Hyperbole elevated to a high art by none other than the Mooch. (From Daily Kos)

[PatrickforO]

You all know I love hyperbole when it is well done.

Well, I saw this on Daily Kos https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2019/8/17/1879721/-The-Mooch-drags-Trump-hard-in-new-interview-Oh-my-god-this-jack-ss, and just cannot resist posting it here!

The Mooch really gets going. See if it amuses you as much as it did me:

He is so narcissistic, he doesn’t see people as people. He sees them as objects in his field of vision. You know, he doesn’t look at people—and by the way, if you and I were in his field of vision and he had a cold and the two of us had to die for him to get a Kleenex, you’re fucking dead. I mean, there’s no chance. You understand that, right?

I think the guy is losing it, mentally. He has declining mental faculties; he’s becoming more petulant; he’s becoming more impetuous. Okay, you see just by the way he’s sweating, his body’s not doing well. It’s obviously not a guy that takes care of himself, right? And he doesn’t listen to anybody. And just think about this, okay? There’s no one—there’s no Jim Mattis; there’s no Gary Cohn; there’s no one to check him anymore. Whatever my differences were with General John Kelly, after he left, this thing has completely unspooled.

Yep, gotta give it to the Mooch - when it comes to hyperbole, the guy is a real artist.

[matt819]

1. I don't think it's hyperbole.

It's an accurate portrayal.

BTW, he makes an interesting point re providing an off ramp for members of the administration as way to start the cult deprogramming process. I know nothing about cult deprogramming, but it sounds right. You can't just say, you're fucking moron cult member. You have to provide a way out. That said, I have no idea how to deprogram half the nation. Maybe if you provide some sort of deprogramming for some of the leadership, that's a start. Like Justin Amash and others who might follow him. Maybe there's a critical mass that would prompt people to at least think a little bit about what's happening. The Steve King town hall is another example, and the demands made in the Joni Ernst town hall. And the poll reporting on Fox news.

[genxlib]

2. I agree with your first point

But I am not sure what we have to do for these cult members. What do they want, an invitation? They can give up the BS anywhere and anytime they want.

That is especially true of the originally referenced member of the Cabinet. There are literally dozens of press members in the building willing to take your confessional. Seek them out and say it aloud..."Donald Trump is a dangerous, ill-prepared idiot and it was a mistake for me to support him." Just do it. Surely, you don't need a bunch of 'libruls' holding your hand.

[matt819]

3. Yes, but

Take a look at the books on the market about cults - membership, brainwashing, disengaging, deprogramming. It's not a club you simply don't want to belong to anymore. It's your life. The Manson Family, Waco, Scientology, FLDS/polygamy, Jim Jones/Jonestown, Moonies. More than 900 died at Jonestown, 300 or so children who were poisoned by their parents. And when you read of those who have escaped cults, it's one or two, not a mass exodus. Cultists - victims - are that interwoven into the cult, maybe willingly, maybe because of violence, threats, and more. But it's like changing your favorite baseball team (ok, maybe with the exception of the Red Sox and Yankees).

We are facing something more or less comparable now. Books have been written about older parents whose political views/world outlook have changed dramatically just by watching Fox News. Young white men are being radicalized to kill people of color, Jews, Liberals, women. The terrorist in El Paso proudly proclaimed his goals to the police.

Obviously, Scaramucci argues that the cultist mentality extends beyond the rank and file and into Congress and senior levels of the administration. I think he's right.

I'm not talking about embracing these monsters and inviting them to our homes for Thanksgiving and giving the positions in government when Dems take the WH and Senate. I'm not even suggesting that we build bridges to these buffoons. But, to use Scaramucci's word, maybe there needs to be some sort of off ramp that doesn't force them to confront head on, at least for now, the conflict between their world view and reality.

[genxlib]

4. I don't disagree with anything you said about cult mentality

I'm just not sure how we fit into it. What are we supposed to do? Have a giant intervention? I just don't know what it looks like. And I am not even sure it can be successful as long as they are still mainlining hate media and internet.

The only thing I see working is having a major player like FOX turn around and see the light. But even then, I think they will just make them a target and turn to another source that supports their position. Within months of a FOX defection, OAN would be skyrocketing in viewers.

I guess I am just cynical but I am not sure how I am supposed to feel responsible for helping do something they are completely resistant to doing.

[murielm99]

5. I keep thinking back to Stephen King's

"The Dead Zone," which I have not picked up for many years.

The potential president was a madman, like trump. He finally did something so outrageous that he lost his support. I don't know if that will happen with trump. If it does, it will have to be personal and reprehensible to everyone. I have little hope of this. A blue tsunami is a better hope.