democrats know how to do it, and despite all of Hillary's accomplishments, her clear liabilities limit her persuasiveness. Even if she wins a close election, there will be a split so deep and so angry that Trump's damage may well be done anyway.
So she has to win big.
And that means the 4th Estate has to find a way to go beyond its local or regional or subgroup readerships and tell a story so transparent even someone not listening will understand. But no one has that voice.
Except Social Media. And I hope and suspect that's what will happen. Trump will tweet himself out, and all the digital natives will find their voice and all the digital immigrants will find their voices and maybe then the media will find theirs.
The people who believe Trump do not read the NYT. We are talking to ourselves. How can the message be crafted, and by whom, so the previously quiet racists now empowered by Trump's noisiness get it?
I don't think the Democrats know how to do it, and despite all of Hillary's accomplishments, her clear liabilities limit her persuasiveness. Even if she wins a close election, there will be a split so deep and so angry that Trump's damage may well be done anyway.
So she has to win big.
And that means the 4th Estate has to find a way to go beyond its local or regional or subgroup readerships and tell a story so transparent even someone not listening will understand. But no one has that voice.
Except Social Media. And I hope and suspect that's what will happen. Trump will tweet himself out, and all the digital natives will find their voice and all the digital immigrants will find their voices and maybe then the media will find theirs.
A political party and a candidate steeped, reveling in hate and ignorance. The amount of vitriol and unhinged lunacy was too much to bear — after Giuliani's speech I could not bring myself to watch it. No policy, no ideas, no humanity, no compassion.
Only fear and loathing from the once-Grand, now-Obsolete Party and their demagogue Drumpf.
Sickening.
Only fear and loathing from the once-Grand, now-Obsolete Party and their demagogue Drumpf.
Sickening.
3
I am afraid that last night's speech was really intended to incite some of Trump's opponents to use violence. He could then take advantage of his law and order theme. We have seen such a strategy used successfully before in other countries. Please everybody! Stay calm. We can get through this.
7
I have visited many parts of the country in the past couple of months. Some impressions include gridlock from prosperity around several cities, including Denver, Sacramento, the Bay Area, Tampa. As in Boston, one can get run over easily by millenials in their BMW's, and in my town forget about eating out most nights without a reservation. I found people far more worried about Donald Trump than America, and more than a few tired of the hateful talk coming out of the party of Reagan. My friends in service organizations tell me that personal involvement in civic ventures, particularly among kids, is at record highs. And yes, most people know that Republican obstructionism in Congress is responsible for infrastructure issues not being address...Republicans more worried about unprofitable flowers in Amtrak dining cars than tracks that permit reasonable speeds. If the Democrats are smart (and I'm not one of them) they will put forth some very clear ideas in their convention, leaving the anti-trump stuff to tweets. Day and Night. Night and Day.
2
If everything is so wonderful in America, why are household incomes down by more than $5000 since 2000 (see fact-checking article in today's NYT)?
Why are white people in the US one of few groups, if not the only group in the world, whose life expectancy is going down?
http://www.wsj.com/articles/life-expectancy-for-white-americans-declines...
At what point do we acknowledge that the Bay Area and Boston do not represent what is happening to most Americans?
Why are white people in the US one of few groups, if not the only group in the world, whose life expectancy is going down?
http://www.wsj.com/articles/life-expectancy-for-white-americans-declines...
At what point do we acknowledge that the Bay Area and Boston do not represent what is happening to most Americans?
5
Trump plays upon the very real pain of working class Americans who have been left behind by globalism. They find it hard to be hopeful when their wages continue to stagnate and they have seen little to no recovery after the Great Recession. The Democratic Party needs to learn how to reach out to the working class again, in the way Sanders did.
1
It's clear that Mr. Egan didn't watch much of the GOP convention, choosing instead to simply read the Democrat talking points and spin them as though he had seen any of the proceedings and speeches. So enforcing our laws, protecting our citizens, securing our border against not just illegal immigrants but also drugs, gangs and terrorists somehow is expressing 'hatred'?
I never go to the NYT for anything but the crossword puzzle, but for goodness sake what an idiotic article. A pathetic, content and analysis-free wings.
Further evidence that liberalism is a mental disorder.
I never go to the NYT for anything but the crossword puzzle, but for goodness sake what an idiotic article. A pathetic, content and analysis-free wings.
Further evidence that liberalism is a mental disorder.
3
Did the author never view or attend a Clinton or Sanders campaign event? The feverish resentment, the fiery class hatred, is palpable there. Indeed, hatred is the fuel, the active (if sometimes covert or barely concealed) energy source for all political campaigns. Instead of this sullen moral lecture, read Hazlitt's "On the Pleasure of Hating."
1
Rogen Ailes is the direct line from Reagan to Trump. Imagine the modern day GOP without Fox News.
Ailes the brilliant propagandist enabled the likes of Lee Atwater, Karl Rove, Grover Norquist, the NRA, Cruz.
Ailes may not have been the initial malignancy, but he enabled the cancer to take over the GOP.
Fitting that Ailes left the Fox building on what would have been his apogee. Unfortunate that there wer not more cameras there to record his perp walk.
Perhaps justice will be served when Roger's 40 million dollar payout is distributed to Gretchen Carlson and Friends.
Ailes the brilliant propagandist enabled the likes of Lee Atwater, Karl Rove, Grover Norquist, the NRA, Cruz.
Ailes may not have been the initial malignancy, but he enabled the cancer to take over the GOP.
Fitting that Ailes left the Fox building on what would have been his apogee. Unfortunate that there wer not more cameras there to record his perp walk.
Perhaps justice will be served when Roger's 40 million dollar payout is distributed to Gretchen Carlson and Friends.
2
What kills me that an understanding that our immigration problem, which is considerably more problematic for the immigrants that us, wouldn't be happening at all had the the Bush administration not casually taken a match to the Middle East. They clearly believe that this was the nefarious doing of Obama right up until the moment when it became the nefarious doing of Hillary Clinton.
1
The Republican convention was indeed four days of madness. It is as if party has decided, "Well, reasoning hasn't gotten us very far, so let's go with hatred and insults. What do we have to lose?" Nothing really, since the GOP has been bereft of any constructive ideas for many years now. It is America that stands to lose, by televising its dark underbelly on prime time for all the world to see.
3
The problem for Clinton and the Democrats is that in the midst of this vitriol, references to the self-inflicted email fiasco are interspersed at regular intervals, and that legitimizes all of it in the eyes of the average (white) voter.
Good point about Trump supporters being individually nice people. But when the mob rules, individual niceness gets Trumped. After the storm has passed, such individuals may wake up and ask themselves:"What have I done?" And their memories will become clouded. "Who me? I wasn't within miles of Cleveland."
2
An apt metaphor is the unarmed, cooperative black teacher who was shot in the leg as he tried to convince an autistic student to do as the police demanded. The autistic student was holding a plastic truck that the police perceived as a gun.
The teacher was handcuffed as he lay bleeding. "Why did you shoot me? I have no weapons!" he asked the policeman. "I don't know." was the reply. When it comes down to it, most of Trump's supporters really have no rational, concrete reason to support him. They really don't know.
The teacher was handcuffed as he lay bleeding. "Why did you shoot me? I have no weapons!" he asked the policeman. "I don't know." was the reply. When it comes down to it, most of Trump's supporters really have no rational, concrete reason to support him. They really don't know.
3
How ironic that the God-fearing, family-first, single-issue-abortion-driven, gun-toting Republicans have chosen the hate-mongering, bigoted, womanizing, much-married, self-proclaimed Lothario and cutthroat businessman Donald Trump as their presidential candidate, while they demonize Hillary Clinton, an experienced public servant who, for better and for worse, has stood by her husband despite his extramarital activities.
The bounds of the far right's hypocrisy is infinite.
The bounds of the far right's hypocrisy is infinite.
4
Lots of personal invective.
Lots of promises that would, of course, require massive amounts of money.
And then tax cuts.
Typical Republican dreck. Believe me.
Lots of promises that would, of course, require massive amounts of money.
And then tax cuts.
Typical Republican dreck. Believe me.
1
I feel no sympathy for the repulsive Republican party. I feel for the every day fools who have been duped with such vitriol. The rest of the free world must be fascinated by all of this. We should be frightened.
2
The greatest peril since the Civil War?!? That's a huge exaggeration. Things were much worse during the Great Depression, WWII and the Vietnam War. Even if Trump is elected, the nation will survive.
1
So, we should believe that somewhere - perhaps in the minds of the "nice people" that Egan talked to - there is a real Republican Party, different than the one we saw at the convention? The Republican Party and many of its supporters in the media, the think tanks and the general public have been stewing in their hatred, bile and reactionary propaganda year upon year. I find it odd that some pundits at the Times are so intent on saving the party from itself. If the party does implode and break into fragments it will be a blessing.
2
If Republicans truly believe in and care so deeply about American exceptionalism and the idea that the United States stands apart from the pack in world history as an unparalleled beacon of democracy and liberty, they will put down their pitchforks, abandon their newfound false prophet, and refuse to stand for a man who denigrates this core tenet of their worldview. Donald Trump is nothing more than a slap in the face to the great intellectual-political tradition of the United States, and rather than restoring our allegedly-diminished standing on the world stage, he will serve only to prove to others that we are not, in fact, everything we have claimed to be as a nation. American history is filled with regrettable chapters about the mistreatment of numerous groups, but our virtue has always been to look ever forward, to aspire to better ourselves and reach new heights. The Founders laid out a vision for a type of government that inspired half the world to follow in its footsteps. I sorely hope that proves not to have been in vain, lest we turn our backs on all that the United States of America has stood for these last 240 years.
6
"Make America Hate" has been the goal of the "leftist" media, which have pitted races and sexes against each other, while ignoring the often non-racial/sexual roots of the problems we face. Voters are tired of this disingenuous status quo and the danger it poses to the country.
7
I am an immigrant. I do not need the media to tell me when we are judged unjustly. I am an immigrant, I do not need the media to tell me that in some people's mind I am not a part of the "we" of "we the people." I am a immigrant but please do not think that I am stupid. I know the danger that Trump represents as soon as I heard how he denigrated our Mexicans brothers and sisters. I am a immigrant but I believe in the values of my American citizenship and the ideals of my adopted country. I am a citizen and I believe in the inclusive intent of our great Constitution and will defend it against demagogue like Mr. Trump.
2
You cannot be serious.
2
Aaaah yes. What comment board would be complete without a submission from the Bizarro World.
1
Obviously, Trump is positioning himself as the new "law and order" candidate. He might listen to police chiefs who believe that their job is infinitely harder with military weapons so easily available to anyone. As Dallas police chief Brown said, “But, it’s increasingly challenging when people have AR-15s slung over their shoulder and they’re in a crowd,” he said. “We don’t know who the good guy is versus the bad guy when everyone starts shooting.” Open carry which Trump supports is incompatible with "law and order". His whole platform is to scare people into voting for him not to bring law an order or safety to our cities.
9
Trump's speech was a cold reminder of just how divided our nation is. All he has done is latch onto the anger and despair felt by so many and given them promises that he just cannot keep. And his speech was just the grand finale in a convention that featured speeches so devoid of reality it was scary. They literally blamed the Democrats and Clinton and Obama especially for every that is wrong in our country. What was so amazing is that the Republicans have had the majority in the House and Senate for years. If they really cared so much about the poor, American people struggling to make ends meet, why have they done nothing about? If they care so much about "law and order" why have they, our legislative branch, done nothing but sling accusations across the aisle after every mass shooting or violent tragedy? If our education system is so abysmal, why the systematic decrease in federal education funding and job training programs?
Trump does not care one bit about the average person besides the ability to get their votes. The power of the president is actually quite limited by our system of checks and balances and the power of Congress. Buyer beware. Anyone who says that they can fix all of our nations most pressing problems "alone," is either lying to themselves or everyone else, or both
Trump does not care one bit about the average person besides the ability to get their votes. The power of the president is actually quite limited by our system of checks and balances and the power of Congress. Buyer beware. Anyone who says that they can fix all of our nations most pressing problems "alone," is either lying to themselves or everyone else, or both
12
Let's ignore the damage, destruction and failure of the Obama-Clinton regime and just continue double national debt, flooding the nation with illegal aliens and terrorists, and chasing industry out of the country. Not to worry, the government will just keep arming itself while taking guns away from citizens. No one needs to actually create value and earn anything, the government will just keep printing paper currency. While we're at it, replace the Constitution with Sharia Law. Or perhaps, vote for Trump.
4
I did not hear hate. I heard a man issuing a warning that America is in trouble. He based his views on facts, not fiction. It was a call for action.
Our next recession is just around the corner. Our next terrorist attack will come soon. Shall we elect Hillary who cares for the rich, pretends to care for the poor, and taxes the middle class? Shall we elect Hillary who promises more immigrants from the Middle East, more people to compete with for jobs, more people who harbor terroristic thoughts? Do we keep moving jobs overseas, and keep sending our wealth to China?
Or do we elect Donald Trump?
Our next recession is just around the corner. Our next terrorist attack will come soon. Shall we elect Hillary who cares for the rich, pretends to care for the poor, and taxes the middle class? Shall we elect Hillary who promises more immigrants from the Middle East, more people to compete with for jobs, more people who harbor terroristic thoughts? Do we keep moving jobs overseas, and keep sending our wealth to China?
Or do we elect Donald Trump?
3
Jonathan, you live in Silver Spring, MD, which has an unemployment rate of 4.1%, strong predicted job growth (D.C. metro area), a median household income of $72,954, an average commute time of 34 minutes, with 29% of commuters taking mass transit, (Thanks to Sperling's Best Places for this info.) http://www.bestplaces.net/crime/city/maryland/silver_spring
You don't seem too close to a recession, to losing your wealth to China, to having no jobs. Oh, and 1.2% of people who practice Islam,none of whom are likely terrorists. You are living in a paranoid mind palace; please turn off the talk radio or TV and look around you.
You don't seem too close to a recession, to losing your wealth to China, to having no jobs. Oh, and 1.2% of people who practice Islam,none of whom are likely terrorists. You are living in a paranoid mind palace; please turn off the talk radio or TV and look around you.
