Its a shock-creation machine: Activist Naomi Klein dispels theory Trump is just a bumbling idiot

[Judi Lynn]

AlterNet
15 JUN 2017 AT 00:05 ET


Shocking, abnormal, unprecedented: These are just some of the words used to describe the Trump presidency since he took office. And with each new statement, tweet or piece of legislation from the Trump administration, many people feel that these antics are unlike anything we’ve seen before.

But author and journalist Naomi Klein disagrees: We have seen this before.

Speaking to a crowded hall June 12 at the Cooper Union in New York City, Klein, whose new book is titled No Is Not Enough: Resisting Trump’s Shock Politics and Winning the World We Need, discussed the events contributing to Trump’s rise, the future of the progressive movement and the “shocks” left in the wake of Trump’s policies.

Much of Klein’s talk centered around the theory she presents in her 2008 book The Shock Doctrine, but she also differentiated Trump’s policies as a different form of shock. While most media coverage of the White House portrays his administration as a chaotic mess, Klein argued that the media ends up missing the more diabolical policy movements behind the curtain that are “shock-creation machines”—such as the removal of Dodd-Frank and Trump pulling the U.S. out of the Paris climate accord.

“This narrative has emerged that he’s this bumbling idiot, that it’s all chaos,” she said. “And meanwhile, behind the scenes, getting very little media attention is a methodical, very organized redistribution of wealth from lower and middle incomes to the 1 percent of the 1 percent.”

More:
http://www.rawstory.com/2017/06/its-a-shock-creation-machine-activist-naomi-klein-dispels-theory-trump-is-just-a-bumbling-idiot/

[MFM008]

1. I think he is not intelligent

But cunning, like a rat.

[CrispyQ]

3. Cunningness takes intelligence.

cun·ning (kŭn?ĭng)
adj.
1. Marked by or given to artful subtlety and deceptiveness.
2. Executed with or exhibiting ingenuity.
3. Delicately pleasing; pretty or cute: a cunning pet.
n.
1. Skill in deception; guile.
2. Skill or adeptness in execution or performance; dexterity.

The Con is privileged. And arrogant. He's never been held accountable for anything that he's said or done. Rats are smart. Smarter than the Con.

[czarjak]

2. He ain't doin' it on his own. Believe me.

[luvMIdog]

4. he's not intelligent, he's a narcissist & what they do best is DELEGATE. They are good at spotting

talented people. They will delegate to a skilled/intelligent person and then claim the credit as their own if all goes well or blame the other person if all fails. Manipulate and delegate- the 2 best skills of the narcissist

[brush]

5. I lived in NY in the 80s, 90s thru '06 and have been exposed to the chaos machine that is trump...

so I don't entirely believe in her theory. His management style and personal actions create chaos by pitting people against each other, by stiffing contractors, by scamming customers, the constant suits, threats and business failures that left the lives of scores of people in his wake, the assaults against women — he is all about chaos but I don't doubt that he's also a money-grubbing lout trying to get his hands on as much money he can.

[The_Casual_Observer]

6. It isn't him its the people that keep him there. No different than Reagan

[gristy]

7. He is a bumbling idiot AND there are diabolical policy movements behind the curtain

These things are NOT mutually exclusive.

[Duppers]

8. Exactly.

+10

[Warren DeMontague]

9. I don't think so. Any GOP President with a GOP congress would remove Dodd-Frank & Pull out of Paris

An administration in less chaos would be getting more done.

I think he's genuinely a bumbling idiot.

[Doug the Dem]

10. Rec for Exposure

But I still think he's an idiot.

[weydowner]

11. Just a Queen Bee. What about the worker-bees?

He may be - well, is the personification of extreme idiocy - but he has power beyond the dreams of Stalin and a malevolence largely unknown to world leaders. Plus he is mentally - let us say - unsound.
And a following of many millions.
A very dangerous combination.

[stuffmatters]

12. Her SHOCK DOCTRINE always a reliable roadmap for the Repug (Trump) agenda

Putin's Russia (and essentially Putin's Hungary) are the Trump,Koch,Mercer model and goal.

[BigmanPigman]

13. She was on Chris Hayes tonight.

She made some good points...if the Donald does leave office soon we are still in the same boat as we were in before the election. Immigration, economy, college tuituon, healthcare, minorities' issues, etc. all are still a mess and the Repub have no answers/solutions except for the same old rhetoric. Nothing changes except we don't have a narcissistic sociopath pretending to solve very real problems.

[RussBLib]

14. Trumpets are rolling back policies all over

I tend to agree. "Chaos" on the surface is a good cover for what's going on underneath. Somehow, they won't get away with it.

If Trump goes, Pence is as bad, or worse, from a policy standpoint.

If Pence goes, Ryan is a nightmare in waiting.

If we could just find some evidence the Russians and Diebold conspired to hack voting machines with ease, maybe we could force a new election.

Hahahaha

[dalton99a]

15. The destructiveness is deliberate

It is a team effort, and it is premeditated and wide-ranging