Hate Sells category archive

E. J. Montini points out the obvious. Donald Trump and his dupes, symps, and fellow travelers exacerbate problems, not solve them (emphasis added).

A bipartisan deal to address the border problem is the best thing for the country.

But it is the worst thing for Donald Trump . . . .

They want the chaos. They need the chaos. And Speaker Johnson goes along. These are Republicans putting Trump over party, and then putting party over country.

Follow the link for the evidence.

Chauncey de Vega argues that Donald Trump is analogous to the boss of a crime organization whose followers are loyal to him and him only. Here’s just a tiny little from his essay.

Most obviously,: Trump’s followers are eager to seek revenge and retribution against the same people and groups that he does. Even more simply, they love Donald Trump and what they believe he represents. This is especially true for white evangelical Christians, who often view Trump as a prophet, savior or messiah.

Furthermore, there is large base of support for authoritarian and fascist politics in the United States. Many Americans are strongly attracted to political strongmen autocrats willing to “bend the rules” in order to “get things done” for “people like them.”

Negative and affective partisanship — meaning a situation when a political party or movement becomes someone’s primary identity, creating an us-versus-them worldview in which the other side is not just wrong but evil — along with asymmetrical polarization, white identity politics and racism, misogyny, and hostility toward sexual or gender minorities also contribute greatly to Trump’s persistent levels of support.

The whole thing is a relatively long read, but it is worth it.

LZ Granderson tries to understand the appeal of Texas Governor Abbott’s pursuit mean for the sake of mean to the Texas electorate which keeps him in office.

Why would he care about the people (a mother and two children impaled on razor wire–ed.) who died near Eagle Pass, when not caring has won elections for him? Which brings us here: Who votes for someone as cruel as Abbott?

The short answer is: most Texas voters, because he’s been in office since 2015. The economy is strong, and the cost of living is relatively low. Most important, the same traits that make him notorious across blue America keep him in power here in the Lone Star State.

Now, if “racism” popped in your head, you’re not all wrong.

But it’s not the full story. And that’s where progressives tend to go wrong.

Follow the link for Granderson’s take on the “full story.”

Michael in Norfolk minces no words.

Yet more mean for the sake of mean.

No surprises here:

Donald Trump used his social media platform Friday to mock Nikki Haley‘s birth name, the latest example of the former president keying on race and ethnicity to attack people of color, especially his political rivals.

In a post on his Truth Social account, Trump repeatedly referred to Haley, the daughter of immigrants from India, as “Nimbra.” Haley, the former South Carolina governor, was born in Bamberg, South Carolina, as Nimarata Nikki Randhawa. She has always gone by her middle name, “Nikki.” She took the surname “Haley” upon her marriage in 1996.

Trump, himself the son, grandson and twice the husband of immigrants, called Haley “Nimbra” three times in the post and said she “doesn’t have what it takes.”

Much more at the link.

Afterthought:

Ii seems relevant to note that, when Donald Trump’s ancestors arrived in the U. S., the family’s name was “Drumpf.”

At the Kansas City Star, professors Victoria Johnson and Karen Piper take a look at the unholy alliance between right-wing evangelical they-call-themselves Christians and today’s Republican Party. Here’s a brief bit of their piece:

The use of politicized war rhetoric has been increasing in the U.S., and this tendency is not occurring on “both sides” of the political spectrum. Aside from Donald Trump’s recent use of the word “vermin” to dehumanize opponents, of equal importance is the proliferation of harshly degrading rhetoric coming from religious leaders targeting anyone who opposes Trump. This tendency results from the intermeshing over the last four decades of the Republican Party with fundamentalist Christian churches — many of which view the world through a lens of good or evil, and claim that their interpretation of the Bible is the absolute truth. This fusion emerged from political mobilization through churches to support Ronald Reagan in the 1980s, and has grown since then.

Fundamentalists within many religions believe their interpretations are the absolute truth, and that those who oppose their claims to speak for God are characterized as evil and must be converted or destroyed. Such religious beliefs are used to maintain authoritarian political control today in theocracies such as Iran and Afghanistan, and supported the legitimacy of past monarchies in France and Great Britain through the “divine right of kings” — which is one reason America’s Founding Fathers were adamant about the separation of church and state.

Thom discusses Donald Trump’s resort to stochastic terrorism so as to protect his assets.

. . . but, according to the Arizona Republic’s E. J. Montini, it most certainly is.