Oh bunk. Anybody who voted for Trump knew precisely what he was selling. Now they own it,
200
I'll listen to the Trump voter who isn't motivated by racism, culturo-centrism, ignorance of history, religious bias, anti-Islamic, anti-Semitic, ignorant, self-centered egotism, when I find one. Thought I saw one for a second. Nope, just a deer in the headlights ... for a moment.
164
Who's going to do this listening? You? Com on over! You'll have to leave DC and all the stuff in your closet and sit down with regular drip coffee and listen to Donna and Linda and Hal and David and Christian and Maureen and Craig. I just gave you a list of people between the ages of 31 and 86, black and white, immigrant and American-born, who live in a working class community who are making ends meet just fine, who have no visible signs of major 'isms", and who voted for Trump for 7 different reasons. They'd love to talk to you.
57
We have been listening to Trump. Have you?
If you have, perhaps you heard his insults and outrageous mistruths about women, Muslims, Mexicans, African-Americans, global warming, Black Lives Matter, Hilary Clinton, trade policy, and on and on.
Mr Brooks, we have indeed been listening, and we have heard enough.
If you have, perhaps you heard his insults and outrageous mistruths about women, Muslims, Mexicans, African-Americans, global warming, Black Lives Matter, Hilary Clinton, trade policy, and on and on.
Mr Brooks, we have indeed been listening, and we have heard enough.
173
"There will be plenty of time to be disgusted with Trump’s bigotry, narcissism and incompetence. It’s tempting to get so caught up in his outrage du jour that you never have to do any self-examination. But let’s be honest: It wouldn’t kill us Trump critics to take a break from our never-ending umbrage to engage in a little listening."
Well, judging on his first appointments and the rhetoric of the last 15 months, i think we will see up close , and soon, the policies and plans these people are
known for. So ? We shouldn't believe our eyes and ears?? Whats the self-examining i should do?? Wonder How conservative the SCOTUS will be for the next 20 or 30 years? Think that Global Warming isn't real and we don't need the EPA?? Disregard the violence and racist graffiti from Trump supporters all over the country?? Think that this Frankenstein will be a nice guy??? What the heck should I be listening for?? Listen to the advisors to the President of the United States who are White Supremacists and justify his racist promises??
If somebody shows you who they are, Mr. Brooks, believe them.
Well, judging on his first appointments and the rhetoric of the last 15 months, i think we will see up close , and soon, the policies and plans these people are
known for. So ? We shouldn't believe our eyes and ears?? Whats the self-examining i should do?? Wonder How conservative the SCOTUS will be for the next 20 or 30 years? Think that Global Warming isn't real and we don't need the EPA?? Disregard the violence and racist graffiti from Trump supporters all over the country?? Think that this Frankenstein will be a nice guy??? What the heck should I be listening for?? Listen to the advisors to the President of the United States who are White Supremacists and justify his racist promises??
If somebody shows you who they are, Mr. Brooks, believe them.
110
Mr. Brooks, your imagined voter and your "some good people" voted for a man who showed them how ugly his soul was. Maybe these people you speak of are blind?
81
People here, please stop fighting the last and lost battles. Trump's win is proof that the conventional tactics are no longer appropriate to combat the forth coming assaults to our democracy. The main stream media and the Democrats still don't get it. Use his weapons to counter him. Focus on his weaknesses. Yes, listen to him and watch him closely. Find the chink in his armor. He is smart. Don't let the false front fool you. This is a serious threat to our nation.
68
The voter you described got conned, big time.
I'm thinking of the other Trump voter who wasn't motivated by racism or bigotry.
The sucker.
I'm thinking of the other Trump voter who wasn't motivated by racism or bigotry.
The sucker.
59
Hear! Hear!
Your final paragraphs offer some good sense. It's really sad that neither candidate started from there.
Your final paragraphs offer some good sense. It's really sad that neither candidate started from there.
18
I'm sure Mr. Brooks has been reading other the op-eds from The Times. I want to point to the excellent column by Mr Luigie Zingales,"The Right Way To Resist Trump." Mr Zingales suffered through the Silvio Berluscone regime in Italy. So his advice certainly has some creditability. We do need to calm down and really choose what is important to be concerned about. I am afraid the media is doing the same thing they did in the election: attacking every absurd action that Pres. Elect Trump says and does. So what if he is insulted by the cast of Hamilton. Pick an IMPORTANT issue and report on it, and stick with it. Keep us informed about the things that really matter.
72
"Try a little listening". David? Who's that message for? Is that directive for the millions of Trump voters- for whom every day is a realignment of pre-election Trump promises now colliding headlong into reality?
31
But, David, how can you hear with all that sand in your ears? Your suggestions emerge from living a life of ease and comfort. Ask the rest of us.
40
You get to have it both ways. Trump is unacceptable until he wins, then he's OK. The ACA works well inStates that did not doom it. California for instance. When theRepublicans repeal it and millions are without health care the shoe will be on the other foot
42
I have five words for the Trump voter: Mitch McConnell, Clark County, Kentucky. From the NYT's own story, 86% of Clark County voters voted for Trump. 60% of residents are on Medicaid, aided by the Affordable Care Act. And they keep electing Mitch McConnell as their senator, even though he has spent years preventing Obama from helping them. They are choosing their circumstances with every vote. Ditto for the people in Kansas who are finally realizing that Brownback has wrecked their schools (see the LA Times story). Their choice, their consequences.
89
Sure. Give fleece a chance. Sucker.
27
Old saying: man with mouth open all the time hears nothing.
25
The Democratic Party is losing badly on the national level? Look at the last 25 years. How many times did the Democrats not win the popular vote?
Why do the votes of the people of California count about a third as much as those in Utah and Wyoming? The Electoral College was established to protect rich, white, propertied men. Women couldn't vote when this was set up. Ready to get rid of this antiquated institution and live in a real democracy, David? And if not, why not?
www.newyorkgritty.net
Why do the votes of the people of California count about a third as much as those in Utah and Wyoming? The Electoral College was established to protect rich, white, propertied men. Women couldn't vote when this was set up. Ready to get rid of this antiquated institution and live in a real democracy, David? And if not, why not?
www.newyorkgritty.net
72
I'm appalled at the comments by the readership of the NYTimes. And I thought Donald Trump's campaign statements were bigoted. As my late grandmother used to say, people who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones.
30
This particular Trump voter that you are describing does not exist. He won on a platform of racism, misogyny, and exclusion.
57
Mr. Brooks only seems to see and hear with his right eye and right ear.
25
It's ironic that I continue to read about Trump's incompetence from the intellectual opinion class. But, at every turn, he is doing what he sets out to do. Perhaps you don't like the path, but at it's core he is winning. First he was elected as the Republican Nominee. Something he was too incompetent to achieve. Then he was elected as President of the United States. Again, something that he surely had no chance of winning. In fact this newspaper had the odds at over 90% for HRC winning. Now your attacking the man on his roll up of the cabinet. Sorry, but you have no credibility to judge at this point. Was the great intellectual team put together by Obama a winner??? The election says not so much unless you live in the Northeast or Pacific coast. So, maybe we just keep our incendiary rhetoric to ourselves for a few weeks / months before the piling on starts.
Perhaps the incompetence you think you are seeing is really a mirror on your own performance.
Perhaps the incompetence you think you are seeing is really a mirror on your own performance.
35
I think most of us understand what "the best" Trump voter wants. But being complicit in racism, sexism, homophobia, misogyny, etc. etc. is not the way to get it. There is NO WAY to justify voting for Trump. All of our fears are already being realized with his cabinet appointments.
65
Interesting suggestion by Mr. Brooks. As a 26 years USAF veteran, pilot and officer, I cringe at the thought of Donald Trump in charge of our Air Force. While Mr. Trump and his supporters can, and do, say anything they please, within and without the limits of the Constitution, we have a right, indeed a responsibility, to stop listening.
64
Mr. Brooks is a better observer than listener. Next time he sees Mr. Trump in a public settling, he would do well to hone in on that crisp, ironed, pant's crease, as he did when he first believed that this Obama could govern well. Perhaps within that firm, ironed, hot straight line, there will be a welcome sign for Mr. Brooks, to wit that this man Trump can in fact be a wonderful leader, indeed a great leader in the mold of Obama. So search out that crease, Mr. Brooks, look long and look hard, because we all know you value such mystical deep signs, the political savant that you are.
6
"A little listening..." I hope the New York Times editorial board will take the time to listen to David Brooks's advice.
Didn't the Times get the memo? The lection is over. There will be plenty of opportunity later to criticize Trump's failed policies. But, who knows, he might get some things right. So why the Times's rush to judgment? Elections have consequences, and the President-elect has the moral and legal right to hire staff he will be comfortable with.
Didn't the Times get the memo? The lection is over. There will be plenty of opportunity later to criticize Trump's failed policies. But, who knows, he might get some things right. So why the Times's rush to judgment? Elections have consequences, and the President-elect has the moral and legal right to hire staff he will be comfortable with.
17
Brooks stats that he can see " see why some good people might be willing to tolerate Trump and Bannon’s personalities". The problem is not their personalities. It is their racism, sexism, and antisemitism. That is very different. I didn't "like" George W Bush. But he did not say and do repugnant things like Bannon and Trump. And no, I do not see, regardless of circumstance, how "good people" can overlook blatant racism, sexism, and antisemitism.
43
Why shouldn't we judge Trump on his consistently authoritarian, race-baiting, hucksterism? He has never failed to go lower and lower and has NEVER taken the high road on anything. It has worked well for him so far and he has managed to get enough people to accept whatever he does on his terms not theirs or long-term realities'. If he can pump up the economy for long enough and kick the consequences down the road slickly he has no reason to change.
23
This is the most sensible column or article the Times has published regarding the presidential election in months.
It gives me hope that all is not lost at the Times.
It gives me hope that all is not lost at the Times.
12
Reading the majority of these comments, it would be funny if it wasn't so sad just how bigoted and intolerant people can be in judging others' bigotry and intolerance.
19
To "understand the specificity of the proposals he comes up with" is the key. We need to examine every proposal and try to understand like our life depends on it. The ONLY good thing to come from this election is a clear need to Participate in our government like never before. Read, learn and respond!!
22
Mr. Brooks, families are coming home to find spray-painted swastikas on their garage doors. Your milquetoast piece serves no one in this time of clear and present danger.
48
When a cancer is metastasizing, it is not a good idea to "take a break and see what's going on." It's already pretty clear what's going on.
31
"Maybe a little government action would have helped?" Hmm. You mean government action to alleviate the problems of people who were told that "government is the problem?" That "the nine most terrifying words in the English language are 'I'm from the government and I'm here to help?'" I'm not quite sure how you can reconcile that one.
20
Shame on you, David Brooks, for caving just two weeks after the election of a demagogue. This is how societies fall - by normalizing what is patently not normal. Each accommodation to the alt-reality spearheaded by Bannon and Trump will only enable them to aim for more. I had hopes for you, David, as a conservative voice of reason and resistance, but alas no longer. You've already rolled over.
29
The Democratic Party is losing? Funny, I thought that Hillary Clinton got more votes than Donald Trump. In another country, that would make her and her party the winner. In a democracy, I mean.
54
Those who voted against Donald Trump need to listen. Is that because of our collective political influence or the sympathy pro-Trump voters have for our virtue?
The only thing I can conclude from your column, David, is that chiding pro-Clinton or never-Trump voters FEELS better, because those are the voters you expect to read the editorial page of the Times. (In fairness, it's hard to fault you for wanting an audience, and you're probably right if you have concluded that many Trump supporters don't put too much stock in your asseverations). But surely you don't believe that the sin of "expressing outrage, depression, bewilderment or disgust" is more pressing than the sin of appointing a man too racist for a judgeship 30 years ago for the role of head of federal law enforcement. Need I remind you that racist incidents are in the rise since the election? Swastikas on children’s playgrounds and all that?
You may be right that the opposition could do worse than trying to empathize with people who see things differently. Still, if I am understanding you correctly, your “ideal” Trump supporter is just a victim of globalization. And plenty of those voted for Clinton. So between our two victims, which one do you think is more deserving of your admonishments?
The only thing I can conclude from your column, David, is that chiding pro-Clinton or never-Trump voters FEELS better, because those are the voters you expect to read the editorial page of the Times. (In fairness, it's hard to fault you for wanting an audience, and you're probably right if you have concluded that many Trump supporters don't put too much stock in your asseverations). But surely you don't believe that the sin of "expressing outrage, depression, bewilderment or disgust" is more pressing than the sin of appointing a man too racist for a judgeship 30 years ago for the role of head of federal law enforcement. Need I remind you that racist incidents are in the rise since the election? Swastikas on children’s playgrounds and all that?
You may be right that the opposition could do worse than trying to empathize with people who see things differently. Still, if I am understanding you correctly, your “ideal” Trump supporter is just a victim of globalization. And plenty of those voted for Clinton. So between our two victims, which one do you think is more deserving of your admonishments?
12
Mr. Brooks, despite being a very liberal Democrat I always look forward to your commentary on both PBS and the NY Times. I was so thankful during the presidential campaign that you continued to call Trump out for what he is. I do agree that there is deep understanding and listening needed, and that those that voted for Trump should not be demonized. But now what is more important is the need for constant vigilance about who Trump is appointing, and what policies he is planning to put in place. In particular I am referring to the appointments of racists individuals he is appointing to high offices in the White House. The ideologies of men such as Steve Bannon and Jeff Sessions are extremely dangerous. I am frightened for minorities, and I am frightened for our country. So, I do continue to feel very worried and depressed. Please continue to use your journalistic gifts to expose what is happening as Trump prepares to become president as "not normal," and indeed very dangerous. Thank you.
20
David Brooks, I am listening. But do you really believe, "Pat Buchanan, (is) the most influential public intellectual in America today"? Again, I'm listening, but perhaps you could share your definition of 'intellectual'. If "someone committed to and demonstrating fact-based reasoning" and "someone who not only evinces deep understanding of accumulated knowledge but also constructively adds to that body of knowledge" are part of that definition, please tell me- I'm listening- how Pat Buchanan qualifies as an intellectual, much less the "most influential" one in America.
29
I'd like to hear from real commentators on here who have "listened" to Trump supporters, not the trolls, but real-life anecdotal conversations, however limited. My only experience is with two women I know, both a little drunk, and three guys I didn't know, on election night. The women said, and I quote (25 yr old), "But Hillary created ISIS, didn't she?" and (48 yr old) "Hillary just stood by her cheating husband so she could get power herself." On election night, three California long haired overweight rednecks were drunk and yelling "Trump! Trump! Build the wall! Deport them all!" And they were mostly quoting from our President elect. Sorry, but it's not easy listening to that.
53
The thrust of this column seems to be in the same vein as that which emanated from vast numbers of heads in the sand crying out "not our problem" that abounded prior to WW1 and WW2. We should have leaned by now that all acts of despotism start with words.
21
Really David, your sense of reality always confounds me. Gerrymandering and voter rights obstruction is the reason why most state legislatures and the House are at your command. Plus, don't you dare attempt to distance yourself from this madman. You and your elk created this monster. You own him.
And another thing, one of the main reasons the ACA isn't doing as well as it could is because "compassionate" republican legislatures refused to expand medicaid for it most vulnerable citizens and prevented exchanges from being formed in their states. I cannot understand the position of preventing millions of dollars from entering these states via subsidies - but alas republican legislatures were not elected for their intelligence - were they?
And another thing, one of the main reasons the ACA isn't doing as well as it could is because "compassionate" republican legislatures refused to expand medicaid for it most vulnerable citizens and prevented exchanges from being formed in their states. I cannot understand the position of preventing millions of dollars from entering these states via subsidies - but alas republican legislatures were not elected for their intelligence - were they?
54
On day 1 we really should give Trump a fair shake. It's day 2 that disturbs me.
11
My Lord - I voice of reason at the NYT! I did not vote for Trump, nor did I vote for Clinton, because they were equally unattractive choices. I have one daughter who voted for Trump, one for Clinton, and one who did a write-in. Being a fairly well adjusted family, we backed up our choices with our own reasoning, but never came to blows--physically or rhetorically. That attitude is what I have wanted to see in the electorate and in the media. Thank you, Mr Brooks, for giving me hope!
13
"Finally, surely a little universal humility is in order. Orthodox Republicans spent the last 30 years talking grandly about entrepreneurialism while the social fabric around their core voters disintegrated. Maybe a little government action would have helped?"
Finally indeed!
Finally indeed!
6
OK, enough (and correctly) said about alt-right on this page. I'd like to turn to the David's statement about "gigantic spending program to create jobs. He vowed to use that money to create a new New Deal that will win over 40 percent of the black and Hispanic vote, creating a neo-Jacksonian majority that will govern for 50 years." Didn't Dems promise investing in infrastructure? They also thought about balancing the budget by taxing super-rich. Trump pledges a universal tax cut... Krugman can explain the consequences of such recklessness much better but you get an idea.
9
Thought provoking article - the same tendency to label the group who voted for the politician/party/policy you don't like is just as polarising here in Europe, for instance you would think that everyone in Britain who voted for Brexit was an uneducated bigot, who just hated foreigners. We in Ireland, are rightly worried about the consequences of Britain leaving the EU, but we need to ask ourselves why people voted to leave, they weren't all uneducated racists. Maybe after 10 years of austerity a lot of people feel that voting for something completely different might not be all that bad, and it might just give us back a little hope.
8
"It’s not my cup of tea, but I can see why some good people might be willing to tolerate Trump and Bannon’s personalities in order to pursue it."
Personalities! No one is objecting to their personalities! It's their lies and their lack of integrity, their willingness to stir up hatred. For goodness' sake.
Personalities! No one is objecting to their personalities! It's their lies and their lack of integrity, their willingness to stir up hatred. For goodness' sake.
35
David with respect it's not his policies, it's his rudeness that's continued even beyond the election, the way he can't even cancel (though has since then rescheduled) a meeting with the The New York Times without doing it by impersonal tweet and phrase "failed @nytimes" . That the NYT's numbers have risen so it's just another Trump lie is irrelevant; the problem is Trump's rudeness and pettiness-- not back in the campaign, but by the victor and supposed to be dignified soon to be very powerful president-elect. This is what makes it hard to listen -- the temper and rudeness by a future president and the dignitary who triumphed. If he would "pivot" I'd be open-minded and all ears.
11
I listened. I heard him. Consequently, I know now that a white-lash was a euphemism. It's a white-blast, well aimed by white America.
I tried listening, and hope for a parallel government that will impeach and take over as soon as possible.
I tried listening, and hope for a parallel government that will impeach and take over as soon as possible.
22
Mr. Brooks creates a mythical Trump voter. In rural North Carolina and in the similar areas across the county that voted for Trump, the school teacher does not "condescend" and the doctor does not ignore the Trump voter. The teacher and doctor are neighbors who care about their neighbors. They all live far from Me. Brooks' neighborhood where he can reflect on a part of the country that he does no know.
15
Will the press still write honestly about Trump? Isn't he bullying the press into submission? I live in the Heartland and want anyone else but Trump to be my president. I think he is suckering the press into submission by cutting off access. Then, who will we have to keep him honest?
I may be one of the people the Trump voters disdain, but now who is going to fight for me and people like me? I worked hard to get what I have and when times shifted, I retooled. And now, I am looked at as an elite? That used to be the American way.
I think Trump is going to wear us all down in order to get what he wants. Actions speak louder than words- he says his kids won't be involved but they always are. He thinks we are suckers- because he says it, it must be true- don't pay attention to what he does.
We are counting on the press to stay true to their values- don't give in to the Trump threats.
I may be one of the people the Trump voters disdain, but now who is going to fight for me and people like me? I worked hard to get what I have and when times shifted, I retooled. And now, I am looked at as an elite? That used to be the American way.
I think Trump is going to wear us all down in order to get what he wants. Actions speak louder than words- he says his kids won't be involved but they always are. He thinks we are suckers- because he says it, it must be true- don't pay attention to what he does.
We are counting on the press to stay true to their values- don't give in to the Trump threats.
24
I heard Brooks say the same thing on PBS. We need to really listen to the Trump supporters. I have listened. One insisted that Trump's use of bad words during the Access Hollywood hot mic incident pales in comparison to Hillary's having had Vince Foster killed. Another one said she had been touched down there in a Texas parking lot. "I survived" she shrugged. Indeed we have a lot to learn from these people.
25
David, your attempt to put lipstick on trump is problematic in that every time you try to give him the benefit of the doubt he does something or says something that blows it up. Hillary warned us all and any serious adult not driven by racist, bigoted, misogynistic views understands the truth of "when somebody reveals themselves, take them at their word. In an interview in the late nineties Trump declared that if he did run it would be as a Republican, because they are used to being lied to by their leaders and so would swallow his lies.
15
Only 58% of eligible voters voted in the presidential election. Thus, it was under 30% of eligible US voters who were responsible for the Trump victory.
Tyranny of the minority?
Tyranny of the minority?
16
When a car is heading towards in the crosswalk is no time to give them a chance. Trump has made it abundantly clear that constitutional democracy is going to be a hit and run.
17
David, I listened, I listened to Trump criticize the television news media yesterday for treating him unfairly, and this is before he has the power of the presidency. I'm listening, and I'm scared to death for our country.
17
Thank you Mr. Brooks. The folks on the left as so 'unhinged' by Mr. Trump that they can't understand why he was elected in the first place. We need 'understanding' of the voters left behind by America before we can move forward as a nation. The umbrage of journalists and Hillary voters remind me of the temper tantrums of a toddler when they had something taken away from them. These folks should walk in the shoes of an underemployed high school graduate from Gary, Indiana to better understand the issues we are facing.
8
I howled with laughter when reading Brook's 'retirement home for military drill instructors' belligerence metaphor. A healthy dose of belligerence may be just the medicine a rational society needs. And yes, it is time for America to reset, to begin the healing of the grievous wounds of the past disastrous obama years..
3
Having been raised in the South, I've been listening to Trump voters all my life, and have seen new Trump voters created within my own family. During this election I heard formerly rational people I know talk about "their tribe" and needing to send a message about identity politics. The identity they mean is anyone other than white people. I'm sorry, but I'm done listening to that kind of bile, especially when Congressional Republicans are trying to chip away at Medicare and Social Security.
24
David, I am listening and I hear the drums of war because war is a convenient way to side-step the Constitution and to distract from the incompetence of an administration.
8
David, listening is good, if for no other reason than to strategize effective political action, but beyond this you're headed off your journalistic rails. This is not a matter of your colleagues wailing that their country is not good enough for them. Rather the mood questions whether our country is good enough for constitutional democracy in the first place.
Given that we've elevated to the presidency a figure who serially expresses contempt for constitutionally sanctioned liberties, including the freedom that sustains Mr. Brooks's career, it is an entirely fair question.
www.endthemadnessnow.org
Given that we've elevated to the presidency a figure who serially expresses contempt for constitutionally sanctioned liberties, including the freedom that sustains Mr. Brooks's career, it is an entirely fair question.
www.endthemadnessnow.org
12
Mr. Brooks writes "the experts created a school system that doesn’t produce skilled graduates. The experts designed Obamacare exchanges that are failing."
The last federal education reform was No Child Left Behind born, and signed into law by GWB. As you acknowledge, but fail to take ownership for it, hasn't exactly been a success. Common Core is hated and blocked by Republicans (and DJT) even though it is advocated by a fairly broad spectrum of education experts! The ACA is necessarily complicated because, a single payer system (socialized medical insurance) is anathema to Republican party members and a good number of Democrat party members. Don't gloss over the obstructionism of the Republican party over the last 5 decades!
The last federal education reform was No Child Left Behind born, and signed into law by GWB. As you acknowledge, but fail to take ownership for it, hasn't exactly been a success. Common Core is hated and blocked by Republicans (and DJT) even though it is advocated by a fairly broad spectrum of education experts! The ACA is necessarily complicated because, a single payer system (socialized medical insurance) is anathema to Republican party members and a good number of Democrat party members. Don't gloss over the obstructionism of the Republican party over the last 5 decades!
23
This mythical voter, is it the 46% of voters who did not vote in the last election, the hundreds of thousands that refused to mark on their ballot their choice for president , or the hundreds of thousands that voted for Hillary Clinton over Trump?
We need to be careful not to draw conclusions from a minority of voters that just happen to be located in the right states at the right time. Wealthy people that are "admired" in this scenario do not need Social Security, Medicare or public education; the three areas that the wealthy class always want to cut. Could it be the wealthy people that are not part of this "profession class" that have caused the unsolved societal problems that these Trump voters go on about?
We need to be careful not to draw conclusions from a minority of voters that just happen to be located in the right states at the right time. Wealthy people that are "admired" in this scenario do not need Social Security, Medicare or public education; the three areas that the wealthy class always want to cut. Could it be the wealthy people that are not part of this "profession class" that have caused the unsolved societal problems that these Trump voters go on about?
11
David, you, and I believe many others, including a good percentage of those who voted for him, are in denial re Trump. He is a Fascist politically, a wannabee Hitler, pure and simple. Everything he says and has done so far as president-elect is proof of this. The GOP has been gently leaning this way for decades, and now has gone all the way by hitching their party to Trump. It is time to wake up and start opposing this monster as best we can.
6
Rich people depend on fact based professionals to advise them and run their businesses and engineer things and write contracts and use research done by universities to make their money and to compete in business, yet David's imagined Trump voter doesn't like professionals.
What?
What?
4
“The Democratic Party is losing badly on the local, state and national levels. If you were a football team you’d be 2-8. Maybe you can do better than responding with the sentiment: Sadly, the country isn’t good enough for us.”
I agree, and judging from the replies it won’t change. I have previously described the hard core conservative Republicans as a cult, and a large part of the Democratic party is no different. It is clear that to many (most?) Democrats the people who voted for Trump are ‘untermenschen’, and anything that one says is acceptable. We will see what kind of action that outlook results in.
I agree, and judging from the replies it won’t change. I have previously described the hard core conservative Republicans as a cult, and a large part of the Democratic party is no different. It is clear that to many (most?) Democrats the people who voted for Trump are ‘untermenschen’, and anything that one says is acceptable. We will see what kind of action that outlook results in.
I agree and add that all voters need to redirect their outrage; look up from their newsfeed and navel to see who exactly is profiting while we are so distracted with each other. Also, thanks Mr. Brooks for one of your best lines ever: "Trump’s appointments so far represent the densest concentration of hyper-macho belligerence outside a drill sergeant retirement home."
3
The person Mr. Brooks opens with is the person also protected by Mafia or Cartel leaders in our country and others. The government leadership won't listen, but the local strongman will.
What Mr. Brooks overall discusses is basically compromise. The Left needs to listen to those who are struggling, but the Right also has a part in this. That is the problem. Will the alt-right that has swarmed to Trump compromise? Not likely. That is why they are fascists. Fascists don't listen.
What Mr. Brooks overall discusses is basically compromise. The Left needs to listen to those who are struggling, but the Right also has a part in this. That is the problem. Will the alt-right that has swarmed to Trump compromise? Not likely. That is why they are fascists. Fascists don't listen.
3
Mr. Brooks has not been watching and listening to America at least not to the better that 50% who did not vote for Trump. He continues the week old mantra of "let's all get together and figure out what Trump is up to First." ; and then decide how to advise him and congesss on a more moderate path. The problem is the Republican party is not about to change it's path that it choose 8 years ago. That path is exactly what Trump has been trumpeting for over 2 years, what makes him think they will change now that they are in complete control?
4
As an American living in Canada, I fail to see how waiting for the right time "to be disgusted with Trump's bigotry and incompetence" can be a sensible approach. If this were anyone else, I might agree with David Brooks, but this is Donald Trump. In my view, no amount of time should pass to normalize the president-elect's destructive words and actions. They have already damaged our sense of political fair play and could even harm the very foundations of our democracy.
13
I thought once the election was over I wouldn't have to listen and/or read to any more politics for at least two more years and it's gotten worse. I cannot believe the minutiae that flows from "the news". It's a 24 hour stream of consciousness. I don't care how many and who are traipsing in and out of Trump Towers. What I do care about are the administration finalists and then the vetting process should the Senate decide to finally carry out their sworn duties and not shirk them like they did for the President Obama's Supreme Court nominee. Besides it would be fun to hear the President-elect rant and rave that the media wasn't giving his every breath and trip out to dinner sufficient coverage. (Will someone please take his twitter away.)
David, any time you want to start a new party that is socially liberal and financially conservative, I'll be the first member.
David, any time you want to start a new party that is socially liberal and financially conservative, I'll be the first member.
4
I think David is right. For the time being, we should wait & listen.
I don’t think Trump himself is prejudiced though there is an element that see him as an opportunity to espouse their prejudiced nonsense & Trump isn’t going too much out of his way to disavow their (or anyone else’s) support.
But in the main, I believe Trump supporters are unjustly maligned -- all lumped in with a few bigots who have latched onto his movement. I didn't vote for Trump because I have serious doubts about his competence & temperament. But I come from a white conservative working class background and I believe the bulk of his followers are decent, conservative, blue-collar people who feel the GOP these days mostly caters to the very rich, while they see the Democrats as having become increasingly too leftist over the years. So Trump was their choice, their "voice" as he said. At least Trump's base of support is largely working class people and not the militaristic plutocrats who seem to be the puppet masters of much of the GOP these days. At least that’s an improvement!
Let’s not all over-react, which is usually counterproductive, especially when it is preemptive!
I don’t think Trump himself is prejudiced though there is an element that see him as an opportunity to espouse their prejudiced nonsense & Trump isn’t going too much out of his way to disavow their (or anyone else’s) support.
But in the main, I believe Trump supporters are unjustly maligned -- all lumped in with a few bigots who have latched onto his movement. I didn't vote for Trump because I have serious doubts about his competence & temperament. But I come from a white conservative working class background and I believe the bulk of his followers are decent, conservative, blue-collar people who feel the GOP these days mostly caters to the very rich, while they see the Democrats as having become increasingly too leftist over the years. So Trump was their choice, their "voice" as he said. At least Trump's base of support is largely working class people and not the militaristic plutocrats who seem to be the puppet masters of much of the GOP these days. At least that’s an improvement!
Let’s not all over-react, which is usually counterproductive, especially when it is preemptive!
5
Although overall this is a nice piece it makes the common mistake of assuming that the voting majority is always right; that the job of politicians is to simply acknowledge this.
For anyone who has lived under autocratic rule (including democratically elected autocrats) it is clear that the masses sometimes elect the one who is most unlikely to solve their problems and most likely would work against them.
As in any other banana republic the one that shouts louder, promise heaven and revenge from the 'others' gets the votes.
For anyone who has lived under autocratic rule (including democratically elected autocrats) it is clear that the masses sometimes elect the one who is most unlikely to solve their problems and most likely would work against them.
As in any other banana republic the one that shouts louder, promise heaven and revenge from the 'others' gets the votes.
8
I am watching and waiting to see what Trump actually does.
I hope for the best even as I prepare for the worst.
I think that is all you can do now.
Speculating on a train wreck is a waste of time.
Voters asked for change. I agree it only makes sense to ignore the words and posturing and see what happens.
I hope for the best even as I prepare for the worst.
I think that is all you can do now.
Speculating on a train wreck is a waste of time.
Voters asked for change. I agree it only makes sense to ignore the words and posturing and see what happens.
5
I am so disappointed by this opinion piece. I am not sure what has happened to Mr. Brooks since the election, but his arguments for "a little listening" are as difficult for me to comprehend as the posture of party over country posited by Paul Ryan, Mitch McConnell and many other Republicans during the campaign. How can one listen to and comprehend what is being said everyday by President-Elect Trump and his transition team when the "truth" of what is said is so evolving and different from, say, previous pre-election statements? How does anyone believe anything they say during this period of what appears to be a major change to our country's values, principles and leadership in the world?
13
The Dems missed the boat and maybe the chance of a lifetime by not nominating Bernie Sanders. Sanders would have combined a larger turn out of the Obama coalition with the enough of the voters written about in this article to blow Trump into an odd footnote of presidential history. Instead they went with the status quo and a not him campaign. The country needs either new blood in the Democratic party or a new party.
6
Since when were teachers and doctors the 'enemy' and the rich to be admired? It's the rich who sent their jobs offshore or mechanised them, not the teachers and doctors. And it's the moneyed classes skewing the tax system so they get almost all the benefit, not the teachers and doctors. If that is the best Trump voter, then America is in real trouble.
24
"Well, the experts created a school system that doesn’t produce skilled graduates. " So that's why they don't have respect for expertise? I think you have it backward: (To generalize) Trump voters have no respect for expertise, or knowledge, and that's why they don't encourage their children to do well in school.
I think Trump's appeal is to tribalism. "People who talk like us" are feeling defensive, insulted, and condescended to by coastal elites. They fear that they cannot compete in the new economy.
The only thing that Trump proposes to do that would actually create jobs is an infrastructure program that he has no way to pay for, or a military buildup that he also has no way to pay for.
I think Trump's appeal is to tribalism. "People who talk like us" are feeling defensive, insulted, and condescended to by coastal elites. They fear that they cannot compete in the new economy.
The only thing that Trump proposes to do that would actually create jobs is an infrastructure program that he has no way to pay for, or a military buildup that he also has no way to pay for.
5
While Mr. Brooks is reasonable in asking for a period of listening, he may or may not have read, or agreed with the assessment by his colleague, Paul Krugman, an academic and also a Nobel Prize winning economist. It is this type of hocus-pocus that Trump and the Republican elite want to foist on his voters, and "us" (those who are doing what we can to inform the electorate). The idea of a works program that enriches corporations and adds to the taxpayers' burden by creating more national debt is exactly the type of falsity against which many of "us" are "railing." Alas, we are now in a minority and will not be heard by the same people who are now basking in the victory of this con artist.
5
Listen, yes. But then verify. Paul Krugman's piece on the real nature of Trump's infrastructure program -- basically a scam in which corporations gain further control of the commons with public money -- was an eye-opener. The column recently by an Italian who talked about how to beat Berlusconi by concentrating on policy and not the man, was also very helpful. It would also be helpful if the press didn't constantly fall for Trump's shrewd manipulation of public opinion via Twitter. I am hoping he will govern, not tweet. Meanwhile, the president-elect continues to show his lack of any real knowledge of government.,
7
Mr. Brooks, we have been listening. I've been reading and hearing some pretty hateful stuff, the anger and worries and fears coming from both sides. It's not so different, what Trump voters want. They want the same things we all want: A decent job, a roof over our heads, enough money to get by and some for a rainy day. We want security and safety for our children and grandchildren. We want our nation and our nation's leaders to be examples of the so-called American virtues: industry, moderation, patience, self-reliance, independence, and love of country. We want our public servants to serve their constituents, to put the public good above their own self-interests and those of party and PACs and lobbyists. Have we put people in power who've let us down, modeled heinous behavior like owning human beings and slaughtering indigenous people? Yes we have, but if we had good teachers and learned our nation's history, we hope not to repeat those mistakes.
The difference between Trump voters and those who cannot get behind him is that we do not want the above things at the expense of others. I don't want gay Americans, black Americans, Native Americans, or any marginalized group to be hated and persecuted by their own government. Maya Angelou said, "When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time." Trump has been showing us who he is for a long time and with his first choices for his Administration, he's making it even clearer. Listen carefully.
The difference between Trump voters and those who cannot get behind him is that we do not want the above things at the expense of others. I don't want gay Americans, black Americans, Native Americans, or any marginalized group to be hated and persecuted by their own government. Maya Angelou said, "When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time." Trump has been showing us who he is for a long time and with his first choices for his Administration, he's making it even clearer. Listen carefully.
11
I am a 62 year old Democrat. Have voted Democrat since I was 18 and no doubt will continue to do so until they plant me in the ground one day. I blame myself for the loss of the presidency as much as I blame anyone else. I opposed Bernie Sanders and made light of all the kids who rallied to his side. In my mind Hillary deserved the nomination and I never questioned that the party might be better served with new ideas, new blood, new vigor. I like Hillary very much and believe as much today as I did two weeks ago that she would have made a fine president. However it has become clear to me that my party, the Democratic party, has become old and tired. I for one will open my ears to new ideas and new, young blood which hopefully will emerge from my party. I will not again fall into the trap of believing a candidate "deserves" to be nominated without considering the alternatives. My ears are open to the party eliminating the "super delegates". My ears are open to my party ending talk of "identity politics" and fighting for the working class like FDR and Bill Clinton did. My ears are open to a party that will once again truly fight against wealth inequality and not pay it lip service. These are the things that my ears will be open to.
9
The Democratic Party is losing badly on state and local levels? Not in my state. Both our Senators are Dems, a majority of our House contingent is Dem, all my local politicians are Democrats (though I did vote for a Republican for a state-wide office, because the contest was between two Republicans). Don't make the mistake of thinking that the US is monolithic: what is true in South Carolina is not true in Washington state. The needs of the US population, though, are going largely unmet nationwide - the trouble with Mr. Trump and his program is not simply that he's a deliberately ignorant racist and bigot, but that he has absolutely no interest in, and no plan for, addressing those needs. What happens with the rage of the legendary poor white Trump voter when he finds out he's been had, again? I worry.
4
Open minds are good, but there are the awkward implications, for example this one: Do listening, giving a chance and civility imply confirming Senator Sessions for Attorney General? Of course I am a benighted liberal, but wouldn't it be lovely if the good Republicans brought about derailment of the Sessions nomination? And the redemption of the Republican party.
2
NOPE NOPE NOPE. No, I'm not going to do anymore "listening" to Trump or his loony minions.
Those of us who are in the real professional class, i.e., with educations, professional licenses, career specialties born of experience, do not need to "listen" to Trump in order to understand which way the wind blows. We already know which way the wind blows and it's blowing to the right.
Those of us in the real professional class aren't being negatively impacted by anything other than our own bad habits, therefore, the issues of the "lower income class" are not as worrisome to us as they are to others.
However, all that is to say this: we know exactly who Trump is and we want no part of him. There isn't a single thing that he could possibly say at this moment that would erase the harm he has already inflicted upon our nation and it's citizens.
No, there won't be any "listening" to Trump. In this particular case, he needs to "listen" to us and that isn't going to happen. So we will continue to strongly oppose him because he's nuts. Just plain crazy as a loon. And we professional "class" refuse to hold our noses and cosy up to screwball fraud like Trump who lied his way into his present position.
Trump is a fraud. Who listens to a fraud? Only other frauds.
Those of us who are in the real professional class, i.e., with educations, professional licenses, career specialties born of experience, do not need to "listen" to Trump in order to understand which way the wind blows. We already know which way the wind blows and it's blowing to the right.
Those of us in the real professional class aren't being negatively impacted by anything other than our own bad habits, therefore, the issues of the "lower income class" are not as worrisome to us as they are to others.
However, all that is to say this: we know exactly who Trump is and we want no part of him. There isn't a single thing that he could possibly say at this moment that would erase the harm he has already inflicted upon our nation and it's citizens.
No, there won't be any "listening" to Trump. In this particular case, he needs to "listen" to us and that isn't going to happen. So we will continue to strongly oppose him because he's nuts. Just plain crazy as a loon. And we professional "class" refuse to hold our noses and cosy up to screwball fraud like Trump who lied his way into his present position.
Trump is a fraud. Who listens to a fraud? Only other frauds.
7
It may KILL ME in the instant it takes an armed Trump supporter to shoot me down with the high-power weapons he was told by the LOSER of the popular vote (may the Electoral College perform its designed function) believed that Hillary Clinton would take from him.
Incidents of attacks on blacks, browns; non-Christians, and the est. 10% of the nation that isn't heterosexual are way up since Election Day. He's offered appointees for his cabinet who are not only totally inexperienced, but have declared themselves active members of pro-violent organizations of bigots.
Why? In addition to the fact that anybody with a bit of artistic talent can produce a professional-looking web site (some loaded with lies and messages of hate) your employer and every other legitimate news source in the country placed Trump's named on the front page or first 5 minutes of the TV news daily, occasionally running a story about Hillary Clinton.
So Trump must be important, a skimmer learned.
And the "social media"? A week before Election Day a lawyer for one of the Philadelphia tri-state area's firms told me that the Trump tax-free family trust could not, and would not, use charitable tax-avoidance money to buy Donald an oil portrait - a "lie" I learned from the NY Times and several other well-respected journalistic sources.
"You believe that because you're not reading sites like [name of Trump-controlled sites]. He wouldn't do that, he doesn't need it," I was told.
Incidents of attacks on blacks, browns; non-Christians, and the est. 10% of the nation that isn't heterosexual are way up since Election Day. He's offered appointees for his cabinet who are not only totally inexperienced, but have declared themselves active members of pro-violent organizations of bigots.
Why? In addition to the fact that anybody with a bit of artistic talent can produce a professional-looking web site (some loaded with lies and messages of hate) your employer and every other legitimate news source in the country placed Trump's named on the front page or first 5 minutes of the TV news daily, occasionally running a story about Hillary Clinton.
So Trump must be important, a skimmer learned.
And the "social media"? A week before Election Day a lawyer for one of the Philadelphia tri-state area's firms told me that the Trump tax-free family trust could not, and would not, use charitable tax-avoidance money to buy Donald an oil portrait - a "lie" I learned from the NY Times and several other well-respected journalistic sources.
"You believe that because you're not reading sites like [name of Trump-controlled sites]. He wouldn't do that, he doesn't need it," I was told.
