If Mr. Trump was a Democrat

chair

Well-known member
A thought experiment. What if Trump was a Democrat? Would today's Trump supporters a) excuse his eccentric behavior and leadership failures, just as they do today, or b) would they be screaming for him to go as an inappropriate and failing president?

I doubt any will admit it, but I expect b) is the answer.
 

The Barbarian

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Banned
To be fair, most prominent republicans, when Trump started his attempt to take over the party, denounced him. Lindsey Graham called him a "Kook", who was likely to get us into a war, and lots of other nasty things. Only when Trump gathered in the KKK, white nationalists, and other extremists to make a winning coalition,did they start kissing his ring. I think that if he falls, very few of them will be unhappy.

Suppose there was a left-wing populist, just as narcissistic and incompetent as Trump, but who managed to put together a coalition of antifa, radical leftists and whatever to control the democrat party. Do you not suppose there would be democrats who would submit to him in order to keep their jobs? Of course there would be.

It's just that it happened to the republicans.

Sure, there would be people like Biden,who wouldn't go along with it, just as there were people like McCain and Romney. But even Romney has accommodated a little. And there would be an "FDR project" made up of liberal democrats assailing him, just as conservative republicans have the Lincoln Project, going after Trump.

For the same reasons. Trump isn't a conservative; he's an amoral opportunist, and in the long run, he will have done horrendous damage to the conservative movement. Those of us who are not conservative can feel morally superior, but we'd be kidding ourselves. Someday, there may be a different Trump who devastates the left in the same way that Trump has wrecked the conservative movement.
 

The Barbarian

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Banned
When a massive star is in the final evolutionary stages of its life cycle (just before it burns outs), there is a sudden surge of energy and it explodes in a spectacular and destructive display of light. This immense explosion, known as a supernova, results in a bright, but short-lived (a few months or years) "new" star.

The life cycle of political phenomena often mirrors this catastrophic astronomical event. And the dramatic ascendancy and complete takeover of the GOP by Donald Trump signals that American conservatism has gone supernova, which invariably means that the conservative movement is in its final death throes.

It is not surprising that American conservatism is dying, if brilliantly so, as it lacks the fuel—ideas and values—needed to sustain it. The movement, after all, has been
intellectually and morally bankrupt for some time. While multiple forces have contributed to that bankruptcy, there has been no greater catalyst than Donald Trump, who despite knowing almost nothing, ironically, knows a great deal about bankruptcy.

Real conservatives or "
Never Trumpers," as they are sometimes called, understand this reality, which is why they have actively resisted Trumpism. They recognize that Trump has abandoned conservative principles and, as such, poses a serious threat to the conservative movement. But despite their best efforts, it is too late to save American conservatism.

It is too late because the cataclysmic explosion of Trumpism has already occurred. And while this has temporarily breathed new life into conservatism (as evidenced by Trump rallies), it has fundamentally altered the star, replacing it with a weaker, degraded, and significantly more unstable version of itself (as evidenced by Trump rallies).

How can I be certain of this? As a professor of rhetoric, I understand well the types of rhetorical appeals that leaders make in last ditch efforts to prop up dying institutions and belief systems. Donald Trump employs them all. But here are four of the most significant:

1. A nostalgic appeal to a nonexistent past (read: "Make America Great Again"). Human beings are, by their nature, resistant to change. Conservatives, in particular, live in existential terror of
change. So, many cling to the past. But it is an idyllic, imagined past — one of prosperity for all. It is a past that never existed, and neither Trump nor anyone else can bring it back.

2. The construction of an enemy who stands in the way of a return to the past. Trump has cast globalization in this role. And, so, he has engaged in trade wars and tariffs, withdrawn from multinational accords, promoted xenophobic nationalism, and enacted racist immigration policies.
...

3. Attempts to reanimate cultural issues and economic policies of the past (read:
flag burning, science skepticism, gay rights, abortion, trickle-down economics, etc.). Conservatives were on the wrong side of these matters and recent attempts to re-litigate them demonstrates just how directionless the movement has become. Short-term 'wins' on these issues will no more return us to a fictional past than battling constructed enemies.

4. Self-delusion or declaring victory in the face of failure (read: "Keep America Great"). By virtually any measure, the Trump presidency has been an abysmal failure. Trump has alienated our allies, emboldened dictators and despots,
weakened our standing in the world, promoted political violence, fostered racism and hate, trampled the rule of law, threatened a free and independent press, degraded our political discourse, and undermined democratic norms and institutions. It is delusional to see this as "great."
...
Trump moves us closer and closer to the final evolutionary stage of a massive star: a black hole. When we arrive there, the star's death will be complete, and not a single ray of conservative light will be visible.

None of this is intended to deny the very real (and perhaps even likely) possibility of Trump winning a second term in 2020 and further eroding the norms of democracy. It is difficult to predict how long the bright star born of a supernova will last, but what we know with certitude is that it will not. Conservatism cannot escape the intellectual and moral vacuum created by the supernova of Trumpism.

https://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-supernova-conservatism-red-dwarf-1446793
 

The Barbarian

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Banned
I can remember, in at the end of Watergate, as Nixon boarded the plane out of Washington, republicans were then saying that Nixon "wasn't a real (republican, conservative, etc.)."

I don't doubt that if Trump fails to change the rising tide against him, that republicans will be saying the same things about Trump. And maybe they will be right.
 

Rusha

LIFETIME MEMBER
LIFETIME MEMBER
Hall of Fame
I can remember, in at the end of Watergate, as Nixon boarded the plane out of Washington, republicans were then saying that Nixon "wasn't a real (republican, conservative, etc.)."

I don't doubt that if Trump fails to change the rising tide against him, that republicans will be saying the same things about Trump. And maybe they will be right.

Nah, he is representative of republicans... they will learn to live with the consequences of supporting such vileness. History will not be kind.
 

Jefferson

Administrator
Staff member
Administrator
Super Moderator
I can remember, in at the end of Watergate, as Nixon boarded the plane out of Washington, republicans were then saying that Nixon "wasn't a real (republican, conservative, etc.)."

I don't doubt that if Trump fails to change the rising tide against him, that republicans will be saying the same things about Trump. And maybe they will be right.

Trump is not a "real" Republican. Before Trump, if you gave a Republican congress a yard they would take an inch. Why? Because they trembled in quivering fear that the national liberal media would slander them. Those pansy Republicans, who had not yet matured out of being subject to junior highschoolish peer pressure, would take their measly inch and practically apologize for doing so.

But then along comes Donald Trump who is showing sissy Republicans how a man who actually has testicles deals with the national liberal media.

FINALLY!
 

Bob Carabbio

New member
What if Trump was a Democrat?

In order to BE a Democrat in 2020, he'd have to have have the Anti-Amercan atheistic political ideology that Democrats have these days. He'd have to stand for everything I HATE about the Democratic Party. And so I would oppose him to the degree that I Oppose ALL 2020 version Democratic politicians in the coming election.
 

chair

Well-known member
In order to BE a Democrat in 2020, he'd have to have have the Anti-Amercan atheistic political ideology that Democrats have these days. He'd have to stand for everything I HATE about the Democratic Party. And so I would oppose him to the degree that I Oppose ALL 2020 version Democratic politicians in the coming election.

..and what is it that you HATE about the Democratic Party? To make it easier- just list the top five things on your list.
 
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