America, you’re stupid: Donald Trump’s political triumph makes it official- we’re a nation of idiots

[KamaAina]

http://www.salon.com/2016/02/24/america_youre_stupid_donald_trumps_political_triumph_makes_it_official_were_a_nation_of_idiots/

Trump won again in Nevada on Tuesday night, by a massive margin, and he may well sweep the Super Tuesday states. If that happens, and it’s the most probable outcome at this point, the race is effectively over. Trump will have won the nomination of one our two major parties, and he’ll have done it with extraordinary ease.

I hate to have to say it, but the conclusion stares us in the face: We’re a stupid country, full of loud, illiterate and credulous people. Trump has marched straight to the nomination without offering anything like a platform or a plan. With a vocabulary of roughly a dozen words – wall, Mexicans, low-energy, loser, Muslims, stupid, China, negotiate, deals, America, great, again – he’s bamboozled millions of Americans. And it’s not just splenetic conservatives supporting Trump or your garden-variety bigots (although that’s the center of his coalition), it’s also independents, pro-choice Republicans, and a subset of Reagan Democrats.

This says something profoundly uncomfortable about our country and our process. A majority of Americans appear wholly uninterested in the actual business of government; they don’t understand it and don’t want to. They have vague feelings about undefined issues and they surrender their votes on emotional grounds to whoever approximates their rage. This has always been true to some extent, but Trump is a rubicon-crossing moment for the nation.

Trump’s wager was simple: Pretend to be stupid and angry because that’s what stupid and angry people like. He’s held up a mirror to the country, shown us how blind and apish we are. He knew how undiscerning the populace would be, how little they cared about details and facts. In Nevada, for instance, 70 percent of Trump voters said they preferred an “anti-establishment” candidate to one with any “experience in politics.” Essentially, that means they don’t care if he understands how government works or if he has the requisite skills to do the job. It’s a protest vote, born of rage, not deliberation.

[PatrickforO]

1. Uh...so, Donald...HOW many branches of government does the United States have?

No...it isn't always about you...

[leftynyc]

2. More drama queen bullshit

Let' see - republicans make up roughly 1/3 of the electorate. Donnie is averaging around 30-35% of the base vote. So now that teeny percentage represents ALL AMERICANS. Get this crap out of here.

[Jester Messiah]

3. Hell, we proved that when Dubya got re-elected. n/t

[Zing Zing Zingbah]

28. That's what I thought.

I think it's been official for at least a decade now.

[eShirl]

33. try Reagan

[lovemydog]

37. try slavery

[Initech]

4. Must be nice when you have every single network giving you unlimited free air time!

Further proof we need to bring back the Fairness Doctrine, but that may be impossible under a Drumpf administration.

This is the California recall election all over again - people knew Schwarzenegger was toxic, but he got elected anyways because of the celebrity factor.

[leftstreet]

5. How many people actually voted?

Says something about them, but nothing about 'America'

[NaturalHigh]

6. I maintain that anyone who says "America is stupid"...

or "voters are stupid" or anything like that is an ass.

[Glamrock]

29. I'm an ass

Bush re-election, support for Sarah Palin, support for Mitt Romney, Scott Walker, Rick Perry, Donald Trump, etc., etc., etc. More people vote for American Idol than POTUS. I was recently told that Illinois' Governor Hedgefund is a socialist. With all due respect, America is stupid.

[former9thward]

35. Yes America is always stupid except when they elect

someone you support.

[Glamrock]

36. I'm pretty sure I never brought up my preferred candidate.

Let me check..... Nope, don't see it.

[phantom power]

7. Voters have some reasons to be enraged.

Everybody except the 1% has fallen behind economically. One of our two political parties has spent the last 40 years telling them that it's because of minorities, liberals and atheists. The other party has spent the last 30 years falling over themselves to prove who can say "compromise with the wingnuts" with the most enthusiasm.

Meanwhile, nothing of importance has improved for anybody except the super-rich.

The only surprising thing is that it took this long for voters to start grabbing for the torches and pitchforks.

[Katashi_itto]

8. Wait till we get four years of Hillary or Trump. That will be even uglier.

[maxsolomon]

13. False equivalence, to start with.

secondly, the POTUS doesn't control Income Inequality, nor can she address it through progressive taxation without the consent of the Congress. It will grow regardless of Clinton's policies (or Sander's for that matter), as it has for 35 years.

[Katashi_itto]

14. Lol...she will have us under TPP..more wars, more austerity,

spare me your pseudo analysis

[maxsolomon]

15. Spare me your Anti-Democrat aspersions, and its a deal.

Clinton is not Trump. Not even close, and you do your arguments a disservice trying to link them. You're not posting in GD-Primary.

We'll be under TPP no matter who is elected, and any additional Austerity measures will be a result of the GOP maintaining control of Congress, and therefore the budget. The next President will have to make deals just to keep the doors open, like Obama did.

[Katashi_itto]

16. Lol...Anti Democratic, just one corrupt politician against another is what it is.

[maxsolomon]

17. Trump's selling point is that he's NOT a Politician

Corrupt, I'll give you. But his voters don't think so.

They think he's beyond corruption; he's AUTHENTIC, he's a truth-teller. Basically, the way Sanders supporters feel, but just 100% wrong, instead of 100% correct.

The General Election isn't a purity contest. It's a fight to keep this nation from turning into The Handmaid's Tale. ANY Democrat is preferable to ANY Republican, even one who's had to compromise or made poor choices in the past.