3
Donald Trump won by dividing Americans into factions. Democrats not being sore losers nor being petty over minor policy differences. Donald Trump requires many watchful eyes for what not being said and a critical listening for what is said. He has no past record at any level of government experiences to go by to predict what he will do next. Nothing seems to be off the table with this man.
2
I agree with Brooks, completely. He is definitely reporting the reality of this moment and the challenges we all face.
I must add that we must work with the President and to strongly work to make our country a fair and prosperous land for everyone, even as we oppose his efforts when they are clearly opposed to our interests as citizens and as ethical people.
I must add that we must work with the President and to strongly work to make our country a fair and prosperous land for everyone, even as we oppose his efforts when they are clearly opposed to our interests as citizens and as ethical people.
3
Actually I have listened to two real Trump voters. One is my wife's sister and the other is my sister. Neither is in any financial difficulties. One is retired and the other is still working. One has a masters degree the other did not complete college. Both own the homes they live in, PA and FL. Both are angry, very religious, racist, intolerant, listen to talk radio, watch Fox News, and are prone to believe conspiracy theories. We no longer speak with either of them. You can listen to your imaginary Trump voters if you want to but we can't deal with the real ones in our own families. They live in an entirely different country than we do. This Thursday we will give thanks that we live in CA.
18
Re: theoretical voter; my husband and I live in a blue state. We both have Ph.Ds in medically related field. Yet I can assure you that on some occasions teachers have talked down to us, many times doctors haven't had time for us, indeed we have a hard time finding doctors. This is how life is everywhere.
Where I live the cost of living is very high. I have scrimped and saved for decades for my children's education, for retirement. My oven is 40 years old. I repair a lot of stuff myself.
I would like to visit the blue state Uropia I supposedly inhabit. Listen I will, but nothing I will hear will inure me to, or excuse hate speech. Listening goes both ways.
Where I live the cost of living is very high. I have scrimped and saved for decades for my children's education, for retirement. My oven is 40 years old. I repair a lot of stuff myself.
I would like to visit the blue state Uropia I supposedly inhabit. Listen I will, but nothing I will hear will inure me to, or excuse hate speech. Listening goes both ways.
9
Mr. Brooks, I understand that we all need to be accountable for what part we played in the success of Trumpism. It will not be enough to sit by and criticize without self reflection for both entrenched parties. I get that, and I agree with you. However, I have a hard time listening to my family, who voted for Trump when we do not agree on the basic facts.
How do I listen when Uncle believes Obama was born in Kenya, that Trump is a brilliant businessman and global climate change is a hoax and how Trump is the president for Christians? How can I work through solutions when we can't be in agreement on the problems facing all of us? And do we think under this administration will boost public education? Provide a safe place for accurate journalism? George Saunders piece in the New Yorker in July explored the divide as he went on a listening tour w Trump voters. His conclusions about the entrenched silos our polarized society dwell and how we are so attached to our own mythos does not bode well for coming together to govern. I applaud your pep talk, but it does not seem nearly enough.
How do I listen when Uncle believes Obama was born in Kenya, that Trump is a brilliant businessman and global climate change is a hoax and how Trump is the president for Christians? How can I work through solutions when we can't be in agreement on the problems facing all of us? And do we think under this administration will boost public education? Provide a safe place for accurate journalism? George Saunders piece in the New Yorker in July explored the divide as he went on a listening tour w Trump voters. His conclusions about the entrenched silos our polarized society dwell and how we are so attached to our own mythos does not bode well for coming together to govern. I applaud your pep talk, but it does not seem nearly enough.
4
The Republican strategy of obstruct and "starve the beast" succeeded in creating the conditions that elected Trump. Cooperation in patching obamacare and infrastructure rebuilding seemed out of the question. Improvements in sentencing guideline and in real tax reform are in reach for a collaborative legislative body.
1
Limousine liberals like the NYT and its readers are the ones out of touch with the wishes of the American main stream. Under the sheepish Obama the country was going in a seriously wrong left wing direction where in the interest of making friends with our enemies we made enemies of our friends The issues of political correctness and which bathroom to use for people that couldn't make up their minds which sex they prefer took priority over the direction of our foreign policy and jobs. The voters trusted Trump more then trusted Hillary. Enough said it is time to move on and get behind the President elect and stop behaving in opposition to the voice of the people. The Trump victory is the response to a failed Obama presidency and a flawed Hillary. Now let's move on, no more hysterics, and get ourselves ready to heal and get out of the crisis of the failed Obama years.
4
This article makes some good points, but like much of the commentary lately, it seems to suggest that the "Trump voter" is something new. No doubt there are new Trump voters (supporters who are not reliable republican voters but were inspired by him). But their number is relatively small. The vast majority of Trump's voters are the same people who voted for Romney in 2012, and people who would have voted for Jeb Bush, Ted Cruz, or Donald Duck when the alternative was "the devil" herself. Thus, when one explores, as Mr. Brooks does here, whether Trump's undeniable misogyny and racist comments, etc., constitute a bug or a feature, it would be appropriate to include the whole republican party in that analysis. Is it only the "new Trump supporter" - the ascendant blue collar white male - who disdains experts and inhabits a post-fact world, or is it republicans generally? (Their views on climate change come to mind, among lots of other things).
Certainly Trump is something new in politics. But he is also just walking further along the same path that republicans have been on for some time, in various ways. After all, he gained his popularity among republicans by stridently asserting, without any evidence whatsoever, that Obama was not born in the U.S. Does any thinking person not believe their was a racial element to that "movement"? Stirring up unseemly passions about illegal immigration is also not entirely new to repubicans.
Certainly Trump is something new in politics. But he is also just walking further along the same path that republicans have been on for some time, in various ways. After all, he gained his popularity among republicans by stridently asserting, without any evidence whatsoever, that Obama was not born in the U.S. Does any thinking person not believe their was a racial element to that "movement"? Stirring up unseemly passions about illegal immigration is also not entirely new to repubicans.
5
The Trump voter is referred to in this piece as someone who "admires rich people but disdains professionals." Hmm, a higher value on money--having it, aspiring to have it--than on education and expertise. I guess those of us who have worked long hours to develop expertise and further our education need to watch our backs. That's pretty scary by itself.
8
Angry voter here. Perhaps there will be a time in the future when I will embrace Brooks' reasonable assertions.
But right now and for the time being - when an enemy is the gates, there is little defense in eloquence. The situation demands more actionable efforts.
But right now and for the time being - when an enemy is the gates, there is little defense in eloquence. The situation demands more actionable efforts.
5
"The new political movement, he said, is 'everything related to jobs.'”
What a crock! It has nothing to do with jobs. If it did, they would be cheering Democrats, not Republicans. More than 11.2 million private sector jobs have been created since Obama took office. That rate of job creation is more than 15 times what it was under the last two Republican presidents. More jobs have been created under Obama and Clinton than were created under the last 7 Republican presidents combined. Since 1939, private sector jobs have been created 135% as fast under Democratic presidents as they have under Republican presidents. That's like a basketball game in which the final score was 117 to 50, a huge blowout.
There have been nine transitions in power since the 1930s, from Republican administrations to Democratic ones and vice versa, and nine times in a row the pace of private sector job creation has gone up, often substantially, when a Democratic president followed a Republican and has gone down, often substantially, when a Republican president has followed a Democrat. The unemployment rate has risen under 6 of the last 7 Republican presidents and none of the last 7 Democratic presidents.
The policies that Trump and the Republicans are likely to enact will be more of the same, except with the addition of growth-inhibiting protectionism. More pandering to business interests and more fiscally reckless tax cuts for rich people won't lead to more jobs or better jobs.
What a crock! It has nothing to do with jobs. If it did, they would be cheering Democrats, not Republicans. More than 11.2 million private sector jobs have been created since Obama took office. That rate of job creation is more than 15 times what it was under the last two Republican presidents. More jobs have been created under Obama and Clinton than were created under the last 7 Republican presidents combined. Since 1939, private sector jobs have been created 135% as fast under Democratic presidents as they have under Republican presidents. That's like a basketball game in which the final score was 117 to 50, a huge blowout.
There have been nine transitions in power since the 1930s, from Republican administrations to Democratic ones and vice versa, and nine times in a row the pace of private sector job creation has gone up, often substantially, when a Democratic president followed a Republican and has gone down, often substantially, when a Republican president has followed a Democrat. The unemployment rate has risen under 6 of the last 7 Republican presidents and none of the last 7 Democratic presidents.
The policies that Trump and the Republicans are likely to enact will be more of the same, except with the addition of growth-inhibiting protectionism. More pandering to business interests and more fiscally reckless tax cuts for rich people won't lead to more jobs or better jobs.
7
Haven’t we been listening all these past months? Have you not heard the hateful comments made, the immoral positions taken, and the assaults on our humanity made?
Citizens who are “marching and writing essays” have ample reason for being morally outraged and for trying to correct our national efforts toward a more perfect union. Reducing their actions to “a series of narcissistic displays and discussions about our own emotional states” is an absurd reduction of a very profound and complex social reality. Such reductions typically are made by those who want to silence those challenging their values. It puts the onus for the civil unrest on intrapsychic dynamics of those protesting (“narcissism, emotional states”) and distracts us from looking at the horrific social realities to which these concern citizens are responding. This psychological analysis is sophomoric.
Also, why should we believe that said appointments, who in the past were responsible for state/national dysfunctions, are now going to make things right? Pat Buchanan “the most influential public intellectual in America today? Really? Maybe in the alt-right universe.
Citizens who are “marching and writing essays” have ample reason for being morally outraged and for trying to correct our national efforts toward a more perfect union. Reducing their actions to “a series of narcissistic displays and discussions about our own emotional states” is an absurd reduction of a very profound and complex social reality. Such reductions typically are made by those who want to silence those challenging their values. It puts the onus for the civil unrest on intrapsychic dynamics of those protesting (“narcissism, emotional states”) and distracts us from looking at the horrific social realities to which these concern citizens are responding. This psychological analysis is sophomoric.
Also, why should we believe that said appointments, who in the past were responsible for state/national dysfunctions, are now going to make things right? Pat Buchanan “the most influential public intellectual in America today? Really? Maybe in the alt-right universe.
6
I agree that it is time to take a step back and observe. And one thing we would observe is that the experts actually created a health care system that would have worked - and then the Republicans in Congress gutted it of some its most essential components. No public option, no mandate for states to participate, an opt out penalty too weak to be effective etc, etc etc.
We are all in some way responsible for the problems we have, the response of the electorate and, ultimately, for what is to come. But let's make sure we place specific responsibility where it belongs - or we won't have learned enough to do better next time.
We are all in some way responsible for the problems we have, the response of the electorate and, ultimately, for what is to come. But let's make sure we place specific responsibility where it belongs - or we won't have learned enough to do better next time.
2
"[She] admires rich people but disdains professionals — the teachers who condescend to her, the doctors who don’t make time for her, the activists whose definition of social justice never seems to include the suffering people like her experience."
My God. Middle America, while so disdainful of political correctness, "trigger warnings," and a general over-sensitivity infecting this nation, is at the same time awash in self-pity, demanding constant attention to its needs, or else it will threaten to send this nation into a tailspin worthy of a downed airliner. These good upright citizens wasted their franchise on a living combination of P.T. Barnum and The Wizard of OZ, the audacity of whose promises is only matched by his inability to fulfill them, and yet we must understand. They chose a mirage of economic renewal against the safety and well-being of their fellow citizens, and yet we must understand. They who stand with the nation's institutions whenever the truly oppressed and beleaguered take to the streets to protest the taking of human lives, nonetheless saw fit to blithely put the Presidency (i.e., the fate of the world) in the hands of a charlatan, consequences be damned. And yet, we must understand. Forgive me if I feel I have little to learn from people who would destroy the social fabric at the smallest provocation.
My God. Middle America, while so disdainful of political correctness, "trigger warnings," and a general over-sensitivity infecting this nation, is at the same time awash in self-pity, demanding constant attention to its needs, or else it will threaten to send this nation into a tailspin worthy of a downed airliner. These good upright citizens wasted their franchise on a living combination of P.T. Barnum and The Wizard of OZ, the audacity of whose promises is only matched by his inability to fulfill them, and yet we must understand. They chose a mirage of economic renewal against the safety and well-being of their fellow citizens, and yet we must understand. They who stand with the nation's institutions whenever the truly oppressed and beleaguered take to the streets to protest the taking of human lives, nonetheless saw fit to blithely put the Presidency (i.e., the fate of the world) in the hands of a charlatan, consequences be damned. And yet, we must understand. Forgive me if I feel I have little to learn from people who would destroy the social fabric at the smallest provocation.
5
As a conservative, I probably should be afraid of what a Trump administration will bring. Populism, of either the right or left, appeals to base interests and is usually wrong. More government spending and reduced taxes appeals to everyone, but is not sustainable. We've been on such a program since the GWBush administration, and just like the housing situation of a decade ago, the bubble will eventually bust.
So a major infrastructure program under Trump may make the crony capitalism of renewable energy look mild by comparison. And contrary to what Paul Krugman says, too much government debt is bad, even if interest rates are at record lows.
Trump may also make the retreat from global leadership under President Obama even worse. Republican leadership hasn't been this isolationist since the 1930's.
The optimist in me hopes that a Ryan Congress can obstruct the worst of Trump's instincts and maybe even convince him to sign reasonable conservative legislation.
So a major infrastructure program under Trump may make the crony capitalism of renewable energy look mild by comparison. And contrary to what Paul Krugman says, too much government debt is bad, even if interest rates are at record lows.
Trump may also make the retreat from global leadership under President Obama even worse. Republican leadership hasn't been this isolationist since the 1930's.
The optimist in me hopes that a Ryan Congress can obstruct the worst of Trump's instincts and maybe even convince him to sign reasonable conservative legislation.
Mr. Brooks is nothing if not thoughtful, and I have come to value his steadying voice in this and so many other matters, but I confess I am having a hard time seeing how this piece is not part of the inexorable slide toward normalization of this most aberrant and abhorrent of election results; we are in anything but normal times here, and the plea to be calm and carry on may not be exactly what is now warranted. Reflexive outrage at each silly tweet from Mr. Trump is clearly a waste of energy, and probably counterproductive, but outrage at what he has promised and threatened is entirely appropriate and, I am sorry, not evidence of wounded narcissism. We are right to be frightened, and yes, smart to be thoughtful, but I think duty-bound to be vigilant.
I question, too, as others have, the premise that there can exist a voter_ or at least a sentient and responsible voter_ such as Mr. Brooks describes. There may be Trump voters for whom the racism, xenophobia, white nationalism, misogyny, and simple petty vitriol were not the primary attraction, but there is no voter among them who can claim to have been unaware, and none who can claim absolution from the consequences simply because they claim, somehow, that that is not what they intended by their vote.
So, certainly we listen, as we must; we have no choice. But we must not listen with such credulity that we miss the need to resist, and to fight when it is needed.
I question, too, as others have, the premise that there can exist a voter_ or at least a sentient and responsible voter_ such as Mr. Brooks describes. There may be Trump voters for whom the racism, xenophobia, white nationalism, misogyny, and simple petty vitriol were not the primary attraction, but there is no voter among them who can claim to have been unaware, and none who can claim absolution from the consequences simply because they claim, somehow, that that is not what they intended by their vote.
So, certainly we listen, as we must; we have no choice. But we must not listen with such credulity that we miss the need to resist, and to fight when it is needed.
2
I agree with Brooks! Wow. But, one step further: the Clintonistas have to stop making excuses, take a hard look in the mirror, and ask yourselves, why did we push a fundamentally unpopular candidate (hated on the right, distrusted and disliked on the left) who's response to Bernie trying to take back our country from the oligarchy and take care of the people was, no you can't.
This election was Clinton's to lose and she lost it. Russians, emails, Bengazi, etc, are just excuses. The whole Democratic Party strategy of hiding in the Washington Center, espousing globalization and weak reform, when all the energy on both sides was was in revolution was suicidal. As soon as Jeb! went down, you should have realized Clinton was toast, but you told yourself she was the safe candidate because she would have won back in 1968.
Well this ain't 1968. As dense as we are, having your pay cut for decades is quite educational.
I voted for Green (And don't blame us either, more dems voted for Trump than voted for third parties, and I never would have voted for Clinton anyway) but you told everyone to vote for the lesser evil, and enough people thought that was Trump to give him the electoral college (which you also can't blame, because it is two hundred years old).
Lesser evil voting has given us evil candidates. Demand drives supply. And the median voter is overruled by the electoral college.
Triangulation leaves the People feeling betrayed. Americans respect underdogs with principle.
This election was Clinton's to lose and she lost it. Russians, emails, Bengazi, etc, are just excuses. The whole Democratic Party strategy of hiding in the Washington Center, espousing globalization and weak reform, when all the energy on both sides was was in revolution was suicidal. As soon as Jeb! went down, you should have realized Clinton was toast, but you told yourself she was the safe candidate because she would have won back in 1968.
Well this ain't 1968. As dense as we are, having your pay cut for decades is quite educational.
I voted for Green (And don't blame us either, more dems voted for Trump than voted for third parties, and I never would have voted for Clinton anyway) but you told everyone to vote for the lesser evil, and enough people thought that was Trump to give him the electoral college (which you also can't blame, because it is two hundred years old).
Lesser evil voting has given us evil candidates. Demand drives supply. And the median voter is overruled by the electoral college.
Triangulation leaves the People feeling betrayed. Americans respect underdogs with principle.
1
His policies are still to be judged. They deserve time and the benefit of doubt. Some of his proposals might be interesting and needed. The man, not a little bit. NO man in such powerful position deserve to feel comfortable. We assume that he can take the criticism, he should. Pence took the Hamilton cast speech very maturely and appropriately. I am sure he did not need that Trump come on his defense. Someone who run a war on political correctness should be happy that the people are talking. When politicians feel comfortable, it means that adulation, suppression of freedom of speech, corruption are rampant. Let's keep the pressure up so he knows that everybody is watching him. That is the only way to avoid that peripheral and dangerous ideas, become the norm.
Implicit in this article is the premise that the voter who wasn’t motivated by racism or bigotry had no other choice than to vote for Trump, forgiving him for them as well as his cruelty, vulgarity and misogyny among many other un-American values he has been persistently advocating. Once again, Mr. Brooks, you have resorted to your capacity for sophistry making things up, driven by your weird sense of false equivalence. The truth is that Trump epitomizes the egocentricity of GOP which has resisted or outright opposed all major programs promoting social welfare advocated and signed into law by a Democratic president. Republicans said no to A.C.A. (aka Obamacare) and are now determined to defund it. Also, since 1955, they have opposed Social Security and Medicare and have been determinedly attempting to either end or substantially scale back these and other public welfare programs.
People still needing help are much better off supporting Democrats.
People still needing help are much better off supporting Democrats.
3
Mr. Brooks you get paid to write at least something credible. Instead you lecture progressives to listen. Really smart. You support all those so called moderate Republicans who so feared Trump but now run to embrace him and try to control his agenda. If they have their way the rich will get their big tax cuts, infrastructure projects will be limited and only enrich private contractors, environmental protection regulations will be rolled back, medical care will be curtailed for children and the poor. Then on top of that they will scream about the budget deficits caused by the tax cuts and limited infrastructure investments and go after Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security. Yeah right Mr. Brooks sit back and listen. The shot run looks bad but it will be much worse in the long run for Donald Trump and last Harrah Repulicans like Speaker Ryan and yourself as they overreach from an election in which they lost the popular vote by over two million and won the electoral college by around 100,000 votes in three states against a flawed candidate. What a mandate. Yes Mr. Brooks sit back and listen as that is a political commentator's job.
1
It may be that "experts" (i.e. politicians) have designed sub-optimal schools. However, their chief problem is that education is not valued in the home and that the problems of home are exported to the schools. It may be that "experts" (i.e. politicians) designed a sub-optimal ACA. Nonetheless, the cowardice and self-interest that prevents the stick of fines being applied along with the carrot of insurance or the negotiation of drug prices for Medicare also play a role.
People are busy blaming others for things they've chosen to do or not to do. It's convenient to blame "elites", as if Trump - a very rich man - were not a member of an elite. It's just as convenient to blame others, such as immigrants or foreigners. Yet, if the average American had a quarter of the drive of an immigrant to this country who has uprooted his family and stepped into the unknown to better himself, there would be much less blame to spread around. If people weren't wasting time on the narcissism of Twitter and Facebook, they would have more time to adapt to change, plan their lives and improve them.
People are busy blaming others for things they've chosen to do or not to do. It's convenient to blame "elites", as if Trump - a very rich man - were not a member of an elite. It's just as convenient to blame others, such as immigrants or foreigners. Yet, if the average American had a quarter of the drive of an immigrant to this country who has uprooted his family and stepped into the unknown to better himself, there would be much less blame to spread around. If people weren't wasting time on the narcissism of Twitter and Facebook, they would have more time to adapt to change, plan their lives and improve them.
2
As for Dems being down '2-8' in the local and state football game, once again let's look to the strategy from the right. Deride government as ineffectual; when you're the minority in the state legislature, do everything you can to obstruct effective governing; blame Democrats; feed your constituents a steady diet of distortion and outright lies (abetted by a right wing propaganda wing known as Fox, Sirius, etc etc etc); gain the majority as a result and continue to prove government doesn't work by making sure it doesn't.
Brilliantly executed? Clearly. Good for the nation? Clearly not. But effective. It's a strategy embodied by Clint Eastwood's infamous berating of the empty chair: attach an apparition and play the hero.
Brilliantly executed? Clearly. Good for the nation? Clearly not. But effective. It's a strategy embodied by Clint Eastwood's infamous berating of the empty chair: attach an apparition and play the hero.
5
Ultimately, one can pretty much determine what will happen within a Trump administration by the people he puts in place in his cabinet and those advisers around him and so far, other than some rhetoric about cancelling TPP, which, to date. has never been ratified anyway and saving mythical jobs at a Ford plant in Tennessee that were never leaving and the plant was never closing, I see nothing that would make his presidency really demonstrate a change that would give real hope to those in the working class group that voted for him.
I believe Larry King, a longtime friend of Trumps had it right when he stated in an interview that Trump was a highly egotistical individual that because of the constant day to day meetings that would require his attendance along with the accumulation of mounds of information from those meetings that would require him to make decisions, he would quickly get bored with such a process, ultimately ceding much of that responsibility to his surrogates.
The idea that he might not want to spend his entire time in the Whiter House and prefer the weekends at his palatial residence in Trump Tower, creating a security nightmare in the process, just further confirms that Larry King may just be right about a rather strange and maybe part-time Trump Presidency.
I believe Larry King, a longtime friend of Trumps had it right when he stated in an interview that Trump was a highly egotistical individual that because of the constant day to day meetings that would require his attendance along with the accumulation of mounds of information from those meetings that would require him to make decisions, he would quickly get bored with such a process, ultimately ceding much of that responsibility to his surrogates.
The idea that he might not want to spend his entire time in the Whiter House and prefer the weekends at his palatial residence in Trump Tower, creating a security nightmare in the process, just further confirms that Larry King may just be right about a rather strange and maybe part-time Trump Presidency.
3
Basically I think this is a good article - the one assertion I would object to is that "experts created a school system that doesn't produce skilled graduates." From where I sit, "experts" are not involved at the level needed. School are locally governed by well-intentioned amateurs, and standards vary from state to state and even district to district. No other advanced country in the world manages their educational system this way. Common Core is a truncated attempt to address that issue, making standards more uniform across state and district lines, but in my opinion doesn't go nearly far enough. The Department of Education, far from being scrapped, should be empowered to address the standards of every school in the country - identifying the unique promise of every student and equipping them to succeed in the real world.
3
Mr. Brook’s “best imaginable Trump voter” is just that, imaginary. I don’t believe Trump voters voted for him in spite of his bigotry, etc. but because of it. I have difficulty believing that decent people can vote for an indecent candidate.
If decent people did vote for Trump the explanation may be ignorance. I was born in one of the states that voted for Trump and am familiar with the kind of news people in Trump states get. The newspapers are first and foremost sports reports. Even high school games take precedence over national news. If education in some regions of the country is poor it is partly due to those decent people voting for Republican state governments that cut taxes that pay for education. Look at Kansas.
If decent people did vote for Trump the explanation may be ignorance. I was born in one of the states that voted for Trump and am familiar with the kind of news people in Trump states get. The newspapers are first and foremost sports reports. Even high school games take precedence over national news. If education in some regions of the country is poor it is partly due to those decent people voting for Republican state governments that cut taxes that pay for education. Look at Kansas.
4
Mr. Brooks tells us how few local and state elections the Democratic party is winning, and he attempts to connect this with what he calls failure in various institutions. Leaving aside his hyperbolic labeling of "fail" versus a more nuanced and accurate grading that he might have used, let's just consider why the Republicans are winning so much.
We all know why the Republicans are winning: They have become expert at manipulating the process of Gerrymandering. They win offices even where they are in the minority. The presidency itself is just the most recent example. They don't win because they accomplish better "reform", as Brooks counsels the rest of us to try to do so that our candidates can win. No. They cultivate whatever means necessary to win offices, and then they use the power of those offices to try to perpetuate their control. That is the larger truth that Brooks is ignoring.
If Mr. Brooks really wants more effective reform, he ought to call for the elimination of the electoral college; he ought to push for complete reform of the apportionment process; he ought to be using his column to aid the cause of democracy.
We all know why the Republicans are winning: They have become expert at manipulating the process of Gerrymandering. They win offices even where they are in the minority. The presidency itself is just the most recent example. They don't win because they accomplish better "reform", as Brooks counsels the rest of us to try to do so that our candidates can win. No. They cultivate whatever means necessary to win offices, and then they use the power of those offices to try to perpetuate their control. That is the larger truth that Brooks is ignoring.
If Mr. Brooks really wants more effective reform, he ought to call for the elimination of the electoral college; he ought to push for complete reform of the apportionment process; he ought to be using his column to aid the cause of democracy.
5
To a large degree it really is ironic that a Republican billionaire with a sad history of poor behavior as a businessman should be held up as a trustworthy advocate for middle income people in this country. It was and is the agenda of the Republicans and of Trump to concentrate far more wealth in the hands of private individuals who are already managing most of the new wealth created in a manner which makes it inaccessible to both the vast majority of people and from society in the form of government. The "job creators" myth ignores how economic growth is dependent upon growing markets and growing markets still depend upon rising wealth of consumers rather than upon the growing assets of rich people and corporations. Like denial of climate change due to human activities it's a refusal to accept reality because doing so means having to do things that are unwelcome. In the case of wealth disparity, it means collecting taxes in far greater amounts to relieve government debt and to fund the programs that facility people's ability to improve themselves as they decide not as billionaires and corporations decide.
3
Donald Trump is often vulgar and prone to bigotry and narcissism. These things are unacceptable. But Brooks is right that there is value in listening to the people who elected Trump to the presidency. For many, their vote for Trump is a last-ditch effort to change a system which has failed them for many years. Across America families are dealing with plummeting wages, persistent unemployment, the scourge of addiction, failing schools, and hopelessness. In short, institutions and the establishment has consistently failed them and brought them to this desperate place. Their faith in the system is near non-existent. This is why we need Trump to succeed, because failure by Trump will signal to these desperate voters that indeed the system is irreconcilably compromised. What options will be left for them other than outright rejection of the system? In order for democracy to function, the republic needs the cooperation and the buy-in of the populace. The failure to accomplish this mandate leads to a failed government and the United States can simply not afford it.
Trump has been elected our new president. We as a country elected him according to the rules of our constitution. He is therefore the president of all the country.
There is no opting out of acknowledging this fact unless one has decided to emulate Rush Limbaugh in 2012 and simply disavow the constitution whenever it is convenient.
His policies will be enacted through the mechanics of government, and there will be ample vetting, scrutinizing, and fighting over them one at a time. That is where productive opposition takes place, and does so according to the rules we all agreed to live by.
Failure to do this is wholesale surrender to this bizarre campaign's shrill allegation that America somehow needs to be made great again.
There is no opting out of acknowledging this fact unless one has decided to emulate Rush Limbaugh in 2012 and simply disavow the constitution whenever it is convenient.
His policies will be enacted through the mechanics of government, and there will be ample vetting, scrutinizing, and fighting over them one at a time. That is where productive opposition takes place, and does so according to the rules we all agreed to live by.
Failure to do this is wholesale surrender to this bizarre campaign's shrill allegation that America somehow needs to be made great again.
1
Democrats nor Republicans failed to acknowledge that there is a global industrial revolution going on of a different kind: the hourly loss of jobs through computerization in every aspect of our life: from automatic answering services, appointment schedulers, self-chechouts in stores, digital banking and multiple other services via cell-hone, to sophisticated investment schemes, and robotic machinery in factories. There will be few jobs left for poorly educated people in our high-tech, sophisticated society. It's not a Washington conspiracy as Trump supporters are made to believe, but a global sea change brought on by science, research, and technological progress and advances of all kinds. There is no quick solution and the clock can not be turned back. R. Moehring, MD
6
All of a sudden, according to one poll Trump's "favorable" rating among Americans is up to 47%. Based on what? His series of cabinet-filling meetings with some of Washington's most loathsome characters in his ivory (gold-plated) tower and golf courses? His modulating on some of his most extreme campaign promises, from prosecuting Hillary to building a cal wall? His continued Twitter-driven, adolescent petulance? His clear, continued use of "official" meetings with foreign leaders to advance his overseas financial interests? I don't get it. I will continue to push back as his disastrous inauguration approaches. I'm listening, and I don't like what I hear — and I'm keeping one ear (and eye) open for continued signs from the twin Congressional threat of Ryan and McConnell, who are hellbent on using Trump as an ignorant Trojan horse while they set their sights on dismantling all that's good about government.
4
Profound insights from top to bottom, but I was telling people these things a month ago, in different words. The reasons you're late to the party are many (though the pundit class still hasn't even read their invitation) but here's one to chew on: You and your ilk (I like you by the way) can't spot condescension. That, for example, saying over and over phrases like "non-college-educated white voters prefer Trump" is much more personally injurious to that voter than what Trump said about the judgment of the jurist of Mexican heritage. Right, wrong, doesn't matter. One notion is personal (hey you're too racist or stupid to recognize Trump is a jerk), the other is not.
1
Today marks the anniversary of JFK's assassination in 1963.
If you have chance, go on-line and read the text of the speech he had palnned to deliver on the evening of 11/22/63 in Austin, Tx. Those words, though never spoken, still resonate today.
If you have chance, go on-line and read the text of the speech he had palnned to deliver on the evening of 11/22/63 in Austin, Tx. Those words, though never spoken, still resonate today.
4
I did listen; and what I heard was a vulgar, bigoted, narcissist with the attention span of an 8 year old.
9
Orthodox Republicans believe that the social fabric should not be supplied by government and that government should get out of the way so the real social fabric will emerge. This belief was not a scientific theory to be evaluated by the evidence and rejected if it did not work. It was a faith, and when it did not work in the Rust Belt the answer was to believe more and try harder.
If orthodox Republicans want to do any self-examination, they could begin with the fate of President Clinton's small budget surplus as soon as he who is never mentioned came to power. They could go on with Iraq, not just the initial mistake but also how the occupation that followed the quickly successful invasion was planned for and executed. And they could consider the mortgage meltdown and the collapse of underwriting standards that made it inevitable. They could look at the experiment in small government and low taxes going on in Kansas.
They could look at Trump's bigotry as the latest flowering of their Southern Strategy. They can consider how Willie Horton, swiftboating, climate change denial, and birtherism prepared the way for our current post-truth era and President-elect. They can remember that labor unions and progressive Democrats warned about what was happening in the Rust Belt, fought it, and were defeated.
Orthodox Republicans will carefully avoid all these topics, and then wonder why answers are hard to find. They should listen to Bernie, but they wont.
If orthodox Republicans want to do any self-examination, they could begin with the fate of President Clinton's small budget surplus as soon as he who is never mentioned came to power. They could go on with Iraq, not just the initial mistake but also how the occupation that followed the quickly successful invasion was planned for and executed. And they could consider the mortgage meltdown and the collapse of underwriting standards that made it inevitable. They could look at the experiment in small government and low taxes going on in Kansas.
They could look at Trump's bigotry as the latest flowering of their Southern Strategy. They can consider how Willie Horton, swiftboating, climate change denial, and birtherism prepared the way for our current post-truth era and President-elect. They can remember that labor unions and progressive Democrats warned about what was happening in the Rust Belt, fought it, and were defeated.
Orthodox Republicans will carefully avoid all these topics, and then wonder why answers are hard to find. They should listen to Bernie, but they wont.
6
Still a lot of digs at a man that has accomplished more than any of you intellectual elite ever will. I can guarantee even if I were to give you the same start that Donald Trump's family gave him, the best you would probably achieve is not squandering it, but certainly not growing it. That is the main germ in our rejection of the "experts" and intellectuals that are so confused by how ignorant many of us are. We are actually proud of what we have achieved for ourselves, our families and our communities. It doesn't sit very well when someone who has no clue what we as individuals are about tells us we have unfair advantages, we don't pay our fair share or that we are ignorant to the plight of the rest of the world who continue to burn resources, abuse their people and take advantage of the positive nature of the American people on a continuing basis.
4
"Still a lot of digs at a man that has accomplished more than any of you intellectual elite ever will"....Maybe he should have spent more time trying to learn how to be a decent human being. How'd that turn out?
9
Trump relies upon franchising his name, now, not upon the empire he built with wealth given to him by his father and investors who believed in him -- he lost most of that in the 1990's but was saved by big banks who needed to save him to save themselves. His business acumen always was his ability to convince people into believing in him, not in what he actually accomplished as a businessman.
2
Many people think that if Trump had just put "the start his family gave him" (and help they added along the way) into an index fund, he'd be no worse off, maybe better.
Of course, since he's the first Presidential candidate since mid-20th Century to not publish even one tax return, we can't be sure. Maybe he's broke!
Of course, since he's the first Presidential candidate since mid-20th Century to not publish even one tax return, we can't be sure. Maybe he's broke!
4
Gee, repairing our schools and infrastructure sounds great. Too bad the Republican Party aided by David Brooks has opposed those sorts of things for the past 8 years. And where is their alternative health care proposal they've been promising us? What's that Mr. Brooks, you'd prefer some upper income tax breaks? That's what I thought.
10
I've tried to listen to Trump voters but there are a few things that stump me:
1) Deportations greatly increased under Obama, but we're supposed to believe that borders are open, we're being flooded and building a (Berlin-style?) wall will somehow fix this problem.
2) We'll grow the economy while rounding up 11-13 million people who do our necessary unskilled labour and deport them.
3) Crime rates are half of what they were in the early 1990s, but we're supposed to believe that crime is out of control and more militarization is needed.
4) LaGuardia Airport is the armpit of the U.S. but our President-Elect doesn't pay taxes which is "smart" and there is no connection between the two.
5) ex-POWs, MIAs and Veterans with PTSD are "losers".
6) Tearing up trade treaties will bring back middle class manufacturing jobs which will in no way be impacted by the accelerating automation that is occurring in factories around the world (which is what is really depressing wages and making jobs less secure.)
7) Tearing up climate change treaties and increasing fossil fuel production will have no climate consequences.
8) Hillary Clinton is a crook for using a private email server but our President elect is conducting foreign diplomacy with his un-vetted wife in the room and on his private phone.
What am I supposed to listen to? How do I make sense out of the rhetoric and the reality. I want to build a bridge but I can't pretend that facts are meaningless.
1) Deportations greatly increased under Obama, but we're supposed to believe that borders are open, we're being flooded and building a (Berlin-style?) wall will somehow fix this problem.
2) We'll grow the economy while rounding up 11-13 million people who do our necessary unskilled labour and deport them.
3) Crime rates are half of what they were in the early 1990s, but we're supposed to believe that crime is out of control and more militarization is needed.
4) LaGuardia Airport is the armpit of the U.S. but our President-Elect doesn't pay taxes which is "smart" and there is no connection between the two.
5) ex-POWs, MIAs and Veterans with PTSD are "losers".
6) Tearing up trade treaties will bring back middle class manufacturing jobs which will in no way be impacted by the accelerating automation that is occurring in factories around the world (which is what is really depressing wages and making jobs less secure.)
7) Tearing up climate change treaties and increasing fossil fuel production will have no climate consequences.
8) Hillary Clinton is a crook for using a private email server but our President elect is conducting foreign diplomacy with his un-vetted wife in the room and on his private phone.
What am I supposed to listen to? How do I make sense out of the rhetoric and the reality. I want to build a bridge but I can't pretend that facts are meaningless.
11
"Well, the experts created a school system that doesn’t produce skilled graduates. The experts designed Obamacare exchanges that are failing. Maybe those of us in the professional class need to win back some credibility the old-fashioned way, with effective reform."
NO, NO, NO. The right has sabotaged all earnest efforts at reform and justice that those in govt have tried to enact. They have created the mistrust of govt and experts, through their constant right wing media machine, lead by rush and fox news. They must take responsibility for their actions. We must all call them out.
We need true public servants running government. And we need money out of politics, in every way possible.
Only when money is out of politics will we actually "drain the swamp"
Right now we are witnessing the final rise of the swamp things. Their time will soon pass. We must limit the damage they do.
NO, NO, NO. The right has sabotaged all earnest efforts at reform and justice that those in govt have tried to enact. They have created the mistrust of govt and experts, through their constant right wing media machine, lead by rush and fox news. They must take responsibility for their actions. We must all call them out.
We need true public servants running government. And we need money out of politics, in every way possible.
Only when money is out of politics will we actually "drain the swamp"
Right now we are witnessing the final rise of the swamp things. Their time will soon pass. We must limit the damage they do.
6
When it comes right down to it, Donald Trump is not the man he is portrayed to be. He's certainly not the figurehead that Barack Obama is, that's true. He will not be the moral leader of our country, like Jimmy Carter. Nor does he have the charisma of a Ronald Reagan.
But get past his narcissism (a characteristic of every politician) and his off-the-cuff remarks, and you get a middle of the road, pragmatic businessman who knows how to get things done. His campaign speeches were broad posturings. He will govern differently.
But get past his narcissism (a characteristic of every politician) and his off-the-cuff remarks, and you get a middle of the road, pragmatic businessman who knows how to get things done. His campaign speeches were broad posturings. He will govern differently.
2
We're listening, but what are they saying. Is it the economy? No, a plurality of Trump supporters are doing quite well. Is it security? Despite the rhetoric crime is lower than it has been in the last 30 years. Job insecurity has been an issue since the decline of unions that began with Reagan firing of controllers in 1980. What does "Make America great again" mean? Or "Take our country back", from whom? There has been ample time to offer alternative meanings to the obvious if there were any. Symbols have meaning and Trump as a symbol of American ideals is unacceptable.
2
I just don't understand how liberals can say crime is down the last 30 years and by that achieving something for themselves. crime is down of course, because of effective policing spearheaded in large part by NYC, but which is being torn down by liberal wack jobs who have no idea what they are doing when it comes to the challenges of keeping communities safe. black male shot, before even reviewing circumstances, start burning and looting. that's the mantra. so your saying that what is occurring in Chicago and other large cities where crime is rising is acceptable? the issue is crime is on the rise and a clear mind set of "f@#$ the police" is pervasive in minority and black neighborhoods instigated by Obama, media elite and left wing Hollywood bubble residents who shape the communication put out in the country.
Maya Angelou is quoted as having said: "When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time."
This man has shown us who he is. Make no mistake about that.
David Broooks' sanctimonious attitude is truly painful.
This man has shown us who he is. Make no mistake about that.
David Broooks' sanctimonious attitude is truly painful.
6
How about the children of professionals who are skilled yet underpaid?
4
All well and good David, but lets not forget who was in charge during the this period of ignoring the blue collar worker. As I recall GW Bush controlled policy for 8 years and then the Republicans in Congress, backed by wealthy ultra conservatives vowed to block Obama at any and every opportunity. Let's also not forget the years of Republican efforts to delegitimize government, disparage trade unions and blame teacher pensions for our troubles. Yes, the blue collar worker is right to be mad, unfortunately they threw out the wrong people from government.
7
we are listening. Every move he is making is a signal. His disdain for the rule of law is evident here. no grace period. He needs to be reigned in and the press needs to be more vigilant than ever. The Trump voter who you are describing wants a return to pre 2008 and that will not happen. Resistance to change is their downfall and their misperception. Trump is dangerous for our democracy primarily due to his disrespect for the rule of law. He also happens to spur hate, bigotry, misogyny. He is the worst of what America has to offer all rolled into one person. Yes, we need to listen, but for different reasons. He has a totalitarian tendency and it is not tenable in a beautiful country like this. We have to be very vigilant at this moment in time. Everything is at stake
3
I have listened to Trump voters and I am not hearing anything that I like or anything of real substance. No I have no respect for blind ignorance and hate. I have no respect for anyone who champions a bigoted misogynist. Who champion someone who embracess the Alt- right. Who champion an illiterate bully. Who get their news from faux news or social media or Joe next door. I have listened and I hear selfishness, people who want to take healthcare away from the sick and poor. Who want to deny safe haven to those seeking refuge from violence. Who claim to be Christian but do not know Christ. I have listened and I am repulsed. I have heard enough.
