Blog Credo

The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary.

H.L. Mencken

Tuesday, March 12, 2024

Is The Worm Turning?

 Recently, we've seen somewhat better showing for Biden in some polls. There are still so weird ass shit results, like Biden and Trump being almost tied among Blacks and young people in some states. Still, it's a dead heat apparently, for reasons that elude logic.

The Biden counteroffensive began with a vigorous State of the Union address and the lunatic response by Katie Britt. The simple fact remains is that the "vibes" somehow favor Trump, because people have fond memories of low inflation in 2019. When it comes to policy and actual governance, oh boy howdy.

Josh Marshall lays out a case that Trump's cognitive decline has been hiding behind his rage. Back in 2016, Trump had the salesman's instinct to tell his audience what they wanted to hear. He'd meander about and then talk about Hillary's emails, the chant of "Lock her up" would begin and he would bask in the waves of approbation from the crowd. 

As Marshall notes, he's lost the thread. Some of that is because of the epistemic closure of Trumpistan. In 2016, he was speaking to Republicans; in 2024, he's speaking to Cult 45. He's so deep up his own diapered ass that normal people listening to him would be shocked at the babbling nonsense that dribbles from his piehole.  

The latest example of this is his offhand remarks about cutting Social Security and Medicare. That's likely something he's picked up from the Claremont Institute freakshows that populate his orbit. On some level, he likely understood "Wait, I'm not sure I meant to say that" but he's incapable of admitting that he was wrong, so he will likely double down on that in coming days. His cultists will fall dutifully in line, but the few remaining normies in politics will be deeply concerned. Trump's feedback loop as become dark and threatening, but also incoherent and cryptic. 

The GOP response (not Britt's weird drama camp monologue) to Biden's speech was that he was too shouty, TOO energetic. As so often happens, they believe their own bullshit. (Yes, leftists are the same way, but whatever.) They thought Biden was senile. I just read excerpts from the Hur depositions and he does not demonstrate senility at all. 

Back in the halcyon days of 2010-12, the GOP coughed up some deeply weird people like Christine O'Donnell, Todd Akin and Richard Mourdock. O'Donnell seemed to believe in witches and Akin thought a woman's body could "shut that whole thing down" if she became pregnant from rape. The GOP has so committed itself to Trumpist extremism that they are nominating a similar slate of whackjobs. Check out the GOP nominee for governor in North Carolina, if you don't believe me. 

As the GOP falls deeper and deeper into its own Trumpist navel, the disconnect with the American public should become clearer and clearer.

No comments: