When Anger Trumps All

American Thinker ^ | 2 Feb 16 | Daren Jonescu

[elhombrelibre]

One of the most dangerous effects of Donald Trump's presidential campaign is the venomous anger his demagoguery has cultivated among his more engaged supporters, to be spewed at anyone who dares to express concern about any of their idol's (yes, idol's) soft spots.

Just click on any article, on any website, critical of anything about Trump, and navigate to the readers' comments. First, notice the unusually large number of them. Then observe the tone: rarely logical, thoughtful, or truly argumentative, the Trump defenders (granting honorable exceptions) simply attack -- personally, irrelevantly, uncivilly -- any writer or fellow commenter, no matter how unimpeachably serious (even Thomas Sowell, for heaven's sake!) who dares to suggest Trump may be a poor nominee.

That's their prerogative, of course, and anyone who writes for public consumption must be thick-skinned enough to stand by his ideas and let the spewers spew. The problem, however, lies in the way this true believer invective is smothering meaningful political discourse precisely when such discourse is most urgently needed.

This is the moment for freedom-loving people to debate the statements and substance of each candidate with all the open-mindedness they can muster, leaving the hypnotized cultist behavior to the progressives, where it belongs. Instead, serious public discussion, which is the heart of the representative element of representative republicanism, has been hijacked by idol-worshippers for whom there is nothing Trump could do or say that would cause them one second of self-doubt. Trump himself highlighted this when he declared that he wouldn't lose any supporters if he shot someone on 5th Avenue. Bizarrely, that may be the best synopsis of the situation. Trump's followers have transcended rational discourse altogether, and are prepared to defend anything, attack anyone, contradict their own principles with regularity, rather than address the arguments

[Byron_the_Aussie]

.. are you content with merely insulting the messenger? ..

If the message is the same bile every night, yes. Try focusing on a liberal, Natty? You might find the experience liberating.

[toddausauras]

How dare we be angry. Like Sarah said in Iowa, they step on our necks and ask us to chill. Anyone who is not angry about the trade deals, the entitled illegals and the muslim pillaging of europe (soon to come here) is basically an idiot.

If another candidate can convince me that they will be more ruthless with illegals than Trump…. I’ll be all for them.

[nathanbedford]

Question to Brian the Aussie:

are you content with merely insulting the messenger?

Answer from Brian the Aussie:

Yes

[ru4liberty]

What did you think of the article?

[ObamahatesPACoal]

Most journalists are scumbags. They deserve it all.

They’d love if all Trump & Cruz supporters got doxed,etc.

[elhombrelibre]

Did you read the article?

[almcbean]

It also used to be a conservative site. Not so much anymore

[b4me]

if the workers were illegal, why would they be entitled to pension and such, they are not citizens. illegals should be thankful for any work for money they are offered since they are here unlawfully.

[elhombrelibre]

I would have never expected so many people to ignore Trump's actual history, his behavior, his past ideas, and his words. His character doesn't matter to his supporters even when it includes a brazen Machiavellian conning of others and follow on bragging to that effect in his books. His words don't matter; his actions don't matter; he can praise Hillary and Bill; he can hobnob with them; he can fund them and many, many other Democrats. He can employ illegal immigrants. By simply capturing some of the language and acting forceful, if often crude and like a caricature, he meets the emotional needs of his supporters. The anger they show when someone mentions his insincerity is more what we're used to with the Left.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-aB2GihE1k

[ObamahatesPACoal]

Rubio is a bigger threat than Rahm Emmanuel being mayor.

There might be a point if there were more candidates than Rubio, Cruz & Trump; & maybe Carson.

[yeff]

Many of the comments here, and on other similar threads, support the assertions of this article. I wonder if any of the more vitriolic posters ever change their positions based on reasoned discourse. If so, it would sure be refreshing to read a post about the conversion.

[b4me]

“I find it especially strange that many of the Trump supporters think it’s unfair to quote Trump or to site his biography. His character, words, past behavior are all off limits for some of his supporters.”