5
That upset voter is going to be a whole lot more upset when the gathering momentum of anthropogenic climate change begins to cause chaos in our ability to grow crops, when cities start to deal with routine flooding, and when disruptive weather patterns increase the disaster response bill by billions and billions. That upset voter is going to, at some point, have to accept that her children are going to be living on a planet that has become a whole lot more hostile to life - all life, including humanity - because we refuse to do what we must in the now: reduce our fossil fuel use and by a large margin.
Donald Trump promises a return to the bonanza for oil companies and coal companies. He wants people to believe that we can party now and live well tomorrow, at least when it comes to fossil fuels. We cannot. If we try it, we risk the very biosphere of Earth. That IS the reality. Your voter to whom we should be sympathetic may want to ponder that just a little, but of course the journalists and commentators who "covered" this disastrous election never deemed the fate of our species and of all other forms of life on this planet to be worthy of discussion at a debate.
Donald Trump promises a return to the bonanza for oil companies and coal companies. He wants people to believe that we can party now and live well tomorrow, at least when it comes to fossil fuels. We cannot. If we try it, we risk the very biosphere of Earth. That IS the reality. Your voter to whom we should be sympathetic may want to ponder that just a little, but of course the journalists and commentators who "covered" this disastrous election never deemed the fate of our species and of all other forms of life on this planet to be worthy of discussion at a debate.
2
I will not listen to anyone who posits Pat Buchanan as "the most influential public intellectual in America today." If he is the most influential, we are totally screwed. Loudmouth, inconsistent, hateful, spiteful ignoramus. Hardly "influential." Brooks, you become increasingly irrelevant with each passing day.
6
Do you really have such difficulty understanding voters who demand a responsible and clean government?
2
So you elected an immoral, corrupt man to the presidency? In what universe does that make sense? Why would you think that someone who has been corrupt his whole life is suddenly going to become less so once he reaches the pinnacle of power? At least with Richard Nixon we didn't know he was so corrupt until after he took office.
4
“He vowed to drive conservatives crazy with a gigantic spending program to create jobs. He vowed to use that money to create a new New Deal that will win over 40 percent of the black and Hispanic vote, creating a neo-Jacksonian majority that will govern for 50 years. It’s not my cup of tea, but I can see why some good people might be willing to tolerate Trump and Bannon’s personalities in order to pursue it.”
Demagogues, tyrants and dictators say and vow to do lot of things to gain and hold onto power. From what I've seen and heard so far I have the feeling a lot of bad things are coming down for America with Trump and his appointments in power. Why should we put up with it and just wait and see? Wait for when? When it's too late? Should America wait for a horrible train wreck when it can clearly see the Trump's tracks are broken?
Demagogues, tyrants and dictators say and vow to do lot of things to gain and hold onto power. From what I've seen and heard so far I have the feeling a lot of bad things are coming down for America with Trump and his appointments in power. Why should we put up with it and just wait and see? Wait for when? When it's too late? Should America wait for a horrible train wreck when it can clearly see the Trump's tracks are broken?
2
I believe that the only thing wrong with our government and political system is that we have outgrown it. Brooks is right that it is incredibly complex with layers upon layers of bureaucracy. Liberalism has brought America a long way since FDR was in office, but Asia has indeed responded and become the new "center" of the world. It's no longer trade across the Atlantic, or through the Panama Canal, but the South China Sea is now the Golden Road.
The Chinese have a burgeoning middle class because their parents, like our grandparents, were willing to sacrifice and save and work in horrendous conditions to make a better life. Has their government stolen technologies? Of course, and during the cold war we did too.
We have tremendous assets but there is no magic formula to enable everyone to "win." We need to let individuals, businesses, universities, and even state governments fail so that we get back to rewarding genuine success and allocate resources to those with the will and inspiration to achieve.
The Chinese have a burgeoning middle class because their parents, like our grandparents, were willing to sacrifice and save and work in horrendous conditions to make a better life. Has their government stolen technologies? Of course, and during the cold war we did too.
We have tremendous assets but there is no magic formula to enable everyone to "win." We need to let individuals, businesses, universities, and even state governments fail so that we get back to rewarding genuine success and allocate resources to those with the will and inspiration to achieve.
2
I have to ask Mr. Brooks and all those that are telling us to give Trump a chance, what would catastrophic failure in the first two weeks look like to you?
* Chaos in the transition, including firing transition officials because of a personal family grudge
* Attacks on the press, including a dressing down by the President Elect personally
* A failure to reach out our allies.
* Asking a foreign power to install his buddy as ambassador
* A failure to release taxes as promised
* A failure to disassociate from day-to-day business
* Nepotism including bringing family members into national security briefings
* Nominating an Attorney General that was too racist to be confirmed as a district court judge
* Bringing in an alt-right propagandist as chief of staff
* Going back on fundamental campaign promises (Obamacare, prosecuting Clinton, the Wall is now the Fence)
* Having neo-Nazis and white supremacists celebrating "their victory"
* Hate crimes all over the country
What exactly does Trump have to do to demonstrate his lack of competence to people like Mr. Brooks? I get the feeling that this is less political analysis and more of this false neutrality of the press that got us into this mess in the first place.
* Chaos in the transition, including firing transition officials because of a personal family grudge
* Attacks on the press, including a dressing down by the President Elect personally
* A failure to reach out our allies.
* Asking a foreign power to install his buddy as ambassador
* A failure to release taxes as promised
* A failure to disassociate from day-to-day business
* Nepotism including bringing family members into national security briefings
* Nominating an Attorney General that was too racist to be confirmed as a district court judge
* Bringing in an alt-right propagandist as chief of staff
* Going back on fundamental campaign promises (Obamacare, prosecuting Clinton, the Wall is now the Fence)
* Having neo-Nazis and white supremacists celebrating "their victory"
* Hate crimes all over the country
What exactly does Trump have to do to demonstrate his lack of competence to people like Mr. Brooks? I get the feeling that this is less political analysis and more of this false neutrality of the press that got us into this mess in the first place.
9
This is just unbelievable. A serial liar loses the popular vote and is elected president. Yes we need to pay attention to the causes of this but should we deny our emotions? Did liberals destroy the public schools? Did liberals cause the problems with ACA? Are liberals really as arrogant as Mr. Brooks claims? As to women, is it liberals that have failed them? There may be blame to throw around for the state of this country but liberals did not fail to listen. People failed to listen to us.
10
We can listen, but don't expect us to give an inch.
6
Mr. Brooks, his proposed appointments and stated policies are already doing grave harm to our democracy. Yes, it is tragic that his supporters felt and were ill-served. It is tragic that the unity promoted by the Democrats and the facts regarding its policies fell on deaf ears -- drowned in a cacophony of insults, vilification and a tide of email stories. His supporters were ignorant and ill-informed at best and intolerant and bigoted at worst. Those of us who cherish civil rights for all citizens and recognize the grave threat this administration poses to those rights for years to come are not over-reacting.
4
You're oh so right, David. We should all try a little listening. If nineteenth-century abolitionist elites, beholden to global public opinion (i.e. Jews) had been able to get out of their liberal bubble and listen sincerely to the grievances of Southern white slave owners (who had legitimate concerns about "white genocide," as Stephen Bannon and Robert Spencer both agree) we certainly could have worked out that whole slavery thing without a messy war, don't you think?
5
Mr. Trump is a con and a con takes advantage of people, especially desperate ones. Your hypothetical Trump voter has been conned. You ask us to listen and I am insulted because I have been listening to EVERYTHING he said (and didn't say). Unlike your imaginary Trump voter, I did not filter out the vile insults and hear only the vague fantasy promises. I did not dismiss his threats and divisiveness as just rhetoric that he would not really follow through on, unlike so many of his voters. I cared that he was not competent to govern, unlike a large percentage of his voters who said they knew this and voted for him anyway. None of this has changed just because he won an election.
I, and I hope you, Mr. Brooks, and every other Trump critic out there will keep an extremely close eye on this con man who conned half of the electorate. I don't trust him or anything he says at all.
I, and I hope you, Mr. Brooks, and every other Trump critic out there will keep an extremely close eye on this con man who conned half of the electorate. I don't trust him or anything he says at all.
4
I agree that whining and speculation are wastes of time, however don't assume that all liberals have no right-wing friends. I have been listening and trying to figure out the meanness and hatred directly - because that's what's so poisonous to a civilized society - gross intolerance - on all sides. We must figure that out. Most importantly, all of our listening doesn't matter when there is no listening on the other side - and while I've resisted thinking of us as sides, it's getting harder not to.
I just finished Strangers in Their Own Land, Anger & Mourning on the American Right by Arlie Russell Hochschild sharing her attempt to listen to and learn about the culture of red state Louisiana where 44% of the state budget comes from federal funds yet voters hate the federal government; Where their ways of life have been ruined by pollution yet industry gets a pass.
She also explain Trump's appeal as emotional: ".....focuses on eliciting and praising emotional responses..." and "Trump allowed them both the feel like a good moral American and to feel superior to those they considered 'other' or beneath them."
She goes on to explain the "profound importance of emotional self-interest - a giddy release from the feeling of being a stranger in one's own land" and the desire to reinforce it - and to ignore anything that gets in the way.
Yes we are listening and learning because sadly, history informs us these kinds of movements are dangerous.
I just finished Strangers in Their Own Land, Anger & Mourning on the American Right by Arlie Russell Hochschild sharing her attempt to listen to and learn about the culture of red state Louisiana where 44% of the state budget comes from federal funds yet voters hate the federal government; Where their ways of life have been ruined by pollution yet industry gets a pass.
She also explain Trump's appeal as emotional: ".....focuses on eliciting and praising emotional responses..." and "Trump allowed them both the feel like a good moral American and to feel superior to those they considered 'other' or beneath them."
She goes on to explain the "profound importance of emotional self-interest - a giddy release from the feeling of being a stranger in one's own land" and the desire to reinforce it - and to ignore anything that gets in the way.
Yes we are listening and learning because sadly, history informs us these kinds of movements are dangerous.
2
Donald Trump does not know what the nuclear triad refers to. Despite his profound ignorance he is flippant, arrogant, and displays no interest in learning anything. He is either a textbook sociopath or a guy performing a perfect imitation.
This man will soon control the nuclear codes.
Plenty of time? I am afraid that our kids will not even have time to grow up.
This man will soon control the nuclear codes.
Plenty of time? I am afraid that our kids will not even have time to grow up.
2
Either Brooks has been asleep since the election or he refuses to acknowledge the reality of what DT has been doing. His initial picks for senior positions do not bode well for the future of the country, especially his idiotic denial of global warming. In short, Brooks is either in denial himself or is delusional.
2
Before asking what this election teaches us, remember that nearly 2 million more voters voted for Clinton than for Trump. You focus solely on Trump voters, yet nearly half of all voters chose Clinton. Don’t forget them in examining the lessons of this election. Also, don’t forget the worst Trump voters. Likely half of Trump voters are, indeed, racists, sexists, bigots, xenophobes, anti-Semites, or religious zealots, or some combination thereof. As to the other half of Trump voters, who may not be racists or bigots or any of the other things mentioned above, they heard the daily barrage of racist, misogynistic, xenophobic, bigoted rhetoric spewed by Trump and his surrogates, watched Trump mock a disabled person, heard him brag about grabbing women’s private parts and ogling young girls’ naked bodies at his beauty pageants, heard him dismiss McCain because he was a POW in a war Trump didn’t even fight in, heard his attempts to distract from the powerful message delivered by a gold star parent by focusing on his wife, describing her as subservient and ascribing this to her Muslim faith (even though he and his followers would happily relegate women to subservience for their own self-aggrandizement). These voters, whom you describe as the best Trump voters, witnessed all of this and voted for him anyway. They chose a racist and a bigot, even though they may not be racists or bigots and may not support racism or bigotry. This is your best? What lesson does that teach us, David?
2
I agree with all the self reflection Brook's suggests in this article, especially when it comes to ignored American citizens, of every color really. The exception to my agreement is I will not ignore, not even for the moment, the part about Trump's direct connection to the white nationalist movements through Steve Bannon. Nope. Can't ignore that at all, not even temporarily. History tells me to not ignore that even a little, even in the midst of other good advice or good ideas, or in self reflection, that can never ever be ignored.
2
We have been listening, and what we hear is scaring us. I, for one, feel I want to express my opinions about what Trump stands for at every opportunity. Is Trump listening to me?
9
Well don't worry David. I'm sure you had a chance to chew things over with "Mr. Trump" during his fence-mending visit with the New York Times yesterday.
What's that??? He canceled?? Check with the folks at CNN and see how theirs went.
What's that??? He canceled?? Check with the folks at CNN and see how theirs went.
4
The ends may help us to forget the means and a new kind and thoughtful Trump may emerge. It's the time of year to count our advantages of being American and forgiving Him for his many transgressions is Christian but stupid. Most of his campaign promises are being shred having served their purposes. No cologne can hide his stink no matter how poorly the Democrats served the working man and woman.
2
Nothing wrong on putting pressure on whatever president comes to power. Relentless pressure. Only this way will everybody know the real strength of the person in question. I think he, trump, can do good things for this country but the bad traits he shows need to be called out. How can someone who based his campaign on an assault to political correctedness complain now because the Hamilton cast addressed the vp? He needs political correctedness more than anybody because he can not take criticism. Is not Pence old enough to defend himself? Trum continues to exhibit attitudes that you would expect on middle to high schoolers and that is concerning. You can give him a chance to show the direction and strength of his policies but you can give no chance to any intent suppression of freedom of expression, intolerance or stupidity. That is very dangerous coming from such powerful person.
2
Oh David. I know it is so much more comforting to commiserate with your thoughtful liberal colleagues than wade into the muck of what constitutes reality for many Republican voters. Perhaps that is why you failed to understand them. You willfully ignored the people they were listening to in the media, ignored what Republican leaders official positions (global warming is a hoax, universal healthcare is unaffordable, the ACA is a disaster that will lead to totalitarian rule, taxes on the wealthy are too high and are hurting the economy) and turned a blind eye to the outright lies that the Republican leaders allowed to fester with their silence.
You chose to ignore the ugliness, and not use your soapbox to do anything about it.
It's long past the time to own up to what your party represents and has become. You owe us an apology.
You chose to ignore the ugliness, and not use your soapbox to do anything about it.
It's long past the time to own up to what your party represents and has become. You owe us an apology.
7
Resistance - not accommodation!
5
Taking Mr. T. "seriously" reminds me of a classroom incident in the 70s in rural California:
In my speech class, I introduced a student select six-week procedure: choices would come from them, not me, the teacher. Well.
A redneck who physically separated himself from the majority (middle class kids; most with corporate dads), protested. In no way was he going to begin to attempt to relate to his peers.
His anger reflected a class difference...
Maybe the "anger" shown by a majority of voters resembles this guy.
In my speech class, I introduced a student select six-week procedure: choices would come from them, not me, the teacher. Well.
A redneck who physically separated himself from the majority (middle class kids; most with corporate dads), protested. In no way was he going to begin to attempt to relate to his peers.
His anger reflected a class difference...
Maybe the "anger" shown by a majority of voters resembles this guy.
2
David, what are supposed to listen to? The lies they've been told, parroted back to us? With that we're supposed to have a discussion? And you think that they would listen to us? Would hear anything that we have to say? They have been brainwashed, poisoned, and although I feel sorry for them I know better than to try to engage them.
3
Way too many of these comments entirely miss the point of the article; to listen to the voter, not the Donald, and to try to understand what made the voter do what s/he did. Too many responses state "I've been listening to the Donald" and then veer of into a screed.
I'm convinced the average Trump voter is a decent person who sees that Washington is broken, who feels left behind by globalization. That person may indeed have been left behind - and neither party has stopped bickering long enough to recognize that much less address it. At a minimum that person felt that Donald heard them.
I voted for Hillary and I don't think that Trump's direction will well serve the Trump voter but at least I have some empathy for why they voted to shake things up.
I'm convinced the average Trump voter is a decent person who sees that Washington is broken, who feels left behind by globalization. That person may indeed have been left behind - and neither party has stopped bickering long enough to recognize that much less address it. At a minimum that person felt that Donald heard them.
I voted for Hillary and I don't think that Trump's direction will well serve the Trump voter but at least I have some empathy for why they voted to shake things up.
2
The Republicans have refused to work with President Obama and you tried analyze your way out of their reasoning for it. Where were you back then? I find it almost impossible to reason with the likes of Ryan and McConnell. Now, with Trump it will never happen. Our country is in deep trouble, David. You did not help either. It has never been about the citizens of the U.S. for the Republican party. They gave us citizens united and the Kochs and their ilk are all over it. The money that has been behind the "hate the Democrats" message is beyond what any of us can imagine and the working class has been taken advantage of by the Republicans. They don't even know it. Shame on you, David!
5
Is David proactively protecting his livelihood for the time when Trump comes after the NY Times with a vengeance? Perhaps Trump will be kinder to him with articles like this one. Ever reasonable, ever apologetic for Republican horrors - Brooks continues in the same vein as he always has.
1
No. No. And.....No. David's hypothetical voter does have legitimate concerns but she could have voted for the non-racist, non-sexist, non-xenophobe (the list goes on) non-trump option in Bernie Sanders if she was so against Hillary. But she chose the racist option. The racist option who, of course, will do absolutely nothing to help her and is already working with those who will actually destroy her social safety net.
It's an ugly truth that we have to face square-on and not let people off the hook for their actions.
It's an ugly truth that we have to face square-on and not let people off the hook for their actions.
2
You've finally written something sensible. Don't ever be certain about anything.
Under presidents who were generals - Washington, Jackson, Taylor, Pierce, Grant, Garfield, and Eisenhower - there was no US military adventurism, perhaps because they knew firsthand that "War is Hell." Under Madison, Polk, McKinley, LBJ and Bush II, civilian leaders led the US into discretionary wars. Why then talk about "hyper-macho belligerence."
I sooner would trust the military to attempt to curtail any Trumpian adventurism, as I would have expected them to put up a stop sign to Hillary the Hawk. The Generals (and Admirals) know how difficult it is to end a major armed conflict on satisfactory terms, the last one being WWII.
I sooner would trust the military to attempt to curtail any Trumpian adventurism, as I would have expected them to put up a stop sign to Hillary the Hawk. The Generals (and Admirals) know how difficult it is to end a major armed conflict on satisfactory terms, the last one being WWII.
2
Actually, lots of people spend lots of time attempting to rationally review Trump's policies and promises...they don't add up. So are we supposed to give up on empiricism in this quest to understand the Trump voter?
4
I'd favor watching, warily, rather than listening. Actions speak louder than words, and Trumps words are all over that place on any subject. His mostly far-right, so far, appointments speak volumes.
4
The populist insurgents of the Republican party will have to deal with its virulent anti-tax wing. If there was ever an administration in the last 50 years that cut taxes while increasing spending and did not increase the deficit, I cannot name it. Are we to play along with the Republican premise that deficits only matter when there is a Democrat in the White House? I am sure that there are, if someone wanted to look for them, many columns, written in German newspapers right after Hitler was first elected, trying to assure their readers and themselves, that the man who unleashed the monster of bigotry & destruction in Europe was likely a reasonable man. Whether because of fear for their relevancy or fear for their lives, the media is in denial.
2
I wish Republicans had taken a break from their umbrage at the very name of Clinton sometime over the past quarter century. Maybe if they had I would listen to their voters now.
All your barbs at professionals are well-aimed. Professionalism has always been a poor substitute for honest caring. It's frankly a way to make a very good living from others' needs. But voting for an amateur blowhard will not help anybody in any way. With Trump we have gone a step or two down from professionalism.
I agree the NYT ought to stop covering tweets. If only because when they are embedded in a story I keep clicking on them by mistake and getting sent to twitter.
All your barbs at professionals are well-aimed. Professionalism has always been a poor substitute for honest caring. It's frankly a way to make a very good living from others' needs. But voting for an amateur blowhard will not help anybody in any way. With Trump we have gone a step or two down from professionalism.
I agree the NYT ought to stop covering tweets. If only because when they are embedded in a story I keep clicking on them by mistake and getting sent to twitter.
I don't hear anything worth listening to from Trump, because, outside of his snake-oil salesman's rhetoric aimed at getting votes from ordinary people ("Losers" in Trump's "Winners/Losers" duality), I can't trust a word he says.
It is not the original ACA that we have now, but a version that GOP filibustering forced Obama to give up on the "Public Option" & keep all health care ultimately in the hands of for-profit insurers. The "hated" Individual Mandate that replaced the Public Option was a compromise originally proposed by the conservative Heritage Foundation in two papers in 1989. As late as 7/31/2009, Romney wrote an op-ed in USA Today calling on Obama to accept the compromise - including the tax Romneycare imposes on any adult who does not sign up.
The decline in the school systems has many roots. Liberals in the '60s believing in "social promotion," GOP representatives cutting federal budgets for schools, the advent of charter & voucher systems that allowed a few to escape poor schools while further impoverishing the rest of the students, the intrusion of corporations into school funding, expanded local control of school boards (one such in Texas did not complain when Algebra & Foreign Language requirements were dropped, but turned out to protest in record numbers when inter-mural football was dropped).
If you can come up with some formula to tell us when Trump & his team are actually telling the truth for a change, I would be happy to listen. I'm still waiting.
It is not the original ACA that we have now, but a version that GOP filibustering forced Obama to give up on the "Public Option" & keep all health care ultimately in the hands of for-profit insurers. The "hated" Individual Mandate that replaced the Public Option was a compromise originally proposed by the conservative Heritage Foundation in two papers in 1989. As late as 7/31/2009, Romney wrote an op-ed in USA Today calling on Obama to accept the compromise - including the tax Romneycare imposes on any adult who does not sign up.
The decline in the school systems has many roots. Liberals in the '60s believing in "social promotion," GOP representatives cutting federal budgets for schools, the advent of charter & voucher systems that allowed a few to escape poor schools while further impoverishing the rest of the students, the intrusion of corporations into school funding, expanded local control of school boards (one such in Texas did not complain when Algebra & Foreign Language requirements were dropped, but turned out to protest in record numbers when inter-mural football was dropped).
If you can come up with some formula to tell us when Trump & his team are actually telling the truth for a change, I would be happy to listen. I'm still waiting.
3
David, you live in a fantasy world.
3
Can't agree with you here. The time is now and it's always now but we missed that in the past and we were complacent while the Koch brothers helped the Republican party to beat the Democrats on the local, state, and national levels or did you forget about them and how they are influencing those elections with big money.
Further, there continues to be so much going on behind the scenes that needs to be talked about now, like Trump's conflicts of interests and the fact that he still has not released his tax returns so we (the citizens) can see what his conflicts may be. Thankful for HR 6340 but who knows where that will go.
The same energy that created Donald Trump is the energy you are suggesting - it's the dull energy that got us into this mess. What we need now, more than ever, is action. Actions begins with thoughts; thoughts frame discussion and discussion leads to action.
Stop trying to silence the outrage. Outrage has a place in history as one of the most cohesive elements of change.
Further, there continues to be so much going on behind the scenes that needs to be talked about now, like Trump's conflicts of interests and the fact that he still has not released his tax returns so we (the citizens) can see what his conflicts may be. Thankful for HR 6340 but who knows where that will go.
The same energy that created Donald Trump is the energy you are suggesting - it's the dull energy that got us into this mess. What we need now, more than ever, is action. Actions begins with thoughts; thoughts frame discussion and discussion leads to action.
Stop trying to silence the outrage. Outrage has a place in history as one of the most cohesive elements of change.
4
Well said.....the Times said it would concentrate on issues, but it still spends four days on the Hamilton story... trending section has nine out of ten stories on Trump! Let's focus on concrete issues that face our future.
1
His policy has been for over a year to give a wink and a nod to White Supremacists, and his choice of Bannon, who loudly proclaims his site as a Platform for the Alt-Right -- i.e. White Supremacists-- is exactly NOT what we can afford to ignore.
I am guessing that you are not Black, Hispanic, or Muslim.
5
or a woman
2
Mr. Trump has succeeded in lowering the bar in almost every area in which we judge our elected officials. It's incredible actually, he has re-written the rules and set new precedents for those whom we see fit to govern.
Journalists spanning from conservative to staunchly liberal now seem to be concerned with finding a more palatable motivation beyond racism, xenophobia, sexism and homophobia for Mr. Trumps success. When viewed through historical lens it actually makes perfect sense. America has always had tough time admitting her faults. In attempting to rationalize the irrational, we've dulled our senses and achieved a new level of moral depravity.
Journalists spanning from conservative to staunchly liberal now seem to be concerned with finding a more palatable motivation beyond racism, xenophobia, sexism and homophobia for Mr. Trumps success. When viewed through historical lens it actually makes perfect sense. America has always had tough time admitting her faults. In attempting to rationalize the irrational, we've dulled our senses and achieved a new level of moral depravity.
1
David, so very sadly with your portrait of that best-possible Trump voter, you paint the reality; that voter is taking no responsibility for herself or her children.
"She needed somebody to change the public school system that serves the suburban children of professors, journalists and lawyers but has left her kids under-skilled and underpaid. "
But she's a white suburban voter. Her kids go to the same schools, get the same teachers as the children of "professors, journalists..." Let me tell you, most faculty people aren't full professors, and like journalists don't make a lot of money. They just care about their children's education more; their kids usually do better in school ... because why? These days the fact of the matter is that kids of Asian parents, even the kids of many hispanic immigrant parents, do better in school than lower middle-class white kids. Why is that?
And then she "admires rich people but disdains professionals," why again exactly? Particularly Mr. Trump?
And then there is the saddest reality: "she wants...." We all want things. The issues are what are we willing to do to get them, and what are the consequences if we do?
Your answer is "low passion wonkery." YOU'RE JOKING. This woman doesn't want rational "wonkery." She wants what male chauvinist engineers have always sarcastically described as "Three ____ and the Rockettes, for free."
And she knows it doesn't work that way, but it's a terrible fantasy.
"She needed somebody to change the public school system that serves the suburban children of professors, journalists and lawyers but has left her kids under-skilled and underpaid. "
But she's a white suburban voter. Her kids go to the same schools, get the same teachers as the children of "professors, journalists..." Let me tell you, most faculty people aren't full professors, and like journalists don't make a lot of money. They just care about their children's education more; their kids usually do better in school ... because why? These days the fact of the matter is that kids of Asian parents, even the kids of many hispanic immigrant parents, do better in school than lower middle-class white kids. Why is that?
And then she "admires rich people but disdains professionals," why again exactly? Particularly Mr. Trump?
And then there is the saddest reality: "she wants...." We all want things. The issues are what are we willing to do to get them, and what are the consequences if we do?
Your answer is "low passion wonkery." YOU'RE JOKING. This woman doesn't want rational "wonkery." She wants what male chauvinist engineers have always sarcastically described as "Three ____ and the Rockettes, for free."
And she knows it doesn't work that way, but it's a terrible fantasy.
3
Always enjoy your perspective but Buchanan, an intellectual? He hasn't had an intelligent thing to say in at least 30 years. And I'm beginning to think you're going the way of him. I'd like to fact check whether you've listened to anything said in the past 18 months.
7
Wait and see? Nuts to that. We have a cancer on the body politic and you suggest waiting to see where it's going to metastasize?
Never say it can't happen here.
We have to be in gear and moving forward, or else.
Never say it can't happen here.
We have to be in gear and moving forward, or else.
6
No, Mr. Brooks. I respect your efforts at positivity. And like you I am a member of the privileged, professional class. But I am also a woman, and all my life I've been told to listen, to accept, to smile. Not now. Even the "best" Trump voter has ushered misogyny, bigotry, and boorishness into the White House. That crash is my cup of tea hitting the wall.
7
"It’s not my cup of tea, but I can see why some good people might be willing to tolerate Trump and Bannon’s personalities in order to pursue it."
I have no problem listening to someone who hungry, unemployed, scared for their life or having a crisis of conscience. There must be a plan in place to allow everyone to share in the opportunities the modern world represents. Fossil fuels, for instance, are the environmental equivalent of asbestos, but that doesn't mean we leave whole swaths of the country to die.
Yet asking a minority (like me), a woman, an immigrant, a soldier, a member of the LGBT community to look past what happened during Trump's campaign and the people he is appointing is unreasonable. Surely blacks know the frustrations of being underpaid for their labor and ignored/abused by the government. Servicemen and women know what it means to be betrayed by politicians and bureaucrats. Women know condescension and arrogance when they hear it. The LGBT community knows the importance of protecting constitutional rights. We understand suffering. And we have been "listening" to Trump, Bannon, Pompeo, Sessions, etc. for a while now. They did not strike me as reasonable or even decent people because they said many unreasonable and indecent things. And the extremists they've inspired... confederate flags, swastikas, hoods... people (of all kinds) have died to keep them from power. I doubt my grandparents (deceased) ever thought I would see them again.
I have no problem listening to someone who hungry, unemployed, scared for their life or having a crisis of conscience. There must be a plan in place to allow everyone to share in the opportunities the modern world represents. Fossil fuels, for instance, are the environmental equivalent of asbestos, but that doesn't mean we leave whole swaths of the country to die.
Yet asking a minority (like me), a woman, an immigrant, a soldier, a member of the LGBT community to look past what happened during Trump's campaign and the people he is appointing is unreasonable. Surely blacks know the frustrations of being underpaid for their labor and ignored/abused by the government. Servicemen and women know what it means to be betrayed by politicians and bureaucrats. Women know condescension and arrogance when they hear it. The LGBT community knows the importance of protecting constitutional rights. We understand suffering. And we have been "listening" to Trump, Bannon, Pompeo, Sessions, etc. for a while now. They did not strike me as reasonable or even decent people because they said many unreasonable and indecent things. And the extremists they've inspired... confederate flags, swastikas, hoods... people (of all kinds) have died to keep them from power. I doubt my grandparents (deceased) ever thought I would see them again.
3
Why are teachers the first people you attack? My wife is a teacher and she works her butt off to get the kids the best education she can possibly provide in addition to all the absurd paperwork necessary to fulfill federal, state and district mandates. She does this often in spite of the absent parents rather than in coordination with them. And, she has to reassure her minority students their safety and dignity will not be violated because they are SCARED, are being bullied and sometimes beaten in the hallways by white kids of Trump supporters. Why don't you spend a little time in a public school before you attack the last favorite target of the conservative right, public union workers.
You want humility? Humility is wearing a safety pin to show support for immigrant and other threatened communities. I think that's pretty humble. My mother in law (65 years) was threatened and followed at the grocery store because she dared wear the pin. Don't hand me "we should be more humble" when what you intend to say is we should just shut up. I won't shut up. My family won't shut up. When violence comes to us, as it nearly did, I'm sure you'll humbly keep your mouth shut.
You want humility? Humility is wearing a safety pin to show support for immigrant and other threatened communities. I think that's pretty humble. My mother in law (65 years) was threatened and followed at the grocery store because she dared wear the pin. Don't hand me "we should be more humble" when what you intend to say is we should just shut up. I won't shut up. My family won't shut up. When violence comes to us, as it nearly did, I'm sure you'll humbly keep your mouth shut.
4
I am decidedly listening. I will listen with an open mind when I have even just an inkling that Trump et al aren't trying to bully control the media, when Trump et al strongly speak out against the very real racism & hatred their words and actions have given voice and credibility to. I will listen when Trump stops using the office of PEOTUS to blatantly further his business deals. I will listen & not be alarmed when Trump & his team stop making plans to put people they don't like in internment camps. We have a global economy. It is not going away. Can more be done to ease the transition? Yes. But guess what buttercup, that has to come from the businesses that benefit from globalization, who make massive profits moving production to other countries. Regulations. Big favs with the GOP right? It isn't admiration of rich people, it's "I wanna be rich too". Doctors don't frequently don't have the time to spend chatting with you. Well unless you have really good insurance & the doctor works in an area where there are a lot of other doctors so they don't have such a huge patient load. The 'teachers condescend' bit isn't even worth a comment. Once again the middle class has allowed TPTB to make them think that it's the minorities/immigrants/et al who they need to be angry at. And maybe there are some Whites who don't like the idea of non-whites (or women or gays) being on the same playing level. Activism of any kind tends to be more successful when it is inclusive.
Listen to Trump? We've heard everything he has said for the last 18 months. We're watching him hire white suprem- I mean white nationalists to run the country. Anyone who isn't angry, despondent, depressed and engulfed in fury is half dead or so evil themselves that they are part of the problem.
4
Self-examination is certainly a good idea at this point. i think it's especially important for moderate Republicans like David Brooks, who tolerated fifty years of a racist "southern strategy" that paved the way for the demagoguery of this past election. The idea of an embattled white voting group that is protecting its endangered turf did not originate with Donald Trump; it's been a dogwhistle countermelody for half a century.
1
I agree some Trump supporters overlooked the racism, bigotry and misogyny of Trump's campaign to vote for change. But this is the change they got. To claim that abuse directed at democrats and their leaders, at ethnic minorities and at women is okay, but that the same bigotry directed back at them is now a problem, is to misunderstand the change they themselves created.
If you vote to break the system, it breaks. For a Trump voter to turn around now and say they didn't mean to break the part where we treated one another with respect and listened to each other - that, sadly enough, is exactly the part that was broken by a vote for Trump in the first place.
If you vote to break the system, it breaks. For a Trump voter to turn around now and say they didn't mean to break the part where we treated one another with respect and listened to each other - that, sadly enough, is exactly the part that was broken by a vote for Trump in the first place.
5
Thanks for this! Liberals seem to love diversity, except when it comes diversity of thought.
3
David Brooks won me over to the idea of listening when he started to do more of it. He is a great example of masculine humility, intellect and the wisdom that comes with reflecting on mistakes -- his own among others. I subscribed to the Times during the waning days of the election, and have regretted it. Why? Because the hand-wringing moaning grabs the headlines. Most Op-eds are more of the same. Real reform does, indeed, begin with self-reflection and listening. Not with the ego-volume turned up to 10, but with it on mute. Listening is a skill not lauded in our "whoever yells the loudest, or meanest, or most scandalous" gets the attention. But it is one worthy of a Nation that claims it is losing its grip on Democracy. Nearly half of eligible voters chose not to vote this time around. Let's hope they were listening and we can learn something from that.
Have you and I been "listening" to the same man? And hasn't Trump's "ego volume" been "turned up to ten" this whole election season? Hardly "masculine humility."
We surely are a diverse nation and you and I are at opposite ends of the spectrum.
Don't forget, too, that we Trump resistant voters are more numerous than his supporters. We have the right to speak and be listened to.
We surely are a diverse nation and you and I are at opposite ends of the spectrum.
Don't forget, too, that we Trump resistant voters are more numerous than his supporters. We have the right to speak and be listened to.
2
Seriously? Read your comments, Mr. Brooks. No one is interested in listening or seeking understanding. And consequently the chance of holding a civil conversation about their fantasy boogie man or his supporters remains nil. They will remain encased in their brightly lit glass houses, where their words and thoughts are sacred and unopposed. Trump voters are not all poor, angst-ridden, male, uninsured, or out-of-work. They simply see beyond the empty arrogance of the left.
1
Apparently you, David, can get out of your head the video of Trump mocking the disabled reporter. Apparently you can forget watching him encourage his supporters to physically attack journalists and protesters. Apparently you can forget the menacing pictures of his stalking HRC around the stage during the second debate. Apparently it doesn't concern you that he changes his mind hourly, mostly about things that have to do with his outrage at slights to his delicate flower of an ego (e.g., the still uncertain NYTimes meeting - read public thrashing - scheduled for today).
Exactly to whom should we be listening? If to Trump, then to which Trump? The current one or the one five minutes ago? The one who promises to bring people together and heal the nation? Or the one who continues to inflate his own celebrity and desperately seek public adulation above learning or thinking about ANY policy position he could possibly entertain in his erratic brain? The one who is making a self-aggrandizing show of the transition to a position he will have no idea what to do with except to use for it his own gain and celebrity? You are seriously suggesting that there is actually sense to be made of this spectacle we are being treated to if we just "listen."
I'm sorry. I am desperate to hear something that gives me hope, so I have been paying attention. And I have yet to hear anything worth listening to.
Exactly to whom should we be listening? If to Trump, then to which Trump? The current one or the one five minutes ago? The one who promises to bring people together and heal the nation? Or the one who continues to inflate his own celebrity and desperately seek public adulation above learning or thinking about ANY policy position he could possibly entertain in his erratic brain? The one who is making a self-aggrandizing show of the transition to a position he will have no idea what to do with except to use for it his own gain and celebrity? You are seriously suggesting that there is actually sense to be made of this spectacle we are being treated to if we just "listen."
I'm sorry. I am desperate to hear something that gives me hope, so I have been paying attention. And I have yet to hear anything worth listening to.
3
David, there are two numbers that your column doesn't seem to take into account. The first is 61,125,956. That's the latest tally of voters for Trump. The other number is 63,391,335, and that is how many people voted for Clinton.
Your column makes it sound as though Trump has some kind of mandate. That these supporters of his must be finally heard because both parties have been ignoring them for so long. That, finally, we must somehow discount the Clinton voters because they are part of the problem, i.e. denizens of the swamp Trump has promised to drain?
Seriously?
Your column makes it sound as though Trump has some kind of mandate. That these supporters of his must be finally heard because both parties have been ignoring them for so long. That, finally, we must somehow discount the Clinton voters because they are part of the problem, i.e. denizens of the swamp Trump has promised to drain?
Seriously?
3
"There will be plenty of time to be disgusted with Trump’s bigotry, narcissism and incompetence."
Not if you're African-American or Jewish, because we've seen this movie before and waiting was not beneficial.
Not if you're African-American or Jewish, because we've seen this movie before and waiting was not beneficial.
23
"She is one of those people who... disdains professionals — the teachers who condescend to her..."
Wrong! Most teachers don't condescend to parents; they wouldn't stick with the underpaid and underappreciated job if that was their motivation. They teach because they care about kids! The notion of "condescending teachers" is a lie, created and perpetuated by the Right.
"She needed somebody to change the public school system that... has left her kids under-skilled and underpaid." Why is public education "failing?" Because many parents no longer invest time in helping their kids learn at home. This is partially due to the economic need for both parents to work; and partially due to finds being cut from public education (by the stingy Rigy); and partially due to the rhetoric from the Right that devalues education.
"Pat Buchanan, the most influential public intellectual in America today."
Huh? I argue for Limbaugh, which underscores the absurdity of your statement (as well as the absurdity of public discourse in America).
"Republicans spent the last 30 years talking grandly about entrepreneurialism while the social fabric around their core voters disintegrated. Maybe a little government action would have helped?"
Um, that's what the Left has been telling you all along!
"It wouldn’t kill us Trump critics to take a break from our never-ending umbrage to engage in a little listening." You got THAT right!
The title of your column is immensely ironic (and too little, too late).
Wrong! Most teachers don't condescend to parents; they wouldn't stick with the underpaid and underappreciated job if that was their motivation. They teach because they care about kids! The notion of "condescending teachers" is a lie, created and perpetuated by the Right.
"She needed somebody to change the public school system that... has left her kids under-skilled and underpaid." Why is public education "failing?" Because many parents no longer invest time in helping their kids learn at home. This is partially due to the economic need for both parents to work; and partially due to finds being cut from public education (by the stingy Rigy); and partially due to the rhetoric from the Right that devalues education.
"Pat Buchanan, the most influential public intellectual in America today."
Huh? I argue for Limbaugh, which underscores the absurdity of your statement (as well as the absurdity of public discourse in America).
"Republicans spent the last 30 years talking grandly about entrepreneurialism while the social fabric around their core voters disintegrated. Maybe a little government action would have helped?"
Um, that's what the Left has been telling you all along!
"It wouldn’t kill us Trump critics to take a break from our never-ending umbrage to engage in a little listening." You got THAT right!
The title of your column is immensely ironic (and too little, too late).
6
Spot on Mr. Brooks.
3
"Many of my fellow Trump critics are expressing outrage, depression, bewilderment or disgust."
I think you forgot "fear." I don't want to discount your point, Mr. Brooks, because I think it's a fair one; however, you are ignoring another edge net of the population. Some people, like myself, identified with the groups being targeted by the divisive campaign rhetoric by Trump, his surrogates, and some of his very extreme supporters. These are groups who struggle to navigate environments where it feels like your humanity is questioned. For us, it is so challenging to even focus because we are overwhelmed with fears about our future safety. Maybe these fears aren't grounded, but not enough is being done to help alleviate them.
I don't by any means have it the worst but I feel it. I'm in a department of 100 students, and I'm the only American woman there. The number of female students is less than 10%. I'm also the only American of Muslim heritage there. The day after the election, I was obviously distressed and disappointed. And I was laughed at by students I have to work alongside who love the alt-right and use their language and memes every chance they have. Before, I could manage because I was confident that the had no power. Now, I really don't know... I'm terrified and eager to leave my own country.
When I read about the hostility and the rejection of these messages by *both sides,* I feel supported. Listen--yes--but carefully so as not to normalize this hostility.
I think you forgot "fear." I don't want to discount your point, Mr. Brooks, because I think it's a fair one; however, you are ignoring another edge net of the population. Some people, like myself, identified with the groups being targeted by the divisive campaign rhetoric by Trump, his surrogates, and some of his very extreme supporters. These are groups who struggle to navigate environments where it feels like your humanity is questioned. For us, it is so challenging to even focus because we are overwhelmed with fears about our future safety. Maybe these fears aren't grounded, but not enough is being done to help alleviate them.
