http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/how-america-made-donald-trump-unstoppable-20160224
Trump is a moron. If his IQ was two points higher, he'd be a rock. He clearly doesn't take being the president of the United States very seriously and ergo shouldn't be taken seriously by American citizens.
Quote from: DeltaEpsilon on February 29, 2016, 09:10:02 PM
Trump is a moron. If his IQ was two points higher, he'd be a rock. He clearly doesn't take being the president of the United States very seriously and ergo shouldn't be taken seriously by American citizens.
Have you been to America?
Quote from: The Skeletal Atheist on February 29, 2016, 09:13:47 PM
Have you been to America?
Yes. I live in America's neighboring country (Canada).
Quote from: DeltaEpsilon on February 29, 2016, 09:24:57 PM
Yes. I live in America's neighboring country (Canada).
Then you know damn well that Trump is the type of candidate that a very important demographic takes seriously. That demographic, for those interested, is the clinically brain dead.
Sent from Hell
Quote from: The Skeletal Atheist on February 29, 2016, 09:32:43 PM
Then you know damn well that Trump is the type of candidate that a very important demographic takes seriously. That demographic, for those interested, is the clinically brain dead.
Sent from Hell
I suppose, yes.
Here's an interesting perspective on the matter.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n6PcQ1Be5ak
QuoteThen you know damn well that Trump is the type of candidate that a very important demographic takes seriously. That demographic, for those interested, is the clinically brain dead.
Sent from Hell
That was awesome
Trump isn't stupid but he is not as smart as he thinks he is. what he is, is worse; someone with enough smarts to start a battle but not smart enough to end it with a better outcome. He is a selfish, arrogant rich kid whose daddy handed him 100 million and the keys to the Rolls. He just assumes that puts him in a special league, and unfortunately he is completely sold on it.
Quote from: DeltaEpsilon on February 29, 2016, 09:10:02 PM
Trump is a moron. If his IQ was two points higher, he'd be a rock. He clearly doesn't take being the president of the United States very seriously and ergo shouldn't be taken seriously by American citizens.
And yet, he is being taken seriously by a large portion of American citizens. Don't get me wrong, Donald Trump does not give a fuck about anything besides Donald Trump. But he is skilled in the art of tapping into the lowest common denominators of our population and saying the things that will get those folks fired up. And if those mindless minions want to elect him king, who the fuck is he to say no?
Here is what most people fail to realize. He has already won. He has already won because he has NOTHING to lose in this. If he wins the election, great. He gets to be king and do whatever the fuck he wants for a while on a scale that very few ever get to experience. And if things end up better because of it, he's a genius and things end up worse, its not his fault that [insert group] shot down his ideas. OTOH if he loses the election or drops out before, he goes back to being Donald Trump except with a shit ton more relatively cost-free exposure than he had 12 months ago. He has already won and he has nothing to lose.
If you ask me I'd say he'd be crazy to want to actually win because that would actually serve to limit his upward potential. Once you're president, that's kind of it for you. From then on you're just an ex-president and at best maybe you can do a book tour or two or build some low income houses on the cheap. He is worth far more losing the bid than he is winning it.
Trump is smart in the way that all other psychopaths are smart. His skills are manipulation and intimidation. He knows how to say what a certain segment of the population wants, and he shits it out like a cheap whore. If you don't want his shit, he'll insult you until you back down. He's the personification of the sleazy, rotten underbelly of America that you'd rather not think about. The people who vote for him are the same bastards who would have been manipulated into Bush in 04.
Cruz is the same with a more religious veneer.
Quote from: stromboli on February 29, 2016, 10:54:17 PM
Trump isn't stupid but he is not as smart as he thinks he is. what he is, is worse; someone with enough smarts to start a battle but not smart enough to end it with a better outcome. He is a selfish, arrogant rich kid whose daddy handed him 100 million and the keys to the Rolls. He just assumes that puts him in a special league, and unfortunately he is completely sold on it.
Excuse me, but it was a SMALL loan of only "1 million dollars"
QuoteI'd seen this ritual several times, and the crowd always loves it. At one event, a dead ringer for John Oliver ripped off his shirt in the middle of a Trump speech to reveal body paint that read "Eminent Domain This!" on his thorax. The man shouted, "Trump is a racist!" and was immediately set upon by Trump supporters, who yelled "Trump! Trump! Trump!" at him until security arrived and dragged him out the door to cheers.
Seems very appropriate.
