TO THOSE WHO INSISTED, on this blog, that Donald Trump – not Hillary Clinton – was the lesser of two evils, I can only say: “I hope you’re right.” Checking-out the faces of America’s anti-Trump protesters, however, I’d have to say that they strike me as the sort of progressives who, if they lived in New Zealand, would be readers of The Daily Blog. They are young, angry, outspoken and ethnically diverse. Precisely the sort of people who had the most to gain from a Clinton victory – and the most to fear from a Trump presidency. I find it hard to believe that any of the young Americans currently battling cops in the streets of Oakland and LA ever considered Trump the lesser evil.
What I can believe, however, is that they found it extremely difficult to vote for Hillary Clinton. She had campaigned in defence of President Obama’s political legacy, when so many Americans were looking for someone to renew his 2008 pledge of Hope and Change. I do not doubt that a great many of them voted in the primaries for Bernie Sanders and his democratic-socialist “revolution”. Nor would I dispute that they responded with anger and disgust to WikiLeaks’ revelations showing just how determined Clinton’s supporters on the Democratic National Committee were to derail the Sanders express. No, it cannot have been easy to vote for Hillary – but they did it all the same.
For that they have my admiration. And, were I in their position, I too would be carrying a “Not My President!” placard. For those here in New Zealand who parroted the anti-Hillary mantras of the Far-Left and the Far-Right, however, I have no admiration whatsoever. The ridiculous accusations; the outright lies; and, most worryingly, the absurd confections of all those conspiracists convinced that Clinton was nothing more than the glove-puppet of the “International Bankers” (or was it the Elders of Zion?!) they made The Daily Blog sound, at times, like the idiot cousin of Breitbart News.
One of the most oft-quoted observations of the Italian communist, Antonio Gramsci, states that: “The crisis consists precisely in the fact that the old is dying and the new cannot be born; in this interregnum a great variety of morbid symptoms appear.” Donald Trump is, unquestionably, the most morbid symptom of the current political crisis gripping the capitalist West – but he is not the only one. Of almost equal concern is the toxic combination of ignorance and viciousness on display in the commentary threads of political blogs and websites.
The paranoid style of these commentators portends almost as much grief as the looming Trump presidency – maybe more. Our economic, social, political and cultural progress depends – as it has always depended – on the judicious blending of rationality, empathy and courage. There is as little to be gained from those who charged Hillary Clinton with plotting to unleash nuclear war upon humanity, as there is from those who accused her of enabling sexual predation. Such accusations reflect only the fetid, hate-filled imaginations of their authors – the very same impulses that drove so many Americans to install Donald Trump in the White House.
What the world needs most from the Left at this moment are clear heads and stout hearts, or, as Gramsci expressed it: “The challenge of modernity is to live without illusions and without becoming disillusioned. I’m a pessimist because of intelligence, but an optimist because of will.”
I wonder about Daily Blog readers, sometimes, especially the ones who post comments under pseudonyms. Does Bomber have any idea who these people really are? Their comments often seem to me like crude attempts to bring the left into disrepute or despair.
That said, Clinton was an awful choice of candidate for the Democrats to select, though it must be very difficult to be have political parties without leaders. Sanders wasn’t even a Democratic Senator, and Trump had never been elected to anything.
I’m a Putlerbot from LiveLeak.
Our economic, social, political and cultural progress depends – as it has always depended – on the judicious blending of rationality, empathy and courage.’
There is no such thing as progress in the industrial system, especially not ‘economic, social, political and cultural’. What is misidentified as progress is just change at the expense of finite resources and at the expense of the environment.
And the change we have witnessed over the past few decades has been extraordinarily bad, sacrificing a huge portion of our remaining energy resources and the last remnants of the intact environment to create totally unsustainable living arrangements that are bound to fall over quite soon, converting huge quantities of fossil fuels into waste that will terminate life-as-we-know-it in matter of a few decades (at best).
Get with it, Chris!
