President Trump 'now spends hours some mornings watching Fox News'

MaximumEffort433 · 3時間前

We're playing politics on hard mode, and who doesn't love a challenge?

MaximumEffort433 · 3時間前

I've got too much, donate to the ACLU instead. :)

MaximumEffort433 · 3時間前

That's where things start getting dicey. You're asking a very simple question with some very complex answers.

For example there's something to be said for cultural identity, and how Republicans (outwardly, not in terms of policy) present themselves as the party of pickup trucks, shotguns, and Jesus; while Democrats are the weird gay-pride parade city dwellers. We vote with our tribe.

Then there's the topic of single issue voters, and certainly there are a lot of people who voted not for Donald Trump this year, but for a conservative Supreme Court Justice, something no Democrat could offer (Except for President Obama, who offered conservative Judge Merrick Garland, but he was the wrong kind of conservative.)

Then there are the low information voters and the misinformed voters and the identity politics voters (Oh, you're a white heterosexual anglo saxon protestant too? You're getting my vote!)

It's a complex answer. For some more insight I would encourage you to read the Washington Post's Why the White Working Class votes against itself, for an informative, and disconcerting, discussion.

MaximumEffort433 · 4時間前

It's okay, it was revealed earlier today that "Jeff Sessions has the full faith of the President," so Sessions will probably be gone by the end of the week.

Remember the timeline:

Trump defends
Conway defends
Spicer blames
The official resigns
Trump defends

We're only at step one so far.

MaximumEffort433 · 4時間前

And the ACLU sued Obama for it, and lots of other stuff too.

Shouldn't the GOP receive the same treatment that Obama did?

MaximumEffort433 · 4時間前

The way this administration is moving? Yes.

Donald Trump can fix eight conflicting opinions into a four hour work day, the timescales they are a' changin.

MaximumEffort433 · 4時間前

what do they have to be seriously angry about?

Bringing this conversation full circle: They're angry about what they see on Fox news.

Let's not understate this point: Fox news is GOP propaganda full stop, and what its viewers see are the stories that the GOP wants them to see.

Just off the top of my head:

Death panels
Our military is weak
Vaccines cause autism
Violent crime rates are up
The atheist war on Christmas
Immigration is sharply on the rise
President Obama blew up the debt
There is massive levels of unemployment
The Democrat party is coming to take your guns
Black Lives Matter is a racist/terrorist organization
"Gay marriage is a threat to the sanctity of straight marriage"
The US Government is stifling freedom of religion RE: Bakeries
Lazy welfare queens are being subsidized by the gainfully employed
The "Ground Zero Mosque" is going to be used to organize terrorists
The knockout game is responsible for hundreds of deaths and injuries
Democrats want to allow homosexuals and pedophiles into girls bathrooms
President Obama is (a) muslim/Kenyan/Socialist/Communist/Terrorist/weak/Dictator
Climate change is a hoax to subsidize the solar industry and undermine coal and oil jobs
Mexicans are stealing American jobs, raping American women, and killing American citizens

Now let's take a moment and look at some of the polling around Trump supporters:

60% believe that millions of people illegally voted for Hillary Clinton.
67% think that the unemployment rate has risen.
73% think that the people protesting Trump were paid by George Soros.
59% think that President Obama wasn't born in the United States.
87% believe that he's not a Christian.
65% think that President Obama is a Muslim.
55% believed that stories of Russian meddling in the election were made up by the Clinton campaign.
63% think it's probably true that Donald Trump won the electoral college in a landslide.

1: Trump supporters and the "reality gap."
2: Two thirds of Trump supporters think Obama is a muslim.
3: These charts showing what Republican voters believe about the 2016 election are depressing — and telling

Do you see what I'm getting at here?

A majority of the people who voted for Donald Trump don't know what the fuck is going on.

One's perception of reality is bound to shape the choices one makes. Have you ever seen somebody reach to unscrew a lightbulb that they thought was cold, only to realize that it's still blazing hot? Or heard about someone putting diesel in their gas tank, or gas in their diesel tank? Voting for Donald Trump is not that far of a departure from "I thought the door was push, not pull." except there's one exacerbating factor: Fox news and the right-wing media.

