Exactly. The reason Trump’s candidacy “worked” is he made the fascism seem like fun, and treated the whole thing as a big nasty joke. His supporters felt like they were in on the joke, like they were wearing those novelty-shop flowers on their lapels, squirting water into the eyes of the Libs. Rallies were joyful occasions preceded by tailgate parties where they connected in-person with online friends. Yes, in reality the cruelty was the point, yes, they had become addicted to outrage and to perceiving *themselves* as victims, but Trump sold it all in a way that made their rage and resentment feel enjoyably cathartic. His rollicking style allowed his supporters to avoid squarely facing or admitting to themselves what they were really supporting.
But DeSantis, who has all the personal charisma of a tarantula, is deadly serious. He tears their fig leaf away. DeSantis’ humorless authoritarianism forces the MAGAs to catch a glimpse of the reality they have more in common with the Nazis of the Beer Hall Putsch or the picnickers at a lynching than they do with the Merry Pranksters, which is how they prefer to see themselves. They want to believe they are basically good people, certainly they are not like the Nazis! DeSantis simply doesn’t offer them the same cover Trump does, and many of them really, really NEED that cover.
With the exception of rightwing loons like the Proud Boys, the integralists, the Viktor Orban fellaters, etc., you have to disguise the fascism to make it palatable to most 21st Century Americans. Trump knows how to do that, DeSantis does not.
Damn. It's early, and I've not had enough coffee to suss this completely, but yeah.
Floridians tho are a Special Case – do not discount their ability to out-feel (not out-think) even the most inelegant of reason-bereft candidate-oids. That is, "Sure, he's Mussolini, and of course the trains do not run on time. But what the hell – those cute little boots!"
TBH, this piece kind of ranty and too long for my shrinking pool of patience, but then, towards the end, the joke:
"Folks, I assure you, when MAGA look at DeSantis they see the same charmless, maladroit fuckface you do."
Not enough to have a scintilla of rachmanos for any MAGAt, but likely completely correct.
The path to a fascist state requires freeing the people to engage in their worst behavior. That enabling by Fulton County (GA) Inmate No. P01135809 was the only innovation of his. Of course, theretofore, the typical pol's superego would forced them to draw a line at that, but not the fPOTUS who obviously has no superego to speak of.
You might expect the MAGA stans to resent someone like Trump, with his total lack of a sense of responsibility, his I-don’t-give-a-fuckness*, as the product of an unfairly privileged upbringing. But no. It reminds me of a college class I took in which the students who were children of the working class defended the Robber Barons, the union busters, the exploiters and even murderers -- because that’s what THEY would have done. And will do, when their ship comes in. Politicians like DeSantis, who tout their “common man” origins, do nothing to feed the fantasy. If you’re such a big deal, why ain’t you grabbing pussy?
Yeah this is exactly right. I'm in Ohio. Southwest Ohio which means I'm surrounded by these people. Being a cruel asshole isn't the point -it's a sidebar or a byproduct. People drawn to Trump are the kind of people that will never admit that they are wrong. This means that they have to blame setbacks or problems on other people. The most privileged people in the history of the world feel downtrodden. (That's fucked up!) Mostly they want other people to feel as sorry for them as they feel for themselves. Now they think it's great when the people they feel are keeping them down suffer some sort of cruelty or misfortune. They love that shit. But it's not a requirement as long as everyone acknowledges that they're the ones being put upon. They are not The Man - they are the ones that The Man is keeping down.
I think they hate Ron's pushy old lady too. Keeping Bitches Down is another fundamental rule in the cult. Nikki Haley gets to go on TV and spout off but at the end of the day she's in the other room fixing sandwiches while the men talk business.
“Folks, I assure you, when MAGA look at DeSantis they see the same charmless, maladroit fuckface you do. They see a numpty who does everything out of a playbook, who can’t improvise, who can’t dance, who has no soul, no verve, no jam. As I wrote in 2015, they wouldn’t vote for Scott Walker for the same reason:”
Ed, please tell us how you really feel? Excellent analysis, I’ll add a few tidbits of my own:
With DeSatan, where do we start? Yes, he is a “fuckface,” but an obsessed and ambitious one. If you’ve ever seen him debate, then you know why he is being eviscerated at the polls. He’s like a deer caught in the headlights of an oncoming tractor/trailer; cruising down the highway to hell.
News flash: it doesn’t end well for Bambi!
As for Walker or Mr. Venn diagram? Well, his presentation skills, or lack thereof, speaks volumes as to his competency. Walker was never a serious contender and will find his place in the dustbin of history, along with the rest of the pretenders.
Just look at all the young guns in the Republican Party: Cantor, McCarthy and Ryan. Need I say more? All with so much promise, yet, of little consequence or a moral turpitude, and even less to offer as legitimate statesmen and leaders.
As the Republican Party metastasizes into its current form of MAGA-lite leaders, religious fanatics, and white nationalists, only one charlatan emerges from the pack: the least incompetent of all; Trump!
