About Walker's Israel trip--Does anybody get what just happened?

[Jackpine Radical]

Scotty went to Israel to get his talking points from Netanyahu, which he then delivered, thusly reassuring folk such as Sheldon Adelson and AIPAC that he's on the "right side" re: policy toward Israel. My bet is that he did his campaign bankroll a whole lot of good in the last few days.

While people around here are calling him a moron and laughing at his foreign-policy "expertise," whoever is running his campaign is executing political masterstrokes.

Take this guy seriously or you're gonna get first-hand experience of a fascist takeover just like Wisconsin did.

[Agschmid]

1. He concerns me the most of the GOP field.

[question everything]

3. The shrinking Middle Class, worst state - Wisconsin among the worst

http://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/blogs/stateline/2015/3/19/the-shrinking-middle-class-mapped-state-by-state

and

When Walker refers to taxpayers, is he talking about the 53 percent who aren’t Mitt Romney’s 47 percent or workers who make too little to pay federal income taxes but pay a bigger percentage of their income in state and local taxes than the well off? Such descriptors are even fuzzier than middle class, and they allow candidates to duck a straightforward discussion of income inequality, the decline of the middle class and what they would do about it.

http://www.concordmonitor.com/home/16887205-95/editorial-middle-class-by-any-name-is-struggling

[Agschmid]

4. And yet he won, again.

[question everything]

6. In Wisconsin. As did Tim Pawlenty in Minnesota. But he quickly split after the Iowa straw poll

Or whatever it is called. Sorry, senior moment..

[HereSince1628]

2. I think you're correct, but don't think it rises to intellectual 'masterstrokes'

Walker built his WI record demonstrating he's a reliable suck-up who will try to deliver on even the most extreme desires of those who'll drop money in his hand.

[Jackpine Radical]

11. I didn't use the word "intellectual."

I would never use it to describe Walker or anyone close to him.

Cunning, conniving, vicious, slippery--there are a lot of other words I would use instead. But that doesn't make him less dangerous.

[HereSince1628]

14. I think we agree, although

all the things you mention are aspects of cognition...so they do lean on intellect

But I don't think it requires any special intellectual skill, benign or devious to realize you must look properly aligned with potential donor interests, nor does it take any skill to visit Israel and return to the US communicating conservative pro-Israeli statements, that are essentially mirror images of what other pro-Israeli American conservatives have previously said--that's just following the script. Something everyone in WI, including both of us, knows is Walker's strong suite.

[Jackpine Radical]

18. Like they used to tell us in grad school,

"Everything correlates .3 with intelligence."

I almost slipped into a rant about the covariance of a correlation coefficient and Spearman's g and all that. Fortunately, reason again got hold of me in time to spare you.

[HereSince1628]

20. I think I can handle the stats...

but sample of n=1 makes them irrelevant

IMO Walker's not manifesting any of the 'master' in masterstroke, he's looking the dutiful puppet the puppetMASTERs.

[Jackpine Radical]

22. Oh, I surely agree on that.

He's not coming up with this shit on his own; he's not smart enough. But he has some really good reptiles for handlers. I think certain of the Big Boys have invested a lot more than just $$$ into his campaign.

[2banon]

19. If I may speak out of turn, I believe Jackpine was referring to his Campaign Mgrs/handlers

at least that's what I took from his meaning.

And I absolutely agree with Jackpine's point. Masterstrokes are being performed while we're all calling him a moron. I don't believe for a second, that anything Walker DOES and says originates on his own volition and "ingenuity"..

Kind of like Dumbya. Walker's just a stick figure dancing to the tune of his managers, financiers..

[HereSince1628]

24. I don't see anything masterful.

Spending early effort on securing money is now commonplace. If you read accounts of W Clinton's campaign that was also their strategy. It seems like it's HRC's current early effort as well.

He's doing what's pretty obviously required to meet the objectives that would be found in 'How to run a modern campaign for the complete ignoramus'. He needs money and he needs to look reliably aligned with the folks who have deep pockets to get it.

With enough money to carry him past faux pas he will surely make he's going to be hanging in as the field thins. Walker is, strange as it may seem, a popular second choice for the right. Lack of resources will emerge, be it to poor fund raising or perceived loss of support. It will take down most candidates and depending on when that strikes, being a survivor is job one. Lots of money protects survival. If he survives long enough...well, that's primary season.