I don't by any means have it the worst but I feel it. I'm in a department of 100 students, and I'm the only American woman there. The number of female students is less than 10%. I'm also the only American of Muslim heritage there. The day after the election, I was obviously distressed and disappointed. And I was laughed at by students I have to work alongside who love the alt-right and use their language and memes every chance they have. Before, I could manage because I was confident that the had no power. Now, I really don't know... I'm terrified and eager to leave my own country.
When I read about the hostility and the rejection of these messages by *both sides,* I feel supported. Listen--yes--but carefully so as not to normalize this hostility.
12
Thank you for writing this.
3
DJT is a clown. As for listening to what he and his supporters have to say, what exactly, is it that they are saying? What, please tell me, is Trump saying? His twitter account is riddled with offensive comments towards those that didn't vote for him, women, Muslims, Mexicans, apparently we are all violent gun toting offenders, or even better, rapists. What a joke. Does anyone remember the part in history class about a man named Hitler, who was elevated to a position of power in Germany due to the economic distress that the German people were experiencing after WWI? no? well, we may have our repeat of history right here in our own country.
9
Are you serious? He is appointing unabashed racists to key positions! His VP believes in gay conversion therapy! He is himself a sexual predator! I can't listen to one word he says - it is giving me too much anxiety. You people at the NYT listen and I will read what you write. But I will not soften my stand on this monster that was elected president - ever.
19
It sure is amazing what people will forgive to get conned again.
The majority of voters who went for Trump are NOT alt-right. We held our noses when he criticized everyone, even the "protected" populations such as women, racial and religious minorities, etc. But we did realize that we needed a radical shakeup, and took a chance that our government, with its balance of power could survive one bad presidency if that's how it worked out. Let's hope our gamble pays off.
4
I am amazed how many Americans believe that anything else will be better than what and where they are now.
2
That voter already had someone in place who wanted to make those changes, Obama. That voter instead put the tea party in charge of Congress. That voter did not have Obamas back, she allowed McConnel and the rest of the sore loser Republicans to foil any change.
Now she voted in an arrogant authoritarian, I wish her and you the best.
Now she voted in an arrogant authoritarian, I wish her and you the best.
6
This is the post-Trump-election version of Brooks’ eternal, always convoluted, political and moral soul-searching. Brooks’ stock-in-trade is railing against the “educated elite,” of which he pretends he is not a life-long member.
The archetypal working class Trump voter he conjures up wants a way to “protect herself from the tech executives who give exciting speeches about disruption,” but who don’t care about her. No, David, poorly educated working folks don’t listen to TED Talks; “disruption” is in your vocabulary, not theirs. You are just talking to yourself and are surely no more in touch with the world of the working class than is your tech executive, or is Donald Trump.
If Brooks really cared about the working poor, he would not have spent his punditry career defending the neo-liberal economic policies and conservative politics that have ripped America apart.
The archetypal working class Trump voter he conjures up wants a way to “protect herself from the tech executives who give exciting speeches about disruption,” but who don’t care about her. No, David, poorly educated working folks don’t listen to TED Talks; “disruption” is in your vocabulary, not theirs. You are just talking to yourself and are surely no more in touch with the world of the working class than is your tech executive, or is Donald Trump.
If Brooks really cared about the working poor, he would not have spent his punditry career defending the neo-liberal economic policies and conservative politics that have ripped America apart.
2
Evidently the US respects only those who are elite in sports, music, and arts.
The sadness in this election wasn’t Trump’s win, his racism, his bigotry, etc. It was choice. Sadly, when you’re left with two candidates that each, in their own right, are probably the absolute worst this country has to offer, you’re left with a choice (or dilemma) that makes you kick and scream, not at each of these individuals, but at the very fact of—how did we arrive at this point? What, on earth, is motivating politics these days? Rage? If so, then it is rage without direction, becoming extremely angry at every turn over some ‘identity’ issue. In the end, it seems more like some inability to take responsibility. What is offensive is not Trump, not Hillary, but the fact of their existence in politics, the fact that we can’t do better. ‘Me’ politics generates this problem. Me politics rants over one’s ‘whatever,’ leading us astray into the dark back alleys where all we see is our own narrow minded and vastly deep echo that is one’s ego.
There’s no answer here. This guy is not going to solve our problems, nor would Hillary. Stop looking so much to matriarchal and patriarchal saints for solutions, and trying peeking inside for once. It might just work!
There’s no answer here. This guy is not going to solve our problems, nor would Hillary. Stop looking so much to matriarchal and patriarchal saints for solutions, and trying peeking inside for once. It might just work!
Trump won because the votes of cosmopolitans like me don't even count in this backward travesty of a democracy. But you will continue to gloat until you die, because nobody with Trump's mentality ever admits a mistake.
2
I've been trying to engage and listen to Trump voters on Facebook and...all I am hearing is more bigotry against illegal immigrants and put-downs of Hillary for losing the election in a supposed landslide. Oh, and denial of Trump's hate speech and its impact on the targeted people. The Trump voters I know are on Medicare and Social Security and didn't have any personal concrete economic reason to vote for him--all they mention is wanting to reverse Obama's "divisiveness" and "making America weak in the world." The younger professionals say the same things. Someone's going to have to find me the Trump voter who fits Brooks' description, who has something to say worth learning from.
3
It is utterly astounding how many dimwitted Americans have no idea how much of their income derives from public spending.
2
I know some men who supported or voted for Mr. Trump. They all live in Southern CA and they seem to have nothing in common.
Paul is a 95-year-old Jewish veteran who fought on Leyte Island and Okinawa during WWII and worked as an electrician and a plumber.
Felipe is a 35-year-old male model from Guadalajara, Mexico who recently brought his wife and two young sons to live in Anaheim, CA.
Micah is a 39-year-old black male from Detroit who sells his own hand made clothes at the swap meet.
Andreas is a 49-year-old white male Uber driver and graduate of UC Santa Cruz who is married to an ultra liberal teacher and vegetarian.
Danny is a 55-year-old gay male from Malaysia, a naturalized American, who fled that country's anti-Chinese Muslim government.
"They" are not somewhere in the backwoods of Kentucky. They are here, they are real, they are everyone. And they all have their own reasons for liking Mr. Trump whether you agree with them or not.
Paul is a 95-year-old Jewish veteran who fought on Leyte Island and Okinawa during WWII and worked as an electrician and a plumber.
Felipe is a 35-year-old male model from Guadalajara, Mexico who recently brought his wife and two young sons to live in Anaheim, CA.
Micah is a 39-year-old black male from Detroit who sells his own hand made clothes at the swap meet.
Andreas is a 49-year-old white male Uber driver and graduate of UC Santa Cruz who is married to an ultra liberal teacher and vegetarian.
Danny is a 55-year-old gay male from Malaysia, a naturalized American, who fled that country's anti-Chinese Muslim government.
"They" are not somewhere in the backwoods of Kentucky. They are here, they are real, they are everyone. And they all have their own reasons for liking Mr. Trump whether you agree with them or not.
4
I suspect they all believe that Trump will make them rich.
2
Dear David, Frankly, I think you have your head in the sand. Trump LIES and or DISTORTS grossly almost every time he opens his mouth. How can anything good come from such a person? He has to pay 25 million for Trump "University" misdeeds? He bragged about how little he had to pay as compared to how much he might have been dinged for.
You want us to wait to see what he will do. What specific plan will he make happen? The wall (fence)? There are more Mexicans going back than coming in. Spend money on infrastructure? That would be GREAT--if its done without enriching his buddies, and giving them all kinds of tax breaks--will that happen? I don't see how, for a very simple reason--that is how he thinks. Its not merely that he is dangerous--he is a demagogue, pure and simple. I think that what matters to Trump is....TRUMP, and little else.
You want us to wait to see what he will do. What specific plan will he make happen? The wall (fence)? There are more Mexicans going back than coming in. Spend money on infrastructure? That would be GREAT--if its done without enriching his buddies, and giving them all kinds of tax breaks--will that happen? I don't see how, for a very simple reason--that is how he thinks. Its not merely that he is dangerous--he is a demagogue, pure and simple. I think that what matters to Trump is....TRUMP, and little else.
2
Oh boo-hoo. The teacher "condescended" to me. Therefore I am going to take a big steaming dump on the kitchen table, in order to "fix" everything.
6
Fellow Trump supporters, maybe try a little decency, empathy, humility, respect and kindness.
6
The part about being a Trump critic - a joke, right? If the thesis is truly about listening, nothing here motivates those who have listened to Trump and his echo chamber for months. It was bluster and lies before, nothing has changed. He's still raging and tweeting absurd reflections, retracting them, speaking in hyperbole, contradicting himself and sending dog whistles to the alt-right. Our time is better spent organizing.
5
The checks and balances which limit Presidential power are well in place. Moreover, neither the establishment Republicans nor Democrats can stand him and so will sabotage most of his initiatives.
There is also a small chance he will honor his populist promises and work for the betterment of the working population. It's an unpredictable world.
There is also a small chance he will honor his populist promises and work for the betterment of the working population. It's an unpredictable world.
At least mention that much of the problems those unicorn Trump voters face are due to republican obstructionism and policy. The school's didn't get so terrible by themselves somebody starved them out of resources, especially in red States. Etc etc.
Very very disingenuous Brooks as Mr. Pumpkin would say.
Very very disingenuous Brooks as Mr. Pumpkin would say.
4
Fellow Trump critics, my foot! You're like every other conservative 'critic' of Trump from Ryan on down, ready to forgive and forget every outrage now that Trump has proven that outrageousness, corruption, and divisiveness can actually win elections. You lose your claim to being a critic of any stripe once you provide an apology for Bannon as being a Buchananized, new 'action model' politician rather than a hate mongering, misogynistic white supremacist and express yourself a looking forward to Trump's governance getting underway. Face it, Mr. Brooks -- after all those months of dismayed deprecation, you now sound just like every other Trump supporter: "Wait and see! The next four years will be GREAT for the economy!" Forgive us Trump critics if we not only remain skeptical but refuse to sell out our country's diverse and civil soul for the unlikely possibility of some temporary job creation that could only come at the longterm expense of our fragile environment.
12
David Brooks is wrong. This should surprise no one who has ever read anything David Brooks has written. Our school system does create skilled graduates. This is why countries like Turkey, Japan, India, China, and Kuwait send their brightest young people to American universities. To say anything other than "David Brooks is wrong and should stop being published" would be parsing the irrelevant.
1
David, are you the same person who, on election night, said that he feared we as a people are becoming "morally numb"? It's hard to believe that you are when you ask us to put aside our anger in order to listen to what Trump voters have to say. I think we can walk and chew gum at the same time. Listen, yes, but also hold those voters to account for elevating an unhinged, vulgar racist to the highest position in the land. One of the most disturbing things about this election is that so many "good" people put aside their moral qualms about Trump to achieve some practicality. This kind of non-thinking behavior has led to disaster in other countries at other times in history. I don't want it to happen here, don't want to be a part of it and will not easily put down my outrage.
5
Thank you, Stephanie...very well said. We must never put down our moral outrage.
How wonderfully understanding to acknowledge the rationality of a Trump voter not motivated by racism and bigotry. However, many Trump critics would be way more prone to "engage in a little listening", if we were assured that Trump and his advisors were similarly not motivated by racism and bigotry. So far Trump and Bannon have made clear that they tolerate public advocacy of racism and intolerance. History makes listening under these circumstances very tough.
1
I'm not listening. Trump's manner means nothing; his words mean nothing. He showed himself to be a nonstop liar during the election. Watch his actions: he's chosen advisors and cabinet members consistent with his hate campaign. There's no conciliation here--only another mode of deception. The solution is nonviolent mobilization by those who care about our country and all the people in it.
8
Oh, great, so now David Brooks has drunk the Kool-Ade. He fails to mention that if the ACA exchanges are failing, it's because Republican opposition created obstacles the intention of which was to make them fail. It was always the intention of people such as Ryan and McConnell was to make Obama a one-term president. If their is less civility and respect for the office of President, let's revisit that "You Lie!" comment and wonder, oh, gee why? Failures at the local level are responsible for failing schools, and those local levels are dominated by Republican legislatures and school boards. If Trump voters demanded change, why would they vote the same crew of scoundrels back into into Congress, those whose obstructionism created the paralysis in the first place, and not just during the Obama terms, but all the way back to Bill Clinton. There is little doubt that the vote was tainted by racism and anti-intellectualism. Yes, Virginia, maybe there is a vast right wing conspiracy.
5
I listened to Trump and his supporters for more than a year. What I hear literally makes me nauseous. Post-election pronouncements are even more chilling.
When the central employment issue on our national agenda was "inner city blacks," that group was told by the Trump types to get up off their butts and go where the jobs are and get educated to be employable! By contrast, the Trump supporters want jobs brought to them on a platter -- and they emphatically do NOT want to retrain because they want the kind of jobs they want -- not the kind this economic creates. This difference is attitudes is creepy.
When the central employment issue on our national agenda was "inner city blacks," that group was told by the Trump types to get up off their butts and go where the jobs are and get educated to be employable! By contrast, the Trump supporters want jobs brought to them on a platter -- and they emphatically do NOT want to retrain because they want the kind of jobs they want -- not the kind this economic creates. This difference is attitudes is creepy.
9
I've heard what he said and I don't like it. But, I'm going to give him the benefit of the doubt and support him to the extent he supported President Obama.
4
Keep demanding that our draft dodger elect cough those mysterious taxes of his..
Mr. brooks and trump want us to trust him but trust is earned not demanded and if he doesn't trust us enougb to cough up his taxes then sorry, but how can we trust him?
Remember what hollywood reagan said "trust but verify".
Mr. brooks and trump want us to trust him but trust is earned not demanded and if he doesn't trust us enougb to cough up his taxes then sorry, but how can we trust him?
Remember what hollywood reagan said "trust but verify".
2
I have been listening, Mr. Brooks and I have seen the cabinet picks; and I can tell you there is nothing more to listen or see that can change my mind about the man who will be in charge of running this country. Trump’s cabinet picks are all one needs to see in order to understand his view of American and his intentions to impose a white nationalistic ideology within it.
An analysis of the failure of Democrats and their recent national record concludes that having a social justice platform as part of a political message does not win votes, but in fact, causes people to revolt – and that is a shame. It is so, because it would mean, in my mind, that we have allowed self-preservation to inhibit our capacity to care for others.
Most voters who I have spoken to who voted for Trump indicated with their heads bowed in indignity that they did not care that he mocked the disabled, bragged about sexually assaulting women, and his bigotry towards Muslims, Mexicans, and black people. They were willing to lay all that to the side for the sake of their own self-interests. I think that is sad.
Finally, it is funny how easily you have capitulated to one Donald Trump, Mr. Brooks. Your spine is weaker than I thought. Stand up for something.
An analysis of the failure of Democrats and their recent national record concludes that having a social justice platform as part of a political message does not win votes, but in fact, causes people to revolt – and that is a shame. It is so, because it would mean, in my mind, that we have allowed self-preservation to inhibit our capacity to care for others.
Most voters who I have spoken to who voted for Trump indicated with their heads bowed in indignity that they did not care that he mocked the disabled, bragged about sexually assaulting women, and his bigotry towards Muslims, Mexicans, and black people. They were willing to lay all that to the side for the sake of their own self-interests. I think that is sad.
Finally, it is funny how easily you have capitulated to one Donald Trump, Mr. Brooks. Your spine is weaker than I thought. Stand up for something.
4
I fear you lost me at "Pat Buchanan, the most influential public intellectual in America today."
Just because his team beat your team this time around, there is no need to cede the intellectual high ground to a revanchist anachronism like Buchanan.
Just because his team beat your team this time around, there is no need to cede the intellectual high ground to a revanchist anachronism like Buchanan.
3
But is the message wrong? Regardless of the messenger? I tend to agree with Buchanan on that point.
Listening is fine (and necessary), but what we need most is real dialogue. What we're getting so far from the incoming executive branch is fake news, petty outrage, whiffs of profiteering, and "winner-take-all" grandstanding. Consensus and compromise appear likely to remain rare commodities in Washington. Principled resistance may be the only effective political response.
I for one am focusing closer to home. Hearts and minds were not won in this election by either side. I can listen to my neighbors. I can persuade them to listen to me. Start small, think big. If nothing else, this election reaffirms that all votes matter.
I for one am focusing closer to home. Hearts and minds were not won in this election by either side. I can listen to my neighbors. I can persuade them to listen to me. Start small, think big. If nothing else, this election reaffirms that all votes matter.
2
Couldn't agree more. This is an opportunity to reflect on the election, and to consider that your way is not the only way, and try walking a mile in that other guy's shoes.
Well said, David.
Well said, David.
2
Difficult to argue against the value of a retrospective analysis. It is ALWAYS a good idea to engage and listen to voters. Perhaps we should explore more effective ways to do that since the traditional means - mainstream media, social media - are proving to have diminishing effectiveness.
There is something fundamentally contradictory however in the need to turn our attention to listening to the voters who have been failed by the system. America's culture and priorities has been to give a chance to those who work hard, innovate, compete, perform and adapt to changes. This also means that people get left behind if they do not work hard, do not go to college and/or do not pro-actively adapt to the new economic conditions. America seemed to accept that. Contrary to other industrialized countries, America does not provide universal access to college education and basic health care - the two most determinant variables of DJT's voters according to The Economist. There has been heavy resistance in enriching the "entitlement" programs.
So not only we need to listen, we should also start to think about some of the solutions that should be considered: easier access to education and training, further access to basic health care, fostering innovation, leveraging new technologies, etc. We should encourage organizations to value social progress - not just financial performance. Infrastructure investments and trade protectionism are temporary measures that will only get us so far.
There is something fundamentally contradictory however in the need to turn our attention to listening to the voters who have been failed by the system. America's culture and priorities has been to give a chance to those who work hard, innovate, compete, perform and adapt to changes. This also means that people get left behind if they do not work hard, do not go to college and/or do not pro-actively adapt to the new economic conditions. America seemed to accept that. Contrary to other industrialized countries, America does not provide universal access to college education and basic health care - the two most determinant variables of DJT's voters according to The Economist. There has been heavy resistance in enriching the "entitlement" programs.
So not only we need to listen, we should also start to think about some of the solutions that should be considered: easier access to education and training, further access to basic health care, fostering innovation, leveraging new technologies, etc. We should encourage organizations to value social progress - not just financial performance. Infrastructure investments and trade protectionism are temporary measures that will only get us so far.
1
It seems that Mr. Brooks gets to talk to Trump supporters who are rational, informed and able to make coherent arguments about why they supported him. Let him try coming out here, closer to the middle of the country, and talking to the Trump supporters we encounter. Unless he likes being called names, told he's a crybaby because "you lost," and that he's a supporter of "the new world order," he may not like the experience. If he engages these people on Facebook, he certainly won't enjoy their mauling of the English language.
2
Most of my Trump voting friends were evangelical Christians, single-issue anti-abortion voters who, I suspect, were voting more for Pence than for Trump. Possibly a few of my neighbors, too, as I live in a neighborhood that's a combination of low-income minority, working-class (mostly white) and white religious retirees.
As a former Bernie Sanders supporter, I can't blame the working class for supporting Trump. They've gotten the shaft for years. I see the abortion issue as the greater problem as it has been way overemphasized to the detriment, apparently, of any form of Christian virtue or common sense.
As a former Bernie Sanders supporter, I can't blame the working class for supporting Trump. They've gotten the shaft for years. I see the abortion issue as the greater problem as it has been way overemphasized to the detriment, apparently, of any form of Christian virtue or common sense.
4
These people don't want a leader'; they want a savior. They want their problems to be solved without actually doing anything about it themselves. I feel for those with the plight of living in economically depressed areas; but why should we vilify the immigrants who are taking their destinies into their own hands while we're supposed to understand and empathize with those who do nothing but vote for a misogynistic, xenophobic, racist autocrat?
8
They lost their organized labor jobs that afforded them a dignified living because they voted for the GOP.
And the GOP did exactly what they said they'd do...namely eliminate thier good paying benefit laiden labor union jobs.
And now these same proud, straight talking salt of the Earth people are whining about it?
Sorry...we ain't buying your petulance anymore.
Grow up, stand up and man up!!!
And the GOP did exactly what they said they'd do...namely eliminate thier good paying benefit laiden labor union jobs.
And now these same proud, straight talking salt of the Earth people are whining about it?
Sorry...we ain't buying your petulance anymore.
Grow up, stand up and man up!!!
4
David Brooks, this article is embarrassing. Until we know the depth of manipulation of this election, all of this liberal shaming is misguided and just plain wrong. It is not liberals who created failing school systems or who gerrymandered electoral districts within an inch of their lives. Obamacare is the compromise we have to live with because liberals can't get what they want -- a single-payer system. Read up on what the Republican party has been doing since Newt Gingrich's days -- The Broken Branch, or It's Even Worse than it Looks -- and come up with some real suggestions about how to deal with the recalcitrants who refused to hold hearings on Merrick Garland.
8
I suspect you may be disappointed at the truth of the election machines used by Trump and Clinton - if the truth is ever known.
I would say that the first thing we need to do is stop call people names, e.g. racist, misogynist, and bigot. Those just shut down any discussion without convincing an adversary. Rather, we need to search openly for truths we can all acknowledge and then build on those.
2
How about "nasty" and "crooked"?
Sorry but one of the things our draft dodging elect should have learned in his 70 years of privlege is that the tone of this country is often set by the person in the White House.
And the guy who just won is a name calling bully wirh little hands and a nasty disposition so y'all had better get used to the name calling because our draft dodger elect is a savant at name calling.
Sorry but one of the things our draft dodging elect should have learned in his 70 years of privlege is that the tone of this country is often set by the person in the White House.
And the guy who just won is a name calling bully wirh little hands and a nasty disposition so y'all had better get used to the name calling because our draft dodger elect is a savant at name calling.
2
I have always appreciated and respected your columns, but the only word I can find for what I read here is "horrified". I am horrified that you could even think of printing such a thing at this time, and I can't help noticing a certain ugly, gloating tone beneath the surface for the Republican win.
It certainly is important for the two sides of the political spectrum to come together after an election, you are right about that. The post election season is a time for healing - well, normally it is.
But this is not normal - not because I'm a fellow Trump critic, and not because I'm a liberal. It's not even because so many actions this man has vowed to take contradict the principles of inclusion that define us as a nation.
It's because actions this man has already taken contradict those principles. How can you not see this?
We are a nation grounded on the idea that all human beings are created equal, with equal claim to dignity and human rights. Our President-elect has just named as his top White House advisor a man devoted to public support for the white nationalist movement - for misogyny, for antisemitism, for the most grotesque forms of bigotry.
How can you not see that the ideals that define us as Americans have already been breached by our new leader? Your columns do play a role in directing the thinking of Americans during the transition. This public plea for open-mindedness, or “low passion wonkery”, is profoundly dangerous.
It certainly is important for the two sides of the political spectrum to come together after an election, you are right about that. The post election season is a time for healing - well, normally it is.
But this is not normal - not because I'm a fellow Trump critic, and not because I'm a liberal. It's not even because so many actions this man has vowed to take contradict the principles of inclusion that define us as a nation.
It's because actions this man has already taken contradict those principles. How can you not see this?
We are a nation grounded on the idea that all human beings are created equal, with equal claim to dignity and human rights. Our President-elect has just named as his top White House advisor a man devoted to public support for the white nationalist movement - for misogyny, for antisemitism, for the most grotesque forms of bigotry.
How can you not see that the ideals that define us as Americans have already been breached by our new leader? Your columns do play a role in directing the thinking of Americans during the transition. This public plea for open-mindedness, or “low passion wonkery”, is profoundly dangerous.
4
When Trump withdraws the nomination of Jeff Sessions to be Attorney General, I will start listening. Otherwise I will continue to judge him by his actions not his attempts to lull into indifference those who voted for him and those who did not.
4
Well said...particularly given your visceral dislike of Mr. Trump. It will fall on many deaf, self-righteous ears here, but it needed to be said. It's time for the childish tantrums to recede so the adults on all sides can step forward.
I know right?
How dare the cast of 'Hamilton' ask the VP elect to treat every American fairly.
President elect trump was totally right to unload his childiah tantrum on them.
How dare black people durectly address a white man...and the vp elect of all people.
How dare the cast of 'Hamilton' ask the VP elect to treat every American fairly.
President elect trump was totally right to unload his childiah tantrum on them.
How dare black people durectly address a white man...and the vp elect of all people.
1
I disagree. My friends who voted for Trump or at least demonized Hillary Clinton did not lose manufacturing jobs. They were either extremely pro-life to the point of being willing to make those decisions for others or clearly racist...not to the point of doing violence or joining the KKK, but to the point of disparaging the bahavior of other groups of people. This comes out in our dinner conversations occasionally. I am sorry, but a lot of these voters while maybe not members of the KKK, are willing to blame all of the ills in the US on the poor and immigrants. They are doing just fine job-wise.
7
David, I love your introspection, but suggesting that other Trump critics who have been introspective in the wake of Trump's election, and are writing about it, are narcissistic, is ridiculous. They too are trying to understand what has happened. Ironically, your belief that you have escaped the kind of narcissism you see elsewhere makes that portion of this piece the most narcissistic thing I've read on Trump.
1
Listen to what? To more racist, sexist, war mongering, hateful, mysogynist, white nationalism, lies, you tube? Give it up, there is no reason to listen, to "give the guy a chance." That is a false narrative just like the angry white guy routine during the campaign. I'm an artist, a progressive Dem, a woman, a college graduate, an "elite," have Brown skinned friends, family, & professional colleagues, voted with he popular majority; live in the swamp; this new government doesn't give a rip about me except for the cost of that new jail cell. So the only thing I'm listening to is the rhetoric that will put me in danger, hopefully with enough notice so that I can get out of town before those angry white guys catch up with me. It's a sad day when W looks like a saint in comparison, at least I wasn't living in fear of the red hats.
3
David: stop and listen to yourself!
".....There will be plenty of time to be disgusted with Trump’s bigotry, narcissism and incompetence...."
Where is the evidence for those 3 adjectives, other than the media's echo chamber? Incompetence? He's a successful businessman. Bigotry? He refuses to be muzzled by Political Correctness. Narcissism? You have to have a big ego to run for President -- name one candidate who didn't.
".....There will be plenty of time to be disgusted with Trump’s bigotry, narcissism and incompetence...."
Where is the evidence for those 3 adjectives, other than the media's echo chamber? Incompetence? He's a successful businessman. Bigotry? He refuses to be muzzled by Political Correctness. Narcissism? You have to have a big ego to run for President -- name one candidate who didn't.
So Brooks opens his opinions with statements about the failures of government to properly regulate the public education system, the tech sector, the 1%, the very nature of civil discourse in the USA. Excuse me, but aren't these the "government overreach" things that he and his Republican cohorts have been wailing about for over a decade now? Guess what - they finally got them, so please don't complain to the rest of us about the failings of our system.
Furthermore, his statement that the Dems are 2-8 to the Repubs, slyly equates that this election was all about Republican Party ideals somehow superior to those of the Democratic Party. Trump's platforms of non-policies/non-national ideals/non-sense have about as much to do with the Republican Party (or for that matter the Democrat Party) as Trump himself has to the Office of the President of the United States.
You asked for it, Brooks, you got it. You now need to do everything you can in word and deed to insure that this monster's tenure is as short as possible. Got Impeachment?
Furthermore, his statement that the Dems are 2-8 to the Repubs, slyly equates that this election was all about Republican Party ideals somehow superior to those of the Democratic Party. Trump's platforms of non-policies/non-national ideals/non-sense have about as much to do with the Republican Party (or for that matter the Democrat Party) as Trump himself has to the Office of the President of the United States.
You asked for it, Brooks, you got it. You now need to do everything you can in word and deed to insure that this monster's tenure is as short as possible. Got Impeachment?
2
Curious that when Trump dismayed the pundits and all of us by winning Mr. Brooks and so many other apologists wrote that we had not talked to these disaffected white voters without college education. That we did not know first hand about the Trump voters. I wonder if Brooks has bothered to speak to any of them yet? If so he would have heard what I and those of his readers who have written in have heard over and over again. It is not pretty. It is deplorable. And we do not need more apologists
4
Always remember and never forget: Clinton won the popular vote, Trump won the election with votes from a little more than 25% of eligible voters, and almost 50% of eligible voters didn't-- and certainly a lot of those voters didn't vote because publications like the New York Times and pundits like David Brooks said over and over again that a Clinton presidency was inevitable. So while I agree with the general sentiment of the need to listen to the "Trump supporter who wasn’t motivated by racism or bigotry," it's important to also remember that Trump's victory was hardly a mandate.
In any event, it would be easy for Trump et al to shut down the fight against normalizing the rise of white supremacy (rebranded the "alt-right") and hate crimes and misogyny. All Trump has to do is spend at least as much time speaking out against these things as he does tweeting against protests, Hamilton, and the New York Times. If he recorded a 2:30 infomercial speaking passionately about how there is no room for antisemites or neo-nazis or hate crimes in this country and it has to stop now, he'd have some argument against the fight to normalize the segment of his supporters perpetrating this stuff.
In any event, it would be easy for Trump et al to shut down the fight against normalizing the rise of white supremacy (rebranded the "alt-right") and hate crimes and misogyny. All Trump has to do is spend at least as much time speaking out against these things as he does tweeting against protests, Hamilton, and the New York Times. If he recorded a 2:30 infomercial speaking passionately about how there is no room for antisemites or neo-nazis or hate crimes in this country and it has to stop now, he'd have some argument against the fight to normalize the segment of his supporters perpetrating this stuff.
2
David, I agree. More importantly I'm realizing that the self-reverential myopathy of NYT readers may drive me from this publication. Most all of the commenters missed your point completely! Sad days indeed.
2
I have listened to Trump try to destroy the press. That is all the listening I need to do.
3
"But let’s be honest: It wouldn’t kill us Trump critics to take a break from our never-ending umbrage to engage in a little listening."
For those of us not from Cosmopolitania, reflecting is unnecessary. We've seen this coming for a long time ... decades, in fact. The real question is not what lessons need learning but whether they can be absorbed. None of us does well facing facts that disagree with our most cherished opinions, yet that's what we're all being tasked to do.
Trump killed politics as we've known it since the time of LBJ. We don't know what will replace it. Let's pray it isn't hate and fear, since that leads nowhere good. We'll know more with the numbness wears off.
For those of us not from Cosmopolitania, reflecting is unnecessary. We've seen this coming for a long time ... decades, in fact. The real question is not what lessons need learning but whether they can be absorbed. None of us does well facing facts that disagree with our most cherished opinions, yet that's what we're all being tasked to do.
Trump killed politics as we've known it since the time of LBJ. We don't know what will replace it. Let's pray it isn't hate and fear, since that leads nowhere good. We'll know more with the numbness wears off.
11
Mr. Brooks I have to say I am astonished sir... you clearly never read the comments from your readers... anyone who voted for Trump is complicit in tolerating racism and sexism and other unsavory behavior which is an affront to the US constitution as well as humanity... there is no way to validate this... are you even capable of understanding the fear and anxiety with which more than half the nation is experiencing right now? American Values of equality and basic human decency are at stake and you're asking for a listening ear for those who made this happen? Knowingly and willingly electing a bigot for President was a deeply selfish way of enacting ANY change effectively elevating ones self interests over others' human rights and equality... sorry but that is fundamentally wrong and shockingly short-sighted.... Mr. Brooks stop trying to normalize this while also giving those who voted for this a pass....the fear is real and what's happening is wrong plain and simple.
3
Most every recognized social category of people in the United States have at some point in American history been on the receiving end of job and economic stimulus programs created by racist, xenophobic, bigoted misogynists and the direct consequence has been the need for legal, policy, labor, social, housing, environmental and medical protection from state and federal governments. This President-elect is only another historical figure who follows a tired rut that US electorates seem forever prepared to tolerate.
While I agree with much of what you said, David, I believe you have glossed over a couple of things. The failures of our education system, for example, are not simply due to poor design by "experts." One party has worked to starve government programs, including public education, of the resources needed for them to be successful, contributing to a self-fulfilling prophecy about government incompetence. Secondly, with the GOP so firmly in control of the federal government and most state governments, it's difficult to be optimistic about having much of an impact on improving Trump’s proposals.
2
That's it? 'Listen better'. M'kay. I think 'elitists' are smart precisely because they are good listeners. If Trump supporters were better listeners we all wouldn't be in this mess. This moment in American history has '... condemned to repeat it' written all over it, and we shouldn't be blaming that on those who didn't forget history.
2
I am so tired of white, mostly men, telling me to "give Trump a chance" and to "try a little listening." When a person comes into the room waiving a gun and telling you he's going to shoot this person, and this person and that person, do you "give him a chance" to start shooting or do you try to take his gun away at every opportunity?
7
To the degree that David's argument is, "listening is good," "a mark of character," I agree. To quote Socrates, "It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it." In any age, however, history shows there comes a point when even thoughtful intellects must defend the weak against those who prefer clubs over reason. David's position seems to be that for the Trump administration this time has not yet come. But I suggest this point in our history passed way ahead of November 8th. In that, before the election was the most ideal time to have railed against a Trump presidency. And many did. Including prominent Republicans -- but not enough, and sadly not soon enough.
1
I appreciate Brook's approach.. What is going on here? I am a retired doctor so I look through the lens of What is the differential diagnosis? Where did this cancer of hate come from? Is it really an incurable cancer, or a treatable severe infection? There have been many a sleepless night when I would tumble over in my mind " what went wrong?, what is causing the symptoms, why did my surgery fail? What can I do now when I cannot see what to do.
The outcome of this election has reawakened these deep emotional reactions and I do believe there is wisdom of " walking in the other's shoes " this editorial undertakes as a beginning of working through the differential diagnosis..
The outcome of this election has reawakened these deep emotional reactions and I do believe there is wisdom of " walking in the other's shoes " this editorial undertakes as a beginning of working through the differential diagnosis..
1
Perhaps a friend of mine said it best when he coined the phrase "Electile Dysfunction".
Clinton had the popular vote by now close to 2 million voters.
She lost 3 key states which would have given her the win by a mere collective 100,000 votes.
One person one vote is not now or ever was the rule or law of the land or constitutional right.
Time to adapt to modern life and let it really be one person one vote.
Clinton had the popular vote by now close to 2 million voters.
She lost 3 key states which would have given her the win by a mere collective 100,000 votes.
One person one vote is not now or ever was the rule or law of the land or constitutional right.
Time to adapt to modern life and let it really be one person one vote.
1
No now you are scaring me...man up we are not fools!
2
This is the new meme. That those opposed to all the policies, such as they are, of the Trump administration, really need to do some soul searching and try to understand the opposition. Well, many of us have listened, and what we have heard is an opposition to science, especially as it relates to climate. What we have heard is a desire to make this a country that puts the needs of white people ahead of others. What we have heard is a desire to remove all limits on guns, and place all limits possible on women's health care. What we have heard is a desire to expand fossil fuel extraction and gut all environmental regulation. What we have heard is a goal of dismantling post WWII international accords. So our response is not that the country is not good enough for us. The country is currently in control of forces that we oppose with every moral sinew and fiber of our being. It is time to gird our loins and fight for the soul of our country. We have seen the enemy, and it is not us.
9
When I see a real jobs program, and a health care system that is an improvement over Obamacare (single payer system), and a condemnation of the white nationalists who are gloating over their "victory" then I might start listening. But the imaginary voter that Mr. Brooks conjures, this white woman who feels victimized by the American elites, should have voted for Bernie Sanders if she knew what she really needs; democratic socialism, not liberalism or conservatism. As it is, a neo-Fascist who hates losers and is putting right-wing military elements in control of foreign policy isn't going to make her life any easier.
3
Well said. All the emphasis on creating a college educated class has resulted in bloated administration from education to healthcare topped off by runaway financial engineering of Wall Street forgetting our communities, our children, our future.
You may not mean what you say about listening to the other side, but it’s a start. The heart follows words as often as words follow the heart.
And while you are working on improving yourself, please ratchet up your logic skills. The Dem’s are awful in going from the specific to the general in a form of false logic.
For example, all men are mortal. Henry is a man therefore Henry is mortal. This is a correct deduction.
Deducing therefore that all mortals are men would be incorrect.
I’ve seen Rosie O’Donnell’s takeoff of Trump on the show ‘The View.’ It’s hilarious and devastating. The comb over hair, the pursed, puckered and wavering lips as he speaks leaving him looking like a Parrot Fish. So when he calls her ‘fat’ and disgusting in retaliation it certainly is understandable on a personal level, if not on a national level but in any case because Rosie is a woman does not make it a case of misogyny. So too with many of his other utterances Dem’s consistently go from the specific to the general. You do the same in this editorial – it’s a distinction along the lines of not taking him literally but seriously.
Indeed Hillary’s undoing may have been going from a random number of Trump’s supporters being genuinely xenophobes, misogynists, racists, etc. to them all being ‘deplorable’.
I know you are a reporter not a mathematician but this level of logic belongs in everyone’s reasoning kit.
And while you are working on improving yourself, please ratchet up your logic skills. The Dem’s are awful in going from the specific to the general in a form of false logic.
For example, all men are mortal. Henry is a man therefore Henry is mortal. This is a correct deduction.
Deducing therefore that all mortals are men would be incorrect.
I’ve seen Rosie O’Donnell’s takeoff of Trump on the show ‘The View.’ It’s hilarious and devastating. The comb over hair, the pursed, puckered and wavering lips as he speaks leaving him looking like a Parrot Fish. So when he calls her ‘fat’ and disgusting in retaliation it certainly is understandable on a personal level, if not on a national level but in any case because Rosie is a woman does not make it a case of misogyny. So too with many of his other utterances Dem’s consistently go from the specific to the general. You do the same in this editorial – it’s a distinction along the lines of not taking him literally but seriously.
Indeed Hillary’s undoing may have been going from a random number of Trump’s supporters being genuinely xenophobes, misogynists, racists, etc. to them all being ‘deplorable’.
I know you are a reporter not a mathematician but this level of logic belongs in everyone’s reasoning kit.
2
This is all so bizarre. Donald Trump spent his entire campaign threatening those who disagree with him. The threats were all real, as far as I can tell, and were taken as such by his followers, as evidenced by the outbreaks of hate crime since his election. Based on his appointments so far (Bannon, Flynn and Sessions), there is no reason to believe he will not follow through on his many threats.
Yet now we are being told by his many "normalizers" in the GOP and the media, that these real threats were only so much campaign rhetoric, "locker room talk", if you will.
I'm sorry if I'm not falling for this good cop-bad cop routine. Donald Trump and his thinking represent a clear and dangerous challenge to our liberal, constitutional republican form of government.
I for one fear that our democracy, like others before us throughout the world, is devolving into a Putin-style corporate oligarchy ruled by a personality cult of strongmen.
Yet now we are being told by his many "normalizers" in the GOP and the media, that these real threats were only so much campaign rhetoric, "locker room talk", if you will.
I'm sorry if I'm not falling for this good cop-bad cop routine. Donald Trump and his thinking represent a clear and dangerous challenge to our liberal, constitutional republican form of government.
I for one fear that our democracy, like others before us throughout the world, is devolving into a Putin-style corporate oligarchy ruled by a personality cult of strongmen.
5
I've been thinking a lot about how the best imaginable Trump voter is going to be disappointed when Trump reneges on his promise to revive the buggy whip industry.
6
You still don't get it.
4
Mr. Brooks, if you are fond of drinking games, you might try one in which you take a sip every time you read "although Ms. Clinton was the winner of the popular vote" in a liberal piece. You'll be off of your feet quickly enough. The point, of course, is to challenge the legitimacy of the new president. And those who do so are the same crowd whose noses were out of joint when Trump asked for Obama's birth certificate.
There won't be any listening on the left. They already have the "answer." They are the anointed. The chosen. They are willing to put up with the rest of us so long as we fail to challenge their stranglehold on schools, media, and until recently, government.
But to think they have the capacity for reflection and judgment is absurd. If they did, they wouldn't have the beliefs they cling to so strongly now.
There won't be any listening on the left. They already have the "answer." They are the anointed. The chosen. They are willing to put up with the rest of us so long as we fail to challenge their stranglehold on schools, media, and until recently, government.
But to think they have the capacity for reflection and judgment is absurd. If they did, they wouldn't have the beliefs they cling to so strongly now.
1
The left is under the delusional that they are always the smartest people in the room and have to educate all others who don't agree. While we let them think this we know better we know they are not. We are a patient lot. I voter for her but the constant condescension by the left towards anyone who doesn't follow their rules was astounding this election cycle. It is why they lost, it is why they are delusional about most things. We'll let them stew for about 4 years and see if they have learned anything.
Well-written, as always. Many institutions have failed us. In terms of this election, the institution I'm most worried about is the FBI. Does the Hatch Act mean anything anymore? How could the FBI decide Russia was too charged a topic close to an election but Hillary's emails weren't? Who leaked to Rudy Giuliani to expect the October surprise? How about a real investigation (going into FBI emails and phone records) that can satisfy Democratic voters that the FBI as an institution still exists to protect our democratic society?
1
Trump just announced through an aide that he's not going to attempt to prosecute Hillary. One more crazed frightful campaign promise bites the dust.
Remember "Lock her up, Lock her up?" So how do the Trump voters feel about this? Are they angry that Trump isn't going to do what he said he would do ... and anybody looking can infer, given how quick the announcement has come out, that he never really intended to?