2
Trump's masses of followers are as single-minded and filled with hatred and fear mongering as their leader is. Hope and possibility died for the GOP Tea Party last night - only Ted Cruz had the honesty to call for Republicans to vote their consciences. His lack of endorsement of Trump, led us - who, for the past year plus, couldn't stand the sight of the smarmy guy - to respect him for the first time. The Devil's Disciples, Chris Christie - leading the chant of "guilty" against Hillary Clinton, Ben Carson, late a neurosurgeon and believer that Giza's Pyramids were granaries for storage of Egypt's grain, who called Hillary Clinton "Lucifer", and the berserk and amok screamer, all that was left of Rudy Giuliani after 9/11, 15 years later, was a leading Trump sycophant. Undoubtedly hoping for a crumbor ort from Trump's table to fall in his lap. The less Roger Ailes is mentioned, the better. He should enjoy the Durance Vile he has earned. Thank you, Tim Egan - agreeing with you that we the people, our e pluribus unum Republic, are now facing our gravest peril since the Revolution, since the Civil War, since World Wars I and II. Trump's is the face of fear, terror, and loathing in America today.
1
The GOP is built on party members who marinate daily in grievances, most imaged, some real, aired on radio talk shows, on cable news and online. It must be an awful way to go through life, but we all make choices, and they have certainly made one to live this way and follow leaders who shamelessly exploit their condition. Let them be but please, no excuses, economic or otherwise, for their self-inflicted condition, their anger and their lack of perspective. It's on them.
5
Great title, Mr. Egan! Perfect words to describe the truth of the Trump phenomenon. I've learned a lot from the kids I teach in school, one lesson is this: Bullies have a tendency to bring out bullying qualities in other kids, who are otherwise perfectly normal, good students. That's one true leadership quality of bullies - they can bring out meanness in the best of us. Trump is doing fine in that area - poor, pitiful guy.
4
my theory is that the fear sold to the people is directly derived from the real fact that the United States is no longer a majority white. The white working class can see and sense this demographic shift. They are uneasy about it. It does not take much to stir this unease into abject fear about an uncertain future.
3
Thank you once again Tim Egan for summarizing so brilliantly the atmosphere at the Trump coronation convention. Not in my lifetime have I witnessed the kind of provocation toward hatred and exclusion as I witnessed this past week on television. Speaker after speaker, almost without exception, tried to whip the attendees into a frenzy of anger and contempt towards immigrants and Muslims, and incite violence towards Secretary Clinton. The tone of Donald Trump's speech reminded me of the broadcasts of Father Charles Coughlin. It was drenched in bitterness, ignorance and discrimination.
8
So far, neither party is talking about the problems this country faces. We're all talking about Trump, who fancies himself a strong man like Mussolini. His chances of winning are very small unless the polls "are rigged." He is the most likely candidate to rig the polls. I don't think he has the organization to do that. He is more like Jim Jones than Ronald Reagan.
Nixon was much more qualified, Reagan was more optimistic and knew how to compromise. I didn't like either of them, but they were not naked power grabbers in the way Trump is.
As candidates go, Hillary is not my favorite. She is more hawkish than Obama and I would have preferred Joe Biden. She is not the devil incarnate, she is not nearly as deceitful as Republicans paint her. I think she has problems being in the public spotlight. She wants the presidency and she wants her privacy too. But she knows what she is doing. Trump is clueless, knows nothing about government and precious little about ethical business practice. He is a danger to the republic, a nuclear war waiting to happen. The question is how many will be taken in by drama and bluster.
Nixon was much more qualified, Reagan was more optimistic and knew how to compromise. I didn't like either of them, but they were not naked power grabbers in the way Trump is.
As candidates go, Hillary is not my favorite. She is more hawkish than Obama and I would have preferred Joe Biden. She is not the devil incarnate, she is not nearly as deceitful as Republicans paint her. I think she has problems being in the public spotlight. She wants the presidency and she wants her privacy too. But she knows what she is doing. Trump is clueless, knows nothing about government and precious little about ethical business practice. He is a danger to the republic, a nuclear war waiting to happen. The question is how many will be taken in by drama and bluster.
3
Three cheers for Mr. Trump for exposing the reality that the GOP has always been the refuge for the kind of xenophobia, misogyny, homophobia, racism, and intolerance that the so-called establishment Republican party has for decades with varying degrees of success has sought to deny, hide, or otherwise keep off of the limelight.
1
It's almost like you didn't even watch the speech. He specifically reached out to Americans of all races, sexuality, sexes etc...
2
A very clear and unfortunately accurate portrayal and interpretation of events. It is worrying that Trump is such an effective rabble rouser that he could prevail. He spreads falsehoods like dandelion seeds, and his followers are charmed to follow these little puffs of seed wherever the breeze blows them, unaware that they will soon become weeds.
3
Many people connected Brexit and Trumpism immediately as populist movements based on passions over facts and reason.
The British immediately had Regrexit over their vote when they saw the consequences reflected in diminished standing and prosperity.
Trump does not use facts or reason to speak to people.
He conflates reports of murder on the news or social media with actual statistics.
You wouldn't know it from the Republican convention, but violent and property crimes per capita peaked in the early 1990s and have fallen consistently since.
The data does not show crime out of control, but there is certainly more reporting of violent episodes for a population of over 300 million in the country and 7 billion people on the planet.
Trump says the world is spinning out of control like never before. Really?
As compared to 9/11 and the Iraq War, the Khmer Rouge purge, the Chinese famine and Cultural Revolution, World War II and the Holocaust, Stalin's Holodomor, World War I, the Civil War, etc.
It really is Trump's mind that is spinning our of control and the GOP has joined that fetid swamp as enablers in exchange for some Supreme Court appointments and tax refunds.
Conflating the faster pace of global reporting with increased violence and dissent is the mark of an unstable man with poor judgement.
This election is the most critical test of American democracy since the country's founding.
The British immediately had Regrexit over their vote when they saw the consequences reflected in diminished standing and prosperity.
Trump does not use facts or reason to speak to people.
He conflates reports of murder on the news or social media with actual statistics.
You wouldn't know it from the Republican convention, but violent and property crimes per capita peaked in the early 1990s and have fallen consistently since.
The data does not show crime out of control, but there is certainly more reporting of violent episodes for a population of over 300 million in the country and 7 billion people on the planet.
Trump says the world is spinning out of control like never before. Really?
As compared to 9/11 and the Iraq War, the Khmer Rouge purge, the Chinese famine and Cultural Revolution, World War II and the Holocaust, Stalin's Holodomor, World War I, the Civil War, etc.
It really is Trump's mind that is spinning our of control and the GOP has joined that fetid swamp as enablers in exchange for some Supreme Court appointments and tax refunds.
Conflating the faster pace of global reporting with increased violence and dissent is the mark of an unstable man with poor judgement.
This election is the most critical test of American democracy since the country's founding.
9
According to today's NYT: "Many facts in Mr. Trump’s acceptance speech appear to be true". Need say more?
4
Starting in the weighty eighties, when you-know-who was in the White House, Republican leaders have expressed a desire to bring America back to the values and sensibilities of the 1950s--an idea likely to send chills to anyone who is not a white heterosexual Christian male or otherwise remembers those days as not all malt shops and poodle skirts. Of course, reminiscences of segregation, "restricted" venues, Cold War paranoia, and a yo-yoing economy may be dismissed with the now-familiar "I didn't say it was perfect."
Accordingly, a Trump presidency may be the ultimate exercise in "be careful what you wish for."
It's possible that the reports of what certain prominent right-wingers would like to see happen to Hillary Clinton may be exaggerated a bit. (The only surprise is that none of them--so far--has claimed that their comments were taken "out of context," which is the usual strategy.) I'm sure they'd settle for what happened to Linda Blair in "Born Innocent."
Accordingly, a Trump presidency may be the ultimate exercise in "be careful what you wish for."
It's possible that the reports of what certain prominent right-wingers would like to see happen to Hillary Clinton may be exaggerated a bit. (The only surprise is that none of them--so far--has claimed that their comments were taken "out of context," which is the usual strategy.) I'm sure they'd settle for what happened to Linda Blair in "Born Innocent."
1
"Ailes will be an asterisk. When the convention closed, fear had won the hall. And we should fear — for the republic, for a democracy facing its gravest peril since the Civil War."
I disagree with Tomothy Egan's notion that Ailes being an asterisk. FOX news, which sowed discord and spewed hatred for years, has raised generations of voters whose main source of information was Ailes' network. It is no accident that many voters, whose primary source of information was Murdoch station, are now ready to cast their votes for Trump. Ailes' contribution to American political climate will be dissected and remembered very much like that of Lee Altwater or Carl Rove (none of whom is an asterisk).
I disagree with Tomothy Egan's notion that Ailes being an asterisk. FOX news, which sowed discord and spewed hatred for years, has raised generations of voters whose main source of information was Ailes' network. It is no accident that many voters, whose primary source of information was Murdoch station, are now ready to cast their votes for Trump. Ailes' contribution to American political climate will be dissected and remembered very much like that of Lee Altwater or Carl Rove (none of whom is an asterisk).
232
Trump said last night that when he becomes President, crime will end. That pretty much says it all.
Sure, the speech generally was filled with falsehoods, fear-mongering, wildly inaccurate descriptions of the world and country in which we live, and contained his standard mantra: "who can "fix" this? Only me." All truly distasteful, dangerous, thoughtless, and laughable (if it weren't so serious).
But the idea that he will "end crime" is the perfect highlight. Again, we saw someone so ludicrously unaware, narcissistic, misguided, and wrong-headed, all evidenced in those two words. He might be a Mussolini; or perhaps not. He might just get bored and distracted from government when he finds it is hard, thankless work requiring one to "play well with others." Either way, what is amazing is the such a large percentage of American voters would fall for such patent fraud.
Sure, the speech generally was filled with falsehoods, fear-mongering, wildly inaccurate descriptions of the world and country in which we live, and contained his standard mantra: "who can "fix" this? Only me." All truly distasteful, dangerous, thoughtless, and laughable (if it weren't so serious).
But the idea that he will "end crime" is the perfect highlight. Again, we saw someone so ludicrously unaware, narcissistic, misguided, and wrong-headed, all evidenced in those two words. He might be a Mussolini; or perhaps not. He might just get bored and distracted from government when he finds it is hard, thankless work requiring one to "play well with others." Either way, what is amazing is the such a large percentage of American voters would fall for such patent fraud.
13
Clearly, the most important person at the Republican convention was Hillary Clinton, declared numerous times to be a criminal and at least once of being such a criminal that she deserved to be hung on the Mall in Washington. What a relief that was; at least she wouldn't be drawn and quartered as well, although maybe a session or two with the maiming wheel would be necessary to force her to confess her crimes. Very little about how Republicans would make the US a better place to live, aside from promises that we will be great again.
6
Trump has nothing to promote but fear itself
His promises to those who fear for their economic safety are false and it should become apparent to them during the campaign as they realize that the economic planks in Trump's platform further advantages the elites at their expense
Those who fear for their personal safety will hopefully realize that proposing a police state is not the way to protect us or the police from attacks
His promises to those who fear for their economic safety are false and it should become apparent to them during the campaign as they realize that the economic planks in Trump's platform further advantages the elites at their expense
Those who fear for their personal safety will hopefully realize that proposing a police state is not the way to protect us or the police from attacks
4
Is there really any surprise as to why why John Dean completed the book he began with Barry Goldwater, entitled "Conservatives Without Conscience?" For the record, his subsequent book was called "Broken Government," and details how his former party (he had the integrity to depart the GOTP years ago) has completely and systematically destroyed the functions of our government. What we heard throughout this ghastly, dark farce of a GOTP "Convention," and indeed, what we have heard from their bombastic, ignorant, infantile serially mendacious, and exceedingly dangerous POTUS candidate, was lies, character assassination, racism, barely-concealed treason and incitement of violence, xenophobic and religious fear mongering, endless self-aggrandizement, and exactly zero in terms of leadership qualities or concrete policy pronouncements. Drumpf is the living embodiment of the GOTP's 50+ year descent into an abyss of willful ignorance and hatred, and the nation is in grave peril because of the total lack of leadership on the right, and their capitulation to their raging, fearful, religious extremist base. Talk about the Prince of Darkness! The right has cornered that market since the early 1960's.
5
Trump's speech last night helped me make up my mind. I was considering casting a vote for a third party candidate instead of for Clinton. But not now. Whatever my doubts about Clinton's integrity and ethics (and there are some very real reasons to doubt them), I will vote for her because she represents the democratic forces opposed to everything Trump embodies.
A Clinton Presidency would preserve and improve Obamacare. Trump promised to kick 20 million Americans off health care.
A Clinton Presidency would honor the alliances and treaties that have worked to make the world safer. Trump would violate these treaties (which is illegal) and make the world less safe.
A Clinton Presidency at least makes common sense gun control possible. Trump made it clear last night that he is in the pocket of the NRA.
A Clinton Presidency would continue the Obama economic approach which ended the Great Recession and led to steady economic growth and improvement. Trump would take us back to the failed economic policies of G.W. Bush.
A Clinton Presidency would seek solutions to our problems while respecting the separation of powers, the freedom of the press and the freedom of religion. Trump has threatened all three.
A Clinton Presidency would seek balanced and humane solutions to our social problems. Trump has offered only police state style solutions.
Finally, a Clinton Presidency would honor our democratic traditions. A Trump Presidency would lead to the authoritarianism.
A Clinton Presidency would preserve and improve Obamacare. Trump promised to kick 20 million Americans off health care.
A Clinton Presidency would honor the alliances and treaties that have worked to make the world safer. Trump would violate these treaties (which is illegal) and make the world less safe.
A Clinton Presidency at least makes common sense gun control possible. Trump made it clear last night that he is in the pocket of the NRA.
A Clinton Presidency would continue the Obama economic approach which ended the Great Recession and led to steady economic growth and improvement. Trump would take us back to the failed economic policies of G.W. Bush.
A Clinton Presidency would seek solutions to our problems while respecting the separation of powers, the freedom of the press and the freedom of religion. Trump has threatened all three.
A Clinton Presidency would seek balanced and humane solutions to our social problems. Trump has offered only police state style solutions.
Finally, a Clinton Presidency would honor our democratic traditions. A Trump Presidency would lead to the authoritarianism.
14
So basically "democracy" is only democracy if it produces the outcomes you want to see.
1
I'm not the first to say it, but it merits repeating that Trump really represents the culmination and fulfillment of what Republicans have been doing ever since Nixon's Southern Strategy of divide and conquer, of setting one group against another and drawing upon the fears and insecurities of whites to advance a political agenda. When it comes to invoking fear and hatred Trump is probably a novice compared to people like Lee Atwater who refined these divisive tactics, which are clearly within the long standing ethos of the Republican Party and its mouth piece Fox News.
7
The real and important work of government is boring and does not make good TV, that is why we have infrastructure that is crumbling, people losing their life savings to healthcare corporations, and a planet that is ready to throw off the toxic parasite that is the human race.
We as a country are incapable of getting important work done because it is not in the interest of corporations or high net wealth individuals, money now is the imperative for those driving our government to provide them with greater wealth and our nation to destruction.
