Wayfarer wrote: ↑Sat Jun 23, 2018 10:45 pmI'm saying they're
too stupid to have done it intentionally.
...I get so stressed about it. So I'm going to refrain from any further comments on this matter on DharmaWheel and only post about what got me here, namely, dharma.
There are different kinds of intelligence. The fact is Trump is imposing his will and his policies on America, and even though he doesn’t have a popular majority -- yet -- his base and many independents are becoming more supportive of his administration's Machiavellian strategy which doesn’t depend on thoughtful pre-planning. If the opposition tried to use "I really don't care, do u?" against Trump, his side would co-opt it and strengthen their support.
Whether they are voting against their own best interests or not, many people really believe they want the kind of society he is creating. MAGA is about the rights and will of the rich and privileged. Human rights is a Dharma topic -- and the U.S. has quit the UN Human Rights Committee.
It isn’t just America. Anti-democratic Nationalism/Populism is gaining traction around the world. Trump is helping by praising, befriending, and aligning the U.S. with dictators. If we want to preserve the democratic model, this civil-war incivility won’t work. We need a more intelligent conversation, which the Democratic party is not taking a lead on. It doesn't help to call Trump or his followers stupid -- they are powerful because they're getting things done. And what they're getting done is Trump's and his backers' (as opposed to his base's) agenda. This is not accidental.
The
NY Times article about his 90% approval among Republicans points out:
In interviews across the country over the last few days, dozens of Trump voters, as well as pollsters and strategists, described something like a bonding experience with the president that happens each time Republicans have to answer a now-familiar question: “How can you possibly still support this man?” Their resilience suggests a level of unity among Republicans that could help mitigate Mr. Trump’s low overall approval ratings and aid his party’s chances of keeping control of the House of Representatives in November.
One reader commented on the article with this:
Charles Michener wrote:This is an important piece to which anti-Trump zealots, as well as those of us just plain disgusted by his behavior, need to give serious attention. We need to understand the hardening Trump support as evidence that on virtually every front (government regulations, immigration, healthcare, trade), Trump is doing exactly what he promised he'd do. He's delivering, which is not something that can be said of most politicians. We need to understand that what he thrives on most is being a lightning rod, setting himself up for attack so he can show his mettle by hitting back. And the relentlessly anti-Trump media (which includes the Times) must recognize certain things about their outrage: 1) moralizing can get tiresome very quickly and boomerang on the moralizer; 2) hurling red-flag words like "racist," "misogynist" and "xenophobe" only reinforces his standing as "straight shooting," "swaggering" and "patriotic;" 3) making his every falsehood and tweet into a headline gives him and his supporters exactly what they want: it keeps him at center stage and obscures what he is actually doing to undermine government and the rule of law; 4) Piling on Trump day after day diverts Democrats and their candidates from putting forth compelling alternatives his policies, including those that would appeal to his base. If there was ever a time to let cooler heads prevail, this is it.
BTW, the article also mentions that those identifying as "Republican" has gone down by 2%, but I'm not sure how significant that is.