I'm just waiting for the Trumster 47% moment and I think it's coming. People might think he can say just anything he wants, but the media thrives on the 'gotcha' story. I like to think someone is just waiting for the right moment. Too early and it will get buried, but right before election day and it can be fatal..
I feel sorry for you guys ... still wanting that one trick pony for Christmas, and it never comes. I have seen this train wreck before with Clinton in 96 and all the ones after were bad except Obama had me fooled in 08. I regret voting for Clinton in 92 and Obama in 08. No good person wants this job ... and you can see the variety of nut cases who do, and yet you still believe in Rudolf the Red Nosed Politician. But in fact, we are stranded on the Isle of Broken Toys.
I am sure there were lots of people who looked on with horror, at the rise of Mussolini or Hitler ... and like on a roller-coaster to nowhere, couldn't get off the ride. Sometimes you pay your money, but you puke anyway.
And putting up a few houses for the poor, like Carter ... that is what maturity looks like ;-) You still look up to Henry Ford, J P Morgan, John D Rockefeller etc. ... the sociopaths of industry.
Quote from: Johan on March 01, 2016, 01:05:56 AM
And yet, he is being taken seriously by a large portion of American citizens. Don't get me wrong, Donald Trump does not give a fuck about anything besides Donald Trump. But he is skilled in the art of tapping into the lowest common denominators of our population and saying the things that will get those folks fired up. And if those mindless minions want to elect him king, who the fuck is he to say no?
Here is what most people fail to realize. He has already won. He has already won because he has NOTHING to lose in this. If he wins the election, great. He gets to be king and do whatever the fuck he wants for a while on a scale that very few ever get to experience. And if things end up better because of it, he's a genius and things end up worse, its not his fault that [insert group] shot down his ideas. OTOH if he loses the election or drops out before, he goes back to being Donald Trump except with a shit ton more relatively cost-free exposure than he had 12 months ago. He has already won and he has nothing to lose.
If you ask me I'd say he'd be crazy to want to actually win because that would actually serve to limit his upward potential. Once you're president, that's kind of it for you. From then on you're just an ex-president and at best maybe you can do a book tour or two or build some low income houses on the cheap. He is worth far more losing the bid than he is winning it.
Yes. Donald Trump may be a horrible politician but he is a great salesman.
Quote from: AllPurposeAtheist on March 01, 2016, 06:12:17 AM
I'm just waiting for the Trumster 47% moment and I think it's coming. People might think he can say just anything he wants, but the media thrives on the 'gotcha' story. I like to think someone is just waiting for the right moment. Too early and it will get buried, but right before election day and it can be fatal..
At this point, I doubt anything will kill him. He can murder a puppy on live television and he won't lose supporters. The KKK endorsed him and then he went to win a big state.
It's the most disturbing phenomenon.
Quote from: Mermaid on March 01, 2016, 08:08:42 AM
At this point, I doubt anything will kill him. He can murder a puppy on live television and he won't lose supporters. The KKK endorsed him and then he went to win a big state.
It's the most disturbing phenomenon.
But notice how this was played out. During the interview, he claimed that he couldn't disavow if he didn't know which group the interviewer was referring to, insisting several times that the interviewer send him a list of those groups. But after the interview, he claimed that his ear piece was defective and he couldn't hear the question properly, and on his tweet, disavowed any group known to have done something wrong. The result of all this confusion is that this gets the front-page headlines the next day. The guy is manipulative, but he does it in a smart way that moves forward his agenda. I don't agree with his platform, I don't agree with his methods, but I can't help noticing that he is successful at what he is doing.
Never, never underestimate the stupidity of the Stupid Fucking American who votes. And never underestimate how many they are and how some politicians can just tape into them and get them to vote for them. Trump is the master at using the lowest common denominator and use it well. The Rep party as a whole is good at using them--Trump is a master at it. And it has me concerned.
Trumpelstiltskin may appear to weave BS into gold but we all know how this story is going to end...badly.
Quote from: josephpalazzo on March 01, 2016, 09:08:09 AM
But notice how this was played out. During the interview, he claimed that he couldn't disavow if he didn't know which group the interviewer was referring to, insisting several times that the interviewer send him a list of those groups. But after the interview, he claimed that his ear piece was defective and he couldn't hear the question properly, and on his tweet, disavowed any group known to have done something wrong. The result of all this confusion is that this gets the front-page headlines the next day. The guy is manipulative, but he does it in a smart way that moves forward his agenda. I don't agree with his platform, I don't agree with his methods, but I can't help noticing that he is successful at what he is doing.
