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neo-nazi Leninist The former term is how his detractors, including me, would describe him. The latter is a term he famously used for himself. http://www.theda

neo-nazi Leninist The former term is how his detractors, including me, would describe him. The latter is a term he famously used for himself. http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/08/22/steve-bannon-trump-s-top-guy-told-me-he-was-a-leninist.html http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/08/22/steve-banno...

GFK_of_xmaspast 10y ago
That's not what Leninism means tho (it's not "smash the state" as Bannon says, it's about having a vanguard party and control of political power by the working class).
- AnOscelot 10y ago
  I completely understand that. But it's a term he used for himself, and I think it's funny to semi-accurately (not in terms of actual definition but in terms of someone's self-description) label a member of a Republican administration as a Leninist. Though Bannon may be more accurate than he realizes about being a "Leninist" since he wants his faction to be the vanguard party with power derived from the white working class and voters who identify with such.
  - pfarnsworth 10y ago
    I think Bannon is an asshole and I wish he didn't have such a close position to the President. The only saving grace is that Trump is so arrogant, I don't think he will follow anything Bannon says that he already doesn't believe. But since when is he a neo-nazi? Breitbart.com is about as pro-Israel as you can get, and Breitbart himself was a Jew. Trump's daughter Ivanka is also a Jew, as is her husband, who is now another special advisor.
    - AnOscelot 10y ago
      There's evidence Bannon has been the chief author behind some of the recent executive orders. Especially the immigration order. Trump is arrogant but he's very easily influenced. And I'm not convinced he even understands what he is signing. His antisemitism has been well documented. How he gets along with Kushner and Ivanka, I have no idea. I suspect they don't get along at all. There will plenty of books on Trump's Team of Rivals, though probably much less glowing than for Lincoln's similar team. One reference for Bannon's antisemitism: http://www.timesofisrael.com/stephen-bannon-5-things-jews-need-to-know/ http://www.timesofisrael.com/stephen-bannon-5-things-jews-ne... Speaking of which: I also wouldn't be surprised if Bannon is behind Trump's recent Holocaust statement in which Jews aren't mentioned at all.
      - pfarnsworth 10y ago
        Evidence? Trump pledged all of those since the beginning, before Bannon was involved in his campaign. "Easily influenced?" You're making shit up now. I've never seen anyone so ridiculous stubborn in such a position of power. Any evidence he's "easily influenced" besides your opinions? He hasn't even given up his Twitter account for God's sake and he doesn't listen to any of his advisors to shut up, except for the day before the election. > How he gets along with Kushner and Ivanka, I have no idea. The obvious answer is that he's not anti-Semitic. You can try to make up stuff, or pull one off references from divorce proceedings, but he was head of a strongly Pro-Israel website, created by a Jew. If he's anti-Semitic, he's a failure. He's working for a president that obviously supports and loves Jews, since his daughter converted to Judaism without any issue from him, and his Jewish son-in-law is his top adviser. If you think he's some Othellian figure that can endure working for so many Jews and espousing Jewish values, all for the chance to whisper one-or-two white nationalist policies into Trumps brain, you're absolutely crazy. Okkam's razor, dude. The simplest answer is that you're wrong and he's not anti-semitic.
        AnOscelot 10y ago
        The ADL disagrees with you regarding Bannon. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/acts-of-faith/wp/2016/11/15/anti-defamation-league-decries-stephen-bannon-while-other-jewish-groups-stay-silent/?utm_term=.83f5323cd31f https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/acts-of-faith/wp/2016/11... As for who wrote the executive orders: " Inside the West Wing, it is almost impossible for some aides to know what is in the executive orders, staffers say. They have been written by Stephen Miller, Trump’s senior White House adviser for policy, and Steve Bannon, Trump’s chief strategist, according to people familiar with the matter. Ideas for some of the Trump executive orders came from transition officials and so-called “landing teams,” " --http://www.politico.com/story/2017/01/trumps-flashy-executive-actions-could-run-aground-234200 http://www.politico.com/story/2017/01/trumps-flashy-executiv... How can someone be pro-Israel and antisemitic? https://theintercept.com/2016/11/16/steve-bannon-made-breitbart-space-pro-israel-writers-anti-semitic-readers/ https://theintercept.com/2016/11/16/steve-bannon-made-breitb... http://forward.com/news/israel/354402/how-steve-bannon-and-breitbart-news-can-be-pro-israel-and-anti-semitic-at-t/ http://forward.com/news/israel/354402/how-steve-bannon-and-b... And of course he would put up working with Jews if it meant he had a seat at the table and a chance to enact his wildest dreams. In a choice between power and principles, most people chose power. Your proposed Occam's Razor doesn't work because you're ignoring the most obvious thing: the desire of people for power. If being Trump's right hand man means putting up with Kushner, then so be it. I'm sure Kushner, as the other key figure standing beside the throne, feels the same way. He can put up with an antisemite in order to be in the White House. Think about it. Occam's Razor is for the simplest choice. Assuming Bannon's racism, Bannon's choice here is: work with Jews and have a lot of power, or avoid Jews and go back to the mundane life as a publisher with no seat at the table. There's really no question of what he would choose.