We are barraged with lunatic ramblings and lies in our face while the quiet back room theft of our nations wealth and very form of democracy continues.
When we are studied a thousand years from now, either by the survivors of this planet or explorers from a more sane race it will be found that it was not a viral plague that killed the human race but a plague of greed, stupid thinking and irrational fear that caused the end to life on earth.
We as a country are incapable of getting important work done because it is not in the interest of corporations or high net wealth individuals, money now is the imperative for those driving our government to provide them with greater wealth and our nation to destruction.
We are barraged with lunatic ramblings and lies in our face while the quiet back room theft of our nations wealth and very form of democracy continues.
When we are studied a thousand years from now, either by the survivors of this planet or explorers from a more sane race it will be found that it was not a viral plague that killed the human race but a plague of greed, stupid thinking and irrational fear that caused the end to life on earth.
9
The media must bear some responsibility and indeed complicity in driving the campaigns to where we are now. How much time in broadcast, how many miles in print, was disproportionately allocated to Trump because he was the "easy headline" and his campaign was not taken seriously, but as a joke? Seems the joke's on you now, isn't it? Similarly how much time and print was NOT allocated to Bernie Sanders, so that the "Establishment choice" of Hillary Clinton could be given far more attention and gravitas, to thwart a real challenge?
The choice and fear for the Republic and democracy are the competing visions: America First, and becoming great again, to lead the world by example, or sliding into the tyrannical oblivion of the New World Order. The British recently addressed this question and decided that their sovereignty, the control of their immigration and their culture, was more important than being subsumed in the European Union. Trump offers us a similar choice.
The choice and fear for the Republic and democracy are the competing visions: America First, and becoming great again, to lead the world by example, or sliding into the tyrannical oblivion of the New World Order. The British recently addressed this question and decided that their sovereignty, the control of their immigration and their culture, was more important than being subsumed in the European Union. Trump offers us a similar choice.
2
Hatred and racism will always exist. I certainly never thought that after electing a black president twice in overwhelming fashion that our country would be more divided than ever before in my short lifetime (30 years.)
Yet no one is acknowledging the barriers Donald Trump has broken down for the Republican party. He is the first Republican to openly support the LBGTQ community, did we miss that? He is a billionaire businessman running a campaign targeting the "elites." Doesn't that deserve some acknowledgement?
Unfortunately, he must appeal to some of the less desirable factions of our party who still share racist and hateful sentiments but win or lose I applaud him for taking the party head on and showing us that the old party platform of corporate tax breaks and trickle down economics combined with Christian rule will simply not work anymore.
We must think big picture.
Yet no one is acknowledging the barriers Donald Trump has broken down for the Republican party. He is the first Republican to openly support the LBGTQ community, did we miss that? He is a billionaire businessman running a campaign targeting the "elites." Doesn't that deserve some acknowledgement?
Unfortunately, he must appeal to some of the less desirable factions of our party who still share racist and hateful sentiments but win or lose I applaud him for taking the party head on and showing us that the old party platform of corporate tax breaks and trickle down economics combined with Christian rule will simply not work anymore.
We must think big picture.
2
Trump does not offer anything of substance to the gay and transgender community. To the contrary, this year's Republican Party platform:
- Opposes same-sex marriage.
- Opposes adoption by gay people.
- Opposes transgender rights.
- Supports the use of so-called "conversion therapy" for young gay people.
The GOP under Trump not only wishes to revert to a society of complete inequality but rejects even a basic understanding of sexual orientation and gender identity. Nothing about this approach is acceptable.
- Opposes same-sex marriage.
- Opposes adoption by gay people.
- Opposes transgender rights.
- Supports the use of so-called "conversion therapy" for young gay people.
The GOP under Trump not only wishes to revert to a society of complete inequality but rejects even a basic understanding of sexual orientation and gender identity. Nothing about this approach is acceptable.
3
I am a life-long Republican and plan on voting for Donald Trump. He would not be my first choice but in good conscience I could never vote for Hillary Clinton. I do not trust her and feel she will put her own interests above the US. She did not think about the country's safety when she sent the infamous emails and four men were left to die in the Benghazi fiasco.
Donald Trump would not be my first choice for the presidency but the alternative is far worse. I did not approve of some of his remarks such as making fun of handicapped people or criticizing Carlie Farina's looks but I will cut him some slack.
We have had two terrorist attacks under President Obama's watch and he was hesitant to call them such. The jobs that have been created and the ones that the Democrats have been so gleeful about have been low paying for many Americans. Obamacare has not been beneficial for many people who have been left to pay higher premiums and receive less coverage. Welfare rolls are high and there are some who should never have been allowed to,be on the dole from the beginning. There has been division among the races and police officers have been killed because of their profession.
Mr. Trump will make this country great again and make us proud to be Americans. He is our only hope for a brighter future.
Donald Trump would not be my first choice for the presidency but the alternative is far worse. I did not approve of some of his remarks such as making fun of handicapped people or criticizing Carlie Farina's looks but I will cut him some slack.
We have had two terrorist attacks under President Obama's watch and he was hesitant to call them such. The jobs that have been created and the ones that the Democrats have been so gleeful about have been low paying for many Americans. Obamacare has not been beneficial for many people who have been left to pay higher premiums and receive less coverage. Welfare rolls are high and there are some who should never have been allowed to,be on the dole from the beginning. There has been division among the races and police officers have been killed because of their profession.
Mr. Trump will make this country great again and make us proud to be Americans. He is our only hope for a brighter future.
17
NYT commenters and readers: Please read KMW's remarks over and over again. These are not the words of a nut, or a stooge, or a racist. This person in my view is completely wrong, but somehow our country has slipped to this level. Our candidate-- HRC-- will probably campaign only against the nuttiness of Trump. That will be a mistake folks. She needs to campaign-- as does every democrat in office-- against the GOP, and in favor of the importance of us winning every down ticket office, finally forcing the GOP (as it is today) to the margins of history. Without a new civil war, hopefully. Our battle should not be against just Trump.
10
Karen,
You have three things right: I am not a nut, stooge or racist.
I am an American who loves my country and am very upset about the direction that the US has taken under the Obama administration. We have had two terrorist attacks and our president hesitates to utter the word terrorist. He has divided the races and there have been multiple murders of our police due to the black lives matter movement and President Obama refuses to bring up the issue. Low paying jobs have been created and the Democrats are ecstatic over this. Karen, I could go on and on but I would get a case of the blues.
Donald Trump seems to be the only one paying attention to the concerns of the American people. He will make the changes that are needed to make our country great agsin. That is why he has my vote.
You have three things right: I am not a nut, stooge or racist.
I am an American who loves my country and am very upset about the direction that the US has taken under the Obama administration. We have had two terrorist attacks and our president hesitates to utter the word terrorist. He has divided the races and there have been multiple murders of our police due to the black lives matter movement and President Obama refuses to bring up the issue. Low paying jobs have been created and the Democrats are ecstatic over this. Karen, I could go on and on but I would get a case of the blues.
Donald Trump seems to be the only one paying attention to the concerns of the American people. He will make the changes that are needed to make our country great agsin. That is why he has my vote.
2
Be careful what you wish for.
1
Although I detest Donald Trump and will vote against him in November, I forced my self to listen to his acceptance speech on Thursday evening. What I heard was a version of current day America that sounded more like scenes from a "Mad Max" or "Death Wish" movie from the 1970's. Yes, we have had a relatively large number of attacks on citizens and police, driven in large degree by terrorists (however you define them) but is this any worse than the 1960's (riots, three political assassinations and numerous "madman"-type mass murders)? We have heard this "law and order" lecture before and what we leared in the 1970's was that this was an excuse for more "show of force" type activity that does little to deter actual crime but does everything for politicians images. Yes, we have economic issues in the U.S. that need to be resolved so that more wealth flows down to the 99% but demonizing Canada, Mexico and out other trading partners isn't the way to do it. Trump has no plan, other than to yell and pound his chest.
Surely, we must do better.
Surely, we must do better.
11
"There was a riot even though there wasn't" is not a very credible way to start an article.
Do you have evidence Trump supports believe every Mexican is a rapist, and all Muslims are terrorists? Because every time I challenge an egalitarian on this, the answer comes in the form of exaggerating some past statement, or "well you know they're thinking that inside."
What's happening to the America right is the realization, after many years of being lost, that being unoffensive is nowhere as important as promoting nationalistic interests. This is already understood, often instinctively, in most non-Western countries. The West lags behind those countries because it lives in excess, and still suffers guilt from its recent past. But the arc of progress will eventually right those attitudes. Those who still consider "hate" and "bigotry" to be valid political criticisms are behind on the curve, and will eventually be relegated to the dustbin of history.
Do you have evidence Trump supports believe every Mexican is a rapist, and all Muslims are terrorists? Because every time I challenge an egalitarian on this, the answer comes in the form of exaggerating some past statement, or "well you know they're thinking that inside."
What's happening to the America right is the realization, after many years of being lost, that being unoffensive is nowhere as important as promoting nationalistic interests. This is already understood, often instinctively, in most non-Western countries. The West lags behind those countries because it lives in excess, and still suffers guilt from its recent past. But the arc of progress will eventually right those attitudes. Those who still consider "hate" and "bigotry" to be valid political criticisms are behind on the curve, and will eventually be relegated to the dustbin of history.
3
No, not all Trump supporters believe that. But they support for President a man who does believe that. Is that not enough to write them off?
1
In the end we get the government we deserve. Voting for a man with no plan on any critical issue facing this country-except for the force of his own personality-is the end result of decades of disinformation by much of our media whose primary aim is to sell advertising on TV screens and websites. Bernie Sanders had at least one thing right. If post high-school education (whether trade schools, community colleges, or universities) had been more affordable options over the past few decades we 'might not' have 40% of the country following an anti-science and anti-reason based political party.
14
And so it began in Germany in the early 30's. A country with legitimate grievances found what seemed to be a path forward in the rantings of an authoritarian leader. One who promised a return to greatness and the eradication of the evil caused by the "others".
And so the chance for a similarly evil leader comes to the US. We are indeed facing democracy's greatest threat since the Civil War. Only the rationality and goodness of the American people stand in Trump's way. I hope that we are worthy but I fear that we may not be.
And so the chance for a similarly evil leader comes to the US. We are indeed facing democracy's greatest threat since the Civil War. Only the rationality and goodness of the American people stand in Trump's way. I hope that we are worthy but I fear that we may not be.
17
A good deal of The Trump Attack on Hillary will appeal to a broad spectrum of voters, from middle class whites who have lost or fear losing their jobs to one percenters who fear Hillary's promise of higher taxes with fewer loopholes. (There's no need to persuade the poor because they typically don't vote). There's nothing new about a presidential candidate stirring up support by trying to convince us that we're bound for hell if we don't vote for him. The real concern should be that our constitutionally-dictated electoral college system makes it entirely possible for us to anoint a president who could singlehandedly dismantle our social and regulatory safety nets, target our presumed enemies with nuclear weapons and pack our courts with sycophants.
America First? Or the end of the First American Republic?
America First? Or the end of the First American Republic?
7
After watching the RNC and Donald Trump's acceptance speech I had an out-of-body experience. I felt as if someone had broken into my home, forcibly strapped me into a time machine, and programmed it to send me back in time and space to Europe 90 years ago.
The exhortations that "I alone" can lead my country out of this morass, the mugging and posturing, the false braggadocio and defiance, the angry and vitriolic-filled faces in the relatively uneducated and unsophisticated crowd all were eerily reminiscent of 'Il Duce'. The only thing missing in this disheartening and depressing scene were the Brown Shirts.
The exhortations that "I alone" can lead my country out of this morass, the mugging and posturing, the false braggadocio and defiance, the angry and vitriolic-filled faces in the relatively uneducated and unsophisticated crowd all were eerily reminiscent of 'Il Duce'. The only thing missing in this disheartening and depressing scene were the Brown Shirts.
31
Give it time, my friend, give it time. I heard about two minutes of that text-book fascist speech last night, and I have never been so afraid for this country and the world in my life, and I'm no "spring chicken."
1
Scarier to me was the gay Mr. Theil coming out at the convention. Presumably people like him should be too smart for Trump-- but then again, Hitler had his so-called normal supporters too, right?
The fact the Donald Trump campaign enjoyed a week of national TV to espouse its people and views should be celebrated wildly. America is so weird and wonderful in that way. We are protected by the finest words ever printed on a political document: The First Amendment. The writer of this piece says he is scared. "And we should fear — for the republic, for a democracy facing its gravest peril since the Civil War." That's a little over the top. I say bring on Trump's words and actions. Americans need them so they can make the best choice in November.
1
When one of the major parties is sliding- FAST- into nationalist fascism, yes we should be scared. We should be scared because that legitimizes future strongmen, future despots, future attacks on democracy. We should be scared because at least 40% of the country is okay with a leader who has explicitly stated that he doesn't care about the rule of law and doesn't care about fairness and doesn't care about people-not-like-"us", even though those Others are also American citizens (the poor, the disabled, women, racial minorities, non-Christians, non-hetero, non-cisgender, etc) and honestly make up far more than half the American population.
Fear-mongering and bigotry. Promising "law and order" in order to save us from the chaos of a free and fair society. Giant rows of flags with the great leader preaching, nay screaming, hatred with the religious backing of many influential pastors whipping up their flocks to support him. If I had a checklist for fascism, Trump's hit every point on it. And that- that should scare you. I know it scares me.
Fear-mongering and bigotry. Promising "law and order" in order to save us from the chaos of a free and fair society. Giant rows of flags with the great leader preaching, nay screaming, hatred with the religious backing of many influential pastors whipping up their flocks to support him. If I had a checklist for fascism, Trump's hit every point on it. And that- that should scare you. I know it scares me.
1
The parts of Donald Trump's acceptance speech that weren't fear-mongering and xenophobia were full of inconsistent statements that could not possibly derive from a coherent set of principles. Example: Early in the speech, he criticized Hillary Clinton as being "in the pocket of corporate America," then later promised to create better trade agreements by "bringing in the smartest businesspeople in the country" to negotiate them, not explaining what exactly might motivate those businesspeople to do that for him.
These kind of disconnects make it impossible to rely on anything the Republican nominee says. Even if there was some corner of Trump's messaging one thought he agreed with, he could not be sure it would be reflected in a Trump presidency.
These kind of disconnects make it impossible to rely on anything the Republican nominee says. Even if there was some corner of Trump's messaging one thought he agreed with, he could not be sure it would be reflected in a Trump presidency.