Absolutely terrifying. Is this the man we want handing delicate diplomatic situations?
Quote from: Fickle on March 01, 2016, 09:32:26 AM
Trumpelstiltskin may appear to weave BS into gold but we all know how this story is going to end...badly.
I know I would like it to, but at this point, I am not so sure he will not be able to beat Clinton in the general election. I am really not so sure.
I have been preaching for the last 15 years that the only way "we the people" can get a chance to get a little bit of control back into our hands is to stop voting for Republicans and Democrats. Trump is neither. I tell folks "ignore" your wish list and go with whoever is least controlled by the system. By god Trump is not controlled. I may have to take my own advice and hope if he gets elected it throws a nice fat wrench into our political system and maybe a third party will rise that will represent the midstream majority. I'm kinda enjoying the train wreck from the sideline. Eventually we may get pulled into the wreck, but until it makes good fun.
QuoteI'm kinda enjoying the train wreck from the sideline. Eventually we may get pulled into the wreck, but until it makes good fun.
It is unavoidable that real change cannot be invoked without real change. Sometimes a little finesse works, sometimes we need to throw a monkey wrench into the machinery. Trump has both the monkey and wrench scenario's covered...who knows.
Clinton is just another marionette and not a very entertaining one at that. She is like watching paint dry.
After Super Tuesday, I think it's officially become apparent that Donald Trump could beat a blind orphan to death with a Bible that he set on fire, wrap the corpse in an American flag and masturbate on it, then toss it in a dumpster and still more and more people would vote for him because, "At least he's honest! Besides, that kid was an immigrant anyway. And the Bible wasn't a King James Bible, so it wasn't really the Bible, and he saved taxpayers the expense of a pinewood box."
Quote from: Mike Cl on March 01, 2016, 09:16:14 AM
Never, never underestimate the stupidity of the Stupid Fucking American who votes. And never underestimate how many they are and how some politicians can just tape into them and get them to vote for them. Trump is the master at using the lowest common denominator and use it well. The Rep party as a whole is good at using them--Trump is a master at it. And it has me concerned.
I think you might be right. He may be very good at manipulating, but just to play Devil's advocate, it's possible his antics are just natural and off the cuff, as they seem to be much the way he has always behaved publicly in the past. It just might be that his natural buffoonishness, belligerence, and "Fuck You" offensive attitude is simply something many people naturally relate to, identify in themselves, and find appealing. In other words, he's just a naturally perfect fit with many Americans. Does he have handlers and advisors, or is who we see, exactly who he is? I don't know.
Trump isn't the first rich guy to run for office. But he is the first to realize the weakness in the system, which is that the watchdogs in the political media can't resist a car wreck. The more he insults the press, the more they cover him: He's pulling 33 times as much coverage on the major networks as his next-closest GOP competitor, and twice as much as Hillary.
Trump found the flaw in the American Death Star. It doesn't know how to turn the cameras off, even when it's filming its own demise.
Good line.
(https://scontent-ams3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xlt1/v/t1.0-9/12821342_10206055358887967_8225650273323613243_n.jpg?oh=d049bfc91fa5a225d6bf25f7511f6192&oe=575127EC)
No comment.....
Gerard
The media are highly hyperpoliticized. Some more than others but still.... People don't watch news anymore, they just watch what they feel comfortable hearing and get annoyed when they hear and see stuff that doesn't fit their ideology. Ideological isolation. Also, Gerrymandering has created safe seats for especially Republican politicians. That creates a class of politicians whose only fear is a challenge from within from someone even more ideologically strung up. Politicians like that tend to radicalize and become arrogant. "Seek consensus? Who me? Middle ground? Do I have to take into account that the executive branch is led by another party than mine? Of course not! We are the righteous defenders of the good cause and all the others are bad!" So what happens is an inert do nothing congress that is incapable of avoiding their work to be vetoed and a GOP that can only parade a few substandard politicians as their candidates for the Presidency. No wonder the GOP grassroots are angry and vote for Trump. The GOP gets what it deserves. Did you see Jeffrey Lords yesterday on CNN making himself ridiculous about the KKK and it's ideological leaning? You have sunk deeply if you seriously mean what he said there. But beware, this is not just a GOP or right wing problem!!
Gerard
Quote from: Mermaid on March 01, 2016, 09:46:17 AM
Absolutely terrifying. Is this the man we want handing delicate diplomatic situations?
