Sunday, January 24, 2016

Eating the turd, with or without ketchup. Demagoguery is as demagoguery does. But those who blindly follow "pretended patriots" out of anger are simply stupid.

"I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody, and I wouldn't lose any voters, OK?" Trump told an enthusiastic audience at a Christian school, Dordt College. "It's like incredible." Donald Trump: Supporters would stick with me if I shot someone 'in the middle of Fifth Avenue'
The same day Donald Trump used the podium at a Christian school to reflect that he could do murder and and still be embraced by his secular worshipers, I was at a prayer meeting at my church. This was the final day of 21 days of prayer and there was an overflow crowd of thousands, spilling over from the sanctuary into the theater next door. In my church, folks pray with their hands open, palms up, symbolizing our openness to God's will and not our own. The room rippled with electricity, and the power of God was evident to every participant.
When I later heard of Trump's boast, I reflected upon the jarring irony of the two scenes in similar venues and shook my head at the sheer brazen demagoguery that Trump's performance represented. The story relates that the response of the audience (most of whom if asked I'm sure would self-identify as Christians) was "enthusiastic."
The Founders, whether Federalist or Anti-federalist, perceived the dangers of demagoguery to their new Republic as being the greatest threat it faces. Here are two representative quotes from either side of the argument at the time:
"A dangerous ambition more often lurks behind the specious mask of zeal for the rights of the people than under the forbidden appearance of zeal for the firmness and efficiency of government. History will teach us that the former has been found a much more certain road to the introduction of despotism than the latter, and that of those men who have overturned the liberties of republics, the greatest number have begun their career by paying an obsequious court to the people; commencing demagogues, and ending tyrants." -- Federalist No. One, Alexander Hamilton.
And this one from the uncompromising Elbridge Gerry:
The evils we experience flow from the excess of democracy. The people do not want virtue, but are the dupes of pretended patriots. -- Elbridge Gerry, Constitutional Convention Monday May 31, 1787.
Gerry also said this: "It is the duty of every man, though he may have but one day to live, to devote that day to the good of his country."
Trump and his followers maintain that they are doing what they are doing for the good of the country. They point that Trump, whatever his flaws, couldn't be worse than the last four occupants of the White House. I was on a radio call in show the other morning and had this argument pulled out in Trump's defense.
"Whoa up," I insisted. "What you are doing now is arguing over the varying qualities of excrement." I continued, "What you are saying is that some turds are big and smelly and you do not like them. You are saying 'I don't like those turds. I prefer my turds to be small and less odorous." The hosts of the show laughed. Now Grandpa Vanderboegh told me that it was possible to eat a turd if you had enough ketchup. But the fact of the matter is that you have to be persuaded that you WANT to eat that turd very badly and you have to conjure up the ketchup yourself.
Donald Trump, as near as i can make out, is absolutely unprincipled and like all demagogues is saying what he believes he needs to say in order to achieve his ends. My concern is that he is obviously as much of an insecure personality as Obama and, like Obama, gets his "principles" in the mirror every morning when he wakes up. Taken together, their proclaimed fidelity to the limits of the Constitution are so much fart in the wind. Only when the mask slips as at Dordt College, do you get a sense of Trump's inner demagogic voyage of discovery. To paraphrase George Corley Wallace, if you put Obama and Trump in a barrel and rolled them down the hill, there would always be an unprincipled son of Beelzebub on top.
This will cost me more than a few readers, I'm sure. But as I don't expect to last long enough to vote in the upcoming election (although I might make the Alabama primary) I can at least go on record as to where I stand. And since I lack that longevity that most of y'all take for granted, you won't have say to me in the fullness of time that I was right about demagogues. Like prostitutes of a more innocent nature, the joyful experience is fleeting but the diseases they bring are forever.

44 comments:

Kitty said...

You put this so clearly, Mike. It leaves me wondering why these perfect words didn't spring to my mind without your prompting, but they didn't. Thank you for a bracing breeze of clarity.

Anonymous said...

It. Was. A. Joke.
Some folks need to
get a sense of humor
to APPRECIATE HUMOR.
Respectfully said.

Anonymous said...

