Louis CK isn’t an incredibly political comedian. He talks about hot-button issues here and there, and I would assume he leans more progressive/Democratic, but in the past, he’s made a point of staying out of everyday partisan rancor. But in a new post on his website, Louis CK went HARD after Donald Trump. It seems like people have just woken up to Trump’s unhinged lunacy this month, perhaps because Trump started winning primaries in a big way. You can read Louis CK’s full, long-winded rant about Trump here, but here’s the basic gist (I made some edits for space and profanity):
Please stop it with voting for Trump. It was funny for a little while. But the guy is Hitler. And by that I mean that we are being Germany in the 30s. Do you think they saw the sh-t coming? Hitler was just some hilarious and refreshing dude with a weird comb over who would say anything at all.
And I’m not advocating for Hillary or Bernie. I like them both but frankly I wish the next president was a conservative only because we had Obama for eight years and we need balance. And not because I particularly enjoy the conservative agenda. I just think the government should reflect the people. And we are about 40 percent conservative and 40 percent liberal. When I was growing up and when I was a younger man, liberals and conservatives were friends with differences. They weren’t enemies. And it always made sense that everyone gets a president they like for a while and then hates the president for a while. But it only works if the conservatives put up a good candidate. A good smart conservative to face the liberal candidate so they can have a good argument and the country can decide which way to go this time. Trump is not that. He’s an insane bigot. He is dangerous.
…Please pick someone else. Like John Kasich. I mean that guy seems okay. I don’t like any of them myself but if you’re that kind of voter please go for a guy like that. It feels like between him and either democrat we’d have a decent choice. It feels like a healthier choice. We shouldn’t have to vote for someone because they’re not a shocking c–t billionaire liar. We should choose based on what direction the country should go.
I get that all these people sound like bulls–t soft criminal opportunists. The whole game feels rigged and it’s not going anywhere but down anymore. I feel that way sometimes. And that voting for Trump is a way of saying “f–k it. F–k them all”. I really get it. It’s a version of national Suicide. Or it’s like a big hit off of a crack pipe. Somehow we can’t help it. Or we know that if we vote for Trump our phones will be a reliable source of dopamine for the next four years. I mean I can’t wait to read about Trump every day. It’s a rush. But you have to know this is not healthy. If you are a true conservative. Don’t vote for Trump. He is not one of you. He is one of him. Everything you have heard him say that you liked, if you look hard enough you will see that he one day said the exact opposite. He is playing you.
…Again, I’m not saying vote democrat or vote for anyone else. If Hilary ends up president it should be because she faced the best person you have and you and I both chose her or him or whoever. Trump is not your best. He’s the worst of all of us. He’s a symptom to a problem that is very real. But don’t vote for your own cancer. You’re better than that.
That’s just my view. At least right now. I know I’m not qualified or particularly educated and I’m not right instead of you. I’m an idiot and I’m sure a bunch of you are very annoyed by this. F–king celebrity with an opinion. I swear this isn’t really a political opinion. You don’t want to know my political opinions. (And I know that I’m only bringing myself trouble with this sh-t.) Trump has nothing to do with politics or ideology. He has to do with himself. And really I don’t mean to insult anyone. Except Trump. I mean to insult him very much. And really I’m not saying he’s evil or a monster. In fact I don’t think Hitler was. The problem with saying that guys like that are monsters is that we don’t see them coming when they turn out to be human, which they all are. Everyone is. Trump is a messed up guy with a hole in his heart that he tries to fill with money and attention. He can never ever have enough of either and he’ll never stop trying. He’s sick. Which makes him really really interesting. And he pulls you towards him which somehow feels good or fascinatingly bad. He’s not a monster. He’s a sad man. But all this makes him horribly dangerous if he becomes president. Give him another TV show. Let him pay to put his name on buildings. But please stop voting for him.
[From Louis CK’s site via Variety]
Well… those were a lot of words. And I edited out, like, a third of it. The whole piece reads like Peak Godwin’s Law, which is that the longer the internet conversation, the more likely someone will make a Hitler/Nazi comparison. I actually like what Louis has to say here, that he understands the “f—k it all” inclination of voting for Trump, that it’s like scratching a terrible itch or hitting the crack pipe. I like what he says about the GOP putting up a candidate that best represents what they actually stand for, like Kasich. I even like what he says about Trump being a sad man. But I do think all of this is moot because quite honestly, this is a conversation the GOP needs to be having internally, and it’s a conversation they’ve needed to have for years/decades. And if Trump burns down the GOP, then so be it.
Photos courtesy of WENN.
I wish people would stop with the ‘Kasich is sane’ line. He’s as extreme as the rest of them, just quieter about it.
After that piece Samantha Bee did about him on her show and his fight against women’s rights, I don’t want him anywhere near a higher position of power. Sadly the others seem even worse. I don’t think he’s “sane” by any means, but maybe slightly less crazy than the options.
Exactly. Only in the current GOP is Kasich sane or even close to moderate/in line with most Americans. The whole bunch are scary and what’s even scarier is that Trump could ride his demagogue appeal all the way to the White House.
Yeah no. Kasich IS sainer compared to Ted Cruz and Trump. Is this really even a question?
His views on Immigration prove that he’s less reactionary than the other two idiots.
I’m not sure any of the other candidates are much better than Trump. They’re just quieter and less out there. The Republicans have little substance to their debates but spend all their time attacking each other like a bunch of kids. The democrats are debating issues at least. None of them seem much good though. It’s like you end up voting for the least of the worst.
You pick immigration, others pick women’s rights. He’s as extreme and conservative as the rest of the men currently topping his party.
Anyone is better than trump. And kaish too. Trump is hitler. He thinks we peaceful and loving muslims are all bad.
Actually I love america. There are things that I dont like about america but that doesnt mean i hate america. Eg Women are allowed to show off their bodies freely and peaple can have sex with anyone. This is dirty. But it will change INSHALLAH.
DONT VOTE FOR TRUMP. VOTE FOR HILARY.
I’ve lived under Kasich in Ohio and he really is just as extreme as the rest, he’s just calmer about it. He is however less reactionary, which is the only positive. I don’t see him having a chance though b/c he’s flip-flopped on too many moral issues (gay marriage, medicare expansion, etc.) for the base to vote for him.
my family lives in ohio too. my dad is a retired state employee and my aunts are teachers. they do not consider kasich sane in any respect! my dad’s pension benefits have been slashed to the point where my mom now can’t retire for another 5 years. she planned her whole life to retire at age 60 (all saving, few vacations, no house projects, no spending that was not necessary for her 40 year career) and can’t b/c one of his big policies kicked spouses off pension medical insurance. she can now receive insurance b/c of the affordable care act but – it is not affordable with some of the state laws. my aunts say he has destroyed the education system in his 5 years as governor to the point where they are considering retiring from public education and moving to private schools for their last 5-10 years before full retirement.
Kasich’s views are more in line with the mainstream party platform – yes, they are extreme and disturbing when analyzed but he is saner than Ted “Vaginas are evil!” Cruz and the Marco Rubio robot.
Yeah this. I don’t think anybody is saying that Kasich is moderate–I mean, he IS a conservative running on the Republican ticket–just that he’s not completely batshit and OTT theatrical like the rest of these clowns.