Oct 12, 2023·edited Oct 12, 2023Liked by Roy Edroso
This is all tremendously reassuring to me. My greatest fear has been that the Republicans would find someone just as awful as Trump, but focused, disciplined and capable of follow-through. What a pleasant surprise to find that Republican voters have some kind of brain malfunction that makes "focused, disciplined, capable of follow-through" a turn-off.
I am reminded of the woman who said, after the pussy-grabbing tape came out, “That’s just the way men are.” She meant the men in her life, not decent caring men, and she accepted them as the norm. Add in the fake business genius persona and you have the Trump secret sauce: loud, ignorant bullying you could hear in any crappy bar or Super Bowl party, filling their ears with bullshit that’s so much easier to absorb than actual facts and figures. DeSantis is to whiny, he’s the husband you wish would shut up and take the dog out so you can get back to Dancing With the Stars. Every MAGA man wants to be big and successful like Trump, not governor of a state-wide retirement community cum trailer park.
The fact is that DeSantis wants to be Mussolini but hasn't the charisma or charm to pull it off. Small consolation certainly, but better than the alternative.
1. Trump to MAGA is the John Belushi character in Animal House. He can be "cruel" (and smash some ninny's guitar), but he doesn't do it with his eye on the audience, implying, "This is what you want, isn't it?" Trump, like some country western singer's persona, is an "outlaw." That's what they like.
2. DeathSentence, in contrast, panders to MAGA and, for all we know, makes some of them a tad uncomfortable when confronted with an accurate read of "what they want." So it reminded me--go know why--of the immortal commercial line, "Chah-lee, Stahkist don't want tunas with good taste. They want tunas who taste good."
Speaking of censorship (that's me, Johnny Segue), you remember that Covenant Eyes thing I mentioned the other day? Turns out there's a whole industry devoted to software just like it. There's an option on one of them to "protect" you from swimwear and lingerie! And options to keep you from bypassing or uninstalling it! And it'll even track you. Sure, there's false positives and it'll block ANY reference to sex (probably "gender" as well, making it difficult I'm sure to learn certain foreign languages), but life is SO much more pleasant when someone's looking over your shoulder at all times. 🙄🤨
Exactly. The reason Trump’s candidacy “worked” is he made the fascism seem like fun, and treated the whole thing as a big nasty joke. His supporters felt like they were in on the joke, like they were wearing those novelty-shop flowers on their lapels, squirting water into the eyes of the Libs. Rallies were joyful occasions preceded by tailgate parties where they connected in-person with online friends. Yes, in reality the cruelty was the point, yes, they had become addicted to outrage and to perceiving *themselves* as victims, but Trump sold it all in a way that made their rage and resentment feel enjoyably cathartic. His rollicking style allowed his supporters to avoid squarely facing or admitting to themselves what they were really supporting.
But DeSantis, who has all the personal charisma of a tarantula, is deadly serious. He tears their fig leaf away. DeSantis’ humorless authoritarianism forces the MAGAs to catch a glimpse of the reality they have more in common with the Nazis of the Beer Hall Putsch or the picnickers at a lynching than they do with the Merry Pranksters, which is how they prefer to see themselves. They want to believe they are basically good people, certainly they are not like the Nazis! DeSantis simply doesn’t offer them the same cover Trump does, and many of them really, really NEED that cover.
With the exception of rightwing loons like the Proud Boys, the integralists, the Viktor Orban fellaters, etc., you have to disguise the fascism to make it palatable to most 21st Century Americans. Trump knows how to do that, DeSantis does not.
Damn. It's early, and I've not had enough coffee to suss this completely, but yeah.
Floridians tho are a Special Case – do not discount their ability to out-feel (not out-think) even the most inelegant of reason-bereft candidate-oids. That is, "Sure, he's Mussolini, and of course the trains do not run on time. But what the hell – those cute little boots!"
Nah. Needs more coffee.
TBH, this piece kind of ranty and too long for my shrinking pool of patience, but then, towards the end, the joke:
"Folks, I assure you, when MAGA look at DeSantis they see the same charmless, maladroit fuckface you do."
Not enough to have a scintilla of rachmanos for any MAGAt, but likely completely correct.
The path to a fascist state requires freeing the people to engage in their worst behavior. That enabling by Fulton County (GA) Inmate No. P01135809 was the only innovation of his. Of course, theretofore, the typical pol's superego would forced them to draw a line at that, but not the fPOTUS who obviously has no superego to speak of.
You might expect the MAGA stans to resent someone like Trump, with his total lack of a sense of responsibility, his I-don’t-give-a-fuckness*, as the product of an unfairly privileged upbringing. But no. It reminds me of a college class I took in which the students who were children of the working class defended the Robber Barons, the union busters, the exploiters and even murderers -- because that’s what THEY would have done. And will do, when their ship comes in. Politicians like DeSantis, who tout their “common man” origins, do nothing to feed the fantasy. If you’re such a big deal, why ain’t you grabbing pussy?