Nicely stated, Mike.
The political field is full of narcissistic demagogues, opportunistic hacks and unprincipled scoundrels.
People will do well to remember that a vote for the lesser of two evils is still a vote for evil.
KPN3%

rexxhead said...

Well, of course, we could put ALL the current crop of candidates in a barrel and Wallace's Law would still apply.

Come to think of it... this is starting to sound like a good idea. Does anyone make a barrel big enough?

Uncle Elmo said...

"A dangerous ambition more often lurks behind the specious mask of zeal for the rights of the people than under the forbidden appearance of zeal for the firmness and efficiency of government."

And as I read this quote Hillary is on Meet the Press, promising jobs to Americans.

The wisdom of the Founders never ceases to amaze me.

Robert Fowler said...

I'll be a reader until the end. I don't trust Trump as far as I can throw one of his hotels. He's spouting what the people "want" to hear. What they should be doing is listening to what he has said before his miraculous turn to conservatism. Pals with the Clinton criminal organization, all for "assault weapons" bans, including magazines. All for the cheap labor that illegal immigration brings, who do you think mows all of those golf courses?

He's not even a RINO. He's a demon-rat in a RINO suit trying to flim flam the masses. Nothing is more dangerous to our liberty than a man that wants to be king. I'd vote for that wetback hugger Rubio before I'd vote for Trump.

TimeHasCome said...

Donald Trump through his many faults has declared war on political correctness. The mighty media that has beat this country into submission on political correctness has lost the battle . The people want a avenger from the media and Donald is doing that . The last seven years has been years of incredible misery for millions of Americans . Over 15 million lost their homes . Millions more have lost their health care. Over 94 million not in the work force . But the best part is yet to come . This years 500,000 males 18 to 49 will lose their EBT cards. Now you know why Walmart is closing those stores in a hurry.
Donald will keep pushing the political envelope just to keep the media upset. Gone are the days in which we care what the political class says . It's what they do is what matters.

Anonymous said...

Thanks Mike. You will take some flak from Trump Chumps, but you hit the nail on the head. Please take a look at and post "The Trump Tapes,vol.1" which was just put out on YouTube. It exposes Trump for who he truly is a big government, liberal New Yorker willing to say anything to get elected. Now we have another NYC billionaire authoritarian contemplating a run for POTUS. Folks wake up and support a proven conservative like Paul or Cruz, not the RINOs or neocons running.

Anonymous said...

Mr. Mike: I agree, the man is a demagogue. Since I refuse to register to vote, I have no dog in this fight, as I believe we absolutely cannot vote our way out of this mess. But keep in mind, Trump has not murdered anybody. The Bill and Hillary have. What does that say about their blind followers?

James Fowley said...

Thank you. I'm not a Trump backer, this clearly states why.

Jim Plopa said...

Mike -

You disappoint me. If you were to listen to the entire quote, you might find that it referred to MEDIA demagoguery, as he began with: "THEY SAY that I can shoot...". Please delve a bit and see if you might agree.

Jim Plopa

Anonymous said...

If ever there was a moment for people to give people pause about Donald Trump this would be it. The last thing we need to be is followers of men and definitely of a man. May God continue to grant you health and strength.

Anonymous said...

So if the choice is bwteen Cruz, Bush, Rubio and Trump on the Republican side and you could vote who would you vote for?

All of this Trump criticism is fine but finish up by telling us which candidate you think would make the best President for our country.

I can't stand when bloggers trash someone but then don't offer any solutions. So, we're not supposed to vote for a demagogue, check. Thanks. A lot of good that does with lackluster insiders beholden to their PACS and donors to choose from.









Anonymous said...

Inwonder if any of Trump's loyal followers will even notice or care? There has been this idea that Trump can do no wrong and that the more he says that would discredit any other candidate that said it, he gains strength in the polling. But this? This is out-and-out scary shit. Does he REALLY think he can get away with murder? Well, yes! And that is NOT the person to elect to POTUS. I was on the fence for Trumpainly because none of the rest of them are electable. I'd vote for Rand - but few others will and his foreign policy view are frightening. Cruz is not eligible. Period. The rest of the group are a joke. So Trump was it. Not now. So what are we left with? A whole bunch of turds. Let's just see if those people hoping for Trump have any sense at all?

harp1034 said...

