Can we be worried about Trump NOW?

[AtlantaAdonis]

For many weeks now even so-called liberals and progressives on this board have been rebuking people for making comparisons of Trump to awful authoritarian leaders of history. Well, can we now say that this guy is really impulsive and dangerous and just doesn't think things through?

This isn't the typical methodical approach of bigotry and xenophobia practices by Republicans like George Bush, this is a rash, slash-and-burn approach.

I fear many are like a frog in a gradually warming pot and don't sense that liberal democracy itself is in peril with this madman in office.

 

[Phys251]

For many weeks now even so-called liberals and progressives on this board have been rebuking people for making comparisons of Trump to awful authoritarian leaders of history. Well, can we now say that this guy is really impulsive and dangerous and just doesn't think things through?

This isn't the typical methodical approach of bigotry and xenophobia practices by Republicans like George Bush, this is a rash, slash-and-burn approach.

I fear many are like a frog in a gradually warming pot and don't sense that liberal democracy itself is in peril with this madman in office.

Some people have cheered on the full frontal assault on our democratic values. To which I say in return:

 

[MaggieD]

For many weeks now even so-called liberals and progressives on this board have been rebuking people for making comparisons of Trump to awful authoritarian leaders of history. Well, can we now say that this guy is really impulsive and dangerous and just doesn't think things through?

This isn't the typical methodical approach of bigotry and xenophobia practices by Republicans like George Bush, this is a rash, slash-and-burn approach.

I fear many are like a frog in a gradually warming pot and don't sense that liberal democracy itself is in peril with this madman in office.

Well, I think "liberal democracy" SHOULD be in peril. We're quite liberal enough.

This latest Visa mess wasn't thought through. It should have been. But I'm not going to fault the man for following through with his agenda. He's quite obviously a guy who says what he means and means what he says. That is a valuable and rare commodity in politics today. His advisors need to man up.

 

[CriticalThought]

This old text does seem to keep coming to mind...

First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Socialist.

Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Trade Unionist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.

 

[VanceMack]

Lets see...in the past week Trump has

Moved to enforce EXISTING US immigration laws promoting concepts ENDORSED BY and VOTED on by prominent democrats

and

imposed a temporary ban in Muslims from seven countries KNOWN to have a high risk of terrorism and an improper vetting system.

OHMYGAAAAAARSH!!! Wereallgonnadieeeeeeeee!!!!!

Yes...teh end to democracy is surely on the horizon.

:lamo

 

[NeverTrump]

Some people have cheered on the full frontal assault on our democratic values. To which I say in return:

The star wars prequels are probably some of the best movies on political social commentary around. The perfect framework for how democracy fails and empires rise up. As a political geek, they hold a special place in my heart. I often criticize people who post youtube videos, but thanks for posting that one as it is incredibly prudent today.

The movie from which my signature line is quoted, unfortunately is not too far away either.

 

[countryboy]

Lets see...in the past week Trump has

Moved to enforce EXISTING US immigration laws promoting concepts ENDORSED BY and VOTED on by prominent democrats

and

imposed a temporary ban in Muslims from seven countries KNOWN to have a high risk of terrorism and an improper vetting system.

OHMYGAAAAAARSH!!! Wereallgonnadieeeeeeeee!!!!!

Yes...teh end to democracy is surely on the horizon.

:lamo

Where is "liberal democracy" mentioned in the Constitution again?

 

[NeverTrump]

For many weeks now even so-called liberals and progressives on this board have been rebuking people for making comparisons of Trump to awful authoritarian leaders of history. Well, can we now say that this guy is really impulsive and dangerous and just doesn't think things through?

This isn't the typical methodical approach of bigotry and xenophobia practices by Republicans like George Bush, this is a rash, slash-and-burn approach.

I fear many are like a frog in a gradually warming pot and don't sense that liberal democracy itself is in peril with this madman in office.

I found that the people who told us to wait until the inauguration to criticize Trump do not understand how a transition works. This first week was worse than I imagined and I was somewhat optimistic until he started blathering on about crowd sizes. WTF?!

 

[uncleray]

Lets see...in the past week Trump has

Moved to enforce EXISTING US immigration laws promoting concepts ENDORSED BY and VOTED on by prominent democrats

and

imposed a temporary ban in Muslims from seven countries KNOWN to have a high risk of terrorism and an improper vetting system.