8
Gib, you need to stop with the logic. It is not going to change the outcome. Nothing anyone in the GOP says anymore is "reliable," or makes any sense at all. But this fact has not stopped their rabid takeover of the country.
1
The Left has abandoned the working class to instead focus endlessly on identity and racial politics that inevitably turn into attacks on heterosexual white males, who are tired of hearing how it is they and their "privilege" who are the cause of any and all social ills in America and, in fact, the entire world.
The Left comes off as insufferable snobs and scolds who seem clueless that their smug sense of superiority and endless moralizing has the opposite effect - they make even politically moderate people support and sympathize with Trump and his followers, the very people who the Left denigrates as "racists" and "xenophobes" (see almost every comment here), without any recognition that they might, just might, have legitimate grievances and worries concerning their marginalization and economic conditions.
Enter Trump, stage Right.
The Left comes off as insufferable snobs and scolds who seem clueless that their smug sense of superiority and endless moralizing has the opposite effect - they make even politically moderate people support and sympathize with Trump and his followers, the very people who the Left denigrates as "racists" and "xenophobes" (see almost every comment here), without any recognition that they might, just might, have legitimate grievances and worries concerning their marginalization and economic conditions.
Enter Trump, stage Right.
11
The Democratic party chose in the late 1960s to turn from wealth inequality as a core issue and focus instead on democracy as "fair access", which resulted of course in wealth inequality and lack of access-- to wit, the gerrymandering to power of the identity politics wing of the Republican party. The Clintons continued the march to the right by destroying Glass Stegall and launching a war on anti poverty programs and a war on crime, so long as that crime was urban and minority, and gutting our economy with poorly structured so called "free trade" agreements that shifted the cost of economic change onto the backs of the working class. Now we are told Hilary may make a choice of VEEP, a white male from Virginia, to chase the same demographic which Obama spent four years chasing in vain. The Democratic Party's lack of vision is in part to blame for opening the door to this kind of politics of hate.
4
You are correct, but the MSM will not admit to this. Long ago in the interest of "democracy," the Dems (whenever dominant) should have enacted a law to replace the anti-democracy one in place since the 1920s-- limiting the house of reps to an arbitrary ceiling of 435. That would have rightfully shifted power to more enlightened states like ours, and by our sheer numbers we might have reigned in the shift to the right that the democratic party has taken, now, alas, at our peril.
1
Trump proposes to temporary suspend travel and immigration from countries known for exporting terrorists until the Homeland Security Department can improve its methods scanning migrants for terrorist links, but why is this considered extremism? U.S. Code § 1182 (Inadmissible Aliens) states: “Whenever the president finds that the entry of any aliens or of any class of aliens into the United States would be detrimental to the interests of the United States, he may by proclamation, and for such period as he shall deem necessary, suspend the entry of all aliens or any class of aliens as immigrants or nonimmigrants, or impose on the entry of aliens any restrictions he may deem to be appropriate.” Wouldn’t it had been nice if these restriction been in effect prior to the 9-11 Attacks?
28
William,
Are you wholly unaware that Trump's original prescription was to ban Muslims from travel to the United States? The nicely-edited version in last night's speech is what Trump's handlers will now have him say. The real Trump liked the visceral response he got from people who are either afraid of Muslims or hate them, when he proposed forbidding them to come here.
Maybe Trump is becoming "politically-correct," notwithstanding all his protestations to the contrary. Maybe the "corporate" Trump who made lots of money at the expense of other companies and less-advantaged people will now become a more "corporate" politician, editing his bigoted comments and returning to the anti-working class positions of the Republican party. He will certainly be such a politician if elected.
Are you wholly unaware that Trump's original prescription was to ban Muslims from travel to the United States? The nicely-edited version in last night's speech is what Trump's handlers will now have him say. The real Trump liked the visceral response he got from people who are either afraid of Muslims or hate them, when he proposed forbidding them to come here.
Maybe Trump is becoming "politically-correct," notwithstanding all his protestations to the contrary. Maybe the "corporate" Trump who made lots of money at the expense of other companies and less-advantaged people will now become a more "corporate" politician, editing his bigoted comments and returning to the anti-working class positions of the Republican party. He will certainly be such a politician if elected.
2
So your suspending travel from France?
2
In 2011, President Obama put a halt to the Iraqi Refugee Program for six months after the FBI discovered that a couple dozen terrorists had gotten into the US through that program. They had matched "refugee" finger prints to prints lifted from IEDs and other explosives materials from the war zone. The President didn't do this to prevent Christians or Yazidis or atheists from entering the country. It was directed at Muslims. Last year, our thoughtful president remarked that Trumps call for a temporary ban was "un American,... .. not who we are."
Funny that. But also very depressing that something so breathtakingly rational as stopping Jihadis from entering the US - the goal of protecting Americans - is now used as a political smear.
Funny that. But also very depressing that something so breathtakingly rational as stopping Jihadis from entering the US - the goal of protecting Americans - is now used as a political smear.
2
Time to reread Philip Roth's "The Plot Against America." Although ostensibly a novel inspired by the actions of the Bush /Cheney regime, it may unfortunately become more associated with the Trump/Pence regime. If Trump gets elected watch for a couple of things: 1. Trump ignoring and refusing to abide by a Supreme Court decision the way Andrew Jackson did with regard to Indian removal; 2. Trump imposing "executive authority" or even marshall law the way his BFF's Putin and Erdogan have done; 3. an executive order requiring use of passports of similar "federal papers" for travel within the united states; and 4. the total and complete integration of Trump's business interests with government services and contracts (his manipulation of election laws to funnel money to his children, business associates, and personal enterprises will be a pale joke compared to what could happen).
290
Progressives and neo-communists have been plotting against America for a generation or more.
2
He won't have to ignore the SCOTUS. He gets to make a new one.
1
Or Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four. From the first night of the convention, with Rudy Giuliani frothing at the mouth, to the last, the entire event was reminiscent of Hate Week, the summer festival hosted by Oceania's ruling party in the novel: "Guilty! ... Lock her up!, Lock her up!, Lock her up! ... She is Lucifer! ... Shoot her!" If Trump had shouted from the podium, "We are at war with Eurasia!" then, moments later, "We are at war with Eastasia! We have always been at war with Eastasia! Eurasia is our ally!," would his supporters have noticed? Would they have cared?
1
Tony Schwartz is not the only writer to speculate on Trump's sociopathy. Mark Singer, who wrote a profile of him for the New Yorker in the 90's, speculated much the same when doing a book presentation in Tulsa a few weeks ago. When Singer asked him what he thought about when looking at himself in the mirror while shaving in the mornings, Trump's response was, "A great piece of @$$." Surely presidential musings in their incumbency.
4
The writer Mark Singer said it best: "Trump has aspired to and achieved the ultimate luxury- an existence unmolested by the rumbling of a soul."
5
Ironically, today is the birthday of Emma Lazarus (to Trump followers who even know who she is--"She's a pig.")
The famed words she wrote (if spoken at the Republican Convention) would have been met with "Lock her up."
Where they are written (to Trump--"She's maybe a 4.")
A reminder:
"Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”
Emma Lazarus, 1883
The famed words she wrote (if spoken at the Republican Convention) would have been met with "Lock her up."
Where they are written (to Trump--"She's maybe a 4.")
A reminder:
"Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”
Emma Lazarus, 1883
6
I would be rich if I had a quarter for every time NYTs commenter quoted Emma Lazarus.
It's a poem on a statue, not an immigration policy.
It's a poem on a statue, not an immigration policy.
1
"I am your voice", indeed - that tiny, sinister, deranged inner chant that drives psychopaths to mass murder ... Trump cleaned up his speech for this occasion, because he could let the other speakers be HIS voice of hate and anarchy. On his part, a new logorrhea of critical platitudes and vague, bombastic promises ... and that crowd ate it up.
6
I believe Trump is channeling Hitler. He will turn American into a police state for Blacks, Mexicans, Muslims and any other group they feel like demonizing.
5
Many people - deep down - LOVE A BULLY (if they're not the target). Trumpff is American's first bully candidate. Once in office he's not leaving. Ever.
President-for-life. His supporters, deep down, know it. And hope for it.
Safe and secure under the watchful eye of America's own fuehrer.
President-for-life. His supporters, deep down, know it. And hope for it.
Safe and secure under the watchful eye of America's own fuehrer.
Not true. Most people hate a bully.
Republicans claim to be advocates of liberty, but they are really control creeps who hold themselves above any law. Observe how Trump bullies with abuse of legal process. You deserve the oppression these monsters give you when you enable them. They think it, and so do I.
4
Seems they gave Count Duku the keys to the Republic.
Even since President Obama was first elected, Republicans have been on the warpath against his person, his policies and his personnel, a warpath that has culminated in the sad, unsettling spectacle in Cleveland. Among congressional Republicans, the drumbeat of hate and defiance was expected and rewarded, top honors going to the most egregious denunciators. By crowning Donald J. Trump, the Republicans signal their intention to build on this dismal eight-year record by empowering an overachiever in the realm of hate and defiance.
9
Thanks for being so blunt and clear Tim. The USA has embraced its dark side.
1
Why would anybody think that it can't happen here? And you all know what "it" is.
It has happened in virtually every country in Europe in the 19th and 20th century: France, Germany, Spain, Italy, ...
We had slavery and the civil war, but got lucky and had a Lincoln.
We had the great depression, but got lucky and had an FDR. Imagine if some Trump-like unhinged racist man-baby such as father Coughlin came to power.
I don't know who is going to come along this time to save us from Trump.
It has happened in virtually every country in Europe in the 19th and 20th century: France, Germany, Spain, Italy, ...
We had slavery and the civil war, but got lucky and had a Lincoln.
We had the great depression, but got lucky and had an FDR. Imagine if some Trump-like unhinged racist man-baby such as father Coughlin came to power.
I don't know who is going to come along this time to save us from Trump.
4
I respectfully disagree with Mr. Egan. The Republican Party that put itself on unbearable display this week in Cleveland is not significantly different from that which we have had to endure or most of the past fifty years -- racist, angry, misogynist, anti-science, anti-intellectual, jingoist, gleefully flat-earthist. In short, committed to a pyramid society with themselves up top.
What distinguishes 2016 is that in past election cycles, the party deferred to the perceived electoral necessity to hide its essence. Thus, Nixon, Reagan, the Bushes, and most recently Romney used dog whistles to galvanize the party base while maintaining plausible deniability that it was smearing the Other for votes.
Say this for Donald Trump: He's frank about his bigotry. And his honesty has done the nation a service. In giving permission to rank-and-file Republicans to vent their myriad hatreds and resentments, their obsession with demanding fealty to America from those to whom they would deny its opportunities and benefits, he has pulled the lid off the seamy undercurrent of our society that has existed since the Founding.
What distinguishes 2016 is that in past election cycles, the party deferred to the perceived electoral necessity to hide its essence. Thus, Nixon, Reagan, the Bushes, and most recently Romney used dog whistles to galvanize the party base while maintaining plausible deniability that it was smearing the Other for votes.
Say this for Donald Trump: He's frank about his bigotry. And his honesty has done the nation a service. In giving permission to rank-and-file Republicans to vent their myriad hatreds and resentments, their obsession with demanding fealty to America from those to whom they would deny its opportunities and benefits, he has pulled the lid off the seamy undercurrent of our society that has existed since the Founding.
6
What should anyone expect from a candidate endorsed by Charles Manson?
4
From the dawn of time the world has been made up of really smart people, smart people, pretty smart people, average people, and people who would vote for a Donald Trump. We will soon find out the numbers.
7
"Heidi Cruz had to be escorted out of her party’s convention by a friend who feared for her safety."
Threats to her safety are inexcusable but why was she there? In a room full of people who (mostly) support the man who insulted her? John Kasich sat this one out, for Pete's sake.
There are many reasons to mourn today, but don't ask me to cry over the opportunistic Cruz family.
Threats to her safety are inexcusable but why was she there? In a room full of people who (mostly) support the man who insulted her? John Kasich sat this one out, for Pete's sake.
There are many reasons to mourn today, but don't ask me to cry over the opportunistic Cruz family.
5
Hate! Hate! Hate! Hate for your fellow Americans. Hate for any kindness or compassion for those even slightly different from you, hate for Hillary, kill her, jail her, she is the devil herself!
And I, Donald J. Trump will, all by myself, lead us into darkness, into endless turmoil and lead the chant of hate! hate! hate!.
And I, Donald J. Trump will, all by myself, lead us into darkness, into endless turmoil and lead the chant of hate! hate! hate!.
15
Donald Trump and his supporters are absolutely right. Their vision of America is under attack and might well disintegrate altogether. Grim stuff, if you're a conservative. But what they fail to grasp is that the enemy - so to speak - is not Islamic terror or free trade or Federalism or even Hillary Clinton. It's Modernity.
Indeed, Trump and the conservatives do want to take back the country. Back to the 18th century.
Indeed, Trump and the conservatives do want to take back the country. Back to the 18th century.
389
Sure modernity is blowing up and massacring innocents.
1
This isn't a Godfather movie ladies and gentlemen. "The Don" and his boys are a very real menace to democracy in America. Just as Joseph McCarthy and Richard Nixon were. Time to let the air out of "The Don" and send him crashing back to reality. We have nothing to fear but "The Don" and the other BIG democracy-destroying money masters - the real ones - and their war on 90% of us.
18
"all Mexicans are rapists, all Muslims are terrorists, all crime is rising, Hillary Clinton is the devil and should be shot."
You summarized his position and his devotees very well.
"Individually, many of these Trump delegates are nice people ".
I hope so but does it matter if he wins the election. The whole world is watching and waiting for the verdict in November, they will be astonished but anything is possible in America, nothing is impossible.
You summarized his position and his devotees very well.
"Individually, many of these Trump delegates are nice people ".
I hope so but does it matter if he wins the election. The whole world is watching and waiting for the verdict in November, they will be astonished but anything is possible in America, nothing is impossible.
38
Average Germans in 1939 were nice people, individually, too.
1
Trump didn't say or imply any of these things. You progressives have lost your grip on reality.
1
The GOP has been travelling down this path since they took in the Dixiecrats back in the mid 60s. LBJ knew that he'd lose the South when he signed the Civil Rights Act. The loons of Democrats were taken in by the GOP so that the GOP could do precisely what it's done now: use fear and the politics of racial and religious tension to win the White House. The only thing that they will tolerate is complete agreement with their opinions. Like most extremists they aren't interested in anything or anyone but that which mirrors how they see the world. Don't confuse them with a fact unless that fact is something that can be used to denigrate others. Don't confuse them with science because they know that science is a lie made up by liberals. Most of all, don't confuse them with examples from reality because they don't exist in the same universe as the rest of us.