[2banon]

29. No argument with that point but I don't believe that's the point of the OP.

I'm suffering a bit from attention disorder at the moment, too many other life events going on.. perhaps I should simply stay out of this conversation, Jackpine is certainly capable to speak for himself..

Apologies to both of you. .

[DavidDvorkin]

5. Next you'll be telling us about the international bankers

and the Elders of Zion.

[Scootaloo]

15. Sheldon Adelson is real. The "Protocols" are not.

World of difference, there.

[2banon]

30. wasn't that bizarre? that poster pulls that shite all the time, absolutely nothing else to contribut

that poster pulls that shite all the time, absolutely nothing else to contribute. it's like an auto robot searching for the mere mention of that region - draws out these absolutely insane responses.

it's not just weird, it's bloody tiresome.

[2banon]

21. oh good grief..

[Cal Carpenter]

23. I'd love to see the progression of thought

that you think it would take to get from the OP to that.

Do you actually dispute the OP's point in some substantial way, or do you just like making ridiculous accusations?

[FlatBaroque]

28. we all know

there's no such thing as international bankers.

[Dr Hobbitstein]

7. Juror #6.

On Sun May 17, 2015, 12:05 PM an alert was sent on the following post:

About Walker's Israel trip--Does anybody get what just happened?
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10026684987

REASON FOR ALERT

This post is disruptive, hurtful, rude, insensitive, over-the-top, or otherwise inappropriate.

ALERTER'S COMMENTS

This is very close to talkinga bout an international Jewish conspiracy.

You served on a randomly-selected Jury of DU members which reviewed this post. The review was completed at Sun May 17, 2015, 12:08 PM, and the Jury voted 0-7 to LEAVE IT.

Juror #1 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: No explanation given
Juror #2 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: No explanation given
Juror #3 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: Ridiculous alert.
Juror #4 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: I can see no reason to hide this at all.
Juror #5 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: No explanation given
Juror #6 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: Well, Sheldon Aidelson funnels money through Israeli donors to US elections, and the GOP loves to suck up to Netanyahu. Dislike of Israeli policy under Netanyahu and influence of said policy on the GOP =/= "international Jewish conspiracy", but it does equal "international asshole conspiracy".
Juror #7 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: One of the worst abuses of the alert system in DU's history. You should be ashamed.

Thank you very much for participating in our Jury system, and we hope you will be able to participate again in the future.

[TexasTowelie]

9. Great minds think alike!

I'm juror #3. Somebody just earned a well-deserved vacation.

[TexasTowelie]

8. Second time in a row that I've been on a 0-7 jury. I'm juror #3.

I hope that the alerter enjoys his/her vacation.
___________

On Sun May 17, 2015, 12:05 PM an alert was sent on the following post:

About Walker's Israel trip--Does anybody get what just happened?
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10026684987

REASON FOR ALERT

This post is disruptive, hurtful, rude, insensitive, over-the-top, or otherwise inappropriate.

ALERTER'S COMMENTS

This is very close to talkinga bout an international Jewish conspiracy.

You served on a randomly-selected Jury of DU members which reviewed this post. The review was completed at Sun May 17, 2015, 12:08 PM, and the Jury voted 0-7 to LEAVE IT.

Juror #1 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: No explanation given
Juror #2 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: No explanation given
Juror #3 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: Ridiculous alert.
Juror #4 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: I can see no reason to hide this at all.
Juror #5 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: No explanation given
Juror #6 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: Well, Sheldon Aidelson funnels money through Israeli donors to US elections, and the GOP loves to suck up to Netanyahu. Dislike of Israeli policy under Netanyahu and influence of said policy on the GOP =/= "international Jewish conspiracy", but it does equal "international asshole conspiracy".
Juror #7 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: One of the worst abuses of the alert system in DU's history. You should be ashamed.

Thank you very much for participating in our Jury system, and we hope you will be able to participate again in the future.

[blm]

10. Like Romney - Walker will outsource US mideast policy to Bibi -

the GOP is full of BibizBoyz.

[Jackpine Radical]

13. Be careful you don't get an alert for an anti-semitic crack like that.

[blm]

16. I support the Israeli left over Bibi and his Boyz of the GOP.

Alliance made in hell.

[KingCharlemagne]

12. I wonder whether Dems will experience even the tiniest flicker of remorse that they

collaborated in smashing the Communist Party when Walker's fascist hordes are ascendant. Methinks not.