OHMYGAAAAAARSH!!! Wereallgonnadieeeeeeeee!!!!!

Yes...teh end to democracy is surely on the horizon.

:lamo

I might add that in the past week he also:
turned a large part of the world against US
managed to give recruiting tools to multiple radical groups
had a cozy chat with a hostile foreign power without State in the room
downgraded military and upgraded Steve Bannon in the National Security Council
This White House staff must be narcoleptic be able to sleep at night.

 

[MrPeanut]

For many weeks now even so-called liberals and progressives on this board have been rebuking people for making comparisons of Trump to awful authoritarian leaders of history. Well, can we now say that this guy is really impulsive and dangerous and just doesn't think things through?

This isn't the typical methodical approach of bigotry and xenophobia practices by Republicans like George Bush, this is a rash, slash-and-burn approach.

I fear many are like a frog in a gradually warming pot and don't sense that liberal democracy itself is in peril with this madman in office.

I have agreed with the bolded statement practically the entire time Trump was running. His top adviser describes himself as a Leninist that seeks to destroy the state. I don't know how that can't ring people's alarm bells. The thing is that Trump was elected fairly. So it's fine to worry about him, but he has to mess up in a way that is dramatic enough to convince a Republican controlled congress to get rid of him. That could take a while.

 

[nota bene]

Well, I think "liberal democracy" SHOULD be in peril. We're quite liberal enough.

This latest Visa mess wasn't thought through. It should have been. But I'm not going to fault the man for following through with his agenda. He's quite obviously a guy who says what he means and means what he says. That is a valuable and rare commodity in politics today. His advisors need to man up.

Yes, they do. Clearly, this wasn't thought all the way through, leaving some unfairly caught in limbo.

I think it's more important than ever for those of us who are reasonable, irrespective of which side of the aisle we're on, to remain level-headed.

 

[Captain America]

For many weeks now even so-called liberals and progressives on this board have been rebuking people for making comparisons of Trump to awful authoritarian leaders of history. Well, can we now say that this guy is really impulsive and dangerous and just doesn't think things through?

This isn't the typical methodical approach of bigotry and xenophobia practices by Republicans like George Bush, this is a rash, slash-and-burn approach.

I fear many are like a frog in a gradually warming pot and don't sense that liberal democracy itself is in peril with this madman in office.

Yes. I was one of those, "Give the guy a chance" people.

Obviously, I was mistaken.

You can now start to worry.

 

[Phys251]

Lets see...in the past week Trump has

Moved to enforce EXISTING US immigration laws promoting concepts ENDORSED BY and VOTED on by prominent democrats

and

imposed a temporary ban in Muslims from seven countries KNOWN to have a high risk of terrorism and an improper vetting system.

OHMYGAAAAAARSH!!! Wereallgonnadieeeeeeeee!!!!!

Yes...teh end to democracy is surely on the horizon.

:lamo

A gross lack of empathy against targeted groups by the less oppressed groups is a hallmark of tyrannical regimes.

 

[Phys251]

The star wars prequels are probably some of the best movies on political social commentary around. The perfect framework for how democracy fails and empires rise up. As a political geek, they hold a special place in my heart. I often criticize people who post youtube videos, but thanks for posting that one as it is incredibly prudent today.

The movie from which my signature line is quoted, unfortunately is not too far away either.

Indeed.

And the thing is, Obama was not innocent in this either. The drone strikes, the failure to reign in the War on Drugs, the continuation of electronic spying, etc. left the door wide open for a future tyrant to crank all that up by several orders of magnitude. Well, that future may well be here.

 

[NeverTrump]

A gross lack of empathy against targeted groups by the less oppressed groups is a hallmark of tyrannical regimes.

It is also often the first step towards them. Trump didn't even wait a week.

 

[Manc Skipper]

This was the Spitting Image closing credits on the eve of Thatcher's election. The puppets are of her then cabinet. The more things change...

 

[Jack Hays]

For many weeks now even so-called liberals and progressives on this board have been rebuking people for making comparisons of Trump to awful authoritarian leaders of history. Well, can we now say that this guy is really impulsive and dangerous and just doesn't think things through?

