Today is Super Tuesday, which is a pretty big day in the primary election season. And if you’re in one of the states where people are voting today, you have a chance to make history. And I don’t mean that in a good way.
I think we’ve seen a lot more noise than usual from the alt-right, including the misogynist wings of the men’s rights movement and GamerGate, neoreactionaries who don’t like democracy because it’s not going their way, those white-supremacy-lite folks who say “cuck” all the time, resurgent anti-immigrant bigots, “racial realists” worried about the white man, and whatever the hell it was that happened to the Hugos last year.
And just in the last year we’ve seen the rise of Donald Trump, a lying, narcissistic, nationalist who preaches isolationism and blames foreigners and immigrants for everything he thinks is wrong with this country. He’s a thin-skinned bully who picks fights with everyone but can’t take criticism and threatens the press. He puts down minorities, insults women, and seems to sincerely believe that he is so awesome he’s the solution to every problem.
Or at least he thinks people will believe that he’s the solution to every problem, just because he tells them they’re great and that he hates the same people they do. The worst part is, it seems to be working, especially with the alt-right. For some reason, this asshole is on the brink of being on the ballot for President.
I realize I’m exaggerating. Not all GamerGaters are misogynists, and not everyone who opposes free trade and immigration is a bigot. And unlike traditional populist demagogues, Trump hasn’t gone after academics all that hard, and he seems to have Muslims playing the role usually reserved for the Jews. A lot of much, much worse people have been given power in crises. But…
This kind of situation — rough economy, warfare, lots of disgruntled folks flocking to a charismatic strong man for leadership — this is the kind of thing you read about in history books, usually in a sections titled “Why the Republic Fell” or “Causes Of the Civil War.”
So please don’t vote for Donald Trump. Trust me, you don’t want to live through a time that will get a big section in the history books.
For all that I’m horrified by the thought of what a President Trump would do to America, I highly, HIGHLY doubt he’ll be elected unless some Dem/lefty type runs as a third-party candidate, due to simple demographics. Dunno if you remember, but in 2012, when Romney & Co. were still convinced they’d win and win handily against Obama, a Romney adviser openly admitted that Romney’s plan was to focus exclusively on winning a huge majority of white voters, and ignore everyone else. But even that adviser admitted that 2012 would be the last presidential election where a “whites-only” strategy had any chance of winning. But Romney merely /ignored/ white voters, whereas Trump has actively insulted or threatened most of them.
Your argument would be more of a comfort if it weren’t for all the people who were just as confident that Trump would never make it this far. I hope you’re right, but I fully expect a sociopath like Trump to make a jarring change to his message for the general election, freely contradicting anything he said during the primary, without regard to consistency or principle. He will say whatever he thinks people want to hear.
I’m a socialist and I switched to (R) specifically to follow, vote for, and campaign for him!
Because his easiest opponent will be the porky&establishment-backed Hillary, which no good progressive ought to even consider.
So the two options I’m giving the country, head towards the future, or drive off the cliff straight into a hellish inferno the likes of which only Cambodia has experienced!
I see this as basically electing Henry Kissinger president. And just as destructive to a broken and decayed amoral corporatist-cuddling system. Either the banks go down, OR WE ALL FALL DOWN
I understand your tactical reasoning, and if Trump becomes President because of it, I hope the survivors picking through the charred wreckage of our once great cities will be merciful when they dig you out of your hiding place.