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Every Trump supporter seems to see exactly what they want to see of Trump's candidacy. I just had a conversation with someone who believes Trump will be great f

Every Trump supporter seems to see exactly what they want to see of Trump's candidacy. I just had a conversation with someone who believes Trump will be great for LGBTQ equality. No awareness that the campaign has specifically, and emphatically, said, it would roll back almost every bit of progress that has been achieved over the past eight years. Trump, apparently, won because Trump is whatever people want him to be, even if he has clearly and repeatedly said he is the opposite.

unimpressive 10y ago
>No awareness that the campaign has specifically, and emphatically, said, it would roll back almost every bit of progress that has been achieved over the past eight years. Source?
- SwellJoe 10y ago
  Here's one, pretty well-cited, article on the subject: http://www.hrc.org/2016RepublicanFacts/donald-trump-opposes-nationwide-marriage-equality http://www.hrc.org/2016RepublicanFacts/donald-trump-opposes-... And, look at the legislative record of the people he has chosen to be part of his team. They are among the most anti-LGBTQ legislators at the national level (and his VP has been a nightmare on LGBTQ and women's issues). I guess it is Trump's lack of legislative record that allows people to make him a grab bag of whatever they want to see. But, when you check the history of who he's got on the team, the story is pretty clear.
ajross 10y ago
And meanwhile those of us in the centrist technocrat left are dodging post-election spitballs thrown by progressives and hoping beyond hope that what Trump ACTUALLY wants to do is just sit on his ass in the oval office and play emperor and DOESN'T try to actually get anything done.
- SwellJoe 10y ago
  The spitballs are because what America (and the world) desperately needs right now is an opposition party. The centrist (actually, center-right, or even just right wing, compared to European politics) Democratic party has no power against right wing extremist ideologues. If the response of leading Democrats, thus far, is any indicator, there will be literally no effective opposition to Trump and the GOP leadership. This is why progressives hate the Democrats so much lately.
  - ajross 10y ago
    Whatever. Still seems misdirected to me given the situation we're in. Being right isn't being helpful. People are legitimately terrified.
    - SwellJoe 10y ago
      It's not about being right. It's about whether the Democratic party, as it stands today, has the guts to aggressively take on Trump and Republicans, and I think history has shown us that they do not. So, the Democratic party, today, is a party that people don't really like all that much, and has mostly driven straight down the middle when Republicans push extremist right wing agendas. So, over and over, when the chips fall, the result is far to the right of center. And, Democrats congratulate themselves on their willingness to compromise (unlike those awful Republicans, who are just so stubborn). Even when Republicans haven't owned all of the branches of government (which is the state we've now found ourselves in), legislation has ended up tilting to the right...because for all their flaws, they know how opposition works, even if you don't have the majority.
      - ajross 10y ago
        You can drive that knife as much as you want, if it makes you feel better. I'm an upper middle class white man whose gonna do just fine in Trump's america. It still doesn't change whose ass is going to sit in the oval office, nor do much to help our neighbors waiting for the deportation squads to arrive. Tell me when you're through with the stabbing and want to work productively again WITH me to fix this. I'll be waiting.
theseatoms 10y ago
> Every Trump supporter seems to see exactly what they want to see of Trump's candidacy. This is part of his genius. There's a similar concept in some mythology that I can't place at the moment...
- klipt 10y ago
  The Mirror of Erised?
  - theseatoms 10y ago
    Yup, that's it. Nice.

unimpressive 10y ago

>No awareness that the campaign has specifically, and emphatically, said, it would roll back almost every bit of progress that has been achieved over the past eight years. Source?

SwellJoe 10y ago
Here's one, pretty well-cited, article on the subject: http://www.hrc.org/2016RepublicanFacts/donald-trump-opposes-nationwide-marriage-equality http://www.hrc.org/2016RepublicanFacts/donald-trump-opposes-... And, look at the legislative record of the people he has chosen to be part of his team. They are among the most anti-LGBTQ legislators at the national level (and his VP has been a nightmare on LGBTQ and women's issues). I guess it is Trump's lack of legislative record that allows people to make him a grab bag of whatever they want to see. But, when you check the history of who he's got on the team, the story is pretty clear.

ajross 10y ago

And meanwhile those of us in the centrist technocrat left are dodging post-election spitballs thrown by progressives and hoping beyond hope that what Trump ACTUALLY wants to do is just sit on his ass in the oval office and play emperor and DOESN'T try to actually get anything done.

SwellJoe 10y ago
The spitballs are because what America (and the world) desperately needs right now is an opposition party. The centrist (actually, center-right, or even just right wing, compared to European politics) Democratic party has no power against right wing extremist ideologues. If the response of leading Democrats, thus far, is any indicator, there will be literally no effective opposition to Trump and the GOP leadership. This is why progressives hate the Democrats so much lately.
- ajross 10y ago
  Whatever. Still seems misdirected to me given the situation we're in. Being right isn't being helpful. People are legitimately terrified.
  - SwellJoe 10y ago
    It's not about being right. It's about whether the Democratic party, as it stands today, has the guts to aggressively take on Trump and Republicans, and I think history has shown us that they do not. So, the Democratic party, today, is a party that people don't really like all that much, and has mostly driven straight down the middle when Republicans push extremist right wing agendas. So, over and over, when the chips fall, the result is far to the right of center. And, Democrats congratulate themselves on their willingness to compromise (unlike those awful Republicans, who are just so stubborn). Even when Republicans haven't owned all of the branches of government (which is the state we've now found ourselves in), legislation has ended up tilting to the right...because for all their flaws, they know how opposition works, even if you don't have the majority.
    - ajross 10y ago
      You can drive that knife as much as you want, if it makes you feel better. I'm an upper middle class white man whose gonna do just fine in Trump's america. It still doesn't change whose ass is going to sit in the oval office, nor do much to help our neighbors waiting for the deportation squads to arrive. Tell me when you're through with the stabbing and want to work productively again WITH me to fix this. I'll be waiting.

theseatoms 10y ago

> Every Trump supporter seems to see exactly what they want to see of Trump's candidacy. This is part of his genius. There's a similar concept in some mythology that I can't place at the moment...

klipt 10y ago
The Mirror of Erised?
- theseatoms 10y ago
  Yup, that's it. Nice.