Fox news lies to their audience. Intentionally, and regularly. Fox news is out there interviewing climate deniers and anti-vaxxers as though they deserve respect, they're inviting guests who exclaim that Obamacare is one step away from communism and jihadists are pouring over the southern border, they're citing studies and think pieces that "prove" unionization and raising the minimum wage will make people poor, they're telling their audience: "The frying pan is cool, go ahead and grab it!" followed up by a quick "Oh, the Democrats must have left the burner on without telling anyone."

Fox news and the right-wing media lie to their audience, and either through causation or correlation, their audiences are the least informed, and most misinformed, media consumers in the country:

Disclaimer: Causation/correlation was never established. Are people less informed because they watch Fox news, or do people watch Fox news because they're less informed? No one knows.

Fun fact: Fox news is America's most watched basic cable network.

So yeah, when we look at the world and try to figure out "Why the fuck would someone vote for Donald Trump!? Yeah, things aren't perfect, but they're sure as hell getting better! Why change horses mid-stream?" we are understandable confused, because our perception of the world is markedly different from theirs. More than two thirds of Trump supporters believe that the unemployment rate ROSE under the Obama administration! Why would anyone in their right minds vote for more of the same when the same means continuing to lose jobs? Anyone with a head on their shoulders can agree that would be stupid.

Perception is not reality, but perception does guide our actions (Go see /r/holdmybeer if you don't believe me.) When we've got a "news" organization like Fox intentionally and systematically manipulating the perception of their viewers, is it any wonder that their viewers might act differently than we would?

There's more to it than that, of course. Bill Maher pointed out that "Of the 14 states with the highest number of painkiller prescriptions per person, they all went for Trump. Trump won 80 percent of the states that had the biggest heroin problem, and the counties that he won in Ohio and Pennsylvania that went for Obama last time, are the ones that are wracked by opiate abuse." and all politics is local. A lot of the people who voted for Trump do live in shitty conditions, and have been "forgotten" by the Government (that's another discussion in itself, John Boehner), there are a lot of communities with high unemployment to whom "I'll bring back the ~~typewriter~~ coal jobs!" is an appealing message. This is not a simple black and white issue, even though it resulted in a black and white outcome.

MaximumEffort433 · 5時間前

Got an R9 290, can confirm the FineWine feature set.

MaximumEffort433 · 23時間前

I may just take you up on that, Dweezil.

MaximumEffort433 · 1日前

Thank you for the kind words. I don't know how much I'm actually accomplishing, but I'm glad that I'm at least making a good impression.

MaximumEffort433 · 1日前

Someone needs to hire you.

They really do.

MaximumEffort433 · 1日前

Couldn't have said it better myself.

MaximumEffort433 · 1日前

"PAY NO ATTENTION TO THAT BILL BEHIND THE CURTAIN," said the Great and Powerful Don.

"The treatment for your preexisting condition was inside you the whole time!"

MaximumEffort433 · 1日前

Here's why I am not so quick to jump to that conclusion: You're assuming that voters would have made a logical, rational choice to vote for the better candidate, even though they just proved to you that the voters wouldn't have made the logical, rational choice to vote for the better candidate.

Look, I supported Bernie in the primaries, I was into his campaign for $400 before the end (which isn't pocket change for me) but can I say definitively that he could have beaten Trump? No, I can't.

Sanders is a vastly more competent, more qualified human being than Donald Trump is, but so is Hillary Clinton. The voters already proved that qualifications and competence don't matter, how could you have expected them to choose differently under what ultimately would have been the same circumstances?

"Would you rather eat the saw dust or the cereal?"

"I'll take the saw dust."

Why do you think that offering waffles would have changed their choice?

MaximumEffort433 · 1日前

Promise the world, that's all that seems to matter now.

Look at some of the promises he made during his speech last night:

He's going to cut taxes and invest a trillion dollars in infrastructure and pass the "largest increase in military spending in American history" and reduce the debt and deficit.
He's going to protect clean air and water while cutting regulations and gutting the EPA.
He's going to improve education and cut the Department of Education and let Betsy DeVos run it.
His replacement for Obamacare is going to offer more coverage for more people at better prices while making more profits for the insurance companies and driving down individual costs.

