Can the Republican Party Be Saved?

[Coydog]

I seem to remember Biden ignoring his innocent little granddaughter until polling showed that it was hurting him politically. Oh yeah, he also took unwanted showers with his pubescent daughter. Now there's a man of character!

Not creepy at all.

[Skid Mark]

What does this post have to do with the topic of this thread, or anything posted in it? And who said Biden was a man of character? Did anybody above make that claim? I certainly didn't.

Harumph!

[deadheadskier]

How's that DJT stock of yours doing Throbster?

Still no explanation for your handle change..... though the new one is quite fitting for you

[spanky]

How's that DJT stock of yours doing Throbster?

Still no explanation for your handle change..... though the new one is quite fitting for you

Ha! DJT has a chance of being breaking the record for shortest time between IPO and delisting (currently at 10 months)!

Speaking of throbster, I checked out his user profile. Something was messed up as he wasn't a member of any groups. So, throbster, if you're out there, your groups are restored. You should be able to log in and post!

[easyrider16]

Having watched and enjoyed the show, I thought these comments worth mentioning:

“Reacher” star Alan Ritchson is receiving a whole lot of attention for some harsh words he had for Donald Trump and his devotees.

During an interview with The Hollywood Reporter published earlier this month, the action star explained why he’s confused by Christians who support the former president.

“Christians today have become the most vitriolic tribe,” said Ritchson, who himself identifies as a follower of Jesus. “It is so antithetical to what Jesus was calling us to be and to do.”

“Trump is a rapist and a con man,” he went on, “And yet the entire Christian church seems to be treat him like he’s their poster child and it’s unreal. I don’t understand it.”

As expected, and with some irony, right-wing media savaged him for these comments.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/tv/news/right ... r-BB1lJxoA

[XtremeJibber2001]

Having watched and enjoyed the show, I thought these comments worth mentioning:

“Reacher” star Alan Ritchson is receiving a whole lot of attention for some harsh words he had for Donald Trump and his devotees.

During an interview with The Hollywood Reporter published earlier this month, the action star explained why he’s confused by Christians who support the former president.

“Christians today have become the most vitriolic tribe,” said Ritchson, who himself identifies as a follower of Jesus. “It is so antithetical to what Jesus was calling us to be and to do.”

“Trump is a rapist and a con man,” he went on, “And yet the entire Christian church seems to be treat him like he’s their poster child and it’s unreal. I don’t understand it.”

As expected, and with some irony, right-wing media savaged him for these comments.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/tv/news/right ... r-BB1lJxoA

It's because MAGA is a cult. A cult that puts Trump above Jesus Christ. It's totally wild and they absolutely cannot see it.

I'm more conservative than most my friends, but because I don't put Trump above Jesus Christ I'm viewed as 'a lib'.

[easyrider16]

I don't think I buy into the cult theory anymore. I think it's just politics and human nature. Trump has been quite adept at seeing and playing into what a particular group want to hear. This group, the MAGA group, feel marginalized. Probably rightly so, because they're a shrinking demographic with outdated ideas that are slowly being displaced.

I'm reading All the King's Men by Robert Penn Warren and it's a great book if you have an interest in how politics really works. Here's a passage I just read that is extremely on point. It's a scene where the main character, Willie Stark, is asking why his speeches aren't working.

“You tell ’em too much. Just tell ’em you’re gonna soak the fat boys, and forget the rest of the tax stuff.”

“What we need is a balanced tax program. Right now the ratio between income tax and total income for the state gives an index that—”

“Yeah,” I said, “I heard the speech. But they don’t give a damn about that. Hell, make ’em cry, make ’em laugh, make ’em think you’re their weak erring pal, or make ’em think you’re God-Almighty. Or make ’em mad. Even mad at you. Just stir ’em up, it doesn’t matter how or why, and they’ll love you and come back for more. Pinch ’em in the soft place. They aren’t alive, most of ’em, and haven’t been alive in twenty years. Hell, their wives have lost their teeth and their shape, and likker won’t set on their stomachs, and they don’t believe in God, so it’s up to you to give ’em something to stir ’em up and make ’em feel alive again. Just for half an hour. That’s what they come for. Tell ’em anything. But for Sweet Jesus’ sake don’t try to improve their minds.”

