A TRUE American Patriot does not display the following (in alphabetical order)…
- Authoritarian
- Communist
- Confederate
- Fascist
- Nazi
- Political Party (any and all)
- Socialist
- Trump
…symbology. Period. End of discussion.
Donald Trump
Trump’s “Peter Principle”
As we watch former president Trump being indicted left and right… which radcen has not yet addressed… it seems appropriate to point out a couple random thoughts.
There is a famous theory where people routinely rise to one level above their competence level. They’re a success and rise through the ranks until they eventually reach a level beyond their capabilities and they fail. It is more commonly applied to corporate business, but it can apply anywhere.
Donald Trump is something of an enigma. He has managed to “fail up” his entire life. Everything the man touches dies, yet he continued to rise. Until now.
The office of president will be Trump’s downfall. The office of president is Trump’s “Peter Principle”. He has risen to a level where he is completely out of his league. He knows nothing about the operations and limitations of government power and has been continuing to operate on what has worked in the past with lesser adversaries. He believes he can be “The Man” just like he always has been, and it’s biting him in the butt.
After the 2016 election and his inauguration I made the following prediction…
Donald Trump and his family will come to rue the day he decided to run for president
…and I have repeated it many times since. What he has managed to build up, and not yet squandered, is in jeopardy. Had Mr Trump never run for president he’d be remembered in history as just another random eccentric rich person. Now, Mr Trump has exposed himself as a traitor, liar, cheat, thief, and a… loser. And it’s this last one that probably eats at him the most.
And ya know, I’m not sure he cares what his legacy is. He is so deeply insecure he only cares that people worship him right here right now where he can see it and revel in it. Donald Trump should have just stayed home, and I bet his family wishes he had.
The New “Whataboutism”
Today’s conservatives (read: Trump supporters) seem to be trying very hard to make “whataboutism” a legitimate debate tactic. Seems that every time I turn around they’re making specious arguments with no supporting evidence at all, let alone fact. (As God is my witness, I am convinced today’s Republican don’t even know the definition of “evidence”, but I digress.)
Anyway, back in March 2018 I wrote a piece on “whataboutism”. Long story short whataboutism is frowned upon in most debate circles. Ironically enough, Republicans seem to be going out of their way to set it up as legitimate discourse. Their arguments usually go something like this…
“Joe Biden is incoherent.” Obviously a slam directed at his mental capacities and capabilities in handling the job of president. He probably slurred a word, or misspoke, or whatever. And he does have a history of stuttering. But granted, Joe Biden is not as sharp as he once was, and in an ideal world I’d prefer someone sharper in the job now. Joe Biden has indeed lost a step, in the mind.
We all know the only people saying these things are Trump supporters and they’re inferring Trump was better and more qualified for the job than Biden is. Kind of a pre-emptive whataboutism, if you will. Beat ’em to the punch! If it weren’t so sad and transparently weak it might be mildly humorous.
So for those who are so inclined, what might you “whatabout”? How about this…
Well what I would do, is I would, we would, we have tremendous military capability and what we can do without planes, to be honest with you, without 44-year-old jets, what we can do is enormous, and we should be doing it and we should be helping them to survive and they’re doing an amazing job. (Fox Business TV show, “Varney & Co,” in March 2022)
…or the time he tried to redirect a hurricane with a Sharpie. And we will be polite and not compare Joe’s “handling” of young girls with “grabbing them by the pussy” and walking in on naked teen girls at beauty pageants. It’s almost as if Republicans are BEGGING people to counter with a whataboutism as pretty much everything they can possibly come up with to shame Biden Trump has most assuredly done worse. There is nothing you can ding Biden for where Trump has not himself been more incompetent or sleazy or repugnent or Every. Single. Time.
And really, what about Hillary’s emails?
“Radcen, Donald Trump lives rent-free in your head…”
Yes. Yes, he does.
To my own detriment I sometimes think, I like to discuss politics. No secret to many of you, I’m sure. And in the last 7-ish years the vitriol and blind brain dead partisanship has made the political waters all the more disheartening. Very few people actually care about the country anymore, if you listen to what they say “owning” the other side is paramount. It’s no longer “we’re in this together”, it’s “us vs them”. Many conversations on popular social media sites are with people I do not know, but this happens with people whom I do know, also… and who know better. It is not uncommon for a person to hit me with, “Donald Trump lives rent-free in your head.”
