Do you have any evidence whatsoever to the contrary?
Are you content with merely insulting the messenger?
Posted on 02/03/2016 12:47:43 AM PST by elhombrelibre
One of the most dangerous effects of Donald Trump's presidential campaign is the venomous anger his demagoguery has cultivated among his more engaged supporters, to be spewed at anyone who dares to express concern about any of their idol's (yes, idol's) soft spots.
Just click on any article, on any website, critical of anything about Trump, and navigate to the readers' comments. First, notice the unusually large number of them. Then observe the tone: rarely logical, thoughtful, or truly argumentative, the Trump defenders (granting honorable exceptions) simply attack -- personally, irrelevantly, uncivilly -- any writer or fellow commenter, no matter how unimpeachably serious (even Thomas Sowell, for heaven's sake!) who dares to suggest Trump may be a poor nominee.
That's their prerogative, of course, and anyone who writes for public consumption must be thick-skinned enough to stand by his ideas and let the spewers spew. The problem, however, lies in the way this true believer invective is smothering meaningful political discourse precisely when such discourse is most urgently needed.
This is the moment for freedom-loving people to debate the statements and substance of each candidate with all the open-mindedness they can muster, leaving the hypnotized cultist behavior to the progressives, where it belongs. Instead, serious public discussion, which is the heart of the representative element of representative republicanism, has been hijacked by idol-worshippers for whom there is nothing Trump could do or say that would cause them one second of self-doubt. Trump himself highlighted this when he declared that he wouldn't lose any supporters if he shot someone on 5th Avenue. Bizarrely, that may be the best synopsis of the situation. Trump's followers have transcended rational discourse altogether, and are prepared to defend anything, attack anyone, contradict their own principles with regularity, rather than address the arguments
(Excerpt) Read more at americanthinker.com ...
Trump did not create the anger
The uniparty did
The article doesn’t say Trump created the anger.
The article says its author doesnt like Trump.
Trump's latest presidential poisonous tweet. A person looking for a job who doesn't happen to support Trump is a beggar and a real dummy.Great job on @donlemon tonight @kayleighmcenany @cherijacobus begged us for a job. We said no and she went hostile. A real dummy! @CNN— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 3, 2016
Shut up, Daren, if that is your real name!
“I am sick and tired of being told we are not patriotic if we disagree with the other party and screeeeeeeeeech!” Hillary Colossus Clinton as senator
The reason no one can figure out whether Trump is a conservative or a liberal, a Democrat Trojan horse or a patriot, is precisely because the one thing we know about him, from his record and his own self-descriptions, is that his political speech and action are for sale whenever he sees personal gain in the deal...For the record, I am not saying all of Trump's recent positions (e.g., on Islamists) are wrong. However, the man's past and present behavior and rhetoric suggest he is politically unprincipled, habitually duplicitous, delusionally self-aggrandizing, and profoundly unserious. If you can accept that, perhaps he's your man.
But if Trump and his cultists continue to paralyze rational political discourse with mob tactics and ad hominem vitriol, a republic founded on principles of reason and moderation may finally burn itself to the ground in a fit of fanatical anger. Could the progressive radicals have planned this any better?
If Trump shot someone on 5th Avenue; if he mocked a sixty year old Republican businesswoman by saying “Look at her face”; if he smeared an eminent Republican brain surgeon by comparing him to a pedophile; and if he joined forces with Mitch McConnell to impugn as “nasty” and “hated” the only man in the Senate with the guts to stand up to McConnell publicly, they would support him anyway. If he praised crony capitalism to win votes in Iowa; if he conveniently flipped his position on a rival’s eligibility when that rival became a threat in the polls; and if, having solidified the support of an angry following by running as anti-establishment, he suddenly pivoted to highlight his close relationships with socialists and his eagerness to “make deals” with that establishment, they would support him anyway.
Sigh. The man-child just can’t help himself, can he?
Trump’s opposition to illegal immigration is very recent.
Back in 1991, a judge found that Trump has conspired with business associates to hire illegal workers and cheat them of their pay:
In a ruling released on Thursday, a Federal judge found that Mr. Trump, a group of his associates and a union official conspired to avoid paying pension and welfare-fund contributions by hiring the immigrants to demolish the old Bonwit Teller building on East 57th Street at Fifth Avenue to make way for Trump Tower.
The ruling, by Judge Charles E. Stewart Jr. of the Southern District, found, in the behavior of the various defendants, “a conspiracy to deprive the funds of their rightful contribution.â€
LOL. Dirt Squad gettin' desperate, Natty?
Am I safe on this thread or will I be attacked by a Trump supporter? (ducking)
I love freerepublic. But lately I’ve been called everything but a human being if I don’t agree with the Trump supporters. I’ve taken names for later reference.
I long for the humor, joviality, and the swapping of ideas.That is no longer the case.
Byron = the poster child for the examples included in the article.
Thanks, Ellie! Deleting American Thinker from the bookmarks now. You whiny Trumpophobes have been a Godsend in cleaning up my computer. (:^D)
No, you're not safe (see example of the ridiculous attack on nathanbedford above). But you'll live through the attacks as many of us have. Byron is the personification of the people discussed in the article.
Do you have any evidence whatsoever to the contrary?
Are you content with merely insulting the messenger?
I think it’s option #3 for Byron.
Hey, I'm finding lotsa humor in your Personal Pronoun Disorder. Here's some free advice - beta males will never become Trumps by turning the spotlight towards themselves. Try another tack, Byron
I find it especially strange that many of the Trump supporters think it’s unfair to quote Trump or to site his biography. His character, words, past behavior are all off limits for some of his supporters.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.