This is exactly what Trump does. His speeches contain almost no data, very little substantive content, and most of his facts are made up off the cuff. His supporters don't care because it's not about the substance. It's about how he makes them feel.

[deadheadskier]

The cultism is not the support he has from the very basic language he uses. It's the belief that everything he says is true and everyone else are the liars despite overwhelming evidence pointing to Trump's lies.

People believe him when he said he won the election even though no evidence has been presented. People believe him that January 6th was largely a peaceful rally, when we all watched on live television that it was anything but that.

Nevermind that people make being a Trumper part of their personal identity like no other politician in history. What other candidates in the past had people practically turning their homes, cars, boats etc into practical shrines worshipping them? No one in American politics that I've seen in my 48 years.

[easyrider16]

The cultism is not the support he has from the very basic language he uses. It's the belief that everything he says is true and everyone else are the liars despite overwhelming evidence pointing to Trump's lies.

People believe him when he said he won the election even though no evidence has been presented. People believe him that January 6th was largely a peaceful rally, when we all watched on live television that it was anything but that.

That's because their belief is not based on facts or reason. It's based on how he makes them feel. You have to know that on some level people like Throbster and/or Skid Mark have realized that Trump lied about the election being stolen. But that doesn't really matter to them - how he makes them feel matters more. So they choose to believe him even when their reason is trying to tell them that he's lying.

Nevermind that people make being a Trumper part of their personal identity like no other politician in history. What other candidates in the past had people practically turning their homes, cars, boats etc into practical shrines worshipping them? No one in American politics that I've seen in my 48 years.

If you can credit Trump with anything, it's with being really good at stirring people up and making them feel emotional. I agree, there are not many politicians around today who are as good at it as Trump, and it helps that he really has no scruples, freeing him to say whatever he needs to say to win their approval. But historically, take a guy like William Jennings Bryan, who was nominated over and over again by the democratic party even though he kept losing.

[XtremeJibber2001]

Put more succinctly, would you say Trump is a loser's image of a winner? Is this part of the same reason the GOP has become a party more fond of Putin/Russia?

[easyrider16]

I think it's a bit more complicated. There's this strategy in trial law called Reptile Theory. The basic premise is that rather than trying to appeal to a jury's reason, you should focus on those deep-set, evolutionary triggers in the amygdala - the fight or flight response. You can't do it overtly (at least in trial law), but you can subtly suggest that the Defendant's conduct is dangerous and could harm you or people you love, and the jury should punish them. It's not a very ethical tactic but it is incredibly effective.

Trump's got a really good instinctual understanding of how this works. If you listen to what he says, he is always going after this fight/flight response with his rhetoric - illegal immigrants are criminals and rapists, Washington is a swamp, etc. Half the time his speeches make almost no sense, yet they are incredibly effective at stirring up his base and motivating them. I don't think his base is all that enamored with Trump as a person, but they certainly respond to his rhetoric.

As to Russia, I don't think the GOP base likes Russia or Putin. I think they just don't see them as an enemy. They don't feel threatened by them the way they do by China or illegal immigrants. The argument against Ukraine funding seems mostly premised on it being a waste of money, and potentially helping people not worth helping (Nazi allegations, etc.).

[deadheadskier]

IOW - Trump's base are a bunch of simpletons incapable of critical thought and pretty much vote based upon their emotions.

[easyrider16]

That's not what I'm saying. I know some fairly intelligent people who are hard-core Trump supporters. You don't have to be a simpleton to act based on your emotions. Politics is largely driven by emotion on both sides of the aisle.

[XtremeJibber2001]

I'm sure by now most have seen Stephanopoulos's interview Sununu, but disappointed in Sununu's comments. This may or may not hurt him if he decides to run in 2028.

(full interview) - https://www.mediaite.com/news/george-st ... rontation/

Stephanoupoulos: "So just to sum up, you support him for president even if he’s convicted for classified documents. You support him for president even though you believe he contributed to an insurrection. You support him for president even though you believe he’s lying about the last election. You support him for president even if he’s convicted in the Manhattan case. I just want to say the answer to that is yes, correct.”

Sununu: “Yeah, me and 51 percent of America.”

[deadheadskier]

Voted for Sununu each time he was up for governor here in NH. Never again.

Anyone who doesn't condemn and walk away from Trump in 2024 will not receive my vote in the future