Except he is “vaginas are evil!”.
He’s defunded PP and wants to ban abortions with no exceptions. He just sounds like an adult, but his policies are going to affect you more than his words.
@INeedANap- Again, he’s conservative. I don’t expect him to veer from the party platform and I don’t see him as a centrist by any stretch. That being said, if I was a Republican he’d probably get my vote.
THANK YOU.
Frankly, I think that makes him more dangerous than Drumpf. Drumpf is a clown and everyone knows it, but Kasich is sneaky and underhanded.
Kasich pawns off his governing responsibilities to his cronies, defunds programs to help and feed the poor, and thinks women’s wombs are property of the state.
A President Kasich would be incredibly damaging to this country.
INEEDANAP – totally agree! My opinion of Louis CK just went into the toilet. He’s not giving good advice here at. all. Not as smart as he thinks he is.
NO YOU NEED TO UNDERSTAND THIS NO ONE NO ONE IS MORE DANGEROUS THEN TRUMP!!!
The man had his audience attacking young black people for standing there, white protesters who went to protest his not coming out hard against the KKK got physically attacked, he wants to destroy the 1st admendent, demand our military commit war crimes, ban Muslims and this weekend his audience gave him the Hitler salute. Since his campaign started the number of white supremess attacks have increased across this country. The man is a terrorist and the biggest threat to not only this country but the world!
Kaisch has extreme views but he understands and respects the laws and processes of this country!
Seriously I don’t understand how any educated person can’t see that no one is more dangerous then Donald trump.
It’s Drumpf’s supporters that are terrifying. I think all sane people know Drumpf is a con man who doesn’t really believe what he says and truly only cares about himself and getting attention. His supporters DO believe all that stuff, though. I’m afraid a Drumpf presidency will make his supporters believe it is open season to attack minorities and immigrants (al immigrants- not just undocumented ones) and try to get rid of “political correctness.”
I’m originally from ohio and I think it’s hilarious/scary that the other candidates are so far out there that kasich looks like the sane and normal one. he’s just as batshit as the rest of them, he’s just stealthy about it.
You have to put up one republican and the reality is Kaisch is currently the sanest of the four on the stage. Any true sane decent moderate republican has been driven from the party or office- I say this as a liberal who grew up in a red state. I mean I would never vote for Kaisch but Jesus at least he isn’t engaging in the penis size discussion.
I’m a CK fan but this is incredibly frustrating ( as well as poorly written, dude, brevity is a good thing!)
Just because the company he’s keeping Kasich may appear to be a legitimate candidate with sane views . HE’S NOT!! His views on women’s rights and immigration are turn of the century thinking. The fact that he’s viewed as an electable moderate shows how bizarre the GOP field has become. I hate the bandwagon that declares celebs should keep their political views to themselves but in this case I’m all for it!!!
+1 on brevity. That was one long blog from CK.
Thank You!!!!
Seriously, the last sane republican in the primaries was Jon Hunstman, and he had to lose to a bunch of lunatics. He’s the only GOP candidate of the past 10 years to say that evolution is real and that the Earth is more than 6000 years old… I need a drink!
He also worked for Obama because he believed in putting country first. I don’t believe in his politics but I respect him.
Not going to lie I sort of what him and Elizabeth warren to team up as a third party option I know they are opposite parties but I feel like together they could do some real good and at least want too.
Louis CK lost all my respect today.
Trump 2016
JILL STEIN 2016!
The whole world is living a period that resembles a lot the post First War Era, with a crescent xenophobia, anti-semitism, anti-muslin feeling. Trump reflects that, he reflects a part of the population who is against gays, women rights, foreigns, basicly against everything that “democracy” and “freedom” means.
“The whole world is living a period that resembles a lot the post First War Era, with a crescent xenophobia, anti-semitism, anti-muslim feeling. ”
I completely agree with the above statement.
However, I don’t think trump has actually said anything about gays or women’s rights that was minimizing. He will never say anything anti-semtic because it will insult his daughter and grandchildren.
I am not for Trump in anyway and I am probably considered an extreme liberal. Having said that, Trump has stood up for the good work that Planned Parenthood has done.
I think the biggest problem with Trump is he is willing to do anything to be elected. Does he believe 100% of what he is saying .. I don’t think so… He doesn’t actually endorse much except horrible mexican and islamic views.
I am confused by how Trump had Bill Clinton, Samuel Jackson and other such people, on speed dial for golfing and party invitations yet was hiding these very polarizing views.
It doesn’t match…
The biggest issue is what does America do after this Presidential race. In my opinion it is Hillary’s to lose. Do we try to fix our culture ? The actual problems of prejudice and zenophobia will still exist. In my opinion America needs to invest more in educatiion. The educated are not flocking to Trump.
It doesn’t match because he is a bald faced liar playing to the lowest common denominator to get elected.
@Denisemicm George HW Bush was a supporter of PP and adamantly pro-choice (he’s also the one who called out Reaganomics for what it was by labeling it trickle down economics that don’t help anyone bu the rich) but then he was offered the VP slot. He sold his soul to become VP and kept up the party line to become POTUS. If someone who may have had scruples at one point of time made that sort of change for power, do you really think Trump won’t just continue to pander to the fringe element so long as he and his own are protected?
Huge migration of people, etc. It’s a shame that the GOP don’t field decent candidates. It’s the fault of the tea party, really. It’s worse all round for democracy, even tho I hate those guys.
Yes, theres definitely a global shift towards far right wing politics. Its extremely disturbing.
This also happens when you have more poor people than middle class & rich people. Poverty and the lacks of good employment makes people volatile, angry and prone to blame immigrants for these problems. Look at modern Greece as an example. For hundreds of years immigrants have been blamed for what aisles failing countries but in reality in the rich demi-gods that have dug the hole. Depression was prevalent before/after WW1 and that depression lead to the rise of Hitler, Mussolini and other Fascists at the time. We just came out of a deep recession and the Republican party became the party of the angry white populace that lost many good jobs. People should be angry but we as humans have never figured out who we should blame, we stupidly blame the wrong people and in the end, it always leads to bad political choices.
@isabelle this is exactly how Hitler & the Nazis rose to power. This isn’t really a case of Godwin’s Law because Trump really is using the Nazi playbook blaming all those non-WASPs, high falutin’ educated folks and people who aren’t “real” Americans for all that ails the country
I agree. We have a Trump here in Brazil, and his popularity is increasing in a very, very scary way.
Did anyone see the pics of him at a rally having his supporters raise their hand up (in an almost Hitler salute) and make a pledge to him. It was such a scary sight. And it just shows how gullible people are. How easily lead the can be. How someone spouting off the hate they feel inside and they will follow them this blindly without question. He started off doing this mess as a joke. NOW he believes his own silliness.. and that is the first sign. I’m more afraid of the people that support him. The people pushing and attacking those that don’t.
This country better wake up and see where we are heading. This is beyond frightening.
Yes. I thought it was fake at first, part of me still hopes it is. Are people doing this knowing what it looks like? Do they just don’t care? Do they seriously think Hitler was on the right track? Is it all a weird troll? All of the possible answers are messed up. Canada is too close to America for my liking at this point.