Or do they think -- "yeah, that shows the liberals how tough we are?"
How do they think the Trump presidency will go? Looking at those cabinet picks -- how long before major scandal, or an "Iraq has WMDs?"
Remember "Lock her up, Lock her up?" So how do the Trump voters feel about this? Are they angry that Trump isn't going to do what he said he would do ... and anybody looking can infer, given how quick the announcement has come out, that he never really intended to?
Or do they think -- "yeah, that shows the liberals how tough we are?"
How do they think the Trump presidency will go? Looking at those cabinet picks -- how long before major scandal, or an "Iraq has WMDs?"
1
OK, I'm listening. So far what I've heard is the nomination of the most narrow minded people possible for high level posts. If Trump wants us to listen, then he has to say something worth listening to. Trump says he wants to be the president of all the people but his nominations thus far have indicated just the opposite.
So I guess it's up to the Senate. Most, if not all Democrats, will oppose the confirmation of hacks like Giuliani and Palin. Now they need to do find a few like-minded Republicans who REALLY care about uniting the country.
So I guess it's up to the Senate. Most, if not all Democrats, will oppose the confirmation of hacks like Giuliani and Palin. Now they need to do find a few like-minded Republicans who REALLY care about uniting the country.
2
Is this the voter who has consistently voted against her own economic interests?
Is this the voter who has consistently voted for candidates that promise tax cuts?
Is this the voter who thinks that health care for all is "socialism?"
Is this the voter who puts down those with a degree as elitist?
Is this the voter who chooses a candidate based on whether one can have a beer with him?
Is this the voter that thinks that regulations are a stranglehold on business?
Is this the voter who takes all the above actions and then is puzzled when her school, hospital, community college, local store, fire department, job training program are not functional because of budget cuts?
I think we all met her on November 8th and now we are going to have to "listen" to her for the next four years at least.
Thanks to this voter we are going to see cuts in healthcare, in regulations that monitor air and water; assaults on a free press; bungled domestic and foreign policy; not to mention a rise in racism and misogyny.
Is this the voter who has consistently voted for candidates that promise tax cuts?
Is this the voter who thinks that health care for all is "socialism?"
Is this the voter who puts down those with a degree as elitist?
Is this the voter who chooses a candidate based on whether one can have a beer with him?
Is this the voter that thinks that regulations are a stranglehold on business?
Is this the voter who takes all the above actions and then is puzzled when her school, hospital, community college, local store, fire department, job training program are not functional because of budget cuts?
I think we all met her on November 8th and now we are going to have to "listen" to her for the next four years at least.
Thanks to this voter we are going to see cuts in healthcare, in regulations that monitor air and water; assaults on a free press; bungled domestic and foreign policy; not to mention a rise in racism and misogyny.
2
It is precisely this type of arrogance and condescension that lost the election for Ms. Clinton. The fact that Mr. Trump overcame not only his own considerable personal baggage (which was widely pointed out in great detail by the NYT and other liberal media), the Republican Establishment, sixteen primary challengers but also a well funded and well organized campaign by Ms Clinton should tell you that the electorate was extremely unhappy with their other choices. Let us be clear: this electoral result was no fluke. The American people were so dissatisfied with the political status quo that they were willing take a chance on an inexperienced, unconventional candidate like Mr. Trump. (Many, if not most, people who voted for Ms. Clinton were also unhappy with their choice.) This was an act of desperation and not ignorance or stupidity as your remarks imply. If similar future results are to be avoided, the concerns of the disaffected electorate must be listened to, taken into consideration and appropriately acted upon. They must not be ridiculed.
Over 46.8% of you Dems sat out this past election, the blame lies squarely on the shoulders of the one sided view from the DNC, you had a candidate that could have beaten him and you ran with the anointed one and now we all get to pay for that. As an indie voter all my life I voted for her because she wasn't as bad as him. So look inward next time.
Frankly my outrage is directed at the media that failed the public. To truly point out the Trump hypocrisy, or his running-mates own email troubles. To drill down into the truth about Trump's many overseas investments, and how that will taint his ability to govern. Or the fact that hes not creating jobs in the US that truly make an impact on the people he was seducing with his "Jobs!" rants. To investigate everyone who was rubbing against Trump during the campaign. To remake the case against Sessions, Gingrich, Giuliani, etc. To do more to point Bannons use of white supremacy to build his news site.
But instead the media, even respected journalists spent too much time clucking about Trump's tweets, or excessively harping on HRCs non-prosecutable mail troubles. Spent too much on the Trump Personality, instead of his track record.
My only argument with Trump supporters was not about him, but the people, mostly white males with bad histories circling around him. Without them he gets nothing done. Without men already trained in the corrupt ways of the beltway, he gets nothing done!
Its these narcissist and demagogues hes surrounding himself with that have always worried me.
But instead the media, even respected journalists spent too much time clucking about Trump's tweets, or excessively harping on HRCs non-prosecutable mail troubles. Spent too much on the Trump Personality, instead of his track record.
My only argument with Trump supporters was not about him, but the people, mostly white males with bad histories circling around him. Without them he gets nothing done. Without men already trained in the corrupt ways of the beltway, he gets nothing done!
Its these narcissist and demagogues hes surrounding himself with that have always worried me.
1
I listen to two year olds in my family. That doesn't make me talk in goo goo words all day.
The that believe what the alt right believe have been propagandized. On the low information end, that means Breitbart and Alex Jones. Bt it goes on up the intellectual ladder, where think tanks put out books supporting the rights ideas in a variety of unexpected places. I wanted to read about the popular physics idea of Emergence. After a chapter or two, it lead to a discussion of despicable liberals-- thats saturating even niche market with right wing ideas and ideals.
Mr. Brooks, you do the same thing.
The that believe what the alt right believe have been propagandized. On the low information end, that means Breitbart and Alex Jones. Bt it goes on up the intellectual ladder, where think tanks put out books supporting the rights ideas in a variety of unexpected places. I wanted to read about the popular physics idea of Emergence. After a chapter or two, it lead to a discussion of despicable liberals-- thats saturating even niche market with right wing ideas and ideals.
Mr. Brooks, you do the same thing.
1
Trump's critics are not "swept up in our own moral superiority" and superiority of professional competence. We accurately recognize Trump's inferior characteristics, as Brooks writes, of "bigotry, narcissism and incompetence." The time to counter that is now, every hour and every day.
That does not preclude giving him a chance or listening to Trump voters, or "offer[ing] concrete amendments and alternatives" to Trump's proposals. That is what our legislators, led by Democrats, are doing. That is right, that is their job, and we should support them. But it doesn't stop them or us using our other capacities to simultaneously resist the overall Trump presidency, which, as a whole, is vastly dangerous to our country, our democratic institutions and to the world.
I'd like to have one simple strategy, too, but this is not simple or small.
Finally, "the experts" (unless you mean Michelle Rhee) did not "[create] a school system that doesn't provide skilled students" or "Obama exchanges that are failing." It is the Republican right that has relentlessly attacked government that disables good government form operating.
That does not preclude giving him a chance or listening to Trump voters, or "offer[ing] concrete amendments and alternatives" to Trump's proposals. That is what our legislators, led by Democrats, are doing. That is right, that is their job, and we should support them. But it doesn't stop them or us using our other capacities to simultaneously resist the overall Trump presidency, which, as a whole, is vastly dangerous to our country, our democratic institutions and to the world.
I'd like to have one simple strategy, too, but this is not simple or small.
Finally, "the experts" (unless you mean Michelle Rhee) did not "[create] a school system that doesn't provide skilled students" or "Obama exchanges that are failing." It is the Republican right that has relentlessly attacked government that disables good government form operating.
1
Until about two and a half years ago, in all my 70 years, I was never involved as an educator in a public school system. I began to tutor elementary school kids in September 2014 in part to see what the teachers were like. Did they fit the descriptions that people like yourself so frequently and gratuitously make about teachers? I'm sure you'll be happy to know that at least in this community, I've never seen a group of committed people in their jobs. They do seven different jobs and once and are able to shift emotional gears quickly, moving from educator to disciplinarian to comforter, to counselor, to administrator, etc., etc. They don't simply multi-task, they multi-emote. They have extraordinarily difficult jobs. Someone said this about police recently, that they perform all of the tasks other people should be doing in our society. All of our problems descend upon them. The same could be said of teachers. The kids come from difficult circumstances? The kids are homeless? The kids are abused at home? The kids are hungry? The kids have moved six times in the past year? It will be the teachers who have to deal with the behavioral issues that come through the door to the classroom, and then they have you there to hector them from the sidelines.
2
What this election is teaching us? That Trump was elected by only 20% of Americans because too many good people sat on their thumbs! Apathy, protest abstinence or "third party" votes- all contributed to handing the hen house over to the foxes. By the time the full extent of the disaster becomes clear we'll be years down the road. Happy flying everybody!
2
Your Trump voter who wasn't motivated by racism or bigotry and "cringed every time Donald Trump did something cruel, vulgar or misogynistic," voted for racism and bigotry anyway? When has Donald Trump ever acted with kindness, decency or respect for women? This voter wanted better schools, you say - well, why didn't she run for the school board or join the PTA? She has blindly, even selfishly, voted for a gang who bring down a "long night of barbarism" upon us. Wait and see? We have not had to wait, but we have seen - and it is not good.
2
Thoughtful, timely and persuasive.
Brooks's approach would have us act as if this is a normal political event in our history. Only about 10% of Germans were actual Nazis, but the majority of Germans did not protest, they went along. The disagreements are not about trade policy, or even foreign policy, although Trump's ignorance here is cause for concern. This is a man who ignores all ethics (conducting his business along with his daughter while talking with foreign leaders), but also ignores basic human decency. Brooks will not be hurt no matter who is president, but many of the people I work with will be hurt directly. I will not wait and go along for them. I do not believe this is being narcissistic. I believe Mr. Brooks, immune from the depredations of whatever Trump does, can afford to wax philosophical, as many Germans did.
5
David, the time to be disgusted with Trump's bigotry, narcissism and incompetence is RIGHT NOW. I'm sorry, but we cannot, CANNOT normalize this. This is not normal. This is not normal at all.
2
In talking with one of my students, was told that the reason he voted for Trump was because he wanted to be able to say "Merry Christmas" again. I know it is a sample size of 1, but it didn't make me feel better about Trump voters.
3
I went through a drive through at a local McDonald's yesterday, and for the first time, there is now a sign posted up front to close the restaurant early around 2 or 5 pm during major holidays like Thanksgiving other than Easter or Christmas. This is a change, and perhaps on a bigger corporate level, to focus on the happiness and the welfare of the "working class." In my company, our shops normally open 365 days a year, 12-14 hours a day, but this year upper management have also decided to close early so workers can go home to their family and celebrate. During the economic fall-out of 2008, an executive at one of the Fortune 500 companies during a leadership conference at the Wharton Business School at U Penn stated that for the next following years, her company will only focus on its strength, its people, and not so much on numbers or anything that has a low probability of changing because of the drag of the recession. 90% of registered Republicans voted along party line and for Trump in this election, so that won't change much. The DNC needs to refocus on its core group, getting them back to being more engaged, committed, and restores their faith. Most Dems don't flag their emotions like the Trump voters this year. They are more reticent and conformist, more likely to stay home and stick to the same job. Unfortunately, numbers, albeit polls, performance metrics, standardized testing scores, indicators, dashboards here don't tell the full story.
You have to really listen.
You have to really listen.
Listening is a good choice but perhaps empathy with the Donald might be a better one. The Donald empathized with Americans. The one compelling argument for America is that if you want you can be an American. Not a Latino, black, white, LGBT or some other minority. Oh, you can if you wish identify this way, however those should be secondary. Being an American is being all in. Being an American means earning respect not having it handed to you. To those who have suffered needlessly in the past you have my sympathy but now is the time to concertize yours gains and get in the game; as Americans. As Americans you will be greater than the sum of the parts. Right or wrong the world needs a whole America.
Apparently I'm not done...
Intellectuals not listening to the needs of underpaid, underskilled white workers? Balderdash!! Pat Buchanan? Please.
Listen to serious public intellectuals... Chomsky, Moyer, Hedges, Klein... they talk of nothing but the needs of underpaid and underskilled workers ― of all stripes. They work tirelessly for good public schools, for solid safety nets, for solid healthcare, for worker's rights and fair working conditions.
Now... does Mr. Brooks' theoretical voter believe that the left has forgotten her? Of course she does, because she's fed a steady diet of propaganda from the likes of Limbaugh, Hannity, Coulter... Fox... WSJ. The recent hyperventilating over Fake News is stunning, given that it's been going on for decades. Not from teenagers in Eastern Europe, but crass cynics right here it home. If you want to point fingers at who hasn't been paying attention to the needs of disaffected whites, point them at the rightwing propaganda machine.
I wondered how long it would take Mr. Brooks to lay all of this at the feet of the 'smart people' (professors) who aren't listening. Apparently... just this long. But don't you believe it. It's nonsense.
Intellectuals not listening to the needs of underpaid, underskilled white workers? Balderdash!! Pat Buchanan? Please.
Listen to serious public intellectuals... Chomsky, Moyer, Hedges, Klein... they talk of nothing but the needs of underpaid and underskilled workers ― of all stripes. They work tirelessly for good public schools, for solid safety nets, for solid healthcare, for worker's rights and fair working conditions.
Now... does Mr. Brooks' theoretical voter believe that the left has forgotten her? Of course she does, because she's fed a steady diet of propaganda from the likes of Limbaugh, Hannity, Coulter... Fox... WSJ. The recent hyperventilating over Fake News is stunning, given that it's been going on for decades. Not from teenagers in Eastern Europe, but crass cynics right here it home. If you want to point fingers at who hasn't been paying attention to the needs of disaffected whites, point them at the rightwing propaganda machine.
I wondered how long it would take Mr. Brooks to lay all of this at the feet of the 'smart people' (professors) who aren't listening. Apparently... just this long. But don't you believe it. It's nonsense.
4
All I've done is listen. I listened as Donald Trump spewed and legitimized the most hateful rhetoric. I listened as he piled lie upon lie. I listened as he made one magical promise after another. I listened really hard for some policy proposals and just heard crickets.
I am tired of hearing about those nice Trump supporters who just want a better world for themselves and their children.
Every Saturday afternoon my German mother (who immigrated to the US after WWII) would have her friends over for coffee and cake. These were the nicest ladies in the world. Adorable. And yet. so often the conversation would turn to how unfairly history viewed Adolf Hitler. He did SO MANY good things. He really was just what Germany needed at that time. Why could no one see that? And, so many lies about that holocaust business. As if something like that could even be possible. Ha ha ha. Delicious Apfelkuchen, by the way.
That's when I learned that some really lovely people can harbor some really vile sentiments. Paper it over at your peril.
Trump voters may say you're not a racist, but if you voted for Donald Trump you approved of his message. You rubber stamped it. You empowered it. You own it. At least have the courage of your convictions to admit that.
I am tired of hearing about those nice Trump supporters who just want a better world for themselves and their children.
Every Saturday afternoon my German mother (who immigrated to the US after WWII) would have her friends over for coffee and cake. These were the nicest ladies in the world. Adorable. And yet. so often the conversation would turn to how unfairly history viewed Adolf Hitler. He did SO MANY good things. He really was just what Germany needed at that time. Why could no one see that? And, so many lies about that holocaust business. As if something like that could even be possible. Ha ha ha. Delicious Apfelkuchen, by the way.
That's when I learned that some really lovely people can harbor some really vile sentiments. Paper it over at your peril.
Trump voters may say you're not a racist, but if you voted for Donald Trump you approved of his message. You rubber stamped it. You empowered it. You own it. At least have the courage of your convictions to admit that.
3
First page of today's NYT Business section: an article revealing the fake news that Hillary Clinton did not, in fact, kidnap, molest, and traffic children in a Washington, DC pizzeria's backrooms. Now David, if a Trump voter tells us this false story or a similar fake news article is why he voted for Trump -- where do we begin? By suggesting he run the story by Snopes? If he tells us he doesn't trust Snopes or Factcheck or even the "lyin NY Times" - then what? Can we stop listening, then?
1
"the experts created a school system that doesn’t produce skilled graduates"
Really?
Mr. Critic-of-Fellow-Trump-Critics, maybe you need to try a little listening - to yourself.
For decades, the "experts" (there aren't any, actually) did create and ran a school system that "worked." I attended that school system in the 1950s and 1960s. That system took the children of America, from kids whose families had been here since before the revolution, to kids like me whose grandparents had been immigrants, and turned us into successful skilled laborers, small business owners, lawyers and politicians, doctors, scientists, engineers, artists, teachers, and yes, good parents, whose own children went even further than we did.
No "experts" created a failed education system. It worked. But the environment changed. The jobs we could attain disappeared. The families no longer sent kids to school read and eager to learn and improve themselves. There are responsibilities to adjust the schools to the new realities. But the Republican Party (your party, Mr. C-o-F-T-C.) has a solution: defund the public schools, because, supposedly, the reason the schools failed is because they are funded by the government. And under Trump, supposedly, there will be a better solution? Maybe a K-12 version of Trump University?
Really?
Mr. Critic-of-Fellow-Trump-Critics, maybe you need to try a little listening - to yourself.
For decades, the "experts" (there aren't any, actually) did create and ran a school system that "worked." I attended that school system in the 1950s and 1960s. That system took the children of America, from kids whose families had been here since before the revolution, to kids like me whose grandparents had been immigrants, and turned us into successful skilled laborers, small business owners, lawyers and politicians, doctors, scientists, engineers, artists, teachers, and yes, good parents, whose own children went even further than we did.
No "experts" created a failed education system. It worked. But the environment changed. The jobs we could attain disappeared. The families no longer sent kids to school read and eager to learn and improve themselves. There are responsibilities to adjust the schools to the new realities. But the Republican Party (your party, Mr. C-o-F-T-C.) has a solution: defund the public schools, because, supposedly, the reason the schools failed is because they are funded by the government. And under Trump, supposedly, there will be a better solution? Maybe a K-12 version of Trump University?
1
Opposing Trump: WE NEED A MASSIVE DEMONSTRATION AGAINST TRUMP NOW!
I am hearing every day from organizations on the left--Move-On, We n350.org, Common Cause, Democracy for America and a dozen others, all looking for my money to oppose Trump.
I am exasperated. What is needed now is a massive demonstration all over the country by ALL voters who oppose Trump. The opposition groups on the left could get together and organize this very quickly Once he's in office he will do his damage--chop! chop!-- to one group after another, with no group big enough to successfully oppose him.
Hillary Clinton won the election by 2 million votes. She should be oour president, despite her flaws, on January 21. Right now we should demand that electors cast their vote for the candidate of the national majority. Right now there should be a boycott of all Trump-related properties in every country. I am angry as it appears that the Trump victory only calls forth competition by organizations on the left to get my money--not to act effectively.
I am hearing every day from organizations on the left--Move-On, We n350.org, Common Cause, Democracy for America and a dozen others, all looking for my money to oppose Trump.
I am exasperated. What is needed now is a massive demonstration all over the country by ALL voters who oppose Trump. The opposition groups on the left could get together and organize this very quickly Once he's in office he will do his damage--chop! chop!-- to one group after another, with no group big enough to successfully oppose him.
Hillary Clinton won the election by 2 million votes. She should be oour president, despite her flaws, on January 21. Right now we should demand that electors cast their vote for the candidate of the national majority. Right now there should be a boycott of all Trump-related properties in every country. I am angry as it appears that the Trump victory only calls forth competition by organizations on the left to get my money--not to act effectively.
1
Please. Clinton conceded. Let's move on.
Long before Donald Trump took hold of it, I was disgusted with the Republican Party. Obstructionist, hyperbolic, hypocritical, fact-free, and downright disrespectful. I've often wondered if my party would devolve into the same bad behavior if they found themselves out of power or rise to the standard of a contentious minority. The biggest threat to Democracy is not Trump; it is the red-team/blue-team mentality that makes effective government impossible. If Hillary Clinton had won the election, politics as sport would have continued and progress would have remained stalled with no end in sight. Ironically her loss may be the biggest opportunity for Democrats to serve their country, by working in good faith with the new administration to not only craft public policy, but to also fix a dysfunctional government so that their agenda can be advanced when they regain power.
Bannon "vowed to use that money to create a new New Deal that will win over 40 percent of the black and Hispanic vote, creating a neo-Jacksonian majority that will govern for 50 years."
The Republican obstructionism of the last 8 years will thus come to bear fruit.
The Republican obstructionism of the last 8 years will thus come to bear fruit.
Well, a voice of reason. I'm not reassured by the Trump appointments so far, but let's reaction to concrete actions he takes. We can watch his behavior and chart it -- for instance his major media plays in the last two days. We must pay attention and then act.
It's nice to read you've decided it's time to move on and that licking wounds for too long only leaves a bad taste in your mouth and now it's time for the wound to heal on it's own. Best thing now is to just leave alone and let nature take over.
"It seems like the first thing to do is really learn what this election is teaching us."
You do that Mr. Brooks. Take your time to learn what this election is teaching you. Take a year. Take four years. Heck, you've given yourself over 30 years to learn what your Party has been up to. Because you, in the comfort of your gated and well-upholstered (the walls apparently sound-proofed) community, have, or assume you have, the time. Because your location in the warming-to-boiling kettle, at the moment, just doesn't feel that warm to you.
You're not in danger of losing your health insurance, are you? You're not in danger of being deported, are you? You're not in danger of having your marital status annulled (you've already taken care of that yourself). You're not in danger of having your voting rights suppressed. You're not in danger of having your reproductive choice taken away.
You can afford to be smug, and patient, and advise perspective, can't you, Mr. Brooks. Because from where you sit, the outcome of this election had absolutely no consequences that would impact you. Or so you think.
Keep learning from this election, Mr. Brooks.
You do that Mr. Brooks. Take your time to learn what this election is teaching you. Take a year. Take four years. Heck, you've given yourself over 30 years to learn what your Party has been up to. Because you, in the comfort of your gated and well-upholstered (the walls apparently sound-proofed) community, have, or assume you have, the time. Because your location in the warming-to-boiling kettle, at the moment, just doesn't feel that warm to you.
You're not in danger of losing your health insurance, are you? You're not in danger of being deported, are you? You're not in danger of having your marital status annulled (you've already taken care of that yourself). You're not in danger of having your voting rights suppressed. You're not in danger of having your reproductive choice taken away.
You can afford to be smug, and patient, and advise perspective, can't you, Mr. Brooks. Because from where you sit, the outcome of this election had absolutely no consequences that would impact you. Or so you think.
Keep learning from this election, Mr. Brooks.
4
So, the example offered of a misunderstood Trump voter is "... one of those people ... who admires rich people but disdains professionals..."?
That is diametrically opposed to my view.
I admire professionals and disdain rich people. Professionals must earn their position through education, training and hard work. Rich people are often rich because they are corrupt, greedy, and born with a silver-spoon in their mouth. (See: President-Elect Trump.)
That is diametrically opposed to my view.
I admire professionals and disdain rich people. Professionals must earn their position through education, training and hard work. Rich people are often rich because they are corrupt, greedy, and born with a silver-spoon in their mouth. (See: President-Elect Trump.)
2
The biggest lesson from this election is that we live in a truly polarized country. I am normally an optimistic person but I truly don't see how this ever widening divide can be bridged.
As an urban, east coast, upper middle class, well-educated intellectual, I feel like I am the object of their scorn. I should not be ashamed of who I am - I am being the American I was taught to be - I studied hard in school, was fiscally responsible, donate extensively to various charities, tolerant of diversity, trying to move the economy forward in a way that makes everyone, not just myself, better off. But apparently this is not the new American dream. Now the dream is to be crass, egocentric, macho, isolationist and pushing the economy backwards into the industrial age when we should be moving forward with the knowledge economy. That is really scary...
As an urban, east coast, upper middle class, well-educated intellectual, I feel like I am the object of their scorn. I should not be ashamed of who I am - I am being the American I was taught to be - I studied hard in school, was fiscally responsible, donate extensively to various charities, tolerant of diversity, trying to move the economy forward in a way that makes everyone, not just myself, better off. But apparently this is not the new American dream. Now the dream is to be crass, egocentric, macho, isolationist and pushing the economy backwards into the industrial age when we should be moving forward with the knowledge economy. That is really scary...
3
David,
I'm an American born citizen of Middle Eastern ancestry (Assyrian Christians from Iran, and survivors of the Armenian Genocide). Should we remain in the country under a Trump presidency, my family and I now face the very real spectre of registration and internment in the land where I was born. If there is any moral obligation to listen, it lies squarely with Trump voters.
I'm an American born citizen of Middle Eastern ancestry (Assyrian Christians from Iran, and survivors of the Armenian Genocide). Should we remain in the country under a Trump presidency, my family and I now face the very real spectre of registration and internment in the land where I was born. If there is any moral obligation to listen, it lies squarely with Trump voters.
1
To all, get over all your (woe is me). The election is over, live your lives. Remember, there will be another election in 2018. That is the time for change.
Boris and Natasha be lawyered up. All we get to do is listen. Good luck with constitutional emoluments impeachment. Of course we'd have to find out first where his money comes from! Not that Roberts court would do anything...
The republican party wins with lies. That is the problem. Are we supposed to dumb ourselves down and make up our own lies to compete.
Now I'm getting nervous. For as long as I can remember reading, I've agreed aggressively with Brooks. I hang on his every word. I sure hope he doesn't decide to go post-factual, because I'll probably follow.
A year from now, if infrastructure projects are ongoing, people are working for decent wages, minorities, women, all religious affiliations and immigrants are being treated fairly, and we aren't involved in any wars, either shooting or trade, then I will listen. Otherwise, the 2018 midterms can't come soon enough, and 2020 will hopefully be a purge year when all those Trump true believers realize how badly they have been lied to.
Just when it seemed like David Brooks might be finally realizing how despicable his Republican party is and what an embarrassing and awful president we will have for the next four years, he retreats into his typical hyper-rational fog -- like the ostrich's head in the sand. Yes, despite our democracy, wealth, and institutions, there are real problems in this country with jobs, schools, the environment, health care, pretty much everything. This isn't a reflection of the institutions or the "liberals" or the "elites" or the "competent," but rather a reflection of the flaws of the human species. Despite moments of nobility and compassion, we are for the most part short sighted, greedy, tribal, and selfish. The institutions and checks and balances are set up to try to manage these flaws. Trump may be able to blast through some of the normal gridlock, but he will very likely create a stinking mess in the process. We need more environmental regulations not fewer. We need more social justice not less. We need more global cooperation not less. that are provided by the people Trump has recently hired for his cabinet. Put America to work again my cutting down on global trade -- let's see how that works out ultimately.
I don't find it hard to empathize with white working class voters who have felt forgotten. I know that some voters who supported Obama voted for Trump in this election. But Donald Trump could not have won without the support of other groups and I don't see much attention given to those voters. In my own community, I know plenty of well off, college educated white people who voted for Trump. What is their excuse? They're being protected by the media's focus on the white working class so they don't have to bear any responsibility in the public eye for their terrible choice. And why aren't these Trump supporters, whatever their rationale for supporting him, speaking out against his appointments of white supremacists or against fellow Trump supporters' hateful attacks on Muslims, the LBGT community, African-Americans that have taken place since the election. Maybe it's because they're not bothered by it. No doubt we have to think about how we've failed the working class, but we also have to think about how we've allowed racism and sexism and xenophobia and homophobia to prosper in our country and what we can do to change that.
1
Nonsense masquerading as bad advice. If the imaginary woman in this article thinks Trump is going to empower her, she is in for a letdown. Trump knew how to leverage a polarized situation (which had helped create) and has ushered in a future of reactionary policies in Washington and the current hateful behavior in the hinterlands. He will use that charged atmosphere to push through legislation - including tax breaks for the wealthy - that will further enrich the powerful.
Hillary won the popular vote by more than a million votes. Yes, Democrats need to listen: to anyone who knows how to turn that, and additional turnout, into taking control of the Senate in 2018.
Hillary won the popular vote by more than a million votes. Yes, Democrats need to listen: to anyone who knows how to turn that, and additional turnout, into taking control of the Senate in 2018.
2
Great perspective. If we trump critics are bloviating now, before actual governing proposals are on the table, we feed the story line of "liberal whining" that will stick to our commentary when we have real things to call attention to - and no one outside our groupthink will hear...
I'm trying to figure out why we should listen to a person who just settled a case where he defrauded around 6,000 Americans; who called women "fat pigs", "slobs" and admitted to sexual assault; who demonized in racially charged language Mexicans and Muslims; who made a years-long, unabated and unabashed attempt to delegitimize Pres. Obama as foreign born; who now refuses to relinquish his business interests and just said, basically, well, we got what we voted for; who appointed - first thing - a proud white supremacist leader as his Chief Strategist, and then, a well-known racist for Attorney General; and who collaborated with Russia on their interference with our Presidential election, to what degree, we'll probably never know, now that he is in power. I'm listening. And, frankly, I'm truly frightened to hear what's ahead.
2
I have seen what is going on-none of it is good. It will not get better.
I do not get how anyone can say Obama did nothing for lower-income white people. The ACA is not perfect and needs work, but 20 million people are now insured and coverage appears to be available - gasp!- to white people, too.
It's not enough, it's not perfect, but it is more than Bush did.
It's not enough, it's not perfect, but it is more than Bush did.
5
It would be really newsworthy if Trump, somewhere in all this brouhaha he is creating, could acknowledge that he lost the popular vote and doesn't have anything like an overwhelming mandate instead of acting like the only star of the show which is what he's doing now
2
Hey David, who wrote the article "No Not Trump, Not Ever"? In case you forgot, here's the link: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/18/opinion/no-not-trump-not-ever.html?_r=0 Guess you just write articles but don't really believe what you write. Bye.
My father was like the woman supporting Trump, shaking his head at Trump's insensitivities, but wondering if he could change this broken system. Thank you David Brooks, for letting the "silence" inform us; you are a wise observer to all that is happening and many of us depend upon people like you to guide the way.
David,
Read your article w some interest. A clear problem, however, is that the damage that the PE and his appointments will do could last several generations. The PE vows a sustained attack through the Supreme Court on civil rights and individual choice. Also, at a time when the world's response the existential threat of global climate change is so urgent, a sustained US denial of it; labeling it bull, propagated by China, and a job killer (all totally untrue), will penalize children and grandchildren around the world, including here. The PE seems to surround himself with angry people who, like him, are incapable of listening, and no rethinking is going to help that.
Read your article w some interest. A clear problem, however, is that the damage that the PE and his appointments will do could last several generations. The PE vows a sustained attack through the Supreme Court on civil rights and individual choice. Also, at a time when the world's response the existential threat of global climate change is so urgent, a sustained US denial of it; labeling it bull, propagated by China, and a job killer (all totally untrue), will penalize children and grandchildren around the world, including here. The PE seems to surround himself with angry people who, like him, are incapable of listening, and no rethinking is going to help that.
Agreed. Stop demonizing. Stop normalizing. Start listening and analyzing results.
1
Orthodox republican have spent the last 30 years using McCarthy's tactics to undermine the government of this country.Witness this election. Trumpism has underlain their ideology and practice for years. They really have no interest in governing, only in removing government and leaving the next largest power centers, corporations, who, by the way have no real national identity, to roam and to ravage unhindered across the national landscape.
They have no national identity, so they can avoid paying taxes, and so they can ravage unhindered across the entire planet.
When I listen to this guy, I hear things that aren't true - at least in my own experience.
I hear blanket statements, simplistic solutions to problems involving millions of people, broad-brush characterizations of whole communities, scapegoats to blame for why things aren't going well. I hear melodrama.
And I hear unbridled self-promotion and the righteous, entitled aggression of a street hustler, fueled with the resentment of someone who feels he's been made a victim.
What I don't hear is a tone of measured judgement, a tone of thoughtful observation, a tone of work in progress.
Instead, I hear hasty, explosive conclusions, I hear impatience, I hear a man anxious to bring the project to a close.
I don't hear a President of this country.
I hear blanket statements, simplistic solutions to problems involving millions of people, broad-brush characterizations of whole communities, scapegoats to blame for why things aren't going well. I hear melodrama.
And I hear unbridled self-promotion and the righteous, entitled aggression of a street hustler, fueled with the resentment of someone who feels he's been made a victim.
What I don't hear is a tone of measured judgement, a tone of thoughtful observation, a tone of work in progress.
Instead, I hear hasty, explosive conclusions, I hear impatience, I hear a man anxious to bring the project to a close.
I don't hear a President of this country.
He contradicts himself all of the time. That is mathematics proof that he is a liar. But Clinton told a bunch of financiers, don't worry about what I say in public, wink wink, nod nod, I have different private policies. And that is mathematics proof that she is a liar.
We are all lets to some extent, but while Trump promised to blew up a fixed system, she promised to preserve it. Bernie promised to unfix it, but the DNC cheated to stop him.
We are all lets to some extent, but while Trump promised to blew up a fixed system, she promised to preserve it. Bernie promised to unfix it, but the DNC cheated to stop him.
"She is one of those people whom Joan C. Williams writes about in The Harvard Business Review who admires rich people but disdains professionals . . . "
Admires rich people? Really? Has "she" ever worked directly for one, as an employee, or as a contractor? Does "she" admire rich people the way that Italians admire Berlusconi? That Berlusconi got rich through lying and stealing, through his Mafia connections, and since that is the only way to get rich, and stay rich, in Italy, Italians admire Berlusconi.
Is that the way "she" admires rich people? "She" probably knows as much about rich people, as most White Christians in the U.S. know about non-Whites and non-Christians; they've never met one.
Admires rich people? Really? Has "she" ever worked directly for one, as an employee, or as a contractor? Does "she" admire rich people the way that Italians admire Berlusconi? That Berlusconi got rich through lying and stealing, through his Mafia connections, and since that is the only way to get rich, and stay rich, in Italy, Italians admire Berlusconi.
Is that the way "she" admires rich people? "She" probably knows as much about rich people, as most White Christians in the U.S. know about non-Whites and non-Christians; they've never met one.
3
Yes but corporate mass media feeds her a diet of the wonders of rich people, their clothes and their mansions, and bling, and how they came from nothing to get rich quick, because they are so special, and deserve to burn money for fun while she goes hungry.
According to Brooks, we live in a meritocracy, so if you are rich, it's because you deserve it, and if you are hungry, you deserved that.
So she believes that her poverty is her fault, but Trump will throw her a bone, because he will make America Great again.
According to Brooks, we live in a meritocracy, so if you are rich, it's because you deserve it, and if you are hungry, you deserved that.
So she believes that her poverty is her fault, but Trump will throw her a bone, because he will make America Great again.
1
I would hate to think that any of the people with whom I went to high school in West Virginia, who voted for DRT, are all racists and bigots. But Trump's message,when he put Steve Bannion in a leadership position for the White House, is very loud and very clear. I don't see a lot of compromise or conciliation down the road. Sorry.
1
I can't explain why any same person would vote for Trump, but I know very well why I voted against Clinton.
David, the very fact that we're hear criticizing Trump's prospective cabinet members is that we are looking, listening and defending the greater good. And there isn't a monolithic Trump voter: there are evangelical "Christians", white supremacists, white nationalists, conservatives, libertarians, disillusioned Republicans and Democrats. Which ones do we listen to?
Recall Isaac Asimov's cogent quote: "The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that “my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge."
Recall Isaac Asimov's cogent quote: "The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that “my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge."
1
The Trump voters that you need to worry about are the ones that wanted to vote for Bernie Sanders but were denied the opportunity. (In states with open primaries Bernie took a large portion of Trump supporters and used them to beat Clinton, including in New Hampshire and Wisconsin.)
You will never get loyal Republicans or those whose hearts are filled with hate to vote for Democrats. LBJ drive them out of the party when he signed the civil rights legislation, and good riddance. One of Clinton's biggest mistakes was to disrespect the Bernie supporters, while trying to get Republicans to vote for her as the lesser evil. What was she smoking?
Millennials tried to bring new energy to a party that didn't deserve them, so you drove them away by cheating and insulting them. The superdelegates are a scam and the put Trump in the Whitehouse.
You will never get loyal Republicans or those whose hearts are filled with hate to vote for Democrats. LBJ drive them out of the party when he signed the civil rights legislation, and good riddance. One of Clinton's biggest mistakes was to disrespect the Bernie supporters, while trying to get Republicans to vote for her as the lesser evil. What was she smoking?
Millennials tried to bring new energy to a party that didn't deserve them, so you drove them away by cheating and insulting them. The superdelegates are a scam and the put Trump in the Whitehouse.
Listening to politicians of every stripe, over the years, extolling the virtues of the middle class and how much they were going to do for us, left us disgusted and dispirited to say the least. I've been a lifelong, progressive Democrat, but I'm also a single dad who has what is considered to be a good local government job. During the recent fiscal crisis, fueled by corporate greed and facilitated by establishment Republican and Democratic politicians, my life and those of my peers was severely impacted and diminished. Both established parties have no one to blame but themselves for losing sight of who they represent and why. Americans on Main Street are sick and tired of empty promises and shilling for special interests. I don't believe that Donald Trump is the answer, but Hillary Clinton's primary pitch was that she was the un-Trump. Sorry, not good enough for this highly educated and open-minded, middle class guy.
4
All a big lie repeated often. He will enrich himself and the upper class. He will create a kleptocracy just like Putin. End of democracy. Hello scapegoating authoritarianism and further destruction of middle class and the poor. God bye civil rights.
1
As an immigrant who has been in this country for almost 30 years, I have hard time understand the complaint from many who are blaming the system for the difficulties in their lives. Back then, my 7-member family came here with exactly $100 and very little English. We ate stacks of Mrs Baird for breakfasts, lunches, and dinners. We worked for $4/hr, 10-12hr/day. Many of us dragged ourselves through high schools and colleges often with 2 for $1 cheese-burgers in our bag packs. It was hard. It was difficult. But we made it. This is the only country in this world where everyone is given the same opportunity. No, don't just work very hard thinking that your paycheck will keep coming forever. Do work hard with the understanding that you will need to move up the food chain. In this country, there is no guarantee that tomorrow will be the same as today. If you don't move forward, you are left behind, and don't blame the government for it.
There is one striking similarity between the two most populous ethnic groups in this country: the sense of entitlement. The poor white are bitter because they found this country, yet they are left behind. The poor black are bitter because of the horrific scars from the past.
Every 4 years, they cried the same song and caused this country to go from one extreme to another. Want social justice? Sure, I'll listen to you. Want economic justice? Only the the communist can give you that.
There is one striking similarity between the two most populous ethnic groups in this country: the sense of entitlement. The poor white are bitter because they found this country, yet they are left behind. The poor black are bitter because of the horrific scars from the past.
Every 4 years, they cried the same song and caused this country to go from one extreme to another. Want social justice? Sure, I'll listen to you. Want economic justice? Only the the communist can give you that.
1
Please David. Let me have my rage and disgust. It's all I have left after the appointments of Bannon, Sessions and Flynn. White supremacy is being normalized and you're asking us to calm down? So when do we get outraged? It's much harder to protest from inside an internment camp. You would have us wait for what exactly what? The PE is already showing how he'll conduct business, his first, country second. Ethical violations: NO PROBLEM. You want us not to notice, not to speak out? From this old woman, it's not going to happen, speaking out is exactly what it going to do, as well as protest while I still can.
1
You write as if Trump voters have no agency and are just passive victims of a process that lessens their worth and denies them dignity and opportunity. As far as I can tell, nobody is stopping them from making sure their kids are doing their homework at night, choosing to spend a day at the library or museum instead in front of the TV or at a sporting event, or actually doing something constructive with their co-religionists to improve the lives of everyone, instead of passing judgment and telling others how to conduct their lives in accordance with standards that are as hypocritical and inconsistent as the Bronze Age societies from which they were cherry-picked.
I've been listening to Trump supporters: the ones who are now coming out of the closet with their nazi tropes, unfiltered racism and homophobia, the ones t who are intentionally ignorant about climate change, the ones who base their understanding of human sexuality on Judeo-christian mythology, the ones who are blind to the richness of other cultures and the contributions of immigrants and minorities to the success for this country, the ones that feel aggrieved when they see successful people who don't look like them, etc. What am I supposed to think when someone tells me that his roof leaks and he is going to hire an arsonist instead of a roofer to fix it?
I've been listening to Trump supporters: the ones who are now coming out of the closet with their nazi tropes, unfiltered racism and homophobia, the ones t who are intentionally ignorant about climate change, the ones who base their understanding of human sexuality on Judeo-christian mythology, the ones who are blind to the richness of other cultures and the contributions of immigrants and minorities to the success for this country, the ones that feel aggrieved when they see successful people who don't look like them, etc. What am I supposed to think when someone tells me that his roof leaks and he is going to hire an arsonist instead of a roofer to fix it?
4
Yes, Trump voters were hiring an arsonist to fix their leaky roof. But Clinton voters asked the banks to send over their foreclosure specialist to fix theirs.
I listened to Mr. Trump himself and cannot fathom that your theoretical voter would vote for someone who said so many un-American things, regardless of how much dysfunction there might be that needs cleaning up.
(Much of that dysfunction, by the way, is due to GOP obstructionism.)
(Much of that dysfunction, by the way, is due to GOP obstructionism.)