Well, he's going to make a deal. And he'll have a bigger army to convince any of those people who are stealing our jobs he means business.
Quote from: DeltaEpsilon on March 01, 2016, 07:11:40 AM
Yes. Donald Trump may be a horrible politician but he is a great salesman.
Hey! Donald is going to make America great again! You'll see! There's going to be so much winning if he gets elected that you're going to get bored with all the winning! And those aren't stupid things to say, having no meaning whatsoever. No, those are smart things to say. And they probably mean something, too!
He said anything is negotiable. That's more than we heard from any conservative in the last six to eight years......
Gerard
Quote from: SGOS on March 02, 2016, 10:47:59 AM
I think you might be right. He may be very good at manipulating, but just to play Devil's advocate, it's possible his antics are just natural and off the cuff, as they seem to be much the way he has always behaved publicly in the past. It just might be that his natural buffoonishness, belligerence, and "Fuck You" offensive attitude is simply something many people naturally relate to, identify in themselves, and find appealing. In other words, he's just a naturally perfect fit with many Americans. Does he have handlers and advisors, or is who we see, exactly who he is? I don't know.
You could be right. But I see him as fitting the zeitgeist of the times--anger at the standstill in DC. He is a sort of modern day Mussolini, who wanted to take Italy back to the days of Roman times of greatness. Trump seems to be pushing all those buttons. Trump is a nationalist of the worst sort--as are the racists of this country. Both Trump and Mussolini want to take their countries back to a time of 'greatness' again. It just feels like it is time to break out the brown/black shirts and start marching up and down the streets in them. Disturbing.
I want Trump to win the GOP nomination. I would much rather have Trump as POTUS than Ted "Christian First" Cruz.
I seriously believe he's just fucking around because he's rich and bored. Like last time, he never thought he would get this far and it amuses the hell out of him that he can do no wrong. He seriously acts like a guy who's just trying to push things as far as he can to see what the American people will put up with. And look at his history. He has a history of frivolous lawsuits, a reality TV show, a bigger-than-life personality, but not the same personality people who have met him personally on a professional level describe. His history clearly shows he's not as far right as he's playing right now, bordering on being a Democrat from some perspectives. I'm pretty sure he doesn't give a rat's ass about being president and he has tried repeatedly to sabotage himself, but the likes of Faux News has the redneck white supremacist right wing whipped into such a frenzy about how the world isn't like it was back when it was perfect the day after we won WWII that they've actually made their own audience too dumb to make an intelligent decision on election day. They'll vote for any asshole who says we need to "take America back" to...you know...that one time...back then...when America was perfect...and great! Don't forget great! Rupert Murdoch, I think, has played a very big role in driving the Republican party to utter insanity, so much so that even his one juggernaut can't actually control it. And I think Trump is just along for the ride, laughing his ass off every time he says something that should disqualify him but instead drives up his numbers, waiting to see how many "intelligent" people will eventually endorse him.
Quote from: GSOgymrat on March 02, 2016, 03:57:09 PM
I want Trump to win the GOP nomination. I would much rather have Trump as POTUS than Ted "Christian First" Cruz.
Definitely Cruz would be the scarier candidate. But I want Trump to win because the Republican party's biggest fear for months has been a Trump/Clinton lineup. Those are EXACTLY the two candidates they did not want, and I want EXACTLY what the Republican party desperately does not want.
Quote from: widdershins on March 02, 2016, 04:08:44 PMDefinitely Cruz would be the scarier candidate. But I want Trump to win because the Republican party's biggest fear for months has been a Trump/Clinton lineup. Those are EXACTLY the two candidates they did not want, and I want EXACTLY what the Republican party desperately does not want.
If the Republicans are that scared of Trump, they might be willing to use their version of super delegates (not sure of their actual title) to skew the numbers. People forget that the parties are private organizations, and at the end of the day can put forward any candidate they damn well please. It might ruin their credibility with the base if they blatantly toss Trump aside like that, but if Republican leadership is scared enough they might be willing to eat the fallout if it means not having to support him.
Quote from: widdershins on March 02, 2016, 04:08:44 PM
Definitely Cruz would be the scarier candidate. But I want Trump to win because the Republican party's biggest fear for months has been a Trump/Clinton lineup.
I dunno. I think the determination of who would be worse depends on the situation. Ted Cruz is the last guy I would want with veto power when it came to signing into law bills that prohibit discrimination. However, Donald Trump is the last guy I would want to sit down with world leaders and talk about nuclear arms.
