DJT’s CPAC speech just ended. It was masterful in all the Trumpian ways. He was not one bit shy about lambasting Biden, and he put himself forward to serve as the GOP’s king-maker.
Now we will discover whether he can build coalitions that win elections, and if the GOP wants the help.
My take is that he has a real chance. Trump embraced bare-knuckles politics in the American tradition. My guess is many people will like that.
At CPAC DJT came out as a viable threat to Democratic Party politics.
Tidewater News and Opinion Forum 
If he could “build coalitions” he would still be President. The only coalition he actually built was to unite the various factions of the Democratic Party in common purpose. He is more than welcome to continue in that role and to finish his work of eviscerating the Republican Party that he has started so well.
By giving Trump this forum CPAC has put the final end to the idea that “conservatives” actually stand for any of the principles they traditionally pay lip service to.
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Jaw dropping to watch him crank up the “liar in ex-chief” act and the remnants of the GOP lap it up. The DEMs and Biden just need to focus on governing and watch the self immolation play itself out.
Sad/funny that so many of the cult think he’s still relevant. Maybe 2022 will take care of that?
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Conservatives won the economic wars in the 1960s and lost the culture wars, which pissed the crap outta of ’em ever since. Trump is the kamikaze attack by the GOP.
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CPAC, bless their little failing hearts.
Embrace a man who denies he lost the election, loses every court filing and every appeal up to SCOTUS. He then sends his most ardent supporters along with a motley gang of anti-government, anti-law, anti-American thugs to force Congress and his own VP to do what they legally could not accomplish.
We now have an armed camp for the nation’s capital. Dozens or more legislators and state officials under death threats. Hundreds of indictments that will result in some long prison terms while their leader sips Diet Cokes in Palm Beach with 250 million of their dollars.
CPAC, “The Other Rabbit Hole”.
Putin, Xi, Kim, even ISIS are laughing so hard that their doctors were notified.
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“their leader sips Diet Cokes in Palm Beach with 250 million of their dollars.”
I realize this idol worship phenomena will be endlessly examined as a case study in emotion completely overcoming reason and logic in large swaths of humanity, but watching play out here and in general society is truly mind boggling to me.
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We’ve had three attacks on US soil this century from enemies far and near.
9/11, Benghazi and the Capitol.
Only one was perpetrated by American citizens.
All three, however, were done by enemies of America. And all three were directed by a charismatic cult leader.
Pretty simple when the rhetoric is filtered.
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Here is a surprise . . . Trump’s CPAC speech was a CPAC of lies.
That CPAC stands and cheers as this seditious buffoon spews lie after stupid lie confirms what I opined above . . . “conservatives” simply have no principles that matter.
But wait, there’s more . . .
https://www.cnn.com/2021/02/28/politics/donald-trump-cpac-speech-fact-check/index.html
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When the fat kid owns the only basketball, he gets to play no matter how bad he is.
Unless Republicans go to Dick’s Sporting Goods and spring for better equipment, that same fat kid owns the court.
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RE: “At CPAC DJT came out as a viable threat to Democratic Party politics.”
The responses are: Trump is incompetent, he’s a liar, and he and his supporters are delusional. Pretty weak beer, and all largely beside the point.
If Trump chooses to keep his road show going, Biden’s feebleness will be constantly on display.
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“The responses are . . .”
You left out the main one – He is a loser. He has proven that. And that is why I, for one, welcome his continued evisceration of the GOP. Every Trump-approved candidate for the House or Senate is yet another opportunity for Democrats.
“Biden’s feebleness will be constantly on display.”
That’s a laugh. It will not be long before you and your ilk start whining about Biden’s overreach and uncompromising advancement of his agenda.
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The ex-president can keep his show going as long as he wants. He may have to do so from prison after convictions for tax evasion, bank fraud and rape.
Yet, there are some dictators who rose to power while locked up.
Even Al Capone kept his gang going until he died of VD in prison.