2
I'm in basic agreement, David. This election happened for a reason. No matter how self-righteous we liberals are - and satisfied with the direction Obama has taken us (and assuming Hillary would take us on a similar path), the direction obviously isn't working for a lot of people. The media tried to paint them all as some version of "deplorable" , but reasonable people who look outside their bubble know that isn't true for many who voted for Trump. As progressives, we need to listen to those Trump voters to see where we in good conscience can begin to understand them and work to address their concerns. And yes, be open to the possibility that big chance could actually do some good.
1
Yes listen to the swing voters that went Trump over Hillary, but don't think that following them is the answer. They took lemons and made urine.
It is those that know you have to take care of the weak and invest in humans and infrastructure that see the future.
The right is about going back to some mythical past, where they were kings in some past life, and they could dehumanize the other without getting protested.
The left knows that we are all equal and we all need to take care of each other. That is the future. That is what we must fight for. We must convince the convincable Trump voters, not to mention a lot of Clinton voters that this is true.
The right makes a good argument for the twelfth century. Stop triangulating and make a better one for the twentysecond century.
It is those that know you have to take care of the weak and invest in humans and infrastructure that see the future.
The right is about going back to some mythical past, where they were kings in some past life, and they could dehumanize the other without getting protested.
The left knows that we are all equal and we all need to take care of each other. That is the future. That is what we must fight for. We must convince the convincable Trump voters, not to mention a lot of Clinton voters that this is true.
The right makes a good argument for the twelfth century. Stop triangulating and make a better one for the twentysecond century.
Mr. Brooks - perhaps you should be aiming your suggestion in the other direction. When Donald Trump starts listening, then maybe the rest of us will be more open to the suggestion.
2
It's all about the money. Everything else is distraction as practiced by the con man. Find the pea under the cup. Follow the graft.
I agree with David Brooks that not all Trump voters were motivated by bigotry. The urgency of so many of the people in my deep blue region of the country to speak out against the President-elect, though, comes from the fact that most of us in this "majority minority" region with large LGBTQ, immigrant, and Muslim populations, comes from the fact that so much of the bigoted rhetoric of Trump and (now) key members of his cabinet is directed against us. For people in the targeted groups (and some of us fall under more than one of these categories), it feels scary and, indeed, foolish to take a "wait and see" approach to a president-elect whose vision of America does not include so many of us, our coworkers, and our friends.
Trump voters, like all working class Republicans, have voted against their own self interests since the Southern Solution. They disagree with Dems on abortion, healthcare, climate and a raft of other things. They hate big government, whatever that means, but blame government for all their personal ills. Why couldn't Obama find me a good job?
"Listening" does not, in and of itself, render the speaker coherent or rational. Listen all you want David.
"Listening" does not, in and of itself, render the speaker coherent or rational. Listen all you want David.
2
We will wait to find out what happens with this incoming administration because we have no choice. But why all of the alarm bells before the election and none now when much that was feared has been or is about to be realized: a Muslim registry, the placement of a white supremacist at his right hand, segregationists in his cabinet, the refusal to respect the free press (including, of course, the canceled then rescheduled meeting with this newspaper), the weaknesses of our damaged democracy, near one-party control of our country, demagoguery, the installation of conservative Supreme Court justices who will decide the legality of gerrymandering put in place by the GOP over the past decade, etc. What are we to wait for exactly? The attack on journalism and truth actually puts us in a post-rational environment, not just post-truth. True democracy cannot operate where reliable information is absent. Yes, some decent people passed on Trump's indecency to vote for him. Not much comfort for victims of the indecency and the fallout unfolding, those who wait in fear as it all pans out. But bigots and racists won’t readily self-identify to journalists, and even those “best voters,” with whom you spoke, didn’t much care about throwing women, Muslims, Hispanics and African Americans under the bus to accomplish their self-interests from Trump’s substance-less, all promises, no plans campaign. That rents our social fabric and that should continue to alarm us.
And if Democrats don't block everything the Republicans want to do, they need to resign so that a real left party can actually fight for the future.
David,
I do respect your sensibility but in this case not your reason.
After having said that trump has 3 choices: resign, impeachment or be assassinated, how can you even get to this essay, to wait & see?
I have listened willingly to you speak for many years and I will no doubt continue but this essay is a deterrent to my future interest and confidence in your ability to see the bigger picture.
I do respect your sensibility but in this case not your reason.
After having said that trump has 3 choices: resign, impeachment or be assassinated, how can you even get to this essay, to wait & see?
I have listened willingly to you speak for many years and I will no doubt continue but this essay is a deterrent to my future interest and confidence in your ability to see the bigger picture.
1
I live in the middle of rural America Trump-land. Since the election, I have been listening with an open mind. It's still nonsense.
3
Who are these 'condescending elitists' you refer to? I'm a liberal who lives in the northeast and have every aspiration and been handed every lie that your poster-girl has. Can we please stop this either/or false dichotomy that perpetuates Mike Huckabee's Bubba vs. Bubble myth?
I do not have a college education, I do not have an investment portfolio.
I do not live in a bubble, bubble boy.
I do not have a college education, I do not have an investment portfolio.
I do not live in a bubble, bubble boy.
Please stop calling them "alt right" they are white supremacists. White privilege is being a Neo Nazi and having the entire media refer to you as "Alt-Right." When you want a homeland, a word Trump used, for white people, a country for just those of European descent you are a white supremacist.
I'm impressed by Mr. Brooks' flexibility. A little reflection and he was able to find the right tone to continue cranking out his bread and butter columns while retaining intellectual credibility. You know, this Trump guy is not that bad if you step back and look at him the right way. This is an opportunity, a silver lining, a new dawn. All those valid criticisms during the campaign? Give the guy a chance, it'll be fine. Some might call this spineless sycophantic groveling, Brooks and I see it as a New Reality -- and keep those paychecks coming.
Oh, and Pat Buchanan as an influential public intellectual? In what bizzarro universe is that, David?
Oh, and Pat Buchanan as an influential public intellectual? In what bizzarro universe is that, David?
The optimist in me sees a WIN-WIN here for America. The Win for America is this: massive stimulus spending (e.g. infrastructure investment) leading to a stronger American economy. But let's be clear about WIN-WIN: it doesn't mean you get everything, just what you really wanted. Americans really wanted a stronger economy and they might just get it. But that doesn't mean we also get presidential decorum and a dignified presidential presence. That seemingly was the trade-off Americans were supporting.
1
Well listen to this; the poor little Trump voter is no different than any one else in this country, we all experience the same frustrations, except for the privileged 1%. Many of us are just better at adjusting to the changes that have occurred and we are not asking for an enormous one sided government socialistic programs directed at our specific problems. For the most part the Trump voter is a victim of capitalism and electing a capitalist President and giving all his buddies important levers of power is not the answer to their problems, in fact it will be their nightmare. What they are asking for is socialism and they don't even know they just cut the own throats for the sake of their emotional failings and fears. More than ever the press needs to honor its obligation because the Republican Congress will not. Don't be fooled by what Trump says observe his actions, and so far he is consistent with a narcissistic self serving paranoid racist white man.
You'd have to be blind not to see what's going on. Just read anything factual about the people he's already appointed to & proposes to appoint to his administration. Read about his conflicts of interest. Read about his rebuke of the press. Read about his fraud case settlement. Read about his inability to bear 1st-Amendment-protected criticism from a comedy show & a theater cast. As for listening, I listen to the statistics about the alarming rise in hate actions in just the few weeks since his election. This is not the time to take a break. This is the time to let this man & his appointees know that those who believe in the freedoms upon which this country is based & the hard won rights & protections for minorities of every kind will not be sacrificed to him or anyone who proposes to take them away.
Mr. Brooks?
Just Listen? Is that all you ask of us?
Then please listen:
Evil triumphs when good people do nothing.
We need to do more than just listen. We need to shout out his immoralities from the rooftops, especially the media which he seems to want to control, chastise, censor and even abolish (by changing libel laws to sue the NYT).
Someone needs to make Donald listen, especially to our first freedom hence our First Amendment , Freedom of Speech and Freedom of the Press. I know he doesn't read but perhaps Bannon could read it to him and tell him he is supposed to protect and defend our Constitution.
Just Listen? Is that all you ask of us?
Then please listen:
Evil triumphs when good people do nothing.
We need to do more than just listen. We need to shout out his immoralities from the rooftops, especially the media which he seems to want to control, chastise, censor and even abolish (by changing libel laws to sue the NYT).
Someone needs to make Donald listen, especially to our first freedom hence our First Amendment , Freedom of Speech and Freedom of the Press. I know he doesn't read but perhaps Bannon could read it to him and tell him he is supposed to protect and defend our Constitution.
1
Let's face it. The Republicans spent the last 30 years doing a bait and switch, removing support, social and governmental, from the people who revolted.
The Republicans lured them into their sheep-fold with bigoted and misogynist rhetoric, and a dash of anti-deficit poison, and went on with their attempt to move government programs over to their profit-making buddies.
This will probably still go on under this despicable administration. It will probably take at least a generation to undo the damage that this administration will do. I, at 80, will not live to see it undone.
I drive with fear now, as a member of a mixed race couple, my black wife in the passenger seat. Any racist cop who stops us will feel more empowered to stop us on any pretense and just to shoot my wife than he would have felt a month ago. We retired down to Florida after working lives spent in the Northeast - but no place feels safe to us anymore. Not with a full-blown racist as the Attorney General Designate.
I never thought I would say this, but Rudy Giuliani would have been a much better choice.
How frightening is that?
The Republicans lured them into their sheep-fold with bigoted and misogynist rhetoric, and a dash of anti-deficit poison, and went on with their attempt to move government programs over to their profit-making buddies.
This will probably still go on under this despicable administration. It will probably take at least a generation to undo the damage that this administration will do. I, at 80, will not live to see it undone.
I drive with fear now, as a member of a mixed race couple, my black wife in the passenger seat. Any racist cop who stops us will feel more empowered to stop us on any pretense and just to shoot my wife than he would have felt a month ago. We retired down to Florida after working lives spent in the Northeast - but no place feels safe to us anymore. Not with a full-blown racist as the Attorney General Designate.
I never thought I would say this, but Rudy Giuliani would have been a much better choice.
How frightening is that?
My white husband has complained about being passed over for a promotion by a woman. He has never recovered from that, really. Affirmative action was his least favorite program. I loved it because I got a big pay raise when equal pay for equal work became law.
But I digress.
My husband evolved and came to understand that Affirmative Action was for the greater good. Apparently, most white men in this country have not evolved. Hence backlash. White men have always expected to get the job, make more money, crack sexual jokes with impunity. The "PC" rules flew in the face of their "inherent rights". And now we have Trump.
But I digress.
My husband evolved and came to understand that Affirmative Action was for the greater good. Apparently, most white men in this country have not evolved. Hence backlash. White men have always expected to get the job, make more money, crack sexual jokes with impunity. The "PC" rules flew in the face of their "inherent rights". And now we have Trump.
3
There was a time when elections ended, and the losers resumed their normal lives--- saddened, depleted, but accepting of the will of the voters. That's what this column is about, the inability of the left to admit failure and accept defeat. Their self-reinforcing elitism has become so virulent that tolerance and humility and respect for the will of the voters are no longer virtues they understand. And please, my leftist friends, don't resppond with the nonsense that Clinton won the popular vote. Trump won 30 states to her 20, and her margin of so-called "victory" in the popular vote is likely to be less than her margin of victory in one state ---- California.
Brooks' comment about "the densest concentration of hyper-macho belligerence outside a drill sergeant retirement home," while funny is incisive. Trump, who himself went to military school, has hired Bannon, who served with distinction in the Navy where his brilliance was rewarded, and they are interviewing or have hired at least three generals who personify traditional military values. It looks like Trump may have in mind putting the nation through a little economic and political boot camp. And who is to say we don't need it?
Brooks' comment about "the densest concentration of hyper-macho belligerence outside a drill sergeant retirement home," while funny is incisive. Trump, who himself went to military school, has hired Bannon, who served with distinction in the Navy where his brilliance was rewarded, and they are interviewing or have hired at least three generals who personify traditional military values. It looks like Trump may have in mind putting the nation through a little economic and political boot camp. And who is to say we don't need it?
1
Excuse me, did you notice that, led by birther Trump and McConnell, the right refused to accept Obama as president, and blocked everything he tried to do including his supreme court nominees?
The Republicans started it, and the Democrats need to punish this bad behavior or it will never stop.
The Republicans started it, and the Democrats need to punish this bad behavior or it will never stop.
1
Brooks evinces all the wisdom of laying low in the face of threat. The lack of will to fight was a big cause of Obama's failure, as was the lack of will to change. We don't need more of the same.
1
Listening is important. It is a two way process.
Although details are scarce, it seems DJT did much more talking than listening in excoriating television journalists at a called meeting in the great building of Oz. It will be interesting to know how much exchange takes place when he and entourage (an appropriate term for the assorted team members) arrive at the NYT offices.
Besides listening, Democrats and Trump opponents need to work on specific areas, many in local politics. But a level playing field would help. Finally someone has devised a mathematical formula to describe the gerrymandering which has been produced by Republican strategies over the last two census periods. (See p. 1 of today's NYT.) Only too late in the election process were the pernicious effects of voter suppression and the fake ideas of voter "fraud" exposed. These two points on the spear are having long term effects.
Simply to wait and see is not enough. Trump's silly and poorly conceived economic ideas will perhaps begin to resonate with his voters when they realize a tax credit does not if there is no income offset, that prices on goods they desire have gone up because of restricted trade, and that there are no mills into which they can toss their wooden shoes because the next economy will be a tech economy. While those voters await hopefully, HRC voters need to be outspoken as this unfolds. Everyone listened to him way too much during the campaign.
Although details are scarce, it seems DJT did much more talking than listening in excoriating television journalists at a called meeting in the great building of Oz. It will be interesting to know how much exchange takes place when he and entourage (an appropriate term for the assorted team members) arrive at the NYT offices.
Besides listening, Democrats and Trump opponents need to work on specific areas, many in local politics. But a level playing field would help. Finally someone has devised a mathematical formula to describe the gerrymandering which has been produced by Republican strategies over the last two census periods. (See p. 1 of today's NYT.) Only too late in the election process were the pernicious effects of voter suppression and the fake ideas of voter "fraud" exposed. These two points on the spear are having long term effects.
Simply to wait and see is not enough. Trump's silly and poorly conceived economic ideas will perhaps begin to resonate with his voters when they realize a tax credit does not if there is no income offset, that prices on goods they desire have gone up because of restricted trade, and that there are no mills into which they can toss their wooden shoes because the next economy will be a tech economy. While those voters await hopefully, HRC voters need to be outspoken as this unfolds. Everyone listened to him way too much during the campaign.
I believe I understand what motivated many voters to vote for Trump. I realize many of them ignored his disparaging rhetoric and voted for change. However I cannot excuse the disavowal of responsibility on their part, responsibility to not risk repeating one of the supreme lessons of WWII: you don't give Nazi sympathizers a voice in the highest office in the land. Any other Republican candidate I would begrudgingly respect but not someone like Trump, he is beyond the pale and all the hand-wringing on the liberal side about all of us getting along is simply appeasement. Unfortunately we must take a page from Mitch McConnell and resist his every move and work to end his term prematurely.
The thing is, when there's smoke there's fire.
13
Please do investigative reporting on pay for play laws and sunshine laws. These protect US businesses, consumers and our institutional democracy. Please watch corruption more than any other subject. That is the conservative thing to do Mr Brooks.
HOW ABOUT THINKING ABOUT THE PEOPLE WHO DID NOT VOTE....
minority people who absented themselves from one of the few processes they control that might protect them .....
Yelling in the street is a poor substitute for actually voting.
liberals who were aloof and voted by not voting as they did not like either candidate and thus gave others the ability to make the selection....
Being out of of democratic process by choice is a mistake and we will all pay the price
minority people who absented themselves from one of the few processes they control that might protect them .....
Yelling in the street is a poor substitute for actually voting.
liberals who were aloof and voted by not voting as they did not like either candidate and thus gave others the ability to make the selection....
Being out of of democratic process by choice is a mistake and we will all pay the price
1
Mt. Brooks...
Why do you write to me (and all the other non-Trump voters)? I've never called Trump anything more than what you yourself write here. He is all of those things.
So let's get to the point: Who can be against massive infrastructure rebuilding? Not me. Not anyone. And Clinton herself also said she would do exactly what Trump says he is going to do. But....coupled to massive tax cuts across the board, and massive growth in military spending, as he said he is going to do, how does anyone in Trumpworld propose to pay for all this spending? That's the difference between a Clinton and a Trump: only one of them knows what she was talking about.
We will have such a economic sugar rush if all this stuff comes to pass in Trumpworld, anyone with a dollar to invest will make out—until it all collapses like it did in 1929, 1956, 1999, and in 2008.
You Republicans just never seem to get it when it comes to economics. If Bannon expects to win over the po' folks he's going to be sadly disappointed because unless taxation policies are adjusted to the anticipated spending spree, we'll all be coming off the sugar high together and plunging like a stone again into the murky waters of inflation and recession.
You are right about one thing here: Democrats have lost touch with the people who depended on them for decades, starting in 1932. I truly expect that the Democratic leadership will be re-focusing on that omission in the months and years to come.
Why do you write to me (and all the other non-Trump voters)? I've never called Trump anything more than what you yourself write here. He is all of those things.
So let's get to the point: Who can be against massive infrastructure rebuilding? Not me. Not anyone. And Clinton herself also said she would do exactly what Trump says he is going to do. But....coupled to massive tax cuts across the board, and massive growth in military spending, as he said he is going to do, how does anyone in Trumpworld propose to pay for all this spending? That's the difference between a Clinton and a Trump: only one of them knows what she was talking about.
We will have such a economic sugar rush if all this stuff comes to pass in Trumpworld, anyone with a dollar to invest will make out—until it all collapses like it did in 1929, 1956, 1999, and in 2008.
You Republicans just never seem to get it when it comes to economics. If Bannon expects to win over the po' folks he's going to be sadly disappointed because unless taxation policies are adjusted to the anticipated spending spree, we'll all be coming off the sugar high together and plunging like a stone again into the murky waters of inflation and recession.
You are right about one thing here: Democrats have lost touch with the people who depended on them for decades, starting in 1932. I truly expect that the Democratic leadership will be re-focusing on that omission in the months and years to come.
Most of the comments are about how awful Trump is, and I agree. The article is about how the electorate is not being served by the parties, and I agree with that too. Nice job DB.
"Best imaginable Trump voter?" There is no such thing. Above all, Donald Trump is a birther, which makes him unfit to hold any national government office. Donald Trump is a liar and a con-man, evidenced in part by the 3,600+ lawsuits against him. Donald Trump will not be that "tough leader" for that "best Trump voter"; Donald Trump will be the hot-tempered, nasty, mean-girl. If anything gets done in a Trump admin, it will be because of the GOP Congress - that's it. When a bird shiits on you, it's not good luck...it's shiit! Donald Trump is the bird.
3
It wasn't the "experts" who designed the flawed education system and it wasn't the experts who built Obamacare to fail. Rather, both have suffered from Republican dominance of government since the Reagan Revolution. It's not experts who insist on removing references to evolution from high school textbooks, and certainly not experts who keep insisting global warming is a liberal hoax. Our country has been dumbed down by political design and efforts to strengthen the social safety net have also been sabotaged by political design. Now we are led by a man who wants to take a wrecking ball to the few gains we've made in health care and environmental stewardship. Shifting the blame has been among the most successful right-wing responses but I'm surprised to see you buying into such a transparent dodge, David.
1
Been listening. Yup done that. Did that with Bush (GW), Bush (HW), Reagan, Nixon. Same old, same old only now they have the power to do what they say. They have the power to lower taxes on the rich even more, lower taxes on corporations who don't even pay taxes, destroy social security, make the schools worse than no child left behind already made them, give away public lands and destroy the environment once and for all.
So some questions for those that voted for Trump based on him helping the working person. You fell for the trickle down tax and if you just lower taxes on corporation your jobs will reappear, again? Seriously?
You seniors looked at Pence and believed Trump's promise to not touch Social Security and Medicare? Seriously?
Eliminate the Department of Education will improve education? Seriously?
And of course global warming is a myth invented by environmentalists to....what?
And the rhetoric is pure fascism. Government by for and of the church, corporations and zenophobes of all stripes. You fly a Nazi flag and you disrespect millions who died to rid the world of that evil and this guy is their hero. Waterboarding and worse! Registry for Muslims. I guarantee the Jews are next.
So Mr. Brooks how long do we listen before we actually believe what they are saying to our face and what their past active reveal about their intentions.
And for the record you folks that sat this on out because you couldn't decide...seriously?
So some questions for those that voted for Trump based on him helping the working person. You fell for the trickle down tax and if you just lower taxes on corporation your jobs will reappear, again? Seriously?
You seniors looked at Pence and believed Trump's promise to not touch Social Security and Medicare? Seriously?
Eliminate the Department of Education will improve education? Seriously?
And of course global warming is a myth invented by environmentalists to....what?
And the rhetoric is pure fascism. Government by for and of the church, corporations and zenophobes of all stripes. You fly a Nazi flag and you disrespect millions who died to rid the world of that evil and this guy is their hero. Waterboarding and worse! Registry for Muslims. I guarantee the Jews are next.
So Mr. Brooks how long do we listen before we actually believe what they are saying to our face and what their past active reveal about their intentions.
And for the record you folks that sat this on out because you couldn't decide...seriously?
2
couldn't agree more.
Sitting back and waiting and watching and listening is, in fact, dangerous. We need to follow Michael Moore and so many other liberals and stay vigilant, or very very very bad things could happen.
And, in the same vein, what's up with that VOTE RECOUNT we keep hearing about?
Sitting back and waiting and watching and listening is, in fact, dangerous. We need to follow Michael Moore and so many other liberals and stay vigilant, or very very very bad things could happen.
And, in the same vein, what's up with that VOTE RECOUNT we keep hearing about?
While I usually like David's writings, this one I cannot buy into. Why should I listen to Trump and his empty rhetoric? He already gets a pass on anything that spews from his Twitter pen. Generally, his comments to any "issue" come off as whining from a thin-skinned child. I don't have the time nor the energy to digest it.
1
Not relevant for me until Inaugural Day when President Obama leaves office.
David,
Many readers (including myself) will view your commentary as hopelessly naive and Pollyannaish. I think that your best imaginable Trump supporter has placed her trust in someone who has consistently proved himself unworthy of trust and who is fundamentally narcissistic and uncaring. I encourage you to review your commentary in a year and see whether your trusting Pollyanna has gotten what she wanted.
Many readers (including myself) will view your commentary as hopelessly naive and Pollyannaish. I think that your best imaginable Trump supporter has placed her trust in someone who has consistently proved himself unworthy of trust and who is fundamentally narcissistic and uncaring. I encourage you to review your commentary in a year and see whether your trusting Pollyanna has gotten what she wanted.
2
Brooks is paraphrasing the supposed St Augustine quote.
Lord, let me be calm and humble ... but not yet.
Lord, let me be calm and humble ... but not yet.
Be careful, David Brooks.
Smug Central has ways of making you conform.
Smug Central has ways of making you conform.
2
David, you act like Trump's election is normal and Trump, you assume, will be no different than his forty-four predecessors. What you fail to understand, as do an overwhelming majority of Republicans, Donald Trump is not an aberration. He is Freud's version of our national political id, our long awaited national nightmar that the United States somehow missed in the 1930s. Conservatives and Republicans can slice and dice Trump's ascendancy any way they wish, but I can assure the readers of the NYT, as well as your fellow pundits, that the worst is yet to come.
2
Trump's words since election suggest nothing but the blowhard empty promises he sold desperate people in the past. Mr. Brooks' theoretical voter just signed us all up for Trump U as a solution to our ails. I see nothing in his words or deeds that suggest we can expect anything but incompetence and fraud.
As for the 'experts' creating failed schools and an unwieldy healthcare tangle ― that's true, if by 'experts' Mr. Brooks means Republican legislators who refuse to govern from anyplace but ideology. If actual thinking experts were allowed to construct our systems I suspect we'd be much better off. Alas, we're not allowed to learn from working models in the world to create single-payer healthcare, we're required to build into it the ideological constraints of Republicans and ― voila ― Obamacare.
As for the 'experts' creating failed schools and an unwieldy healthcare tangle ― that's true, if by 'experts' Mr. Brooks means Republican legislators who refuse to govern from anyplace but ideology. If actual thinking experts were allowed to construct our systems I suspect we'd be much better off. Alas, we're not allowed to learn from working models in the world to create single-payer healthcare, we're required to build into it the ideological constraints of Republicans and ― voila ― Obamacare.
Listening is always good, but there is now no doubt, after this election, that the Republican Party would place themselves over country. As Republicans control all other branches of government, that is THE concern.
1
David,
The bottom line is that if there is a Trump voter who isn't a racist or a misogynist - that voter is still a person for whom racism and misogyny are not deal breakers. That is not a good person.
The bottom line is that if there is a Trump voter who isn't a racist or a misogynist - that voter is still a person for whom racism and misogyny are not deal breakers. That is not a good person.
2
It is hard to be objective about someone who grabs you by the throat with insults, lies and disrespect, and then once he has gained the advantage says, just kidding--hardly someone to be listened to. There a lots of people far more worth of an audience than he. As far as failure of education to provide the requisite work force, or condescending professionals: those are chicken and egg arguments. Before Trump gets an objective audience, he is going to have to drop the supercilious posturing and speak of all Americans as citizens with equal rights and equal access to his ear. Until he does, many Americans are going to sleep with one eye open.
I perhaps will listen when this piece of wisdom, touted by Isaac Asimov, is no longer true: “Anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that 'my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge.'”
2
By now, I'll take a Trump tweet any day of the week over the boring haughtiness of tone of the "moral superior" Trump critics. Does the NY times not like writers that have a sense of humor? Anyone on the editorial board that has an ounce of it? I mean, if we are going to keep preaching, can we at least make it funny and/or entertaining? I feel like every NY times op-ed has become a "dear dairy" entry of a 13 year old that may prove interesting to the writer himself in 20 years when back in therapy, but is quite predictable and boring to a subscribed reader.
2
Ive been listening to Trump carefully. Mr. Brooks, the delusion hat he will govern differently than he campaigned will only be forced by checks and balances.
Republicans in Congress wil have to balance their desire for power with the rule of law and patriotism.
The Trump presidency will be end before 2020. Hopefully it will end peacefully by the constitutional safeguards.
Republicans in Congress wil have to balance their desire for power with the rule of law and patriotism.
The Trump presidency will be end before 2020. Hopefully it will end peacefully by the constitutional safeguards.
In your book, "The Road to Character," you write "over the past several decades we have built a moral ecology around the Big Me [in the chapter called the Big Me], around the belief of a golden figure inside." Seems to me there is no bigger ME than DJT. If one "listens" to lies long enough they tend to become truth. As Chris Hedges says, we are living in a world of Illusion. We really don't have any choice but to listen and observe, but let's not fool ourselves by believing the lies that we hear to become truth. I guess the real question is, as your own faith tradition in the Prophetic observations makes so clear: How Long?
Brook's theoretical Trump voter is not realistic. The median Trump voters are white, mostly male, above average income; not some forlorn female struggling to get by on a below average income and education. The movement of white working class males to Trump did tip the electoral college to him and is another example of Republicans selling the politically unsophisticated on voting against their own self interest.
2
I sense that Mr. Brooks will like to pivot just like every other republicans have being in last week. He has mythical Trump voter but ignore that significant number of his voters are motivated by raciam and sense of loss in country which rapidly changing. Mr. Trumps plans of trillion dollar infrastructure spending will not be realized with his obscene tax cut that benefit 1% and gives the control of spending on infrastructure to corporations. The majority of voters who supported Mr. trump will discover soon that Trump and Republicans have no interest or plan to change their economic status.
At this juncture those of us on the "not-Trump" side of the divide have already listened to more than enough Trumpish rhetoric to last a lifetime. While we parse the motivations and often paradoxical thinking of the Trump electorate, history provides more than enough examples of the disenfranchised seizing upon the unthinkable recourse.
David, I believe that we have already heard the cry of the disenfranchised. Unfortunately the two-party system has for many years become the "not so different from each other" party. Money and the continuance of power have led both parties to court the rich and to desert the rest. Corporate and private interest have superseded the common good. It ought not be a surprise that faith in our government is on the wane.
We are now led by a Party that does not have a belief in governance and by a President who believes only in himself. While I am heartsick that this nation has descended to this dark place, silence and patience are not the answer.
While I am loath to tout the "exceptional" characterization of our nation, I find myself looking back on a history replete with examples of exceptional actions.
We must seize every opportunity to mend what we have found broken in our social fabric and to demand a government responsive to the collective need. If we do this we can become exceptional once more.
David, I believe that we have already heard the cry of the disenfranchised. Unfortunately the two-party system has for many years become the "not so different from each other" party. Money and the continuance of power have led both parties to court the rich and to desert the rest. Corporate and private interest have superseded the common good. It ought not be a surprise that faith in our government is on the wane.
We are now led by a Party that does not have a belief in governance and by a President who believes only in himself. While I am heartsick that this nation has descended to this dark place, silence and patience are not the answer.
While I am loath to tout the "exceptional" characterization of our nation, I find myself looking back on a history replete with examples of exceptional actions.
We must seize every opportunity to mend what we have found broken in our social fabric and to demand a government responsive to the collective need. If we do this we can become exceptional once more.
Mr Brooks
and after a week of his Tweets, rants at your NYTimes employer, and the announced hard-right polarizing appointments, what are YOU hearing from the President-elect?
and after a week of his Tweets, rants at your NYTimes employer, and the announced hard-right polarizing appointments, what are YOU hearing from the President-elect?
Again, as so often, you miss the point.
Many of us have been "listening" for decades, and watching the movement of money and power upward and the denial by our politicians of everything from climate change and the movement of jobs overseas. We listened and watched and things keep falling apart.
And just who are you now recommending we listen to? Donald Trump who states climate change is a Chinese plot? Who will try to "bring coal back"? Impossible: the market prices of coal compared with natural gas will absolutely not allow that! Massive investment and government spending on infrastructure repair? That would cause massive government debt and has been denied by the Republicans for the last 8 years; will not happen.
Your article is irrational from top to bottom.
Many of us have been "listening" for decades, and watching the movement of money and power upward and the denial by our politicians of everything from climate change and the movement of jobs overseas. We listened and watched and things keep falling apart.
And just who are you now recommending we listen to? Donald Trump who states climate change is a Chinese plot? Who will try to "bring coal back"? Impossible: the market prices of coal compared with natural gas will absolutely not allow that! Massive investment and government spending on infrastructure repair? That would cause massive government debt and has been denied by the Republicans for the last 8 years; will not happen.
Your article is irrational from top to bottom.
Any condemnation of Trump originating from a sense of moral superiority is going to instantly alienate most of his followers and eliminate any chance of bridging the cultural divide that is polarizing this nation. Until we stop demonizing and start listening, we will remain hopelessly divided. Of course this has to occur on both sides, but why don't the supposedly more educated who opposed Trump take the first step, as Mr. Brooks is attempting to do, and lead by example? For good examples of this, visit www.okidea.org.
Normally an admirer of your thoughtful and sober opinions I find this latest column Chamberlain-esque and has the feel of capitulation. Never normalize the dastardly deeds of the unjust and never give up the fight for what is right.
I like this imaginary Trump voter. And I'm willing to think about her without instant prejudice and moral judgment.
But then, looking from her point of view, I still dislike her complete lack of understanding of what's in her own best self interest.
Her grievances may be real, and she has a right to be heard and understood, also, or maybe especially, by liberals.
But the solution is not Trump. Not for Washington. Not for liberals. Not for minorities. Not for majorities. And most definitely not for her.
She, especially, a moderate, a desperate, should be held accountable for her irresponsibility...
But then, looking from her point of view, I still dislike her complete lack of understanding of what's in her own best self interest.
Her grievances may be real, and she has a right to be heard and understood, also, or maybe especially, by liberals.
But the solution is not Trump. Not for Washington. Not for liberals. Not for minorities. Not for majorities. And most definitely not for her.
She, especially, a moderate, a desperate, should be held accountable for her irresponsibility...
Good old David Brooks! He was very clear about why we did not want Trump in the White House. Now, he says, let's not subtly wish to see our nightmare scenarios come true. Let's wait and see, like grownups. Nixon did a lot of good before his badder nature took over and he simply had to go. Which, all considered, proved the strength of our system.
Listen to what, exactly? I've listened to them and I have yet to hear one coherent argument as to why Trump is capable of leading the country and fixing their problems. Trump has not one, not one single qualification for being a president, unless you count being alive and that is a pretty low bar to set for the president of the United States.
I think it would not have hurt Trump supporters to actually read some real news and start thinking critically. I understand there are a lot of people who are hurting and unhappy with the way our country is going. I am too. However, a simple examination of the facts and the history of what is going on in our country will reveal that electing an incompetent, insufferable and rude ignoramus to the office of president is not going to solve any problems at all. This is especially true when the same Senate and House members that have been screwing everyone over get reelected to office. No. There are not two equivalent sides to his story. On one side are people who pay attention and read real news. On the other side there are people who have chosen to be ignorant and believe lies. Being dishonest about this problem will help no one.
I think it would not have hurt Trump supporters to actually read some real news and start thinking critically. I understand there are a lot of people who are hurting and unhappy with the way our country is going. I am too. However, a simple examination of the facts and the history of what is going on in our country will reveal that electing an incompetent, insufferable and rude ignoramus to the office of president is not going to solve any problems at all. This is especially true when the same Senate and House members that have been screwing everyone over get reelected to office. No. There are not two equivalent sides to his story. On one side are people who pay attention and read real news. On the other side there are people who have chosen to be ignorant and believe lies. Being dishonest about this problem will help no one.
2
Can we not beleaguer public education again? You say, "Well, the experts created a school system that doesn’t produce skilled graduates," in response to the other side's belief that Trump supporters are post-fact. I would like to point out that decades of drill and kill testing under No Child Left Behind left a generation of students without the capacity to think for themselves. I believe that was landmark legislation under a Republican president. Also, most educators on the front lines of education do their best in spite of all the roadblocks that American students have. You are right that we need to listen, but for the love of God, quit blaming educators.
Sorry, David. I'm still trying to get past the fact that these nice Trump voters were willing to completely overlook his repeated behavior toward one-half of the population. Come and talk to me when they're willing to acknowledge that their wives and daughters are equal members in the room whenever the Good Old Boys get together.
The appointment of Jeff Sessions is a stark reminder that Trump is not operating within the acceptable boundaries. Sessions is manifestly unfit to be the nation's top law enforcement leader given his loathsome views on race and Cicil rights, which should disqualify him if the Senate Republicans have any sense of decency. David Brooks is wrong to "pause" and seek normality, especially if future appointments are as bad as Sessions.
Try listening to what? To quote his great pal Rudolph Giuliani he "Flip-flops (remember that?)." I'm happy he's softening his stands on some things - like crucifying "crooked" Hillary - but how can you listen to his stream of consciousness diarrhea and tell what's reality and what his damaged brain really means.
I'll tell you what I do know: his choices of advisors are toxic to our country. That's a given, so how can one respect this discretion, integrity, or just plain sanity. Yeah, David, I'm listening and what I hear is a problem.
I'll tell you what I do know: his choices of advisors are toxic to our country. That's a given, so how can one respect this discretion, integrity, or just plain sanity. Yeah, David, I'm listening and what I hear is a problem.
3
If Patrick Buchanan is "the most influential public intellectual in America today" the country may have even bigger problems than the President-Elect.
7
David,
I got a hoot out of your last line, "There will be plenty of time to be disgusted with Trump’s bigotry, narcissism and incompetence.... But let’s be honest: It wouldn’t kill us Trump critics to take a break from our never-ending umbrage to engage in a little listening.
Are you kidding me?
1.
It is Trump's incompetence that fuels our "never-ending umbrage" -- and we are right to be dismissive! The worst thing about Trump is that, despite his incompetence, he gets to press on, untouched. If he were a corporate employee, he'd have already been fired.
2.
It is Trump's bigotry and narcissism that prompted me to NEVER listen to this Punk a long, long time ago.
I got a hoot out of your last line, "There will be plenty of time to be disgusted with Trump’s bigotry, narcissism and incompetence.... But let’s be honest: It wouldn’t kill us Trump critics to take a break from our never-ending umbrage to engage in a little listening.
Are you kidding me?
1.
It is Trump's incompetence that fuels our "never-ending umbrage" -- and we are right to be dismissive! The worst thing about Trump is that, despite his incompetence, he gets to press on, untouched. If he were a corporate employee, he'd have already been fired.
2.
It is Trump's bigotry and narcissism that prompted me to NEVER listen to this Punk a long, long time ago.
2
Social fabric. That's a moral issue. Not one that can be addressed by government.
Listen: We need a process to collect our collective imagined future economy and set some targets to work toward. The reality that labor is, and will continue to be, diminished as a mechanism for acquiring wealth. Our machines will not just enhance mental and physical labor, they will replace much of it. Imagine when the trucking industry does not employ drivers. Will we all be part owners in corporate factories, predominately occupied by trained machines? Will we all get a universal income from a national government? Are there other ideas for creating stable money flows through individuals, government, and industry when our productivity is so high that one working person can create as much as 100 do now? What are the universities going to teach? If we don't know where we are going then arguing how to get there is monkey business. It may be unfathomable because humans have never experienced such an economic order and we don't know the right way, but ignoring the progression is not the right way despite how short term fixes might help. Our media, leaders and political conversations need to quit bouncing off the walls and help us set some targets where our kids enjoy the fruits of our labor. Lets talk!
1
As a fellow middle-aged straight white male, I could take your advice and rest pretty comfortably as I "listen". But the forces of racism, sexism, homphobia, and anti-Semitism have been emboldened by this election, and to my mind there's some urgency for the body politic in general to reject these developments before they can take hold. All of my friends who aren't in my demographic are sincerely and justifiably concerned about the things they see happening around the country (and sometimes, directly to them). When they say they don't feel safe anymore in their own communities, we should listen to them, too, David.
2
There's the hypothetical Trump voter, and Trump himself. It's a shame that this hypothetical voter had such a morally repugnant, conflicted egomaniac to represent her very real concerns.
If Trump had been a proven effective leader with a reputation for some sort of integrity, and if he had toned down the inflammatory rhetoric, it would have been a slam dunk instead of a squeaker.
I don't think Trump is going to accomplish any of the things he said, but I hope to be proven wrong.
If Trump had been a proven effective leader with a reputation for some sort of integrity, and if he had toned down the inflammatory rhetoric, it would have been a slam dunk instead of a squeaker.
I don't think Trump is going to accomplish any of the things he said, but I hope to be proven wrong.
In the last 15 months Trump has made the simple act of listening a psycologically violent one for many Americans. Perhaps your privilege does allow you to fully appreciate.
David: This is no time to be relaxing our guard. Don't fall for any moralizing that asks you to. These times are desperately dangerous, and you -- like it or not -- are one of the watchdogs whose job it is to bark when our hard-won rights are trampled.
4
Nope. Just...nope. I don't care what led the "nice" Trump voters to ignore his racist rhetoric, criminality, angry crybaby temperament, ignorance of government and world affairs, and all the other red flags that he would be a horrendous President. They chose to ignore all those things because...what? They're worried and sad? They threw this country and many of their fellow Americans (and potentially the planet) under the bus, and you can't tell me they didn't know what they were doing, since Trump made no secret of his failings and in fact bragged about many of them as if they were strengths. I couldn't care less how they feel, and I'm much too worried about how to save this country from his kleptocracy - not to mention save my own health, retirement, even my life - to waste time making them feel better or looking for excuses for the horror they knowingly unleashed.
3
David is correct: "It’s stupid to react to every Trump tweet outrage with your own predictable howls." What has to be done is to evaluate and make a measured response to actions that matter. The Times is full of rhetoric at the moment, howls and filtered facts. We have to get past this useless screaming and regain some sanity.
2
"This" voter did not win the popular vote. What about "We" the people who did win the popular vote?
1
David:
How quickly you have changed your views on the Donald. There was a time when you couldn't stand the guy, but now that he is in power, you are suddenly seeing "intelligence" in his appointments and all sorts of nonsense. (You said this on the Newshour) You have suddenly become an apologist for this demagogue and danger to humanity. I don't think the guy is redeemable. I heard you praise his infrastructure program on the Newshour, when we fully know he is going to privatize it and ask poor people to pay tolls so that on top of not having Medicaid, Social Security, Medicare, and healthcare, they will not be able to have the liberty to go anywhere as well. With Trump, the public should never slack off. Already, he has forced us to normalize so much of his illegality, such as his conflicts of interest with his business. We can never stop being vigilant with this guy.
How quickly you have changed your views on the Donald. There was a time when you couldn't stand the guy, but now that he is in power, you are suddenly seeing "intelligence" in his appointments and all sorts of nonsense. (You said this on the Newshour) You have suddenly become an apologist for this demagogue and danger to humanity. I don't think the guy is redeemable. I heard you praise his infrastructure program on the Newshour, when we fully know he is going to privatize it and ask poor people to pay tolls so that on top of not having Medicaid, Social Security, Medicare, and healthcare, they will not be able to have the liberty to go anywhere as well. With Trump, the public should never slack off. Already, he has forced us to normalize so much of his illegality, such as his conflicts of interest with his business. We can never stop being vigilant with this guy.
