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The Trump Spectrum
Inspired by this comment from @jameslileks.
- Never Trump: They truly believe he is so awful that even the chaos that would ensue after removing him from office does not outweigh the benefits of said removal. Examples: Bill Kristol.
- Anti-Trump: They too believe he is awful, but recognize that we are stuck with him. They may occasionally admit that he has done some good things, but usually only grudgingly. Examples: Mona Charen, John Podhoretz.
- Trump Skeptics: They don’t like him, they don’t trust him, but they are trying to keep an open mind. They criticize him frequently but try to keep it constructive. They probably didn’t vote for him but are trying to be gracious losers. Some of them may even concede that the good outweighs the bad but insist that the bad still needs to be addressed. Examples: Ben Shapiro, Most of NRO, I place myself here as well.
- Reluctant Trump: They don’t particularly like him, but they think we should give him the benefit of a doubt. They will generally cite Hillary Clinton as their primary (if not their only) motivation for voting for him. Examples: Andrew Klavan, Peter Robinson(?).
- Trump Defenders: They admit he’s made mistakes but either think the good outweighs the bad to such a degree as to make the mistakes not worth discussing, or they believe the forces aligned against him are so great that spending too much time on the mistakes is “piling on.” Examples: Victor Davis Hanson, Dennis Prager.
- Trump Apologists: The only thing he’s done wrong is not play by The Rules. Everything wrong with the administration is entirely the fault of his enemies. All critics are either pearl-clutching elitists and/or open borders globalists. Example: Sean Hannity.
Resolved: Groups 4-6 have a vested interest in believing that Group 1 is far larger than it really is and that Group 6 is a strawman. Groups 1-3 have a vested interest in the reverse, and I myself am far from innocent in this. As with many questions of this nature, reality is far closer to a bell curve. For both sides to accept this is the first step towards reconciliation.
Published in General
Fred, if you actually need an explanation of all the havoc that Supreme Court decisions have wrecked, you wouldn’t understand it.
There’s room for plenty of rotten (and unconstitutional) legislation if your yardstick is “It’s not the end of the Republic”. Of course, the end of the republic is not likely to be a “Berlin Wall Falls” moment, but a gradual abrading of our rights until there are none left. This will only be accelerated by having lousy Supreme Court justices.
As for being lied to, I really appreciate you pointing that out. It would have never occurred to me that a politician might lie or exaggerate. (Really, Fred, do you have such a low opinion of the rest of us that you think this is breaking news?)
And nearly 45 years of abortions now coming up on 60 million lives is a big deal. It’s only a “running fire-fight” in the same sense that there was resistance in France after the Nazis took over.
Was this related to that Boston meetup a while ago?
Boy if that ain’t the damn truth….
Brava! Well said, indeed.
Imbedded within @bridget‘s excellent statement is the knowledge that although every Supreme Court justice appointed by a Democratic president remains safely and consistently progressive, there are a number of examples of Republican appointees who “evolve” from liberal to progressive as they age. Can anyone name the last progressive justice who became more conservative over time?
Thirteenth of March? That one?
Yep.
(I won’t ruin Umbra’s thread with the whole story – it’s been called “disgustingly cute.” )
but you will share the story sometime, right? (please? happy gossip by/about people we like is one of the great joys of life.)
Off the top of my head, potentially Justice Hugo Black.
Maybe Byron White too (more recent than Black).