[Katashi_itto]

21. Spare me. Hillary will sell us out via TPP and other policies first chance she gets.

Look around, we lost years ago. Now it's just the Oligarchs splitting whatever remians with their patsy Hillary.

[maxsolomon]

22. Didn't Obama already sell us out with the TPP? Is she going to re-sign it or something?

You're not going to out-cynic me about America - we never were in contention to win, so we never lost; the fix was in at the start of the nation.

Every politician will sell "us" out. Sanders just hasn't had to make those compromises yet. He will have to make them to keep the lights on.

[Katashi_itto]

23. Man you dont pay much attention to the rest of the world do you? TPP is still

being "worked" on.

I am not trying to out cynic you. I just won't vote for Hillary.

Let it burn.

[maxsolomon]

40. I'd thought it was before the Senate for ratification

and the intent was to GRD before BHO leaves office.

But I guess I don't pay attention to the rest of the world.

[Katashi_itto]

41. As you said. Glad you can at least look it up.

[ozone_man]

19. In many ways, she's worse.

Hillary is a war hawk, and never met a war she didn't want. That sucks the life out of the country, not to mention the countries we invade.
Trump says he won't touch Social Security, a promise Hillary won't make.
In many other areas, Hillary is better. I could argue that a lot of those issues are distractions, while the establishment rams down our throats more wars and economic austerity.

[maxsolomon]

20. Then hold your nose if you must.

Trump has no idea what he'll do; he has no principles, no policies, no real plans. I don't buy your "she's worse" at all, he's already rattling sabers against our allies and enemies alike.

He thinks he can make the Presidency simple. The Presidency isn't simple; it's the worst job on the planet. I believe he'll regret taking the job the first time he has to meet with McConnell and his bluster has no effect on a tortoise.

If there's a God, the Dems will reclaim 1 or both houses. Pelosi could blow enough smoke up his ass to make him into a liberal.

[merrily]

26. Saying "Clinton or Trump" does not create any equivalence at all, true, semi-true or false

And POTUS can do very little without Congress, so pointing that out is not helpful in assessing a candidate's promises. They may as well not say anything under that standart.

[Skittles]

12. being outraged is one thing

supporting someone like Trump is another

[liberalfromaustin21]

9. Good article

Sadly, this isn't surprising. After all, America elected Bush TWICE.

[maxsolomon]

18. Well, at least once

but we can all laugh about it now!

[Rex]

10. This will rub the right people the wrong way!

[Skittles]

11. it is indeed very embarrassing

[AZ Progressive]

24. I had some sense of this before

When California voted for Schwarzenegger as governor, and more recently, Illinois voted for Bruce Rauner.

[KamaAina]

25. People have likened the Drumpf phenomenon to the Gropenfuhrer disaster

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1251553524

And note that both have hosted Celebrity Apprentice.

[NickB79]

31. Minnesota elected Jesse Ventura. nt

[KamaAina]

34. Note that Minnesota consigned Drumpf to third

behind Rubio and Cruz.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10027654009

[Eko]

27. Im not sure it is stupidity.

I know a lot of intelligent people who are for Trump. I think we have been conditioned to rely on emotion more than reasoning. I even see it here quite often and fall prey to it myself sometimes though I work hard to not let it control my judgement. Sometimes I fail. Maybe its the constant gratification we get, the relentless advertising and the persistent reinforcement of tribalism in our society. It's depressing.

[Zing Zing Zingbah]

30. Interesting...

Sometimes I wonder if is related to constant gratification, the internet and such, that so many people seem to have lost the ability to reason. Maybe they are overly emotional, but why? Why would so many people be that way? I have to work in under high stress conditions sometimes, so I am used to having to stay cool so I can think and do my job (and not mess up and lose my job). I get the feeling a lot of people aren't accustomed to dealing with having to think clearly in stressful situations. I have friends and family members virtually fall apart over problems I think are just minuscule and nothing to be all that concerned about compared to the stuff I deal with on a regular basis. I don't know if that is at related. Just an observation. Maybe it is stress response. People can bad at making decisions when stressed.

[Eko]

32. Huh,

My previous job was extremely stressful with constant physical confrontations that could and have taken lives. You got used to it pretty quick or you got the mess kicked out of you all the time and ended up in the hospital if not worse. I know it changed me quite a bit including my thought processes when confronted with something and keeping my emotions at bay. I also have friends and family that do the same thing and act like yours does. Maybe there is something to this, maybe not. Still interesting. Anyone else like this?

[Zing Zing Zingbah]

38. Yeah I don't know

I just know the people I know know that seem to freak out are lead pretty low stress lives overall. They are retired or don't have to work. I know my dad in particular, seemed like he was better at handling things when back when he was working, but he has been retired for over 10 years now and he freaks out about printing a receipt off of the internet. Could be health related though. His physical health is terrible and I think mental health seems to decline with physical health.

[The2ndWheel]

39. All our mind does is justify or rationalize what emotion we feel

Our minds also think there's such a thing as a Thursday, a March, a 3rd day in March, and a year called 2016. And that it's 9:45am. What is that? None of that actually exists anywhere, other than in the human mind.

We're a tribal species. That's all politics are. The other party is always wrong. They're the stupid ones. Our party can't be wrong, because we're a part of our party. We wouldn't be a part of anything that was wrong, because we're smart. Every side says the same thing about their side.

[Nevernose]

42. Nevada is consistently rated the dumbest state in the union

And slightly less than half of Republican voters want Trump elected. So that's ~20%.

I'd say a bigger tell would be when Dubya won the popular vote in his REelection.