How conservatives rationalize their surrender to Trump

[applegrove]

How conservatives rationalize their surrender to Trump

By Max Boot Columnist at the Washington Post

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/05/01/how-conservatives-rationalize-their-surrender-trump/?utm_term=.e31e92144c01

"SNIP.....

The fear of economic extinction is a powerful inducement to see Trump in the best possible light — to focus on things you like (tax cuts, judges, Israel) while ignoring or excusing things that are hard to defend, like blatant xenophobia, attacks on the media as the “enemy of the people,” demands to lock up the opposition, declarations of “love” for Kim Jong Un, etc.

You begin by saying “I don’t like Trump but …” and then you explain why you have to support him to save America from Hillary Clinton. Now it’s to save America from Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.). There is always some villain on the horizon far worse than the one in the White House.

You excuse his outrageous utterances — “those are just tweets.”

When you can’t actually defend him, you instead attack his critics, claiming they are suffering from “Trump Derangement Syndrome.”

.....SNIP"

[Demovictory9]

1. yes, I hear this on RW talk radio

[TlalocW]

2. The thing is the difference between the parties

When it comes to candidates
Democrats fall in love
Republicans fall in line

TlalocW

[JHB]

3. Once again, Boot pretends 40 years of standard Republican...

...operating procedure only started in 2015, magically springing to life from nothing, rather than slipping it on like a comfortable, well-worn shoe.

[applegrove]

4. GOP not only deregulated the economy, they deregulated norms and honor and

and humanity and integrity over the years.

[doompatrol39]

6. Exactly. Far too many do this...

..including far too many people on our side.

That worries me as much as anything else because I'm quite sure that the minute Trump is out we'll hear more than a few folks utter some variation of things "being back to normal" or "the adults are back in charge". All Trump is, is the Republican party of the past 30 years (I'm being generous, probably more) writ large and completely unbound. There is nothing he is doing or saying that any sane person with eyes and ears knew that every Republican of the past 30 years would have done or said if they knew there would be no consequences (which as Trump is showing there have not).

And honestly that's what worries me most about a Biden candidacy because he's the one I fear would most likely be in that mode and still thinking about the good old days when he could go out for a beer with his "friends across the aisle" or whatever else, and that his standard of what "getting things back to normal" would be still frighteningly based on Republican framing.

[47of74]

5. Strong women send Republicans running screaming to defend their manly territory

Especially if the women in question are not white, straight, GOP brand Christian, or a combination of the above.