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Posted on 03/10/2016 6:06:20 AM PST by TroutStalker
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Well, Trump may still be a carnival barker, but he’s looking more and more like a president! Along with most media pundits in the Northeast, I found it improbable if not impossible that Trump could survive his klutz-o-rama cascade of foot-in-mouth flubs, from carelessly categorizing Mexican immigrants as rapists to hallucinating about “thousands’ of Muslims cheering the fall of the twin towers from the mean streets of New Jersey. Surely he would soon implode and pouf into fairy dust!
But only a few weeks after that interview of mine in Salon, I suddenly realized that Trump’s candidacy had a broad support that few had expected or discerned. The agent of my revelation was a hilariously scathing, viral Web blog video posted by Diamond and Silk–Lynette Hardaway and Rochelle Richardson, two African-American sisters and former Democrats in Fayetteville, North Carolina. They were reacting with indignant outrage to the first GOP debate, broadcast by Fox News from Cleveland on August 6 and hosted by Megyn Kelly, whose loaded questions had impugned Trump as a sexist.
If Trump wins the White House, that no-holds-barred video will go down in history as “the shot heard round the world,” Ralph Waldo Emerson’s phrase for the first salvo of the American Revolution by rural insurgents at Concord. The video signaled a popular uprising and furious pushback against the major media and political elites, who had controlled the national agenda and messaging for far too long. Diamond and Silk threw zinger after zinger in defending Trump: “Here’s the damn deal, Megyn Kelly—or Kelly Megyn, whatever your name is!…. Go back and report news on Sesame Street!…You hit below the belt, Kelly!…He was the only one up there on that stage with any common sense!… He’s going to be the next president, whether you like it or not. Get used to it, girl! Get used to it!”
This fiery endorsement blew me away because it demonstrated how Trump was directly engaging with a diverse coalition in ways that the mainstream media had completely missed. I felt, and still do, that Trump is far too impetuous and thin-skinned in his amusingly rambling, improvisational style. The American president, who can spook markets or spark a war with a rash phrase, must be more coolly circumspect. And aspirants to the presidency shouldn’t care what small fry like bobble-head TV hosts say or do. A leader must have the long view and show an instinctive capacity to focus and prioritize.
Nevertheless, Trump’s fearless candor and brash energy feel like a great gust of fresh air, sweeping the tedious clichés and constant guilt-tripping of political correctness out to sea. Unlike Hillary Clinton, whose every word and policy statement on the campaign trail are spoon-fed to her by a giant paid staff and army of shadowy advisors, Trump is his own man, with a steely “damn the torpedoes” attitude. He has a swaggering retro machismo that will give hives to the Steinem cabal. He lives large, with the urban flash and bling of a Frank Sinatra. But Trump is a workaholic who doesn’t drink and who has an interesting penchant for sophisticated, strong-willed European women. As for a debasement of the presidency by Trump’s slanging matches about penis size, that sorry process was initiated by a Democrat, Bill Clinton, who chatted about his underwear on TV, let Hollywood pals jump up and down on the bed in the Lincoln Bedroom, and played lewd cigar games with an intern in the White House offices.
Primary voters nationwide are clearly responding to Trump’s brand of classic can-do American moxie. There has been a sense of weary paralysis in our increasingly Byzantine and monstrously wasteful government bureaucracies. Putting a bottom-line businessman with executive experience into the White House has probably been long overdue. If Mitt Romney had boldly talked business more (and chosen a woman VP), he would have won the last election. Although the rampant Hitler and Mussolini analogies to Trump are wildly exaggerated–he has no organized fascist brigades at his beck and call—there is reason for worry about his impatient authoritarian tendencies. We have had more than enough of Obama’s constitutionally questionable executive orders. It remains to be seen whether Trump’s mastery of a hyper-personalized art of the deal will work in the sluggish, murky, incestuously intertwined power realms of Washington.
From my perspective as a fervent supporter of the ruggedly honest and principled Bernie Sanders, Trump with his pragmatic real-life record is a far more palatable national figure than Ted Cruz, whose unctuous, vainglorious professions of Christian piety don’t pass the smell test. Trump is a blunt, no-crap mensch, while Cruz is a ham actor, doling out fake compassion like chopped liver. Cruz’s lugubrious, weirdly womanish face, with its prim, tight smile and mawkishly appealing puppy-dog eyebrows, is like a waxen mask, always on the verge of melting. This guy doesn’t know who the hell he is—and the White House is no place for him and us to find out.
Bwahahahahahahahahahaha
That gem should disqualify the entire essay.
Yep.