You might notice in there that a lot of those promises contradict each other. Like cutting taxes, increasing spending, and driving down the deficit. The problem is that a lot of these issues require multi-step thinking, which is something that I'm increasingly beginning to believe the American people are unwilling or unable to do. Look, I can get up on stage and promise you the moon and the stars for an hour and a half, but it takes more than a good speech to be a good President. Lincoln isn't remembered for the Gettysburg address, he's remembered for the Gettysburg address and freeing the fucking slaves.

The biggest problem Donald Trump faces, the biggest question he can't answer is a simple one: How?

How are you going to pay for the trillion dollars in infrastructure? Oh, a public private partnership? Thanks for the buzzword, now answer the question.

How are you going to bring jobs back to America? Oh, supply side tax cuts? Thanks for the buzzword, now show me the policy.

How are you going to pay for the wall?

How are you going to protect clean air and water?

How are you going to round up and deport 11,000,000 people?

How are you going to revitalize the ~~typewriter repair~~ coal industry?

How are you going to replace Obamacare?

How are you going to fulfil your promises?

Donald Trump can make promises all day long, and a lot of people will be perfectly happy to point to those promises like they're achievements "Look, he promised to release his tax returns after the election, isn't that enough for you leftists!?" but I want to see how he will fulfil those promises.

If he can cut taxes, increase spending, drive down the debt, and bring back ~~typewriter repairmen~~ coal mining jobs then I will concede that he is good President, but I'm not giving him a gold star for a speech.

MaximumEffort433 · 1日前

Actions speak louder than words. A good speech is not enough to run a nation.

MaximumEffort433 · 1日前

True that.

MaximumEffort433 · 1日前

Words are cheap and Donald's are practically worthless.

Some of my favorites:

"I'll release my tax returns after the election!"
"I'll divest myself from my businesses after the election!"
"I'll put my investments in a blind trust after the election!"
"I'll appoint a special prosecutor to lock up Hillary Clinton after the election!"
"I'm going to drain the swamp."
"We're going to build a wall and Mexico is going to pay for it!"
"I'll repeal Obamacare on Day 1."
"I've got a plan to defeat ISIS in thirty days!"
"I'll sue all the women who accused me of sexual harrassment after the election."

Yep. Words are cheap.

MaximumEffort433 · 1日前

If you don't get it, you'll never get it.

I have to disagree, because as of a few months ago I didn't get it, and I sure as hell do now.

I've come to realize that much of American history is made up of periods where liberals drag conservatives kicking and screaming into the future, then we try to compromise for a while, then we go back to dragging.

"No, conservatives, we're not going back to England."
"No, conservatives, we're not making George Washington a King."
"No, conservatives, you can't form your own country with blackjack and slaves."
"No, conservatives, you can't keep denying women the right to votes."
"No, conservatives, we're not going back to the way things were before the depression."
"No, conservatives, literacy tests aren't constitutional."
"No, conservatives, you can't deny homosexuals the right to marry."

The names of the parties change from era to era, but it's always been liberals dragging conservatives against their will into a better future. I'm 32, I grew up in one of the in-between eras, where we all thought that compromise was a possibility, but I'm more and more realizing how mistaken I was about that. It's time once again for liberals and progressives to stop being nice and drag our country into the 21st century.

I hate being partisan, but the simple fact of the matter is that conservatives just aren't offering any good ideas any more. What's the compromise between "We need to stop climate change" and "Lol, climate change isn't a real?" Or "Homosexuals should have the right to marry" and "Homosexuals cause hurricanes?" It's like being in a group project with someone who didn't read the book and expecting them to do their share of the work.

MaximumEffort433 · 1日前

I agree with you, but let me play Devil's advocate for a moment: Many of us, maybe even most of us, believed that Republicans would come to their goddamn senses of their own accord. I too fell into this trap, thinking they would see the damage from the government shutdown, the damage that would be caused by the wholecloth repeal of the ACA, the damage that would be caused by gutting Wall Street regulations, and realize that voting for Republicans wasn't working for them.

Gerrymandering is only a problem if people are so bound by their own party affiliation that they would literally vote for an unqualified lunatic with neither the competence nor the experience to do the job.