Donald Trump was using hperybole when he said he could shoot someone. He does have a New Your City concealed carry permit. In order to get one in NYC you need connections, money and/or influence. Trump has the means to get one. If we lived in NYC we would not qualify as we are nobodies.
Trump is a showman. Like Ronald Reagan he can put on an act. IF he becomes president he could go down in history as one of the great ones. Or he could be a self-serving jackass.

Not Me said...

Mike, you are entitled to your opinion. I disagree, but I will not abandon your fight for our rights as a result.
Remember that the Founders did not see eye-to-eye on all issues also. May God bless you, even if you disagree with ME. lol

WarriorClass III said...

This is the problem: Donald Trump is the only candidate that will even suggest deporting the illegal aliens and putting a moratorium on immigration, and it is the immigration invasion that is destroying the Republic and giving cover to the Federal government via the "democratic" elections. No matter what conservative, constitutional legislation Cruz is able to sign as President, it will ultimately fail due to the overwhelmingly statist positions that immigrants come from, and will be destroyed in future elections. The savings and wealth of the middle class has been destroyed by actions of the Federal Reserve, and now jobs as well are going to immigrants at a far greater rate than to Americans. The jobs that remain are at a far lower wage simply due to supply and demand, not withstanding the fact that corporations are illegally using the work visa programs to replace American workers with cheaper foreign labor. Immigrants also use welfare at a rate of 80%, and that number includes both legal and illegal aliens, further reducing America to poverty.

The second problem is that everything you have said about Trump could just as easily apply to Cruz, and we know for a fact from Cruz's past actions that it does. Cruz even went to the Texas border with Mexico to "welcome illegal aliens" coming into our country. He proposed more than doubling the immigration rate and increasing the H1B visa FIVE HUNDRED percent, as well as increasing the other work visas, student visas and refugee visas. What good does his proposed "wall" make when he allows them all in "legally"? The only thing that "wall" will do then is stop people from running for their lives. Gun rights will be lost to "democracy" and the constitution will be forever lost to "history" or whatever passes for "history" once the books are rewritten - and "Common Core" is already doing just that.

So you can judge Trump by what you THINK he may or may not due, but you can KNOW the real Ted Cruz by what he's already done. And while the people are angry, and have every reason to be angry, their support of Trump is far more reasoned than you are willing to admit.

We've already suffered the consequences of electing one illegal alien to the White House, do you really want to do it again? Cruz was born in Canada to Canadian citizens - BOTH of his parents were Canadian citizens - that makes him a "natural born citizen" to Canada, not the USA. You either abide by the Constitution as it was written, or you don't. You can't have it both ways; unless you want to be among the hypocrites that populate the left.

I can sympathize with the Cruz supporters, since I supported him at the Texas Republican Convention as the delegate from my district. But we were fighting against an admitted globalist (former Lieutenant governor of Texas, David Dewhurst) that had done everything he could to destroy Texas (and our gun-rights) before running for the Senate. We had no choice but to vote for Cruz. But do not be deceived, Cruz is diabolically smart and dangerous to a free republic. And you don't have to take my word for it, his history is there for anyone willing to look, and I've made it easy for you at my blog with documentation and Cruz's own words.

So I've been in this situation before - either supporting a known globalist or an unknown who says the right things. Only then it was Cruz that was the unknown, but he did speak the conservative position, and he spoke it VERY well. Except this time Ted is the known globalist (for those that care to look), and Trump is the unknown.

In the end, we will likely end up in a bloody civil war anyway. But at least Trump says he will work for the American People, and we KNOW that Cruz works for Goldman Sachs.

http://americandictators.blogspot.com/2013/07/ted-cruz-declares-war-on-america.html

Anonymous said...

"This will cost me more than a few readers, I'm sure"
Perhaps not. Most of your readers are awake and aware what is under Trump's hood. Liberal ego driven power hungry control freak, just like bloomturd. He has money, he now craves power, just like bloomturd. Those that are trying to sell Trump will hang around to do their job. They will leave when their work is done. What I think about is after you are gone, who will pick up the SSI mantel? You have done great work here. NOG

1776vtgmb said...

klinton just murdered 4 and got away with it, right?