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At CPAC, T**** ate the GOP’s lunch and made it a party of HIS personality. There are still a few member of the Republican Party attempting to restore the order and discipline that is need for governing the country, ALL of the country, not the drooling MAGA-verse members who believe everything that flows from the mouth of the new Golden Idol.
T****’s supporters are deluded, not delusional. They have been fed a lie and continue to lap it up.
He IS a lair, but only to those who fully understand the truth and know a cult when they see it.
T**** isn’t incompetent so much as dangerous, which is worse.
When a political party becomes enamored of ONE individual instead of focusing on national priorities, it no longer deserves legitimate consideration as potential political leaders her in this country.
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“If Trump chooses to keep his road show going . . . ” . . . his own ignorance to all things remains on display.
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USA! USA! USA! We are Number One!
Anything France can do, we can do better.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-56237818
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I count four times Trump and his supporters are called a “cult.” Its ridiculous. Trump is no more a cult leader than Hulk Hogan is.
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Point of order. One of the counts of “cult” that you cite was in the word “culture.”
Not a cult? All that’s missing is the poison in the Kool-Aid. Check out the dictionary definition of “cult” and you will see how accurate this use of the word is with respect to Trump.
“cult : (3) a misplaced or excessive admiration for a particular person or thing.
e.g., “a cult of personality surrounding the leader”
Hulk Hogan? I give you top marks. An interesting and very apt comparison.
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Your rejoinder is to say Hulk Hogan really IS a cult leader?
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“Your rejoinder is to say Hulk Hogan really IS a cult leader?”
No, my finding your comparison apt is because there is a very substantial overlap between the fans of WWE and the members of the Trump cult. It is not an original observation by me, but Trump’s entire political presentation can be understood as him playing a role for a WWE extravaganza.
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You think cult members and fans are the same thing?
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I wrote what I think – “there is very substantial overlap between the fans of WWE and the members of the Trump cult.” Same person can be a WWE fan and a member of the Trump cult.
Let me be more clear. I believe that this substantial overlap is because the same sort of low and crude intellect that enjoys the fake violence of WWE is also prone to falling for the lies and magical promises of a charlatan like Donald Trump. And the fact that Trump’s political presentation IS very similar to the nonsense, braggadocio and insults that a WWE “villain” deploys to build the audience supports my belief about this overlap.
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Dr. Semantics is on a ROLL today.
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“Mr. Semantics”
Yeah, it is the equivalent of the “so what” surrender when there is are no facts or even twisted logic to bring forth.
PS: those IN a cult are incapable of seeing it….
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RE: “Same person can be a WWE fan and a member of the Trump cult.”
I got that.
RE: “I believe that this substantial overlap is because the same sort of low and crude intellect that enjoys the fake violence of WWE is also prone to falling for the lies and magical promises of a charlatan like Donald Trump.”
I got that, too. The point is you believe that being a WWE fan and being a cult member are functionally equivalent, which is the answer to the question I have now asked you twice in different ways.
Your position is that name-calling Trump supporters cult members is acceptable because they are not in fact cult members. Instead, they are fans, but that amounts to the same thing.
My original observation was that cult members and fans are very different things. Your comments do nothing to challenge it.
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As always, I cannot help you if you choose not to understand the compliment I paid you. I praised your evocation of Hulk Hogan and have made clear why. Very clear.
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Maybe you should learn how to pay real compliments.
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YOU made “cult” a topic because you wanted to play the victim card even though it is absolutely clear that Trumpism is a “cult of personality” with “a misplaced or excessive admiration for a particular person.”
YOU brought Hulk Hogan into the discussion. Why not George Clooney? Or Michael Jordan? Or Scott Adams? No, not one of them. Consciously or unconsciously you knew that Hulk Hogan would be a better name in this context. I noted how apt it was that you do so. I complimented you for it. How is that not a “real compliment?”
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It ain’t just comments on this blog:
““This has become a cult. It’s no longer a political party. It’s a cult,” Edwards told Oklahoma’s News 4 on Thursday. “It’s the kind of a cult that when the leader of the cult does anything, no matter what it is, or how awful it is, they voted.
