The photos of the "crowds" at the tank parade remind me of when Bill Hicks would come on stage in an almost-empty club, scan the room slowly, and announce "I've had more people in bed than this" ...
When the president sends a cabinet member on TV to announce "We are using the military to liberate an American city from its elected leaders," where do you go from there. What is left to say. The idea of that being anything short of a near-universal "Wait, what the fuck is going on" moment proves how far we've backslid.
This is from 2022 but it was absolutely right. The practiced buffoonery of Trump 1, all the "just kiddings" and "seriously but not literallys" absolutely succeeded in desensitizing people who are hardly paying any attention to the harder stuff they always intended to do next. ...
The basic fallacy in chasing votes by being "tough on immigration" is that the modal American's position on the issue is "Deport the Bad ones and keep the Good ones," and they alone know who is which, and that simply does not translate into workable policy. So this kind of gestapo stuff horrifies some of the same people who cheered when Trump promised to do it. There are true sociopaths who love this, but "No, I meant only the BAD immigrants! Not my coworker/friend/neighbor!" is as likely a reaction as enthusiasm. You cannot do immigration policy that satisfies these people because what they want is nonsensical.
So by the time center-left parties fully commit to chasing the far right by "getting tough" on immigration, the backlash has already begun to build and they walk right into it. "I thought you people wanted this!" No, they want something impossible and convinced themselves they'd could have it - the "eat whatever you want AND lose weight!" of immigration policies.
It is hard to grasp but large masses of Americans are both racist/xenophobic AND not racist/xenophobic enough to applaud what Trump is doing. It's goldilocks shit, they want a level of racism/xenophobia calibrated exactly to their personal preferences, and you just can't make that policy. Don't try. ...
AP: Trump extends olive branch, invites Musk to White House cellar to taste some brand new amontillado ...
ts46064 says:
FJM Treatments are guaranteed to be funny.
Desargues says:
Thank you for not taking the first step down that road by writing 'teh funny.' We're all grown-ups here.
Apologies for the absence from the comments section. I be real busy tryin' to finish a paper. Goddam academia.
fuzzbuzz215 says:
Yeah but you still have good points.
daphne says:
second that thought, ts. FJM whichever wingnut has posted the LONGEST lament about health care passage. the longer, the more to skewer.
Pan Sapiens says:
…meanwhile somewehere in the darkest slimiest cesspit of Reactionary Backwardism, Rush Limbaugh howls and bays, the distended nipples of his quivering manboobs lactating in Outrage, as his deformed piglet mutant spawn Glenn Beck suckles on the Hate…
eww. Not funny.
Mark says:
Cheesy (my hairless rat), Dewey, Remy, Harley and Buster told me to tell you that rat stories are always funny. Of course they're all popcorning up and down the hallway!
waldo says:
So, the strategy employed by blocs of bloggers, choosing a truly stupid dumb-wing pundit and mocking the mercilessly doesn't appeal?
waldo says:
mocking *them*
kiki says:
Just talk about pant-shitting. Always does it for me.
J. Dryden says:
Time to boot up a marathon of the 2nd Season of FRISKY DINGO–something to get you back into the groove…
Amanda says:
FJM please.
Jeff says:
I don't know. After the FJM of the Alli bottle, you just can't top it. Nothing feels the same.
Andrew says:
oh oh oh, can you bring the kant drinking game back? That's always been my favorite.