London Times oped on irrationality in British (and US) politics

[MBS]

mostly on Brits and Brexit, but Trump and US election also comes up.

http://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/comment/may-hit-by-whirlwind-of-political-emotion-rsjjhh2z0

. . . Britain’s reputation as a force for stability in the world has been shaken. Although Mrs May insisted at the summit that the UK would be a “dependable” global player, questions are being raised about her choice of foreign secretary. Senior figures in Whitehall worry about Mr Johnson’s reliability: some officials are nervous about giving him sensitive security briefings because they fear the 30-year rule could soon become the three-year rule if he needs material for an after-dinner speech or newspaper column.Trust — the essential currency in diplomacy — is in short supply, both in this country and abroad.

As MPs return this week after the parliamentary summer recess, the reality of Brexit is starting to bite. Nigel Farage has already accused Mrs May of “backsliding” after she rejected the Leave campaign’s proposals for an Australian-style points system to control immigration. The cries of “betrayal” will only get louder as the inevitable trade off between access to the single market and free-movement rules becomes apparent and dreams collide with reality. This is not just a disagreement about the definition of Brexit, it’s a category clash. In his new novel Nutshell, Ian McEwan argues that the world has become such a complicated and dangerous place that people are increasingly seeking irrationally simplistic or supernatural answers to their problems. “Clever and infantile,” he writes. “It’s dusk in the second Age of Reason.”

Politics — which was once conducted with passion but also a barrage of statistics over the Commons despatch box — is now driven increasingly by emotion. The Brexit vote was a howl of rage about the status quo rather than a rational statement of support for a clear alternative. People voted in huge numbers against their own financial self-interest because they felt they were being ignored by an out of touch elite. In Sunderland, for example, there was an overwhelming majority for Brexit despite dire warnings from the Japanese car manufacturer Nissan that thousands of jobs would go in the local factory if the UK left the EU. Project Fear, which attempted to play on voters’ economic anxieties, was trumped by Operation Anger, which tapped into a more guttural fury about immigration. By railing against “experts”, the Leave campaign played into the anti-intellectual mood. . . .
This is the era of post-truth politics, when Donald Trump can scatter around blatant lies about his opponents, promote conspiracy theories and make promises he must know he cannot keep yet apparently get away with it. In Trump: The Art of the Deal, he describes himself as being the master of the “truthful hyperbole”. But the Democrats are making a mistake if they think it is enough to simply rebut the untruths. The media have repeatedly challenged the lies with little effect because, as the American writer Clay Shirky put it recently: “We’ve brought fact-checkers to a culture war.” Like the Brexiteers, the Republican presidential candidate is tapping into a frustration among voters who feel “left behind” by globalisation. It doesn’t matter that he is a billionaire property developer with gold taps on his private jet, he is perceived to be standing up for the little guy. Even if he doesn’t win the White House, he has created an unstoppable brand. . . .

[DonCoquixote]

1. the meat of the matter

" But the Democrats are making a mistake if they think it is enough to simply rebut the untruths. The media have repeatedly challenged the lies with little effect because, as the American writer Clay Shirky put it recently: “We’ve brought fact-checkers to a culture war."

and frankly, I do not think the Democrats are getting it. This is NOT chess, or even warfare, this is guerilla war, and frankly, they need to start getting nasty. We have to appeal to emotions, because facts alone won't register.

[MBS]

2. yup. n/t

[muriel_volestrangler]

3. But if you point out that Trump is a bigoted conman who might launch nuclear war

(which are all reasonable points, which can be backed up with evidence), the media will say you're being ridiculous. The problem seems to be that 'hate' is the emotion that almost half of the US electorate wants pandered to first, and Trump is their man. And it could become over half of those who vote, like in the UK. Luckily, the referendum wasn't to put Farage or Johnson's finger on the nuclear button.

Can we convince enough American voters that Trump is a psychopath who must be prevented from getting power - and that all they have to do is vote to stop it? I sure hope so.