Defeating Trump — Progress Report with a Coup de Grace
Yes. Below find the original materials. Read here for Coup de Grace
Michiko Kakutani is in my mind the caustic and intelligent lead book critic of the NYT. She is the source of the words I shall now quote liberally and with massive credit as I mould them with my own into the very tweets that may help finish off the subject of this post. That would be a dunderhead named Donald who could become a dictator. Here is the basis of what follows:
This coup — what you are reading — will either offend a shrinking number (evangelicals are jumping ship) or please those (like me) who hope our maligned but robust democracy will read signs better than pessimists can. These tweets are hopefully self evident. They will be posted as I write them. Again with acknowledged and grateful dependence on Michiko Kakutani. I hope it is clear that my references by name to Trump are mine and no part of the review I have depended on. This entire effort is an inference for which I take responsibility in hopes it helps what I also hope is inevitable — that our democracy will survive this portentous upheaval.
Hitler was first described as a “half insane rascal” and a “pathetic dunderhead”.
Dunderheads can morph into demagogues.
Trump rose to power through “demagoguery, showmanship and nativist appeals to the masses.”
Trump is a “mysterious, calamitous figure” of “undeniable talents and obviously deep-seated psychological complexes.”
The more a demagogue is ‘normalized’ the more ‘horrific’ he becomes.
Under some circumstances a ruthless individual and a willful public blindness can can produce an unimaginable catastrophe.
A ‘self-obsessed clown’ with a ‘scattershot, impulsive style’ can become a powerful demagogue.
An egomaniac who loves only himself will bathe self-references with superlatives.
There is a shrewdness behind manic speech and all-or-nothing risks that raise questions about self-control and sanity.
Trump has a “keen eye for the strengths and weaknesses of other people” and can “instantaneously analyze and exploit situations.”
Trump’s “bottomless mendacity” is amplified by a growing propaganda operation. The border between truth and lies is invisible.
Trump conceals racism under a “mask of moderation”.
Trump seeks to win support from moderate elements of the electorate. When addressing his base, his tune changes.
Trump peppers his base speeches with “coarse phrases” and “put-downs of hecklers.”
Trump suggests he is a “visionary” who will “restore law and order”. After “playing to fears and resentments”.
Trump’s message is messianic and vague regarding what it means.
The aspiring demagogue portrays the present world as bad, declining and in crisis and evokes a past golden age.
The appeal to law and order is at the center of the demagogue’s oratorical methodology.
The would-be demagogue rejects intellect and reason and goes for the lowest possible gut reaction.
The demagogue saturates followers to the last person with a few simple statements that are his “message”.
To rise, a demagogue needs a series of crises which can be exploited ‘cleverly’ and ‘unscrupulously’.
Gridlock and condemning of elites and collapse of the center are a seedbed for demagoguery.
Opponents think they can influence the aspiring demagogue. They are ruthlessly made aware of the truth. Always too late.
In power the demagogue quickly muddies the separation of powers and ends the rule of law.
The demagogue rejects “liberty, equality, education, optimism and believ in progress.”
Defeating Trump — A Progress Report
Trump is appalling.Trump is beyond incoherent.
Trump chokes.
It is September 28, 2016. These are my first Trump tweets of the day. I decided to defeat him when it was clear that his values were conscious and evil.
I used the following chart to evaluate him.
This is a universal chart. I am daily confirmed in my belief that values are the only universal things there are. It would take too long to explain, but if you believe as I do that we are known by what we say and do, then our intended statements and acts tell. You may argue that the evils mentioned are not voluntary. I think that conclusion slights all people. We possess consciousness, we act on our free decisions, everyone knows that Trump does what he intends to do.
My intent to beat Trump is hardly cause for self-congratulation. It has taken little provocation to convince millions of Americans of similar reservations and intents.
This is not a binary election. We have other parties involved and we still have to win. Each week Trump is counted out but he does not fall. And so I say intend with me my friends. Our work is not yet complete. From Russia’s reprehensible behavior to the reprehensible notion that millions of voters one could support Trump on ethical grounds, as polls suggest, we are still on the field and the battle is not done.
