The Nation, the Idea and the Will of Good People Tuesday, July 04, 2017 By William Rivers Pitt

[vkkv]

The Nation, the Idea and the Will of Good People
Tuesday, July 04, 2017 By William Rivers Pitt, Truthout | Op-Ed

This is the first July 4 of the Donald Trump era, and I am at a loss...

-snip-

His every spoken word is a punishing humiliation. "I have, seem to get very high ratings," he told the Associated Press not long ago. "It's the highest they've ever had. On any, on air, [CBS 'Face the Nation' host John] Dickerson had 5.2 million people. It's the highest for 'Face the Nation' or as I call it, 'Deface the Nation.' It's the highest for 'Deface the Nation' since the World Trade Center. Since the World Trade Center came down. It's a tremendous advantage."

That's one comment. Just one. In it, he brags about getting high ratings as if he were still a reality TV star instead of the president of the United States before going on to say that getting more viewers than the attacks of September 11 did is a "tremendous advantage." In the middle, he coughed up that hairball of a joke about the show's name like a little kid who thinks he just invented something. This kind of thing has been happening every day since he slithered into office, and every time it does, we are all diminished like Donne's promontory.

Trump didn't know about all the tax cuts for rich people in the Senate's latest Affordable Care Act-repeal bill. He believes "internet taxes" exist. He gleefully gives away incredibly sensitive intelligence data to visiting Russian swells while sitting in the Oval Office, and all on camera. He probably couldn't find North Korea on a map. He leers like a lecher at Irish reporters who are just trying to do their job. Visiting dignitaries and world leaders approach him as if he were a bag of live snakes. The man quite literally appears entirely incapable of shame.

MORE::

http://www.truth-out.org/opinion/item/41152-the-nation-the-idea-and-the-will-of-good-people

[bobbieinok]

1. AMEN

And may all the people say loud and clear AMEN!!

And then ACT!!

[sheshe2]

8. Pitt did act.

Bravo Refused to vote for Hillary in the GE!

[George II]

2. Why are we posting the work of a DUer who has been FFR, essentially banned?

Isn't that circumventing the administrators' judgement?

[vkkv]

3. If DU has banned one of the most articulate, informed, skillful political observers who is strictly

a leftist and helpful to have on OUR side, then DU will end up with an EVEN HIGHER % of whiny people who go out of their way to complain about people who shoulda', coulda', or woulda' been banned.

That would be a shame, wouldn't it?

[sheshe2]

4. He admitted to not voting for the Democrat ie Hillary in THE GE!

That is not helpful to our party. William Pitt helped to elect Trump. That is a shame, isn't it?

[sheshe2]

6. Well

======================================================

vkkv

If DU has banned one of the most articulate, informed, skillful political observers who is strictly

a leftist and helpful to have on OUR side, then DU will end up with an EVEN HIGHER % of whiny people who go out of their way to complain about people who shoulda', coulda', or woulda' been banned.

===========================================

He also called Obama a POSUCS. How is that helpful to the Democratic Party????

[brer cat]

11. He was banned. If you have a problem with that take it up with the admins.

You are entitled to your opinion of Pitt, but many of us find him ill-informed, highly divisive, and not supportive of OUR side at all. That is a shame.

[vkkv]

19. Very original post!

You basically took my post and made negative everything I wrote..

There are people who got through the entire education doing something very similar, but opposite.

[Foamfollower]

16. The pile of garbage HELPED ELECT TRUMP!!!!!

How is that even close to being what you described.

He's a buffoon!

[vkkv]

20. No, he did not.

A statement such as that is not based in the reality of which we live on this planet.

You might as well be accusing Pitt of running an underage prostitution ring out of a pizza joint.

[Foamfollower]

21. Ye, he most CERTAINLY did.

When somebody proclaiming to be a progressive writer writes about how he is not going to vote fr the Democratic nominee in a general election, HE HAS ACTIVELY HELPED THE REPUBLICAN GET ELECTED.

The man is a traitor and a Trump supporter. HE can be considered nothing else.

[vkkv]

24. For you to say that Pitt is a Trump supporter severely damages what remains of your

credibility.