It was for real, too... not just a statement.

How many of her followers will leave her?

kennymac said...

Disagree with you Mike, but there's no way in hell I'm stopping reading this blog.

Anonymous said...

After reading all the comments above, and all good comments I might add, I tend to agree with "Warrior Class" assessment the most. Cruz walked out on a Christian group from the middle east because they didn't support his constant talking about Israel even though it was supposed to be an event about Christians. But then Goldman Sachs and Israel go hand-in-hand, don't they?.. As a side note, the problem (as usual) lies more with our people than with these demagogues that act more like they're running for king than president. The people should stop thinking that it's up to one man to solve all our problems. As we all know that's not what our Founders intended when they set up our republican form of gov't. But it's been all turned around and muddled to the point where the people themselves,who are supposed to be the guardians of their own liberty and elect a congress that's supposed to represent them, have forgotten (or never even learned) that our leadership is not supposed to come from one person. That type of governing is what the illegals swarming into our country are used to and all they know and seems perfectly normal to them. Our own people have been so dumbed down that even they are thinking like that, making it riper and riper for a dictator. Starving masses rushing the border and the ones who have lived here for generations don't give a rats ass about the constitution, bill of rights, Federalist Papers, Eisenhower's farewell address or anything else short of a baloney sandwich. As others above have said, "we ain't fixing this by voting". It's too far gone and we that are older than the age of about 25 have to own some of that. Yes, the elite worked hard to dumb us all down, but until we woke up we went along with it, didn't we? And now that we have been gaining ground waking up people on a grander scale they start to overload us with illegals who, as I've said, don't care about what we know about freedom and liberty because they are starving slaves brought up in Banana Republics under some strong man who steals everything and throws them a bone. The people in this country have become diseased, and until they themselves make themselves well, then the one force that our Founders depended on, God, will ignore us; or worse, actively work against us...Our Founders were absolute geniuses and created something that was never heard of before in history - the people governing themselves. And through laziness, greed, immorality, envy and just about every other sin, the people themselves let it all slip through their hands. I often wonder if the Founders ever imagined the populace becoming so lazy as to not guard their own freedoms. If our time does come to a terrible civil war and we end up standing at the end of it let it never be forgotten again please..

Anonymous said...

"We do not argue with those who disagree with us, we destroy them." Benito Mussolini

Sounds like Trump to me, don't ya know!

Anonymous said...

Good points as always. However...

"I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody, and I wouldn't lose
any voters, OK?"

As a person who lives in NYS, the meaning of his comment has nothing to do with what people claim. The sarcasm, and actual meaning, is obvious.

His comment is an insult to the NYC crowd. It has zero to do with what ANYONE thinks about him committing murder.

It has everything to do with the 5th-Ave crowd not giving a damn about borders, taxes, or whatever else Trump's platform happens to be. They either like Jeb, or Hillary. It doesn't require any more depth of thought than that. It is that simple.

As I said, good points were made above. However, they likely do not apply to the "shoot someone on 5th ave" comment.

Anonymous said...

In re to 'not being around long enough', never give up hope, Mike. I say that even though I understand that pancreatic cancer has a horrible survival rate. I also say this as a fellow cancer sufferer (prostate) though what 'they' suspect mine is has a much slower growth rate and much better survivability. God's blessings.

Anonymous said...

Trump's got a big mouth, taking certain clipped stupid statements as testimony he's a demagogue is a bit far in my opinion. Jobs, economy, kicking illegals out, fixing infrastructure, health care, is fine even if just four years. He's also the perfect wrecking ball to the ruling class who would rather have Hitlery, etc. Didn't George Washington want the common man, not a life long politician to serve? Trump's business acumen and success should be used in gov't service, and he's financing his own campaign. Of all the positives I believe he'll enhance surveillance state but that's long term inevitable anyway as the nature and humankind and quest for power. Let's bring in a wrecking ball to the commies fascists and muzzie scum that inhabit this country.