I've heard a lot of people say they refuse to vote for Hillary if she gets the nomination.
THAT scares me if Donald Trump is on the other side of the ballot. I don't like Hillary, but between Trump and Hillary, I imagine a scenario where the American president is sitting down with the shah of Iran to discuss <whatever> and what phrases like "dirty Muslim terrorists" and "camel jockeys with funny beards" would do to global relations.
Quote from: Hijiri Byakuren on March 02, 2016, 04:16:43 PM
If the Republicans are that scared of Trump, they might be willing to use their version of super delegates (not sure of their actual title) to skew the numbers. People forget that the parties are private organizations, and at the end of the day can put forward any candidate they damn well please. It might ruin their credibility with the base if they blatantly toss Trump aside like that, but if Republican leadership is scared enough they might be willing to eat the fallout if it means not having to support him.
I desperately hope you are right. For if Trump gets dumped at the convention, he will, I think, run as an independent out of spite. And that would be wonderful!
Don't worry about Chris Christie. Chris has a masterplan to steal Donalds wig and become MASTER OF THE UNIVER...... uhhhhh President...
Gerard
Quote from: josephpalazzo on March 02, 2016, 01:33:36 PM
Well, he's going to make a deal. And he'll have a bigger army to convince any of those people who are stealing our jobs he means business.
Hate to say it, but there's a little truth to that. There's no denying that a Trump presidency would be
...
entertaining.
Quote from: GSOgymrat on March 02, 2016, 03:57:09 PM
I want Trump to win the GOP nomination. I would much rather have Trump as POTUS than Ted "Christian First" Cruz.
Yeah, that would be very bad. And not in an amusing train wreck kind of way Trump would be.
I think that the quality of political discourse (not just in the USA but worldwide) has reached a substandard level. It's easy to blame the media and the internet, although they are certainly to blame. People (and politicians) are now encouraged to become lazy thinkers because they can creep under their own little ideological stone. We don't eat food for thought anymore. It's much easier to just switch on FOX news or visit some website or whatever and just listen to the things we already agree with. And to complain about bias when we hear things that might not immediately comply with out isolated ideologies....
Gerard (pessimistic mood)
Quote from: _Xenu_ on March 02, 2016, 05:58:13 PM
Yeah, that would be very bad. And not in an amusing train wreck kind of way Trump would be.
This is a selection from the linked article, which is very interesting.
Does Ted Cruz Think He’s The Messiah?http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/02/14/does-ted-cruz-think-he-s-the-messiah.html
Rafael Cruz, father of Ted Cruz, is a preacher of the far-right doctrine of dominionism, which holds that Christians should take over the government and save it from the wicked.
When Ted Cruz announced his candidacy for president, many assumed he would quietly distance himself from his father, Rafael Cruz, since the elder Cruz has long been extreme in his religious views, and outspoken in proclaiming them.
But the opposite has been the case. Rafael Cruz has been the senator’s primary surrogate on the campaign trail, particularly with the evangelical voters who are now Ted Cruz’s base. The two have frequently spoken together, prayed together, campaigned togetherâ€"even shot highly awkward “slice of life†videos together.
The reason Ted Cruz might be reluctant to embrace his father so publicly is that Rafael Cruz subscribes to what is known as dominionism, which holds that Christianity should exercise “dominion†over all of society, not just the traditional boundaries of religion.
Historically, dominionism began as an offshoot of Christian Reconstructionism, the sect founded in the 1960s by defender-of-slavery R.J. Rushdoony that seeks to replace secular law with Biblical law, stonings and all. More moderate versions of Reconstructionism began to take hold in the New Christian Right, which began in the 1970s as an effort to re-engage evangelicals in politics and fight back against the sexual revolution and the civil rights movement. Dominionism was one such version.
The etymological and Scriptural roots of dominionism are God’s command that Adam and Eve should “have dominion over all the earth†and Isaiah 2:2, which says, “Now it shall come to pass in the latter days that the Lord’s house shall be established on the top of the mountains.†Those “mountains†are interpreted not literally but figuratively (evangelicals are actually only selectively literalistic) as referring to the “seven mountains†of society, specifically family, religion, arts and entertainment, media, government, education, and business.
...