Make no mistake, this is not a compliment. It is squarely an insult. The implication being I am somehow not smart enough to discern what is important and what is not important. A slam at my intellect… a very partisan slam. According to thefreedictionary.com the phrase means…
live rent-free in (one’s) head
slang Of a person, to be a source of antipathy or exasperation to one to the extent of becoming a frequent or continual subject of one’s agitated thoughts. The term indicates that such a person is able to negatively impact one without any repercussions (with the implication that one should not allow such a person to have such an effect on them).
With an example of…
Don’t let your opponent live rent-free in your head, man. Shake it off!
Which is very similar to what other Trump-supporting friends have said to me, “Why are you still harping on Trump? He’s not even president anymore.”
Both phrases are intentionally dismissive. The people who say these things don’t like their worldview being challenged, it seems. Why am I bothering myself with such trifles? Trump is harmless, neutered, right?
🙄
No, the man is not harmless, or yesterday’s news. He should be, but he’s not. The man is a liar and a cheat and a thief… the ultimate con man… and will topple anything for his own gain. He does not care about the country, or you… especially you… or even his own family members. Donald Trump still wields considerable influence. He has almost the whole of the Republican Party scared to death of him (and his base) even though many of them privately despise him and wish he’d just go away. And that’s the whole point, he won’t go away, and he’s still dangerous to the country.
So yes, Donald Trump lives in my head rent-free. I welcome him in. I own it. I have space reserved in my head just for his fake tan and absurd comb-over. I’m not going to lie quiet and let him do his damage unopposed. Donald Trump squarely and intentionally inserts himself into the American political process on an almost daily basis, and as long as he does that he needs the attention. The best way for a person of limited resources like myself to counter such a dangerous person like Donald Trump is to keep them close and to keep their insidious intentions in public view so no one forgets them.
That’s why I unreservedly invite Donald Trump to live in my head.
Adolf Hitler vs Donald Trump: Who was the Better Man?
It’s a silly premise, isn’t? For a long time I dismissed the comparisons some people gave of the two. While it’s become obvious there are similarities politically, though Trump would best be called “Hitler Lite”, the similarities are still there all the same. To that end read this opinion piece, Is it wrong to compare Trump to Hitler? No. | Opinion. It offers a good perspective.
But that’s not why we’re here today. How do they rate against each other AS MEN. As people. As human beings.
One great thing about history is we have interesting comparisons…
- Adolf Hitler was loved by his mother, and she by him. Donald Trump was such a dick as a child his mother had him sent away to a military boarding school, just to get him away from her.
- Adolf Hitler was an artist. He had a lifelong interest in art and architecture. Donald Trump has golf and… I’m drawing a blank.
- Adolf Hitler served in World War I at the front lines, and served honorably. He was a messenger in the trenches, which is a very dangerous job, and was wounded twice. He received medals for his bravery. Donald Trump lied about bone spurs to stay out of the military entirely.
- When Adolf Hitler led his first insurrection, the Beer Hall Putsch, he physically led his people in the march and took part in the violence and attempted insurrection, even being wounded himself. When Donald Trump inspired his insurrection he led his followers to believe he would march with him… then skulked away to watch it on television.
- Adolf Hitler liked dogs. Donald Trump doesn’t have even that.
But not to worry, there is a similarity worth noting…
- Both men like(d) young women/girls… relatives, in incestuous ways. Adolf Hitler was infatuated with his niece, Geli Raubal, to the point she (probably) committed suicide over it. Donald Trump is known to have a thing for his daughter, Ivanka, telling Howard Stern it’s ok to refer to her as a “piece of ass”. One must wonder what his dreams are like.
So there’s that.
Now, Adolf Hitler was a vile despicable person, unworthy of any praise, but we’re not praising we’re comparing two amoral people. It could be argued the reason for Trump not causing more damage along the same lines is he failed much earlier, and maybe that’s the lesson here… he cannot be allowed to continue. Be that as it may, it is clear when it comes to courage and conviction and even some sort of minimal intellectual interest, Adolf Hitler was a better person than Donald Trump.
Pretty bad when one of the vilest men in history is a better man than you.