Trump's America

[zoogs]

Appalling comments (par for the course at this point), but the response of the officers behind him are what really disgust me. How much longer until we skip to just carrying out the sentences in the streets?

No world leader would do that, right? ... https://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/14/world/asia/rodrigo-duterte-philippines-killings.html?mcubz=0

 

At least not someone openly admired by the US President? ... https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/30/us/politics/trump-duterte.html?mcubz=0

[RedDenver]

Now this is how you respond: http://wfla.com/2017/07/29/gainesville-police-reject-presidents-trumps-remarks-about-treatment-of-suspects/

 

Earlier today, the President made remarks that seemed to endorse and condone police brutality.

 

The President of the United States has no business endorsing or condoning cops being rough with arrestees and suggesting that we should slam their heads onto the car while putting them in.

 

The men and women of GPD absolutely reject those remarks and will continue to serve and protect this great community with respect.

 

The President's remarks today have set modern policing back and erased a lot of the strides we have made to build trust in our community, but we hope that each of you will recognize the work we have done to earn your trust.

 

It's certainly possible to enforce laws and arrest very bad folks and do it with respect. The men and women of GPD prove this on a daily basis.

 

YOUR Gainesville Police Department will continue to treat everyone with respect, no matter the circumstances.

 

It is truly an honor to serve this community.

 

Non-partisan rebuke to non-partisan transgressions.

 

Glad to see a police dept take a stand and show that there are good people out there that won't let this type of rhetoric pass unchallenged. I also really like the "YOUR", reminding that the police work on behalf of the community and are part of the community.

[BIGREDIOWAN]

 

This is sickening.

 

 

And this is beyond disgusting. Not only Trump's words, but the reaction to them of uniformed police officers.

 

 

I'd like to hear from our resident law enforcement poster who was all jazzed about that police union endorsement Trump got.

 

Think this is a good thing? Is this the way you want to be represented? Is this how you want to be thought of?

 

Let me tell you something real quick, don't turn this around on me, and don't call me out in a thread and think I'm going to be really "jazzed" about you doing such a thing. Completely uncalled for...........these are the posts that need to stop in this part of the board and they will stop. Calling people out in this sort of manner is uncalled for and I'll call it like I see it. You are trying to spin this in my direction and that spin isn't going to stick. My thought is he was trying to be funny and it came across really awkward. Not that it matters to you though since you want to bring it up and point a finger at someone today. I guess according to the "tone" of your post I support what he said in your opinion.

 

Pretty cool to troll me completely unprovoked..............

[BigRedBuster]

[BigRedBuster]

That does it.....the guy is a douch.

 

[BigRedBuster]

[NM11046]

This is mind blowing to me. Nobody wants a bad tweet from Donald Trump? WTF? How did we get here? Why is a grown man in government afraid of a tweet from Don?

[zoogs]

A "bad tweet" from Trump is a powerful thing. The fear of political costs in crossing the President are quite legitimate.

 

--

Apparently this opposition is not new from Rep. Sanford. Here's a Politico profile of him from February, which is extensive but I haven't read in full: http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/02/mark-sanford-profile-214791

 

Among the things he gets credit for is penning this August 2016 op-ed in the (failing!) NYT urging Trump to release his tax returns: https://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/15/opinion/i-support-you-donald-trump-now-release-your-tax-returns.html?mtrref=www.politico.com&assetType=opinion

 

Granted, he does emphasize his support for Trump. By August, 2016...tax returns were the only thing? Anyway:

 

I suggest this not as a partisan against Mr. Trump. I am a conservative Republican who, though I have no stomach for his personal style and his penchant for regularly demeaning others, intends to support my party’s nominee because of the importance of filling the existing vacancy on the Supreme Court, and others that might open in the next four years. However, my ability to continue to do so will in part be driven by whether Mr. Trump keeps his word that he will release his tax records.

 

I'm curious, since Trump never did release those returns, whether and when Sanford jumped ship in the 2016 campaign.

[knapplc]

Rasmussen Reports is a conservative pollster. They like to bill themselves as the only ones who "got it right" in the 2016 election, since they predicted a Trump win the entire time.