Now, everything I’ve said so far is about Rafael Cruz, not Ted Cruz. We don’t really know how much of this Ted believes. But it is interesting that even anodyne statements by Ted Cruz can be read in multiple ways, the classic indicator of dogwhistling. For example, Sen. Cruz wrote an epilogue to Rafael Cruz’s book, in which he said, “If our nation’s leaders are elected by unbelievers, is it any wonder that they do not reflect our values? … If the body of Christ arises, if Christians simply show up and vote biblical values, we can restore our nation.â€
Read one way, this is just a Christian version of “make America great again.†Read another way, “restoring our nation†has a very specific dominionist meaning of one believes that America was once a Christian quasi-theocracy. And not many candidates describe their campaign as trying to get the body of Christ to arise.
Whatever Ted Cruz’s religious views, however, those of his father are relevant in their own right. He stumps for his son all the time, Barton has his hands on some of the largest purse strings in Republican politics, and many of Ted Cruz’s supporters are animated by a theological vision of America that will restore “kings†to power at the End of Days, of whom Cruz is apparently one.
The word “dominionism†may not roll of the tongue of political pundits, but given its shocking ambitions, maybe that’s part of the point.
Quote from: Mike Cl on March 02, 2016, 05:31:23 PM
I desperately hope you are right. For if Trump gets dumped at the convention, he will, I think, run as an independent out of spite. And that would be wonderful!
Sure, but that won't help the GOP to get their act together again... Which may or may not be a good thing.... I think that the GOP is unsalvageble at this point. And they've got themselves and their intransigent stance on extreme ideology to thank for it. The GOP grassroots know that and that's why they vote for Trump. They may complain about how the party elite can't stand up to Obama, but that's not really the point. Their politicians in Congress felt too good and too proud and too holy and too ideologically perfect to seek an understanding with the executive branch. That is substandard behavior for any politician worth it's salt and that is why they are getting punished right now. If they had even tried to formulate a legislative agenda and even tried to find a compromise with the executive branch to get some of that through, the GOP grassroots would not be as angry as they are right now... They don't call it a do nothing congress for nothing.
Gerard (another rant from me)
Quote from: GSOgymrat on March 02, 2016, 03:57:09 PM
I want Trump to win the GOP nomination. I would much rather have Trump as POTUS than Ted "Christian First" Cruz.
I am not so sure anymore. I used to think that.
Quote from: GSOgymrat on March 02, 2016, 06:30:02 PM
This is a selection from the linked article, which is very interesting.
Does Ted Cruz Think He’s The Messiah?
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/02/14/does-ted-cruz-think-he-s-the-messiah.html
Rafael Cruz, father of Ted Cruz, is a preacher of the far-right doctrine of dominionism, which holds that Christians should take over the government and save it from the wicked.
When Ted Cruz announced his candidacy for president, many assumed he would quietly distance himself from his father, Rafael Cruz, since the elder Cruz has long been extreme in his religious views, and outspoken in proclaiming them.
But the opposite has been the case. Rafael Cruz has been the senator’s primary surrogate on the campaign trail, particularly with the evangelical voters who are now Ted Cruz’s base. The two have frequently spoken together, prayed together, campaigned togetherâ€"even shot highly awkward “slice of life†videos together.
The reason Ted Cruz might be reluctant to embrace his father so publicly is that Rafael Cruz subscribes to what is known as dominionism, which holds that Christianity should exercise “dominion†over all of society, not just the traditional boundaries of religion.
Historically, dominionism began as an offshoot of Christian Reconstructionism, the sect founded in the 1960s by defender-of-slavery R.J. Rushdoony that seeks to replace secular law with Biblical law, stonings and all. More moderate versions of Reconstructionism began to take hold in the New Christian Right, which began in the 1970s as an effort to re-engage evangelicals in politics and fight back against the sexual revolution and the civil rights movement. Dominionism was one such version.
The etymological and Scriptural roots of dominionism are God’s command that Adam and Eve should “have dominion over all the earth†and Isaiah 2:2, which says, “Now it shall come to pass in the latter days that the Lord’s house shall be established on the top of the mountains.†Those “mountains†are interpreted not literally but figuratively (evangelicals are actually only selectively literalistic) as referring to the “seven mountains†of society, specifically family, religion, arts and entertainment, media, government, education, and business.
...
Now, everything I’ve said so far is about Rafael Cruz, not Ted Cruz. We don’t really know how much of this Ted believes. But it is interesting that even anodyne statements by Ted Cruz can be read in multiple ways, the classic indicator of dogwhistling. For example, Sen. Cruz wrote an epilogue to Rafael Cruz’s book, in which he said, “If our nation’s leaders are elected by unbelievers, is it any wonder that they do not reflect our values? … If the body of Christ arises, if Christians simply show up and vote biblical values, we can restore our nation.â€
Read one way, this is just a Christian version of “make America great again.†Read another way, “restoring our nation†has a very specific dominionist meaning of one believes that America was once a Christian quasi-theocracy. And not many candidates describe their campaign as trying to get the body of Christ to arise.