I just wish that the GOP would drown itself more quietly and without hurting everyone else around them. But they won't and the reality that they live in, where all guns are good and most of us are moochers will take a long time to reach bottom. I hope we survive their painful death.
I just wish that the GOP would drown itself more quietly and without hurting everyone else around them. But they won't and the reality that they live in, where all guns are good and most of us are moochers will take a long time to reach bottom. I hope we survive their painful death.
91
It's all very well, and a bit late in the day, to focus on the hatred in our politics that has come to a head with Donald Trump and his followers. Earlier eras have had their versions of Trump, but his nomination in particular is the natural result of a Republican Party psyche that goes back perhaps to the Bill Clinton impeachment and certainly to President Obama's inauguration day, when a GOP meeting decided to do anything necessary to make him a one-term president. In other words, it is motivated not by governing but by power.
121
It’s ironic that the theme Tim chose for his column today, hatred, is far more evident in this column than in Trump’s convention comments or even in his candidacy. I understand that if you fear the medicine that a doctor proposes to cure a disease you must convince people that it’s poison; but nothing resembles the confidence of leading physicians of the 18th Century in the curative qualities of bleeding a patient with leeches as the smug and utterly wrong confidence by Dems that our pressing challenges can be successfully met by establishment politics; or by their most strident defender, Hillary Rodham Clinton.
The primary objective of a political convention is to “hang” the opposing candidate; and we will see ample evidence of that observation’s accuracy, that I shouldn’t need to point out to Tim, during next week’s Democratic national convention: Mrs. Clinton will be endeavor to make America fear and “hate” not our challenges but Donald Trump. As a matter of fact, it’s unlikely that she’ll focus excessively on those challenges, because her establishment bromides to address them have about as much chance of success as Ted Cruz has to gather a respectable following among his fellow senators – or of Bernie Sanders having a political future beyond 8 November 2016.
Our republic indeed faces its gravest peril since our civil war; but that peril lies in the challenges we face, not in Donald Trump: unlike Hillary Clinton, he could be the effective medicine for that peril.
The primary objective of a political convention is to “hang” the opposing candidate; and we will see ample evidence of that observation’s accuracy, that I shouldn’t need to point out to Tim, during next week’s Democratic national convention: Mrs. Clinton will be endeavor to make America fear and “hate” not our challenges but Donald Trump. As a matter of fact, it’s unlikely that she’ll focus excessively on those challenges, because her establishment bromides to address them have about as much chance of success as Ted Cruz has to gather a respectable following among his fellow senators – or of Bernie Sanders having a political future beyond 8 November 2016.
Our republic indeed faces its gravest peril since our civil war; but that peril lies in the challenges we face, not in Donald Trump: unlike Hillary Clinton, he could be the effective medicine for that peril.
10
Nonsense Richard Luettgen. Complete nonsense. The primary objective of a political convention is not to "hang" anyone but to nominate a candidate for the presidency of the United States, one seeking to lead it and the free world.
The secondary objective is to showcase that candidate to the American and the world, including our friends and allies who are cringing at the idea of a Trump presidency.
The GOP Convention did both and on the showcasing part. Timothy Egan nailed it: the “Make America Hate Again” is the very foundation of the new GOP controlled by Trump.
Moreover, The Convention spectacle was exactly what Washington politics would become under an "I alone" Trump presidency: incessant fear, vomit, rancor, self-congratulation, dysfunction, vacuous nonsense and ultimately disaster for stability and prosperity at home and abroad.
The third objective of a political convention is to finalize the party's vision for our country and its corresponding policy platform. Trump’s "law and order" vision was a response to the here and now news headlines following Dallas and Baton Rouge - a LIFO accounting method applied to political leadership and governance.
The GOPS's policy platform was spelled out best by the henchman Chris Christie: “lock up” our enemies on fabricated but politically expedient charges, all to cheering crowds. Looks exactly how Nazi Germany got its start.
The secondary objective is to showcase that candidate to the American and the world, including our friends and allies who are cringing at the idea of a Trump presidency.
The GOP Convention did both and on the showcasing part. Timothy Egan nailed it: the “Make America Hate Again” is the very foundation of the new GOP controlled by Trump.
Moreover, The Convention spectacle was exactly what Washington politics would become under an "I alone" Trump presidency: incessant fear, vomit, rancor, self-congratulation, dysfunction, vacuous nonsense and ultimately disaster for stability and prosperity at home and abroad.
The third objective of a political convention is to finalize the party's vision for our country and its corresponding policy platform. Trump’s "law and order" vision was a response to the here and now news headlines following Dallas and Baton Rouge - a LIFO accounting method applied to political leadership and governance.
The GOPS's policy platform was spelled out best by the henchman Chris Christie: “lock up” our enemies on fabricated but politically expedient charges, all to cheering crowds. Looks exactly how Nazi Germany got its start.
57
The vitriol and unabashed mob behavior displayed by the attendees at the Reoublucan convention gave me the shivers. This is not the Anerica that I live in and the fear based rhetoric expressed here only tells me that those of us reasoned and calm individuals, must do everything that we can to not allow a con man and sociopath to become our President.
30
I disagree with Mr Luettgen in pretty much every particular, which is to be expected, and trust other commenters to rebut him thoroughly enough that I need not waste time saying the obvious. (Were I to do that, I could just make a one-word comment, 'wrong!' and leave it at that.)
But I will to some extent agree that the loathing of Trump - however much he richly deserves it - like the loathing of Hillary Clinton on the Trump side, has become an exhilarating sport, much iike the Two Minutes' Hate of Emmanuel Goldstein in 'Nineteen Eighty-Four'. I wonder if our politics have not degenerated to the stage at which we can no longer offer intellectual, nuanced, rational criticisms of the other sides' (yes, not necessarily only two sides) proposals.
In a summer of inferior sequels and reboots, I feel like I've watching a remake of 'Idiocracy.' It is no more entertaining than any of the other junk at my local multiplex - loud, dumbed-down, lacking in any subtlety - and worse, it's not over in two hours.
With regard to Sanders, what 'November'? His hour upon the stage is up already. And BTW, that use of the diminutive 'Tim' to attempt to diminish your opponent's arguments along with his dignity is an old demagogue's trick. So, Richie, or Ricky, or Dickie, or whatever - you might try 'Egan' or 'Mr Egan' to refer to the columnist.
But I will to some extent agree that the loathing of Trump - however much he richly deserves it - like the loathing of Hillary Clinton on the Trump side, has become an exhilarating sport, much iike the Two Minutes' Hate of Emmanuel Goldstein in 'Nineteen Eighty-Four'. I wonder if our politics have not degenerated to the stage at which we can no longer offer intellectual, nuanced, rational criticisms of the other sides' (yes, not necessarily only two sides) proposals.
In a summer of inferior sequels and reboots, I feel like I've watching a remake of 'Idiocracy.' It is no more entertaining than any of the other junk at my local multiplex - loud, dumbed-down, lacking in any subtlety - and worse, it's not over in two hours.
With regard to Sanders, what 'November'? His hour upon the stage is up already. And BTW, that use of the diminutive 'Tim' to attempt to diminish your opponent's arguments along with his dignity is an old demagogue's trick. So, Richie, or Ricky, or Dickie, or whatever - you might try 'Egan' or 'Mr Egan' to refer to the columnist.
20
Why is this news? It started even before Obama was elected and my Republican neighbors have been espousing hate continuously for 8 years.
583
Gotta say, Tom you're doing a fine job of projection and transference. But you see that's what the left and the Democrat Party continues to do so well. Thanks for showing just how much of patriotic loving American you are.
Good luck with your erroneous assumptions.
Signed, a vietnam vet who voted Republican until GW Bush was elected.
Signed, a vietnam vet who voted Republican until GW Bush was elected.
4
Mr. Trump, I hate to break this to you but the president the past 8 years is named Obama, not Clinton.
129
You wouldn't think it the way Obama's Attorney General Lynch groveled before Bill Clinton in Phoenix a few days before Hillary was interrogated by the FBI.
1
Trump is the latest delayed reaction to September 11, the day when Americans learned that invading others' countries can be a two-way street.
September 11 was when Rupert Murdoch hit the jackpot, when all of the mendacious stories his network had spread about fear and loathing appeared to become true.
The day bred Rudy Giuliani, a Beta prototype of Donald Trump, albeit without the bankruptcies and fraud. Giuliani's stock speech, dubbed "a noun, a verb, and 9/11" by Joe Biden, portrayed America as a good-hearted country beset by rebels; Giuliani would be the Star Wars character who never feels that Darth Vader is quite evil enough.
Make the Empire Great Again, Darth.
When Reagan crooned, "It's morning in America," he appealed to the same Manichean dynamic: When the other guys are in power, all is lost. But now that you've elected the GOP, smooth sailing. And in a way it's true: As much as Democrats and the left object to policy disasters perpetrated by Republicans, no one I know would ever call for or relish the death of GOP leaders.
When GWB strutted in his flight suit under a "Mission Accomplished" banner, we saw a harbinger of Trump.
Yes, many of us believe that invading Iraq was a crime against future generations for which there can be no penance. We look on in horror as the GOP doesn't just double down on swaggering incompetence (Quayle, Bush, Palin) but celebrates it. Trump's GOP believes it is omnipotent and that the rest of the world deserves what's coming to it.
September 11 was when Rupert Murdoch hit the jackpot, when all of the mendacious stories his network had spread about fear and loathing appeared to become true.
The day bred Rudy Giuliani, a Beta prototype of Donald Trump, albeit without the bankruptcies and fraud. Giuliani's stock speech, dubbed "a noun, a verb, and 9/11" by Joe Biden, portrayed America as a good-hearted country beset by rebels; Giuliani would be the Star Wars character who never feels that Darth Vader is quite evil enough.
Make the Empire Great Again, Darth.
When Reagan crooned, "It's morning in America," he appealed to the same Manichean dynamic: When the other guys are in power, all is lost. But now that you've elected the GOP, smooth sailing. And in a way it's true: As much as Democrats and the left object to policy disasters perpetrated by Republicans, no one I know would ever call for or relish the death of GOP leaders.
When GWB strutted in his flight suit under a "Mission Accomplished" banner, we saw a harbinger of Trump.
Yes, many of us believe that invading Iraq was a crime against future generations for which there can be no penance. We look on in horror as the GOP doesn't just double down on swaggering incompetence (Quayle, Bush, Palin) but celebrates it. Trump's GOP believes it is omnipotent and that the rest of the world deserves what's coming to it.
253
The left does not call for the death of GOP leaders because the left and the Dems are actually decent human beings that are evolved enough in their intellectual and spiritual thinking to know that such behavior is just morally wrong. They don't need such hysterics and hyperbolic reactions to make their argument nor to discuss their disdain and disagreement for policies that are destructive.
5
Mark Twain: There is nothing uglier than a mob.
Bravo! and thanks.
1
This convention is a good example of why the US Constitution makes no mention of political parties at all. They are, in some ways, undoubtedly a necessary evil. However, the widespread delusion (fed yet again here and ignorantly by a columnist who should know better) that they are at the very core of American democracy and that if one of them -in one political race in one year- goes off-kilter, that democratic system is therefore in "grave peril," is absurd. The democracy is at greater risk from the massive dumbing-down of the mainstream news media over recent years.
28
You misunderstand. It is not because of the political parties that our system is in "grave peril", it is because Trump is an authoritarian who happens to have been nominated by one of those parties and he would seemingly stop at nothing to achieve "law and order". If that does not scare you, you have not been listening.
3
Did we watch the same speech? There was no hate. Just a list of UNDISPUTABLE issues that created huge problems for USA (NAFTA, passed by Clinton resulted in a net lost of one third of Americans jobs since 1997, etc) and an assertive pledge to fix them. Egan and the NYT are serving of caricature of Trump, when in fact this guy is a force of nature.
As for Tony Schwartz, who said he co-wrote the Art of the deal for a lot of money, how do we know that he is now bashing Trump for another pile of money from Hillary's camp? Once you sell your principles once for top cash, like he said he did, you do it again.
As for Tony Schwartz, who said he co-wrote the Art of the deal for a lot of money, how do we know that he is now bashing Trump for another pile of money from Hillary's camp? Once you sell your principles once for top cash, like he said he did, you do it again.
10
But what are Trump's solutions to the issues listed? He's going to bring manufacturing back to the U.S.? That's a fairytale. There's no economic incentive for companies to pay American workers what they require. Instead of attempting to keep people trapped in manufacturing jobs which will always chase the cheapest work force, we need to be retraining those Americans who have lost out as the economy has changed to be able to compete in the modern economy. We also need policies that spread, rather than concentrate wealth. Why on earth anyone would think that Trump, who was born a millionaire and will die as a billionaire, either understands or cares about this issue is a complete mystery to me.
5
NAFTA was devised, negotiated, and enacted by Bush. Clinton simply provided the official signature since the vote occurred shortly after he assumed office. Get your facts straight.
As for Tony Schwartz, fair point, except for him accepting cash from Hillary's camp. Why the conspiracy theory? And if you are going to overlook Trump's past and present actions (which are as despicable as can be considered) and assume that he will magically change to a thoughtful, decent person, why not the same consideration for Schwartz? Perhaps he has become a better person and isn't motivated by money. Or maybe he just wants people to know the true facts: Trump IS a sociopath.
What I find intriguing is that Trump had no significant input in writing the book. It's largely a fabrication, just like Trump himself.
As for Tony Schwartz, fair point, except for him accepting cash from Hillary's camp. Why the conspiracy theory? And if you are going to overlook Trump's past and present actions (which are as despicable as can be considered) and assume that he will magically change to a thoughtful, decent person, why not the same consideration for Schwartz? Perhaps he has become a better person and isn't motivated by money. Or maybe he just wants people to know the true facts: Trump IS a sociopath.
What I find intriguing is that Trump had no significant input in writing the book. It's largely a fabrication, just like Trump himself.
5
The rule of self-deception and denial illustrated perfectly by the brilliant mind "mytwocents".
Yet, surprisingly knows just how much his (or her) opinion is worth.
Yet, surprisingly knows just how much his (or her) opinion is worth.
2
Mr. Eagan's reference to the deadly attack of the Marines barracks in Lebanon in 1983 is long over due. I am amazed how few remember this catastrophe much less Mr. Reagan's order for the immediate return of the surviving Marines in effect doing that which Republicans so often invoke derisively against Democrats, a "cut and run " foreign policy of weakness. Moreover, Democrats investigated this debacle not to indict Mr. Reagan but instead to learn constructively how we could prevent a similar disaster. Deaths of diplomats during George W. Bush's eight years were dealt with in a similar fashion by Democrats giving benefit of the doubt to the administration and refusing to exploit misfortune for political gain.