[Oilwellian]

17. Walker has a history of taking orders

I consider this one of my better videos, which includes a righteous rant from the Punk Patriot. It showcases Walker quite well and his insidious relationship with the Kochs. If he's the Republican nominee, there will be a wealth of video clips to attack him with.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

25. Walker is easy to beat...

Americans aren't going to elect a cross eyed governor with a prominent bald spot from a small homogeneous midwestern state. He does nothing to solve the Republicans biggest problem in high turnout presidential elections; people of color are just not into them. There are only so many white votes that can be harvested...Mitt Romney received a larger share of the white vote than any candidate for president since Ronald Reagan and still lost.

I fear that clown not...

[JDPriestly]

26. I think he is one of the world's chosen.

Had Obama really backed the public unions in Wisconsin against Walker, they might have had a better chance of success, and we might not have Walker running for president.

But Obama chose to be silent and stay home. What a big shame for American working people. Really sad. The union cause got almost no support from the White House in Wisconsin. It is a scandal.

[Jackpine Radical]

27. It wasn't just Obama.

Our own chickenshit Democratic Party Establishment fought us.

[nadinbrzezinski]

31. Which goes to my point that our chicken shit establishment

hates labor as much as Republicans...they are not as public about it.

As to your OP... yup, but most people outside WI do not fear this clown, and they should. I will say this, middling disagreement with you. He has good handlers, but he also has quite a bit of political intelligence and we are at one of those moments ready made for a new kind of fascism.

[Jackpine Radical]

32. Well, if "political intelligence"="hypertrophied low cunning,"

I got no dispute with you.

[nadinbrzezinski]

33. I loathe to compare Walker to Mussolini or Hitler

or Father Coughlin for that matter...or Rush Limbaugh... since he uses the exact same techniques, and Walker.

Forget the language, listen to the cadence and tone in a few speeches with your eyes closed.

Think of what that cadence is doing to the brain of susceptible voters. He has good handlers, but the man has a gift for that... and could very well take over the nomination and the White House.

In fact, George Bush used some of those techniques as well.

And a lot of politics is actually neuroscience. We live in an era of propaganda and fear... And our media don't help. They rely on fear for click baits.

I must add, before my dad passed, he pointed that to me. He always listened to that cadence from pols, and found that RW ones tend to default to that.

[Jackpine Radical]

34. "And a lot of politics is actually neuroscience."

Yes--that plus old-fashioned Pavlovian conditioning, combined with a goodly dose of simple avoidance learning. I watch the media & see those old learning paradigms alive, well, & doing tehir work on the visceral response patterns of the sheep.

[nadinbrzezinski]

35. And why a lot of reporters avoid asking policy

though in my experience, apart of the access issue, many of our reporters are allergic to looking at issues beyond the surface level. They also prefer to paint certain groups in a certain way. Studies are out there already on implicit bias, not just among cops, but also with media.

http://kirwaninstitute.osu.edu/research/understanding-implicit-bias/

So you have many stories built on how we can keep people afraid and never, ever look at possible policy solutions.

For example, we are looking at chronic poverty in my inner city. One aspect are terrible schools. After looking at the statistics I could do the usual but teachers! Or damn parents (they are minority don't you know?) I am blaming the system... as in top administration. There is no way a school can be on track to only graduate 3 percent of the HS students and that be ONLY the fault of the teachers. There is simply no way. This is an inner city school...that has not that many computers, nor AC, so when we had a heat wave, the students where sent home at half days... nor do they have up to date textbooks... yada, yada yada. The easy road would be to blame the teachers. I mean, I would hardly be the first one.

But when all inner city schools have lousy on track graduation rates, this one just happens to be the bottom of the barrel... you have to start asking... why are sub urban schools doing ok, but inner city schools are doing lousy? It cannot just be kids living in poverty and parents working three jobs, though that is part of it. These kids are told from early on, implicitly, they are supposed to fail. And then we are surprised when they do fail?

Oh and I know a lot here blame Republicans. The School District in question is under Democratic control... so that excuse will not fly. But the schools being this "successful," it is a feature, not a bug. And part of the feature is... we have one of the fastest growing charter school systems... and if I were in these neighborhoods and I saw the public school being so ahem successful, I too would want an alternative.