*Offer applies to white men only.
Yeah this is exactly right. I'm in Ohio. Southwest Ohio which means I'm surrounded by these people. Being a cruel asshole isn't the point -it's a sidebar or a byproduct. People drawn to Trump are the kind of people that will never admit that they are wrong. This means that they have to blame setbacks or problems on other people. The most privileged people in the history of the world feel downtrodden. (That's fucked up!) Mostly they want other people to feel as sorry for them as they feel for themselves. Now they think it's great when the people they feel are keeping them down suffer some sort of cruelty or misfortune. They love that shit. But it's not a requirement as long as everyone acknowledges that they're the ones being put upon. They are not The Man - they are the ones that The Man is keeping down.
I think they hate Ron's pushy old lady too. Keeping Bitches Down is another fundamental rule in the cult. Nikki Haley gets to go on TV and spout off but at the end of the day she's in the other room fixing sandwiches while the men talk business.
Rocket from the Crypt said it best: https://youtu.be/X-4icaybfBI?si=jjqxgZ0X4Jg-tmGd&t=135
“Folks, I assure you, when MAGA look at DeSantis they see the same charmless, maladroit fuckface you do. They see a numpty who does everything out of a playbook, who can’t improvise, who can’t dance, who has no soul, no verve, no jam. As I wrote in 2015, they wouldn’t vote for Scott Walker for the same reason:”
Ed, please tell us how you really feel? Excellent analysis, I’ll add a few tidbits of my own:
With DeSatan, where do we start? Yes, he is a “fuckface,” but an obsessed and ambitious one. If you’ve ever seen him debate, then you know why he is being eviscerated at the polls. He’s like a deer caught in the headlights of an oncoming tractor/trailer; cruising down the highway to hell.
News flash: it doesn’t end well for Bambi!
As for Walker or Mr. Venn diagram? Well, his presentation skills, or lack thereof, speaks volumes as to his competency. Walker was never a serious contender and will find his place in the dustbin of history, along with the rest of the pretenders.
Just look at all the young guns in the Republican Party: Cantor, McCarthy and Ryan. Need I say more? All with so much promise, yet, of little consequence or a moral turpitude, and even less to offer as legitimate statesmen and leaders.
As the Republican Party metastasizes into its current form of MAGA-lite leaders, religious fanatics, and white nationalists, only one charlatan emerges from the pack: the least incompetent of all; Trump!
And that’s exactly how the MAGA mob likes it.
Just some thoughts...:)
In fairness, DeSanctimonious is an unpopular incumbent.
This is all tremendously reassuring to me. My greatest fear has been that the Republicans would find someone just as awful as Trump, but focused, disciplined and capable of follow-through. What a pleasant surprise to find that Republican voters have some kind of brain malfunction that makes "focused, disciplined, capable of follow-through" a turn-off.
I am reminded of the woman who said, after the pussy-grabbing tape came out, “That’s just the way men are.” She meant the men in her life, not decent caring men, and she accepted them as the norm. Add in the fake business genius persona and you have the Trump secret sauce: loud, ignorant bullying you could hear in any crappy bar or Super Bowl party, filling their ears with bullshit that’s so much easier to absorb than actual facts and figures. DeSantis is to whiny, he’s the husband you wish would shut up and take the dog out so you can get back to Dancing With the Stars. Every MAGA man wants to be big and successful like Trump, not governor of a state-wide retirement community cum trailer park.
The fact is that DeSantis wants to be Mussolini but hasn't the charisma or charm to pull it off. Small consolation certainly, but better than the alternative.
This column inspired two (2) profound thoughts:
1. Trump to MAGA is the John Belushi character in Animal House. He can be "cruel" (and smash some ninny's guitar), but he doesn't do it with his eye on the audience, implying, "This is what you want, isn't it?" Trump, like some country western singer's persona, is an "outlaw." That's what they like.
2. DeathSentence, in contrast, panders to MAGA and, for all we know, makes some of them a tad uncomfortable when confronted with an accurate read of "what they want." So it reminded me--go know why--of the immortal commercial line, "Chah-lee, Stahkist don't want tunas with good taste. They want tunas who taste good."
"(And attaching the stink of the anti-abortion failure to DeSantis in particular.)"
The term "woke" has dropped from the MAGA vocabulary as well...because Dump.
Speaking of censorship (that's me, Johnny Segue), you remember that Covenant Eyes thing I mentioned the other day? Turns out there's a whole industry devoted to software just like it. There's an option on one of them to "protect" you from swimwear and lingerie! And options to keep you from bypassing or uninstalling it! And it'll even track you. Sure, there's false positives and it'll block ANY reference to sex (probably "gender" as well, making it difficult I'm sure to learn certain foreign languages), but life is SO much more pleasant when someone's looking over your shoulder at all times. 🙄🤨