[NanceGreggs]

51. If there's any "credibility" problem here ...

... it's Will Pitt's.

[QC]

31. You sure do know a lot about stuff that happened here

before you joined.

[Foamfollower]

40. WT ever loving F are you going on about?

There's this internet thing, see?

And I read shit on this internet thing, see?

William Rivers Pitt | Just a Show: The Calm Sham of the DNC

http://www.truth-out.org/opinion/item/36992-just-a-show-the-calm-sham-of-the-dnc

Wm. Rivers Pitt | Tuesday Night Massacre: The Looming Trump v. Clinton Debacle

https://riseuptimes.org/2016/05/01/wm-rivers-pitt-tuesday-night-massacre-the-looming-trump-v-clinton-debacle/comment-page-1/

William Rivers Pitt | Don't Believe the Hype: Candidate Clinton's Sudden Populism

http://www.truth-out.org/opinion/item/31397-don-t-believe-the-hype-candidate-clinton-s-sudden-populism#

The man made it his person mission to see to it that Clinton failed as a candidate. HE is a traitor and a Trump supporter.

[George II]

17. I leave it up to the administrators, the people who OWN this site, to decide who should or...

...shouldn't post on this site.

[vkkv]

22. We already know that, so why do you bring it up? A weak "cryptic" message I suppose.

Without those who are willing to announce the problems with the Dem party DU will end up with a HIGHER % of people who only whine, point fingers of blame and want other people "banned".. Now, who does THAT sound like? POTUS 45, perhaps? It sure does to me and I'm disgusted by the thought of it.

I voted for Bernie in the primary as a 'voice for progress' vote, but voted for HRC in the GE and figured she'd win.. everyone did.. no contest.. landslide.. 1st woman POTUS.. progress... NOPE. Oh right, it was all W R Pitt's fault.. and Bernie's.. and Jill's... WRONG. More likely a problem of HRC being too easy of a target by the crooked, lying, cheating GOP along with the revealed shenanigans of DWS and Brazille.

I cringed when DWS was being interviewed on shows.. She could neither defend herself or our party by being quick on her feet, she was failing to convert voters to the Dem way of thinking, she could only lifelessly read off the series of Dem talking points. I kept thinking 'Jesus f'ing holy cr*p of Gawd' (not those words exactly) who HIRED her for this job? Let's get the right DNC Chair for 2018.

[George II]

18. Well here we have a long essay on how bad trump is, and its coming from a person...

...who admitted that he wasn't going to vote for Clinton.

Isn't that a bit hypocritical? Perhaps he should have thought about all of this last summer and fall, instead of six months after the fact.

[still_one]

26. "one of the most informed, political observers" BULLSHIT. Anyone who calls President Obama a POS,

and refused to vote for Hillary in the general election, is NO "informed, political observer"

[vkkv]

27. In your opinion... right?

[still_one]

30. That he called President Obama a "POS",that was a fact. Not voting for Hillary in the GE is a fact.

[vkkv]

32. Again, that doesn't prove that he is not an "informed, political observer"

[Squinch]

34. His vote against Hillary, though, does prove that he is not an informed political observer.

It would be really hard not to understand that voting against Hillary was, in fact, a vote for Trump.

Gotta be pretty much of a dumbass to have done that.

[vkkv]

39. The sad reality is that HRC LOST to Trump!

The sad reality is that HRC LOST to Trump!

While she won the Popular by 3 million votes.

You are speaking in absolutes that don't exist!

[Squinch]

45. Your response has nothing to do with the fact that Pitt didn't vote for the Democratic candidate

and thereby, his vote was for Trump.

[brush]

54. You should take this down. You see from the reactions of DUers that he is not welcome...

because of his vile postings toward Pres. Obama and his anti-Clinton diatribes.

He's been banned here.

Why would you even post this person's work who tried to influence others not to vote for the Democratic nominee against the buffoonish trump?

He now comes out with a too-little-too-late piece against the monster who he helped get elected.

[Arazi]

57. Nah,Will lives in NH which went to Hillary by a massive margin

Will Pitts vote has zero to do with Hillary's loss.