As for Trump, Trump will do exactly what we expected some who is completely disconnected from reality to do: use his position as POTUS to enrich himself, his family, and his business associates at the expense of practically everyone else, and destroy the last remnants of the intact environment a little faster. That is what Hilary would have done if she had managed to get her snout into the POTUS feeding trough.
Once again afewknowthetruth you have nailed it.
All these people backing Clinton have me worried. If she was the answer then the questin must have been ” What is the best way to keep stuffing the world while pretending everything is all right?”
As for Chris he is a very good historian and usually does great columns, but sometimes ….?? Just how left is he?
Short answer, Garibaldi? More left than Trump ever was or will be.
Left-wing leaders do not, as a rule, associate with (or much less appoint to Staff) far-right hate-merchants like Stephen Bannon.
It would be like our Dear Leader Key associating with the likes of Cameron Slater…
Oh wait…
Never mind.
So in a nutshell Chris, you believe in collaboration whereas the ‘lefties’ believe in revolution…
Or as the twelve step programme says, you have to reach rock bottom before you can effect lasting change.
“For that they have my admiration. And, were I in their position, I too would be carrying a “Not My President!” placard. For those here in New Zealand who parroted the anti-Hillary mantras of the Far-Left and the Far-Right, however, I have no admiration whatsoever. The ridiculous accusations; the outright lies; and, most worryingly, the absurd confections of all those conspiracists convinced that Clinton was nothing more than the glove-puppet of the “International Bankers” (or was it the Elders of Zion?!) they made The Daily Blog sound, at times, like the idiot cousin of Breitbart News.”
People who made those sorts of comments are living in la-la land. Especially those who think that Trump was some kind of “anti-establishment hero”. That was utter crap.
Latest news is that Trump is putting in hard-right Republicans into key positions.
So much for “draining the swamp”. So much for anti-establishment. So much for being champion of the workers.
America just took a giant leap to the right.
And all the conspiracy theorists and purveyors of lies and rumours were enablers of this new fascistic regime.
They are as bad as those Germans who daubed “Juden” on shop windows in Berlin in the 1930s.
Yeah, there is a reason I stopped subscribing to this whole site a year ago and now only RSS a select few intelligent bloggers on it.
Well said, Chris.
I must admit that by the end of the campaign I despaired for TDB. Had this turned into some sort of apocalyptic messianic cult-site? It took a few deep breaths of clean Nelson air to recover after compulsively diving into the morass from time to time.
Someone said the problem with the Left is they reject the good in favour of the perfect.
Those of us who have seen enough know there is no “the perfect” but there is certainly the better.
Hillary’s main – and maybe only – fault was her link to the establishment.
It is also her number one asset. You want to get something done, don’t go for an outsider. Ask Obama.
When I first moved out of home it was possible to buy with my own savings a decent rented flat and a car. You can’t do that any more, not with out huh finance. Young people don’t even know what they’re missing out on.
My biggest revelation from this election cycle is that universities in the US and New Zealand are a complete disaster. First year students are coming to the wrong conclusions because nobody can give right conclusions to human behaviour. So increasingly they learn why they can’t achieve with a degree the same level salary as a plumber until they’re 40.
If mainstream is incapable of changing with climate then mainstream as a whole will continue to breath life into dead corpses such as MSM/Trade and proffesionalism in general.
While the solutions are many and varied I’m just gana end with hail Sanders and put some Mana back into parliament
“The ridiculous accusations; the outright lies; and, most worryingly, the absurd confections of all those conspiracists convinced that Clinton was nothing more than the glove-puppet of the “International Bankers” (or was it the Elders of Zion?!) they made The Daily Blog sound, at times, like the idiot cousin of Breitbart News.”
Well, well, well, Chris, I get your point, and do to a fair degree agree with your criticism. But let us be totally honest, Hillary is the typical face of the existing US establishment, that is the Washington and New York (Wall Street) based establishment, and the bureaucrats running federal policy and also those sitting in the capitals of the traditionally Democratic Party voting states.
Hillary made her own arrangements, to work with the establishment and the powers there are, she is one that can be compared to the Blairite types of “progressives”.