Since shortly after the inauguration, most every other pollster has had Trump's Approval Rating in the low 40s to upper 30s. Rasmussen was the only one who consistently had Trump in the high 40s.

Until today.

Daily Presidential Tracking Poll

The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Monday shows that 39% of Likely U.S. Voters approve of President Trump’s job performance. Sixty-one percent (61%) disapprove.

The latest figures for Trump include 26% who Strongly Approve of the way Trump is performing and 49% who Strongly Disapprove. This gives him a Presidential Approval Index rating of -23. (see trends).

The latest findings mark the first time Trump’s overall approval rating has slipped below 40% in Rasmussen Reports tracking.

In addition, they report:

Sixty-seven (67%) of Likely GOP Voters now believe Republicans in Congress have lost touch with GOP voters throughout the nation over the past several years, up from 51% in February. Forty-four percent (44%) of Democrats say the same about their leadrers, up from 36%.

 

[BigRedBuster]

 

 

In addition, they report:

 

 

Sixty-seven (67%) of Likely GOP Voters now believe Republicans in Congress have lost touch with GOP voters throughout the nation over the past several years, up from 51% in February. Forty-four percent (44%) of Democrats say the same about their leadrers, up from 36%.

 

 

I've thought long and hard about what it would take for this to change. Obviously, the electorate on both sides think politicians are out of touch. Right now, it's exploded against the Republicans for various reasons. But, it's an issue on both sides.

 

I can't imagine what it's going to take.

[Kiyoat Husker]

 

Rasmussen Reports is a conservative pollster. They like to bill themselves as the only ones who "got it right" in the 2016 election, since they predicted a Trump win the entire time.

 

Since shortly after the inauguration, most every other pollster has had Trump's Approval Rating in the low 40s to upper 30s. Rasmussen was the only one who consistently had Trump in the high 40s.

 

I think I may have an answer why their polls are skewed a little conservative:

 

Daily tracking results are collected via telephone surveys of 500 likely voters per night and reported on a three-day rolling average basis. To reach those who have abandoned traditional landline telephones,...

 

 

[knapplc]

Also, whereas places like Gallup typically poll "people who will respond," Rasmussen only uses data from likely voters. That changes the numbers a bit, since older folks are more likely to vote than younger, and are also more likely to be conservative.

 

It's almost like they set up their polls specifically so they can reach a conservative audience. Weird!

[BigRedBuster]

Interesting....literally right after I read your post, I saw this tweet.

 

[zoogs]

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/jul/31/american-renaissance-conference-white-identity

 

“We are soldiers in this war,” Jared Taylor told an overwhelmingly male and entirely white audience of around 300 late on Saturday. “And we will win.”

 

The founder and editor of American Renaissance, once a print magazine and now “the internet’s premier race-realist site”, no longer thinks whites can have America to themselves. But he wants an all-white “ethnostate”, carved out of US territory.

The frightening radicalization of youth. Hopefully it's checked far before it reaches critical mass.

[zoogs]

Language matters: https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2017/7/30/16060030/trump-dehumanizing-language-latinos

 

When we refer to people as “animals” or anything other than “people,” it flips a mental switch in our minds. It allows us to deny empathy to other people, makes us feel numb to their pain, and lets us forgive ourselves for causing them harm.

 

At best, the dehumanizing language in Trump’s Long Island speech tells law enforcement they’re superior to these “animals,” which “justifies or even mandates violence,” Nour Kteily, who studies the psychology of dehumanization and its consequences at Northwestern, told me in an email.

It's rhetoric very, very reminiscent of Rodrigo Duterte -- one among a number of brutal, authoritarian figures for whom Trump has admiration. And the consequences:

 

In his studies, Kteily also looked at what happens when people feel like they’re being dehumanized. And here, the research predicts a vicious cycle.

 

“Those who dehumanize are more likely to support hostile policies, and those who are dehumanized feel less integrated into society and are more likely to support exactly the type of aggressive responses ... that may accentuate existing dehumanizing perceptions,” he wrote in the 2017 paper.

 

As the vicious cycle intensifies, the whole country becomes a more hostile, less safe place for everyone.

It doesn't just make America afraid again. It makes America less safe -- but in a way useful for keeping autocrats in power. It's no wonder those with such intentions are happy to fan these flames.