The true villains in all of this are the fucking Trump voters.

[shockey80]

I have posted from the very beginning, Trump voters would become infamous for all time. That is going to happen.

The Trump voters are exactly like the German people who followed Hitler. Trump is destroying them , their country and they are cheering it on. They will follow him until they die. They are not sane.

[Tribalceltic]

1. K & R

[NRaleighLiberal]

2. don't let the agents of brainwashing off the hook..RW hate TV and radio

they are architects of the current cult

[dalton99a]

3. And Twitter and Facebook which facilitated his rise to power

[Dennis Donovan]

4. +1000

They target the weakest-minded.

[shockey80]

5. It is not their fault millions of Trump voters are so easily brainwashed.

They exist because Trump voters are insane and really fucking stupid.

[unblock]

7. this things are not unrelated.

foxnews and hate radio have spent decades *making* people stupid.

they have had contempt for facts, contempt for expertise, contempt for research.
they have told people to have pride in a lack of education, that making decisions based only on their "gut" is somehow a good thing, etc.

yes, you have to be stupid in some respects to buy this crap in the first place, but honestly, if you talk to most of these people, they're not actually all that stupid. only when it comes to politics do they turn their brain off.

because they've been trained to do that.


anger-propaganda is a drug, and in some respects, it's more helpful to think of the addicted masses as the victims. it's the pushers who are really evil.

[rownesheck]

10. Maybe.

But at some point, people still have to use their brains. Some things are just so blatantly stupid and false. Didn't Alex Jones say some shit about President Obama having tiny airplanes to push the weather around? And what about the Sandy Hook parents being crisis actors? I have to put the blame on the people who listen to and believe that garbage.

[pangaia]

15. "brains." Did you say BRAINS? Ah HA.. Therin lies the problem...

[alterfurz]

17. just in time for Halloween...

[Downtown Hound]

22. At some point you have to hold people accountable for their own actions

You don't need a high IQ to be able to figure out that holding children in inhumane concentration camps is not only illegal under international law, but also immoral. You just have to be a decent person with morals. The Nazi civilians often claimed they were unaware of the atrocities being done in their name until after the war. While there's probably a lot of bullshit in that, they did at least have some level of plausible deniability because the government didn't exactly broadcast what they were doing all the time on TV.

Today's Trump supporters have no such excuse. They know exactly what's going on and they still support both the policies and the man pushing them. You can only hide behind someone else for your way of thinking for so long. Eventually you are responsible for the beliefs you hold and the impact they have in the world.

[unblock]

23. I'm not saying we can't hold them responsible

Of course we should.

I'm just saying they didn't arrive at this point in a vacuum and we have to hold the propaganda pushers responsible as well.

Breaking this sick worldview of the propaganda addicts will be a whole lot easier when the propagandists have been taken to task.

[NRaleighLiberal]

11. it is a fact that humans, sadly, will end up believing repeated lies

so, there is fault in both sides.. media, and willing victims.

[Kaleva]

24. Can you give a scientific explanation as to why were are immune to this brainwashing?

[NRaleighLiberal]

29. right and left brains are different.

been a few posts of research on this the past few years

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biology_and_political_orientation?wprov=sfla1

[Kaleva]

32. So there is no "brainwashing" as we are hardwired to accept or reject ideas or principles.

[NRaleighLiberal]

33. the hardwire gives a tendency that can be overcome by our environment

my thought, anyway. Certainly an interesting ropic...elements of " nature/nurture", probably

[Kaleva]

38. Yes, it is an interesting topic.

Personally, I think most who watch Hannity and listen to hate radio do so because what they see and hear supports their already formed world view. Hate radio didn't create the haters. The haters were already there.

[BlueStater]

6. 30 years of right-wing radio and Fox News has done this.

Rush Limbaugh and Rupert Murdoch have ruined this country. I'd go so far to say that they've hurt it more than Trump himself ever has.

[Wednesdays]

12. And they'll be here LONG after Trump is gone

Limbaugh won't be around forever, but he'll certainly have a like-minded heir. And Fox News is a well-funded machine that will last for centuries.

[Garrett78]

20. It goes back even further.

Nixon's Southern Strategy, Powell's Memorandum, the dog whistling of Reagan, the Bushes and every other Republican. That all helped make Trump possible.