So I can totally understand that many that may have used to vote Democrats, and who voted in large numbers for Obama, could not do so for Hillary. She was the WRONG kind of candidate. You should be angry at the Democratic Party leadership and establishment, the ones who did all to sabotage Bernie Sanders, like possibly some other candidates for lower offices.
Trump is a fake, he is part of the elite, although a kind of “antagonistic”, perhaps in some ways “anti establishment” character, he still belongs to the top one percent, or rather 0.1 percent, and he feels, thinks and acts like a fair few of others at that top of the societal ladder. He fires people if he feels they do not perform, or if they do not agree with him, has not paid taxes for 18 or so years (exploiting the tax law loopholes) and looks after himself, with little honest interest in blue collar workers.
He is a celebrity reality TV man, a person who says what people want to hear, only to get their support.
If the Democrats had seen the light earlier, and went outside of their bubble a bit more, and had let Sanders have his run, we may have had a different outcome, perhaps at least, it was worth a try.
Now we have a man who gets angry, who flirts with despotes and egocentrics like Putin, and who wants to boost military spending, cut health spending, build more fences or walls, cut taxes for business and rich people, and who talks and boasts, but has no real solutions that will work. He gets a guy from Breitbart to work for him, and has Pence, a bigot of sorts, be his choice for Vice President.
It is a disaster, indeed.
What got me worried was that some here fall for conspiracy theories, and think they have the solutions, while themselves traveling along ways that lead to Trumps all over the show. I noticed how some seemed to favour the man, and I could not believe it. It seems some on the left, or wherever they stand, they are so desperate, they would support anyone, who gets rid of the present day neoliberal kind of politicians, be they Key, Cameron, Bush, Blair, Merkel, Hollande or whatever their names, they are all somehow either full blown neoliberals, or conformists or apologists at least, upholding the system.
So yes, you have a point with this post, but do not forget that it was the Democrats kicking themselves an own goal.
You are dead right Mike. I think Trump ‘had’ to win to get some sort of change. Sure it is detrimental change but in the end we may well see once and for all how dangerous the American Exceptualism is and how arrogant and downright aggressive the USA has become in imposing corporate capitalism on the world. If we are to survive CC the American designs on our world must be changed.
OK we have to see what a Trump presidency will do but at least we don’t have to have more of the same failures as the Dems were brainwashing us with. It’ s risky but at least it is going to be different and may end up getting a better world quicker than the Clinton dynasty was pushing. It’s time to wake up to the multiple failures and shortcomings of the USA and Trump will at least accelerate that !! 1
Hillary was doubtless the wrong candidate for the times, or at least presented herself too much as a technocrat without the ability to excite or inspire. Her Woman’s Card was also probably the war-cry for another, less neurotic, desperate and fearful age. But the Democrats had invested much to ensure that she would sail through to a crowning as their candidate. Ever since the Clintons left power, she had been among the most popular political figures in America. Hardly a surprise then, that they reacted angrily and sometimes unwisely to an effective challenge. Mud sticks and the unrelenting, focused attacks from an otherwise dysfunctional Congress certainly took it’s toll. But splits within the Democrats also hurt the automatic acceptance among the American people of Hillary as the voice of the Left.
I remember looking at the Republican field of candidates wondering how they were going to find a viable white guy to stand. I mean the stage was groaning with women, blacks, Latinos…well, they found one. And was America ever going to elect a woman – really? I mean this is America we are talking about. Well, maybe, if the Democrats had been united and supportive throughout. But that was not what happened. Hillary was more or less left to fend off the Email attacks alone. Where were the people saying we all knew she had a private server, as did all the Republicans and the FBI for that matter, as all her emails to them would have screamed it because of her email address. She could also have pointed out that if she had secrets, she would have done what they wanted her to do and use a second email account exclusively for private use. Then they would never have seen them. (Until Wikileaks and, maybe, Russia intervened, of course). Nevertheless she didn’t handle it well and the die was cast.
However, I honestly can’t see how Sanders could have done better.