Whatever Ted Cruz’s religious views, however, those of his father are relevant in their own right. He stumps for his son all the time, Barton has his hands on some of the largest purse strings in Republican politics, and many of Ted Cruz’s supporters are animated by a theological vision of America that will restore “kings†to power at the End of Days, of whom Cruz is apparently one.
The word “dominionism†may not roll of the tongue of political pundits, but given its shocking ambitions, maybe that’s part of the point.
I saw a YouTube video once. Rafael Cruz (Ted's dad) preaching. Scary stuff!
Gerard
When you hitch your legislative agenda to the Presidents veto wagon you’re not going anywhere. Sensible politicians should have known that. Teabaggers and other Republicans, including the present establishment of that party failed to realize that in the past years. So now they get Trump, which is exactly what they deserve.
Gerard
Quote from: Gerard on March 03, 2016, 07:52:29 PM
When you hitch your legislative agenda to the Presidents veto wagon you’re not going anywhere. Sensible politicians should have known that. Teabaggers and other Republicans, including the present establishment of that party failed to realize that in the past years. So now they get Trump, which is exactly what they deserve.
Gerard
"Here is a much simpler explanation for Donald Trump: Republicans have fed the country ideas about decline, betrayal and treason. They have encouraged the forces of anti-intellectualism, obstructionism and populism. They have flirted with bigotry and racism. Trump merely chose to unashamedly embrace all of it, saying plainly what they were hinting at for years. In doing so, he hit a jackpot.
The problem is not that Republican leaders should have begun to condemn Trump last year. It is that they should have condemned the ideas and tactics that led to his rise when they began to flourish 20 years ago." - Fareed Zakaria
QuoteRafael Cruz, father of Ted Cruz, is a preacher of the far-right doctrine of dominionism, which holds that Christians should take over the government and save it from the wicked.
Like father, Like Son. Deep down the religious would have everyone conform to their beliefs not unlike a socialist dictatorship. They would tell us it is for our own good and micro-manage every aspect of our lives as they have done before because we as lesser beings are somehow incapable of making rational decisions. Rational defined as following imaginary words written by imaginary beings...Unicorns and fairy dust.
We have all heard this sad story before throughout our history and it never ends well. A psychopath by any other name would do no less.
If Trump wins the elections, but NOTHING 'changes' in the USA afterwards that would be the real question of American culture overall. Esp. after the Reagan and Bush periods.
It looks like the white seculars will continue to cussing at feminists, SJWs and racial groups for being angry and offensive, sitting in front of their comps sharing videos of how 'regressive' the left (where?) is, completely unaffected by the outcome. :think:
We have a saying. Translates to something like "long live the evil that doesn't touch me" in English I guess.
Quote from: GSOgymrat on March 03, 2016, 10:05:53 PM
The problem is not that Republican leaders should have begun to condemn Trump last year. It is that they should have condemned the ideas and tactics that led to his rise when they began to flourish 20 years ago." - Fareed Zakaria
I would go one more step: they should have stopped Reagan in 1980 from inviting Falwell and the Moral Majority into the party. Opening the floodgates to crazy people is never a good idea. They tend to be loose canons, and whatever happens is more likely than not to go downhill.
This is what happens to any party that wants to be a "big tent". The camels come in the front door, rather than under the tent flap.
Quote from: GSOgymrat on March 03, 2016, 10:05:53 PM
"Here is a much simpler explanation for Donald Trump: Republicans have fed the country ideas about decline, betrayal and treason. They have encouraged the forces of anti-intellectualism, obstructionism and populism. They have flirted with bigotry and racism. Trump merely chose to unashamedly embrace all of it, saying plainly what they were hinting at for years. In doing so, he hit a jackpot.
The problem is not that Republican leaders should have begun to condemn Trump last year. It is that they should have condemned the ideas and tactics that led to his rise when they began to flourish 20 years ago." - Fareed Zakaria
Yes, that's a very worrying factor in this as well. A few years ago there was a half hearted attempt at damage control, initiated by (will you believe it) Bobby Jindal.........
Trump is a blowhard, but at least he knows he is. Cruz however........