It’s real. There’s a video on CNN
Moving to Canada took a huge surge on search engines after the Super Tuesday last week.
edit: I think it was called Super Tuesday, I might be wrong.
Yes, and it scared the h### out of me. I am frightened for the first time in my life living in America right now due to this election.
I saw these pictures and while I previously suspected Drumpf was trolling us, this confirmed it for me. He will say and do anything – ANYTHING – to make headlines. I think he knew that Cruz was going to do well in the primaries on Saturday and so he had to make sure he took away from this by ensuring *he* was still headline news. What better way to do this, than something as shocking as everyone at his rally doing what looks like a “Hitler salute”.
He knows exactly what he is doing. I actually don’t fear him but I do fear his supporters and what they are doing to this country.
This was truly terrifying. As a mother of two young boys, I am so horrified at the thought of DT as our commander in chief. Who knows what the F*** kind of war he’s going to bring us into? I have actually started investigating getting my Irish citizenship and getting the F out of here if he’s elected.
Seasoned immigration lawyers will say the time to create your options is when you can, not when you want to … good luck!
There’s quite a demand for Irish passports in the UK at the moment too, from people who would lose their freedom of movement rights if the UK were to leave the EU. Everyone in Northern Ireland, and the millions of Brits of Irish descent, are entitled to one. Maybe some demand from the USA too by the sound of it! Trump is simply dreadful and totally unfit in every way to be anywhere near the Presidency. It’s like a bad joke but the punchline could be anything but funny. His fellow wannabe nominees seem equally dire though.
But are the others better? I’m not American, but from an outsider’s perspective, Ted Cruz seems even worse than Trump. His positions are equally awful, but he’s a career politician who knows how to wrap them up nicely. At least if Trump gets the vote, that’s a garantee the Democrats will win, which seems like the only good think that could happen.
I’d still like to see Sanders win.
Hey, girl, what are you typing on? Lol
Agree that the other Republican candidates are almost as problematic, but I still think Trump is more dangerous. He’s giving a “legitimate” voice to racism and sexism again.
The touch screen on my phone is broken so it’s hard to type 😀
Unfortunately I don’t think it’s a foregone conclusion that HRC beats trump which is beyond scary
Cruz isn’t better or worse…they’re both horrifyingly bad. And I wouldn’t say trump getting the nom guarantees a dem to win, which terrifies me. I’ve been shocked all through the primaries that so many people will vote for a hate filled bigot like Trump. It’s embarrassing what’s happening politically here. My husband is overseas for a year and he gets asked quite often if America is really serious about Trump as president. It’s embarrassing enough to see it happen in motion here, even worse when you realize the rest of the world is watching in bewilderment. Trump’s commercial that played where I live didn’t even discuss any of his plans or political stand points, it was just a montage of people saying things like “he says what we’re all thinking”. And he’s made it this far with little political savvy, he just bashes people. Hell, he’s openly being supported by known KKK members and somehow people are still voting for him! We’re in a pretty scary situation with him poised to get the nom, he spews too much hate and too many people are buying into it
@Nick. Exactly. Hillary has proved time and again that she is not a bullet proof candidate. A lot of people (myself included) just don’t like her. They don’t believe her. Same as Trump. She just isn’t playing to the lowest common denominator like Trump is. He has found a group of the disenfranchised and begun saying what they want to hear.
Loudly.
I would vote for a baboon at this point over Trump but I’m not convinced that everyone feels that way. Scary
@SJO – I completely agree with everything you wrote. This election for me is choosing the lesser of two evils (which is HRC). I have several fears regarding a HRC presidency, the biggest being her appetite for war.
Ted Cruz in my mind scares me more thanTrump. Trump is a arrogant blowhard who will destroy the US economy domestically-BUT I could see the other gov’t departments (defense, state, etc) working together to undermine him.
Cruz is a religious zealot who would destroy the Middle east because he sees it as ‘god’s mission’ and he’d surround himself with people who would turn the US into a theocracy.
I can’t believe I’m agreeing with McConnell, but he described picking between Trump and Cruz as “well, would I rather be shot or poisoned?” The entire GOP field terrifies me.
You are correct. Unbelievably, all of the other Republican candidates are even worse.
Trump is pro-choice, pro-gay marriage, and pro-single payer for healthcare (i.e., the public option). That is why he never talks about these things, and why so many conservative Republicans are convinced that Trump is actually secretly an ally of Hillary Clinton and that his run is a tactical move to get Hillary elected President.
Drumpf’s health care reform proposal is not single payer and it is almost identical to Cruz’s proposal
My take away from the Trump success is that the conservatives and evangelicals voting for him put their racist, sexist desires before their “morality” when it suits them. Hypocrites.
Bingo!
I was listening to NPR the other day and the topic that morning was how much support Trump is getting from the evangelicals. They interviewed an evangelical pastor (or reverend? Correct me if I’m wrong) on why he supports Trump. It was beyond ridiculous. He was praising Trump for his moral growth and how his changes of opinion show strength of character and how he sticks to what he believes in blah, blah, blah. Funny how these people will twist reality to hear what they want to hear or believe what they want to believe.
I don’t believe Trump has stepped foot in a church, unless it was for a wedding or funeral, in the last 50 years. Someone with that ego, who loves himself that much, who lives in a gold palace dedicated to himself could not look up to a god. He is his own god.
Its not an absurd stretch. A boisteorous adulterous man who is fixated on controlling womens appearance and bodies, and who repeatedly makes it clear that money is his only God is a perfect fit for evangelicals. Just google any random evangelical leader and tell me that if Trump hadnt been born with a silver spoon he wouldnt be a televangelist himself.
Gnat you said it all! Exactly! where did their Christian values and morals go? Out the window.
It just scares me how I can see my friends and acquaintances on FB support this guy. At least I know which friends are sexist, racist, bigots and just plain gullible. Terrifying.
@GNAT their racist & sexist values are their “morality” – they are all part & parcel to their “good Christian values” The only reason the rest of the GOP clown car is mad is that Trump isn’t blowing the Christian Dominionist dog whistle with any subtlety, he’s coming right out and saying it – legitimizing & expanding the fringe to a point the establishment can no longer control.
i like that he isnt on some high horse and understands that people loath celebs whose success is very often achieved with the same methods of Trump talk about politics. i also like that he isnt 100% democrat or 100% republican.
i dont think the Hitler comparisions are helpful, i think they are damaging. the people not voting for Trump will just agree and nod and the people voting for Trump will only see this as a mainstream media attack and it will make their support stronger.
I don’t see how any supporter cannot see the similarities.
History repeats itself because we refuse to see the truth that is in front of us.
I think the Hitler comparisons are spot on. Trump plays into the same fear-mongering xenophobia, racism, and sexism that Hitler and the Nazi party did in the 1930s.
Most of the time, I think that Nazi comparisons are unnecessary – but entirely apt here. Unfortunately.
that wasnt my point. my point is that Hitler comparisons wont drive people away from Trump it will only make the people who support him or are thinking about it feel more strongly about him.
Trump was calling for a national registry of Muslims in America. The Hitler comparison is very apt.
Trump supporters are locked into their support for him. If his horrible behavior hasn’t made them run away, nothing will. They have seen the bottom of the barrel, and they see their own reflections in the scum.