Soffitrat said...

You are right. Trump is not the answer. But then, nobody running is either. The closest thing to a leader is Kasich. IF he only had the fire in the belly. He does not. Neither will he ever. He is a diplomat and we need a warrior who will not retreat. So, you tell us. Cruz: No. Carson: No. Santorum: No. Christie: No. Rubio: Hell NO. Huckabee: No. Fiorina: No. Bush: Hell No. Paul: No.

Communists: No.

There just isn't anyone with the broad requirements needed. 350 million, and we can't find one?

At least Trump will stand tall. Ego and all.

Whatever happens to us has already been written.

Chuck Connors said...

Donald Trump displays symptoms of a 'Cleckleyan' psychopath (named for Hervey M. Cleckley)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychopathy .
Trump,as you wrote,is definitely unprincipled and will say anything to get what he wants. Trump supporters, God bless 'em, just as Obama's supporters, are all under the psychosis of the 'Cult of Personality.'
One psychopath (Trump) or the other (Hillary) will win in this upcoming election, so you're not really going to miss out on anything Mike; except of course the Tribulation, which is coming soon enough.
I hope to get over to Pinson for the work weekend in February.
Free America!

Anonymous said...

I've enjoyed this site for a year. I've never commented here until now. You are wrong about Trump. Please check out the Conservative Treehouse. You are an intelligent, thoughtful person. Please research Trump more. The next election will determine whether America is or whether America was a great country. He's not perfect--none of us are. He is the only candidate who isn't owned by TPTB. He loves America. Please reevaluate. I hope you will. Thanks you.

Anonymous said...

Trump is a punk progressive liberal Democrat from the upper north east. He will say and do anything -like obama- to assume the seat behind the resolute desk. He is a liar, as Mike points out, who gets his principles from the morning poll numbers. He wants power and his tells are self evident. Take the example Mike pointed out, the last bastion of excuses for liberals are the 'comedy' and 'artistic license' cards.

Donald says he is serious about guns and gun rights. But then he 'jokes' about shooting another person in malice.
If that does not tell people he is an insertions man then in a few months time we will know that there cannot be resolution found at the ballot box. It will be proven one way or the other -undeniably- very soon.

Anonymous said...

If I quit reading when someone got something wrong, I would not read.


It is simple.
I KNOW none of those others will do anything I want them to.
There is at least a chance Trump will.

Dakota said...

I do not understand how anyone can say Ted Cruz is ineligible. If he were ...shouldn't the F E C make that determination? They are sposed to deal with this aren't they. Trump scares me....

Chiu ChunLing said...

Basically, there are two things that need to be considered here. Technically, when Trump said that, he was making a comment about how the media portrayed him and his supporters.

But that's less important than the fact that the media is right, Trump has a lot of supporters who wouldn't be fazed if he actually did gun someone down on 5th Avenue...because they're nearly to the point of doing the same thing.

And Trump knows it. He's basically covertly acknowledging it. And he knows that, if he betrays those supporters, he could be the one they gun down. He's not a magic negro (oh, apparently the browser's built in spell checker thinks that should be nigger) or a woman, he's an obnoxious old rich white guy with stupid hair and there is nothing that would make anyone think twice about pulling that trigger.

In other words, he's the only candidate who really understands that there is a limit to what the people will tolerate, and consequences for transgressing it.

Anonymous said...

Thank you, Mike. It needed saying.

That there are so many people pro-2A people who would embrace a candidate that loved the "assault weapons" ban and Brady Bill just proves the Founders' wisdom, as well as the wisdom of creating the Second Amendment.

theaton said...

Trump said he would repeal Obamacare and replace it with Universal, government paid for health care. If anyone can still vote for Trump after that then they are no where near conservative. Trump has never been a conservative but that is another story. Trumps "shooting" comment was mocking how stupid his followers are. He was pointing out that they don't care what he does, only what he says. Typical progressive me, me, me, now, now, now, narcissism!

ag42b said...

For some reason, Huey Long comes to mind when I consider Trump. My vote is already in Rand Paul's pocket.

Anonymous said...

