Donald Trump

[Michael Stuart Kelly]

Just so people following this thread know, Trump raised a question on Hannity last night that raised quite a few eyebrows.

The other day, he told Hugh Hewitt that, due to the videos about Planned Parenthood selling baby parts, he thinks the government should defund them now, even if it means shutting down government.

Then on Hannity, he said he would have to look into it because Planned Parenthood offers a lot of services to women and he didn't mind the government funding those services--just not abortions.

I just saw him on Lou Dobbs and he clarified. If he becomes president, he will fund Planned Parenthood if they spin off abortions to another organization entirely. He thinks the services they provide women are worth it. But as long as Planned Parenthood performs abortions, he will see to it they get no government money.

I, for one, am not in favor of government money for any of this, but I'm not seeing it through my own ideology right now. Just as I don't see Trump through my ideology.

I want a minimal government and maximum freedom. I don't think Trump is that, but he is a strong intermediary for us to get there. And I believe he is for a much smaller government than we now have.

At least he will clean up a lot of the mess that currently exists. If a purist small government dude gets in there now, the 19 trillion dollar debt would explode on top of him and, in the wreckage, people would point the finger at him and claim this is proof small government does not work. Somebody has to get the danger out of the way before small government can stand a chance of becoming anything more than an ideology.

This is why Trump's idea of the government continuing to fund Planned Parenthood (if they stop performing abortions) does not bother me too much. It's not part of my perfect world, but, then again, neither is Trump. Instead, he is a major step in the right direction--a needed step.

Michael

[Peter]

I saw this bottle floating in the ocean off Atlantic City. So I did what any surf fisherman would do, but the bottle sort of smelled so I pulled it out with my net. Inside was a note. Disgusting. Here are some snippets from the note.

The myth of Trump’s angry legions, Matt Bai, National Political Columnist, Yahoo Politics ‎August ‎ ‎13‎, ‎2015:

Trumpmania may be telling us a lot less about the dominant mood in the electorate at large than we think. Voters of America: Get ahold of yourselves, please . . . . I know you’re irrational and seething with anger . . . . Apparently the entire country got hit with some kind of gamma ray, and now everybody’s all huge and green and hurling campaign buses willy-nilly across the highway. Except that when I meet American voters, they don’t generally seem so unhinged to me. They mostly seem bewildered by our politics, and maybe a little too busy to care . . . . Democrats and liberal commentators love the Trump story. It underscores, at a glance, how twisted with bile and bigotry the Republican Party must be. The guy excoriates Mexicans and manages to make Megyn Kelly look sympathetic, and still he’s ahead! What does that tell you? . . . . And not only are Trump’s mad-as-hell voters a fraction of a fraction of the electorate, but they represent even a subset of that small group who are engaged in the campaign at this point and angry enough to actually take a pollster’s call . . . . And the problem with repeating this constant mantra of unprecedented voter revolt, as if the streets of America were overrun with pro-Trump parades, is that we’re not just overstating the reality. We’re also affecting it . . . . I’ll bet good money that the next Republican nominee will be the one who ultimately makes voters feel less anxious, rather than angrier. When it comes to the sound and fury of modern politics, it’s best not to mistake one for the other.
end quotes

[Brant Gaede]

Uh--you went off the rails but it was a good beginning.

--Brant

Casey at the throttle

[Michael Stuart Kelly]

And a word from the lovely ladies to the black community:

 

 

Make sure you don't get side-eyed by these folks. You definitely don't want to be side-eyed. That's not good.

 

 

Michael

[Michael Stuart Kelly]

For the nay-sayers from The Washington Post:

An Iowa surprise: Donald Trump is actually trying to win

It talks about the machine Trump has and is putting together in Iowa and the strategies he is using. Some are unorthodox (no surprise there) and all are working well.

I wonder if there is a difference in taste between USA midwestern crow and Canadian crow...

Michael

[Selene]

Trump was on Levin's show in the last half hour of hour three (3) which would be 8-9 PM EST tonight - Thursday August 13th.

Scott Walker was supposed to be on John Batchelor tonight.

I heard Trump and he was quite good.

Levin found him quite engaging.

A...

[Marc]

For the nay-sayers from The Washington Post:

An Iowa surprise: Donald Trump is actually trying to win

It talks about the machine Trump has and is putting together in Iowa and the strategies he is using. Some are unorthodox (no surprise there) and all are working well.

I wonder if there is a difference in taste between USA midwestern crow and Canadian crow...