Former Oklahoma GOP Congressman Mickey Edwards
https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/534449-former-gop-congressman-says-hes-leaving-party-this-has-become-a-cult
“I’ve given up on the Republican Party. The Republican Party is a cult,” Walsh said in an interview with CNN. “They no longer stand for ideas. The Republican Party right now is all about washing their leader’s feet every day.”
Former Illinois Republican Congressman
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2019/09/16/joe-walsh-the-republican-party-cult/2343016001/
“He went on to argue that Trump is like “some cult leader” because many Republicans will think if you turn against him, it’s like “leaving a cult in some people’s minds.”
Adam Kinzinger, Republican Congressman
https://www.breitbart.com/clips/2021/01/08/gop-rep-kinzinger-on-trump-its-almost-like-hes-some-cult-leader/
Fans, like golf fans or movie fans, don’t charge officials or ushers with arms, zip ties, tasers, bear spray and screaming, beating and killing. (British soccer fans might, but that is another story.)
Cult followers, however, will do whatever the leader says. And scores if not more have cried that they thought their leader told them to attack Congress.
So, yeah, cult is the absolute best description of Trump diehards. 75% of Republicans alone think Hugo Chavez or some other cockamamie conspiracy rigged the election just because Trump says so.
Kind of a shame because some of those folks did get swept up in the moment and can now spend a few years in prison while the ex-president golfs. No offers to pay legal fees either. I guess that was just another lie. He didn’t even offer to pardon his Proud Boys, OathKeeper or whatever the gangs call themselves. And some of them were a bit miffed.
I guess cult leaders don’t help apostates. Like ISIS for example.
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RE: “Consciously or unconsciously you knew that Hulk Hogan would be a better name in this context.”
Actually, I knew that low-brows would make Hulk Hogan an issue and thereby reveal their own shallow thinking. The beauty part is that the dummies wouldn’t even notice. They would just make a spectacle of themselves, since fandom and cults are obviously different things, both technically and in terms of public debate.
You have been had.
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RE: “It ain’t just comments on this blog.”
So what. I mean seroiously, So what?
Do you actually believe that the reality of a belief depends on how many people believe it? You didn’t say so, but that’s your argument.
You should be careful. The Salem witch trials were wrong, but they were driven by consensus.
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There is no consensus on T***. He lost the popular vote by 7 million plus.
The Salem With Trials were driven by religious fear.
Amazing how you can dismiss the comments of members of the GOP who believe it has become a T****-centered cult.
I do not believe there are 74 million cult members, but I do believe there is a fairly large segment that have “drunk the Kool-Aid” and believe the sun rises and sets in the pants of the new golden, orange faced idol.
And cults don’t have to be large in number. There was the one in San Diego several years ago that was about 30 people. Using the idea of consensus and large numbers to define a cult is disingenuous and inaccurate.
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“You have been had.”
Yeah, sure. That was your plan all along. It only took you about six posts to remember.
By the way, being accused of “shallow thinking”, being a “dummy” and a “low brow” by you leaves me with one thought – “Bless his heart, he does not have clue.”
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You should keep counting….
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One of the definitions of “cult” at merriam-webster.com is : “great devotion to a person, idea, object, movement, or work”
If that does not define what is going on with the T****-centric GOP, then tell me what it is?
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I missed that Paul had posted a similar comment.
BUT comparing fandom in sports or entertainment is NOT the same as calling out what the GOP has become as a political party.
In fact, the comparison itself seems idiotic, in proper context. I think both JTR and Paul went way round the bend.
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I suggest you re-read what I wrote.
I did not say that being a fan of Hulk Hogan made you a cult member. I said the kind of people who enjoy the fake violence of the WWE are the same kind of people who are easily taken in by a charlatan. I also have said that a useful way to view Trump’s political presentation is to think of the various publicity stunts by the WWE “villains” leading up to an “match.”
By the way, WWE is NOT “sport.” It is entertainment of a very low brow character.
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The call themselves “sports entertainers”. There is a lot of athleticism involved, but it is NOT a sport.
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