Then millions of Republicans voted for an unqualified lunatic with neither the competence nor the experience to do the job.

I think many of us had much more faith in our fellow man before this election than we do now, I know I did. What happened in November was a punch in the gut, and one hell of a rude awakening for those of us who believed that, at the end of the day, Republican voters would make a rational, logical decision about their country and their future.

It's like baby proofing all the electrical outlets: No one thinks they need to baby proof a house full of grownups until half of them voluntarily electrocute themselves.

MaximumEffort433 · 1日前

I saw it as a de facto bribe.

"I didn't pay him off, I just gave him $300 for a tube of toothpaste, it wasn't a bribe at all!"

MaximumEffort433 · 1日前

I wish everyone would just calm down, President Bannon knows exactly what he's doing: He was a very successful banker at Goldman Sachs and the CEO of one of the largest online media companies in this nation.

If a globalist banker and mainstream media CEO isn't qualified to be President then who is?

/s

Seriously though, fuck President Bannon, I'd rather have President Cheney back at this point.

MaximumEffort433 · 1日前

The problem is the Fox news model of reporting and commentary.

Look at how Fox gives nearly equal time to climate deniers and climate scientists, they're being "fair and balanced," even though the climate denier really doesn't deserve to be on the air at all.

I get this from time to time when I update my list of bad shit that Trump has done and said. Folks will say "Now do one for Clinton!" or "And when are you going to make a list of the good stuff?"

Someone above compared coverage of Trump to coverage of ebola, which may be a bit hyperbolic, but sticking with the analogy fair reporting would look like this:

33% of discussion is about how ebola will kill you.
33% of discussion is about neutral statistics on ebola.
33% of discussion is about how ebola can help you lose weight in time for summer bikini season.

We need to move past a news media that is rife with fair and balanced false equivalence, that's what got us into this mess. It's not the job of the media to make the President look good (Fox) nor is it the job of the media to make the President look bad (Fox), it's the job of the media to report on what the President is doing and the context surrounding those actions.

If Trump wants better reporting then step 1 should be to be a better President.

MaximumEffort433 · 1日前

Yes, this. I think Maddow said it best when she explained "We've heard Donald Trump make teleprompter speeches before, those aren't the issue."

Here's the thing: His speech last night was intended to be a pep rally, a way to stop hemorrhaging support in the polls, and unfortunately a lot of "post speech interviews" suggest that he did. Donald Trump's problem was never making promises, he's the best at making promises, no one makes promises better than Donald Trump, his problem is keeping promises, and that's where he (and the media) fell down.

The one question that Donald Trump has never been able to answer is how?

How will you revitalize coal country?
How will you bring jobs back to America?
How will you replace Obamacare with something better and cheaper?
How will you fund the trillion dollars in infrastructure you're proposing?
How will you protect clean air and water while cutting regulations and gutting the EPA?

All Donald did last night was walk out on stage and read promises off a teleprompter with a few Republican talking points thrown in for good measure. But rather than looking at the substance of his speech, people looked at his tone, which is utter bullshit.

During the debates Hillary Clinton had to explain her policy proposals, debunk Donald's lies, paint her vision for what America would look like under her administration, defend eight years of Obama's policies, reach out for the Sanders supporters and the moderates, and do all of that without making a mistake. Donald had to go an hour and a half without calling her a bitch or saying anything racist. The fact that Donald Trump gets this grossly disproportionate double standard is disgusting. "Hillary you get a B+ for your thesis on the impact of social conditions in post-Civil War America and how those same conditions are reflected in the modern standard of living for those who reside in formerly Confederate states, and Donald you get a B for not eating the playdoh!"

Fuckin' Fox news man, it's dragging us all down.

MaximumEffort433 · 1日前

That's a good point, and if we're to go by historical evidence then the Federal Government can still take in new revenue when the highest marginal tax rate is in excess of 90%, as it was under Eisenhower.

As for Reagan, let's also remember that he tripled the national debt, so maybe we shouldn't be looking to him for inspiration.

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"PAY NO ATTENTION TO THAT BILL BEHIND THE CURTAIN," said the Great and Powerful Don.