Seriously! Donald Trump will say something stupid and offend the wrong person and there will be war. It’s so scary that people keep voting for him.
“Scary?”
Yes, scary.
While the Grand Old Party is definitely old, but it’s far from grand, especially when Trump is your front runner.
Let Trump burn down the current Republican party, but don’t let him bring down the rest of the country along with it. That party is completely broken and can’t continue as they are now.
From Maureen O’Dowd’s NYTimes article: (Trump) has a nasty gift for dragging everyone down to his own vulgar level. Presidential campaigns should not be about belittling people’s appearances or bragging about your own appendages. Whatever his flaws, President Obama has reinforced our desire for class in presidents.
Everything you said, and then some!
-TheRealPinky
Agreed.
Kasich is about the only non-insane choice for the GOP though and he’s trailing just about everwhere. I honestly don’t think the country would be BETTER if Cruz or Rubio gets the nomination over Trump—they’ve all shown themselves for what they really are (thanks to Trump honestly). I would LOVE if Kasich was nominated, and I say that as a liberal living in Ohio who vehemently disagrees with everything Kasich has done.
Co-sign by another liberal living in Ohio.
I thought it was a good read, but trying to speak to anyone supporting Trump is like trying to talk to a brick wall. These aren’t people who can be swayed by logic or facts, they’re angry bigots who don’t feel they have to hide it anymore.
I think we need to stop trying to change their minds, and start reminding everyone else that the way to stop him is to vote against him. Anyone who complains about him, and then sits home without voting, is part of the problem.
Lucy2, you took the words right out of my mouth. Everything you stated. There’s no reasoning with his supporters and trying to make them see the insanity. There’s only the rest of us coming together and voting against him.
^^^^^^^^^^^*************^^^^^^^^^^^THIS!!! ^^^^^^^^^^****^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^********
Lucy2…I wish your comment could be in all caps a bold letters so everyone reads it. I’ve been involved in political campaigns and grass roots advocacy, and your comment is absolutely election gospel. The Trump supporters are a lost cause – people need to concentrate on the “yes” and “maybe” votes for other candidates.
It’s IMPERATIVE to actually get them to the polls to vote. It’s not enough to watch the spectacle and then think someone else will fix things.
People shouldn’t even think about Trump because there is zero logic behind the people supporting it. Its all feeling, emotion, misplaced anger and for some, racism & Nationalism.
So true!
THIS!!
Kasich is a moron!!! I live in Ohio. He’s single handedly completely screwed our state with issues regarding Planned Parenthood and education. He’s just as nutty as Trump. I wouldn’t vote for him. I will not vote for him.
I don’t know, perhaps it’s because I’m a cancer survivor, but I breezed right past the Godwin-ing and it was “don’t vote for your own cancer” that brought me up short. It made me sad because it’s so horribly, horribly close to the truth bone.
the media is completely bias and using Trump as shocking but “harmless”entertainment. There is a rise in racially motivated attacks. We are leaving for good because our family is not prepared to have Trump or Hilary as president. After the war criminal Bush then very a disappointing Obama, this will be too much. I want my kids to grow up in a place that is a lot calmer and less polarising. It seems that Trump supporters want the 1950’s back.
Where will you go, or be able to go?
Trump supporters want the 1920s back but don’t realize that this is what they want.
Good luck on your move. The bad news is, there are only a very few countries that are not losing their sh*t at the moment.
Thank you! It’s true. I don’t want to say where I’ll be going cause I don’t want to jinx it. But it’s a country that values Socialism. It’s a financial loss for us to move but it’s what best for our family. We were contemplating it for the past few years and since the end of last year it just made sense to just do it!
I’m in Canada, and we threw out our right winger last fall. It took years to be able to muster up the energy to do it, though, and he left a lot of damage that will take a long time to undo.
That said, Canada’s housing bubble seems to grow and grow and grow, and if/when it bursts, there will be hell to pay in the economy, especially coming on top of the decline in oil prices hurting the major province of Alberta. Then we’ll see what comes out of the woodwork.
People focus too much on the President. If Obama was disappointing to you, you have to keep in mind that the Dems were lazy and didn’t vote in the off-year elections that determined the congress Obama would have to work with. It isn’t enough just to vote every 4 years for President. People have to vote at least every 2 years (House of Representatives only have 2 year terms). They have to vote for Governors and state level legislatures. In 2010, the election dictated who would have control of the redistricting that occurred after the census. That has had long lasting effects on congressional districts.
If you are concerned about Hillary, give her a liberal congress and they will write the legislation that she will be given to sign. The Presidency is guided, limited and enabled by the congress they are given to work with.
Totally agree Tiffany.
The fun this election has been in my family lol. My father is that rarest of people, a Black conservative. Not a Republican, but he loathes Hillary. He still hasn’t said he’s voting for Trump, but no way will he vote for Hillary. Meanwhile mom is in the tank for Hillary. And the arguments get pretty heated. I think they just agreed to disagree and dropped the whole thing. But after hearing them discuss Hillary and Trump, I don’t want to vote for either candidate.
My sister and husband are the same. Her husband is a Republican, but not a far right Christian tea party zealot. She is a Democrat who is voting for Hillary. Her husband loathes Trump and agreed his party needs to move with the times over social issues or they will never get back into the White House with the rhetoric going on in the debates.
I am in the exact same boat as your father. (Conservative- NOT republican, dislike Hillary, do not want her elected. Believe all the GOP noms suck, esp. Trump). I really don’t want to have to abstain from an election, I still haven’t decided what I’ll do.
My mother and sister and I are extremely liberal- I’m Bernie, my sister is Hilary we will all vote for whoever gets the democratic nomination because we respect the policy of both.
My uncle is a republican- not for social views, on women’s right to chose, planned parenthood and stuff like that he leans liberal feels it’s none of his business what women do. He is republican more because of tax plans and he likes the idea of less federal and more state governing and the last time I went home to visit he was almost in tears about what to do. He can’t get behind any of the canidates he thought a few were ok but he kept saying it won’t be trump right? He said if it is he’LL have to vote Hillary and it’s almost painful for him. His friends are all the same way they don’t know what to do they are republican but not this group.
I have to be honest I feel sorry for some republicans (not the elected people they deserve this) but those moderate republicans who would just rather more local then federal government who aren’t all that big on the social issue they don’t have a John Huntsman or John McCain anymore the party destroyed them and now it’s all these crazy people who are the party of no. I don’t agree with them but my god if i saw the people that I politically aligned with taken over by extremist, hold debates that didn’t discuss issues but instead penis size I’d be a mess.
The party of no deserve this so much the American people don’t, and frankly we haven’t deserved the behavior for a long time. I do think there will be a brokered convention though.
Exactly – there is whole segment of socially liberal/fiscally conservative moderates who have no one to vote for. There is no middle anymore, and that’s a massive problem.
The lessons taught in history class didn’t get through to everyone.. if we don’t learn from history, we’re bound to repeat it.