This isn't the typical methodical approach of bigotry and xenophobia practices by Republicans like George Bush, this is a rash, slash-and-burn approach.

I fear many are like a frog in a gradually warming pot and don't sense that liberal democracy itself is in peril with this madman in office.

Linking George Bush to bigotry and xenophobia denies your post credibility.

DJT is a nationalist populist. His natural antecedent is no one in the GOP, but rather William Jennings Bryan.

 

[Jack Hays]

A gross lack of empathy against targeted groups by the less oppressed groups is a hallmark of tyrannical regimes.

It's a hallmark of most societies.

 

[LowDown]

For many weeks now even so-called liberals and progressives on this board have been rebuking people for making comparisons of Trump to awful authoritarian leaders of history. Well, can we now say that this guy is really impulsive and dangerous and just doesn't think things through?

This isn't the typical methodical approach of bigotry and xenophobia practices by Republicans like George Bush, this is a rash, slash-and-burn approach.

I fear many are like a frog in a gradually warming pot and don't sense that liberal democracy itself is in peril with this madman in office.

You can be worried about whatever you like. But let's speak the truth. Temporarily banning immigration from 7 predominately Muslim countries involved in terrorism out of 50 majority Muslim countries in the world is not a "Muslim ban" and it is not bigotry. To term it such is a lie. Trying to keep terrorists out of the US is not xenophobia. To term it such is a lie.

 

[AtlantaAdonis]

You can be worried about whatever you like. But let's speak the truth. Temporarily banning immigration from 7 predominately Muslim countries involved in terrorism out of 50 majority Muslim countries in the world is not a "Muslim ban" and it is not bigotry. To term it such is a lie. Trying to keep terrorists out of the US is not xenophobia. To term it such is a lie.

What about that country that was home to 15 of the 19 9/11 hijackers? Oh, we can't include them int he ban because Trump has business buddies over there.

 

[AlbqOwl]

Well, I think "liberal democracy" SHOULD be in peril. We're quite liberal enough.

This latest Visa mess wasn't thought through. It should have been. But I'm not going to fault the man for following through with his agenda. He's quite obviously a guy who says what he means and means what he says. That is a valuable and rare commodity in politics today. His advisors need to man up.

I think it was thought through though Maggie. Once the temporary ban is in effect, and the steady flow of people who may be questionable is halted, only then can the Administration start the refining process to fix the unintended negative consequences. Certainly they need to make sure the green card holders can come back as those people have already been thoroughly vetted. And they can also make adjustment for any other injustices occurring, but they need to be careful with that so as not to gut the policy for the purpose it is intended.

 

[Jack Hays]

What about that country that was home to 15 of the 19 9/11 hijackers? Oh, we can't include them int he ban because Trump has business buddies over there.

The government of Saudi Arabia has been a powerful and effective ally against terrorism.

 

[VanceMack]

A gross lack of empathy against targeted groups by the less oppressed groups is a hallmark of tyrannical regimes.

Which isnt occurring. What IS occurring is US immigration law is being prepared to finally be enforced (which makes sad pandas sad) and people from potentially dangerous countries are being temporarily blocked while a better vetting solution is put in place. You know...like Obama did in 2011 when you didnt say ****.

 

[VanceMack]

I might add that in the past week he also:
turned a large part of the world against US
managed to give recruiting tools to multiple radical groups
had a cozy chat with a hostile foreign power without State in the room
downgraded military and upgraded Steve Bannon in the National Security Council
This White House staff must be narcoleptic be able to sleep at night.

You just about hit all the rat talking points. You might have missed a few though.

Its going to be a fun few years.

 

[Northern Light]

I think it's more important than ever for those of us who are reasonable, irrespective of which side of the aisle we're on, to remain level-headed.

I think the time for level-headedness is over. We have a radical in the White House who is attacking the very principles that once made America great. You don't deal with radicals by being level-headed. The more you try to reason with them, the more they take over.

Talk is cheap at this point. Half the country could protest and it won't make a difference. Even the court stays of the immigration policy are only temporary. No one can stop King Trump from implementing his edicts and fracturing our relationship with the rest of the world.