A Defector From Conservatism With a Clear Vision of Trump’s Rise

[Guno צְבִי]

But what makes Boot’s argument admirable is that he doesn’t simply follow his ideology in a mechanical fashion. Instead he treats the rise of Trump with the seriousness an event of such magnitude demands. If you discovered your best friend was working on a plan to kill hundreds of people in a terrorist attack, you wouldn’t simply condemn his plan while continuing to appreciate his non-terrorist qualities. You would question your entire relationship and what it is about this person you missed in the first place. Likewise, when your political party has elected an ignorant, viciously bigoted, compulsively lying authoritarian crook as president, you need to raise fundamental assumptions about that party’s makeup, rather than treat it as an unfortunate turn of events one must muddle through.


Boot recounts briefing Sarah Palin, in his capacity as a McCain 2008 campaign adviser. (Unsurprisingly, he “found her to be nonresponsive and uninterested in foreign policy issues.”) After he began criticizing Trump, Boot describes the president of a conservative think tank expressing private agreement, but admitting he could not say so publicly for fear of offending his board of directors. When a friend got an appointment in the administration, she crossed Boot off the guest list for a party lest she be associated with a turncoat. Reexamining his career and the movement that brought him up professionally with a more skeptical eye, Trump’s rise becomes more explicable.

http://nymag.com/intelligencer/2018/...umps-rise.html

[Nordberg]

Steve Schmidt is another long-term republican who has seen how destructive the Republican party has become. He is extremely articulate and expressed his disgust and fear that Trump policies engeneder in him. Steve and Max are very smart and explain their views very well, and see the big picture and the disaster that Trump is and what damage he can do. The Republican party has become an agent of the super wealthy . They are changing America in fundamental ways . bad ways. From climate change to ridiculous debts, they are getting their way, It cannot end quietly.
The tools of the party success, anti-intellectualism, bigotry, radical ideologies and crazy conspiracy theories can not end nicely. The end may be as bad as the experience of Trumpism itself. Comicly crazy if it weren't so damn dangerous.

[Evmetro]

But what makes Boot’s argument admirable is that he doesn’t simply follow his ideology in a mechanical fashion. Instead he treats the rise of Trump with the seriousness an event of such magnitude demands. If you discovered your best friend was working on a plan to kill hundreds of people in a terrorist attack, you wouldn’t simply condemn his plan while continuing to appreciate his non-terrorist qualities. You would question your entire relationship and what it is about this person you missed in the first place. Likewise, when your political party has elected an ignorant, viciously bigoted, compulsively lying authoritarian crook as president, you need to raise fundamental assumptions about that party’s makeup, rather than treat it as an unfortunate turn of events one must muddle through.


Boot recounts briefing Sarah Palin, in his capacity as a McCain 2008 campaign adviser. (Unsurprisingly, he “found her to be nonresponsive and uninterested in foreign policy issues.”) After he began criticizing Trump, Boot describes the president of a conservative think tank expressing private agreement, but admitting he could not say so publicly for fear of offending his board of directors. When a friend got an appointment in the administration, she crossed Boot off the guest list for a party lest she be associated with a turncoat. Reexamining his career and the movement that brought him up professionally with a more skeptical eye, Trump’s rise becomes more explicable.

http://nymag.com/intelligencer/2018/...umps-rise.html

There is no way that this guy could have defected. He has always been a lefty, so he does not need to defect into being a lefty.

[Old Trapper]

There is no way that this guy could have defected. He has always been a lefty, so he does not need to defect into being a lefty.

And you have always been a racist fascist. Well, that may be a little strong, however, stupid fool, useful idiot, and some other terms would be more accurate:

https://www.motherjones.com/politics...a-clean-start/

[canceled.2021.2]

Steve Schmidt is another long-term republican who has seen how destructive the Republican party has become. He is extremely articulate and expressed his disgust and fear that Trump policies engeneder in him. Steve and Max are very smart and explain their views very well, and see the big picture and the disaster that Trump is and what damage he can do. The Republican party has become an agent of the super wealthy . They are changing America in fundamental ways . bad ways. From climate change to ridiculous debts, they are getting their way, It cannot end quietly.
The tools of the party success, anti-intellectualism, bigotry, radical ideologies and crazy conspiracy theories can not end nicely. The end may be as bad as the experience of Trumpism itself. Comicly crazy if it weren't so damn dangerous.

Steve Schmidt, Max Boot and Nicole Wallace. What do the three have in common?

 

All three were part of McShamnestys losing campaign

[Robo]

Steve Schmidt is another long-term republican who has seen how destructive the Republican party has become. He is extremely articulate and expressed his disgust and fear that Trump policies engeneder in him. Steve and Max are very smart and explain their views very well, and see the big picture and the disaster that Trump is and what damage he can do.

Surely you're gonna articulate "the damage he can do," correct? I'll be looking forward to that.

The Republican party has become an agent of the super wealthy . They are changing America in fundamental ways . bad ways. From climate change to ridiculous debts, they are getting their way, It cannot end quietly.