One thing that comforts me is because only a small fraction of people vote in the Republican Party primaries he’s only really getting 10% of the American votes. It’s not a phenomenon he’s just exploiting the racist elements in he Republican Party that most other GOP candidates court with coded language. He’s not even getting a majority of Republican voted they just can’t angrier on anyone else. I hope this convention is brokered and the party really has a meltdown (it would be fascinating to watch) then maybe it can purge itself of its racist, xenophobia.
Now as to what he said about having balance in theory sure but as a working black woman, I really don’t have the privilege to live under Republican Party rule whether it be Trump, Cruz, Rubio, or Kasich.
That is what I have to keep reminding myself that most people don’t vote in the primaries it’s the extremists. Heck in some cases actual republicans don’t vote because they are registered and can’t.
The media is making this feel worse then it is because it is a breakdown of society. As a women with a heart and values I can’t live in a country run by these people. I hope they broker the convention to- because one it would be just fascinating to watch, two it could get rid of that disgusting racist element from having a strong voice in our politics (at least I hope).
I’m absolutely astounded by this whole thing. Trumps candidacy began as a joke to everyone and look where he is now. It is not even close to funny anymore. At times I think Trump is pulling “The Wave” on all of us – saying the most ridicculous and outrageous things, but people are falling for it and vote for him. Maybe he just wants to show the world how close we still are to fall and vote for fascists, rasists and misogynists. I know it isn’t the case, but everything else is so frightening.
“But don’t vote for your own cancer. You’re better than that.”
Spot on. Where I live (east Texas), so many people pull the “It’s Obama’s fault” card out for anything and can’t wait until our Muslim president (omg) is out of office. They wish it so damn much that they’re nuts over Trump. He’s been called a billionaire red neck around here! Like, wtf? And many of them think that the white man is no longer being stood up for, so they’re getting drunk off of Trump’s words, because they think he speaks for them… I wish y’all could see it first-hand… I don’t even wanna know what’s coming if he’s POTUS, because it can’t be good. With that said, I’m delighted to hear another celebrity speak against him because not enough of them have. C.K. is right that Trump, as refreshing as he is, is just the perfect answer to people saying “F**k it, let’s go all in”. And we ARE better than that, but people are losing their damn minds nowadays. Why???
LOL @ “billionaire redneck”. Yeah the guy who petitioned to have homeless and disabled veterans removed from the street outside of his building because they were “ruining the city’s image” is just like us, right? lmao What a man of the people!
Girl, don’t even get me started. Apparently, aside from the idea that he’ll get our jobs back and snuff out terrorism, lol, he’s also gonna help the “oppressed” average white man regain his footing. See, around here, the Black Lives Matter voices and “All Muslims aren’t bad” narrative is just a way to reverse discriminate against law-abiding, corn-fed Christians, who just want work hard, mind their business and carry their guns in peace and Trump is the man to bring it back. My god, kill me now, or I might do it myself because I thought people were smarter than that.
Holy balls, Angelica. I have a spare room in my apartment if you want to come stay with me in Boston. You’re welcome anytime!
Don’t tempt me, I’ll really go. No, but for real, there are good, reasonable people everywhere, including here and they’re right along side me looking at these loonies with the same “what are you smoking” expression that I carry. I’m still in good company, thank god!
Oh I’m glad to hear it, Angelica. My bro and his GF are heading out to Texas in another month for a trip and I’m excited to hear what they think of it. I’m jealous actually because I’ve never been and have always wanted to go, particularly Austin.
Can we stop comparing things to nazis, Hitler and the like? It demeans what actually happened at the time that was atrocious.
That’s what I think. Only Hitler was Hitler. Trump’s a polarizing, attention-seeking, manipulative, self-interested, bully exploiting long-simmering American racial prejudice, but he doesn’t (at least not yet) have his hands on the levers of power and he hasn’t (yet) been able to worm his way into the political establishment and gain control over the factories, the schools, the banks and the military the way Hitler did. Hitler was well on his way before 1932 and gaining total control (via “election”) was the final stop, not the first. Trump doesn’t have the elites. Hitler managed to woo the elites and the middle class in Germany and had a broad base of support, far broader than Trump has in the USA.
What he has in common with Hitler: the ability to tap into blind nationalism and the virus of racism, weird hair, propaganda skills that blind the media (he doesn’t even have to control them, as Hitler controlled German media – in the US they are THAT STUPID and THAT GREEDY), watchability, unpredictability. He brings out the worst in people. He’s horrible. But he’s not (yet, and probably never) organizing jobs, a youth movement, factories, a whole new political party, or pulling the wool over the eyes of foreign leaders the way Hitler did, and so on. He’s exploiting the existing system just as he always has. In his own crude terms, he’s making a big success of it, too.
I don’t disagree with anything you said but isn’t your comment kind of the point in a way? It’s easy in hindsight to look back at Hitler and say that there is no comparable modern-day equivalent (at least in the US). But I wonder if anybody who bought into Hitler’s vision for Germany had any inclination that things would turn out as horrifically as they did. Perhaps I’m being naïve.
I guess what I’m trying to say is that while I don’t think Trump will ever equal Hitler in terms of destruction, I think there are similarities that are rather frightening. When Louie CK is making the comparison between the two, it seems like he’s specifically pointing to Trump’s inherent potential, not necessarily making a prediction that he’ll be the next Hitler, KWIM?
Exactly kitten. Everyone thought Hitler was a joke at first as well. That’s why everyone ignored him. There are similarities. And WATP– look at your third sentence but substitute Hitler for Trump and German for American and you wouldn’t be far off. Remember when Trump said when he’s president hell sue any media that says anything bad about him? That’s how it starts. Baby steps.
Yeah go read what the NYT wrote about Hitler as he was coming up before he became “hitler” it is shockingly eerie. And when you see the evil freight train coming scream!
Kitten and SloaneY you raise good points and depress me further. : (
Kitten, I posted Robert Reich’s new itemization of qualities of fascist leaders further down.
Hitler always wrote about destroying the Jews and then amassed the power to follow through.
Whatever Trump’s potential is, he is threatening enough right now due to his ability to attract and energize the worst of the worst.
One of the big worries is whether he has the ability to further organize the people who are probably likely to have more of the weapons.
As for the media, we have Les Moonves, head of CBS, trumpeting how much money they’re making due to Trump. They are such tools. At the same time, Trump has a history of threatening to sue anyone and anything.
He has to be stopped; they all have to be stopped.
Think we should align up the same patterns that lead us to a Hitler. He isn’t Hitler, no but some of the stuff happening at his rallies are black booting scary sh*. Pushing around black people, women, reporters, beating them up and throwing them out. That is Nationalistic & deeply troubling xenophobia. Those things lead to Fascist & Nationalistic leaders. Nothing happenings suddenly, nothing really happens out of the blue, there is always signs, patterns and evidence….and plenty of patterns hinting toward the followers of Trump being anti-immigrant, angry, nationalistic, with open racism and black booting/ brown shirting. One of the men that got into the face of a young black woman (while the crowd pushed her around) is admitted brown shirt. Seriously, he belongs to a Nationalistic organization that wants to bring back brown shirts. That should scare us all and is a real modern young man. The real scary part he isn’t alone. No Trump isn’t Hitler but some of followers want Hitlers brown shirts to return and are actively trying to make it happen.
