In response to my post yesterday on the liberal ‘impeachment of Donald Trump’ fantasy, which rests on a fallacious delinking of Donald Trump from the Republican Party, Seth Brodsky writes (over at Facebook): I agree—passionately—that the desperate attempt to delink the GOP from Trump is…a fantasy. But I don’t think it’s a fantasy held onlyContinue reading “The Republican Party And The Disavowal Of Donald Trump”
Tag Archives: Republicans
The Donald Trump Impeachment Fantasy
Wishful thinking is in the air: this presidential incompetence is intolerable, it cannot last. Let us take bets on how long Donald Trump will last before he is evicted from the Oval Office by those who cannot put up with his trigger-happy tweeting, his brazen exploitation of the highest office in the land for personalContinue reading “The Donald Trump Impeachment Fantasy”
Fighting The Gorsuch Nomination Is A Lost Battle; Fight It Anyway
Rather predictably, news of the Gorsuch nomination to the US Supreme Court has been greeted by considerable head-scratching among Democratic Party–and associated progressive–circles: should we fight or should we roll over, keeping the proverbial powder dry for the next battle? ‘Pragmatism’ and ‘realism’ apparently bid us to not fight this already lost battle, to notContinue reading “Fighting The Gorsuch Nomination Is A Lost Battle; Fight It Anyway”
The Trump-Bannon Executive Order ‘Strategy’ And Its Rhetorical Value
The flurry of executive orders signed by Donald Trump since January 20th was designed to accomplish several objectives. First, on attaining office, establish continuity between the ‘campaigning candidate Trump’ and ‘President Trump’ by acting to ‘implement’ the most visible campaign trail promises–the ones packing the most rhetorical punch. This should be done without regard toContinue reading “The Trump-Bannon Executive Order ‘Strategy’ And Its Rhetorical Value”
Jon Meacham On Misunderstanding Darwin And The George Bush ‘Legacy’
During the 1988 election season’s presidential debates, George H. W. Bush described his opponent, Michael Dukakis, as ‘a card-carrying member of the ACLU.’ This was supposed to be a zinger, a devastating put-down line that would show up his opponent as a radical, a wanna-be hippie, an out-of-touch member of the East Coast elite, anContinue reading “Jon Meacham On Misunderstanding Darwin And The George Bush ‘Legacy’”
Paul Ryan’s ‘Mea Culpa’ Speech: Anatomy of Political Bad Faith
It is a truth universally acknowledged that a significant subset of the demographic consisting of American liberals and progressives and centrists are among the most gullible political subjects of all: throw them a bone or two–i.e., a substantive or purely rhetorical political concession–and they’ll immediately drop previously held convictions. The visible reaction to Paul Ryan‘sContinue reading “Paul Ryan’s ‘Mea Culpa’ Speech: Anatomy of Political Bad Faith”
Karl Jaspers On The ‘Phantom’ Public
In Man In The Modern Age (Routledge, New York, 1959), Karl Jaspers writes: The term ‘masses’ is ambiguous….If we use the word ‘masses’ as a synonym for the ‘public,’ this denotes a group of persons mentally interlinked by their common reception of certain opinions, but a group vague in its limits and its stratification, though atContinue reading “Karl Jaspers On The ‘Phantom’ Public”
No Happy Endings To This Election Season
Barack Obama was elected US president in 2008. With approximately fifty-three percent of the popular vote and a 365-173 electoral college margin over his rival, John McCain. His party, the Democrats, commanded a 235-278 majority in the US House of Representatives, and a 57-41 majority in the US Senate. Despite this electoral and popular mandate,Continue reading “No Happy Endings To This Election Season”
Hillary Clinton On The Reagans’ AIDS Legacy: Anatomy Of A ‘Triangulation’
Here is my take on what went wrong with Hillary Clinton’s ‘the Reagans started a national conversation about AIDS‘ statement (for which, after a ginormous shitstorm on social media had broken out, she apologized.) In preparation for her remarks, Clinton must have been briefed–by not very competent people–that Nancy Reagan‘s funeral was a good opportunityContinue reading “Hillary Clinton On The Reagans’ AIDS Legacy: Anatomy Of A ‘Triangulation’”
The Republican Party Will Be Just Fine, Thanks Very Much
The supposed collapse of the Republican Party–in the face of an insurgent onslaught led by a motley crew of Tea Partiers, Donald Trump devotees, and Rush Limbaugh fans (which may indeed, be the same demographic)–during this election season is extremely wishful thinking on the part of election pundits and journalistic commentators. What animates these fantasies ofContinue reading “The Republican Party Will Be Just Fine, Thanks Very Much”
Samir Chopra 