Yes, people have their past, but God allows us to make choices and by that be changed in heart and mind toward him or away from him.

Trump seems to me to be shifting more toward righteous anger - things in line with God as Jesus also displayed. He is fighting for our country.

Cruz, Rubio and others seem to be shifting more toward self. They are fighting for a job and haven’t been dying their current jobs very well, they deserve to be fired not promoted.

[gogeo]

We're told that Trump is an angry ignoramus, as are we...and that's called "reaching out."

I've stopped listening to nonsense...it's become a version of Name That Tune..." "I can spot nonsense in six words."

[elhombrelibre]

Trump’s commitment to God seems very novel, like his commitment to conservative politics. If he’s sincere, that’s great. He is, nonetheless, still a dilettante, yet he is also a very confident one.

[Louis Foxwell]

There is plenty of acrimony to go around. I have seen more desperation in the form of personal attacks from Cruz people than Trump supporters.

[b4me]

About the article:
“meaningful political discourse” and other things author writes:

I understand our country is increasingly less godly with overwhelming majority of politicians of Christian belief having left God at home when they go to work - clearly all running for president are hugely flawed in terms of being godly (speech, tithe/charity, actions, in their current lives, etc), but even our discussions of them and these articles should have God up front in our mind and choices if we (as a country) are to adhere to our constitution and laws.

As in many posts I’ve seen over years of coming to this site, commentors are always reminding us that even though we don’t have one religion only practiced in this country our founders clearly said numerous times in writings that the country would not last if we got too far away from godly principles in the bible which the nation was founded on and they assumed the citizens would adhere to for self governing/good morals.

I also find many commentors on this site seem caught in feelings and what I call social gospel (not sure if that is “correct” term) but Jesus did not come for us to bend over backwards for others every mount - He did not even do that- He many times did not help people as they wanted because they were self focused instead of God focused. He came for each of us to learn personal relationship with God and growth thru that giving us ability and means to help others and share the gospel with them.

Jesus said greatest commandment Love the LORD with all that we are. Second (next in line, not equal) greatest commandment love others.

We can’t truly do the second if not doing the first.

[1rudeboy]

Won’t happen. I made a rare foray onto a Trump thread in order to make a comment along the lines of “hey, you guys didn’t see what you think you saw” and I was accused of being a paid operative. Those people will never return to sanity.

[toddausauras]

I think it’s correct, we all knew Ted was Mr. Ground game. Donald needs to win NH and reset the game.

[Jacquerie]

Trump did not create the anger. The uniparty did.

Yes, yet let's go back further. The uniparty, this collection of the self-serving who will sell their souls today for ill-gotten wealth and reelection tomorrow, was made certain by the corruption of our governing institutions these past 100 years.

Just as an adult woman who was sent as an innocent young girl to live in a whore house will be entirely different from one sent to a nunnery, the result of sending good, conservative men and women to a corrupt congress is certain to be a new batch of corrupted men and women.

What is amazing is that it took so long for both an Obama and a Trump to emerge. Both reflect the thorough corruption of our once free government institutions.

At the birth of societies, the rulers of republics establish institutions, and afterwards the institutions mould the rulers. - Montesquieu.

Trump reflects the thorough frustration of a people who are grasping for solutions to their collective misery. They know that what passes for government is horribly spoiled from its intended purposes and ends, yet cannot envision any solution beyond an electoral process that does little more than serve the interests of the uniparty.

There is only one way to possibly restore the republic, and that is through asymmetric warfare with the uniparty. It is silly to fight them on their turf, the electoral process.

We must out-flank them, and that can only be done through an Article V state amendments convention.

[GrouchoTex]

I have been attacked for merely copying and pasting something Trump has actually said, even if some of those things were said on that very same day.
“Loser” is one of the nicer insults I have endured.
Devolving the power of the federal government back to the states is very important to me, as the Constitution intended.
So far, only Cruz and Paul seem to be on that page, consistently, without apology.
Heaven forbid, someone actually point out that other candidates, including Trump, do not hold that view.