Scott Adams is the creator of the Dilbert cartoons. He knows a thing or two about how to persuade people through clownish exaggeration. In his blog, he explains the disturbing success of the Clown-In-Chief, Donald Trump with the GOP voter.
The idea is to place an outlandish thought in your head as an "anchor". Even if you know consciously that it is ridiculously wrong, by frequent repetition, enough of you will buy it. The subconscious makes most of the decisions. It is not bound by logic or facts.
I don’t remember the smaller estimates of Trump’s wealth that critics provided. But I certainly remember the $10 billion estimate from Trump himself. Thanks to this disparity in my memory, my mind automatically floats toward Trump’s anchor of $10 billion being my reality. That is classic persuasion.
Read more: http://blog.dilbert.com/...
Why should we try to understand why Trump is succeeding with the Republicans? Because it is foolish to ignore the leader of the competition. And the basic methods of persuasion he is so good can also work on independents and Democrats. In short, Trump is dangerous.
Surely, the danger is now mostly to the "serious" Republican candidates. Rick Perry has been forced to stop paying his staff. Jeb! is reduced to incoherence over Iraq. What is worse, none of them can get any attention. Trump hogs it all. So we do need to pay attention to why Trump's lunacy is working so well.
Of course August is the month of lunacy in the American political calendar. Most of the professional political class is on vacation. People haven't yet paid serious attention to candidates. But lunacy can have a real effect on politics. Remember that the Tea Party gathered momentum in August 2010. Even if it eventually burned out, it did stop the momentum of Obama's 2008 victory. The political fringe, which loves Trump should not be dismissed.
As I argued before, Ronald Reagan used many ofthe same tactics to win the Presidency. Demographics has changed. Reagan would not win with the same margins in today's electorate. But it would be a mistake to dismiss Trump.
Scott Adams:
I’m going to predict [Trump] will be our next president. I think he will move to the center on social issues (already happening) and win against Clinton in a tight election.
I also saw some Internet chatter about the idea of picking Mark Cuban as Vice Presidential running mate. If that happens, Republicans win. And I think they like to win. There is no way Trump picks some desiccated Governor from an important state as his running mate. I think Cuban is a realistic possibility.
Read more: http://blog.dilbert.com/...
I do not share this view myself. I think Trump will not be the GOP nominee and will lose to Clinton if he runs as an Independent. But he could well come in second, pushing the Republican candidate to third place. But Politics is volatile. If Trump is ignored as if he another Kardashian, he could very well win.
The Clinton camp underestimated Obama in 2007 and paid a big price for it. Are they making the same mistake about Trump?
What is the right response to Trump? I made a suggestion in a previous diary which did not get much traction.
If you have better ideas propose them in the comments. I admit to being baffled. But it is an interesting issue to ponder.