GFK_of_xmaspast 10y ago

That's not what Leninism means tho (it's not "smash the state" as Bannon says, it's about having a vanguard party and control of political power by the working class).

AnOscelot 10y ago
I completely understand that. But it's a term he used for himself, and I think it's funny to semi-accurately (not in terms of actual definition but in terms of someone's self-description) label a member of a Republican administration as a Leninist. Though Bannon may be more accurate than he realizes about being a "Leninist" since he wants his faction to be the vanguard party with power derived from the white working class and voters who identify with such.
- pfarnsworth 10y ago
  I think Bannon is an asshole and I wish he didn't have such a close position to the President. The only saving grace is that Trump is so arrogant, I don't think he will follow anything Bannon says that he already doesn't believe. But since when is he a neo-nazi? Breitbart.com is about as pro-Israel as you can get, and Breitbart himself was a Jew. Trump's daughter Ivanka is also a Jew, as is her husband, who is now another special advisor.
  - AnOscelot 10y ago
    There's evidence Bannon has been the chief author behind some of the recent executive orders. Especially the immigration order. Trump is arrogant but he's very easily influenced. And I'm not convinced he even understands what he is signing. His antisemitism has been well documented. How he gets along with Kushner and Ivanka, I have no idea. I suspect they don't get along at all. There will plenty of books on Trump's Team of Rivals, though probably much less glowing than for Lincoln's similar team. One reference for Bannon's antisemitism: http://www.timesofisrael.com/stephen-bannon-5-things-jews-need-to-know/ http://www.timesofisrael.com/stephen-bannon-5-things-jews-ne... Speaking of which: I also wouldn't be surprised if Bannon is behind Trump's recent Holocaust statement in which Jews aren't mentioned at all.
    - pfarnsworth 10y ago
      Evidence? Trump pledged all of those since the beginning, before Bannon was involved in his campaign. "Easily influenced?" You're making shit up now. I've never seen anyone so ridiculous stubborn in such a position of power. Any evidence he's "easily influenced" besides your opinions? He hasn't even given up his Twitter account for God's sake and he doesn't listen to any of his advisors to shut up, except for the day before the election. > How he gets along with Kushner and Ivanka, I have no idea. The obvious answer is that he's not anti-Semitic. You can try to make up stuff, or pull one off references from divorce proceedings, but he was head of a strongly Pro-Israel website, created by a Jew. If he's anti-Semitic, he's a failure. He's working for a president that obviously supports and loves Jews, since his daughter converted to Judaism without any issue from him, and his Jewish son-in-law is his top adviser. If you think he's some Othellian figure that can endure working for so many Jews and espousing Jewish values, all for the chance to whisper one-or-two white nationalist policies into Trumps brain, you're absolutely crazy. Okkam's razor, dude. The simplest answer is that you're wrong and he's not anti-semitic.
      - AnOscelot 10y ago
        The ADL disagrees with you regarding Bannon. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/acts-of-faith/wp/2016/11/15/anti-defamation-league-decries-stephen-bannon-while-other-jewish-groups-stay-silent/?utm_term=.83f5323cd31f https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/acts-of-faith/wp/2016/11... As for who wrote the executive orders: " Inside the West Wing, it is almost impossible for some aides to know what is in the executive orders, staffers say. They have been written by Stephen Miller, Trump’s senior White House adviser for policy, and Steve Bannon, Trump’s chief strategist, according to people familiar with the matter. Ideas for some of the Trump executive orders came from transition officials and so-called “landing teams,” " --http://www.politico.com/story/2017/01/trumps-flashy-executive-actions-could-run-aground-234200 http://www.politico.com/story/2017/01/trumps-flashy-executiv... How can someone be pro-Israel and antisemitic? https://theintercept.com/2016/11/16/steve-bannon-made-breitbart-space-pro-israel-writers-anti-semitic-readers/ https://theintercept.com/2016/11/16/steve-bannon-made-breitb... http://forward.com/news/israel/354402/how-steve-bannon-and-breitbart-news-can-be-pro-israel-and-anti-semitic-at-t/ http://forward.com/news/israel/354402/how-steve-bannon-and-b... And of course he would put up working with Jews if it meant he had a seat at the table and a chance to enact his wildest dreams. In a choice between power and principles, most people chose power. Your proposed Occam's Razor doesn't work because you're ignoring the most obvious thing: the desire of people for power. If being Trump's right hand man means putting up with Kushner, then so be it. I'm sure Kushner, as the other key figure standing beside the throne, feels the same way. He can put up with an antisemite in order to be in the White House. Think about it. Occam's Razor is for the simplest choice. Assuming Bannon's racism, Bannon's choice here is: work with Jews and have a lot of power, or avoid Jews and go back to the mundane life as a publisher with no seat at the table. There's really no question of what he would choose.