Hillary was defeated in the end by an alliance, or at least a voting co-incidence, between Tribal Republicans and just enough frustrated poor whites, notably in her heartland states. There are many other contributing factors, but that is pretty much it.
Bernie would have got the support from (but not necessarily the vote of) young people (they vote no more there than here). Also maybe working class white people – maybe – and a big chunk of Tribal Democrats. Is that enough? I’m not so sure.
What I find intriguing is that the Right can hammer, one “scandal” endlessly. Benghazi and those Damned Emails dominated Fox News for the last four years. Almost to the exclusion of all else. Meanwhile, Waimategate, Showergate and Paintergate sustained the vilification of the Left here for the last years of the Clark regime. On the other hand the scandals of the Right (Sleazy Trump, Dirty Politics, Saudi-sheep-gate, Dirty Trick Lies about Goff, and on and on) only seem to last until the end of the current news cycle.
Maybe we still have something to learn. But probably not from Bernie.
the real disaster needs to happen, until then joe yank will continue to think they were or are the greatest, that saudi is somewhere where the penguins live and the world really is america and a few islands off the coast…
” The ridiculous accusations; the outright lies; and, most worryingly, the absurd confections of all those conspiracists convinced that Clinton was nothing more than the glove-puppet of the “International Bankers” (or was it the Elders of Zion?!) they made The Daily Blog sound, at times, like the idiot cousin of Breitbart News.”
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
Really ?
Watch this then . And if you are so convinced of what you type, Chris ,…perhaps you would then feel just as qualified to refute a man like John Pilger, ..and the black and white truths that Julian Assange posted on Wikileaks…
Somehow I dont think so.
https://www.rt.com/viral/365783-assange-pilger-wikileaks-election/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o1Ho8OrBzig
WILD KATIPO;
My sentiments indeed.
John Pilger:
“One of the most revealing aspects of all this is the exposure of journalism.”
Two good links and a third belongs with that list.
An interview with Dr Ron Paul by Crosstalk’s Peter Lavelle.
He talks of Deep State,Shadow Gvt,Wikileaks,MSM,ISIS and more.
https://www.rt.com/shows/crosstalk/366411-trump-doctrine-ron-paul/
The MSM is dead.
See my list of Alt Media at bottom of Frank’s “Black Ops……” 1st Nov.
Cheers.
“The ridiculous accusations; the outright lies; and, most worryingly, the absurd confections of all those conspiracists convinced that Clinton was nothing more than the glove-puppet of the “International Bankers” (or was it the Elders of Zion?!) they made The Daily Blog sound, at times, like the idiot cousin of Breitbart News”.
No you cannot definitely say all that money that she and her husband only received, 10’s if not 100’s of millions of dollars over the years from Wall Street connections and “International Bankers” at all swayed her votes or views. It wouldn’t in Toytown, that’s for sure!
Thing is she was firmly indebted to Wall St as the BBC, no less, states in this article, http://www.bbc.com/news/election-us-2016-35788116 and there is plenty of objective articles on the internet.
Just as with the National Party and their donors do you really think those very wealthy, hugely self centered donors, used to their money buying what they want, just wanted to do the right thing by democracy and donate their money to Clinton for the good of man kind and no quid pro quo? Seriously?
What so called seasoned political commentators here seem to miss here is the revulsion from people being hurt by big money and it’s exploitation of them along with it’s extremely comfortable relationship with politicians.
Clinton appeared as one of the worst compromised politicians that has rolled out of Washington since Reagan. And let’s not mention her love of war and confrontation.
Ironically they voted in Trump, part of that 1% of the wealthy and who will undoubtedly make their lives worse and ours. But the Democrats did their utmost to ensure he won by selecting Clinton.
I couldn’t agree more. I’m surrounded by Trump supporters amongst my friends and facebook friends which I find very disturbing, a good number of them whom I would have considered inately progressive. They always support Trump for one of two reasons, either because they are conspiracy theorists or they are Christians. One can’t underestimate the importance of Christian fundamentalism to Trump winning the presidency. It tends to be put aside for the argument that it was all about the angry white working classes but I think it was three legged stool – religion/abortion, racism and people and people having their backs to the wall financially. All rolled up spectacularly in the white working classes.
