General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Biting political analysis of the McCain funeral from Jeet Heer: [View all]BlueWI
(1,736 posts)that has been a hallmark of Trump's rise to the presidency? Nothing to say about racist real estate practices, organized crime associations, ripping off the working class people that did dangerous work on job sites, etc.? All of this was known before people in Trump's private circles, including Bill Clinton, encouraged Trump to run. And you think that there's no accountability here, or accountability for Republicans only, even when Trump's rise largely occurred in a Democratic majority city?
Even with 20/20 hindsight, knowing about Trump's prominence in the birther movement, invitations of Bill Clinton's accusers to the presidential debate, along with collusions with Russia and the constant use of a public office for self-enrichment, nothing suggests that for Democratic candidates for president, associations by choice with dubious characters like a Donald Trump should be avoided in the future??? That's an Omarosa level of denial there.
And yes, to some extent, the culture that produced reality TV, empty suit celebrities that are propped up through the race for ratings, blatant racism and sexism in the culture of mass media (David Letterman, Harvey Weinstein, Bill Cosby are part of this) and the blending of cheap entertainment with public policy formulation has some culpability in the rise of Trump. This rise didn't happen in a vacuum with no actors beyond the Russians, fairly obviously to me at least.
So, playing golf, chilling at third or fourth weddings with a racist, dishonest real estate developer who rips off his workers, and encouraging him to run for president is what everyday people do? You and I must live in different worlds.
Nothing I've said defends the Russians or Trump, and I have no idea how you get that impression from what I've written. The cyber wars and weaponization of social media by Putin's forces to undermine elections is a huge, ongoing, and unsolved problem that, without a Mueller level of determination to hold the conspirators accountable, might continue into 2018 and beyond. Preventing further damage to democratic processes is a job for all of us.
What I am saying is that looking back at all the factors that led to a President Trump, one of them is the ignoring of serially problematic actions over a period of decades due to political expediency, social graces, reverence for celebrity, the chase for donors, or whatever you want to call it. I will personally favor presidential candidates in the future that avoid such associations rather than cultivating them. To me, that's a simple commitment to make in order to genuinely represent ordinary people and prevent the rise of a Trump long before it occurs.
But, opinions vary.