Michael

I was going to report you for "sarcasm " but prefer to not get you kicked off the site so you can keep chirping about Trump and even feel worse very shortly when buddy gets behind Rubio or Walker or whoever he cuts his deal with .

Up here we got these beautiful Canadian geese but I do not think we can cook them .

oh , moot point cause you will be trumped by then

[Michael Stuart Kelly]

Up here we got these beautiful Canadian geese but I do not think we can cook them .

Marc,

Now, see how things go?

Why geese all of a sudden and not crow?

Michael

[Jonathan]

Up here we got these beautiful Canadian geese but I do not think we can cook them .

Marc,

Now, see how things go?

Why geese all of a sudden and not crow?

Michael

Not to mention the fact that he invented a fictional species of geese. They are not Canadian geese, but Canada geese.

J

[Michael Stuart Kelly]

Look at the dirty tricks department of the Old Monied Republican Crony Guard from the Chamber of Commerce (National Review).

 

Cooke doesn't want you to get what is going on. But, in reality, he doesn't get it.

 

 

I don't agree with everything Coulter says, but she gets it. She not only gets Trump, she gets why people are supporting Trump. And not just over immigration (although I doubt she would say that).

 

It's the "saying" and "doing" thing.

 

Cooke throws out contextless half-truths about Trump. Then he acts perplexed about the lack of outrage. Don't forget, gotcha only works if consistency is top value and the gotcha-warrior is credible. Leaving out context to play gotcha is getting old for a lot of people. Covert manipulation only works when it is covert. Once people figure out what is going on, it doesn't work anymore. Especially if they stop trusting the gotcha-warrior.

 

And there's this--the huge difference between consistency in words only and consistency in deeds. Trump consistently builds preeminent stuff. His words get entangled at times, but there is no way anyone can make a skyscraper stand without consistent thinking. Most people who read this are familiar with Rand, so need I say more.

 

In other words, Trump is reality-based, not word-game-based. Cooke doesn't know what is hitting him because all he knows is word games. He doesn't understand why all the manipulation stuff ain't working with Trump. He does know how to play dirty tricks. He knows how to make crony capitalism for his old-boy club look like freedom. But he's off his game if his intent is to convince people that Trump is the devil in disguise.

 

Look what he said about Trump supporters: "Collective insanity." I'm a Trump supporter. That's not very flattering. I couldn't care less about Cooke's opinion of me, but I point this out because lots of people think the same thing I just said.

 

Look at this other gem by Cooke: "In any other circumstances, Trump would have been laughed out of the primary... He's making it up as he goes along, and we're falling for it for some reason."

 

That's not a damaging confession to bond with his target audience.

 

"Damaging confession" is a persuasion technique. The persuader makes a confession about a personal shortcoming--one that is not too important--in order to humanize himself to the target. Since the confession is not important, it does not undermine trust. Typical damaging confessions: always forgetting birthdays, being hopeless about car repair, not understanding something so he can be corrected, etc.

 

Cooke didn't even do that. His confession showed that he doesn't have a clue and that's all he intended to confess. Cooke doesn't know "doing" from his ass or a hole in the ground. All he knows is "saying."

 

I don't believe Cooke thinks Trump supporters are literally crazy. But one thing dripped out of his words. He thinks non-intellectual productive Americans are stupid. People like him even have a term for this: "low-information voter." In other words, a euphemism for stupid.

 

I say someone who judges a productive person stupid is showing his own signs of stupidity.

 

Hannity is quite clever, too, because he gets this. That's why he slotted a snooty sanctimonious guy with an English accent and a long nose to look down to represent the National Review.

 

Hannity wanted to contrast this guy against Coulter. He could have scheduled a reasonable-sounding person, but he went for the kill. This Cooke dude displayed everything Trump supporters hate. I believe lots of non-intellectual productive Americans hate the smell of him, too.

 

Say what you want about Sean Hannity, he is a meme warrior supreme.

 

Now, for a contrast, look at Donald Trump's interview with Mark Levin.

 

 

That interview is so fair in letting Trump speak for himself, I have little doubt it is increasing Trump's supporters. People who listen to Levin's show are different kinds of conservatives, not just Tea Party folks. When they listen to Cooke against Coulter, then listen to Trump in his own words in Levin's interview, I know many will see where the truth lies.

