A perfect VP for The Donald. Kill me now.
Although it appears to have substantially eluded our political pundits, one of the major reasons Donald Trump’s presidency would be a disaster for the culture is that he would further degrade political discourse by validating vulgarity, boorishness and bullying as legitimate and acceptable conduct by elected officials. That contagion will spread to the public at large, decreasing the likelihood of substantial communication and persuasion, and increasing bitter divisions with a likelihood of violence.
In fact, the process of rot is starting already.
Nevada’s GOP state representative Michele Fiore—she’s the one who sent out the Christmas card with her whole family, including toddlers, holding guns—is running for a Congressional seat. Her opponent, Annette Teijeiro, criticized Fiore for her comments about “flying to Paris” to shoot terrorists there herself. This prompted the honorable rep to stand up and challenge Teijeiro, saying, “You want to have a fight with me?” She challenged Teijeiro to put her microphone down and acted like she was ready to rumble.
A video of the incident was posted on Facebook, and Fiore is getting encouragement, presumably from Trump fans…you know, morons.
Admittedly, Fiore is a wacko, but I doubt that she would have tried a bullying stunt like this if she hadn’t seen a man running for President indulge in one brutish tactic after another and be rewarded for it by screaming throngs and constant media coverage. One that sensor in the culture’s ethics alarms is disabled, and Trump is disabling it already, just as he has already brought civility in Presidential debates to an all-time low, we will see spontaneous wrestling matches on the floor of the House, teachers picking fights with students, supermarket debates escalating to fist fights, and an across the board acceptance of violence. The nation that once mocked the Jerry Springer Show will gradually adopt its values. After all, the President represents the highest standard of behavior, by the nature of his job.
Imagine a nation where the gutter conduct of Donald Trump is the highest level of conduct our children aspire to.
Hey, it will be worth it if angry tea party types can express their frustration with Republican “elites.”
Ethics Alarms 
You’d figure in a picture for distribution, every little detail would be checked and double checked, which makes the small rhino statue on her shoulder kinda ironic. At least her finger isn’t on the trigger.
Regardless. My bunker is built, my moat is nearly stocked, and I’m expecting the first shipment of Cheetos and Mountain Dew any day now, any takers? I have room!
Tempting, I can abandon most of my library thanks to a kindle but the autographed science fiction and fantasy books would have to come with me. The rest of my baggage space could go over to gummi bears and funions if that would help seal the deal. I could also toss in access to my steam account full of visual novels and Tywin Lanniser simulator, I mean Crusader Kings II.
Thanks, but I will look to my friendly neighborhood euthansist and die happily. I might leave you my usefully empty Altoids’ tins, though.
euthanasist? euthanasiaist? euthanasiast. got it.
At first glance I assumed that was Ivana Trump and she’d been announced at Trump’s running mate via this wonderful image.
“Hey, it will be worth it if angry tea party types can express their frustration with Republican “elites.”
Honest question – I’m not sure how you meant that line? I think you’ve said before that one shouldn’t equate the Tea Party with Donald Trump supporters, though I confess I’m not all that clear on the boundary line.
I’m not trying to be smug or sarcastic here – what would you say to a liberal onlooker who tends to link the two?
Obviously we are talking about a Venn diagram here, but I’d say its pretty clear that the core of the Trump kamikazes, including his supporters in Talk radio, are tea party voters who feel “betrayed” that the GOP majority didn’t shut down the government and fight every single Obama initiative. They are also generally mad about gay marriage, that the GOP hasn’t or wasn’t able to block Obama’s executive orders…all of that. I’d tell a liberal onlooker that the Trump group is more than the tea party (Cruz’s vote is almost all tea party), but without the angry, vengeful conservative GOP voters, Trump would be no where.
Thanks, that sounds about right.
Jack, there you go again, banging on the TEA Party. If only there were crime statistics to compare the rap sheets of “angry tea party types” with those of BLM “justice warriors.” You know that most of us in the culture live by the ethical version of #22, right? Stop wishing that TEA Party types are worse.
The other statistics that I wish we all had were the ones that show who Trump’s supporters really are. I am absolutely confident that the vast majority of the “angry people” you are attributing to the moron bloc that are diehard Trump voters are not GOP “regulars,” but instead are swing voters and unrepresented independent voters who otherwise would vote Democrat, who have latched onto the Republican Party this time around. That, I believe, explains the surge in numbers of Republican primary voters – more than does some crackpot theory that Republicans who have always been Republicans but have been staying home a lot in recent elections have suddenly awakened and found some messianic super-moron to hoot for.
It’s to the point where we must choose which is to die – respect and civility, which will certainly die further under a President Trump, or the rule of law, which is regarded by Hillary with the same contempt. Or the rule of reality which is casually dismissed by Sanders and fans. All would be devastating losses, but which would be worst in the long term?
They both go at the same time…there’s no chance either stands without the other.