But keep flogging that dead horse

[Squinch]

60. Will Pitt's purple prose telling people not to vote for Hillary, and his vote against Hillary,

contributed to Trump's win.

He's a wannabe Susan Sarandon. And, man, that's a sad thing to be.

And no one here is flogging the dead horse. The person who insists on linking to a banned poster is really the one doing that.

[Arazi]

72. Lol! Will's vote had zip to do with Trump's "win"

Russia? Vote suppression? Disinfo campaign? Comey's poorly timed re-opening of the investigation? Hillary's poor decisions regarding her campaignefforts in MI, WI and PA perhaps?

Go ahead, take your pick

Laying Trump's win on Will Pitt is silly. Anyone's third party/write in votes in the solid blue states aren't to blame for this fiasco but go ahead and keep flogging.

We're going to need these voters in 2018. I'm all about making allies now

[Squinch]

73. Yes. All those things. Plus the assholes who say they are on the left and who

voted against the Democratic candidate. The numbers prove it. Even with everything else going against her, if the assholes out there like Pitt and his acolytes had voted for Hillary she would have won.

These are not our allies. They are always pretending to be our allies, but in every election for recent memory they tend to take their ball and stomp off home at the last minute when they don't get exactly what they want, and when no one tells them how fabulous they are for wanting it.

We'd be smarter to go after actual Democrats who stayed home in the last election.

[Arazi]

74. Nope, sorry but Will's vote in deep blue NH was not an issue

Neither did any others who voted for candidates other than Hillary in blue states.

And Trump's "win" is so dubiously slim, with some real questions about Russian meddling hanging over those slim margins, I don't think anyone can say with certainty that Trump "won"

I'll wait til Mueller finishes his investigation

As far as voters like Will Pitt being our allies? Writing them off is a massive mistake. We need them AND those Dems who stayed home. We need to walk, chew gum AND juggle plates to overcome Russian meddling, gerrymandering,voter disenfranchisement etc in 2018

[Squinch]

75. How about his purple prose exhortations to others not to vote for her? You think those helped?

He's Susan Sarandon in pants.

[Arazi]

82. Will could only dream of having Sarandon's reach

You're letting your hatred blind you to the facts of his influence

TruthOut stats:
http://www.alexa.com/siteinfo/truth-out.org

For comparison, here's DU's:
http://www.alexa.com/siteinfo/democraticunderground.com

So no, I absolutely don't believe for a second that he shifted this election. Every other factor BUT Will Pitt imo

[brush]

81. So you actually believe his writings didn't influence others to not vote for Clinton?

A truthful answer pls.

[Arazi]

83. Nope. Not at all

TruthOut's just not big enough to have played any part in this fiasco, and Will's vote in deep blue NH mattered not at all.

TruthOut stats:
http://www.alexa.com/siteinfo/truth-out.org

For comparison, here's DU:
http://www.alexa.com/siteinfo/democraticunderground.com

I firmly believe we're going to need these allies going forward to stand a prayer of a chance in regaining seats in 2018. The monstrous election rigging by Russia that's surely coming, will make 2016 look like child's play

[brush]

84. Hahahahahahahahaha! With friends like you and pitt, who needs....

Never mind. You know the drill.

[Squinch]

85. So your answer, basically, is that he WOULD have been a force to elect Trump, just

like Sarandon, but not enough people read him. But if he could get more people to read him, he'd happily have been a force against the Democratic candidate, just like Sarandon.

It's just that his stuff sucks so much that no one wants to read it.

Well... I can agree with that, then.

[Arazi]

87. Nah, not what I said or implied

I said he'd love to have her popularity, not that he was Susan Sarandon light.

Your desperate bullshit distortion of my post is hilarious though. Thanks for the laugh

[still_one]

36. oh yeah, it sure does show he is uninformed. On the first point when he called President

Obama: "Fuck you, Mr. President, you piece of shit used-car salesman. From my heart and soul, fuck you."

