Political Theatre category archive
Buyers’ Remorse 0
Farron has little sympathy for Trump voters who are discovering that Donald Trump is, well, exactly what liberals have been saying he is.
On What Authority? 0
In a timely post at Psychology Today Blogs, Jeremy Sherman muses on why persons become authoritarians and why others follow them. Here’s short bit of a long post:
With authoritarian followers, the thinking is already over. They’re not guessing at what’s true. There’s no interpretation left to do. They and their leaders have already done all the interpretation necessary. They discovered the truth, embraced it, internalized it, and now only have to act on it like machines. They see reality clearly, truly and purely through their unambiguous mechanistic world view.
This is as true of soft spiritual followers as it is of techno-authoritarian nerd followers. Their theory could be warm and fuzzy or hardline firm. Either way, they have stripped the ambiguity from life. There are no tough judgment calls left anymore. Life can be managed with absolute rule-based discipline. Their absolute rules don’t always work, but they won’t admit it. They’ll say “sure there are exceptions, but still, it’s an absolutely universal rule.”
The whole thing is worth your while.
Russian Impulses 0
Trudy Rubin takes an acerbic and disturbing look at Donald Trump’s fascination with autocrats and autocracy. A snippet:
China is playing him, with flattery and tiny trade concessions, but no shift in the South China Seas, and no real help on North Korea. As Trump withdraws from global leadership, Beijing is rushing in to fill the vacuum.
Islamist jihadists are watching him, hopeful he will continue his denigration of democracies — undermining the self-confidence they need to combat terrorism jointly. Jihadis can only cheer his blinkered assumption that Gulf autocrats will help him crush them.
Trump is on the wrong side of history, abandoning the values America has stood for at a time when democracies need to be bonding together.
Path to Pariah 0
Thom and Pap discuss Trump’s exit from the climate accords.
Because Isolationism Worked Out So Very Nicely the Last Time* . . . . 0
Werner Herzog’s Bear comments on the New Isolationism. A snippet:
It might be tempting to be happy about this. But the retreat of America on Trumpist grounds does not mean an end to imperialism, but rather an amoral Realpolitik grounded in the fickle whims of our idiot king. It also means a global power vacuum and coming instability. Just look up the end of Pax Romana in the third century CE. It wasn’t pretty, and this shift won’t be either.
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*Learn about the last time.
The Paris Discords 0
Josh Marshall points out that Donald Trump campaigned on leaving the Paris Climate Accords, but he believes there is more behind yesterday’s announcement of withdrawing from them. A snippet (emphasis added):
Trump is scared. He’s entering a a widening gyre of political crisis over Russia. He’s scared and he’s angry and he needs friends. So he’s more and more likely to hug his base – both the most aggressive advisors and the most committed supporters. He’s trying to bring back Corey Lewandowski, his wildest and most troubling-driving advisor who has the unshakable loyalty and lickspittledom Trump now requires. Indeed, we can take it as a given that as the Russia scandal crisis deepens Trump will become more aggressive and more extreme in his policies both to maintain his emotional equilibrium and reinforce his backing from a shrinking base of supporters. This is as certain as night follows day.
Much more at the link.
Good Help Is Hard To Find
0
Nobody wants to be Trumpled at work.
All the News that Fits 0
Warning: Language.
Providence Lost Spurned
0
Headline: Republican Congressman Says God Will ‘Take Care Of’ Climate Change
A man is climbing to his roof as floodwaters rise.
A fellow leaving the area in his Range Rover shouts as he passes by, “Do you want a ride? I have to go now before the water rises higher.” The man replies, “No, God will provide.”
Now the man is on his roof. Two fellows come by in a boat and ask if he wants to be picked up. He says, “No, God will provide.”
A little later, a helicopter flies over and, using a megaphone, a crewman asks if whether he wants the winch lowered. He says, “No, God will provide.”
By now, the house is immersed. As the waters rise, the man cries, “God, why have you forsaken me?!” A voice from the heavens replies, “What do you mean? I sent you a car, I sent you a boat, and I sent you a helicopter.
“Why did you ignore me?”
Ryan’s Derp 0
Leonard Pitts, Jr., explores the deep hypocrisy of “thoughtful conservatives.”
Which offers an interesting context to news that House Speaker Paul Ryan was pointedly snubbed last week by a group of eighth-graders. Students from South Orange Middle School in New Jersey were on a field trip to Washington, D.C., when they were offered a chance to take a picture with Ryan, often posited as the most thoughtful of thoughtful conservatives.
Dozens of them declined. The reason, as student Matthew Malespina explained to The Washington Post: Ryan is a man “who puts his party before his country.”
Some observes have huffed that, had this happened to Barack Obama, it would have been called “racist.” Which is laughable, given that Obama spent eight years being snubbed in ways great and small, usually for reasons far less substantive than the one Malespina gave.
Do please read the rest.
Extra Credit Discussion Question:
Is “thoughtful conservative” an oxymoron? Defend your position.