 

And, as gravy, Trump charmed the crap out of Mark Levin. Don't forget, when Levin gets riled, he is one of the most hysterical conservative talk radio hosts on the air. So undecided people can see Trump's way of making a deal in real time. Donald Trump is a snake-charmer. I believe many will see this, too.

 

Michael

[Brant Gaede]

Up here we got these beautiful Canadian geese but I do not think we can cook them .

Marc,

Now, see how things go?

Why geese all of a sudden and not crow?

Michael

Not to mention the fact that he invented a fictional species of geese. They are not Canadian geese, but Canada geese.

J

The Canadian Canada geese are Canada geese that fly down to the United States and shit all over our parks. There are also Canadian geese that are not Canada geese--such as the Brant--that might be doing the same--but I'm not a witness and do not care to libel innocent geese, especially those not bred and raised by Canadians to come to the US and shit all over us. Some of these geese never return to Canada but stay and work here illegally taking jobs away from American geese who have to pay to use public toilets. They are even trying to vote and object to voter photo ID laws. The Democrats are all for this kind of shit. I wonder why. (No I don't.)

--Brant

don't think I don't know what is going on

[Michael Stuart Kelly]

Is there a difference between Canadian crow and Canada crow?

Michael

[Peter]

My Notes from the Mark Levin interview.
What would Donald Trump do about taxes? Institute a Fair Tax or a Flat Tax? Reagan wanted two rates and Trump is tired of paying thousands to have his taxes done. Trump wants to simplify the tax code and cut taxes.
Climate? We are sending our coal to China so it is still polluting the air. We have ways of burning coal more cleanly. Finish the pipeline.
Fix the VA and – or start getting veterans into the private medical system.
Foreign policy. Give us your positions Mr. Trump before your enemies invent them in the media. Trump wants to rebuild the military. The world is always dangerous. Let the bad guys fear us and our weapons.
China? We have renovated China and we OWE THEM one point four trillion dollars. What the hell? Chinese businessmen are going back to China thinking how dumb are these Americans?
Iran. Ramp up the sanctions. Set the tone for new negotiations now. We want our four prisoners back. Now!
Trump do you consider yourself a conservative? He gave a long and good answer. I would say he is a conservative but has never considered himself a libertarian.
The debate? Cruz was good. He referenced one of the Levin’s shows that Cruz was on. He listens to Levin. Inappropriate questions were posed during the debate but it worked out well.

Next for Trump? On to New Hampshire.

[Peter]

Chris Wallace is on Fox right now. Trump Carson and Fiorina. What do they have in common? They are not politicians.
The author below is perplexed but she does bring up a paradox for politically minded Objectivists.

Some snips from Who Are Trump's Supporters? Not Who You Think by S. E. Cupp | Aug 13, 2015.
. . . . But I'm pretty sure I know where it's not coming from: the conservative base. Today's prototypical conservative base voters are infamously principled. Their views are hardened, their heels dug in. They are armed with all kinds of litmus tests and purity tests to make sure the "fake" conservatives are weeded out from the good ones, often to the chagrin of the party . . . .
The idea that in 2016 these voters would simply turn off their hardwired orthodoxy and support a guy who has voted for Democrats, said "the economy does better under the Democrats," refused to pledge to support the Republican nominee if it's not him, openly defended Planned Parenthood, approved of exceptions to abortion bans, supported a single-payer healthcare system, backed an assault weapons ban and advocated a one-time 14.25 percent mega-tax on the wealthy to erase the national debt is, to put it in Trumpian language, really, really stupid.
end quote

The author’s perplexity is also mine. I have evolved more favorable towards Trump but I am still waiting for his written contract. He will shake and bake the primary process, but he still has not risen to thirty percent. Carl Cameron is just reporting that Trump will visit the Iowa State Fair by helicopter tomorrow. I am sure he will have his Secret Service types with him (and maybe even some anti drone machine guns!) He is still 8 points higher than Carson in Iowa his closest rival.
It would be interesting to see Trump wade through the crowds like Carson does. And Carly? Leave your six inch heels at home.

[Brant Gaede]

Is there a difference between Canadian crow and Canada crow?

Michael

Canadian Canada crow . . .

--Brant

but I repeat myself--ya gotta understand: this is war (Bomb Canada!)

[Michael Stuart Kelly]

The author’s perplexity is also mine.

Peter,

It is amazing to me how many political pundits--right and left--ignore the "do" and "say" dichotomy.

This is not something anyone agrees or disagrees with.

They blank it out.

They brush it aside.