“...whether Trump’s mastery of a hyper-personalized art of the deal will work in the sluggish, murky, incestuously intertwined power realms of Washington...”
The only reason Washington is “sluggish, murky, and incestuous” is because, up to now, ALL of Washington has been complicit in creating that situation for their own benefit and screw the “little” man, the common, everyday American here in the working part of the USA....
Trump will rip them apart and bring America back to the people....
LOL, she doesn’t understand the brilliance of Trump fully but she gets the gist. Trump has shown the American people that the “fact” that one has to be bought by special interests to get elected is false. One may work smart to utilize the best loud speaker there is, the national media and he is masterful in it’s use.
In regards to where he joked about the Rubio remarks about his hand size...he masterfully ended that line of insults with his little remark which was witty, tasteful and put a mirror to Rubio, for Rubio who now regrets, I think sincerely, for having lowered the discussion to that.
Too many people miss out on the nuances and the constant points being made when Trump “rambles on”...he never truly rambles he hits multiple points succinctly and right on target. It has been a privilege to watch a master negotiator and brilliant mind through out this process.
Oh Pleeeeze. The only work Sanders has ever done in his entire miserable little life was to administer a state food stamp program. But the media won't talk about his lack of experience or accomplishment. We have in America the most fucked up and least informed electorate on the planet. Just give 'em their bags of weed, football games, fancy cars/trucks, and porn sites and they're happy. Even countries like Venezuela and Argentina have electorates with more intelligence and acuity than ours.
‘From my perspective as a fervent supporter of the ruggedly honest and principled Bernie Sanders,’
“Bwahahahahahahahahahaha
That gem should disqualify the entire essay. “
_______________________________________
Wish she had started with that. Would have saved me the time of reading the rest.
Yeah she’s a flaming liberal, but had some interesting perspective about Trump. That description of Cruz’ face had me snorting my coffee.
I’ll forgive her for saying this:
“categorizing Mexican immigrants as rapists” (he said “illegal”)
because she said this:
“Ted Cruz, whose unctuous, vainglorious professions of Christian piety don’t pass the smell test.
“Unctuous” and “vainglorious”. Perfect descriptions.
I’m just glad she didn’t describe Bernie as “ruggedly handsome.” Then I’d know she’s lost it, lol.
Camille inhabits a strange and un-natural world.
” This guy doesn’t know who the hell he is—and the White House is no place for him and us to find out.”
She gets Cruz. Anybody that can jettison their values so fast that they hire Neil Bush from one day to the next has no business in the Whitehouse.
Usually like what Paglia has to say. Loving this description of Cruz:
“Ted Cruz, whose unctuous, vainglorious professions of Christian piety don’t pass the smell test. Trump is a blunt, no-crap mensch, while Cruz is a ham actor, doling out fake compassion like chopped liver. Cruz’s lugubrious, weirdly womanish face, with its prim, tight smile and mawkishly appealing puppy-dog eyebrows, is like a waxen mask, always on the verge of melting. This guy doesn’t know who the hell he is—and the White House is no place for him and us to find out.”
When politics means whether you survive or not, people pay attention.
That is why people in Argentina and Venezuela pay attention more.
The success of the American system, combined with the “progressive” media, did a great deal to dumb down the electorate.
Maybe they are waking up now.
Camille is doggedly liberal, but even with her bent world view, she frequently sees and writes the truth. What she writes is generally worth reading.
That description of Cruz’ face had me snorting my coffee.
Why am I not surprised?
Camille Paglia nails it once again—too bad some Trumpsters can’t see that their candidate is making even center-left and socialists rethink their positions. Instead they choose to dismiss the messenger altogether by attacking the messenger’s previous positions that are in the process of being rethought.
Ironic, coming from supporters who routinely dismiss Trump’s flips and flops all over the political spectrum.
If Trump wins the Oval, he should give Camille a position in his administration, along with Milo Yiannopolous.
Paglia, Yiannopolous, and Katrina Pierson would be a Triumvirate whose pugilistic punch lines would induce mass ‘splody head syndrome in the PC crowd all over the US.
It would be totally awesome. Ratings would be YUGE.
The real jobs in the administration-—re-masculinizing the military and foreign policy, rebuilding the economy, and judicial appointments—all these should be hard line Conservatives.
Meanwhile the Triumverate distracts the libtards and gives them so much to complain about, they won’t notice the country is being turned around.
Make Politics Fun Again!
The success of the American system, combined with the “progressive” media, did a great deal to dumb down the electorate.
Unlike the past, much of our prosperity these days is built on debt. Eventually that will come back to bite us in the a$$ and could be the great equalizer. A real economic crash (without a safety net) will wake a lot of people up to reality.
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