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Glenn and Ben on the Train
Just in … two notorious talk radio hosts have jumped off the NeverTrump train because of the media, or so they say.
Glenn Beck has been railing against Trump for two years, including mashing his face in a bowl of orange air-snacks, and the motor-mouthed genius Ben Shapiro, who advocated a stay-home strategy for conservatives in the 2016 contest between the two horrific choices, have called it quits. Both men have been dissociating themselves from the immoral lout on a daily basis, but something happened. The media lied, distorted and just went too far this time.
Beck and Shapiro are angry at the media for making them choose sides with our magnificent-bastard President. Both have seen Trump break through their previous misconceptions and fears on policy, decorum and competence, and both have cited those things obliquely, but to save face (as it appears to me) they have chosen to blame media over-reach on their forced conversion. This way, they get to hold onto their outrage at Trump’s behavior, it’s just that they’ve found something to be even more outraged about. Welcome, comrades, to the new world of being a Trump supporter!
But for many of us, the outrage stage has long passed. We are jaded, our anger is cold. We expect them to lie. Now we calculate, we don’t try to persuade or reason with NBC, CNN et al, any more than Roosevelt should have tried to explain to the Japanese that attacking our naval base in the Pacific was bad form. We just want to defeat them.
The media has been doing this kind of thing ever since Trump declared, it just hasn’t been quite as blatant. They’ve gotten away with it so much they got cocky. Apparently in the minds of Beck and Shapiro, all the previous distortions, deliberate misinterpretations, hostile translations and transparent propaganda ploys were “just politics” — as Bush would say — and if only the classless boor would just speak clearly and avoid any ambiguous language, our movement could advance ideas and the pundits wouldn’t have to constantly clean up the mess.
However, Ben Shapiro and Glenn Beck just got on the caboose of a very long train. The Trump train is so long that the cars closest to the locomotive are one station, or perhaps even two stations, ahead. Those of us in the front cars have been through these stations iteratively. (Competency Place, Stealth Democrat Overlook, Outrage Junction, Tweet Street, the Tunnel of Media Lies…)
It’s not the case that we supporters are believers or acolytes. We have, for the most part, had the same concerns and fears, we just get over them faster. Perhaps we’re less attached, more objective, and more aware of who the enemy is and how they operate. Maybe we are less moral and more forgiving of human frailty and sins. Maybe we are cynical and actually believe most of our politicians, thought-leaders and media stars are equally (or much more) despicable people who’ve as yet managed to avoid exposure. Certainly the revelations about Bill Cosby, Harvey Weinstein, several NY District Attorneys, O.J. Simpson, Matt Lauer, Jimmy Swaggart, Denny Hastert, numerous priests, bishops, cardinals and so many more, haven’t primed us to suspect almost everyone or anyone. We shrug. A billionaire playboy had a one-night stand with a reckless gold digging floozy? Okay…and?
So, to Ben and Glenn and others who are beginning to see how absolutely outrageous the media is, great! Welcome aboard.
Important learning tool below from Scott Adams:
https://youtu.be/2aGV3lQvvqA
We are now stopped at Media Irrelevance and Exposé Square. Our illustrious engineer, Choo-Choo Charlie Trump, has been ambiguous quite deliberately in order to stoke media outrage and overreach. They focus on some mistake, something not accurate. That’s the delivery package for the content Trump wants everyone to see. This approach requires someone who is impervious to the near-term narrative they push, trusting the long-term effects. Trump didn’t care what they said about him and his motives. The package was delivered to the American people in the form of, did you hear what Donald Trump just said ?
Case in point, the media doesn’t report on MS-13 atrocities and how they are a network of illegals. Well, they do now. And how much does Trump (and conservatism or the Republican brand) really suffer? Did you consider that Trump is already every bad thing a person can possibly be? And he’s not alone. Have you ever heard the media call Republicans names like bigots, racists, xenophobes, crazies, blah, blah? Well, now Ben and Glenn actually support a guy who beds porn stars when his wife is with child. That must really sting. They’d rather go through life being portrayed as virtual Nazis than that! Until now. Welcome to the deplorables, guys.
In relationship terms, we Trumpists have already filed for divorce from the abusive husband (the media) We say, “What took you so long?”
“Well,” say Ben and Glenn, “he often slapped me around, but it was always with an open hand, never a punch, and really, a lot of times I did burn the dinner, and I had a tendency to put too much salt in the potatoes. But this time he punched me with a closed fist! And actually, the dinner I served was perfect! There was no salt in the potatoes at all, and still he complained! Now I have a real case for divorce”.
For Glenn, Ben, and Kanye:
Published in General
The analogy is imperfect. I assume that your point is to avoid knee-jerk defenses of Trump just because he’s Trump. But it is way easier to play the race card in defense of Obama. Trump doesn’t have a “status” that makes for an immediate “go to” defense in the manner of a racism charge. I’d submit that those defending Trump on a regular basis have a tougher road, and, as a result, generally have to make better arguments than “you’re a racist.”
I disagree. You have to reach to accuse someone of racism because they disagree with Obama on foreign policy.
The impulse to criticize anyone who makes a serious observation about Trump is coming from the exact same place of pure partisanship. And the independents of our country are likely to see as exactly that.
But that’s cool. It’s not like we need to independents to vote with us or anything.
Well, it doesn’t look like we’re going to agree because, as I see it, the left never has to reach to accuse someone of racism, and when we have an African-America President, so much the better. The area of contention is not of significance, and I can think of many, many articles that attributed Obama opposition to racism.
Yup. We are going to disagree. It is a reach to say a position I’ve held for 30 years is suddenly racist just because Obama is President.
Reasonable people can differ.
Just replace “racist” with “elitist” and you have the majority of the Anti-NeverTrump arguments I’ve encountered.
Point taken.
Isn’t the whole point about “racist” is that it’s s lie whereas the elites (not those following them) are elitests?
It is a reach for you, @asquared. Is it a reach for Rachel Maddow, Anderson Cooper, Chuck Schumer and Elizabeth Warren?
On our side, not so much the other, I fear. Thus Trump.
Seems to me that suddenly plenty of people on our side are no longer tolerant of people that disageee with them.
To the extent that’s true, it’s born IMO of frustration mostly generated by some leading lights in the conservative media who won’t give an inch on DJT and a small portion of our own commentariat who do same. I suppose that sounds like an excuse, but I won’t try to justify attacks. Everyone should be judged by his/her own writings. It’s also my impression that “tolerance” issues were more an issue before the election–on both “sides.”
It seems to me to be driven by people who think that Trump should not be criticized especially when he does something stupid, and anybody who thinks Trump should be criticized when he does something stupid is an “elitist”.
And the difference between calling me a racist for criticizing Obama when he does something stupid and calling me an elitist when I criticize Trump for doing something stupid is that I actually am an elitist.