724
One of my life's highlights is when I made Caspar Weinberger stutter on C-Span when I asked him about his orders to the Marines to keep their weapons unloaded while in Beirut. Reagan should have been impeached for that long before his impeachable actions during the Iran/Contra fiasco.
1
The republicans are the party of hate and have been for a long time. Remember what Mitch McConnel said when President Obama took office? "Our job is to make Obama fail." No regard for the country.
3
Believe me and many other Marines; We have not forgotten.
5
What has surprised me the most if the level of hatred, racism and misogyny many of the right have today. This is something I knew was always there but did not realize the intensity of that hatred against people of color. i do not recognize the country these older right wing white folks are describing, I can only guess they watch the FOX propaganda network only.
410
It's telling that the announcement that one of the Baltimore police officers in the Freddie Gray case was acquitted brought huge cheers from the crowd. Clearly, the delegates feel that when an unarmed black man is killed by the police he had it coming.
2
Ah yes, those racists Derrell Scott, Mark Burns, Lynn Patton and all the rest will get what's coming to them. So despicable.
He entered the race as a lark, a narcissist with no experience, knowledge of governance or idea of where he was going. Now, he's the dog who caught the car...and he can't let go, so he plunges ahead...winging a run for the White House. That so many Americans have been suckered in is nothing short of horrifying. The Invasion of the Body Snatchers...redux.
274
And one last thought, ignore the man, you the mainstream media, you who are enabling this thing, driven by avarice as well.
Develop some chutzpah, tell the Democratic leadership what it must do, push them in the right direction; after all, isn't it evident your power is extraordinary; having used the techniques of "Management Perception", with such success on the people; use it now on your masters, the corporate / military / industrial owners of our nation.
Develop some chutzpah, tell the Democratic leadership what it must do, push them in the right direction; after all, isn't it evident your power is extraordinary; having used the techniques of "Management Perception", with such success on the people; use it now on your masters, the corporate / military / industrial owners of our nation.
26
'ignore the man, you the mainstream media'
Um, you can't ignore him. He's the nominee. The media are obliged to report on him.
Even if you could ignore him, it is bad advice, since it simply fuels the conspiracy theories of Trumpites that the 'establishment' is against them and conspiring to keep down their champion at any cost through distortion and suppression, and makes Trump into an unlikely David against the media Goliath. I know it sounds ridiculous, but so does most of what Trump and his supporters say, and you know it will be the narrative.
Um, you can't ignore him. He's the nominee. The media are obliged to report on him.
Even if you could ignore him, it is bad advice, since it simply fuels the conspiracy theories of Trumpites that the 'establishment' is against them and conspiring to keep down their champion at any cost through distortion and suppression, and makes Trump into an unlikely David against the media Goliath. I know it sounds ridiculous, but so does most of what Trump and his supporters say, and you know it will be the narrative.
1
Demonizing is easy. Is that really all it takes to be President? Rationalizing is also easy - we all do it when we lack the courage to do what is right. A lot of politicians - and voters are following that path. Perhaps these are the root of our country's problems.
51
" Perhaps these are the root of our country's problems." Yes, agreed, or perhaps they are the root of our country's demise. . .
"And we should fear — for the republic, for a democracy facing its gravest peril since the Civil War." Timothy Egan is correct in his statement. In the backyard barbeques I've attended this summer, feelings run hot with Trump supporters characterizing Clinton supporters as "dirty liberals," who will be put in their places when Trump wins in November. On Facebook and in chats over the backyard fences - no facts allowed.
434
faith in trump is as unwarranted as faith in god
both have a bad history of not delivering their promises
both have a bad history of not delivering their promises
130
But at least the God of Jesus seems pretty nice and offers hope.
Trump is peddling Dante's Inferno. He should be reminded of the circle for those who "perverted their human intellect to fraud or malice against their fellowmen."
Trump is peddling Dante's Inferno. He should be reminded of the circle for those who "perverted their human intellect to fraud or malice against their fellowmen."
1
Apparently Trump's fans will still love him if he owes $10 billion to Russian kleptocrats.
And both are autocrats with a violent and unpredictable nature.
Mr. Egan does not underestimate the danger America faces from the Trump candidacy. He is not exaggerating the poison being spread. We are at war with ourselves because we are at war with the truth.
The Republican party claims that Hillary Clinton is the biggest liar that ever lived, which of course is a tremendous lie. But more to the point, everything that comes from the Republican party is a lie. Their economic policies have failed miserably but they brag about their success. Voter fraud is public enemy number one but no one can find the fraudulent voters. Latinos are taking our jobs but no one else will work the fields, staff the meat packing plants, cut the trees, and roof the homes. Guns make us safe and more guns make us safer but mass shootings keep rising. Government is strangling business because of excessive regulations but we have the strongest economy in the world, the dollar is the worlds number one reserve currency, and the stock market keeps hitting new highs.
Our military is frighteningly powerful. No nation comes close but yet they claim that it is weak and must be rebuilt. In doing so, they insult the troops they claim to support.
They are controlled by phony right wing media led by Fox News and Limbaugh that have made billions by manufacturing lies of doom and despair. Lying has become big business and has ruined the integrity of journalism.
So yes, we are at perils door. We are about to lie our way through it. Trump has led the way.
The Republican party claims that Hillary Clinton is the biggest liar that ever lived, which of course is a tremendous lie. But more to the point, everything that comes from the Republican party is a lie. Their economic policies have failed miserably but they brag about their success. Voter fraud is public enemy number one but no one can find the fraudulent voters. Latinos are taking our jobs but no one else will work the fields, staff the meat packing plants, cut the trees, and roof the homes. Guns make us safe and more guns make us safer but mass shootings keep rising. Government is strangling business because of excessive regulations but we have the strongest economy in the world, the dollar is the worlds number one reserve currency, and the stock market keeps hitting new highs.
Our military is frighteningly powerful. No nation comes close but yet they claim that it is weak and must be rebuilt. In doing so, they insult the troops they claim to support.
They are controlled by phony right wing media led by Fox News and Limbaugh that have made billions by manufacturing lies of doom and despair. Lying has become big business and has ruined the integrity of journalism.
So yes, we are at perils door. We are about to lie our way through it. Trump has led the way.
1550
Up is down.
Right is left.
Wrong is right.
We had to destroy the village in order to save it.
And so on.
Facts are fungible.
Emotion is what drives.
And now it might drive us all over the cliff.
Right is left.
Wrong is right.
We had to destroy the village in order to save it.
And so on.
Facts are fungible.
Emotion is what drives.
And now it might drive us all over the cliff.
3
Brilliant. Wish I could have been that cogent in pointing out the lies.
1
Bravo!
Last night, instead of watching Trump, I viewed part 2 of the O.J. Simpson documentary.
When the officers in the Rodney King beating trial were acquitted by an all-white jury in a trial venue miles away from the site of the beating, and African-American rioted in L.A., I do not recall anyone blaming the racial strife on George H.W. Bush.
Those were the days before the internet, before Facebook and Twitter, and before Fox News.
Our president was also white.
When the officers in the Rodney King beating trial were acquitted by an all-white jury in a trial venue miles away from the site of the beating, and African-American rioted in L.A., I do not recall anyone blaming the racial strife on George H.W. Bush.
Those were the days before the internet, before Facebook and Twitter, and before Fox News.
Our president was also white.
297
Similarly, can you imagine if Democrats had exploited 9/11 against Republicans the way the GOP uses Benghazi against Hillary and Obama? Folks, we are reaching new levels of depravity here.
7
But also before Hillary and the Democratic party, including relatives of victims of police shootings at the Democratic National Convention but no relatives of slain police officers.
1
Kevin, also one mustn't forget that those cops got a pass in a trial moved to the town where Ronnie Raygun saw fit to drop his Presidential Library.
2
Ever wonder if the "Trump Brand" is this mark of the beast the right wingers keep fretting about?
152
I don't wonder any more.
Nicely put...
Nicely put...
The right-wingers have already assigned that "honor" to President Obama.
1
His campaign slogan really is: "Putting the White back in White House." Scary stuff...
217
I realize you're uneducated on this, but Trump has been critical of the past few presidents ... including Reagan. But you know, that doesn't fit the propaganda image of him being a racist nazi monster ...
1
Right. You know, Hillary being black & all..
2
I agree Mr. Egan, there was something chilling & sinister about the way Republicans chanted "Lock her up," something outside the bounds of regular jabbing teasing political rhetoric. It was mob behavior. I looked on You Tube at old footage of fascist rallies in 1930s Weimar Germany, I thought of the Salem witch trials, and the similarities were frightening.
1171
I remember when liberals were chanting "Jail to the Chief" when Nixon was in office.
1
Sinister indeed. I mean prison is only reserved for people that commit crimes like Kristian Saucier and Vicente Eduardo Garcia. Not innocent people like Hillary. Why would they chant such a mean spirited thing at an innocent person?
Many people suffer from deep insecurities and personal doubts. Trump allows them to blame boogeymen so they don't have to look inward and deal with their own issues.
1119
But they also suffer, justifiably, from deep seated fears about the new economy and if therewill be jobs for them and their children/grandchildren. I am not a Trump supporter, I just think your analysis is too simple.
2
True. Kind of makes him a democrat, doesn't it?
#NailedIt
Egan sees hate, where normal people see love...of America. Peter Thiel made the left's collective heads explode.
Trump will be protect the gays from being killed. By the same token, he will make sure religious liberties are protected.
Excellent. A return to common sense. How refreshing.
Trump will be protect the gays from being killed. By the same token, he will make sure religious liberties are protected.
Excellent. A return to common sense. How refreshing.
8
Cjemsq0 in Bronx said, "Egan sees hate, where normal people see love...of America. Peter Thiel made the left's collective heads explode.
Trump will be protect the gays from being killed. By the same token, he will make sure religious liberties are protected.
Excellent. A return to common sense. How refreshing."
Really? Trump is all about love and common sense? Now that's truly sad and scary that anyone could listen to that man and hear that.
Trump will be protect the gays from being killed. By the same token, he will make sure religious liberties are protected.
Excellent. A return to common sense. How refreshing."
Really? Trump is all about love and common sense? Now that's truly sad and scary that anyone could listen to that man and hear that.
340
Trump will be protect the gays from being killed. By the same token, he will make sure religious liberties are protected.
thats in th morning ...
walking on water and feeding th multitudes is scheduled for th afternoon
thats in th morning ...
walking on water and feeding th multitudes is scheduled for th afternoon
116
"Trump will (be) sic protect the gays from being killed. " You mean killed by Trump supporters?
25
Trump represents the horror the Republican has become and the undeniable madness that could occupy the White House.
Some have persuaded themselves a Trump Presidency can be managed, despite Trump's demonstrated refusal to be guided by anyone but himself. McConnell and Ryan are deluded as are the rest of the Trump followers.
Some have persuaded themselves a Trump Presidency can be managed, despite Trump's demonstrated refusal to be guided by anyone but himself. McConnell and Ryan are deluded as are the rest of the Trump followers.
1429
If Trump wins in November, it's a legalized ticket to hate. What Americans do with that as their master watches on, is the real question here.
3
They are not deluded at all. They want power, a majority plus the presidency. They have no principles that will not be compromised to acquire it. No matter what the cost to our country. And the angry white voters that support this megalomaniac have no idea how badly they will fare under his mismanagement and personality derangement.
He wants us to be scared. We should be. Nationally and internationally.
He wants us to be scared. We should be. Nationally and internationally.
5
We saw this whole thing before: in Germany in 1933-45. However, young people today don't seem to get this in their high-school world-history classes. I was at my local Y yesterday and had a conversation with a high-school senior, who never learned about the Nuremberg Rallies.
Well, I did in the 1960s, and I saw one this week in Cleveland.
Well, I did in the 1960s, and I saw one this week in Cleveland.
5
60 Million people voted for Sarah Palin, who put sniper scope images on political targets. We should be surprised by "lock her up"? Willie Hortons kids are coming to get us. "Believe me"
264
Sadly, Mr. Trump does represent the "myth" that was America.
Racism is alive and well thanks, in a great part, to the GOP/TP/KOCH AFFILIATE's stoking the flames of xenophobia and bigotry. In their viewpoint, black people are the only source of their own misery, Latinos and Hispanics are thieves and drug runners and Muslims are to be excluded from the "land of the free".
This message is very similar to a message by another leader in another country who helped bring about the carnage of World War Two, Adolf Hitler who also started off with a "cult of personality" as his base.
The solution, partially, is for all of those of reason to vote this November as the only thing that will stop "a bunch of bad nuts with guns" is a bunch of "informed good voters" at the polls.
In short, the choice is there for us to make.
Racism is alive and well thanks, in a great part, to the GOP/TP/KOCH AFFILIATE's stoking the flames of xenophobia and bigotry. In their viewpoint, black people are the only source of their own misery, Latinos and Hispanics are thieves and drug runners and Muslims are to be excluded from the "land of the free".
This message is very similar to a message by another leader in another country who helped bring about the carnage of World War Two, Adolf Hitler who also started off with a "cult of personality" as his base.
The solution, partially, is for all of those of reason to vote this November as the only thing that will stop "a bunch of bad nuts with guns" is a bunch of "informed good voters" at the polls.
In short, the choice is there for us to make.
134
Watched Asian American Dr Lisa Shin rant and scream that only DT could save our freedoms. Rather unhinged and ironic since he wants to ban and lock up a host of foreigners. Perhaps she should read some history books and take a look in a mirror.
84
The whole thing felt like people who went to Hollywood expecting to get to see "Happy Days" performed live on-stage and instead wound up with freebies to "Joanie Loves Chachi."
Nobody seemed happy to be there. They nicked Michele Obama's 2008 speech for inspiration and when they got caught acted like it was just a bunch three letter words strung together that accidentally came out the way they did.
They pinched Richard Nixon's Law & Order platform for a theme - but Nixon had massive social unrest, the Weathermen and the anti-war movement of the Vietnam Era to play against. Now, all you've got is a couple of idiots with assault weapons shooting cops - and Trump doesn't want to take their assault weapons away anyway - which is about the only way to impose law & order on a suicidal vigilante besides shooting them after they've killed a bunch of people.
And by the way, we're going to rebuild the infrastructure, lower the cost of going to college, create a ginormous wall that stretches across the entire border of Mexico and lower taxes. In all the excitement, I think I missed how that's going to work.
The crowd, for the most part, seemed bored to tears - unable to work themselves into a proper froth over the mis-use of an email server.
Then again, maybe it was the prospect of another night on the town in Cleveland.
