Thread: Republican National Convention

Let me begin by stating three things that might be useful to know in understanding what I am about to write:

1. I was born in Germany 1969. I visited East Berlin in 1988.
2. I lived in the US in 1993/94.
3. I am a conservative with a special interest in political extremism, especially in the inter-war period.

Why is that important?

1. Building a wall does not work. Ronald Reagan knew it, and his famous plea to Mr Gorbatchev to "Tear down this wall!" was essential to that wall actually coming down. If you need to resort to building walls, whether it be to lock up your own people, or keep away another, your political system is doomed. Like Germany, the US has benefited greatly from globalisation, and one aspect of globalisation is freedom of movement. When Mr Trump says, "Make America great again", not only does he portray today's America as a failure (which, by any standards known to the rest of the world is a pathetic joke), he is also appealing to angry, old white people to turn back the clock to the 1950s. And that is just not going to happen.
2. The US has changed fundamentally. The country I got to know was everything they tell you about the American dream. It was unbelievably friendly, it was open, and it was forward looking. I met some of the most optimistic people in my life, and quite a few of them. I had a chance to briefly speak with Dan Quayle, who was a personal friend of my landlady's, and although he had been depicted as the antithesis of a sane politician in my country (and, admittedly, almost everywhere else), he was a charming man, genuinely interested in listening to criticism of his party's politics. Whereas Mr Trump, by his own admission, only listens to himself. Now, if you take his businesses as a benchmark, that spells doom. He is a failed businessman, leaving in his wake thousands of ruined subcontractors, and defrauded working class people - and not just the ones who applied for a study program at Trump "university".
3. Donald Trump bears all the hallmarks of a fascist. When I say that, I do not mean that in the way left wing extremists use it. I mean it in the scientific sense of the word. There are excellent reasons not to use this term for modern day politicians, but in Mr Trump's case, it is actually fitting. Mr Trump is currently mixing left wing economic policies aimed at his sole constituency (angry, old white people) with a level of racism and nationalism not seen for decades. The words "freedom", or "liberty", cornerstones of what is considered to be America's essence, do not feature in his speeches. Instead he sounds like a talk radio host, inciting fear, anger, violence, but most of all divisiveness. He is not only not a RINO, he is not a Republican at all. Neither is he a Conservative. He is a right wing radical populist, with all that entails. Including, but not limited to, support of the likes of Vladimir Putin, Kim Jong Un, and David Duke. Not to forget other Kremlin sponsored radicals, such as Marine le Pen of France, or Viktor Orbán of Hungary.

If leading Conservative intellectuals like Avik Roy or William Kristol have the gravest concerns with Mr Trump, that should give his supports pause. But it does not. And that is making many people across the world nervous.

Because we live in dangerous times. Russia, Turkey, North Korea are just the better known examples. Right wing radical movements across Europe are less known, but equally dangerous. Saudi Arabia, and the rest of the region that was plunged into armed conflicts that will take decades to fix, too.

And the answers to this require in-depth knowledge of foreign policy, patient diplomacy, and level-headedness. Mr Trump is anathema to all three, and that makes him uniquely unqualified for being president of the United States. What the world needs now is a president that understands, and acts based upon, facts. Not feelings. And in this regard, the RNC was an abattoir. The GOP I used to know, and like, is dead. It was killed by a frenzied lynch mob stuck in a past that never existed and that is hell bent on putting a person in the White House that is most likely financed by the Kremlin, and whose policy proposals are worthy of a banana republic. Which is shameful, given how great a country America could be.

Okay I can't read it all.. I made it a few page's.
The choices we as Americans get in the presidential elections is somewhat a joke.
Over time dating back to the civil war, the framework of our great nation has been dismantled and reassembled to best suit corruption and greed. This to a point that to be an effective politician one would need to flourish in a corrupt environment.
I have not witnessed an honest politician in the USA actually enact the change that would turn things around.
They are impotent in this system.
Do you think it is the same system that was established??? No. Some of the most important elements are gone. Simply gone.
Vote for who? Oh I giggle at the wonderful selection, the colorful array is blinding! Lol
Vote for the "Lizard in a dress" who will continue the great charade that Barack, George, and Bill played star roles in? Or the (string of expletives) jerk who seems to be breaking the mold (and showing how dumb America has become) and "IF" he doesn't/isn't corrupted perhaps just may save us... talk about a leap of faith!
This is the first time in the last 3 presidents that I don't know who will win. Maybe it's a sign.
Just smile, search deep inside, take a deep breath, and vote.

Originally Posted by MikeT

Do you think it is the same system that was established??? No. Some of the most important elements are gone. Simply gone.

I'm curious what specific important elements of the political system do you see as gone away?

Not trying to be obtuse, but if you gotta ask..
Please pardon me.
As I read the heated debate, with posts flinging all sorts of nasty stuff with emotionally comprised abandon, about a topic that takes years of study and then years of wisdom to understand, I was swept up.. no flushed down a proverbial toilet. At this point I made the hasty decision to partake in the futility of communicating some of life's great mysteries in the space a comic strip needs to exist.
This was foolish of me. Please accept my apology for this, and also for not giving more explanation, examples, and citing my sources in a reference section.
Really actually I should've known better.