You mean like trashing the absurd unnecessary economy strangling Obama administration's regulations? For your information Obama's inherited National Debt went from 10 trillion $ to 20 trillion $ in 8 years. the largest increase in American history. What say ye about that?

The tools of the party success, anti-intellectualism, bigotry, radical ideologies and crazy conspiracy theories can not end nicely. The end may be as bad as the experience of Trumpism itself. Comicly crazy if it weren't so damn dangerous.

That would be funny if it weren't so damned brainwashed stupid!

[cawacko]

But what makes Boot’s argument admirable is that he doesn’t simply follow his ideology in a mechanical fashion. Instead he treats the rise of Trump with the seriousness an event of such magnitude demands. If you discovered your best friend was working on a plan to kill hundreds of people in a terrorist attack, you wouldn’t simply condemn his plan while continuing to appreciate his non-terrorist qualities. You would question your entire relationship and what it is about this person you missed in the first place. Likewise, when your political party has elected an ignorant, viciously bigoted, compulsively lying authoritarian crook as president, you need to raise fundamental assumptions about that party’s makeup, rather than treat it as an unfortunate turn of events one must muddle through.


Boot recounts briefing Sarah Palin, in his capacity as a McCain 2008 campaign adviser. (Unsurprisingly, he “found her to be nonresponsive and uninterested in foreign policy issues.”) After he began criticizing Trump, Boot describes the president of a conservative think tank expressing private agreement, but admitting he could not say so publicly for fear of offending his board of directors. When a friend got an appointment in the administration, she crossed Boot off the guest list for a party lest she be associated with a turncoat. Reexamining his career and the movement that brought him up professionally with a more skeptical eye, Trump’s rise becomes more explicable.

http://nymag.com/intelligencer/2018/...umps-rise.html

Max Boot is the same dude liberals are still crushing because he supported the Iraq War. Pretty amazing you are more upset at a columnist than two people who actually voted to authorize it, John Kerry and Hillary Clinton, whom you made your party's nominees.

[cawacko]

There is no way that this guy could have defected. He has always been a lefty, so he does not need to defect into being a lefty.

How was he a lefty prior to 2016?

[Cypress]

Max Boot is the same dude liberals are still crushing because he supported the Iraq War. Pretty amazing you are more upset at a columnist than two people who actually voted to authorize it, John Kerry and Hillary Clinton, whom you made your party's nominees.

A favorite talking point of yours.

There is no moral equivalency - none, nada, zilch - between people who repented and expressed regret well over a decade ago for the Iraq War Disaster,

and people who - to this day - refuse to acknowledge their epic blunder in supporting the war, have never expressed the slightest regret about it, nor even indicated what if any lessons they learned from that disaster. Some of them are even on this board.



The Vietnam War would have gone on another 20 years if people who hadn't initially favored it, ultimately turned against it and recognized the epic blunder they made.

[Evmetro]

How was he a lefty prior to 2016?

The linked article detailed how he was against everything that was going on. Also, we can only evolve to the right. Remember that we were all born as little lefties who were screaming for a tit or a bottle for survival, and that we had to learn how to be civilized. Becoming a righty means that we learned certain information and culture that we cannot forget. A lefty can learn and become civilized, but a righties already are. There is no going back.

[cawacko]

A favorite talking point of yours.

There is no moral equivalency - none, nada, zilch, between people who repented and expressed regret over a decade ago for the Iraq War Disaster,

and people who - to this day - refuse to acknowledge their epic blunder in supporting the war, have never expressed the slightest regret about it, nor even indicated what if any lessons they learned from that disaster.



The Vietnam War would have gone on another 20 years if people who hadn't initially favored it, turned against it and recognized the epic blunder.

So because Hillary said "I'm sorry" because it didn't go as planned all is forgiven? I'm sorry, she had actual power to determine whether we went into Iraq or not. What people say on an anonymous message board is irrelevant. No one has power here. And Hillary Clinton didn't vote for Iraq because of Max Boot. She knew what she was doing. You give her a pass because she's a Democrat (which is your right). But it belies your moral outrage otherwise.

[cawacko]

The linked article detailed how he was against everything that was going on. Also, we can only evolve to the right. Remember that we were all born as little lefties who were screaming for a tit or a bottle for survival, and that we had to learn how to be civilized. Becoming a righty means that we learned certain information and culture that we cannot forget. A lefty can learn and become civilized, but a righties already are. There is no going back.

Wait what? What was the everything going on that he was against?

[Evmetro]

Wait what? What was the everything going on that he was against?

Read the article.

[domer76]

There is no way that this guy could have defected. He has always been a lefty, so he does not need to defect into being a lefty.

Has he? Give us his history as a lefty.

[domer76]

The linked article detailed how he was against everything that was going on. Also, we can only evolve to the right. Remember that we were all born as little lefties who were screaming for a tit or a bottle for survival, and that we had to learn how to be civilized. Becoming a righty means that we learned certain information and culture that we cannot forget. A lefty can learn and become civilized, but a righties already are. There is no going back.

I was going as a Republican for Halloween, but couldn't fit my head up my ass. You won't even have to dress up for that.

Righties have enlarged amygdalas. The fear center. Their brains are also unable to process complex information.