[Kaleva]

25. A certain percentage of us made Nixon's Strategy, Powell's Memorandum, etc, possible

Without the support of white men and women, none of what you listed would have happened.

[Azathoth]

35. This

Most Trump voters by now will openly admit that Trump is probably a crook, but even if he murders children live on the 6 o'clock news, they will still vote for him because "at least he's not a Demon-crat."

30+ years of 24/7 eliminationist demonization by conservative propaganda media of anything "Democratic" has hardened an entire segment of the country into an unreachable psychosis. There is literally nothing -- and that's not an exaggeration... nothing -- that Trump can do that they will not rationalize with "well the Democrats are worse."

[kentuck]

8. Those that do not respect the law do not deserve the respect of the law.

Those that lead cheers for lawbreakers do not respect the law.

They do not respect our Constitution or the laws within it.

They parrot lawlessness and division.

Yet, they want their voices to be the dominant ones in our country. They preach guns and violence.

They have not shown they deserve the respect they demand.

Obeying the law does not mean getting away with whatever you can get away with.

[world wide wally]

9. They will be waving American flags and singing patriotic songs as the Russian tanks roll

down our streets.
(Hopefully metaphorical)

[Initech]

13. I'm convinced they won't be satisfied no matter who's in charge.

And that's the problem is that they have been so brainwashed by the 24/7 conservative propaganda machine that they won't be able to reach any conclusions about who's in charge.

[pangaia]

14. to be honest, i think republican politicians are infinitely worse...

at least some of the voters really ARE stupid and/or ignorant...

the politicians know exactly what they are doing.

[Generic Other]

16. I was on Schiff's twitterfeed last night

For every honest Democratic voice, a bot posted snark. But as I pointed out repeatedly: RUSSIAN BOTS DON'T GET TO VOTE in our elections. The real MAGAs seemed to be MIA.

A few porky bikers and oathkeepers may call for Civil War, but they are vastly outnumbered by us.

WHAT IF THEY GAVE A CIVIL WAR AND NO ONE CAME?

IF A MAGA FALLS IN THE WOODS, DOES IT MAKE A SOUND? Only when they bounce back off their bellies.

[FiveGoodMen]

26. "RUSSIAN BOTS DON'T GET TO VOTE in our elections"

We hope.

If the code that counts the votes could be examined, we'd know.

[Generic Other]

30. I had the same thought right after I said it

We need to demand a paper trail. Why aren't these machines forced to record the vote on a roll like cash register receipts. Corporate America can account for every penny that goes in a cash register. All states with electronic machines need to give voters a receipt with their vote for President, Senator and Representative. Then people can show their receipt to poll takers outside. And we have a roll of untampered receipts in each precinct.

Or we could have verifiable paper ballots like Andy Stephenson fought for.

[pecosbob]

18. It was the local Ukrainian population that pointed out Jewish residents to the Einsatzgruppen

Many welcomed control by the Germans over that of the Soviets. Stalin later made those that collaborated pay a terrible price for that decision. A poor analogy to our situation perhaps, as their choice was limited to Hitler or Stalin. I don't believe we would ever see political reprisals like that happen here.

What some condemn as the entrenched bureaucracy is actually yet another of our checks and balances against a runaway executive. Note the recent revolt among the intelligence community and state department.

[SlogginThroughIt]

19. I was basically told the other day that we have to like them.

Because they might be our friends and family.

Nope.

[lunasun]

21. + A group of ugly spiteful Americans .Hate & greed is their banner. But ignorance will be their

own excuse to society if they need one later.
As if they don’t know what they are supporting, which is bullshit.
They are full of glee with trump as POTUS
Resist

[StarryNite]

27. You are sooo right!

Every stupid and illegal thing tRump does they support. WTH is wrong with those people??

[Duppers]

28. Indeed!!

They were racist and ignorant before tRump. One huge reason is that schools have been letting the public down for decades.

It's also Clear Channel am talk radio and Faux. There are more viewers and listeners in Red States because they appeal to their ignorance & racism.

It's not sanity, it's Hannity.

[Different Drummer]

31. "They will follow him until they die. They are not sane."

Agreed.

[Skittles]

34. they make me sick

the idea they helped put that fascist pussy-grabbing con man INTO THE WHITE HOUSE

[Yeehah]

36. Exactly right

They want a war so they can exterminate liberals.

I say 'bring it on.'

[Baltimike]

37. ...are the Russians. nt