They pat a person on the head when such person shows it to them. (Yeah yeah... poor little thing... one day you will grow up and understand how things in politics REALLY are.)

And then keep looking confused as their predictions keep blowing up in their faces.

There are other elements involved than "do" and "say," like a candidate not being able to be bought by shady backroom folks. But even this is in terms of "do" and "say." ALL politicians say they can't be bought. How many DO it?

Heh.

A crapload of American DOERS, as opposed to SAYERS, have suddenly become interested in politics. And the politically wise look at them and see white, black, latino, rich, poor, male, female, old, young, Republican, Democrat, and so on, and wonder what the hell is going on.

They cry out: What happened to the old categories?

btw - This is one of the great appeals of Bernie Sanders. And notice, everybody on his side has a theory, too, except looking at reality and seeing the difference between who SAYS they can't be bought and who has a public life of DOING it.

(Trump does a lot more in reality than Sanders, which is why I do not fear a contest between them should it occur.)

The difference between "do" and "say" is proving to be a fundamental category in search of a metric.

Only nobody who claims political wisdom is interested so far. It's not that they don't think this is or is not worth measuring. They don't even think about it.

Thus the political wise folks keep looking unwise when they talk about Trump's future...

And we know what Trump thinks of them. He thinks they're morons.

Michael

[Selene]

Is there a difference between Canadian crow and Canada crow?

Michael

Black Crows Lives Matter!!

Clever birds

[Peter]

Is there a difference between Canadian crow and Canada crow?
Michael

Ah, this is where i left my jokes.

Georgia. The owner of a golf course in Georgia was confused about paying an invoice, so he decided to ask his secretary for some mathematical help.
He called her into his office and said, “Y’all graduated from the University of Georgia and I need some help. If I wuz to give yew $20,000, minus 14%, how much would you take off?”
The secretary thought a moment, and then replied, “Everthang but my earrings.”

Louisiana. A senior citizen in Louisiana was overheard saying, “When the end of the world comes, I hope to be in

Louisiana ..”
When asked why, he replied, “I’d rather be in Louisiana ‘cause everythang happens in Louisiana 20 years later than in the rest of the world.”

Mississippi. The young man from Mississippi came running into the store and said to his buddy, “Bubba, somebody just stole your pickup truck from the parking lot!”
Bubba replied, “Did y’all see who it was?”
The young man answered, “I couldn’t tell, but I got the license number.”

North Carolina. A man in North Carolina had a flat tire, pulled off on the side of the road, and proceeded to put a bouquet of flowers in front of the car and one behind it. Then he got back in the car to wait.
A passerby studied the scene as he drove by, and was so curious he turned around and went back. He asked the fellow what the problem was.
The man replied, “I got a flat tahr.”
The passerby asked, “But what’s with the flowers?”
The man responded, “When you break down they tell you to put flares in the front and flares in the back. I never did understand it neither.”

Tennessee. A Tennessee State trooper pulled over a pickup on I-65. The trooper asked, “Got any ID?”
The driver replied, “Bout whut?”

Texas. The Sheriff pulled up next to the guy unloading garbage out of his pick-up into the ditch. The Sheriff asked, “Why are you dumping garbage in the ditch? Don’t you see that sign right over your head.”
“Yep,” he replied. “That’s why I’m dumpin’ it here, ‘cause it says: ‘Fine For Dumping Garbage.’”

Florida. A Florida senior citizen drove his brand new Corvette convertible out of the dealership. Taking off down the road, he pushed it to 80 mph, enjoying the wind blowing through what little hair he had left.
“Amazing,” he thought as he flew down I-95, pushing the pedal even more.
Looking in his rear view mirror, he saw a Florida State Trooper, blue lights flashing and siren blaring. He floored it to 100 mph, then 110, then 120. Suddenly he thought, “What am I doing? I’m too old for this!” and pulled over to await the trooper’s arrival.
Pulling in behind him, the trooper got out of his vehicle and walked up to the Corvette. He looked at his watch, then said, “Sir, my shift ends in 30 minutes. Today is Friday. If you can give me a new reason for speeding – a reason I’ve never before heard – I’ll let you go..”
The old gentleman paused then said, “Three years ago, my wife ran off with a Florida State Trooper. I thought you were bringing her back.”
“Have a good day, Sir,” replied the trooper.