I am the first to say that Hitler comparisons are overused, reductive and hysterical. I would often say “No, only Hitler was Hitler.” I would even say it about Trump; he’s a populist and so was Hitler. There were many others, even in American politics.
But after seeing Trump’s rallies and in particular the scary behaviour of the people who attend them, I think the comparison to Hitler (specifically in the 1930s) is actually warranted. In much the same way as Hitler, he’s using a populist message and blaming his base’s problems on the weakest, most marginalized members of society. He’s actually referenced an identification program for Muslims – seriously, just replace Muslims or Mexicans in his speech for “Jews.”
People are frustrated by a do-nothing Congress who seem more pre-occupied with getting one over on Obama. These people feel forgotten, and tired of the “PC police” telling them that everything they’ve been brought up to believe (Murica #1!) is wrong. Much like the Tea Party, they feel like they’re no longer top dog in their own world, and they’ve been looking for someone or something to blame. Trump plays into all of that. and has made it OK for these people to air out their racism, sexism and xenophobia. Hitler did the same thing with the Jews( and the communists, homosexuals, gypsies, the mentally disabled, etc), to the point where there were thugs roaming the streets, feeling protected and validated by their candidate. People at Trump rallies have begun assaulting “undesirables” in the audience.
I hope they realize sooner rather than later that Trump is not running for them. He’s running for himself only. But the people at his rallies are scary to watch.
The comparisons to Hilter are ridiculous. It is fine to be concerned about a candidate you absolutely do not want to see in office. However, like someone mentioned earlier, it is disrespectful to what actually happened during the Holocaust.
This is a scary election. Trump is too extreme and Hiliary is a criminal.
Trump doesn’t have a clue how Washington works just like he didn’t have a clue how the bible worked. He doesn’t have the capacity to be a Hitler. I think he’s doing something beautiful: he’s legitimizing allllllll those voices hidden away behind closed doors and pulling them into the public sphere. For him, it’s just a game. But he’s tearing the bandaid off. This is the last generation where this kind of overtly voiced racism will really be socially acceptable. The n-word died in public life. So did other racial slurs (even if your grandparents still say them). This is the beginning of the death of casual racism. The next few generations are going to be dismantling the remainder of those barriers that have already been brought partly down.
You hear these kinds of voices in countries like France, say–Le Pen–because those places are culturally closed. They are defensive and protective. France hasn’t gotten over the fact that the language of business is English–and business rules the world. Americans do business. The US isn’t an island that can nurture a culturally closed society like Japan, which has yet to modernize, or a culturally defensive society like France, which has yet to globalize. Those countries have one foot solidly in the past. But Americans don’t. This is their present and Trump is voicing it.
All this to say, I don’t worry at all that Trump is dragging America backward. On the contrary, I think he’s pushing the country forward–and this is a necessary process. And I love, LOVE, that it’s happening on the GOP’s dime because they have earned this.
Just my opinion, of course. If you are from France or Japan, I am sure you disagree. I read a book once that really cemented my perspective: The Moral Consequences of Economic Growth by Ben Friedman. Xenophobia, etc. is tied to the economy. Trump is both predictable and useful.
GW really interesting perspective … it’s the best possible spin on an ugly phenomenon. We can only hope it helps people confront the country’s racism and that this is the last gasp, but I don’t know how many people under 40 support Trump. Does anyone have an age breakdown? I hate waiting for people to die along with their racism, partly because it means I have to get older and die too, but if this is what it takes, so be it.
The catch for me is that in the US we have always been waiting for a racist generation to die out since slavery was abolished, and yet a new generation keeps coming up and new oppression keeps developing in different forms. Lynching > school discrimination > housing discrimination > ‘war on drugs’ > welfare “reform” > mass incarceration > public-health disgrace > police shootings > ongoing disenfranchisement > and on and on. It can’t just be old white men over 70.
Interesting – a very optimistic view. It would be a wonderful thing if you are right, but I really fear it is the opposite. Trump has given legitimacy and made it acceptable to be racist, to hate and fear other ethic groups, and blame them for your problems. It feels like a major step backwards and that is incredibly depressing to me. Those Trump rallies are horrendous and frightening.
People (especially certain ones in America) have always been racist. Trump has allowed those folks to be proud of their “backwards” thinking. They are allowed to openly worship someone like Trump. I mean, America is really showing it’s true colors. I just can’t believe that non of this sh*t has affected Trump’s businesses. Just proves that America is not as progressive as we thought.
…I really shouldn’t say this but if Hillary loses I’ll laugh my head off…
I won’t laugh but this is her election to lose. If she can’t pull out a win against Trump or Cruz something is wrong.
In the polls so far, the only Republican candidate who beats Hillary in the general election is Marco Rubio.
Neither Cruz nor Trump even comes close, which is a huge relief – Hillary is up by 5-15 points over Trump, and even more against Cruz. Thank God.
The Republicans are facing the consequences of the Southern Strategy started by Nixon–this is what happens when you legitimize racist populist rhetoric while at the same time, disenfranchise the very people you say you support. The Republicans have courted these folks for decades and shouldn’t be surprised that they’re turning on them. I personally loathe Trump and find Cruz terrifying.
Yup, it’s the long arc of history. How many more years do you give it?
I hope Trump gets the Republican nomination for a few reasons:
1) It will drive Dems to the polls. I think that Hillary will get the nomination, but her supporters aren’t as fervent as Sanders supporters. Trump would motivate dems to vote for ANYONE who is on the ticket.
2) It will truly signify the end to the Republican party as we know it. I believe that these men running represent the views of the minority of republicans – a large, loud majority, but not everyone. When it became obvious Obama was going to be elected, I feel like conservatives lost their minds and the rhetoric changed to such overt racism (etc.) and it never recovered.
3) I don’t think Trump believes what he says. He’s saying what will get a reaction from crowds of ignorant jerks. If – and I don’t think he will – but if he gets elected, I don’t see him stripping away women’s rights or doing anything to overturn gay marriage rights.
What makes you think he will not continue his crazy antics when he gets elected?
Yup, if media attention whips him up now, imagine what he’d be like once he has command of power? (Esp with Congress in line.)
The people who don’t think trump believes what he says aren’t paying attention or have buried their head in the sand I don’t know but he has been saying this stuff for a long time. He was the leader of the birther movement, he is the only person to claim Muslims cheered on 911, he apparently raped his wife then said she’s his wife it can’t be rape, he told all his beauty contestants to get plastic surgery so they’d be “pretty” and “perfect.” During one of his bankruptcies he told his daughter that a homeless person was better off then him because of his debt.
The man is a disgusting creep, he means what he says and will do whatever he wants.
Oh I think he is a misogynist creep for sure. I also think he saw how much attention and support he got from the birther thing, that he built the foundation on his campaign on saying incendiary things. I don’t, however, think he is in anyway religious or gives a flying fig about abortion or gay marriage like Cruz does. I also don’t think he cares about the middle class, working man, the military, vets or the police, yet he knows that speaking out about them will get him all sorts of goodwill. A coworker who has a cop husband said they are voting for Trump because he supports the police and praising them every time he kicks a protestor out of one of his rallies.