2
One of David Brooks most incisive columns. I know I fall into his description of a Trump voter not motivated by bigotry or racism or other awful perceived attributes. I voted for Donald Trump simply because I knew that with Hillary Clinton business in America would slog-on in a continuum of government harassment and stultifying regulations. Just look at the Obama years, no pro-business policies to spur job growth and economic vitality in cities across the country. Obama's eight hundred billion dollar stimulus package did some good things then abruptly ended with no follow-up to help small and medium size business owners that provide millions of jobs across the land. The middle class was largely forgotten. I know Trump realized this and he will seriously attempt to partner with business working to create and save jobs in America. Everything in life begins with work. A job, no matter how seemingly insignificant, gives purpose to life. It promotes self esteem. This basic need is why many, like myself, voted for Trump.
“'The globalists gutted the American working class and created a middle class in Asia,' Bannon said * * *He vowed to * * * to create a new New Deal that will win over 40 percent of the black and Hispanic vote, creating a neo-Jacksonian majority that will govern for 50 years."
So Bannon is a Jacksonian Democrat. BUT:
Growing trade (particularly with China) has depressed (rather than grown), wages and employment because of under-investment (public and private by the US in the US (physical capital, including infrastructure, and human capital, including health, education.) This is due to unrestrained rent seeking by so-called elites -- not some economic "law." Mindless tax cuts for the rich which convert what should be revenue into debt. Massive borrowing to pay for the tax cuts and wars. Trade deals are designed to grow profits at the expense of wages rather than grow wages. Financial deregulation for similar purposes and effects. In sum, a movement from competitive profit seeking ("capitalism") to a new feudalism.
So far, Trump-Bannon "nationalism" looks like "globalism," i.e. unrestrained "rent-seeking." Huge tax cuts to privatize and further degrade our "third world" infrastructure. More financial deregulation. Healthcare rent seeking with a vengeance, as opposed to efficient health care. Purging science and mathematics from education (while increasing tuition) and public discourse.
Welcome to the Chinese Century.
So Bannon is a Jacksonian Democrat. BUT:
Growing trade (particularly with China) has depressed (rather than grown), wages and employment because of under-investment (public and private by the US in the US (physical capital, including infrastructure, and human capital, including health, education.) This is due to unrestrained rent seeking by so-called elites -- not some economic "law." Mindless tax cuts for the rich which convert what should be revenue into debt. Massive borrowing to pay for the tax cuts and wars. Trade deals are designed to grow profits at the expense of wages rather than grow wages. Financial deregulation for similar purposes and effects. In sum, a movement from competitive profit seeking ("capitalism") to a new feudalism.
So far, Trump-Bannon "nationalism" looks like "globalism," i.e. unrestrained "rent-seeking." Huge tax cuts to privatize and further degrade our "third world" infrastructure. More financial deregulation. Healthcare rent seeking with a vengeance, as opposed to efficient health care. Purging science and mathematics from education (while increasing tuition) and public discourse.
Welcome to the Chinese Century.
As Cuomo said as he hosted the CNN morning program, the Democrats were worrying about which bathroom some people would use, when they should have been worrying about vastly more people's jobs.
2
I am trying to listen to these "best" voters, who were not motivated by racism, anti-semitism, anti-immigrant xenophobia, anti Muslim sentiment, or misogyny. I keep trying to hear them say that they don't want Stephen Bannon to be White House Strategist because he has ties to Neo-Nazi organizations. I'm listening but I can't seem to hear any protests at picking Jeff Sessions to be Attorney General, even though he was deemed too racist to be a judge, and who recently said that he didn't think grabbing someone "by the pussy" constituted sexual assault. In fact, I can't even hear Mr. Brooks protesting these things. So I have to wonder how much truth there is that Trump voters -- and Republicans in general -- aren't motivated by racism and hatred.
I am a new black Republican and have faith the Trump will turn around a great many ills in the United States. I think he should be given a chance!
Did Mr. Brook's hypothetical woman listen to the degrading and crass statements made by Trump during the campaign? If she did, then how in the world could she support such ugliness and cast her vote for this? Baffling. I am regretfully, inclined to say she will suffer the consequences for her vote.
13
He was never prepared to take office or to be the leader of the USA. No, his plan was the greater promotion of his brand, something he is quite busy with at the moment if any of you are paying attention.
So far he is on his way to war and the destruction of the American dream because his priorities are himself (his brand), his family (his brand), his backers of his brand and then maybe his country (what he now likes to think of as HIS company).
This country is not now or ever will be a company if the rest of the USA, that is the majority who have spoken already and those former supporters he is quickly losing, are still alive.
So far he is on his way to war and the destruction of the American dream because his priorities are himself (his brand), his family (his brand), his backers of his brand and then maybe his country (what he now likes to think of as HIS company).
This country is not now or ever will be a company if the rest of the USA, that is the majority who have spoken already and those former supporters he is quickly losing, are still alive.
1
I agree that the screaming and howling is premature. I will only mention once that the best concept in Trump's agenda (stimulus) was blocked by Republicans. I am very worried about our democracy because I don't trust Trump to respect the rule of law and I don't expect Republicans to enforce the rule of law.
1
DB,
Not sure that voter exists.
What ever the case, Trump is being 'normalized' (a already overused rhetoric) as we write.
What we all need to recognize, I think, is; We are currently seeing what amounts to a Trump 'charm campaign'.
The real, old Trump will come out swinging on 1/21/17, armed with a politically weaponized FBI, Justice Dept, IRS, NSA, SCOTUS and more.
Once more Trump is being underestimated.
Not sure that voter exists.
What ever the case, Trump is being 'normalized' (a already overused rhetoric) as we write.
What we all need to recognize, I think, is; We are currently seeing what amounts to a Trump 'charm campaign'.
The real, old Trump will come out swinging on 1/21/17, armed with a politically weaponized FBI, Justice Dept, IRS, NSA, SCOTUS and more.
Once more Trump is being underestimated.
The rise of fascism in this country is not really a side issue. Chances are, this same ideology will shape the economic policy under Trump's administration. And that's not good news for Americans, either.
Meanwhile, I'm a single mother, and already I am concerned that my taxes are going to skyrocket under Trump both because he has proposed to collapse tax brackets and eliminate the Head of Household designation. And Paul Ryan wants to get rid of Medicare as we know it.
I'm waiting for good news, but the future really does look grim.
Meanwhile, I'm a single mother, and already I am concerned that my taxes are going to skyrocket under Trump both because he has proposed to collapse tax brackets and eliminate the Head of Household designation. And Paul Ryan wants to get rid of Medicare as we know it.
I'm waiting for good news, but the future really does look grim.
14
David, the scary part is the anti-semitism, sexism, racism, anti-Muslim, xenophobia that has now become part of an alt-right lPresidential administration in the form of Steve Bannon, Jeff Sessions, etc. Those of us who are part of any of those groups need to truly be scared devastatingly scared for the lives of our children and grandchildren
1
We have no choice but to listen to Trump's spewings. But, if you only listen to someone as they spout xenophobic, misogynistic, fear-mongering prevarications, you become part of the problem, too.
1
Donald Trump needs to do the listening -- to something other than his own racist, bigoted voice at a rally. He needs to come around before his fearful,
depressed detractors can. Other than the fact that his hyperbolic promises showing to be what they were -- hyperbolic promises -- his rhetoric, his choices of advisors -- nothing in his voice or actions says that he is ready to be the president for all Americans. He's the one who divided our country. Let him take the steps to become the Healer in Chief.
depressed detractors can. Other than the fact that his hyperbolic promises showing to be what they were -- hyperbolic promises -- his rhetoric, his choices of advisors -- nothing in his voice or actions says that he is ready to be the president for all Americans. He's the one who divided our country. Let him take the steps to become the Healer in Chief.
2
Just a brief counterpoint. Obamacare was not designed. It was a compromise because the republicans would not allow universal health care--what a majority of the populace desires.
I think it is the great challenge of our times to somehow come up with a way of educating the next generation to learn how to value facts over beliefs.
I think it is the great challenge of our times to somehow come up with a way of educating the next generation to learn how to value facts over beliefs.
2
We did listen. We did think about it. And two weeks in, we see what we have: All circus. No bread. A bunch of Neo-Nazi's celebrating down the street from the White House and slapping Swaztika's all over schoolyards. Tweet's about Broadway Shows and a crumbling NYT's. A parade of "desperate" wannabe statesmen showing up to be humiliated at a Golf Club. When I think about all that is going well in this country and the carnage about to come, I'm stunned. Our problems are solvable once the obstruction stops. Everything you wrote about, pre-election, is unfolding right before our eyes. The acts of a hyper-Narcissist. A High-Chair King. You are now in an avoidant-defensive posture. It's understandable as we all watch, helplessly, the GOP and Dems capitulate and as the press will be unable to stop him. We're dealing with a Monster.
5
This:
"There will be plenty of time to be disgusted with Trump’s bigotry, narcissism and incompetence."
Yes, be disgusted with it from day 1...immediately....today. Hold no quarter. I don't want to "understand" why people who share Trump's viewpoints voted for him. I don't want to "understand" why people who claim they don't feel the same way but voted for Trump because their fefes are hurt. Vote for a racist/misosynist? Own it.
"She is one of those people whom Joan C. Williams writes about in The Harvard Business Review who admires rich people but disdains professionals — the teachers who condescend to her, the doctors who don’t make time for her, the activists whose definition of social justice never seems to include the suffering people like her experience."
Most people aren't this. Most teachers aren't this. This is a strawman and those folks who feel hurt by the strawman they've never encountered personally can save it. I'm done feeling bad for people whose feelings have been hurt by people they've never encountered and who have never hurt them personally. I'm sick of feeling sorry for middle class white folks who are doing just fine but not as good as they think they should be doing who vote against their best interest because they want tree huggers and college kids and brown people to feel worse.
I'm not really concerned about the disappointed white person who frequents the non-existent Applebee's salad bar in Brooks' imagination. Just save it;
"There will be plenty of time to be disgusted with Trump’s bigotry, narcissism and incompetence."
Yes, be disgusted with it from day 1...immediately....today. Hold no quarter. I don't want to "understand" why people who share Trump's viewpoints voted for him. I don't want to "understand" why people who claim they don't feel the same way but voted for Trump because their fefes are hurt. Vote for a racist/misosynist? Own it.
"She is one of those people whom Joan C. Williams writes about in The Harvard Business Review who admires rich people but disdains professionals — the teachers who condescend to her, the doctors who don’t make time for her, the activists whose definition of social justice never seems to include the suffering people like her experience."
Most people aren't this. Most teachers aren't this. This is a strawman and those folks who feel hurt by the strawman they've never encountered personally can save it. I'm done feeling bad for people whose feelings have been hurt by people they've never encountered and who have never hurt them personally. I'm sick of feeling sorry for middle class white folks who are doing just fine but not as good as they think they should be doing who vote against their best interest because they want tree huggers and college kids and brown people to feel worse.
I'm not really concerned about the disappointed white person who frequents the non-existent Applebee's salad bar in Brooks' imagination. Just save it;
1
One of the hardest things in life is to actually see what you're looking at. Mr. Brooks is working hard not to do that :).
3
David: Maybe it's you who aren't listening. In the same Hollywood Reporter interview where Bannon vows to create jobs, he shares his sympathy for the devil. Here's the quote: "Darkness is good .... "Dick Cheney. Darth Vader. Satan. That's power. It only helps us when they get it wrong. When they're blind to who we are and what we're doing."
We can't whitewash who Bannon is, and his standing as Trump's chief strategist. How many Evangelicals who voted for Trump have seen this terrifying passage?
We can't whitewash who Bannon is, and his standing as Trump's chief strategist. How many Evangelicals who voted for Trump have seen this terrifying passage?
Once Trump mentioned anything about repealing RoevWade, or retro-punishing women who have had abortions the majority of Evangelicals stopped listening. It was like they'd heard the trumpets of their God from on high. Anything else he said was static...by any means they'll say to repeal RoevWade. Even if Satan himself does it, they're behind him!
1
I have been listening - to Trump's book: "Crippled America". It is a bit strange. The analysis and solutions Trump suggests (shouts) are mixed in with bombast, self-aggrandisement, false humility, and much else that is Trump to a core. But it does not strike me as an ideological text. It is more like a superficial, truthy set of prescriptions that someone who has not thought deeply about any of the problems has come up with.
So, I think Trump is going to be a better President than Ted Cruz in that respect. But, I don't think anyone should pull their punches with Trump. I think the only way to keep him in line is to keep pressuring him to do the right thing. He respects strength and only disdains weakness, and we know which the liberals are likely to err towards.
So, I think Trump is going to be a better President than Ted Cruz in that respect. But, I don't think anyone should pull their punches with Trump. I think the only way to keep him in line is to keep pressuring him to do the right thing. He respects strength and only disdains weakness, and we know which the liberals are likely to err towards.
How can we listen to a pathological liar? How can we establish a productive relationship with someone whom we absolutely cannot trust?
2
I know I'll get slammed for my liberal sensitivities over this comment, but your painting this voter as a "she" to make it sound more sympathetic really rubs me the wrong way. Especially after this election. We should be able to have equal sympathy for men and women, and not rely on old patronizing, protective instincts to sell a point.
2
Sorry. I don't listen to racists, bigots, misogynists and xenophobes who are proud and unapologetic about holding those views. In my view, while the noxious opinions of such people are protected expression of speech, neither they nor their perspectives should be welcome, normalized or tolerated as part of public discourse---especially when they hold positions of public trust. Americans' tolerance and justification of hate and discrimination has run parallel to our country's history and any greatness the country has achieved has been won by overcoming the willingness of small-minded and Grinch-hearted people to infect our public institutions, airwaves and public spaces with their opinions and actions. So, no. My ears are closed to "Mr" Trump and to people who support him and I will speak and write against him and his supporters in every forum available to me until there is some evidence that he might be anyone other than who he has presented himself to be.
"It wouldn’t kill us Trump critics to take a break from our never-ending umbrage to engage in a little listening."
Respectfully, and to a degree admiringly though in the main I disagree with you, I say your bottom line here is wrong, Mr Brooks. I assume for discussion's sake too much umbrage has been taken by such as us critics.
But I also see, especially now that specific information - more reliable presumably than campaign rhetoric - is being put out, and now that potential appointees have been identified, umbrage taking seems to be petering out.
More important, I see that a good deal of listening - way more than a little - has taken place and has resulted in an at least equally good deal of fact-based, thoughtful temperate analysis and, yes criticism, of the information and the individuals.
We're listening, man, even if while hangin' on for dear life.
Respectfully, and to a degree admiringly though in the main I disagree with you, I say your bottom line here is wrong, Mr Brooks. I assume for discussion's sake too much umbrage has been taken by such as us critics.
But I also see, especially now that specific information - more reliable presumably than campaign rhetoric - is being put out, and now that potential appointees have been identified, umbrage taking seems to be petering out.
More important, I see that a good deal of listening - way more than a little - has taken place and has resulted in an at least equally good deal of fact-based, thoughtful temperate analysis and, yes criticism, of the information and the individuals.
We're listening, man, even if while hangin' on for dear life.
1
David, I have listened for over a year. This is serious and for you to marginalize trumps awful victory is like trying to normalize a real tragedy. Safety nets are on the bubble with this person and war is on the horizon, again. The US may change as we know it. Sometimes your moralizing is just to much. Hillary won the popular vote and the Comey letter is responsible for the marginal win by the GOP. Please stop making excuses to listen to a bigot.
1
Laughing still, that dt is offended by photos which show his double, triple chins! I am listening and laughing. How tragic that he is president elect. He is a very dangerous man. How does he think?
2
Forgotten here is the indisputable fact that the majority of voters in this past election did not ask for the changes that your theoretical Trump supporter wants. They don't want Obamacare to be repealed. They don't want a wall built on the border with Mexico. They don't want Muslims to have to register with the federal government. They don't want an isolationist foreign policy. They don't believe that climate change is a hoax. I think the theoretical and real Trump supporter needs to do some listening as well.
Democratically controlled states are beating the republican gulags economically and the red states should try some democratic philosophy of using government as a tool box to help themselves. Decades of failed republican political legislation has failed the people. They have to ask themselves "How's that working for you? The elect to change.
Mr. Brooks, you don't "drain the swamp" by increasing the population of alligators who feed there.
A number of posts here express the sentiment that Obama promised change and didn't do anything. The seem to ignore the intransigence of a Republican Party that met on inauguration day to plan a strategy of total obstruction.
I get that people wanted change. But how many thought about the actual change they were voting for?
Call me when those mines re-open in Kentucky, and West Virginia and when those steel mills start sprouting up on the banks of the Monongahela. Then I'll re-consider.
A number of posts here express the sentiment that Obama promised change and didn't do anything. The seem to ignore the intransigence of a Republican Party that met on inauguration day to plan a strategy of total obstruction.
I get that people wanted change. But how many thought about the actual change they were voting for?
Call me when those mines re-open in Kentucky, and West Virginia and when those steel mills start sprouting up on the banks of the Monongahela. Then I'll re-consider.
2
Nope, David - I'm not interested in any Trump voters or their thoughts. They put a criminal in the White house and we have to do all we can to rid our country of this insipid crook. Hillary won the popular vote by over 1 million votes. Last time I looked the USA is a democracy but it sure doesn't feel like one right now
We need to come together to insult and disrupt Trump's agenda at every turn. He's a common crook and nothing more - and deserves to be treated like one. Already ten days after his election he's tacitly admitted fraud both in his fake university and his sham foundation.
I would suggest you look more into his taxes. Let's expose this man for the fraud he is.
We need to come together to insult and disrupt Trump's agenda at every turn. He's a common crook and nothing more - and deserves to be treated like one. Already ten days after his election he's tacitly admitted fraud both in his fake university and his sham foundation.
I would suggest you look more into his taxes. Let's expose this man for the fraud he is.
2
Public schools depend on funding first at federal, then local level. Your party has monopolized state offices and, for the last 30 years, cut funding to education. Local boards have been forced to starve the beast - there are no longer sports, arts or music, let alone funds to raise the salaries of teachers. There is a cause and effect at work. I highly doubt public schooling will be a high end priority of this particular Republican, but prepare to wow me.
1
"...the experts created a school system that doesn’t produce skilled graduates. The experts designed Obamacare exchanges that are failing." This is where I get off the bus. This is just a partial list of things government has tried to do while half of its staff, the GOP half, has been engaged in systematic sabotage. It started during Ronald Reagan's first campaign, when he announced a "crisis in our schools" that materialized out of thin air. There was no crisis, other than the fury of corporatists who wanted to steal the country from the voters at large. We have a population of wealthy sharks who will spare no expense to demean, dismantle and demonize civic life, in an effort to assure that the "free market" they control will not suffer under the rule of law. The pretense that experts in search of success screwed things up through folly is ludicrous. It was experts bent on destroying the very idea of a self-governing American society who did this, and they have succeeded spectacularly. So well that David Brooks is broadcasting their false, self-fulfilling prophecy that the government can only make a mess of things.
3
David Brooks: In this column you lay out in a nutshell exactly *how* you missed the point on Trump and are now missing the boat now that he's empowered. The holiday season is here, so no offense, but sometimes even the most effete of intellectuals must wrap up the rumination and take a stand. We don't need to "listen" to threats, intimidation, bullying and bluster against our fellow Americans. We need to condemn and resist it. When the candidate bludgeons us with what and how he's going to do, then gets elected and commences to staff up for the execution, there's nothing so complicated that we benefit from more idle contemplation and certainly not from self-reflection about policies that most Americans rightly condemn.
2
The more I listen, the more disgusted I get. I listen to the white supremacists celebrating Trump's election. I listen to the dictators and would-be dictators in other countries jumping on the Trump bandwagon. I listen to Trump's promises to degrade our environmental and living standards by promising to get rid of 2 old regulations for each new regulation enacted. I listen to Trump's plan to bring us all together by choosing Steve Bannon and by tweeting his criticism of the cast of Hamilton. I listen to Trump's plans to bring back "clean" (ha!) coal and appoint a Secretary of the Interior that denies climate change. I listen while Trump says he will get rid of the Department of Education and will go on the warpath with Federal workers cutting pay and pensions while eliminating many positions. My ears can't hear no more!
2
I got to the first sentence in the second paragraph and had to stop reading.
The Trump supporters that I know have plenty and the systems are not falling them; rather they know how to work the system to their advantage. These Trump supporters are children of Holocaust survivors and in my family. Mr. Brooks, can you write about them, I am all ears.
The Trump supporters that I know have plenty and the systems are not falling them; rather they know how to work the system to their advantage. These Trump supporters are children of Holocaust survivors and in my family. Mr. Brooks, can you write about them, I am all ears.
Good luck with this, David. Really, I agree. But take a look at the hostile responses to Mark Lilla. We'll see how far your call to reason will get you.
I'v tried to listen to the Trump voter voices for the past two weeks. In the end I am filled with disgust. Here is a little note I wrote to them.
A Thank You Note
Dear Trump voter,
Thanks for voting for change, because with your vote, it’s coming. Thanks for blowing off the open racism, sexism, the mockery of people with disabilities, the insults thrown at parents of American soldiers who gave their lives, and the ugly language. That must have been pretty hard to ignore, but you did it! You imply you were really concerned about the economy, and you believe Trump will fix it. I know you may be losing a little sleep because as the days progress, it's becoming clear that he hasn't a clue, didn't expect to win, and he is pushing all the responsibility off on others who have singular agendas of their own.
Again, Thanks, because you just jumped from something that could be corrected through hard work and cooperation to something that will be broken by some very awful people.
So, thanks, thanks, thanks. Thanks for flushing the ugly shadows of white supremacy, xenophobia, and hate crimes out into the open where they can say and do ugly things without fear. Thanks for placing a narcissistic puppet in exactly the wrong place.
Oh, and a big thumbs up to the "bubble" argument, and that I just don't get it. You're right! I don't get the hate, the insults, and the unwillingness to give everyone a chance to succeed. Sadly, of course, in the end I don't get you.
xo
A Thank You Note
Dear Trump voter,
Thanks for voting for change, because with your vote, it’s coming. Thanks for blowing off the open racism, sexism, the mockery of people with disabilities, the insults thrown at parents of American soldiers who gave their lives, and the ugly language. That must have been pretty hard to ignore, but you did it! You imply you were really concerned about the economy, and you believe Trump will fix it. I know you may be losing a little sleep because as the days progress, it's becoming clear that he hasn't a clue, didn't expect to win, and he is pushing all the responsibility off on others who have singular agendas of their own.
Again, Thanks, because you just jumped from something that could be corrected through hard work and cooperation to something that will be broken by some very awful people.
So, thanks, thanks, thanks. Thanks for flushing the ugly shadows of white supremacy, xenophobia, and hate crimes out into the open where they can say and do ugly things without fear. Thanks for placing a narcissistic puppet in exactly the wrong place.
Oh, and a big thumbs up to the "bubble" argument, and that I just don't get it. You're right! I don't get the hate, the insults, and the unwillingness to give everyone a chance to succeed. Sadly, of course, in the end I don't get you.
xo
10
After the dust settles, Trump will do as he is told, same as Ronald Reagan when he came into office with all those years of Hollywood experience. That's what his handlers - his staff, his cabinet, and the clouds of lobbyists that hover 'round the White House and Congress - are for.
Let's wait and see who gets the new President's ear and what they tell him to do.
Let's wait and see who gets the new President's ear and what they tell him to do.
I agree that it is wrong to merely vent umbrage at Trump's bigotry, and that calling him a racist or incompetent does not accomplish anything. But this is not because the losing side needs to show a little humility. It's because merely calling him racist misses the larger point that Trump is using racism to consolidate power. The problem is not that Trump is a bigot, the problem is that he is a thoroughly anti-democratic authoritarian. He has shown us throughout the campaign a dire lack of understanding of the Constitution and no respect for Democratic norms. When a charismatic authoritarian runs on promises to register people because of their religion, deport others because of their race, and then appoints hardline anti-immgration white nationalists to his cabinet, my duty as an American is not to shut up and listen to what the fascists are trying to say. The worst actors in American politics are being rewarded. Silence is acquiesence. I feel like we're getting a crash course in how fascism can become normalized in a once democratic nation.
David, what this election is teaching us is that it can happen here.
David, what this election is teaching us is that it can happen here.
1
We've descended into tribalism, where nothing the man said or did could disqualify him because he was the standard bearer for the party with the most single issue voters, as ever.
Russian heads of state have admitted tampering via hacking/leaks. At another point in history in this lifetime the shooting might have already started.
The KKK and its allies are exulting in the election's outcome and have yet to be challenged in even the most cursory way.
The man just settled for $25MM to avoid a possible racketeering verdict.
He's bragged about sexual assault, has multiple accusers and has advocated "punishing" women for abortions.
Plenty of disaffected whites that voted for Trump are actually quite comfortable and doing well but can't abide the wave of political correctness that has been washing over the country. This is their middle finger to that, words and actions of their figurehead be damned. Even if they're right about some of that they couldn't be more wrong about the chosen remedy. America still should have standards of decency and respect but it doesn't anymore. This election is more damaging to our standing in the world than any so called apology tour.
The Dems don't know how to fight. The only thing more embarrassing than this President Elect is their complete weakness in the face of the GOP's disgraceful comfort with the politics of xenophobia, sexism and religiosity.
Russian heads of state have admitted tampering via hacking/leaks. At another point in history in this lifetime the shooting might have already started.
The KKK and its allies are exulting in the election's outcome and have yet to be challenged in even the most cursory way.
The man just settled for $25MM to avoid a possible racketeering verdict.
He's bragged about sexual assault, has multiple accusers and has advocated "punishing" women for abortions.
Plenty of disaffected whites that voted for Trump are actually quite comfortable and doing well but can't abide the wave of political correctness that has been washing over the country. This is their middle finger to that, words and actions of their figurehead be damned. Even if they're right about some of that they couldn't be more wrong about the chosen remedy. America still should have standards of decency and respect but it doesn't anymore. This election is more damaging to our standing in the world than any so called apology tour.
The Dems don't know how to fight. The only thing more embarrassing than this President Elect is their complete weakness in the face of the GOP's disgraceful comfort with the politics of xenophobia, sexism and religiosity.
Appointing Jeff Sessions, Bannon and Flynn to posts isn't fantasy. Trump voters just like the old Reagan voters don't bother with real facts. They like the emotional appeal. They still idolize Reagan even though he stiffed them badly. When Trump does something good, we will say so but so far the record isn't good.
Plus he doesn't like to be questioned. Remember Hillary was criticized when she didn't hold a press conference for a month. Trump hasn't held one since July.
When you blame the experts for failing, you should remember that your party, the gop, cut funding so severely, it became difficult for anything to succeed. They wanted everything to fail.
Plus he doesn't like to be questioned. Remember Hillary was criticized when she didn't hold a press conference for a month. Trump hasn't held one since July.
When you blame the experts for failing, you should remember that your party, the gop, cut funding so severely, it became difficult for anything to succeed. They wanted everything to fail.
What does David Brooke's mean by effective reform? He writes philosophically
About theoretical subjects raised by other writers about the perceived wrongs
In our society. What does he mean? We knew he disagrees with lots of what
Trump is currently pushing but it varies and changes so much that it takes a
Real optimist to imagine a carefully calibrated positive outcome. Stay tuned.
C D Jensen
About theoretical subjects raised by other writers about the perceived wrongs
In our society. What does he mean? We knew he disagrees with lots of what
Trump is currently pushing but it varies and changes so much that it takes a
Real optimist to imagine a carefully calibrated positive outcome. Stay tuned.
C D Jensen
Brooks and his side kick have never brought up the negatives of Trump but without fail talked about Clinton and said she was not this or that and one is curious to know the effect of this punditry on the election outcome. What good will he see in a Trump leadership? Inspiring lies?
You do not have to be one of "them" to hold views of many elected officials as venal, self involved echo chambers out to make a name and a buck for themselves, often via connections made as an elected official. They associate with one another, and those who can pay to play. Even when they are concerned about "the poor" most have no idea what it is like to be in actual US defined poverty, or in the half of US households which are below median household income levels. Beyond their vote they can't offer anything but problems. What they -what I -see as serious conflicts of interest is par for the course for many leaders. Why wouldn't at least 1/2 of the country be cynical? Cynical enough to vote in an equally cynical TV personality? I suspect a number of people would be pretty content to roll along with the status quo, unconcerned by ideologies, IF THEY had jobs which offered a living wage. and some bit of security now and in the future. Some cannot see any path out of their economic class, and white families can be as stuck as black families in generational poverty, hustling paycheck to paycheck to survive.
Fears draw distrust and anger to the surface, abetted by a spokesperson centerstage who models their worst fears and prejudices, giving them legitimacy. Coming from a place where income was " unstable" - I understand those fears. But never the hatred, nor the seeming desire for a strong but anti-democratic leader who sounds like a dictator in training.
Fears draw distrust and anger to the surface, abetted by a spokesperson centerstage who models their worst fears and prejudices, giving them legitimacy. Coming from a place where income was " unstable" - I understand those fears. But never the hatred, nor the seeming desire for a strong but anti-democratic leader who sounds like a dictator in training.
I suggest Mr. Brooks starts listening to Fox News and right wing talk radio, that informs much of the electorate that votes Republican.
Brooks doesn't understand his own party and what they stand for. He keeps pretending that they are interested in anything other than lowering taxes and making the world safe for unfettered capitalism.
Brooks doesn't understand his own party and what they stand for. He keeps pretending that they are interested in anything other than lowering taxes and making the world safe for unfettered capitalism.
1
How long have I been listening to Trump. Seems at least since the 1st republican debate. Does anything he says make me want to here? No. Or do I find myself mis-judging him based upon hours upon hours of watching/listening to him for at least a year? No.
I have to listen to none other than his supporters celebrating his election today. I believe they could be called at the very minimum alt.right. Which is just spin for neo-nazi's or perhaps fascists. Why are we pretending that Trump is really worth listening after all that transpired? Anyone remember the infamous "grab them by their p???sy"? And now we are being admonished to listen to him as if something new and exciting that will cause me to suddenly say "wow, he's really got something worthwhile to say?". No. No. And No. Brooks is making the case that we should listen to trump. What new lies will I hear? The same old same old. With the same old cast of deplorables with their neo-nazi friends yelling "hail trump". No! No! No!. Something is seriously wrong with Mr. Brooks sense of reality.
I have to listen to none other than his supporters celebrating his election today. I believe they could be called at the very minimum alt.right. Which is just spin for neo-nazi's or perhaps fascists. Why are we pretending that Trump is really worth listening after all that transpired? Anyone remember the infamous "grab them by their p???sy"? And now we are being admonished to listen to him as if something new and exciting that will cause me to suddenly say "wow, he's really got something worthwhile to say?". No. No. And No. Brooks is making the case that we should listen to trump. What new lies will I hear? The same old same old. With the same old cast of deplorables with their neo-nazi friends yelling "hail trump". No! No! No!. Something is seriously wrong with Mr. Brooks sense of reality.
White nationalists are able to get away with their horrific hatred these days because they have learned to sell it in relatable terms.
Hate people of a different skin color? Accuse their defenders of being too easily offended, throw in a jab at everything being too p.c., make the BLM movement into a racist group, accuse them all of taking your jobs, and voila! Sold!
Hate people of a different religion? Just frighten everyone into believing that anyone who subscribes to that religion is a terrorist waiting to bomb everything, and voila! Sold!
Don’t want your white kids in the same school as African American kids? Skim from the public fund, open a charter school, choose the students who go there (hint, hint), make it all about The Right for Parents to Decide, and voila! Sold!
Or, you can get the daily special, and be excused by Brooks for all of it on the grounds that your problems would not exist if ONLY the elites would just listen, for once.
After all, white nationalists are people, too.
smh.
Hate people of a different skin color? Accuse their defenders of being too easily offended, throw in a jab at everything being too p.c., make the BLM movement into a racist group, accuse them all of taking your jobs, and voila! Sold!
Hate people of a different religion? Just frighten everyone into believing that anyone who subscribes to that religion is a terrorist waiting to bomb everything, and voila! Sold!
Don’t want your white kids in the same school as African American kids? Skim from the public fund, open a charter school, choose the students who go there (hint, hint), make it all about The Right for Parents to Decide, and voila! Sold!
Or, you can get the daily special, and be excused by Brooks for all of it on the grounds that your problems would not exist if ONLY the elites would just listen, for once.
After all, white nationalists are people, too.
smh.
2
Why do people who think of themselves as “rugged individualists” always seem to feel the need for “strong” leaders?
2
And by downplaying the bigotry, narcissism, and incompetence, Dave, you also draw attention away from the fact that these are the very same policies that even influential ideologues like Buchanan and yourself have been pushing for decades.
So you've got that going for you. And all it takes is lying about what your avowed position has been in the 1980s.
So you've got that going for you. And all it takes is lying about what your avowed position has been in the 1980s.
David, it is hopeful at best that "We’ve arrived at the moment of actual governing. We’ve arrived at the moment when Trump has to turn his vague notions into concrete proposals." We have not.
The only thing that has arrived is is a thin skinned cyber bully still tweeting away at the slightest slight. So far precious little governing seem to done and more time is being spent on stroking the ego of the Donald by parading his former opponents in and out of his golf club and making them stand at his doorstep and lick his boots.
I and those that see Trump as a grave threat to our democracy do wish he would a bit of interest in governing - at least then we could understand what policy battle to wage. But for now it is a general battle against moral corruption and a fight for survival of our nation.
The only thing that has arrived is is a thin skinned cyber bully still tweeting away at the slightest slight. So far precious little governing seem to done and more time is being spent on stroking the ego of the Donald by parading his former opponents in and out of his golf club and making them stand at his doorstep and lick his boots.
I and those that see Trump as a grave threat to our democracy do wish he would a bit of interest in governing - at least then we could understand what policy battle to wage. But for now it is a general battle against moral corruption and a fight for survival of our nation.
2
I've been listening right along and haven't liked what I've been hearing. I'm afraid that quite a few people have voted not knowing what they were truly getting with Trump. Maybe everyone's too busy with their lives to have a firm grasp of the issues. Easier to think that some strong man can come along and clean up the mess in Washington and make everything right. Party loyalty caused republicans to come home to Trump on election day. But he wasn't a normal candidate, won't be a normal president and we will be paying for it.
I think the right response is to fight him every step of the way except on some of the very few issues he may get right.
I think the right response is to fight him every step of the way except on some of the very few issues he may get right.
1
"Pat Buchanan, the most influential public intellectual in America today."
The most frightening words Lord Broks has ever written.
The most frightening words Lord Broks has ever written.
6
This essay is one of many accusing Democrats of failing to understand the disaffection of blue collar voters, failing to empathize with their plight, and failing to do much for them. One conclusion is that experts have shaped schools that fail the working class. I place more blame on legislatures that have been gradually starving public schools. As for job training, in my state of Alabama, there are 25 community colleges and technical schools offering convenient location, open enrollment, and low-cost tuition. There could always be more good jobs, but I don’t think there are steelworkers in Birmingham waiting for the mills to reopen. Enough from the pundits about how the Democrats abandoned Rust Belt workers. It is dishonest to praise capitalism and complain that it does not provide a guaranteed job of your choosing without having to retrain or relocate from your hometown when companies fail or take their business elsewhere. Does anyone really think that a market with far less federal regulation would solve most of workers’ problems? Under a Democratic administration, the economy has come back from the abyss. Now that the presidency, the congress, and a majority of state governments are Republicans, we will see how a new set of experts, deregulation, and lower taxes for corporations and the wealthiest individuals deliver.
24
"Now that the presidency, the congress, and a majority of state governments are Republicans, we will see how a new set of experts, deregulation, and lower taxes for corporations and the wealthiest individuals deliver."
Just take a look at Kansas and you will see how that will work out.
Just take a look at Kansas and you will see how that will work out.
1
Sorry, Mr. Brooks. I've been listening. And I don't like what I hear.
When a candidate runs on platitudes and empty promises about how they are "the only one who knows how to fix it", along with racist dog-whistle banter peppered in between -- it's hard to fathom how voters can buy into one part of the message, while ignoring the other.
Let's face it. Trump is endorsed by the Ku Klux Klan and alt-right White Nationalists (he hasn't even had the fortitude to disavow it) -- and they most certainly aren't offering the economic advice, or relief that voters want.
Another thing.
Nice try shifting all the blame to the Democratic Party, but have you also questioned why they're "losing badly on local, state and national levels"?? Alot of it has to do with with the inability to play on par with the Republican's 24/7 right-wing media indoctrination, and an equivalent to Steve Bannon's hate parole. As you surely must have noticed, HATE is a top seller these days.
You can keep on listening if you want to. I've heard enough.
When a candidate runs on platitudes and empty promises about how they are "the only one who knows how to fix it", along with racist dog-whistle banter peppered in between -- it's hard to fathom how voters can buy into one part of the message, while ignoring the other.
Let's face it. Trump is endorsed by the Ku Klux Klan and alt-right White Nationalists (he hasn't even had the fortitude to disavow it) -- and they most certainly aren't offering the economic advice, or relief that voters want.
Another thing.
Nice try shifting all the blame to the Democratic Party, but have you also questioned why they're "losing badly on local, state and national levels"?? Alot of it has to do with with the inability to play on par with the Republican's 24/7 right-wing media indoctrination, and an equivalent to Steve Bannon's hate parole. As you surely must have noticed, HATE is a top seller these days.
You can keep on listening if you want to. I've heard enough.
7
Sorry, David, but I think you've been constructing your ideal Trump voter from wishful thinking. Maybe we could find two or three if we searched. But having grown up in the rust belt in a working class family, in a working class town, attending a working class church, I can say that I have never met your ideal voter--someone who wants her economic inequality addressed, but who eschews racist and white nationalist attitudes. Instead, in church, in school, on the playground, in the workplace (I worked on the labor crew for the water company and on the railroad during summers home from college), I became inured to the constant barrage of racist, sexist, and jingoistic epithets that were part and parcel of everyday conversation. If you think that Trump voters only voted for him because they hoped he'd help them rise up economically and get their fair share of the pie, I think you haven't met many. I agree that ignoring the very real needs and sufferings of the working class and middle class in this country was a very real failure of the Democratic establishment. But those sufferings go hand in hand with hard core racism, misogyny, and white supremacy, often wedded to fundamentalist religion.
9
Isn't silence considered consent? Has been for centuries since Sir Thomas More trial and execution. With your reasoning Mr. Brooks everyone should "listen" to Mr. Trump and his supporters undermine and destroy human values and the Constitution while exploiting white male identity politics. I will always take peaceful resistance when being offered leadership that violates basic human principles. Hope you will join me Mr. Brooks.
4
Do you really think that democratic ends can be achieved through decidedly undemocratic means?
I'm critical of Trump and his new appointees because I have long thought that true democracy means there is little difference between where we go and how we get there.
In my view, true democracy is a way of being and being together, and this understanding of our country is what is under attack already.
Our country is better than this. We don't need to wait and see on this one.
I'm critical of Trump and his new appointees because I have long thought that true democracy means there is little difference between where we go and how we get there.
In my view, true democracy is a way of being and being together, and this understanding of our country is what is under attack already.
Our country is better than this. We don't need to wait and see on this one.
4
The voter who admires rich people but disdains intellectuals is a fascist. There is no other way around it. Fascism is a populist revolt against the ideas of the Enightenment and against the people who represent those ideas: scientists, writers, professors, inventors and of course, Jews. My grandfather was killed at the age of 25 fighting fascism and now I am supposed to sympathize with the people who revive this monster? If Mr. Brooks' putative Trump voter gets zero sympathy from me and I will fight her with the means at my disposal: money and social capital. Not a dollar of my charity contributions will go toward any organization that supports rural America; I will spend no tourist money in any red state; and I will not support any populist politician, on the left or the right, who engages in anti-"elitist" rhetoric. And when the Trump voter whines about her crumbling, meth-infested small town and about the jobs that are not coming back, I'll refuse to listen.
4
My heads spins when I think of all the factors that went into the election results. The pundits are "pundering" like Chick Todd are playing catch up.
1-It was hatred of Hillary
2-It was gerrymandering
3-The Dems ignored pleas from the three states Hillary thought she would win and spend no time in
4-Read the article about the black voters in Milwaukee who didn't vote an didnt think Obama did anything for them.
5-McConnell and the republicans fought Obama on changes the republicans wanted as awell.
6-Racism against Obama
7-Obama not trying hard enough to schmooze
8-Trump is disgusting in his words and deeds
9-The Dems did have plans to help the middle class
BUT HE IS PRESIDENT-ELECT and I think Brooks has captured it best. for now, don't forget how repulsive Trump has been but let's see what he does. I agree with Schumer if there is a good deal to be had do the deal
And I'm sick that we may lose the Surpreme Court and Federal Judgeships. But there is a price.
The Dems need to understand and sort out there strategy going forward.
1-It was hatred of Hillary
2-It was gerrymandering
3-The Dems ignored pleas from the three states Hillary thought she would win and spend no time in
4-Read the article about the black voters in Milwaukee who didn't vote an didnt think Obama did anything for them.
5-McConnell and the republicans fought Obama on changes the republicans wanted as awell.