Gerard
Odd character that Cruz guy..I have a feeling that he really could care less about religion. It's his sales pitch and nothing else. He's not stupid and has successfully argued cases before the Supreme Court on several occasions so he uses religion as his selling point. If he thought that becoming ultra left wing and telling us to all sing kumya would get him elected he'd do it, but he already tied himself to the dominionist side where he can never free himself of the persona...
The longer I watch House of Cards the more I think that every politician is cut from the same cloth as Frank Underwood, say anything, do anything, kill anyone to have the power over everyone else.
Once you have more money than you can spend in a day or even a year the only thing left is the ability to control others.
After all..The only reason we or anyone ever goes to war is over money and power because at the end of the day nobody gives a rats ass which god you pray to.
Quote from: josephpalazzo on March 05, 2016, 09:38:37 AM
I would go one more step: they should have stopped Reagan in 1980 from inviting Falwell and the Moral Majority into the party. Opening the floodgates to crazy people is never a good idea. They tend to be loose canons, and whatever happens is more likely than not to go downhill.
Yeah, you could also argue that things started going downhill in 1888 when the Republicans started getting funded by big business and got Benjamin Harrison elected. This allowed the previously awkward Democrats to move to a higher ground eventually..... But basically your point is right. Mind you, if Reagan came back today, he couldn't get nominated to the Republican ticket. Which goes to show how ideologically driven politics on the right have escalated and how isolated and radicalized Republican politics have become.
Gerard
Quote from: AllPurposeAtheist on March 05, 2016, 01:10:20 PM
Odd character that Cruz guy..I have a feeling that he really could care less about religion. It's his sales pitch and nothing else. He's not stupid and has successfully argued cases before the Supreme Court on several occasions so he uses religion as his selling point. If he thought that becoming ultra left wing and telling us to all sing kumya would get him elected he'd do it, but he already tied himself to the dominionist side where he can never free himself of the persona...
The longer I watch House of Cards the more I think that every politician is cut from the same cloth as Frank Underwood, say anything, do anything, kill anyone to have the power over everyone else.
Once you have more money than you can spend in a day or even a year the only thing left is the ability to control others.
After all..The only reason we or anyone ever goes to war is over money and power because at the end of the day nobody gives a rats ass which god you pray to.
Modernity started in N Italy in the 1500s. Machiavelli has never never gone out of style. That and MacBeth and yon Cassius with the lean and hungry look!
Quote from: Baruch on March 05, 2016, 02:17:37 PM
Modernity started in N Italy in the 1500s. Machiavelli has never never gone out of style. That and MacBeth and yon Cassius with the lean and hungry look!
I knew you were a Medici fan! :PP
Quote from: drunkenshoe on March 05, 2016, 02:35:46 PM
I knew you were a Medici fan! :PP
You are only safe from a Medici, if he is dead and buried ...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_KbRf47_js
Sic Transit Gloria Mundi
One of my favorite books of all time is The Autobiography of Benvenuto Cellini.
Quote from: Baruch on March 05, 2016, 02:48:56 PM
You are only safe from a Medici, if he is dead and buried ...
They already ruined human culture forever. The world runs on the same process they invented. Just in a greater a level(s). Transforming religion into culture and turning it into political and financial profit and benefit. 'Evil'.
QuoteOne of my favorite books of all time is The Autobiography of Benvenuto Cellini.
Yeah, I remember you mentioning it before.
They also published about some letter archives of other Italian families like Dattini in 16th century (Seriously, 125 000 letters ffs) several years ago I guess. If you are interested. But wasn't a book. An article on research in socio-linguistics.
QuoteRena Girard's fundamental ideas, which he had developed throughout his career and provided the foundation for his thinking, were that desire is mimetic (all of our desires are borrowed from other people), that all conflict originates in mimetic desire (mimetic rivalry), that the scapegoat mechanism is the origin of sacrifice and the foundation of human culture,
On another more sinister note it may be that most people see the train wreck looming on the horizon and have chosen to follow their savior Mr.Trump to the promised land. That is if they vote for Trump they themselves may become more like him. A psychotic SOB with no moral compass who believes money can buy respect. However Mr.Trump will not lead them away from the train wreck...he is the train wreck.
Mystical osmosis ... people think that if they themselves can't become rich, that the next best thing is to hang out with or mimic rich people. This is the basis of the Middle Class, and their betrayal of the Blue Collar working class. This pathetic psychology is the basis of Left-wing hatred of the bourgeoisie.