Florida. Jeb Bush said, Y’all kin say whut y’all want ‘about the South, but y’all never heard o’ nobody retirin’ an’ movin’ North.
Semper cogitans fidele,
Peter Taylor

[Michael Stuart Kelly]

Here's a typical misunderstanding in the NYT, trying to explain Trump with wrong categories:

Donald Trump, Moderate Republican

This guy thinks Trump's secret is that he calls the country's leaders stupid. And Trump's habit of "extreme language" and "rudeness" allows him to hide his true "moderate" nature.

But not so fast, hot shot.

Just look at who, politically, is surrounding Trump in the public: Sarah Palin, Ted Cruz, Ben Carson, Hannity, Mark Levin (most recently), and so on.

Does anybody think these people are moderates themselves? Or stupid? Or gullible? Or corrupt sellouts?

Premise checking time.

Doesn't anybody see something wrong with pundits saying Trump is a moderate and being supported by Tea Party-like folks? Does anybody think Ted Cruz would align himself with a "moderate" like Jeb Bush or Chris Christie? (I'll forgive Sarah her McCain support because the guy brought her into the national arena, but I doubt she would ever invite him on her staff, even as a consultant, should she ever attain high office.)

What explains their support? It's so simple, people don't think it's real. Trump's a doer who holds views similar to theirs.

Note, his views are not identical to theirs. They know this and still support him. They like doers who are close enough and can't be bought. They like competent people.

Try thinking about my "say" and "do" filter and read this article. You will see the errors jump right off the page. Then, when some of this author's stuff about Trump later goes down in flames, you will have seen it before it happened.

Michael

[Jjeorge]

It's astounding to me how listening to Trump speak, as opposed to simply reading a transcript of what he said, seems to short-circuit my usual emotional response of "God this guy is a pompous ass."

He does very much seem like a guy who is not into big, weighty political philosophy discussions. (I think this is why a lot of the more purist libertarians may hate him -- this philosophizing is basically all of politics to them, and he won't indulge them with praise for Hazlitt or whoever they have an intellectual infatuation with at the time.)

Perhaps this is why I have trouble articulating my fascination with him to nay-sayers, because those idle ideas are what I'm used to working with, and that emotional "ew" is something I can't seem to stop even in myself.

[Selene]

David...

Shouldn't you consider a different gestalt to view him through?

A...

[Michael Stuart Kelly]

Here is why I don't think Glenn Beck will ever understand Trump, not anytime soon, anyway:

Glenn has an honest question for prominent Trump supporters

Look at how he framed the question. Once you cut away Glenn's words and look at the concepts underneath, he essentially says (I paraphrase): I get it that you guys are good and that Trump is a scumbag. So why don't you agree with me and bash him? Why doesn't Hannity, Rush, Levin, Coulter? Why can't they see Trump's rottenness? What am I missing?

(And unspoken: Why am I losing a chunk of my audience over this? Why won't those other famous people gang up with me to finish Trump off?)

In my view, I think it should start with an honest question.

Duh...

I was tempted to write something to him, but, considering the way he framed his question, I don't see him truly interested in an explanation. I think he wants his audience to give him some strawmen to strike down. I believe he wants strawmen that don't look like strawmen so he can abuse them to jazz up his sermons against Trump.

The fact is, though, Glenn does not see the things I have been explaining in this thread. What's odd about it is that he is in Texas. All he has to do is walk outside and folks who like preeminent competent doers are on every block. All he has to do is look and apply what he sees to these folks' liking of Trump.

btw - I still love Glenn. But he now sees the world through an increasingly radical Christian narrative of "the meek shall inherit the earth" and this is leading him to hold contempt for strength. I think his reaction to Trump is visceral since Trump's strength slams against his meekness archetype. Favoring one should never mean demonizing the other. They both have their place in human affairs. I do hope he finds his way one day.

Michael

[Peter]

About two days ago I looked up Cornwall, England after watching an episode of Doc Martin. And voila, here on Objectivist Living is a Trip Advisor ad for Port Isaac which I think is in Cornwall. Cookies or the NSA? You decide. I do like that show though I am watching Netflix reruns. There is a beautiful woman on the show who Doc Martin impregnates. I think she and the lady who plays Aisles on Rizzoli and Aisles (however you spell it) are my two favorite looking TV actresses. Hmmm? How is this about Trump. He likes the ladies too!

[Michael Stuart Kelly]

Gotta love 'em.

 

 

 

Michael

[Marc]

Up here we got these beautiful Canadian geese but I do not think we can cook them .

Marc,

Now, see how things go?

Why geese all of a sudden and not crow?

Michael

Good point !!!!!!!