Trump would have saved students from shooter, go Trump!

yes and it's already too late. we've got a troll in office. and yes i always stand by what i write and he is not fit to be in office. having said that, i've said many times that what he could (all the ridiculous ****) do for our country could be helpful in the long term much like witnessing or experiencing a car wreck can make you a better driver. but it hasn't quite worked out as i thought because the other side has done nothing to react accordingly so far. in fact they've been so bad at reacting to trump victory that he is the favorite right now for a repeat.

 

Well, just don't be racist.

 

impossible because i'm brown and if you're not white you're black. at least that's what the great lord kitchener, my fav calypso artist, said!

 

Can you clarify what you mean by “the other side”?

The DNC has done pretty well on special elections by running at a local level with local issues. I mean they got a transgender person elected running on infrastructure. It’s all for naught if they don’t take back the house but not sure what you mean there. Unless you are talking about liberal reactions to Trump in general.

I certainly think a lot of good “could” come of Trump showing us and the world how blatantly corrupt you can make the presidency of the USA. Strengthening the levers of our democracy AFTER he leaves office. That being said the risk there is assuming he cannot grab enough power to remain in office. Look at China recent events. Look at Italy. And of course our buddy up there in Moscow. Authoritarianism is on the rise and you know Trump wants what the other guy has desperately.

But I guess you just need to be more specific about what you think is an appropriate reaction to Trumpism that makes the country a better place. Trumpism is only 30 to 35% of the country at best. That’s a lot of the country in terms of population and elected representation. There will be some F ups in there if everything blanked under the 65% is considered the answer to Trumpism. Not sure what is expected with so many people and not that much power to begin with other than ALOT of voices singing different tunes at times.

 

I thought this was a TREMENDOUS attempt at satire on your part. It turns out it's a true story! Trump sharing this story to Howard Stern! I was left with my jaw open, hope the marble floor didn't suffer any damage!

 

the other side as meaning the other party and yes there has been some interesting results in the local/special elections but read the other 202 thread. almost no progress preparing for 2020.

 

As a progressive that cares about the things I care about, I don't want the DNC to even think about 2020 yet. There is nothing more important than taking back the House in 2018.

Even Republicans should think that's probably good for the country to offer some sort of check and balance on the Presidency. It will also force the Republicans and Democrats to work together on legislation more... you'd hope. I don't hold out hope for big things like immigration, but at least the small day to day things that a split government can achieve with some bi-partisan compromise.

2020 will take care of itself. Candidates will announce their candidacy shortly after the mid terms and we will have 2 whole years of campaigning again. 2 whole years for FoxNews to create another boogeyman/woman for the paranoid 35%.

 

we can discuss in the other thread but right now 2020 is trending in the wrong direction for many reasons. see the other thread and the linked article.

back on topic, i will say that these types of threads and reaction on social media strengthen trump. the dude won the election in part by cnn and other networks car wreck, ratings chasing, coverage that gave him so much exposure. folks would do well to not feed the trolls but they can't help themselves.

 

I respectfully disagree. I block trolls who post without sincerity. But, I think ipa is mostly sincere in his opinions, so I argue with him. I think we lose posters who are in the political minority on the boards because of shunning behaviors and yet the trolls manage to stick around and even get more trolly. So, if there's someone who I think is sincere, no matter how objectionable their position, I think that's worth conversation. I used to love arguing with @Dei even though he was an open white nationalist because he was honest about what he believed (which eventually got him the boot). Sorry if it degrades your surfing experience, but I don't think he's like RL or BTG who derail conversations.

It's because I read your post that I wrote what I wrote. You use this same argument again and again -- that we shouldn't be so sensitive to rhetoric if it isn't paired with policy -- and I think you're wrong, which is why I keep telling you so. The things he says has an impact on the national dialogue and therefore the things that voters will be looking for. That changes policy. It's not a vaudeville act to massage his ego. It's an intentional public relations campaign. OP started this thread so we can laugh at Trump's ridiculousness. And it was fun. But, I can only laugh at him for a couple of pages because this issue is serious. Any conversations about meaningful gun control measures have already been derailed and replaced with a debate on arming teachers. I'm not laughing. Mass shootings will continue, hand gun violence will continue, police brutality will continue -- because some guys at the levers of power are not willing to do what it would really take to get control of the situation.

