Explaining Trump's appeal

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Monday March 21, 2016 · 8:01 AM PDT

2016/03/21 · 08:01

What makes Trump so seductive? Many analyses point to his policies and race-baiting. To his pandering and lying. To the fact that he’s an “outsider” and a “successful business man” and that the American system needs shaking up. But none of these traits are particularly unique among individuals running for office.

On the other hand, among candidates, Trump is singularly masterful in his ability to protect his own ego, a skill honed through decades of salesmanship and failure. I believe that this is the unique feature responsible for Trump's success, providing the timely palliative for which certain voters with bruised egos are desperate.

Trump’s self-protection is simultaneously simple and sophisticated. In his deft public defenses of his own insecurity, he implicitly teaches those who listen to him how they might defend themselves as well. Thus we find Trump's speech compelling because, by internalizing it, we direct our own thinking away from uncomfortable truths and instead toward the self-comforting lies of greatness.

Other politicians, in their speechwriting, work hard to deliberately craft a narrative frame that serves their interests. Trump has no need to compose his speeches ahead of time, because his own internal narrative has already been carefully crafted to manipulate: Trump’s success at deceiving himself has been what’s enabled him to so easily deceive others.

Ironically, Trump’s narcissism isn’t a liability -- it’s his greatest asset.

Proof that "voter fraud" is Jim Crow 2.0

LeoT

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Thursday March 15, 2012 · 5:49 PM PDT

2012/03/15 · 17:49

We now have tools that let us look back at how words and concepts have been used over time. These tools reveal how:

"voter fraud" is an entirely new concept
people's use of "voter fraud" is unlike how they use other similar concepts
"voter fraud" as a concept distracts from the idea of "electoral fraud"

The "marketplace of ideas" is a frequently-used metaphor that suggests that the "best" ideas survive on their own merit. But if the very existence of the idea of "voter fraud" is entirely due to marketing and spin doctoring then we, and especially the media, need to be very careful in our use of it. It also means we need to be highly skeptical about attempts by legislators to prevent "voter fraud" through the passage of voter ID laws. So, let's look at the evidence.

Poll

380 votes Show Results

Are voter ID laws justified?

380 votes Vote Now!

Are voter ID laws justified?

No, they are just the new Jim Crow

335 votes

Maybe?

10 votes

Yes: I need an ID to buy alcohol and drive. I should need ID to decide who will lead the country!

30 votes

Yes: we need to keep the 'wrong kind' of people from voting

5 votes

One reason Occupy Wall Street could succeed

LeoT

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Monday October 03, 2011 · 6:46 PM PDT

2011/10/03 · 18:46

What if the dynamics of American culture mean that it can only support one major activist movement?

Journalistic narratives cover "both sides", which seems to boil down to those who agree with XYZ and those who don't. But it's possible to disagree with XYZ for both Left-y and Right-y reasons. The biggest win of the Tea Party (or even the Right, for the past 30 years) might then be not the actual force of their argument, but instead that they have successfully stuck themselves into the default counter-position, originally held by (often academic) critics from the left.

In other words, to overcome the TP would first require a single dislodging event that stopped the TP from being the default go-to for don't-agree-with-XYZ. Only once they've been thus-bumped would it be possible for the Left to make any headway.

Maybe OWS could be that one event? Is there some way the Left could regain its place as the default counter-position?

Poll

11 votes Show Results

This idea is ...

11 votes Vote Now!

This idea is ...

Old and uninteresting

2 votes

Old but interesting

2 votes

New but uninteresting

0 votes

New and interesting

4 votes

Insufficiently explained

2 votes

Nonsensical

1 vote

The GOP's anti-tax argument: is it supported by the facts? (hint: probably not)

LeoT

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Sunday July 17, 2011 · 1:54 PM PDT

2011/07/17 · 13:54

... in one big image.

Poll

36 votes Show Results

What proportion of Americans do you think know that the top .5% pay an effective 22% federal tax rate?

36 votes Vote Now!

What proportion of Americans do you think know that the top .5% pay an effective 22% federal tax rate?

23 votes

10%

8 votes

20%

2 votes

40%

0 votes

80%

3 votes

A grassroots, self-organizing, energy-saving stimulus

LeoT

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Wednesday January 14, 2009 · 6:47 PM PST

2009/01/14 · 18:47

We're already handing out hundreds of billions in loans to inept corporations. And we're not even sure we'll get our money back.

How about this: why not give us loans to weatherize or weather-proof our homes and businesses? It wouldn't cost $600 billion dollars, it wouldn't be risky, and it would mean real jobs now for millions of Americans.

It might sound boring, but it's not. Here's how it could work:

LeoT

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Tuesday August 26, 2008 · 4:00 PM PDT

2008/08/26 · 16:00

How can we make a vote for Obama feel satisfying for the swing vote? What can help counter the narrative elicited by the question "is he ready to lead?".

This is not some S&M thing. Whether we like it or not, we humans love to correct perceived injustice. It makes us feel good to punish those who have wronged us.

The Republicans have wronged America and it is time for America to mete out retribution. If voters have in mind the notion that the Republican party as whole needs to be punished, then they will love to tick the box beside Barack Obama. We need to make a vote for Obama feel like a corrective action. It needs to feel like triumphant cathartic vengeance. This kind of narrative could be highly effective, making the election a referendum on the Republican party.

RSS

Explaining Trump's appeal

Proof that "voter fraud" is Jim Crow 2.0

One reason Occupy Wall Street could succeed

The GOP's anti-tax argument: is it supported by the facts? (hint: probably not)

A grassroots, self-organizing, energy-saving stimulus

Motivating SWING VOTERS