Ronald Reagan wasn’t really religious either, but the bible folk loved him anyway. More importantly- he put a lot of serious Pre-Millenialists in high places, including his close advisors. This was extremely dangerous since they were hoping the Second Coming would happen in their lifetime. They saw no need for conservation, and rejoiced in conflicts in the Middle East (where it all was supposed to happen before The Rapture that would waft them up the heaven while the rest of us dealt with complete chaos here on Earth). They supported Israel only because Israel has to exist in order to be the first destroyed.
Look at him, and look at his entire life. Trump is a ‘New York Republican’, which means he’s an atheist socialist by right-wing Republican standards. He won’t ever become President, but if he does he won’t be able to do much of anything because both parties will be fully united against him.
Fine for this guy for speaking his mind, but I disagree that it’s been 8 years of the “liberal” side under Obama. It’s been 8 years of centrism under Obama (calm, reasonable centrism consistently underestimating Congressional opposition) and there is no more conservatism in American politics as we used to know it. The last thing the country needs is a “correction” to move it even further to the right.
And Kasich is not a moderate. NONE of the Republicans are moderate.
I agree. If he’s really interested in balance, I wish he’d address the need to vote in local elections as well.
And there’s no need to have a ‘correction” when the GOP control most of the governor’s offices, the house, and most state legislatures. I wish Louis (and more voters in general) would pay attention to their local politics as well-it doesn’t all just start and end at the white house. Look at how TRAP laws, education policy, and environmental issues are falling apart on a state/local level. Government is 80% local. Having a dem in the top office is the only thing keeping us from turning into ya’ll-qaeda.
” I disagree that it’s been 8 years of the “liberal” side under Obama. It’s been 8 years of centrism under Obama ”
So true, great point.
Yes exactly. That part of WATP’s comment nicely summarizes how I feel about Pres. Obama.
I always chuckle when certain people refer to POTUS as the “most liberal president of all time”. That being said, he did do some good things on a social level.
Agreed. Louis CK really shows ignorance there, IMO. Also, he’s engaging the fallacy about believing that everything has two sides which always have equal validity. (E.g., if we teach evolution, we must also teach creationism and/or intelligent design for “balance”.) Sloppy thinking.
Everytime I see someone writing a think piece on Trump or telling people why they shouldn’t vote for him I can’t help but think they’re being so intentionally oblivious to why he’s this popular in the first place.
You can’t write a well reasoned essay to make someone less racist. You can not explain logic to someone who sees the hate in their heart mirrored out in a crowd of thousands.
Trying to pretend it isn’t about racism, ignorance, hate, and xenophobia when explaining Trump is like trying to get around saying anything about heat or temperature when describing fire. And that’s the part that makes me laugh. For so many years people would poo poo when others accused the US of being a racist country “We elected Obama didn’t we?” and now they’re watching rallies spring up in service of a politician who has his ‘enemies’ targeted and thrown out for even daring to stand in quiet opposition of him.
Where members of the crowd resort to violence and threaten people so casually because of their ethnicity. When you look at the issues in the Middle East do not think you are so far from them anymore.
If a charismatic and dangerous leader is elected who says, “Those 50% (or more) people who oppose me/us/what WE stand for. They’re your enemies, treat them as such.” you’ll be surprised how quickly it can all change.
He took a new approach. Made a possible slanderous comment and then backed them up with well maybe….Trump will have a field day with this and actually will come out ahead as usual. I can’t stand the sight of him or listening to him every time some ridiculous line of shit comes out of his mouth. Trump is single handedly making a mockery of the election season and honestly don’t believe even he thought he’d be where he is now. Go back to reality tv, you sucked there too, but it didn’t effect our lives. Living in Ohio, I can tell Louis he’s dead wrong, Kasich is a loser, just fools the undecided with his ah shucks, I’m not mean Mr. Potato Head Trump campaigning….not fooling Ohioans. The pickings are slim, but Hillary is the only one I could vote for even if it’s a just a vote against the others.
I am very concerned about this election. I think Ted Cruz is being talked about, on some sites, as the best, most viable, option to defeat Trump. I think Cruz is arguably worse than Trump. He makes me shudder. But they are both awful. I think Hillary will get the democratic nom but there are so many democrats that range from “HELL NO” to “meh” on Hillary. Will we get the numbers? If there is an upset and Kasich ends up on the ballot for the Republicans I think he will beat Hillary.
A moderate republican would beat Clinton. None of those men is a moderate.
I generally agree-but I think Kasich is appealing to the moderate segment just because he’s not acting like a fool during the campaign. While his record is pretty darn far right, his more reasonable public persona makes him seem moderate in comparison to the rest of the circus.
but I don’t think Kasich is electable. You have a lot of moral voters who don’t like Kasich b/c he’s “soft” on SOME moral issues (gay marriage for example). I think that’s why he made the move against planned parenthood–he needed to appease the morality police but in turn he turned off a lot of moderate republicans who had otherwise liked him.
Robert Reich, the former US labor secretary who has endorsed Sanders, circulated this on Facebook and it’s interesting – I cut and paste verbatim:
Since the 1930s, fascist dictators have used 7 techniques to amass power. I’m not suggesting Donald Trump is a fascist or wanna-be dictator, but he does seem to be following the script.
1. Create a cult of personality. (Donald Trump doesn’t offer policy prescriptions. He offers himself as a strongman who is powerful enough do whatever it takes.)
2. Jail the media. (Trump hasn’t gone this far, but reporters covering his rallies are kept in a cage, quite literally. And he describes the media as his enemy.)
3. Intimidate opponents. (This is Trump’s stock in trade. For example, he tweeted recently that the Ricketts family, who are spending money against his candidacy, “better be careful, they have a lot to hide.”)
4. Incite violence. (People describing themselves as Trump supporters have attacked Muslims and the homeless. At his rallies, his supporters have beaten and spit on black protesters.)
5. Scapegoat racial and ethnic minorities. (Trump blames America’s problems on Mexican immigrants, Muslims, Muslim-Americans, and African-Americans.)
6. Glorify national power. (Trump’s entire foreign policy consists of asserting American power and fueling xenophobia against other nations.)
6. Disregard international law. (Trump wants to use torture, punish the families of terrorists, for example.)
7. Create a mass following directly, without party or other intermediaries. (Trump’s tweets circumvent all filters. It’s just him and his followers.)
Honestly it’s why when he attacks in the general (assuming they don’t do a brokered convention, please god do it) Hillary or Bernie just need to lean into, because he won’t attack them on policy or ideas he can’t.
Bernie will be he is short or old or something stupid- fine acknowledge it and move on.
Hillary it will be that bill cheats on her so she’s a failure as a wife- just be like yep my husband cheats on me and maybe I did something wrong or maybe my husband has a character flaw he needs to work on.
They just can’t play the game Rubio is playing because they won’t win that.
I really hope they don’t do a brokered convention. The GOP made this bed, and by god they need to lay in it. Don’t for a second think the GOP elite are worried about the country b/c they’re not–they just don’t want to see their party go down in flames, which is what will happen. They stoked the coals that lead to this massive fire, and now they want to take undemocratic steps to put it out.
sidenote, as someone who lives in Cleveland, I am both looking forward to the insanity that will be the Convention and also concerned they’re going to burn my beloved city to the ground.