Nobody seemed happy to be there. They nicked Michele Obama's 2008 speech for inspiration and when they got caught acted like it was just a bunch three letter words strung together that accidentally came out the way they did.
They pinched Richard Nixon's Law & Order platform for a theme - but Nixon had massive social unrest, the Weathermen and the anti-war movement of the Vietnam Era to play against. Now, all you've got is a couple of idiots with assault weapons shooting cops - and Trump doesn't want to take their assault weapons away anyway - which is about the only way to impose law & order on a suicidal vigilante besides shooting them after they've killed a bunch of people.
And by the way, we're going to rebuild the infrastructure, lower the cost of going to college, create a ginormous wall that stretches across the entire border of Mexico and lower taxes. In all the excitement, I think I missed how that's going to work.
The crowd, for the most part, seemed bored to tears - unable to work themselves into a proper froth over the mis-use of an email server.
Then again, maybe it was the prospect of another night on the town in Cleveland.
77
It was the norovirus god gave them as a reward. They will all be happy soon.
Ragging on Cleveland is poor style. Have you ever visited? Educate yourself before you make such ignorant pronouncements again. We don't have the miseries of the megalopolis...and we enjoy the benefits of a fine city. Less is More.
The ugliest thing since the Nazi political rallies. One is surprised that there were no celebratory book burnings outside the building. And we are reminded that many of the guards and officers running concentration camps were educated, urbane, family-oriented types who were probably quite pleasant (under other circumstances). Again we witness "the banality of evil."
836
The Nazi rallies were better organized, better managed, and more consistent in their message. That leaves me some hope that his campaign's incompetence will lead to a decisive defeat.
Some huge failures: no ideas or policies presented as to HOW anything; low energy; no courting anyone but the red meat idiots that would vote for them anyway.
Some huge failures: no ideas or policies presented as to HOW anything; low energy; no courting anyone but the red meat idiots that would vote for them anyway.
8
"One is surprised that there were no celebratory book burnings outside the building." Don't worry. Those will come later
3
nobody reads books anymore, nobody has books to burn.
1
I'm glad that I was not at the convention, in the same way that I am glad I was not in Germany in the 1937
116
Egan and his liberal friends are the mirror image of Trump. They want to see Trump as Hitler. Both sides pushing the fear factor for all it is worth. Equally irresponsible.
4
Godwin's Law...was waiting for that.
2
Why do you suppose so many of the delegates are gun nuts? Its not because they must have them to someday fight against government tyranny. Its to intimidate everyone else when they themselves become the tyrants. This convention is proof enough that Trump and those who support him have turned decency on its head. I just have to laugh that they call themselves patriots. How can they love their country when they're parboiled in hatred?
123
Protection and support for the Constitution does not make a person a "nut." How sad that you are so condescending and angry.
Republicans have gotten away with that for years. Apparently a "patriot" throws huge sums of money at the military and projects military power around all over the world, once in awhile salutes police and fire personnel (as long as it doesn't involve any more money) and pretty much hates everything else about American government and loves to tell us how our country has never been worse in every way imaginable!
6
All Republicans bear the blame for this including moderates. Take Rob Portman, who despised gay people until he found out his own son was gay. Or David Brooks who insisted there was a big tent and dismissed any observation that African Americans were excluded while white supremacists were included and winked at. Would Ileana Ross-Lehtinen care one iota about transgender people if her own child did not come out as one? I seriously doubt it. If you're a truly moral person you take your stand on issues based on what is moral and right for all people. You don't wait until you're personally affected. You don't wait until extremists have taken your line, twisted it, and wrapped it around your neck. Shame on the Republican party. Every one of them is responsible for this.
873
You are so right, Mike. And I quote ..... "the most beautiful irony of the 2016 Republican Convention .... a Slovenian immigrant with a heavy accent plagiarizes the speech of a black woman, and is ravenously cheered by a stadium full of white people who think black people and immigrants are destroying the nation" ...... Germany - 1930's
867
I have noted in the past that the one of the biggest problems in the Republican party appears to be a lack of empathy. From Mitt Romney and his 47% comment as well as poor Seamus to Donald Trump who is the King of insensitivity. It's no stretch at all for me to visualize Donald Trump sitting around in the evenings making fun of the "rubes" who are trying to elect him.
24
Yeah, or if it were you, or your wife or daughter who needed an abortion. It seems to hit home to these people only when it is them who is affected. Know what I mean?
16
A dark time is coming, regardless of who wins in November. We may not recover. You can blame the GOP, or Trump, or Cruz, but doing so is "clintonesque": blame somebody else. Always.
the left trumpets its compassion. Perhaps if the liberal media and the loud mouthed socialists had recognized that people were being left behind in their headlong rush to recognize "diversity" and lower the common denominator, and offered some solace -- and better education -- to them, America wouldn't be so angry.
we have only ourselves to blame.
the left trumpets its compassion. Perhaps if the liberal media and the loud mouthed socialists had recognized that people were being left behind in their headlong rush to recognize "diversity" and lower the common denominator, and offered some solace -- and better education -- to them, America wouldn't be so angry.
we have only ourselves to blame.
11
After George W Bush left our economy, and the world economy, in shatters, Barack Obama wanted to put Americans back to work rebuilding our country: our roads, our bridges, our energy infrastructure.
It was the Repubicans who said, "NO. it is more important to cut taxes on the wealthy than to rebuild America."
Now again, the Rs promise big things, promise no money to do them, promise to cut taxes, and promise to reduce the deficit. If you cannot see that list of promises is inherently contradictory, you may well vote for Trump in the fall.
It was the Repubicans who said, "NO. it is more important to cut taxes on the wealthy than to rebuild America."
Now again, the Rs promise big things, promise no money to do them, promise to cut taxes, and promise to reduce the deficit. If you cannot see that list of promises is inherently contradictory, you may well vote for Trump in the fall.
23
No we don't. The two parties and the media are all in it together, playing us for fools. It is hard to know the truth if you are not allowed to hear it.
1
Anyone hear the footsteps of Joe McCarthy...?
51
Yep..You have to remember that the Donald and Joe had the same attorney and mentored little Donnie...Roy Cohn
6
The Thing To Fear is The Hate And What It Could Blossom Into.
45
But at least it is honest, and reflects what the people are feeling, betrayed.
The Dems will roll out a fabulous dog & pony shôw of fantasy promises and less than honest attacks against Trump. Romney proved than good guys will get crushed by the progressive media machine.
This time, will be different.
The Dems will roll out a fabulous dog & pony shôw of fantasy promises and less than honest attacks against Trump. Romney proved than good guys will get crushed by the progressive media machine.
This time, will be different.
10
Mitt Romney is a good guy? A guy who made millions destroying American jobs then offshored his profits? You are delusional and ill-informed. Or the lack of info allows the delusions I suppose.
20
Trump speaks to the "feelings" of betrayal, but his policies will not help working Americans. Working people in America have been betrayed by the very people they voted for---if they voted Republican. Republicans have been responsible for union-busting, off-shoring, accumulating wealth at the top at the expense of the middle-class, the disintegration of public education, and much more for the past three decades. Your hope does not lie with Trump---very much the opposite!
19
The "progressive media machine" has done a fine job of crushing Donald Trump, all right. As for "less than honest attacks against Trump," his well-documented record as a con man and fraudster in his business dealings speaks for itself. Too bad nobody these days can be bothered to read anything more than a prompt on a smartphone. I'll take a "dog & pony show" over a howling mob any day of the week, thank you.
9
Don't do it people. Voting for Trump will be like engaging the neighborhood garbage collector, to store and manage your money instead of taking it to an organized bank that's regulated and where it will be safe yet yeah....occasionally, they will stick you for fees and the like
14
Vote the party, not the candidate. Vote the platform. That makes things oh so easy.
3
But he has become the party and the platform--not so easy!
2
So easy to make America hate---the templates from our past always there---anti communism, the north vs south, the racial cleavage.
Some famous old movies are apt now, with warnings of populists suddenly becoming dictators in America,like The Manchurian Candidate, and A Face in the Crowd, to name 2.
The last is directed by Elia Kazan, with Andy Griffiths in a great part as a country bumpkin radio singer who catches on with his ingratiating personality hiding a nasty, power mad sociopath- narcissist. (at least he can sing and play guitar).
He’s groomed and sponsored by political machines to gain power—then he gets out of control. Not exactly Mayberry.
Some famous old movies are apt now, with warnings of populists suddenly becoming dictators in America,like The Manchurian Candidate, and A Face in the Crowd, to name 2.
The last is directed by Elia Kazan, with Andy Griffiths in a great part as a country bumpkin radio singer who catches on with his ingratiating personality hiding a nasty, power mad sociopath- narcissist. (at least he can sing and play guitar).
He’s groomed and sponsored by political machines to gain power—then he gets out of control. Not exactly Mayberry.
41
I would like to add "Triumph of the Will" by Leni Riefenstahl. The Hitler rallies will make you think deja vu.
3
Once again, a laughable and insipid article by a man who doesn't know what he is talking about. Egan feels only Democrats can trash Republicans, but Republicans have to praise a lying opportunist thief who feels entitled to the White House because she was married to a President and given a plum job by another President who cleaned her clock in the primaries. Oh I forgot, she was also handed a Senate seat in one of the bluest states in the country. Give me a break.
8
Our votes will always be decisions on the margin. Our country's founders understood that power tends to accrue to those who want it the most, and that anyone who wants power is untrustworthy. The founders were concerned not with enabling progress (for in a pluralistic nation governed by popular sovereignty, who's notion of progress should prevail?), but with forestalling tyranny. Their solution was to let us choose which lying opportunist we distrust the least.
I won't vote gladly for HRC in November, but I'll still vote for her, because I distrust her far less than I distrust him who should not be named.
I won't vote gladly for HRC in November, but I'll still vote for her, because I distrust her far less than I distrust him who should not be named.
6
"a lying opportunist thief who feels entitled to the White House because she was married to a President and given a plum job by another President who cleaned her clock in the primaries. Oh I forgot, she was also handed a Senate seat in one of the bluest states in the country. "
I guess there must be some law on the books which prevents rambling, vicious paranoid utterances from being prosecuted as libel. Funny--I thought intentional character assassination could be brought to heel by the law.
I guess there must be some law on the books which prevents rambling, vicious paranoid utterances from being prosecuted as libel. Funny--I thought intentional character assassination could be brought to heel by the law.
8
I dont agree with much of hillary's hawkish and pro biz policies, but for over 30 years she has been accused of all sorts of terrible things by very powerful opposition people with resources to find the truth or even half truth. Yet in all that time everything she has done has ended up 100% to 1000% BETTER than what the GOP did in same situation or were proposing.
I know as a fact that GOP base and politicians will Not say evolution is a reputable scientific theory, they deny human contributions to climate change to the worse, they continue to believe after repeated failed examples of how supply side economic actions and tax cuts dont produce growth, and many more examples of factual ERROR.
Hillary as incompetent liar is another GOP error of fact. They project on others what they themselves are or want to do. Just like ryan and McConnell's speeches claiming actions on things they are against. Voter fraud, interest in womens health, the GOP cut Benghazi security funding, etc. Whatever they say, the fact is the opposite.
I know as a fact that GOP base and politicians will Not say evolution is a reputable scientific theory, they deny human contributions to climate change to the worse, they continue to believe after repeated failed examples of how supply side economic actions and tax cuts dont produce growth, and many more examples of factual ERROR.
Hillary as incompetent liar is another GOP error of fact. They project on others what they themselves are or want to do. Just like ryan and McConnell's speeches claiming actions on things they are against. Voter fraud, interest in womens health, the GOP cut Benghazi security funding, etc. Whatever they say, the fact is the opposite.
16
Tim, this GOP goes back to Goldwater '64 and every GOP nominee since.
17
When his own biographer calls him a 'sociopath' that says everything.
But the problem isn't Trump but U.S. society itself. The similarities between the U.S. today and the final days of the Roman Empire are quite stunning: Charismatic but crazy leaders, military failures, obscene expenditures on Games instead of infrastructure, cripplingly unfair taxation, military overspending and government waste and corruption, etc.,. In a word, Decadence.
Those who do not learn from history ..............
But the problem isn't Trump but U.S. society itself. The similarities between the U.S. today and the final days of the Roman Empire are quite stunning: Charismatic but crazy leaders, military failures, obscene expenditures on Games instead of infrastructure, cripplingly unfair taxation, military overspending and government waste and corruption, etc.,. In a word, Decadence.
Those who do not learn from history ..............
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Mr. Varzi, although you are not the first to make these observations, that in no way detracts from their accuracy. All empires evolve and the American Empire has done so relatively quickly in historic terms. The problem is that as a nation, we don;t "do empire" all that well, certainly not compared with the Brits, Ottomans, and yes, the Romans. The thing is, you can find people in England, Turkey, and even Italy who still harken back to those "golden days of empire" while having absolutely no idea why those empires even rose and fell in the first place. Obliviousness can indeed bring a certain kind of bliss.
5
......do not read the Bible. It's all there, been there for thousands of years. To quote Peter, Paul, & Mary "When will they ever learn?"
1
You are correct. Most people live their lives in ignorance.
2
If there was any doubt that Trump was a fraud who was over his head, it was put to rest by this muddled sham of a Republican convention. It was clear that Trump embarked on this campaign as a lark, looking for free publicity to hawk a book. But like a dog that catches the car he's been chasing, he had no idea what to do with it. His natural hubris prevented him from admitting it was all a joke. Now the joke is on us.
The plagiarized speech got the convention off to a good start, but the convenient confession of a professional speechwriter had all the earmarks of someone falling on a sword to save face. This would have been a bewildering gaffe that might have derailed any other political convention, but in this one the fun had only just begun.
When have we seen a Republican convention in modern times so bereft of ideas that demonizing the Democratic candidate was the centerpiece of their philosophy? When have we seen a rival Republican take the stage to promote unity, and then refuse to endorse the Republican candidate?
Trump made his appearance backlit amid smoke and glare to an ironic rendition of We Are the Champions. Everything about it was cheesy and unbecoming for someone who wants to be leader of the free world. But seeing him in silhouette was oddly appropriate: Trump is a shadow of a man, unfit for the hard realities of the office he seeks.
The plagiarized speech got the convention off to a good start, but the convenient confession of a professional speechwriter had all the earmarks of someone falling on a sword to save face. This would have been a bewildering gaffe that might have derailed any other political convention, but in this one the fun had only just begun.
When have we seen a Republican convention in modern times so bereft of ideas that demonizing the Democratic candidate was the centerpiece of their philosophy? When have we seen a rival Republican take the stage to promote unity, and then refuse to endorse the Republican candidate?
