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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsThe Alabamization of America is complete
Alabama Political Reporter Josh Moon has been talking about this process for a while. He's pretty much on the nose.
http://www.alreporter.com/2018/04/10/opinion-the-alabamization-of-america-is-complete/
Excerpt:
Hunter S. Thompson once wrote of Richard Nixon on the occasion of Nixons death, no less that Nixon was scum, and that the country had never encountered a crook like him.
If only Thompson had lived to see the era of Trump.
From his phony college to his taped confession of sexual assault to his porn star payoff to his Russian sellout to his moronic and corrupt children holding down jobs that real statesmen have been honored to hold to his complete and utter bumbling stupidity at every turn, this will be the worst president any of us will ever know.
He is George Wallace without the cunning.
yallerdawg
(16,104 posts)But theres a difference between having, say, a difference of opinion on the theory of trickle-down economics and believing that the reality TV star-turned-president will force Mexico to pay for a big, beautiful, YUGE border wall.
To believe the former requires only a basic misunderstanding of economic principles and the investing habits in todays market. To believe the latter requires outright stupidity.
Sweet home, America!
TheFrenchRazor
(2,116 posts)Skittles
(153,160 posts)Ferrets are Cool
(21,106 posts)Comparing the two of them is ridiculous, so please enlighten me. Name one thing besides racism they have in common. I'm willing to be educated.
misanthrope
(7,417 posts)He was the one who used the phrase.
Ferrets are Cool
(21,106 posts)kinda being facetious. I am serious in saying that racism is the only connection.
sandensea
(21,635 posts)Today's Republicans only seem to get more extreme as they age - Cheeto particularly.
misanthrope
(7,417 posts)He made public apologies for his segregationist image and policies. There were public allusions to his days before the governorship when he seemed to have a far softer attitude toward African-Americans.
Though he and his advisors -- and many voters as it turned out -- thought this softened up his image, to others it made what he did in the 1950s and 1960s look worse. It would be one thing if he was enforcing his actual beliefs but to admit he thought blacks weren't subhuman then insist on such policies simply for political expedience is even more reprehensible.
sandensea
(21,635 posts)Wallace was quite the demagogue, then - though unlike King Con, he seemed to be able to at least read the writing on the wall and adapt accordingly.
Cheeto will probably never change, not even to keep up appearances.
IronLionZion
(45,442 posts)Defiant attitude
large loud rowdy rallies
Claimed male hippies were not manly enough
exploiting the worst elements of people's fears and biases
giving voice to less educated rural people who feel they have been ignored and looked down on by the educated elitists
People developed intense hatred against him which only emboldened him
He got support from people who felt their best days were in the past
Surprise upset election results
Wallace ran for president as an independent and Trump threatened to do that if he didn't win the GOP nomination
More at this link:
https://www.npr.org/2016/04/22/475172438/donald-trump-and-george-wallace-riding-the-rage
misanthrope
(7,417 posts)noting the similarities between her father and Trump during the 2016 election.
IronLionZion
(45,442 posts)Trump would totally do that with Ivanka if he could
meadowlander
(4,395 posts)Running a "law and order" campaign out of one side of their mouth while undermining unions out of the other
Starting out as a democrat and then switching to being a republican when they realized that those were the only people stupid enough to vote for them en masse
Sitting to some extent outside either party's apparatus and threatening to run as an independent
Enjoying campaign rallies and publicity stunts a lot more than actually governing
False bravado:
"If any demonstrator ever lays down in front of my car, it'll be the last car he'll ever lay down in front of." George Wallace
I really believe Id run in there even if I didnt have a weapon "Get that son-of-a-bitch out of here" Donald Trump
Ferrets are Cool
(21,106 posts)for the comparisons of which I was unaware.
Bernardo de La Paz
(49,001 posts)Because Kansas is such a shining example of RepliCONGAMEs working.
Bernardo de La Paz
(49,001 posts)sandensea
(21,635 posts)Though I fear his Wall Street-written policies may be leading us down the same road Silent Cal's did.
misanthrope
(7,417 posts)Nixon was far smarter. Could Trump have graduated from Duke Law?
Though a shady crew, Nixon actually hired a more capable administration.
Nixon created the EPA, signed the National Cancer Act, ended the draft and shrunk the deficit.
Even by more malevolent measures, POTUS 45 is an amateur. Machiavellian tactics and machinations? Trump is a piker compared to Nixon.
Bernardo de La Paz
(49,001 posts)DBoon
(22,366 posts)nt
misanthrope
(7,417 posts)Hitler had actual military and battlefield experience. By accounts, Hitler was a brave soldier in the face of withering fire, was wounded twice and awarded several medals.
Also, Hitler was a normally literate adult and actually wrote his autobiography. Neither of those can conclusively be stated about Trump.
Response to misanthrope (Original post)
ProudLib72 This message was self-deleted by its author.
meadowlander
(4,395 posts)If not, what is the relevance?
ProudLib72
(17,984 posts)KT2000
(20,577 posts)since the campaign days. His base is the same as the Wallace base.
ThoughtCriminal
(14,047 posts)Is not just about comparisons of Trump to Wallace. It's not just about staying backwards, but proudly marching into the 19th century: Preserving white supremacy, promoting ignorance as "Tradition", fighting unions and workers rights, making sure public schools are underfunded... In short, doing the exact opposite of what needs to be done on every policy front that would make life better for its citizens.
A model for every Red state to follow.
EffieBlack
(14,249 posts)He was still a jerk, but it's unfair to him to compare him to Trump.
That's how bad it's gotten - I'm actually defending George Wallace.
misanthrope
(7,417 posts)Good point!
klook
(12,155 posts)I'd like to see more red states get Alabamified like that.