New term for Trump policies - Sadopopulism

[NewJeffCT]

Good thread from UC Berkeley law professor Teri Kanefield about how Trump gets away with enacting policies that hurt his base and also how they love it when he lies

(Thread) Trump, the ACA and Sadopopulism

The Trump administration is backing the full elimination of the Affordable Care Act: @JoyAnnReid, maybe it isn't spite

Maybe it's what Yale prof @TimothyDSnyder calls Sadopopulism

"What the heck is that?" you ask?...

Link to tweet

?s=19

[dalton99a]

1. .

[enough]

2. Right on point. Cruelty is the bedrock. They like making people suffer.

It affirms their power.

[JHB]

3. No need for the $10 word. It's Toadyism. The Woim.

"Yeah, Butch! Hit him again!"

It's the safe, second-hand power rush some people get when watching a bully beat up a designated object of scorn.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

4. I feel like that term is, ultimately, redundant.

Populism requires an "us" and a "them," which in politics is always weaponized.

[NewJeffCT]

6. yes, it is us vs them

but, sadopopulism is also white vs non white; citizens vs immigrants, etc. instead of rich vs poor, as they think of Trump as "Their" rich guy

left wing populism isn't necessarily about hurting the other side - it's more about redistributing wealth from the wealthy to everybody.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

10. Disagree on your take of left-wing populism.

Populism relies on the idea that only certain kinds of people are "real" or "ordinary," and while the definition depends on a variety of things (including one's own identity), as a result it relies on some people being "others." As a stand-alone political ideology, it's vague, tricky and poorly defined; as a frame or flavor on other ideologies, it ultimately ends up diluting them.

[nocoincidences]

5. It's like watching cartoon villains.

They sit around thinking of what the most outrageous unacceptable mean thing they can try to pull off next should be.

/revision/latest?cb=20101225000049

[world wide wally]

8. This defines Trump to a....."T"

[NewJeffCT]

9. well, I'm still hoping

the cartoon villain can have an epic cartoon ending

[NewJeffCT]

7. here is the video referenced

in her 2nd or 3rd tweet.

[moondust]

11. Spot on.

Last edited Fri Mar 29, 2019, 02:04 PM - Edit history (1)

Roughly the opposite of the (Democratic) idea of "lift all boats."

At least since Lee Atwater some Republicans have continued to shamelessly abuse the diversity of the U.S. "melting pot" by using racism and pitting groups against each other to gain political support--divide and conquer. MAGA is just shorthand for "let's go back to the good old days of white supremacy!" (Maybe even slavery???) Dump tells them who to hate and denigrate so they can feel "superior." I think the idea of feeling "superior" was one of the drivers of slavery even among poor whites.

This morning I was thinking wow, those MAGAt rallies are just gangs of sociopaths, but now I think "sadopopulists" fits them better.

[ProudLib72]

12. There is a certain irony in using a term coined by an intellectual to describe the Rump and his base

When the Rump's brand of populism is distinctly anti-intellectual.

I'm not sure how I feel about that. While it's an apt term, the populism it defines at best ignores the term and at worst negates it.

[NewJeffCT]

13. I remember that

Get a brain, morans