That whole diatribe of his was based falsehoods, and his wife was in fact covered for what he claimed she was not. People within that rant pointed out to him that he was wrong, but he refused to listen at the time, or even look into the actual coverage, because if he did, instead of using it as an excuse to rail against President Obama he would have found out he was covered.

As to the second point, when he refused to vote for Hillary Clinton in the general election, I will let Noam Chomsky, who is far more articulate, and not a "drama queen", as Mr. Pitt so often is, speak to that:

"Progressives who refused to vote for Hillary Clinton made a ‘bad mistake’"

"Legendary linguist and activist Noam Chomsky thinks that progressives and left-wingers who didn’t want to vote for Hillary Clinton this year have badly miscalculated — and will now pay a very dear price."

“I think they [made] a bad mistake,” said Chomsky, who reiterated that it’s important to keep a “greater evil” from obtaining power, even if you’re not thrilled with the alternative. “I didn’t like Clinton at all, but her positions are much better than Trump’s on every issue I can think of.”

Chomsky also attacked the arguments made by philosopher Slavoj Zizek, who argued that Trump’s election would at least shake up the system and provide a real rallying point for the left.

“[Zizek makes a] terrible point,” Chomsky told Hasan. “It was the same point that people like him said about Hitler in the early ’30s… he’ll shake up the system in bad ways.”

http://www.rawstory.com/2016/11/noam-chomsky-progressives-who-refused-to-vote-for-hillary-clinton-made-a-bad-mistake/

An informed political observer would have recognized the danger of a trump presidency, and the potential for a nazi Germany redux.

Mr. Pitt deserves every bit of scorn that he receives here, same as Ralph Nader, Susan Sarandon, and those others who spread the LIE that there was no difference between the two parties or candidates.

[vkkv]

41. The sad reality is that HRC LOST! To Donald Trump!

Lost.. to Donald "grab'em by the pussy" Trump...

While she won the Popular by 3 million votes.

You are speaking in absolutes that don't exist!

[still_one]

43. I don't think either of us will change our views on Mr. Pitt, so we will leave it at that

[brush]

53. How is this guy's work allowed back here when 1SBM's is not?

Wasn't rivers tombstoned for his shameful admissions on who he voted for, not to mention all his horrible insults towards President Obama among other outrageous postings?

DU's administrators need to show some consistency in whose work they allow back.

Again, AAs are wondering why this work is allowed back and 1SBM's is not?

I did not and will not read anything by rivers.

[Squinch]

55. YES! And to 1SBM I'll add Bravenak and seabeyond?

[brush]

56. Yes, Bravenak and Seabeyond also.

[Squinch]

86. And Number 23

[sheshe2]

7. Pitt.

The man that called Obama a POSUCS! He is so great for our party! Also he admitted not voting for Hill in the GE. He gave us MAGA!

[Cha]

9. pitt, sarandan, jill fucking stein own a big chunk of trump

.. and this guy has the gd nerve to whine about trump.

Yeah, and he writes like shite.. calling our President Obama a "POSUCS".. he doesn't know shit from shinola.

[sheshe2]

10. They certainly do Cha.

They all own it Dump. He called Obama a POSUCS for ACA and not covering his wife's meds....when he in fact was to lazy to research the healthcare plans when he moved to NH. That thread...the posters gave him lots of ideas how to make it right, yet all he did is double down on his Obama hatred.

He sure is a great leftist.

[vkkv]

12. My wife, who is quite the common-sense liberal, feels that HRC would have been a more conservative

POTUS than Obama. I tend to agree.

Obama was basically an economic centrist with an pro-environment bent.

Pitt, Stein and Bernie didn't get Drumph elected, gerrymandering and ignorant voters did.

Wake up.

[sheshe2]

13. Yet he voted against the Democratic candidate for President...

As did the others. Pitt is no friend to the left. Did you ever read his vicious attack on Obama. Even his mother that posts here asked him to delete.

[George II]

14. Wake up? To what, trump tweets every morning?

[GusBob]

28. In the article posted, quoting HST, he refers to us all as "used car salesmen"

Now we know where Mr Brilliant Writer stole the phrase. A description of all US citizens. Their view, not mine

Only the half literate asshole put a hyphen in the phrase "because it just sounds right"

Screw him and his salad-tossing sycophants

[Foamfollower]

15. The author of this piece IS PARTIALLY RESPONSIBLE FOR ELECTING TRUMP!

During the election he espoused how he would not vote Hillary, prompting others to do likewise and costing us the election.

