Obama is a thin-skinned narcissist

[Babbylonian]

Maybe they'll finally decide he's a losing prospect, and give up the game.

They can't. Their commitment to ideology over basic human defence won't allow it. There is no backup plan available for this November.

 

[AnonyMoose]

So now that the world has seen what a true thin-skinned narcissist actually looks like (hint: it doesn't look like Obama).... do you think any of the republican cheerleaders will admit they had no idea what they were talking about 4 years ago?

 

[Belz...]

So now that the world has seen what a true thin-skinned narcissist actually looks like (hint: it doesn't look like Obama).... do you think any of the republican cheerleaders will admit they had no idea what they were talking about 4 years ago?

That would assume that they didn't know that 4 years ago.

Ziggurat knew exactly what he was doing.

 

[quadraginta]

Maybe they'll finally decide he's a losing prospect, and give up the game.

They can't. Their commitment to ideology over basic human defence won't allow it. There is no backup plan available for this November.

At this juncture I think it has become more than obvious that Repugnican politicians in general have no commitment to anything but their own main chance.

Their problem is that the window has closed. If they had had the spine to buck the Trump bandwagon even just a year ago there might have been enough time to build up some plausibility. Now, after an unbroken record of kissing The Trump's ass they'd just look like rats deserting a sinking ship.

Not that even that would deter them if they thought there was any percentage in it for them, but there isn't.

 

[kookbreaker]

So now that the world has seen what a true thin-skinned narcissist actually looks like (hint: it doesn't look like Obama).... do you think any of the republican cheerleaders will admit they had no idea what they were talking about 4 years ago?

They'll never admit such, but recall that by 2008 you couldn't get anyone to admit they voted for Bush.

 

[quadraginta]

They'll never admit such, but recall that by 2008 you couldn't get anyone to admit they voted for Bush.

This may be the short term historical gauge of how well a president performed. The percentage of people who actually voted for him that are still willing to admit to it.

 

[Babbylonian]

This may be the short term historical gauge of how well a president performed. The percentage of people who actually voted for him that are still willing to admit to it.

I certainly wouldn't pay much attention to exit polls outside the reddest Republican strongholds this November.

 

[Horatius]

At this juncture I think it has become more than obvious that Repugnican politicians in general have no commitment to anything but their own main chance.

Their problem is that the window has closed. If they had had the spine to buck the Trump bandwagon even just a year ago there might have been enough time to build up some plausibility. Now, after an unbroken record of kissing The Trump's ass they'd just look like rats deserting a sinking ship.

Not that even that would deter them if they thought there was any percentage in it for them, but there isn't.

But they have to realize that four more years of Trump will do even more damage to the Republican brand. If they cut their losses now, and let Trump lose, they might have a chance to rebuild their party. Or at least to paint over all the Trump logos.

 

[Stacyhs]

But they have to realize that four more years of Trump will do even more damage to the Republican brand. If they cut their losses now, and let Trump lose, they might have a chance to rebuild their party. Or at least to paint over all the Trump logos.

I'm not so sure a lot of them want to rebuild their party. Remember that this takeover began before Trump with the rise of the Tea Party Republicans. And there are a bucketful of them in Congress now.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_politicians_affiliated_with_the_Tea_Party_movement

 

[Belz...]

But they have to realize that four more years of Trump will do even more damage to the Republican brand.

Since they seem to not care much about the democratic process I don't think they view that as a problem.

 

[Safe-Keeper]

Actually, them finally reaching a limit as to what they'll actually defend is probably a step in the right direction. Just a little more Trumpsanity, and they might actually start opposing him.

Also, 538 shows that the popularity spike he enjoyed when Covid hit is completely gone.

Anyone who wants to do an about face now and do the "I won't support that evil man" routine after standing by him for four years gets no sympathy from me, though. It's not like he was a good person and competend president until corona hit. Leopards, faces, eating, voted, etc.

In fact, someone observing a leopard in a zoo for then to let it loose is an apt analogy. They are solely responsible for anything and everything the big cat does.

 

[timhau]

Anyone who wants to do an about face now and do the "I won't support that evil man" routine after standing by him for four years gets no sympathy from me, though.

Not that my non-American opinion matters here, but I would have sympathy for those who repent. Sympathy, but not trust, that would have to be earned over a lengthy period of time.

 

[quadraginta]

But they have to realize that four more years of Trump will do even more damage to the Republican brand. If they cut their losses now, and let Trump lose, they might have a chance to rebuild their party. Or at least to paint over all the Trump logos.

You are making the mistake of assuming that they give a damn about the Republican brand. All they care about is what will win them the next election, and most of them come from states or districts where the Trump "core" is their biggest block of supporters.

To reverse their support for The Trump at this stage might help the party, but only at the cost of their own welfare. That ain't gonna happen.

 

[Stacyhs]

You are making the mistake of assuming that they give a damn about the Republican brand. All they care about is what will win them the next election, and most of them come from states or districts where the Trump "core" is their biggest block of supporters.

To reverse their support for The Trump at this stage might help the party, but only at the cost of their own welfare. That ain't gonna happen.

That sums it up nicely.

 

[Babbylonian]

Not that my non-American opinion matters here, but I would have sympathy for those who repent. Sympathy, but not trust, that would have to be earned over a lengthy period of time.

Someone who repents a year or less into this presidency? Absolutely. Everybody makes mistakes and can be blinded by the pettier side of politics.

Someone who repents 1-2 years into this presidency? I have huge concerns that you weren't paying attention to what happened last year. I guess it's good that you're coming around but I'm pretty wary that you're setting us up for something.

Someone who repents 2+ years into this presidency? **** you. Resistance has failed in pretty big ways and it's down to you and the rest of the scum who not only voted for Trump but added your voices to the Trump is Great Choir. Maybe you can be redeemed sometime in the 2030s.

I get the instinct toward sympathy and forgiveness. Shrill and obstreperous as I might be at times, I really do want to like people. The problem is that anyone who has stayed a Trump supporter for any serious length of time has exulted in the cruelty and hate that Trump espouses every time he opens his mouth or his Twitter app.

This isn't just Democrat versus Republican **** anymore. This is about a President who has proven more stupid and evil than any President of the US before him. He didn't wait even a week before implementing cruel policies that saw children yanked from the arms of their parents and thrown into cages without even basic human necessities. More children died from Trump immigration policy enforcement in a year than did from the same thing over the decade before.

I'm truly sorry, but those who continue to support Trump have abandoned the most fundamental human decency. How am I supposed to be sympathetic to that?

 

[quadraginta]

<snip>

This isn't just Democrat versus Republican **** anymore.

<snip>

Yes it is. Not just because some 90% of registered Republicans continue to proclaim their support for him as president. Not just because about the the same percentage of Republican politicians continue to kowtow to his every whim.

It is because Republicans as a party have proven that they are quite content with this sort of man as a leader, and there is no reason to think that in the absence of Trump they wouldn't just move on to someone just like him, or worse.

As has been pointed out quite often, The Trump is only a symptom.

The Republican Party has proven that it is a disease.