Trump made his appearance backlit amid smoke and glare to an ironic rendition of We Are the Champions. Everything about it was cheesy and unbecoming for someone who wants to be leader of the free world. But seeing him in silhouette was oddly appropriate: Trump is a shadow of a man, unfit for the hard realities of the office he seeks.
785
OMG. "The Free World" Do you mean US and our vassal allies? Our Stasi State? The Constitution has been revoked. We are slaves. Get real.
3
My my,heads must have exploded at Hillary's campaign headquarters, liberals these days like to distract from their failures on crucial issues like the economy and foreign policy by resorting to what Peter Thiel wryly called the "Fake Culture Wars"."When I was a kid, the great debate was about how to defeat the Soviet Union. And we won. Now we are told that the great debate is about who gets to use which bathroom.This is a distraction from our real problems. Who cares? I don't pretend to agree with every plank in our party's platform. But fake culture wars only distract us from our economic decline."But who would the public like to believe Mr.Egan,who talks about Trump bringing the decline of the Republican party or the forward thinking, one of the founders of PayPal, one of the first investors of Face Book, Gay, Billionaire Peter Thiel who said,"When Donald Trump asks us to Make America Great Again, he's not suggesting a return to the past. He's running to lead us back to that bright future."
6
Fake culture wars is all your party has to offer.
100
Because for 232 years, at each moment when that promise was in jeopardy, ordinary men and women -- students and soldiers, farmers and teachers, nurses and janitors -- found the courage to keep it alive.We meet at one of those defining moments, a moment when our nation is at war, our economy is in turmoil, and the American promise has been threatened once more.Tonight, more Americans are out of work and more are working harder for less, credit cards, bills you can't afford to pay, and tuition that's beyond your reach.These challenges are not all of government's making. But the failure to respond is a direct result of a broken politics in Washington and the failed policies.This country is more decent than one where a woman in Ohio, on the brink of retirement, finds herself one illness away from disaster after a lifetime of hard work.We're a better country than one where a man in Indiana has to pack up the equipment that he's worked on for 20 years and watch as it's shipped off to China, and then chokes up as he explains how he felt like a failure when he went home to tell his family the news.We are more compassionate than a government that lets veterans sleep on our streets and families slide into poverty.Ring a Bell,Senator Barack Obama's acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention in Denver 2008,you want to talk about fear-mongering and getting nothing done?
4
Except the economy under Democrats does better than under GOP, Obama avoided a Bush GOP depression, and we have the best military in the world and spend more of our resources on it than we need to as it is. The GOP hate America because of its success and freedoms. They only like it when people cower in fear and need a srong daddy government to control their private lives and deficit spend their money and future generations money in blowing up things and killing people in other countries because of their insecurities.
17
Trump rule is mob rule. And Trump logic is mob logic.
This mob has a mindset where facts and history don't matter in their alternate universe. Nuance? Don't be silly. There are no gay Muslims in their world, no black police officers either. Everything is this OR that, me vs you and most importantly, us vs. them. The facts will sort themselves out once they win. Indeed, winning itself will determine the facts.
All this convinced me that Trump's superpower is shamelessness. If you're hideously wealthy and comfortably free of a conscience, you can just keep plowing forward, dropping new lies like cow pies and the sheer energy and forward motion of your gall outpaces anyone's capacity to hold you accountable.
Let's hope we've finally reached Peak Trump. If not, it's going to be increasingly difficult for the mob to grasp the most basic facts about the reality they share with the rest of us.
This mob has a mindset where facts and history don't matter in their alternate universe. Nuance? Don't be silly. There are no gay Muslims in their world, no black police officers either. Everything is this OR that, me vs you and most importantly, us vs. them. The facts will sort themselves out once they win. Indeed, winning itself will determine the facts.
All this convinced me that Trump's superpower is shamelessness. If you're hideously wealthy and comfortably free of a conscience, you can just keep plowing forward, dropping new lies like cow pies and the sheer energy and forward motion of your gall outpaces anyone's capacity to hold you accountable.
Let's hope we've finally reached Peak Trump. If not, it's going to be increasingly difficult for the mob to grasp the most basic facts about the reality they share with the rest of us.
68
"Love cannot drive out darkness, only fear can do that. Faith cannot drive out fear, only hate can do that." --Melania Trump
This is crazy talk! I didn't think she was crazy but now I do; otherwise, perhaps, she would be aligned with someone other than Trump!
1
Trump's followers will swallow anything he or his subordinates say without and concern about facts. Articles such as these will have no effect on them. I have no idea what might change their minds. One argument set forth by a Trumpster was that 93% of Melania's speech was not plagiarized. How impressive!
I encourage anyone curious about Trump's followers to read Bob Altemeyer's "The Authoritarians." [http://members.shaw.ca/jeanaltemeyer/drbob/theauthoritarians.pdf]
Dr. Altemeyer's done decades of research into authoritarianism. His conclusions leave little doubt about the psychological mechanisms behind the destruction and chaos that would result if Trump wins the presidency... and why persuading his followers of this danger would be extremely difficult.
I encourage anyone curious about Trump's followers to read Bob Altemeyer's "The Authoritarians." [http://members.shaw.ca/jeanaltemeyer/drbob/theauthoritarians.pdf]
Dr. Altemeyer's done decades of research into authoritarianism. His conclusions leave little doubt about the psychological mechanisms behind the destruction and chaos that would result if Trump wins the presidency... and why persuading his followers of this danger would be extremely difficult.
72
The website you noted is not available. Is there somewhere else I might read the article?
2
Chris, google Bob Altermeyer - The Authoritarians, and it will come up as a pdf. I've just begun reading it.
Chris Gibbs: Try this:
http://members.shaw.ca/jeanaltemeyer/drbob/TheAuthoritarians.pdf
And this is something more recent:
"A word from Dr. Bob Altemeyer on Donald Trump and Authoritarian Followers."
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/3/2/1494504/-A-word-from-Dr-Bob-Altem...
http://members.shaw.ca/jeanaltemeyer/drbob/TheAuthoritarians.pdf
And this is something more recent:
"A word from Dr. Bob Altemeyer on Donald Trump and Authoritarian Followers."
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/3/2/1494504/-A-word-from-Dr-Bob-Altem...
2
I can't recall any convention as destructive to what American is supposed to stand for.
The Gop fans fear and resentment with moral fervor that may inflame into violence. This is the worst possible time for Trumpf and his extremist, destructive allies, out of control.
Time to use the famous line by army defense lawyer Joseph Welch to the notorious Sen Joseph McCarthy. In one of US history’s darker eras, McCarthy relentlessly accused many the army, in govt, and the State Dept of being communists allied with the Soviet Enemies of the US. He needlessly destroyed many careers in various fields and for years intimidated American politics in an era of anti communist hysteria.
Welch defended the US army at the hearings. He finally challenged McCarthy, on live national TV--- "Until this moment, Senator, I think I never really gauged your cruelty or your recklessness .....You have done enough. Have you no sense of decency?" This started McCarthy’s shameful end.
Say the same now to the nominee and speakers at the Gross Old Party’s convention---now the dominant party in America the Beautiful and threatening our democracy as much as any foreign power we could fear.
The Gop fans fear and resentment with moral fervor that may inflame into violence. This is the worst possible time for Trumpf and his extremist, destructive allies, out of control.
Time to use the famous line by army defense lawyer Joseph Welch to the notorious Sen Joseph McCarthy. In one of US history’s darker eras, McCarthy relentlessly accused many the army, in govt, and the State Dept of being communists allied with the Soviet Enemies of the US. He needlessly destroyed many careers in various fields and for years intimidated American politics in an era of anti communist hysteria.
Welch defended the US army at the hearings. He finally challenged McCarthy, on live national TV--- "Until this moment, Senator, I think I never really gauged your cruelty or your recklessness .....You have done enough. Have you no sense of decency?" This started McCarthy’s shameful end.
Say the same now to the nominee and speakers at the Gross Old Party’s convention---now the dominant party in America the Beautiful and threatening our democracy as much as any foreign power we could fear.
454
I'm afraid decency isn't a mob trait.
46
As the saying goes, great empires fall from within. It seems ours is doing that.
9
There's a small problem with your view. McCarthy, bogeyman of the left, was correct. The country was crawling with Uncle Joe Stalin's spies. This included the infiltration of the entire Manhattan A-Bomb project and large chunks of the State Department. Whittaker Chambers, anyone? The leftists who now dominate Democratic party policies and politics and our universities - continue in the same path and trend. Check out well regarded historian Max Hasting's new book - 'The Secret War' - about espionage and similar stuff in WWII, with his extensive coverage of Stalin's extraordinary spy apparatus.
But that's OK - the leftists who hate America and control Hollywood and mass media continue to insist there ain't nothing going on, and we must welcome Islamist 'diversity' and 'Boo!!!', Joe McCarthy's gonna gitcha.....
God help the Republic.
But that's OK - the leftists who hate America and control Hollywood and mass media continue to insist there ain't nothing going on, and we must welcome Islamist 'diversity' and 'Boo!!!', Joe McCarthy's gonna gitcha.....
God help the Republic.
1
Genie: "You have three wishes, anything you want."
Trump: "First, I want all the hair that I seem to have,"
"Then, I want all the money that I claim to have,"
"You get one more…"
OK, Tell me again…what does a heart do?
Trump: "First, I want all the hair that I seem to have,"
"Then, I want all the money that I claim to have,"
"You get one more…"
OK, Tell me again…what does a heart do?
77
The GOP convention was a lynch mob.
As I watched, horrified, the angry, beet-red face of Donald Trump, he who promised to "make America great again," to wild cheers, all I could see in his face was Bull Connor. Then I saw Strom Thurmond. Then there was George Wallace. Over there were the two men who killed Emmett Till. The pure and unadulterated hatred was front and center for all the world to see.
I saw, in the crowd, many non-white faces too, glowing and rapt, as they held their breath listening to the acid summons to hate that Donald Trump promised will restore an Obama-trampled republic to its former and rightful grandeur on the world's stage. I didn't hear how he would return the soiled nation to greatness but details were sketchy.
A few excerpts from Richard Nixon's acceptance speech in August, 1968, may be instructive here:
"As we look at America, we see cities enveloped in smoke and flame. We hear sirens in the night. We see Americans dying on distant battlefields abroad. We see Americans hating each other; fighting each other; killing each other at home. And as we see and hear these things, millions of Americans cry out in anguish."
Nixon's speech was rich in class, racial and partisan division. Trump's last night makes Nixon's look like a document of calm and reasoned assurance.
All Trump brought to Cleveland were the ragged tatters of white resentment that he tried to dress up in a tuxedo.
He's the worst American nightmare.
Can he win? Will he win?
As I watched, horrified, the angry, beet-red face of Donald Trump, he who promised to "make America great again," to wild cheers, all I could see in his face was Bull Connor. Then I saw Strom Thurmond. Then there was George Wallace. Over there were the two men who killed Emmett Till. The pure and unadulterated hatred was front and center for all the world to see.
I saw, in the crowd, many non-white faces too, glowing and rapt, as they held their breath listening to the acid summons to hate that Donald Trump promised will restore an Obama-trampled republic to its former and rightful grandeur on the world's stage. I didn't hear how he would return the soiled nation to greatness but details were sketchy.
A few excerpts from Richard Nixon's acceptance speech in August, 1968, may be instructive here:
"As we look at America, we see cities enveloped in smoke and flame. We hear sirens in the night. We see Americans dying on distant battlefields abroad. We see Americans hating each other; fighting each other; killing each other at home. And as we see and hear these things, millions of Americans cry out in anguish."
Nixon's speech was rich in class, racial and partisan division. Trump's last night makes Nixon's look like a document of calm and reasoned assurance.
All Trump brought to Cleveland were the ragged tatters of white resentment that he tried to dress up in a tuxedo.
He's the worst American nightmare.
Can he win? Will he win?
890
Its doubtful he will win. I think Americans will realize the huge risk come November, and vote for Clinton instead.
6
He will win. Because the dems are doing nothing to stop this; and have done nothing to stop this over the last long terrifying 8 years of GOP takeover. And Trump will have the full support of a GOP dominated house and senate, and soon a right wing SCOTUS. And so the coup-- which began with the anointment of Bush over Gore back in the ancient history year of 2000-- will be complete.
114
Not if we have a record turnout in November.
14
This was a dark ugly speech from an ungly little man who
is a poseur, liar, fake and phony.
Oh yes, it was chock full of Trump's trademark lies.
is a poseur, liar, fake and phony.
Oh yes, it was chock full of Trump's trademark lies.
367
In Europe in the 30s, an equally strange man with an equally strange hairstyle came to power by spewing hate and fear to stir up deep-rooted emotions in his countrymen. The man had few solutions to problems facing his country, but instead turned himself into a cult figure in speeches laced in rhetoric of doom and gloom. In the tumultuous years that followed, he lead his country to rack and ruin.
1221
And not just his country but all of Europe.
11
The National Socialism of the 1920's and 1930's has much in common with the Trump campaign for President.
The Nation has been betrayed through treaties by a narrow elite to near ruin, in this case trade deals that advantage China and Mexico.
The seeming chaos in the streets is the fault of religious and racial minorities. Instead of Jews and Gypsies, Trump offers Mexicans, Muslims and African-Americans.
For the good Ger...er, Americans, there is Social Security and Medicare, just as there was in the Central Europe of 80 years ago.
The Party of the Leader is best qualified to protect Capital and Labor to best advantage of both.
And, of course, the leader knows best of all. We all know who that leader is the past was; Today it is Mr. Trump.
The Nation has been betrayed through treaties by a narrow elite to near ruin, in this case trade deals that advantage China and Mexico.
The seeming chaos in the streets is the fault of religious and racial minorities. Instead of Jews and Gypsies, Trump offers Mexicans, Muslims and African-Americans.
For the good Ger...er, Americans, there is Social Security and Medicare, just as there was in the Central Europe of 80 years ago.
The Party of the Leader is best qualified to protect Capital and Labor to best advantage of both.
And, of course, the leader knows best of all. We all know who that leader is the past was; Today it is Mr. Trump.
11
@Chris D: As I watched Trump, I kept thinking, "He's Hitler, only with less talent and charisma." Let's hope those deficits keep him from getting elected.
17
Let's hope the better angels of our nature rise to the occasion and not reward this man the presidency.
203
It ain't going to be angels, Steve, it's going to come down to whether or not we get off our butts and vote. That's it, that's all.
27
steve, if those angels are anywhere around, Hillary will be as far away as possible.
3
Got the long straw again ?
2
There's really no mystery at all to Fermi's paradox anymore. Technological civilization never lasts long anywhere it evolves in the universe.
34