5 ms·

I'm not trying to convince other voters. The "bend the knee" shit is not something I'm saying to try to change opinions. Like you say, clearly the majority of A

I'm not trying to convince other voters. The "bend the knee" shit is not something I'm saying to try to change opinions. Like you say, clearly the majority of Americans don't care. But it I'm pretty surprised at the outright transparent speed with which all these business leaders were willing to pay these naked fealty bribes, especially since for so long so many of them talked about these lofty goals besides just making money. Italians in the 1930s didn't care either when Mussolini made corporations an arm of the state. But that doesn't mean what is happening now is any different.

tptacek 2y ago
I'm pretty sure they do this every cycle no matter who wins, but Democrats notice and recoil when it happens after a Republican win, and vice versa. There's also a titration of the news media mining clicks from a framing that de-"normalizes" the Trump administration. But that ship has sailed: you could say "This Is Not Normal" in 2017, which was a fluke nobody saw coming, but Trump won decisively this cycle, and absolutely everybody knew what we were getting into. It's time for the media to retire the schtick.
- JeremyNT 2y ago
  Is it a "schtick" to report such brazen cronyism? I agree with the parent that Americans in general seem not to mind corruption, but we can't become so jaded as to think that it's not even worth mentioning that this is a problem.
  - tptacek 2y ago
    Referring to public company CEOs warmly greeting the newly elected president as "brazen cronyism" is a schtick, yes. It annoys me a lot that I have to point things like this out, because I think Trump is a grave problem for the country, but you have to beat him at the ballot box, and the schtick obviously isn't working there.
    - xorcist 2y ago
      Moving employee jurisdiction to suit the incoming administration is hardly the same as a warm greeting though, is it? In my country we have a different word for people giving large sums of money as gifts to incoming politicians, yet we seldom impose that definition on others. US politics is different and affects the climate here too, even though that population is around 20% or less of all Facebook users.
    - mythrwy 2y ago
      The way to win is with a more appealing set of policy proposals. More centralized government control, "Karen" style moralizing, DEI, gun banning, global warming, more bureaucratic (and ineffective) regulation, abortions everywhere and the entire "woke" platform apparently isn't it. I'd suggest defocusing on those and instead return to being the party of the "working man" and a stable economy. "Wealthy corporations want to force you to work 80 hours a week to enjoy unfair profits or they will replace you with immigrant labor" should be the vibe while never once speaking about things like systemic racism or climate change. Also "the rent is too damn high!". Definitely don't have the party fronted by people who appear airheaded or unintelligent. You have to speak to the concerns of the voter which I think are individual freedom and economic prosperity. Once in power you can do whatever you like of course, as is traditional in politics and Trump won't be any exception.
      - smolder 2y ago
        Unfortunately there is no party of "the working man" since the citizens united ruling opened the floodgates for legal & private bribery, and arguably before that. Bernie Sanders, whatever you think of his proposals and views generally, is the rare exception who stands against the bribery and acts as a true populist, and for that he was undermined and defeated as a presidential candidate. People know the democratic party is two-faced, and I don't see how that can ever change, with money being so essential to US politics now.
        mythrwy 2y ago
        MAGA didn't win with money. The democrats spent far more. They won with a message.

tptacek 2y ago

I'm pretty sure they do this every cycle no matter who wins, but Democrats notice and recoil when it happens after a Republican win, and vice versa. There's also a titration of the news media mining clicks from a framing that de-"normalizes" the Trump administration. But that ship has sailed: you could say "This Is Not Normal" in 2017, which was a fluke nobody saw coming, but Trump won decisively this cycle, and absolutely everybody knew what we were getting into. It's time for the media to retire the schtick.

JeremyNT 2y ago
Is it a "schtick" to report such brazen cronyism? I agree with the parent that Americans in general seem not to mind corruption, but we can't become so jaded as to think that it's not even worth mentioning that this is a problem.
- tptacek 2y ago
  Referring to public company CEOs warmly greeting the newly elected president as "brazen cronyism" is a schtick, yes. It annoys me a lot that I have to point things like this out, because I think Trump is a grave problem for the country, but you have to beat him at the ballot box, and the schtick obviously isn't working there.
  - xorcist 2y ago
    Moving employee jurisdiction to suit the incoming administration is hardly the same as a warm greeting though, is it? In my country we have a different word for people giving large sums of money as gifts to incoming politicians, yet we seldom impose that definition on others. US politics is different and affects the climate here too, even though that population is around 20% or less of all Facebook users.
  - mythrwy 2y ago
    The way to win is with a more appealing set of policy proposals. More centralized government control, "Karen" style moralizing, DEI, gun banning, global warming, more bureaucratic (and ineffective) regulation, abortions everywhere and the entire "woke" platform apparently isn't it. I'd suggest defocusing on those and instead return to being the party of the "working man" and a stable economy. "Wealthy corporations want to force you to work 80 hours a week to enjoy unfair profits or they will replace you with immigrant labor" should be the vibe while never once speaking about things like systemic racism or climate change. Also "the rent is too damn high!". Definitely don't have the party fronted by people who appear airheaded or unintelligent. You have to speak to the concerns of the voter which I think are individual freedom and economic prosperity. Once in power you can do whatever you like of course, as is traditional in politics and Trump won't be any exception.
    - smolder 2y ago
      Unfortunately there is no party of "the working man" since the citizens united ruling opened the floodgates for legal & private bribery, and arguably before that. Bernie Sanders, whatever you think of his proposals and views generally, is the rare exception who stands against the bribery and acts as a true populist, and for that he was undermined and defeated as a presidential candidate. People know the democratic party is two-faced, and I don't see how that can ever change, with money being so essential to US politics now.
      - mythrwy 2y ago
        MAGA didn't win with money. The democrats spent far more. They won with a message.