As I write this, the ballots are still being counted, but it’s clear this is a big night for Trump. And a terrible night for Marco Rubio, who lost his home state of Florida and bowed out of the race.
So naturally, Trump’s most enthusiastic supporters (many of whom are also sort of white supremacists) took to Twitter to crow about Mr. T’s various victories. And call people cucks.
Did I mention that these are the guys who like to call people cucks? Well, they are.
https://twitter.com/Ali_in_So_Cali/status/709938562662150148
https://twitter.com/redgullsjeffrey/status/709938801276137472
https://twitter.com/robo_junkie/status/709933440779464704
https://twitter.com/SodomyRockets/status/709939915874639874
https://twitter.com/MikeVivian/status/709945091163627520
https://twitter.com/rhowlingcoyote/status/709905625354883073
https://twitter.com/_deSaintJust/status/709901935344750592
https://twitter.com/dave1163sag/status/709903955451637761
https://twitter.com/shellwinder/status/709929365681934336
@anjiecast cuck tears make Trump stronger
— Christopher Williams (@neon_shadows) March 16, 2016
https://twitter.com/uncleancasuals/status/709921039422242816
I feel a little bad for this guy, though.
What does cuck mean
—  (@dustypoker) March 16, 2016
Dude, you’re better off not knowing.
Note: There are actually worse Tweets out there containing the word “cuck,” but I’m not sure anyone reading this really deserves to be subjected to the wisdom of Twitter users @AdversaryOfJews, @bloodandsoil4, or @jewsf**kbabys. (And yes, aside from the asterisks, those are real Twitter accounts.)
Just wanna point out that the dude called Megan Kelly a cuck. They don’t know what that word means, do they?
I’m not surprised at the notion that Trump could pull a few Democratic voters. He’s actually to the left of Hillary Clinton on some things, like free trade and opposition to war. In 2001 he registered as a Democrat, but then changed party affiliation in 2009.
That being said, people who vote for him are fooling themselves if they think Trump cares about them. Like any other politician with nakedly grandiose ambitions, Trump just wants their votes. He couldn’t be clearer about his contempt for his supporters – he “loves the uneducated”, he could murder someone in broad daylight on Fifth Avenue and not lose any votes, the poor and middle class are losers, etc. etc. They’re just sheep to him. He welcomes their loyalty, but he’s not gonna do jack for them except make them feel temporarily strong-by-proxy. After the election, his supporters are still going to be angry, racist, capitalist roadkill with stagnant wages and decreasing access to education, decent housing, and health care. Same old same old. Trump’s a former WWE carnival barker who knows how to play his audience.
The election is going to hinge on turnout, and which party can muster stronger “anti” feelings. Unfortunately, the Republicans always have an edge on hate. If Democrats don’t feel strongly about their candidate, they tend to shrug and stay home on election day. Republicans will walk over Legos to pull the lever against a candidate they think is going to destroy Western civilization. So we’re going to get a lot of Republicans and independent swing voters who don’t necessarily love Trump, but hate Hillary enough to get to the polls and stop her. On top of the reliably 15-20% of the electorate who are authoritarian thugs, that could be enough to swing the election. Hillary doesn’t have the same deep base as Obama, and doesn’t inspire the same GOTV passion. We’ll have to make sure enough sensible voters are paying attention and make the effort to go to the polls in November.
There’s a lot more at stake than just the presidency – there’s the Supreme Court, for starters. Voters who want to reduce the corrupting influence of money in politics should be concerned with getting a SCOTUS majority who can overturn Citizens United. Electing President Tribble-Top isn’t going to change anything.
On another note, I’ve been enjoying the #GoodbyeRubioTuesday hashtag. Now Marco can go retire in peace and make fundraising speeches, or something.
@ vikki p
Yeah, hence my surprise. The view taken with regard to all the racism etc seems to be that:
He doesn’t really mean it, and it will be abandoned if he’s elected.
Even if he does mean it, he won’t be able to do it for practical/legal reasons
So once that’s stripped away you’re left with someone who is, at heart, an old school Democrat.
Seems a bit strange to me, but politics is a weird business and people vote for all sorts of factors I suppose. They did some interviews with black evangelicals and Mexican voters and they were expressing their support for Trump! So who knows?
@ Alan
Yeaaaaaaah. I’d call that strange.
The fact that Glenn Beck doesn’t like Trump continues to be one of the weirdest things about this election.
Of course. Because racist legislation has never existed in America. Nor could it ever exist in the present or future. For practical and/or legal reasons. Same thing for laws supporting torture, the erosion of civil liberties, and religious intolerance. Couldn’t exist!
Not saying you support this logic, Alan. It just surprises me, too.
The man who says he wants to kill “the families of terrorists” and that we’re at war with Islam is somehow considered “anti-war”. Meanwhile, his chief opponent, Ted Cruz, is in favor of basically carpet bombing entire countries. But people to act as if Trump “doesn’t really mean it” or “couldn’t get away with it”, unlike Cruz apparently? Boggles the mind.
Seems like what he says is rationalized as either meaning it or not meaning it, depending on how you want to justify voting for him. Torture, bigotry, thick-headed ignorance, hate for freedom of the press, and inciting his supporters to violence? Totally doesn’t mean any of it. Courting anti-vaxxers and birthers and the KKK? Not a problem! No need to take any of that seriously. Pro-abortion and support for Medicare? We can believe that! A corporate man who’s profited from unbridled capitalism and a rich inheritance saying he’s anti-corporate and anti-rich elites? Totally believe it!
Imagine if Trump were a woman or a black man saying these things. Think people would still give him the benefit of a doubt?
@ TOTC
I find it all a bit bewildering too. The issue of whether Trump actually believes what he’s saying and, if not, why is he saying it, is something that’s cropped up quite a bit on the BBC coverage. Various theories from the commentators.
If you can access Newsnight where you are, you might find it interesting. The US people involved in the election process seem to be a lot more candid with the Beeb than they are on domestic US media.
@magnesium
Trump stole both his schtick and his precious, precious attention. Pretty sure that’s a death penalty offense in ol’ Blackboard’s eyes.
magnesium:
Grifters are suspicious of other grifters.
Competition’s a real bitch.
Trump is as unprincipled as Reacher Gilt, but I think Gilt had more class. On the other hand, do other people see a similarity betwen Ted Cruz and FindThee Swing?
@Moggie:
I’m also on the autism spectrum and have trouble with interpersonal skills! 😛
Nanny Ogg Knows People. She could make just a couple of pointed comments, and Trump’s life would become living hell.
There’s a thing called the EIU. They issue risk analyses on economic matters. Here’s their latest:
https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/
772942a6ab6181b1af70c48198ba6349e548c420/0_0_529_398/master/529.jpg?w=620&q=55&auto=format&usm=12&fit=max&s=42e2f502bdbf5ae451f4b24457bb7082
ETA: remove the gap to see