@lem the party is going down no matter what now they just have to decide how. A brokered convention is going to be a disaster and well if they do it get out of town remember those people are gun nuts, if they don’t then all the racist wing nuts are in full force. It’s a disaster so now it’s just deciding how they want to be destroyed.
In regards to point #2, he has said that he will change the laws so that he can sue the media more easily.
Just for writing critical things about him and digging in his past! Not even made up tabloid tales, but just critical arguments. He is such a baby.
You’re right, it wasn’t libel or slander, just critical. He is very immature and unreasonable.
Well that SNL skit was just about the funniest thing, reminded me of the good ‘ol days when Adam Sandler was on. My teenagers agree with the mindset of Louis CK except instead of Jews, it’ll be Muslims and Mexicans being discriminated against. My husband thinks that if Trump gets elected we lose all credibility as a country having a clown in office, his words not mine. I think people are interested in him because he’s a celebrity and will provide entertainment, I’m even of guilty of feeling like that. Is it naive of me to think that whoever makes it into office, it’s not so much them but other congressman directing them. Or have I just been watching too much House of Cards?
And really I’m not saying he’s (Trump) evil or a monster. In fact I don’t think Hitler was.
WTF? Hitler is not an evil monster? Why because he loved his dogs? And the countdown for Louis CK retracting that comment starts now…
I think he is saying that if you think of him as other worldly, and not as a human being, you unintentionally make it sound as though Hitler had some exceptional ability to create such atrocities. That “evil” creatures are easily identifiable and rare.
I think Louie was trying to say, no he was just a man and even simple men have the ability to commit horrific acts.
Yes, it’s too easy to just say Hitler was evil. That just absolves everybody else of responsibility. He had loads of help doing what he did. And he also wasn’t able to do everything he wanted because some people did risk their necks to put obstacles in his path, both in public and in private. The reality is that any government can do only as much damage as we, the people, allow. Our own government has done many evil things both here and elsewhere and on massive scales- because we let it. All countries are ultimately democracies. People like to pretend that it’s “the government’s fault” when bad things happen, but it’s really all our faults.
Huey Long in Louisiana said back in the day something about when fascism came to the United States, it would come wrapped in the American flag…
My colleagues and I were discussing this Trump issue at lunch time ( a group of teachers here in Portugal). T The USA is one of the biggest countries in the world in terms of military force, and if such powerful country is ruled by a person with this sort of hate speech, world safety and peace can be in danger. I guess this is what worries us the most. Considering the situation with North Korea, China and the Middle East, and that Trump is not exactly a guy preaching for peace and understanding throughout the world, how far are we from a “3rd World War” Or a new “Iraki / Afeghanistan/ Syria war”?
More than ever, we need to try to find a way to calm everyone, every single government and not make more new enemies, but Trump doesn’t sound like a .. (I’m lacking the word).. a diplomatic person, and that’s what the world needs. Someone who is the president of one of the strongest military countries in the world (so that dangerous factions can be somewhat scared and peaceful) but also a diplomatic one, who can make new friends, in order to try to keep the world somewhat safe..
I just keep hoping that maybe he’s actually more diplomatic than he seems….or maybe he’ll surround himself with a decent cabinet, should the world end and he becomes POTUS.
One thing is for certain: Trump (and Carson and Cruz too actually) is proof that many Americans simply don’t GAF about how the world perceives us. It’s sad and depressing because insularity is such a common accusation about Americans…and it seems to be true on some level, to the point where foreign policy is probably one of the least important topics on a candidate’s platform, at least in terms of public interest.
I’m glad I can come here to find people who understand how scary this is….it’s a small comfort during a very frightening time in US politics.
The rest of the world needs to stop saying “how high?” whenever the U.S. says “Jump!”. You outnumber us! When we act like insane idiots, don’t let your governments go along with the insanity.
There is no reason to expect a U.S. President to be a “world leader” just because we are stupid enough to let our government spend more money on the military than all the rest of the world combined, destroying our own economy in the process. U.S. Presidents are not elected because of their abilities to understand the rest of the world. As a matter of fact, even being fluent in another language is a serious handicap in a Presidential candidate. So is having lived in another country for any length of time unless on a U.S. military base. (And why are the rest of you even allowing such foreign military bases in your countries, anyway?) People vote for candidates based on domestic issues or how entertaining the candidate can be or how nice his hair looks or how well he waves the Anerican flag and tells us we are the greatest people in the world and the only free country in the world (but anybody questioning any stupid war needs to shut up because that’s unpatriotic…). Really, few people are thinking of you and your needs when they go to vote. Many of them aren’t even thinking clearly about their own needs, they vote so often for people who demolish programs that help them.
With the fast adoption of electronic voting machines, I’m not even sure we know how many people really vote for a particular candidate anymore – elections today are more susceptible to fraud than ever before and things get scarier with every election. Write-in campaigns are now virtually impossible and yet we gave a very narrow list of choices on our ballots. Many candidates run unopposed, including for the US Congress. Recounts are extremely difficult now, but have always been an important check on close elections and a guard against fraud. For recent national elections, the Republicans have been the most organized hackers and in control of manufacture of the new voting machines and have the most to gain financially, so the fraud is currently tilted in their favor along with attempts to prevent people from voting when they are more likely to vote Democrat. My guess is that Obama won much more of the vote than recorded – he actually managed to outrun the hackers. But whoever can and will put the most money into sabotaging the next election may decide who gets to live in the White House.
So just treat the United States as you would any other rogue country with enough firepower to destroy the rest of the world… Figure out how to minimize the real threat we pose, and don’t depend on the U.S. President to fix things. There are other forces at work here. Our military budget and propensity to periodically use weapons of mass destruction so we can buy shiny new ones is driven by profit for a few, not by any rational consideration of our own security or yours. Just let us wallow in our own mud and stop going along with every damn fool thing the U.S. government decides to do.
That fact that so many Americans are truly serious about moving to Canada if Trump gets elected is very interesting. America didn’t accept any Syrian refugees and many were skeptical of any country that wanted to allow Syrian refugees in, yet so many Americans want to move to another country to seek refuge from Trump. Go figure.
America belongs to muslims, just like everyone else.
Everyone is equal to everyone else, and no group is worse than other groups.
Muslims are no worse than buddhists. Or atheists, or christians etc
Don’t vote for trump. Help muslims come to america. Vote for hillary/sanders
He is so right about how mundane evil can be.
Trump is not Hitler. He owns hotels makes reality shows and he is running for election and may not get elected.
To bring up hitler really minuses what Hitler actually It really makes me angry.
Hitler caused the death of 6 million Jews, 20 million ussr citizens who he classified as sub-human. There are thousands and thousands of other groups who he imprisoned and killed gypsys, gays, disabled.
You never hear people in countries that actually experienced the horror of Hitler using this as descriptions for any politician today who a miles and miles away from what Hitler did.
Picking a GOP candidate out of this bunch must be like picking what STD you would want to be stuck with having for 4 years.
Read some history people, no one ever thought HItler was a joke. In fact, most of what Germany has today was started by him before he went of the extremist deep end. Trump is ego-maniacal and he should not be President of the United States but comparing anyone to a mass murdering POS like Hitler is ridiculous