tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8446351548038522890.post6624425565550875032..comments2024-03-28T16:15:19.319-04:00Comments on Saideman's Semi-Spew: The Hate DecathlonSteve Saidemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09881915512311951902noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8446351548038522890.post-46234263670928762622016-02-01T14:58:01.036-05:002016-02-01T14:58:01.036-05:00Indeed. This sentiment was always there; the quest...Indeed. This sentiment was always there; the question is why (aside from narcissism) has Trump been so willing to exploit it and risk the consequences.<br /><br />You can also argue that it was inevitable (a lot of people thought, not wrongly, that it would be Cruz leading the 'insurgency', not Trump). Compare the electoral college map of, say, the 1988 presidential election and 2008. The GOP lost multiple Northern blue/purple states which acted as a moderating force for post-1964 conservatism. Add a military, economic and environmental crisis which undermined Republican ideology, the first African-American in the White House, and an RNC leadership willing to abandon realistic policy discussion for a full-blown emphasis on cultural identity (aiding the Tea Party and associated movements), what's the result? Core GOP voters who are motivated by a single purpose: to embrace the discriminatory attitudes which provided the basis of the US' worst historical moments.<br /><br />If Trump wins the Iowa caucus, the resulting freakout will be for various reasons, but don't forget this one, Steve - that right-wingers can no longer make excuses as to why minority voters ceased to support them. This FUBAR is of their own making. (And the following link will be a vital document for political scientists for decades to come: http://bit.ly/1RkVHfS)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8446351548038522890.post-42317680334988910242016-02-01T07:23:14.948-05:002016-02-01T07:23:14.948-05:00Is Trump the source or the symptom of racism in Am...Is Trump the source or the symptom of racism in America? <br /><br />There are some who'd maintain that, far from generating this virulent racism, Trump's political speech has merely lifted the lid off a pot that has been simmering for some time. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com