The Politics of Being an Asshole
The party of Lincoln becomes the party of reality-show trash talk.
DAVID CORN
JUL. 18, 2016 6:00 AM
Last year, when Donald Trump and his small band of political advisers were considering whether the celebrity pink-slipper should run for president, there was one factor they did not dwell on: Trump's obvious negatives as a candidate. His bankruptcies and bad business deals that screwed creditors and contractors, his marital infidelities, his ties to mob-linked figures, his long history of crude and rude remarks, his tendency to engage in mean-spirited feuds, his racist birther crusade against President Barack Obama, and his arrogant, egotistic, bombastic, and bullying public persona would all supply tons of material for opposition researchers.
Yet Trump and his crew were not concerned, according to a Trump aide at that time. Their theory was simple: With Trump's name ID close to 100 percent, most voters had already processed Trump—the good, the bad—and had come to a conclusion about him. What would count most was whether voters believed the country was in crisis and were sufficiently worried or frightened that they would turn toward a political novice who would echo and reflect their resentment and anger and who would be willing to say and do whatever it took to get the job done. A successful businessman who would crack heads, not give a damn about niceties, and yell F-you at anyone who disagreed with him. In other words, an asshole.
As Republicans gather in Cleveland, they are on the verge of nominating a jerk as their presidential candidate. To call Trump a jerk is not quite an insult, since he has purposefully campaigned as an unpleasant, mean, quick-to-insult, and uncivil contender ... That is part of his strategy. His campaign has been an endeavor of rage, not ideas — of insults, not intelligent exchanges. Never in modern time has a presidential nominee of a major party sought the White House in this fashion, kicking rational and courteous discourse to the curb and fixating on pompous theatrical delivery. Trump represents the end of politics .. and the triumph of shock-jockiness. He is the Mort Downey Jr. of the nation. His campaign playbook is straight from professional wrestling — a world of braggadocio, fakery, and insult. For decades, assorted scolds have whined that American culture is being debased and dumbed-down by assorted evils: television, video games, music lyrics, reality shows. But credit Trump for a giant leap in debasement. He has normalized bigoted speech and bullying ...
http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2016/07/donald-trump-and-politics-being-asshole
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