The man who wrote this article is DIRECTLY RESPONSIBLE FOR ELECTING TRUMP!

He's garbage and anything he writes is garbage!

[bobbieinok]

23. Pitt was one of the first to dissect the Iraq war excuse

I will never forget his work and comments at DU and elsewhere during that dark period! And I honor him for his leadership at that time.

[vkkv]

25. Exactly. And then Speaker Pelosi said "The impeachment of GW Bush is OFF the table".

NEVER FORGET !!!!

[QC]

33. That was back when DU was a liberal site.

Seems like a whole other world, doesn't it?

[LongTomH]

48. I remember those days.......fondly!

And I mourn their passing!!!!!

[Tarheel_Dem]

52. Being "liberal" is not a qualification for posting here, but "Supporting Democrats" is.....

Support Democrats

Do not post support for Republicans or independent/third-party "spoiler" candidates. Do not state that you are not going to vote, or that you will write-in a candidate that is not on the ballot, or that you intend to vote for any candidate other than the official Democratic nominee in any general election where a Democrat is on the ballot. Do not post anything that smears Democrats generally, or that is intended to dissuade people from supporting the Democratic Party or its candidates. Don't argue there is no difference between Republicans and Democrats.

Why we have this rule: Democratic Underground is an online community for politically liberal people who understand the importance of working together to elect more Democrats and fewer Republicans to all levels of American government, and as such we expect our members to support and vote for Democrats at election time. Rare exceptions are granted at the sole discretion of the DU Administrators. (Current exceptions: None.)

https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=termsofservice

Clearly, Will Pitt and his sycophants are willing to place much more emphasis on beating everyone over the head with their "liberal" bona fides, rather than the actual mission of the site which is to elect more Democrats. I don't think Pitt should be celebrated here after he clearly stated he would not vote for the party's nominee.

[vkkv]

58. If the mission of this site is to get more Democrats elected - then we need a little

""beating everyone over the head with their "liberal" bona fides""

Apologies, but your statement is sort of contrary to itself.

If we do not have good candidates who can win over voters, DU and Dem voters will continue support election losers due to a fear of changing the party brand.

So how is that helpful in the "actual mission of the site which is to elect more Democrats"? Clearly, it isn't helpful.

DU has allowed whiners, vengeful misandrist alerters and the fearful loyalists here to destroy a noble mission, one that has become a closed, isolated, self-satisfying echo-chamber.

[Tarheel_Dem]

65. Since you seem so miserable, there are sites out there with a different mission. Perhaps you should

check them out? What's not helpful is dragging shit in here from a long banned poster who has created the division that you see throughout this thread. Will Pitt was a cancer on this site, and was banned. Posting his tripe is just a slap in the face to the community and the Admins who banned him.

As far as an echo chamber, there's more than one on the net. I'm willing to bet an echo chamber was where the idea was hatched to post this crap on DU.

[vkkv]

67. So I gather that you are all for the Echo Chamber and patting every faulty Dem

politician on the back without glancing at other input and options that just might help get more Dems elected..

That's what it sounds like to me.

Have you forgotten?
HRC LOST TO FRIGGIN' DONALD TRUMP !!

And yes, there are other progressive sites that aren't afraid differing opinions being exchanged.

DU as a portal to third party news sources, humor and info is wonderful and is the reason I've been a paying member years.

I did get tired of being on juries though, seems most every time it was because some weak-minded soul felt insulted by someone's post -or the alerter was a perpetual tattle-teller.. Kindergarten stuff, really.

Live on!

[Tarheel_Dem]

68. Sounds like those other sites are a much better fit for you. Seems you're dissatisfied with the...

direction of DU, and as far as I know, there's nothing keeping you here. Sounds like WP's FB group is a much better fit. I'll bet open resistance to WP is met with a big wet kiss.