Have I ever told you about how I like to shave? Don't get around to it often enough, but I do like it, and love the cool gear, and the great people here.

Originally Posted by MikeT

Do you think it is the same system that was established??? No. Some of the most important elements are gone. Simply gone.

Originally Posted by gugi

I'm curious what specific important elements of the political system do you see as gone away?

Originally Posted by MikeT

Not trying to be obtuse, but if you gotta ask..

Ivan asked a valid question that should be easy enough to answer. I for one would be interested in learning what elements have gone missing, too.

Thank you.

Originally Posted by RobinK

Ivan asked a valid question that should be easy enough to answer. I for one would be interested in learning what elements have gone missing, too.

Thank you.

Noam Chomsky's Requiem for the American dream will help you understand what elements have gone missing, but basically it is everything we held dear 50 years ago.
Seems to me we're all going to hell in a handbag.
Here is a valid question for you Robin, the psychopath or the puppet? No pressure...

Originally Posted by RobinK

Let me begin by stating three things that might be useful to know in understanding what I am about to write:

1. I was born in Germany 1969. I visited East Berlin in 1988.
2. I lived in the US in 1993/94.
3. I am a conservative with a special interest in political extremism, especially in the inter-war period.

Why is that important?

[LIST=1][*]Building a wall does not work. Ronald Reagan knew it, and his famous plea to Mr Gorbatchev to "Tear down this wall!" was essential to that wall actually coming down. If you need to resort to building walls, whether it be to lock up your own people, or keep away another, your political system is doomed. Like Germany, the US has benefited greatly from globalisation, and one aspect of globalisation is freedom of movement. When Mr Trump says, "Make America great again", not only does he portray today's America as a failure (which, by any standards known to the rest of the world is a pathetic joke), he is also appealing to angry, old white people to turn back the clock to the 1950s. And that is just not going to happen.

I disagree. Building a wall works. Just ask those that were behind the Berlin Wall. It worked quite well. Just like the one in Israel. Just like the one outside the DNC. Communism didn't work. The wall was just a symbol of Communism. Now I don't believe that Trump will build a wall anyway. In order to do that he will need Congress to provide the funds needed to do it. IF Trump were to win, he would also need to keep republican control in congress. And he would have to convince them to do it. A long shot at best. And no, I don't think that demanding people respect your immigration laws are racist or a sign that our system of gov't is doomed. We are only doomed if we allow it to be consistently stepped on. Using inflammatory labels like "racist" is just a way to force your opposition to defend something other than the original topic. But yes, this issue of immigration does appeal more to older people because they are actually old enough to have watched things decline. The younger people have not been around long enough to have seen it. Lets sit back and watch Germany manage their current immigration problems. Something tells me that change is coming.

Originally Posted by Grazor

Here is a valid question for you Robin, the psychopath or the puppet? No pressure...

I am not sure that I would call Senator Clinton a psychopath. Either way, that is not a valid question. That is a loaded question. And do you still beat your boyfriend?

Originally Posted by OCDshaver

Building a wall works. Just ask those that were behind the Berlin Wall. It worked quite well. Just like the one in Israel.

An interesting analogy. Now, remind me again which part of Germany was the liberal democracy, and which one the terrorist infested theocracy?

Originally Posted by OCDshaver

Lets sit back and watch Germany manage their current immigration problems. Something tells me that change is coming.

Absolutely. And it will be crushed, uprooted, and its harbingers extermined. Because there is nothing Conservatives find more disgusting than proles perverting their beliefs. Ask Messrs Kristol, Romney, or Cruz about Mr Trump.

Originally Posted by RobinK

Ivan asked a valid question that should be easy enough to answer. I for one would be interested in learning what elements have gone missing, too.

Thank you.

Do I pick one flower from a field or just direct you there and suggest you bring along a camera?
Of course it was a valid question. But no, it is anything but an easy answer unless you are okay with getting only a glimpse of a very complicated subject.
My reply, though somewhat cryptic as I was attempting to get out of a foolish debate given the arena, was descriptive. It was satisfactory.
IMHO
If you want to become a scholar, don't try to achieve it in a wet shaving forum... go read a pile of books.
No I won't give a list. No I won't give detailed examples with cited sources.
As I said this subject is expansive, go find a place and the time to learn it for yourself.
I will give one piece of priceless wisdom that I'm fortunate to understand:
In most cases, the presence of fear renders intelligence irrelevant.

Please forgive me for my part in a foolish debate given the arena, and for any words though unintended may have been received negatively.

Oh, I think the wall will get built.

If Trump gets elected, there will be a movement behind him, folks on both sides are tired of Congress doing nothing, guys like Ryan, McConnell and Harry Reid will not be re-elected and the face of congress will change quickly.

Yes, with the current congress it will not, but they have poked the bear and that is what they are afraid of, and tried desperately to stop… They know its coming.

Both parties will change after this election, both parties have realized they are not being represented. Old Debbie “Mad Dog” Wasserman was just the first casualty.