Political Theatre category archive
Precedented 0
At the San Franscisco Chronicle, Bob Egelko speaks with historians who are looking for historical parallels with Donald Trump. Here’s what one had to say:
Rakove said the closest comparison might be Richard Nixon, who famously told an interviewer in 1977 — three years after resigning from office — that “when the president does it, that means it is not illegal.” But Nixon at least knew what the laws were when he ordered a cover-up of the Watergate break-in, he said.
Follow the link for more from a Trumpled parallel universe.
The Fakery Factory 0
In a column syndicated at the Portland Press Herald, Anne Applebaum, who was once herself a victim of a false news story originating in Russia, tries to understand why “fake news” has become a thing. She suspects that there is more to it than the lies and lying liars who propagate them or the gullible who gobble them up. Here’s a bit (emphasis added):
The problem also lay with Hillary Clinton, who was hardly a trusted figure to begin with.
But it is also true that we are living through a global media revolution, that people are hearing and digesting political information in brand-new ways and that nobody yet understands the consequences.
Facts Are What People Think 2
Zandar cites a study that shows over half of Republicans thinks that Donald Trump won the popular vote, when in fact it lost it by approximately three million; he finds this disconnect from reality disturbing. A snippet:
It was never about jobs, or the economy, or the facts. It was about assembling like-minded individuals into an army to destroy those unlike them. It’s the definition of a cult.
The Cult now in fact rules the entire federal government, and most states. When the reality of the damage that they cause settles in, the Cult will simply convince America that the Others are the problem. The Others have to go. The rest of you? Join the Cult or else.
Twilight Zone of the Vanities 0
Rekha Basu shares her nightmare of a Gordon Gekko world:.
Follow the link for the rest, if you dare.
Carolina Coup d’Etat, Reprise 0
This is really quite appalling. One can make a convincing argument that today’s Republican Party no longer believes in truth, justice, or the American way.
Chaos in the Cabinet 0
I reckon that it is fitting that a reality show star would assemble a reality show cabinet full of cranks, nutcases, has-beens, and never-weres, calculated to cause maximum chaos while creating continuing crises for each succeeding episode.
Image via Job’s Anger.
Carolina Coup d’Etat 0
Republicans in North Carolina demonstrate that they no longer believe in elections as they attempt to neuter the governorship because their guy didn’t win.
One more time, any experiment can fail, even a noble one.
Digital Pravda? 2
Badtux takes to the command line to track down Wikileaks.
Still Rising Again after All These Years 0
In a column that starts out in a rather silly way, Josh Gohlke winds to an important point: the Electoral College is a legacy of America’s original sin of chattel slavery. A nugget:
Now that legacy is about to pay off for the Secesh.