[vkkv]

69. Ah, so I was correct, you DO prefer the safe space of the Echo Chamber keeping you from being

bothered by new and fresh ideas that you'd likely object to at first.

I used to know people who did not like to 'think too much' for fear of losing their grasp on what they chose to believe and who they happily submitted to be manipulated by.

Yes, yes absolutely, there are people just like that in this world. Thank you for admitting that!

[Tarheel_Dem]

70. There is absolutely nothing "new" or "fresh" about Will Pitt. But happy hunting.

[vkkv]

71. There you go, not unlike the "conservative" media, you are presenting

your opinion as fact.

It's a problem worth looking into.
I'd like to suggest using a 'fact-check' filter before you communicate with the world beyond the front door of your trailer.

[riderinthestorm]

61. +1 . The discussions were actually about real topics too

Not this re-hashing of old shitflinging.

[Arazi]

59. Yup. His Facebook group is yuuuge now so I doubt he misses/needs DU

He's got thousands of followers there - definitely DUs loss

[Squinch]

63. Then there's no reason why his acolytes need to foist his crappy shit on DU. Its not wanted here.

[Raster]

76. Read it if you want, don't read it if you don't want.

Pitt has been banned and cannot post here. However, his articles from other sources certainly can be posted here if valid DU members choose to do so. Not allowing a valid DU member to post their selections would be akin to CENSORSHIP.

[Squinch]

78. You might want to review what constitutes CENSORSHIP. Because voicing disgust at the inclusion of a

banned poster's narcissistic musings on a privately owned website, and asking that that banned poster's narcissistic musings be omitted from that website is not CENSORSHIP.

Also, you don't need to capitalize it. You can write it like this: censorship.

[Raster]

79. You are entitled to your opinion, as are other members of this message board.

Voice disgust all you like. And yes, "asking that that banned poster's narcissistic musings be omitted from that website is... CENSORSHIP."

[Squinch]

80. Well, no. It really isn't my opinion. It's a fact.

Censorship (see how you can read it even with the lower case letters?) is a specific thing with a specific definition. This isn't it.

[Tarheel_Dem]

66. And the o.p. calls DU an "echo chamber". Wow. Nothing like a FB page to escape an "echo chamber".

The admins knew exactly what they were doing when they dumped Pitt. He's toxic, and you only have to read through this thread to see that.

[ismnotwasm]

29. Political commentary equivalent of a bodice ripper.

Plus, the author is a POSUCS.

[Squinch]

49. This cracked me up. It's so true!

[Squinch]

35. This whole thread is just full of support for people who voted against the Democratic candidate.

How is this not locked?

[Ellipsis]

37. Full of something...

That's not pointed at you.

[Squinch]

46. Yep.

[vkkv]

44. Locking, because your view is completely false, would be shameful of DU admins.

We lost to Donald Trump.

We thought HRC was going to win in a landslide.

We know the GOP cheats, lies and steals.

We know that the GOP message of blame, hate, greed, "I got mine", "Libs are going to take your guns away", etc. doesn't seem like a very smart or strong message to voters - and we STILL LOSE!

So, if you tell me that the Dem party isn't need of some self-reflection, I'll tell you that "you're dreamin".

[Squinch]

47. And Will Pitt STILL voted against the Democratic candidate. And none of this gish

gallop of yours changes that fact.

[H2O Man]

38. Recommended.

Will Pitt is an outstanding voice who represents the beliefs and values of a significant part of the Democratic Party. And he is one of the closest friends that I've come to know from the old DU.

Thank you for posting this!

[milestogo]

42. Will Pitt used DU to feed his narcissistic supply.

Yes he is a good writer but I was sick to death of him and his endless grandstanding by the time he was banned.

[Raster]

77. Yeah, well, DU seems to have it's fair share of narcissistic grand standers...

...those seemingly given the most credence these days supported the "correct" candidate.

[BootinUp]

50. My brain isn't toasted enuff yet...

[riderinthestorm]

62. K&R! Thanks for this V nt

[H2O Man]

64. "Into this house we're born...."

Good to see you!

Now I've got this song playing in my head ......