 

If you agree re: weaponized trolling, can't you understand the predicament for his critics? "Just ignore the troll" is what you're advising, but that doesn't work either, in this case. He's the President of the United States. You can't allow the behavior to be normalized. Damned if you do, damned if you don't.

It would me more logical for you to criticize his enablers who excuse/overlook everything, rather than his critics, who are in an impossible situation.

 

And I respect your opinion, of course, JV. Heck, I respect ipaman's when he isn't "yelling" at members trying to have a discussion with him, while repeating his argument over and over again, often littered with insults. I don't consider him a troll and I don't have him on ignore, but there are times I really get tired of it and say so. I can't say the same thing about RL who, if he isn't a Russian bot, is certainly a troll. The only reason I don't have him on ignore is to see what the latest Russian dirt being spread on Facebook is, the only use he has here, as far as I'm concerned.

Bobby? I tried to stick with Bobby, but after having to read the same argument over and over, without end, it got irritating, then it got boring. He's far, far worse than ipaman. I give ipaman props when he deserves it, at least in my opinion. Trying to have a conversation with BTG is like sitting behind the wheel of a car stuck in the mud, wheels spinning and sinking deeper and deeper until it bottoms out. Putting him on ignore is the equivalent of putting boards under the wheels so you can get out.

 

we agree on the ridiculousness of his statements but disagree on how to react and respond to them. arming teachers is so ridiculous that i don't want to even discuss it as a serious topic. i don't want pundits to discuss it as a serious topic. i don't want voters to discuss it as a serious topic. but it seems no one agrees with my approach which is unfortunate imo. i think discussing it as a serious topic acts as an enabler to trumps act and undermines real progress. i think you agree with that last statement which is why i find the serious response to his "act" confusing. don't feed the trolls, don't argue with children, etc... all apply imo. but i get it, with today's 24x7 news cycle, social media capabilities, and extremely partisan country what i would like to happen (ignore it) is never gonna happen. instead the troll will create the news, create the headlines, create the topics, and you all are all complicit imo.

 

I agree with this 100%. CNN had a big part in giving Trump the platform he needed to win in stealing the news cycle every day.

It started with the primaries though. Fox and others allowed Trump to make a mockery of the debates, and garnish support with the deplorables & people who just love to watch Trump because he was must see TV.

The issue with "feeding the trolls" is not stepping in and correcting false information the trolls spread with a purpose of misinforming & propagating. If it was as simple as ignoring obnoxious posts, tweets, or videos, I would be 100% with you on ignoring. However its the false and inaccurate information that has me differing from your opinion. If people don't believe the news anymore to correct false information, its only up to their peers to let them know how they are being misled with factual information.

 

interesting take but responding to it is what normalizes it imo. i use the argue with a child reference purposefully. if a tantrum is ignored the child quickly learns to try something else. if it works or at least generates a response, they continue.

having said that it's impossible to convince the entire media, who is profiting from this nonsense, and millions of people to actually ignore the troll. i know it will never happen but i won't stop encouraging people to try. i've actually emailed several politicians with that take asking for them to try. i've emailed some local news to let them know i don't like that type of coverage and am willing to watch my local news somewhere else. i've stopped giving clicks to certain news sites, i don't have a facebook or twitter so that's a moot point. i've done the same with friends and families, encouraging them to ignore the trolling and focus on the real deal, which is usually local politicians and policy. i've seen a few others here take the local approach as well which is great. at the end of the day, i will not normalize too it just because i know everybody else won't stop.

 

Give that man a cape!



Trump probably should keep a F 22 ready on the Regan National tarmac.

 

I agree on the ridiculous idea of arming teachers. I think I've even prefaced comments on the idea before with something like "I hate to talk about this like it was a serious idea, but...". But I don't think it was detractors in this case that made it a conversation with their objections. It was all of Trump's enablers -- the NRA at CPAC (really, I should say Trump is the NRA's enabler here, because the idea is the NRA's and Trump is a follower on it), Ivanka and other White House officials repeating the message, politicians in Florida, Gov. Abbott and the Texas School Marshal program which I didn't even know about, etc. -- that made this the conversation.

 

This is the president @Bobbythegreat and @ipaman so vehemently defends.