6-Racism against Obama
7-Obama not trying hard enough to schmooze
8-Trump is disgusting in his words and deeds
9-The Dems did have plans to help the middle class
BUT HE IS PRESIDENT-ELECT and I think Brooks has captured it best. for now, don't forget how repulsive Trump has been but let's see what he does. I agree with Schumer if there is a good deal to be had do the deal
And I'm sick that we may lose the Surpreme Court and Federal Judgeships. But there is a price.
The Dems need to understand and sort out there strategy going forward.
2
Gah - Trump didn't win because liberals were to sanctimonious or not humble enough. Trump won because a near-majority of American voters are unmoored from objective reality:
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/21/technology/fact-check-this-pizzeria-is...
Spend any amount of time in comments sections anywhere related to politics today and witness the preponderance of absolutely untrue assertions about Hillary Clinton (and attendant naked hatred for her). "Still better than Hillary -she's got blood on her hands." is a common defense for having voted for Trump. Trump won because an entire alternate ecosystem of fake and fakey journalism was created by Murdoch, Ailes et. al. and Americans can't tell the difference anymore. The whole system rewards bigger lies with more clicks - who's going to bother with actual facts?
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/21/technology/fact-check-this-pizzeria-is...
Spend any amount of time in comments sections anywhere related to politics today and witness the preponderance of absolutely untrue assertions about Hillary Clinton (and attendant naked hatred for her). "Still better than Hillary -she's got blood on her hands." is a common defense for having voted for Trump. Trump won because an entire alternate ecosystem of fake and fakey journalism was created by Murdoch, Ailes et. al. and Americans can't tell the difference anymore. The whole system rewards bigger lies with more clicks - who's going to bother with actual facts?
5
This is more than a policy disagreement, Mr. Brooks. It's more than political argument. It's a moral crisis. Whether any Trump proposals ever pass, he has already, by his angry appeals to tribal politics, given his tacit permission to the proponents of vile and hateful racist, anti-Semitic, and nativist ideologies to pollute our public discourse. You have recently written about living the ethical life. If you really share these views, you cannot remain silent. Nor should any right-thinking person with a conscience.
3
Even the 'good' Trump voter is guilty of magical thinking -- believing that our national issues are caused by globalists, not globalism, and that new, good-paying jobs can be just whipped up with a few well-place tariffs.
It's a manifestation of America's lottery/casino mentality. No one - not even the hard-working folk of rural America -- wants to exercise the diligence and patience it requires to effect real, long-lasting improvements. They all want the scratch-off ticket pay-day, provided by the change agent with the snazziest promises.
It's a manifestation of America's lottery/casino mentality. No one - not even the hard-working folk of rural America -- wants to exercise the diligence and patience it requires to effect real, long-lasting improvements. They all want the scratch-off ticket pay-day, provided by the change agent with the snazziest promises.
4
"Well, the experts created a school system that doesn’t produce skilled graduates." I do hope, Mr. Brooks, that when you say "experts" you are not referring to our teachers, but to the top-down forces that produced "No Child Left Behind" and the common core, and those that have consistently cut funding to education from kindergarten to college.
2
What kind of chance would it be to someone who thinks of himself as a god? None of his appointments are acceptable, especially his advisors! Good grief, it's like taking the poisoned apple from the jealous queen and saying we'll give it a chance! We cannot forget nor forgive this reprobate's disgusting campaign promises!
3
Three key political questions:
What side were you on during WW2?
Did you vote for Sarah Palin?
Did you vote for Trump?
The answers will tell you who you are dealing with.
What side were you on during WW2?
Did you vote for Sarah Palin?
Did you vote for Trump?
The answers will tell you who you are dealing with.
The failure of the Democrats is they are not playing the same game as the Republicans. The GOP has spent the past 20+ years denigrating government and the past 8 years denigrating the President. The message, "Democratic Gov't is to blame for your problems." The Democrats & the President failed to present good and simple counter arguments. This is how we got the current President-elect.
Try consistently "producing skilled graduates" out of students from families so intellectually disinclined that Trump seemed remotely acceptable. I'm a teacher by trade and, yes, I do very much try. But don't expect me to constantly succeed with students of strict know-nothing upbringings.
1
I would agree a period of reflection is in order but there are alt right, Neo nazis yelling hail Trump in meetings in D.C. I am having a hard time being thoughtful when I grew up being told "never again".
1
"In a free society, some are guilty, but all are responsible"
-Heschel
The hand-wringing, the trembling and finally, the whining, from my fellow-travelers on the left, are both exhausting and disappointing. We lost. We had a competent, qualified and unfairly maligned candidate who nevertheless couldn't seal the deal. She was the wrong person for this election. Many of us sensed it, but she's what the establishment served up and so she's who we voted for. Are we therefore guilty of Trump's crimes against decency, dignity and intellectual honesty? No. But, we are just as responsible for his rise. Now we have a choice: support him in all he does to advance the cause of the working and middle classes; never let him forget the poor; and aggressively oppose him when he resorts to divisiveness, hatred and stupidity. I'm not buying for one minute the idea that he's not my president. Like it or not, we all voted for Trump.
-Heschel
The hand-wringing, the trembling and finally, the whining, from my fellow-travelers on the left, are both exhausting and disappointing. We lost. We had a competent, qualified and unfairly maligned candidate who nevertheless couldn't seal the deal. She was the wrong person for this election. Many of us sensed it, but she's what the establishment served up and so she's who we voted for. Are we therefore guilty of Trump's crimes against decency, dignity and intellectual honesty? No. But, we are just as responsible for his rise. Now we have a choice: support him in all he does to advance the cause of the working and middle classes; never let him forget the poor; and aggressively oppose him when he resorts to divisiveness, hatred and stupidity. I'm not buying for one minute the idea that he's not my president. Like it or not, we all voted for Trump.
1
Bingo. What I've been thinking exactly. To say, let's stop therapizing with each other, stop the solipsistic trauma processing, and listen to what people of good will are tying to tell us. While we wring our hands over what might happen as we sip another $6 latte, we might want to imagine the retired secretary or underemployed McDonalds worker cutting out grocery store coupons and shopping for medicine online from Canada. To commit to hearing them is not to condone racism; we will know that when we see it. We coastal types need to think hard about how we can help those who are hurting. We don't have to roll back multiculturalism, we have to share its benefits more widely.
His great failures in implementing his campaign promises on immigration, round-ups of migrants, wall building and law enforcement will be our great successes. Whatever he attempts to accomplish outside of these, I'm willing to take a look at.
1
And so the beat goes on. We lost and now we hate you and will do everything in our power to make sure that you do not succeed. When the next president, whick ever party he/she represents, is voted in four years from now, the hatred will be the same. Like with most human beings, self reflection is on the decline. Admitting loss and failure has become a thing of the past, unfortunately. If only we could bring it back and accept the fact that there are always more than one perspective and that they all need to be respected...but I'm not holding my breath.
David Brooks is blaming the victims rather than the perpetrator. He asks us to wait and see what happens. To do so while the new Trump administration solidifies its positions is a serious mistake. By the time we realize the damage inflicted, we'll have little to no recourse to change it.
While I'm not in favor of hyperbole (and therefore in agreement with Mr. Brooks), I do think we need to watch the Trump administration very closely. We must analyze every move they make, no matter how mundane. As is happening in post-election North Carolina, some conservatives will stoop to any level to gain an upper hand. This includes planting fake news stories in local and regional newspapers, and filing complaint after complaint across the state alleging voter fraud.
Tangentially, Mr. Brooks lost much credibility when he called Pat Buchanan a public intellect, quoted Steve Bannon on globalization issues, and said democrats are losing on the national level. Pat Buchanan's malfeasance can be traced back decades to the Nixon administration and Watergate. That wasn't intellect, that was a crime. Contrary to what Steve Bannon tells us, it's been predicted for decades that Asian countries, as their economies evolve, will develop significant middle classes. And, correct me if I'm wrong, but Hillary's popular vote count is 1.5 million more than Trump's?
Maybe we can do as Mr. Brooks suggests, and wait and see what happens, but we should do so with an extremely wary eye.
While I'm not in favor of hyperbole (and therefore in agreement with Mr. Brooks), I do think we need to watch the Trump administration very closely. We must analyze every move they make, no matter how mundane. As is happening in post-election North Carolina, some conservatives will stoop to any level to gain an upper hand. This includes planting fake news stories in local and regional newspapers, and filing complaint after complaint across the state alleging voter fraud.
Tangentially, Mr. Brooks lost much credibility when he called Pat Buchanan a public intellect, quoted Steve Bannon on globalization issues, and said democrats are losing on the national level. Pat Buchanan's malfeasance can be traced back decades to the Nixon administration and Watergate. That wasn't intellect, that was a crime. Contrary to what Steve Bannon tells us, it's been predicted for decades that Asian countries, as their economies evolve, will develop significant middle classes. And, correct me if I'm wrong, but Hillary's popular vote count is 1.5 million more than Trump's?
Maybe we can do as Mr. Brooks suggests, and wait and see what happens, but we should do so with an extremely wary eye.
Joan Williams' insight on the voter's disdain for professionals on domestic issues is the one that William Easterly uses in his book The Tyranny of Experts on the failures of foreign aid and economic development programs.
There are those of us in this country who are so morally disgusted by this individual that we are impelled to oppose him, and those who support him. Wir können nicht anders---We can do no other!
1
Mr. Brooks--
How about you do a little self reflection on the Republican orthodoxy that you've upheld for decades, because the conditions that those voters are angry about were created by the GOP, and then they actively obstructed any policy that would have answered those voters' needs. And now those cynical politicians get their reward. You should be ashamed of your part in making this happen.
You should also be ashamed to make any case for Bannon. You say you're listening, but very selectively. Bannon's a fascist, and his promises are completely in line with fascism from the not so distant past. Try listening to his ideological partner, Richard Spencer. In his recent address to the fascist wave he represents, you'll hear echoes of a history that should make you vigilant not lull you into acquiescence.
As a member of the media, you ought to be outraged at Trump's vilification of the media, stoking his angry mobs to threaten the press pool covering him. It would have been instructive to listen to his tirade against the media, but that meeting was off-the-record. How long before he follows Putin's lead?
We should all listen very closely. Sure, let's have sympathy for voters whose futures have been crushed. But let's also recognize which party is responsible for the crushing, and who they'll crush next: non-whites, conscientious journalists, anyone who dissents. If that comes to pass, you can write another column about listening to those victims.
How about you do a little self reflection on the Republican orthodoxy that you've upheld for decades, because the conditions that those voters are angry about were created by the GOP, and then they actively obstructed any policy that would have answered those voters' needs. And now those cynical politicians get their reward. You should be ashamed of your part in making this happen.
You should also be ashamed to make any case for Bannon. You say you're listening, but very selectively. Bannon's a fascist, and his promises are completely in line with fascism from the not so distant past. Try listening to his ideological partner, Richard Spencer. In his recent address to the fascist wave he represents, you'll hear echoes of a history that should make you vigilant not lull you into acquiescence.
As a member of the media, you ought to be outraged at Trump's vilification of the media, stoking his angry mobs to threaten the press pool covering him. It would have been instructive to listen to his tirade against the media, but that meeting was off-the-record. How long before he follows Putin's lead?
We should all listen very closely. Sure, let's have sympathy for voters whose futures have been crushed. But let's also recognize which party is responsible for the crushing, and who they'll crush next: non-whites, conscientious journalists, anyone who dissents. If that comes to pass, you can write another column about listening to those victims.
1
Thank you, David, for perhaps the first rational idea by a prominent writer since the election. Reacting to each twitter is indeed silly, and projecting the future based upon three cabinet nominations is futile to say the least. Certainly the NYT could lighten up about slanting every story on the front page, such as the childish 'transition disarray' because a few days had gone by without an appointment. Lets allow this new guy to get started and even give him some help with constructive criticism and we all will be better off.
I love you, David Brooks. As usual, thank you for your balanced, thoughtful comments. Humility is what we all need.
1
We all know why Trump got elected, because the middle class of all races is being squeezed out of the economy. Old news. The fact of the matter remains, we have elected a most unsuitable character to be president. We can not ignore the decisions he has made and things he has said (including his infernal Tweets, can't someone take control of his twitter account?) in only the last two weeks. I hope the media has been inspired anew after the bully session they sat through yesterday snd continue to scrutinize his every move, tweet and youtube, question the legality and ethics of all his conflicts of interests and fully exercise the First Amendment, it is their right.
2
Dear Mr. Brooks,
I would whole-heartedly agree with you to take a breathe if the President-Elect had not chosen a racist as Attorney General, a neo-nazi as chief stragtegist and an Islamaphobe as National Security Advisor. I don't care about his tweets or what he says as much as I care about his appointments. So far he has shown that he does not deserve the tolerance, patience and listening you advocate.
As an aside, read Paul Krugman's column yesterday about how the infrastructure program will play out. Especially the next time your drive on your local highway that has now become a toll road.
I would whole-heartedly agree with you to take a breathe if the President-Elect had not chosen a racist as Attorney General, a neo-nazi as chief stragtegist and an Islamaphobe as National Security Advisor. I don't care about his tweets or what he says as much as I care about his appointments. So far he has shown that he does not deserve the tolerance, patience and listening you advocate.
As an aside, read Paul Krugman's column yesterday about how the infrastructure program will play out. Especially the next time your drive on your local highway that has now become a toll road.
2
We have been listening - to the Donald, for oh-so-many months. To his outpouring of lies, insults, threats, misogyny and more. To the false promises he made to those who, in their grievances, chose to be hoodwinked. Then we went out and voted for Sec. Clinton - more than 1.5 million more of us than voted for Trump. His election remains a danger to our country, including to the very people to whom you suggest we listen.
2
The thing is, I'll be completely surprised if Trump et al can do anything beneficial at all for the type of voter you describe. Not just if they CAN do, but if they even WANT to do anything truly beneficial.
No writer on these pages is better than Brooks at extracting emotion from fact and selling it as sensitive, quivering insight. Up until now I have been willing to give him the benefit of the doubt because it seemed he was struggling with an inner conflict that he was trying to resolve through writing, a bit like publishing your private diary, not of much interest normally but in this context there was a chance that serial entries might be worth a few minutes now and then just in case I was being too critical for my own good.
Unfortunately he has taken to walking in smaller and smaller circles, making me impatient and dizzy. If he wants a new direction away from this pathos I suggest he address the very real difficulty of dealing with and countering Trump and his goons' aggressive threats to civil society.
Unfortunately he has taken to walking in smaller and smaller circles, making me impatient and dizzy. If he wants a new direction away from this pathos I suggest he address the very real difficulty of dealing with and countering Trump and his goons' aggressive threats to civil society.
3
As a team is being put together there is very little listening to be found for an agenda we only speculate on....
As an example: today the TPP is gone on day 1;
reality says it will be back on the congressional docket before TPA runs out.
And where are the minorities concerns/issues in all of this?
As an example: today the TPP is gone on day 1;
reality says it will be back on the congressional docket before TPA runs out.
And where are the minorities concerns/issues in all of this?
I have loved reading and sharing your columns that focus on character, moral capital and the like. Perhaps it is my own character flaw. But, I cannot even begin to listen until Mr. Trump thoroughly denounces the racism and bigotry that has been awakened by the campaign rhetoric, which has only been further encouraged by his inclusion of Bannon as an advisor. Our country needs to heal and come together in as many ways that it can. This is impossible in the face of encouraging hate, and is against all the basic principles upon which this country was founded. America is already great because we can stand up for human rights based on a strong democracy. Hate separates us and demeans America's leadership abroad.
2
Brooks uses a football analogy: "If you were a football team you’d be 2-8" referring to the Democratic party. A 2-8 team doesn't turn into a winning program by criticizing the winners, telling their following how much they hate the other team. They get better by going back to the basics of sound blocking and tackling. Our Democratic party got their collective ---'s kicked by not governing well. We don't want to hear how evil Mr. Trump is. All's we want is for our electorate to govern competently.
Tom Friedman said he always took Donald Trump seriously, though as most others he was surprised.
Trump has something others didn't have, charisma & strength. With that he effortlessly sent all 16 other Republican contenders packing despite his phenomenal flaws. He's highly impulsive, restless, doesn't sleep much and lashes out at others at the slightest slights. But his supporters were enamored by his charm, mesmerized by his reassuring words, though they didn't actually believe in most of what he said. They just wanted him to be THEIR PRESIDENT, not unlike people wanted Ronald Reagan to be their president. Reagan was stable, normal and wouldn't get rattled by small things. He had character, but he was as conservative as they come; didn't mind shrinking safety net programs, as much as "feasible." (One reason why conservatives disliked Trump was they thought he was for liberal programs, even for single-payer healthcare and hiking taxes on the rich.)
Then with the same charisma he beat the formidable Hillary Clinton. Clinton has very little charisma. She is exceptionally competent and extremely hardworking but her presence of mind is poor. Her off-the-cuff remarks sometimes come across as tone-deaf, which is annoying to listeners; then her greed played a big part too. Her fear of admitting a mistake & to apologize was a HUGE drag on her candidacy.
As Mr. Brooks implies give Trump a chance. Hope for better outcomes but prepare for painful shocks.
Trump has something others didn't have, charisma & strength. With that he effortlessly sent all 16 other Republican contenders packing despite his phenomenal flaws. He's highly impulsive, restless, doesn't sleep much and lashes out at others at the slightest slights. But his supporters were enamored by his charm, mesmerized by his reassuring words, though they didn't actually believe in most of what he said. They just wanted him to be THEIR PRESIDENT, not unlike people wanted Ronald Reagan to be their president. Reagan was stable, normal and wouldn't get rattled by small things. He had character, but he was as conservative as they come; didn't mind shrinking safety net programs, as much as "feasible." (One reason why conservatives disliked Trump was they thought he was for liberal programs, even for single-payer healthcare and hiking taxes on the rich.)
Then with the same charisma he beat the formidable Hillary Clinton. Clinton has very little charisma. She is exceptionally competent and extremely hardworking but her presence of mind is poor. Her off-the-cuff remarks sometimes come across as tone-deaf, which is annoying to listeners; then her greed played a big part too. Her fear of admitting a mistake & to apologize was a HUGE drag on her candidacy.
As Mr. Brooks implies give Trump a chance. Hope for better outcomes but prepare for painful shocks.
1
David Brooks has a point. The election is over. Until Trump starts doing something, what are the protesters actually protesting--the voters and the choices they made? That seems pretty silly and undemocratic.
And Trump has signaled that his actually policies won't match his campaign rhetoric. He won't deport 11 million people. He won't violate the Iran deal. He won't build an actual wall. He won't prosecute Clinton. Etc. For many of these big-picture policy issues, it makes sense to wait and see.
But even before taking office, there are a few things that he has done. He seems to be mis-using his new position to push his personal business interests. He is bringing his family into meetings with foreign representatives, again blurring the line between his office and his personal goals. He is ranting against the press, against the Hamilton cast, against SNL, against anyone who dares criticize him, demeaning himself and the office he now represents. He is purging anyone borderline rational or centrist (Mike Rogers, Chris Christie, etc) from his inner circle. And he has appointed a borderline white-supremacist as his chief adviser.
So Brooks is right--let's not start the chants for impeachment or electoral college nullification just yet. But it doesn't hurt to start getting prepared either.
And Trump has signaled that his actually policies won't match his campaign rhetoric. He won't deport 11 million people. He won't violate the Iran deal. He won't build an actual wall. He won't prosecute Clinton. Etc. For many of these big-picture policy issues, it makes sense to wait and see.
But even before taking office, there are a few things that he has done. He seems to be mis-using his new position to push his personal business interests. He is bringing his family into meetings with foreign representatives, again blurring the line between his office and his personal goals. He is ranting against the press, against the Hamilton cast, against SNL, against anyone who dares criticize him, demeaning himself and the office he now represents. He is purging anyone borderline rational or centrist (Mike Rogers, Chris Christie, etc) from his inner circle. And he has appointed a borderline white-supremacist as his chief adviser.
So Brooks is right--let's not start the chants for impeachment or electoral college nullification just yet. But it doesn't hurt to start getting prepared either.
1
Brooks omits that the "victory" was, in fact, a loss by nearly 2 million votes. He glosses over the fact that Republican control "on the local, state, and national levels" is built on illegal gerrymandering (see Wisconsin ruling), intimidation and disenfranchisement. He refuses to note that the voters he talks about have been fed a diet of social intolerance, seduced into believing that their salvation is a zero sum game and betrayed by the Republican intelligentsia who serve oligopolists. In any other country this would not be considered a model of democratic progress.
That said his apocryphal voters concerns are all our concerns. I hope deeply that the President lives up to Brooks' idealization. I wish that he realizes that his words and behavior count for as much as the change he might bring. I pray that President lifts our whole society up, for we are stronger together ... but I ain't holding my breath that an epiphany is anywhere around the corner
That said his apocryphal voters concerns are all our concerns. I hope deeply that the President lives up to Brooks' idealization. I wish that he realizes that his words and behavior count for as much as the change he might bring. I pray that President lifts our whole society up, for we are stronger together ... but I ain't holding my breath that an epiphany is anywhere around the corner
3
Yes but what does any this have to with Americans whose ancestors were enslaved and discriminated against because of their African evolved dusky color?
In the 2008, 2012 and 2016 Presidential elections 57%, 59% and 58% of white American voters voted white McCain/Palin, Romney/Ryan and Trump/Pence. The Republican Party is the party of, by and for a majority of white American voters. The Democratic Party is the party of a minority of white American voters and a majority of all other colors of American voters.
Donald Trump was born a multimillionaire real estate baron juvenile delinquent. A man who has never been bravely honorable and patriotic enough to ever volunteer to wear the military uniform of any American armed force. A moral degenerate thrice married and counting heathen serial adulterer. A man who pays no taxes on the earnings of his mass media entertainment empire. A desperado bandit like Jesse James, Clyde Barrow and John Dillinger. A New York businessman like Lucky Luciano, Little Man Lansky and Dutch Schultz. A demagogue politician like Huey Long, George Wallace and Patrick Buchanan.
We have done a lot of listening. And what we have heard and understood is the apocalyptic equivalent of beholding a pale horse ridden by Death with Hades following in His wake and seeing the three score and six mark of the Beast.
In the 2008, 2012 and 2016 Presidential elections 57%, 59% and 58% of white American voters voted white McCain/Palin, Romney/Ryan and Trump/Pence. The Republican Party is the party of, by and for a majority of white American voters. The Democratic Party is the party of a minority of white American voters and a majority of all other colors of American voters.
Donald Trump was born a multimillionaire real estate baron juvenile delinquent. A man who has never been bravely honorable and patriotic enough to ever volunteer to wear the military uniform of any American armed force. A moral degenerate thrice married and counting heathen serial adulterer. A man who pays no taxes on the earnings of his mass media entertainment empire. A desperado bandit like Jesse James, Clyde Barrow and John Dillinger. A New York businessman like Lucky Luciano, Little Man Lansky and Dutch Schultz. A demagogue politician like Huey Long, George Wallace and Patrick Buchanan.
We have done a lot of listening. And what we have heard and understood is the apocalyptic equivalent of beholding a pale horse ridden by Death with Hades following in His wake and seeing the three score and six mark of the Beast.
7
Nothing in Trump's campaign offered anything specific for your ideal Trump supporter. She voted for a Sound Bite. Hillary lost because she spoke in complete sentences.
3
David, I have enormous respect for you and rarely disagree with your columns. But I think your column today missed a fundamental point: Trump has already demonstrated, painfully clearly, where he's headed. He named Bannon as his top strategist and refuses to repudiate the alt-right, even after its horrifically frightening rally last Saturday (yet finds the time to tweet broadsides against SNL and Hamilton!), all following a campaign in which he shamelessly, and proudly, introduced to our civic discourse the worst vulgarity, crudeness, misogyny, bigotry and anti-Semitism we've ever seen from a major- party candidate. How much listening and waiting do we need to embrace?? We must sound the alarm, loudly and persistently, starting now. If we wait and listen much longer, he will be irretrievably down a dark and terrible road before we know it. He's not normal and we cannot afford to normalize him, now or ever. If ever there was a clear and present danger to our freedom and our cherished democratic traditions, Trump is it.
8
If Trump is half as dangerous as Brooks, national security experts, and nearly every major newspaper warned, then Brooks' "best imaginable Trump voter" voted to risk the country to improve her family's situation. Is that Trump-style patriotism? Previous generations of Americans risked their lives, fortunes and sacred honor for the country, not visa versa.
Of course, people need to listen to each other. But they should also listen to the words of the Pledge of Allegiance or national anthem when they utter the words themselves.
The GOP has turned citizens into economic units and patriotism into self-serving nationalism. Our country needs our prayers at least as much as our ears while they're in charge.
Of course, people need to listen to each other. But they should also listen to the words of the Pledge of Allegiance or national anthem when they utter the words themselves.
The GOP has turned citizens into economic units and patriotism into self-serving nationalism. Our country needs our prayers at least as much as our ears while they're in charge.
3
While I agree that bloviating hyperbole is not going to win over hearts and minds, you don't seem to truly understand the shock and grief of those of us that voted with our minds (for Clinton) feel that we are the only people who actually take the ideas of integrity and dignity seriously. We know that the hiring of a white supremacist anti-Semite in the White House must never be normalized or accepted.
I call on all Senators and Representatives to refuse to work or even meet with Bannon. If we don't take a stand now, then when will we.
I call on all Senators and Representatives to refuse to work or even meet with Bannon. If we don't take a stand now, then when will we.
8
A strong independent reasonable voice in the Liberal wilderness. Hurrah!
David
My husband and I have traveled to many rural areas in these United States, mostly west of the Mississippi,on our summer road trips. Honestly there were moments,like taking a 4wheeler on a mining backroad narrowly and luckily reaching 14,000 feet to a stunning view that I yearned to be on a sandy beach. This Idea I dare not shared with my husband. Why you might ask? Simply because I'm a girl and I want to keep the peace as I'm sure many households across the nation held a single notion. Keep the peace. I'm talking about DT as a sexual predator whose behaviors need to be talked about until he's held accountable David Brooks!
My husband and I have traveled to many rural areas in these United States, mostly west of the Mississippi,on our summer road trips. Honestly there were moments,like taking a 4wheeler on a mining backroad narrowly and luckily reaching 14,000 feet to a stunning view that I yearned to be on a sandy beach. This Idea I dare not shared with my husband. Why you might ask? Simply because I'm a girl and I want to keep the peace as I'm sure many households across the nation held a single notion. Keep the peace. I'm talking about DT as a sexual predator whose behaviors need to be talked about until he's held accountable David Brooks!
6
I agree we should listen. But David, at what point do we stop listening? I, for one, have heard enough - a year and a half's worth - of cruel, ugly, destructive, racists, divisive, hateful, misleading, ... language from Trump and his supporters. They have shown no change for the better - only worsening. How is this supposed to fix or make America great again?
Give him a chance? For what? A chance to further divide the nation? A chance to torture and worse? A chance to split up and destroy entire families? A chance to follow through on many of his hateful proposals? A chance to unleash global environmental destruction?
"... governing challenge is going to be astoundingly hard..." Not for Trump. He will recklessly govern with ease, regardless of the harm or consequences to his victims. He does not care. Besides, he always has someone to blame if it does not go as expected.
"Democratic Party is losing badly on the local, state and national levels." Yes. Losing to dirty politics, Gerrymandering, and voter suppression.
"Experts" also undermined Obamacare and the school system - mostly to compromise with greed. Effective reform will always be attacked by "experts" too. So don't blame the experts who are trying to do good.
What chance did Obama get? None! And for the most part he was trying to do good.
Give Trump a chance? Tolerate Trump, Bannon, Sessions, et al.? - NOT A CHANCE!
Give him a chance? For what? A chance to further divide the nation? A chance to torture and worse? A chance to split up and destroy entire families? A chance to follow through on many of his hateful proposals? A chance to unleash global environmental destruction?
"... governing challenge is going to be astoundingly hard..." Not for Trump. He will recklessly govern with ease, regardless of the harm or consequences to his victims. He does not care. Besides, he always has someone to blame if it does not go as expected.
"Democratic Party is losing badly on the local, state and national levels." Yes. Losing to dirty politics, Gerrymandering, and voter suppression.
"Experts" also undermined Obamacare and the school system - mostly to compromise with greed. Effective reform will always be attacked by "experts" too. So don't blame the experts who are trying to do good.
What chance did Obama get? None! And for the most part he was trying to do good.
Give Trump a chance? Tolerate Trump, Bannon, Sessions, et al.? - NOT A CHANCE!
8
I believe that here Brooks is trying to show us that he has heard the voices of the common folk in his journey across the country. He says that he is trying to imagine an ideal Trump voter, but it seems clear that he believes such people really exist. Their grievances are real. What requires explanation is how, for eight years, these people were able to miss the fact that it has been the Republican Party that has imposed gridlock on Congress in order to make President Obama fail. Progress has stopped across the board. And now those same Republicans have been rewarded by people who are frustrated with the lack of progress on national problems. It is also a great mystery to many of us how someone could actually pay attention to Donald Trump and walk away thinking that he could be effective in improving their lives. A great mystery.
8
Maybe try a little courage, Brooks.
7
"Surely this is not the moment to get swept up in our own moral superiority, but rather to understand the specificity of the proposals he comes up with and to offer concrete amendments and alternatives to address the same problems."
"There will be plenty of time to be disgusted with Trump’s bigotry, narcissism and incompetence."
David, you are dreaming. This man is not a man who compromises . . . he wins or he crushes you. And there is hardly any time left for oppose this man. Read the headlines in your paper this morning. See how Trump is manipulating the press, intimidating the press. There is no time left for coddling this man. Speak now or you will forever be silenced.
"There will be plenty of time to be disgusted with Trump’s bigotry, narcissism and incompetence."
David, you are dreaming. This man is not a man who compromises . . . he wins or he crushes you. And there is hardly any time left for oppose this man. Read the headlines in your paper this morning. See how Trump is manipulating the press, intimidating the press. There is no time left for coddling this man. Speak now or you will forever be silenced.
7
It's not as though we have a choice! We have to listen to him, and interpret the message his appointments send: Bannon? And a racist senator as Attorney General? So far, so chilling. Complacency is no longer an option. Let's take back the Senate in 2018 and draw down the Repubs majority in the House. I'll check back in two or three months to see if Mr. Brooks' sanguinity prevails. Meanwhile I'll put a Don't blame me. I'm from Massachusetts sticker on my tailgate.
4
Thank you David. I am a Never Trump Republican. I grew up in small-town Midwest and visit frequently. I should not have been surprised by the outcome of election - but I was. I believe primarily because I read this paper!
Now I feel I need to do what you are doing - explain why this happened. It is not because of race. It is a confluence of economics, dislike of Hillary, and 8 yrs of Democratic presidency with only worsening prospects for the large majority of this nation-working class whites.
If progressives, like some of these comments suggest, keep insisting on the racism of the Trump voters, divisions will grow even deeper, if that's possible.
I am a religious person & I am tempted to think all the Evangelicals that supported Trump are not real Christians. But things in the political realm are not that clear. We need to hope for the best now and I agree with David we need to try to understand.
Now I feel I need to do what you are doing - explain why this happened. It is not because of race. It is a confluence of economics, dislike of Hillary, and 8 yrs of Democratic presidency with only worsening prospects for the large majority of this nation-working class whites.
If progressives, like some of these comments suggest, keep insisting on the racism of the Trump voters, divisions will grow even deeper, if that's possible.
I am a religious person & I am tempted to think all the Evangelicals that supported Trump are not real Christians. But things in the political realm are not that clear. We need to hope for the best now and I agree with David we need to try to understand.
1
Perhaps is might be more useful to look at the situation for the working class in general, and for the middle class in general. Are African-Americans and Latinos in those classes faring better than whites? By phrasing the problem as a problem for white people, your comment reenforces the point that this election is exactly about race. Talking, analyzing, and listening in a non-race specific language of class might help us better understand the phenomenon that is this election. If that language fails to explain it, then the election is probably about race.
1
Trump has made absolutely clear he will not listen to reason, will not accommodate opposing views, and has no clue (not because he's stupid, but because he's arrogant and ignorant). Expecting him to change is insane at this point as he rewires the Executive Branch. He has had a chance to apologize for his racism, xenophobia, and misogyny but instead had doubled down with the Bannon appointment. I've listened for signs of softening and pivoting. Instead I hear angry 3:00 am tweet-rants at Hamilton actors who dare remind him who they are. Trump must be replaced. So now it is time to organize effective opposition, starting with taking back Congress and protecting the Courts. We the people must organize resistance in the Executive Branch as best we can, and redouble efforts to capture state and local government. That's the next phase facing us, David Brooks - wake up! Maybe you have some useful tactical advice on how to convince others to organize. I do agree that endless complaining and hand-wringing is not helpful. Any ideas on how best to organize and demonstrate will be gratefully received.
7
So David Brooks has already started his new career of mainstreaming and normalizing Donald Trump. That didn't take long, did it?
6
Half of eligible American voters did not vote
Actual voters delivered a plurality of votes to Secretary Clinton...by a margin of more than 1.5 million
A minority of voters voted for Mr. Trump. They were overwhelmingly white and seem to be very very angry
An 18th century anti-democratic Electoral College system delivered the election to the man who won less votes than his opponent in an election where most voters declined to exercise their responsibility at all
American exceptionalism indeed. Your country is deeply deeply ill
Actual voters delivered a plurality of votes to Secretary Clinton...by a margin of more than 1.5 million
A minority of voters voted for Mr. Trump. They were overwhelmingly white and seem to be very very angry
An 18th century anti-democratic Electoral College system delivered the election to the man who won less votes than his opponent in an election where most voters declined to exercise their responsibility at all
American exceptionalism indeed. Your country is deeply deeply ill
7
I was listening! That's why I voted for Hilary. I am still listening. That is why I'm doing whatever I can from my pathetic, powerless place in the heartland to question and challenge the hatred and indecency spewing forth from Trump and his right-wing acolytes.
5
Come off it David. The upcoming administration will prove to be the worse experience the country has ever faced. Trump is in it to advance his own interests. For the past six years the republican party has attempted to advance its own interests over the good of the country. Trump is taking it one step further.
4
Dear David-- every time I start falling in love with you you do that thing. You know, where you over think everything thus twisting into a moralistic pretzel which Cant be untangles. This is simple: I am one of those people who shares every trait of the "best" Trump voter. I come from a family of 13 orthodox Catholic and solidly republican voters. Among us, I am one of two professionals. 10-2 we REJECTED Trump. Why? Because he is beyond the beyond of soulless-ness. From White National support to the cultural subjugation of women, people of color, THE PRESS, Muslims, LGBT people and the Constitution itself-- we've never witnessed such a habitual transgressor of humanity in the whitehouse. Never. So, he is an entity or a force we cannot countenance-- said another way and in the language of the people who taught me everything about language: we ain't tryin to hear that. We can't listen. We must speak and "take sides" as Wiesel urged us to do. My vote was about one thing: humanity. People like me are now in a Tolkien-esque battle for the soul of humanity. Sauron apologists be damned.
3
The irony it is David Brooks Republican Party that has helped keep help from the Trump voter. Bannon's nationalism whether racist or economic will cause the cost of everything to go up without doing all that much for employment.
A little listening? Who listens to a voter who buys the argument that a guy who plays a great leader on a TV show is actually a good choice for our Commander-in-Chief? Who thinks that the party that defanged our trade agreements from worker and environmental protection has any interest in 'bringing jobs back' to America? Or can put aside the campaign rhetoric of bigotry or sexual assault to make him their ballot choice because they've been told that the other candidate is untrustworthy?
They hurt because the Democratic party has had so little power that they could not improve their lot while the GOP had done nothing but pile more income on the Already Haves. By choosing Donald Trump as President that lot is about to become significantly worse. May time prove me wrong.
They hurt because the Democratic party has had so little power that they could not improve their lot while the GOP had done nothing but pile more income on the Already Haves. By choosing Donald Trump as President that lot is about to become significantly worse. May time prove me wrong.
1
I was really trying to do this. But then Trump nominated Bannon, Sessions, and Flynn. And got into a Twitter fight with the cast of Hamilton, while having nothing to say about the hateful attacks his supporters are making on people of color. And on and on. He's going out of the way to reach out to his most extreme supporters, while white nationalists and neo-Nazis are holding celebratory conventions and the KKK is honoring him with a parade. I keep trying to step back and give him a chance, and he keeps going farther.
2
When Republicans across the country don't properly fund school systems, of course those school systems fail. When Republicans underfund Obamacare or don't work to fix the program's problems, of course exchanges fail. And by the way, we are listening and watching: to Steve Bannon, to Trump himself, to the parade of sycophants leaving the palace. David,...you won't be able to listen very well if you don't take out your ear plugs.
1
If Don Trump had really cared about public education, he would have sent Ivanka to a public high school in New York City instead of to a posh New England boarding school. Oh, wait - Don Trump's a member of the profesional class. Of course he acts like one of the elites Mr. Brooks criticized here! But let's settle down and be good listeners. Surely Trump's education program will include vouchers for prep school, right?
1
In other words, wake up, grow up and show some of that vaunted 'liberal tolerance.'
'This voter wants leaders tough enough to crack through the reigning dysfunction, and sure enough, Trump’s appointments so far represent the densest concentration of hyper-macho belligerence outside a drill sergeant retirement home.'
You neglect to mention these people are white supremacists and neo-Nazis, and ignorant about much of their so called area of expertise. And my pointing this out does not make me swept up in my own narcissim, it means my eyes are open.
David Brooks, you just don't get it -- and now besides that, you are actually unpatriotic and a hazard to our Constitutional Republic. You are normalizing this which must NEVER be normalized. Disgust and activism is the right response. Student of history - not, you are fired - or should be.
You neglect to mention these people are white supremacists and neo-Nazis, and ignorant about much of their so called area of expertise. And my pointing this out does not make me swept up in my own narcissim, it means my eyes are open.
David Brooks, you just don't get it -- and now besides that, you are actually unpatriotic and a hazard to our Constitutional Republic. You are normalizing this which must NEVER be normalized. Disgust and activism is the right response. Student of history - not, you are fired - or should be.
1
Sounds like they've given up on Jesus and think Trump will be their savior and messiah.
2
So true, just listen and watch! Trump will not and should not seek to please everyone. Hopefully, he will govern as promised during his election campaign. We are tired of political correctness and being told what to do by the federal government.
The Hart-Geller immigration bill of 1965 has caused the great divide we now see in our country and it needs to be repealed with sensible legislation to curtail the animosity that it has created. Without this legislation we would not have over 1 million new immigrants every year since 1970. We need to go back to the immigration system of permitting only those who have the educational credential's we need as well as the money to support themselves.
The Hart-Geller immigration bill of 1965 has caused the great divide we now see in our country and it needs to be repealed with sensible legislation to curtail the animosity that it has created. Without this legislation we would not have over 1 million new immigrants every year since 1970. We need to go back to the immigration system of permitting only those who have the educational credential's we need as well as the money to support themselves.
"There will be plenty of time to be disgusted with Trump's bigotry, narcissism and incompetence." Not so sure about that.
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Taking a moment to listen more may be fine for a wordsmith in the media, but my listening capacity and ability to understand the perspective of the Trump voter has been stretched to the limit. The challenge isn't so much to take a timeout to stretch our capacities to listen and understand more as much as it's to keep up our endurance to respond time after time again and again and hold up a mirror to remind the Trump supporters among our friends and families that even though they may not be actively involved in racism and bigotry, their tacit support of Trump encompasses a tolerance of a certain degree of racismy and bigotry. Let's not give them a free pass. I've stretched myself to point of discomfort trying to comprehend some of these others' perspectives, maybe it's okay if someone else experiences some discomfort too when reminded of the company they keep.
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"Many of my fellow Trump critics are expressing outrage, depression, bewilderment or disgust." David Brooks
That's because they HAVE been listening and it's the proper response, David. The voter you describe "who cringed eery time Donald Trump did something cruel, vulgar or misogynistic" voted for somebody else because nobody in their right mind could stand that much cringing.
You are absolutely correct than many, many Americans have serious and legitimate grievances not being met by party establishment "mired in their orthodoxies" but those grievances, extreme as they are, do not warrant turning to fascism.
There is no legitimate reason to pause for listening to this fool about to assume the leadership of the free world or to his disgruntled, misguided and too-often ignorant, fearful followers. It gets darker and darker before it goes pitch black.
Get moving, David. Read the front page of your paper. He's coming after you.
That's because they HAVE been listening and it's the proper response, David. The voter you describe "who cringed eery time Donald Trump did something cruel, vulgar or misogynistic" voted for somebody else because nobody in their right mind could stand that much cringing.
You are absolutely correct than many, many Americans have serious and legitimate grievances not being met by party establishment "mired in their orthodoxies" but those grievances, extreme as they are, do not warrant turning to fascism.
There is no legitimate reason to pause for listening to this fool about to assume the leadership of the free world or to his disgruntled, misguided and too-often ignorant, fearful followers. It gets darker and darker before it goes pitch black.
Get moving, David. Read the front page of your paper. He's coming after you.
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"This voter wants a philosophic change of course, and Trump offers that, too." Have you been listening yourself to the kind of "philosophic change of course" that Trump is advocating with his first appointments? Have you listened to him rail against actors and acquiesce to neo-nazis? You have the temerity to call that a "change of course"? It's an alarm sounding loud and clear that demagoguery is the soup de jour. Are YOU listening, Mr. Brooks? Rail against this buffoon before it's too late.
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