Matt Taibbi: The Republicans Are Now Officially the Party of White Paranoia

[HomerRamone]

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/the-gop-is-now-officially-the-party-of-dumb-white-people-20150904

And all that money the Republican kingmakers funneled into Fox and Clear Channel over the years, making sure that their voters stayed focused on ACORN and immigrant-transmitted measles and the New Black Panthers (has anyone ever actually seen a New Black Panther? Ever?) instead of, say, the complete disappearance of the manufacturing sector or the mass theft of their retirement income, all of that's now backing up on them.

The party worked the cattle in their pen into such a dither that now they won't rest until they get the giant wall that real-life, as-seen-on-TV billionaire Donald Trump promises will save them from all those measles-infected rapists pouring over the border...

For reasons that are, again, obvious to everyone but Republican voters, this "woe is us" narrative is never to fly with the rest of the country, including especially (one imagines) the nonwhite population. Few sane people are going to waste a vote on a sob story about how rough things have gotten for white people. But Trump supporters are clinging to this fantasy far more fiercely than red-state voters were ever clinging to guns or religion.

That leaves us facing a future in which national elections will no longer be decided by ideas, but by numbers. It will be a turnout battle between people who believe in a multicultural vision for the country, and those who don't.

[HassleCat]

1. And they could win

People are angry at everything and everyone. They see the America That Never Was slipping away, and somebody is to blame.

[pansypoo53219]

16. oops. it was their god. reagan.

[Dustlawyer]

18. They are captured by the RW propaganda machine.

These hard core haters were groomed to be that way by the people behind the media. It makes them easy to manipulate if they are angry and afraid. This is why you see their politicians taking the most bizarre positions and politicizing anything and everything. All the more reason we need Bernie, who will fight to bust up the media oligarchy and put a stop to the propaganda.

Require "Truth" be the standard as it used to be. They need to be forced to actually investigate again so they know they are publicizing the truth. No longer tolerate the passing on of whatever they are told by some blowhard as news. I am not saying things were perfect before the 1980's, but reporters investigated their stories, wouldnt that be refreshing?

[Fred Sanders]

2. And because the right knows they have no chance of winning by going to the left, as America is, they have gone all

in on going completely off the cliff to the right....look out below!

No chance of winning is why they have decided to just go insane.

Why does the mass media seem blissfully unaware of the mental breakdown of the GOP and the addiction to lies?

The patient needs expert help, not co-dependency.

[EL34x4]

6. That's why we're going to go with "Fascism 2.0" and Donald Trump.

And he's not just appealing to whites. He's going to appeal to black Americans as well.

I posted this on another thread. I'll repost it and amend it for this one.

I know that's hard to believe but it's true. He's not a conservative.

He's not an abortion warrior. He supports Planned Parenthood. He's not a Jesus Freak. He attends church once or twice a year. When he says the Bible is his favorite book, it looks disingenuous (his favorite book is probably one he wrote himself). He's not out there pledging to overturn gay marriage. He supports single-payer healthcare, tax hikes for the rich, gun control. He believes Social Security and Medicare are sacrosanct. He's given money to Al Sharpton, Hillary Clinton and probably a host of other Democrats.

Trump could actually run as an anti-immigration populist Democrat. What's mystifying is the support he's receiving from conservatives, who have basically given him a pass on all of the above.

And before you think Trump is only looking for white votes, he's looking at black males as well. Donald Trump is wealthy. He's urban, NYC cool. Unlike Mitt Romney, he isn't ashamed of his wealth. He brags about it. And he promises it to you, young black male. "Rich like Donald Trump" fits well in a rap song. He has the good things in life. Mansions, nice cars, beautiful women. King of New York City.

Trump is neither Republican or Democrat, conservative, liberal or even moderate. What Trump is is a Fascist. But he's promoting a new type of fascism, one not associated with spiffy military uniforms and salutes. It's Fascism 2.0, retooled for American consumption.

And Trump is going to turn African-Americans against Hispanics: two demographics that never loved each other much to begin with. And if he's really good, he'll turn legal Hispanic citizens against illegal ones.

And this is why he shouldn't be underestimated. It's easy to use "fascist!" as an denigrating epithet but as history has shown, it sells well. And Donald Trump? He's selling it. And he's good at selling things.

[Fred Sanders]

8. It is not mystifying to me why Trump has 30% support in the GOP sheeple herd...massive free

advertising and a media full of nothing but sympathetic talking heads talking and talking and licking and licking and deflecting and deflecting.

Advertising can sell anything to the gullible.

Have you seen CNN lately?

Someone should tell them to go get a room already!

[EL34x4]

10. Tell CNN to get a room?

LOL!

Trump is packing stadiums. And they're not all a bunch of white redneck gunowners either.

Go look outside. He's connecting with people. Angry people from both parties. For every FReeper, sputtering with rage over Trump's dismissive comments about gay marriage, he's getting an angry Democrat (or two) paying him more attention.

I shudder to think of a debate between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. She'll articulate her positions clearly. Trump will call her a fat bitch and his polling will go through the roof.

[bulloney]

20. Where has Trump packed stadiums?

Bernie Sanders has come closer to that claim than the other candidates including Trump.

[EL34x4]

22. 30,000 in Alabama?

Maybe you were sleeping last weekend?

Shall I wake you when Sanders is the nominee? By then, it'll be too late.

[bulloney]

31. I remember the half-full stadium in the South that Trump claimed would draw over 40,000.

but only had around 20,000.