Well Mike, you've been wrong before. That you subscribe to "paint job theory" comes to mind.
Paint job theory= the belief that we are all the same under our different skin colors.

I've pointed out before, numerous times that finding a black "patriot" fighting for Liberty & Freedom is as likely as finding bigfoot or Nessie, the Loch Ness monster. They simply do not exist (statistically speaking).

You might want to go back & read some Matt Bracken (The CW2 Cube). Two quotes also come to mind; "All Politics is race", and "You may not be interested in race, but race is interested in you".

Carleton Putnam.
Trump 2016

Anonymous said...

The next guy will oversee the greatest global depression the world has ever seen. Much like Woodrow Wilson, you can be the most qualified guy to ever sit in the oval office but it will not matter a damn because that person will get painted as the one that over saw the end of the party. No sane person wants it, hence the parade of shitheels and charlatans we have today.

A third party has never been so needed or relevent but the libertarians noses are so stuck in copies of Atlas Shrugged to notice. Nope, we are on our own, folks.

ExPat Matt

Anonymous said...

"So, you tell us. Cruz: No. Carson: No. Santorum: No. Christie: No. Rubio: Hell NO. Huckabee: No. Fiorina: No. Bush: Hell No. Paul: No.

Communists: No.

There just isn't anyone with the broad requirements needed. 350 million, and we can't find one?"

In point of fact, we have allowed the "Drive By Media", creators of such cultural icons as Gangsta Rap, to create an environment where no person fit to be President would even consider running for the office.

Anonymous said...

Socialists, totalitarians, authoritarians, murderers, criminals, and Canadians running for president. The next four years are going to be awesome.

Shane

Anonymous said...

Trump is as much a shot across the bow of the GOPe as anything, the elites in the republican party made alot of promises and then made no effort to keep those promises. Trump right, wrong or indifferent is payback for the republican parties betrayal, Trump is their wake up call from their base voters! Trump is the manifestation of the American peoples anger at Washington DC for having their own agenda that does not Involve the American Electorate.

DogMan said...


Everyone is looking at Trump through the eyeglasses of past "presidents." I look at him purely as a four-year "fixer." fact is, this country can not go forward with the corruption and problems stated by many other people posting here. We need things fixed, like the border, the Musloid invasion, the DOJ, et al. I want Trump to come in a bust-up and un-do stuff that his illegitimate predecessors have done. That should take no more than four years, then we can move on to installing a Constitutionalist to follow him. Right now, the government is so corrupt, it can't be fixed. BUT, if Trump, hopefully, shines a light on some of the crap that has been going on and a bunch of people are indicted and prosecuted, I'll certainly be more encouraged that we're headed the right way.

Don't think of him as a President, he's the clean-up guy. The bastard that has to do all the dirty work that no one before was willing to do. That's what I want- a clean up guy, not a President as we've known them before.

JC Dodge said...

Sounds like the analogy I used when I wrote this in Oct 2012, and then re-posted it in the Fall of 2014. The post called "Election Time, Hitler Vs Stalin". https://masondixontactical.wordpress.com/2014/10/31/the-ballot-box-or-the-cartridge-box/ . I said that although Romney was better than Obama, he was still only the lesser of two evils (Hitler was not AS BAD as Stalin, right?), and why would you give him your vote based on that as your deciding factor? What do your principles and convictions tell you? Can you actually say you use them to determine which is the best "Turd" as MBV calls it? If so, what does that say about you convictions and principles? What they should be is something that is not spent on the populist "Turd", simply because it's popular. They should not be something you will spend because you feel pressured to, because if so, they are not principles and convictions, it is "Populist Crowd Following".

Anonymous said...

We should be wary of any man who seeks a position of power over other humans, if that position of power is backed by the threat of violence. Since that describes essentially every politician, perhaps electing no one is the best course... NOBODY FOR PRESIDENT 2016.

Anonymous said...

See http://laurenstephens.com/ for a different take, and link to a comprehensive video by Stefan Molyneux on the media lies surrounding Donald Trump. While I'm of the opinion that voting isn't likely to change anything, it's best to do it with your eyes open.

Just wash your hands afterwards.