Yes, Xray, all that and more about Clinton. Like all other Washington insiders, she was “compromised” in that respect.
But one thing she wasn’t is a fascist racist who attacked minorities, treated women as sex-flesh, and attacked anyone who dared disagree with him. I’m referring to Trump of course.
Now the post-election fallout of racist attacks and “Trump Nation Whites Only” is continiuing to such an apalling degree that Trump had to go public and command it to stop. Fat chance! The evil Genie is out of the bottle, uncorked by Trump, as he scrambled over the living bodies of Mexicans, muslims, etc, to get to the White House.
You can say what you like about Clinton, but she never engaged in racist, misogynistic attacks on others.
Fortunately for the likes of us, we don’t have to put up with racist attacks by emboldened Trumpists, repeating the acts of Brownshirts eighty years ago.
Is Trump worth it? Ask any Mexican or Muslim in the US for their response.
i hear comments like it cant get any worse…well yes it can, it would have been far worse if he had lost to her.
the endorsement of the neos again would have just about terminated life as we know it
American corporate tax is supposed to be cut to 15%…
Will this be a big-enough experiment to finally squish the business dream that if there was less tax enterprise will flourish? I wonder who their customers will be?
And as for leaving infrastructure construction to free market expertise – another century, another string of disasters and failures, I’m sure.
Poor Trump. He only thinks he knows how to drain the swamp. All those great grandsons and daughters of immigrants from long ago, hardened and seasoned in skulduggery and political manoeuvring, will have eaten his dream and credibility long before morning tea.
Like the Duke of Wellington becoming British PM – out of his league.
Hmmm, let’s see, who is the lesser evil? The person who beat over a dozen candidates frontally, or the person who had to rig numerous primaries and starve a campaign of party support just to beat just one?
“Nor would I dispute that they responded with anger and disgust to WikiLeaks’ revelations showing just how determined Clinton’s supporters on the Democratic National Committee were to derail the Sanders express.”
That’s your response to what was revealed?
Sanders voters in Nevada denied ability to vote (story was later covered by The Young Turks show):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=amungy8xmwc
California poll worker confirms she was told to give the wrong instructions & ballots to independents who wanted to vote Sanders:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PW0bfSsdRbY
Still think she’s the lesser evil?
“Checking-out the faces of America’s anti-Trump protesters, however, I’d have to say that they strike me as the sort of progressives who, if they lived in New Zealand, would be readers of The Daily Blog.”
Not sure how the appearance of these protesters makes her a lesser evil, but if that’s the criteria, then what about these guys and gals:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w7b29ldviQE
Also, many of the protesters currently rioting are anarchists and members of revolutionary socialist movements who didn’t vote, don’t believe in it, and are hoping to change the temperature in the favour of their movements. They aren’t Clinton supporters.
“There is as little to be gained from those who charged Hillary Clinton with plotting to unleash nuclear war upon humanity, as there is from those who accused her of enabling sexual predation. Such accusations reflect only the fetid, hate-filled imaginations of their authors – the very same impulses that drove so many Americans to install Donald Trump in the White House.”
Well, what can I say to that, other than “Who is with her?”
http://thesaker.is/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/I-am-with-her.jpg
No ally of the left gets endorsed by this basket of deplorables. They are neocon warmongers who turned away from Trump to endorse Clinton. They had two options: stick with Trump for low tax/small government economic policy and social conservatism, and put their regime change obsession on hold for a few years. Or, put their low tax/small government economic policy and social conservatism obsessions on hold for a few years, and get their regime change from Clinton. And that is what they chose.
Hillary doubled down on her Russophobic stances and insistence of a no fly zone, including a lie about Russia’s will to negotiate:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=74EvJieIqbM
Here’s what General Joseph Dunford, current chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said about her pet project would lead:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xywb7KqPJoM
Saudi supporting hypocrite Clinton *is* the warmonger here.
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