I also remember his kickoff rally where he paid people to attend.

I'll stand by my statement that Sanders has had a better record of packing stadiums and arenas than Trump. Whether that translates into him being nominated remains to be seen.

Trump's campaign is just a bunch of hype where the media act like a bunch of dumb cats and chase the shiny object.

[erronis]

11. I'm guessing that was a purely hypothetical question.

"Why does the mass media seem blissfully unaware of the mental breakdown of the GOP and the addiction to lies?"

If my paycheck was coming from the GOP operatives I'd resent you saying I was "blissfully unaware."

Mortgages and mistresses/misters to pay. Children to send to the right schools so they can also pimp themselves. A fine house in the suburbs to impress the other media/politco class. All this takes some sacrifices.

Let's talk about rehabilitation and mea-culpas after I'm done getting my due. Let's talk about being a good citizen of this country and of this world after I'm sure my setup is secure.

The MSM is just another set of two-legged beasts for hire. Very few have any honor or compunction to the rest of the 7Bn others that live on their planet. In fact, to become an important person, you have to demonstrate that you can run over and screw a whole bunch of other people.

(Too much ranting on my side. Back to the real story.)

[hifiguy]

3. The money paragraph from that article.

"In the elaborate con that is American electoral politics, the Republican voter has long been the easiest mark in the game, the biggest dope in the room. Everyone inside the Beltway knows this. The Republican voters themselves are the only ones who never saw it."

ETA this gem:

"All you have to do to secure a Republican vote is show lots of pictures of gay people kissing or black kids with their pants pulled down or Mexican babies at an emergency room. Then you push forward some dingbat like Michele Bachmann or Sarah Palin to reassure everyone that the Republican Party knows who the real Americans are. Call it the "Rove 1-2."

Oh what truth Taibbi writes.....

[erronis]

9. Well stated.

[FlatBaroque]

17. He is one the best journalists of this or any generation.

Therefore he has a nice large space under the bus.

[Enthusiast]

27. Right on! They. Are. Epic. Stupid.

I just know this is one of your favorite songs.

[hifiguy]

28. LOL!

They are such gullible marks they have not even the slightest idea what gullible marks they truly are.

Which is why there are so many rich teevee preacher frauds. Fools and their money...

[Baitball Blogger]

4. "Look Out!"

I so know what you mean. And the law is not in our favor. We will have to put up with a lot of insulting over-reactions before someone comes up with an actionable way to make people come to their senses.

[PosterChild]

5. Along the same line . ...

Birthers, ‘Trumpists’ and a crisis for the GOP
http://wapo.st/1KQDqCA

[reformist2]

7. Wow, a rare miss for Matt. The Trump phenomenon should have everyone worried, even Dems.

[muriel_volestrangler]

13. Where does Taibi say he's not worried by Trump?

He's given up on the idea of Trump supporters coming to their senses. He says it's a matter of whether the morons turn out in greater numbers than the non-morons.

[awoke_in_2003]

12. "battle between people who believe in a multicultural vision for the country, and those who don't"

Eventually, they are going to lose that battle- they know it, and they are scared. Their numbers are dwindling.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

14. It's a loser for them.....

Ultimate test?

We ran a black guy and they lost in a landslide.

They ginned up 4 years of hate against him and he won in another landslide.

(His second was by less ONLY because it turned out he wasn't as liberal as we thought)

[Enthusiast]

23. That is the only saving grace in this whole fiasco.

Obama won twice even though Republican heads exploded the first time he won and they tried everything to prevent his reelection.

Socialism must be extremely popular in the USA. You know, if Obama is a socialist as they claim. Muslim too! The American electorate just loves us some Muslims.

Did they ever give this a moments thought?

[Spitfire of ATJ]

30. Seriously? They were too busy in their greed to hang on to their Country Western fans.

[oberliner]

15. They will lose every presidential election from this one onward if that is the case

The demographic trends do not favor such a party.

[Demeter]

19. They always were--not news

[ananda]

21. Agree.

Like saying water is wet.

[briloop]

24. Race war?

On CNN's Smerconish show August 29, 2015, one of the guests was Neil Newhouse, a Republican pollster. Some interesting points from this conversation:

1. In 1988, George H. W. Bush got 59% of the white vote and 426 electoral votes.

2. In 2012, Mitt Romney got 59% of the white vote and 206 electoral votes.

3. In order to win the 2016 Presidential election, the Republican candidate will need nearly 64% of the white vote.

4. In order to get 64% of the white vote, the Republican candidate will have to polarize the electorate.

Taking this to another level, I don't think it's crazy to assume that the Republicans will start (if they already haven't started) a race war.

[Enthusiast]

26. A race war appears to be on their agenda.

[totodeinhere]

33. Fortunately there are enough sane white people left that they will never get

to 64% IMO. And some analysts such as Nate Silver think they will need even more than 64%.

[Enthusiast]

25. K&R! This post should have hundreds of recommendations!

It's in, folks! If you're still a Republican, you are one stupid fucker. You are epic stupid.

[hifiguy]

29. Foghorn has a message for them

[BadGimp]

34. Which is WHY Electioneering and Voter Suppression are the 2 most important efforts of the GOP.

If an election is about numbers than he who controls who can and cannot vote, and who does the counting wins.

Some us tried mightily to warn everyone about Black Box Voting after The Theft of the 2000 Presidential Election in FLA, but now it's too late. The machines are in place and the GOP controls enough of them to steal elections almost at will.

Our ONLY hope is to overwhelm their efforts with real votes.