Political Theatre category archive
“. . . a Fool for a Client” 0
Elie Mystal explains how Donald Trump is undercutting his own lawyers. A snippet:
The Justice Dept. should ask for an expedited hearing of the watered down Travel Ban before the Supreme Court – & seek much tougher version!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 5, 2017
(snip)
Acting Solicitor General Jeffrey B. Wall has pushed back hard against the charge, denying before the courts that the executive order at issue is a “travel ban.” The government says that you shouldn’t use the president’s campaign statements to divine the intent of his executive orders. Wall told the Ninth Circuit: “We shouldn’t start down the road of psychoanalyzing what people meant on the campaign trail.”
Conservative judges have been, more or less, sympathetic to this argument. They’re not saying that a president’s words don’t matter. They’re not saying that intent doesn’t matter. They’re saying that Trump’s campaign rhetoric is not a good metric by which to judge the intent of his policy.
When Trump, now not as a campaigner but as President of the United States, then says that the Travel Ban is a “BAN,” it kind of blows apart the whole argument..
Follow the link for his full explanation.
A Pictoral History of Bothsiderism 0
In related developments, The Charlotte Observer’s Issac J. Bailey explains that a difference in degree can indeed be a difference in kind.
Image via Job’s Anger.
All the News that Fits 0
Farron and Sam wonder whether Donald Trump is taking down Fox News.
Let’s hope they are correct. Me, I’m not optimistic.
Tales of the Trumpling: Snapshots of Trickle-Down Trumpery 0
This is clearly terrorism, but you will not see it so described because, in the Trumpled States of America, right-wing white people ipso facto can’t be terrorists.
In a Facebook post published Saturday night, Kim Weaver wrote, “Over the last several weeks, I have been evaluating personal circumstances along with the political climate regarding this campaign. After much deliberation, I have determined that the best decision for me is to withdraw my candidacy for the US House race in Iowa’s 4th Congressional District.”
She explained that beginning during her 2016 campaign, she has been receiving threats of physical violence and murder, and said that “recent events at my home” were forcing her to re-evaluate her decision to run against King.
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.
_______________
*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.