Orwell revisited

[TexasTiger 13,028]

From a lifelong conservative:

Charlie Sykes: “As Donald Trump extends his control over the Republican party, American conservatism has entered a pseudo-Orwellian stage where weakness is strength, appeasement is toughness, lies are truth, and ‘America first’ means ‘blame America first.’”

”The fiasco in Helsinki, where the president openly sided with Vladimir Putin over his own country’s intelligence agencies, was not a one-off for this president but rather an exclamation point on what has happened to the American right.”

”For me, as an outspoken conservative for the last four decades, the experience has been vertiginous. On one issue after another – from Russia and free trade to corruption and the rule of law – Republicans have adjusted their principles to conform with Trumpism, which often means with Trump’s latest glandular impulse.”

https://amp.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/jul/22/conservative-despair-republicans-trump

[AU64 10,122]

Thanks...interesting post though Sykes is just another :"never Trumper" who did not get anything actually accomplished as a conservative pundit.....a parrot of Bill Kristol ….though after reading the piece I wondered if Kristol was writing under a pseudonym for foreign publications.  

Prime example for how a conservative "thinker" can get himself reproduced by the liberal press....just criticize the US or DT....

[homersapien 11,453]

80% of Republicans think Trump did a good job in Helsinki.

Yesterday, "Face the Nation" interviewed two Republicans, a Democrat and an independent.  The following is a transcript:  (Republican responses in red, Democrat/Independent in blue.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He is supposed to stand for America, the United States, and he didn't do a good job.

I believe he didn't do what was necessary. And, yes, he is trying. He is not a politician. But he is trying.

ED O'KEEFE, CBS NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: Steve?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think the summit in Helsinki went very well. I thought the president did a great job.

I don't understand these people that start screaming, you know, every time Putin's name comes up. I mean, he is some evil bogeyman. I just don't buy it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think that if President Trump would find a cure for cancer, the Democrats would complain that he put undertakers out of work.

The meeting went really well. What they do want him to do, get up, put gloves on, and kick his butt? He is not going to do that.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think it was an embarrassment. From the moment he landed in Europe, he appeared incompetent. He didn't know -- he was not briefed. He could not answer questions properly.

As far as the meeting with Putin, I felt that he dishonored us and he mocked us the moment that he put Putin ahead of us.

O'KEEFE: Are you worried at all about Russian interference again this fall in the election?

Second Republican UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Not at all. I'm not worried about Russia interfering with 2018 midterm elections at all. Actually, I believe President Putin when he said that he did not interfere with our elections in 2016.

O'KEEFE: So you believe Putin?

Second Republican UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I belief Putin over our intelligence agencies, absolutely.

O'KEEFE: Why?

Second Republican UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Our intelligence agencies, under President Obama, are rife with people that are on the left. They have their own agenda, and their agenda was to defeat Trump, and, if Trump got elected, to impeach him.

O'KEEFE: Monica (ph), Russians interfered in the elections?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

O'KEEFE: OK.

Are you worried it is going to happen again?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I do.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everyone agrees that not one vote was changed in the 2016 election, even if the Russians did meddle or try to meddle.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There is not an if.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Not one vote was changed.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There is not an if.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

Sounds a lot like this forum - and most here are pretty well educated.

I cannot help but find this very depressing. A good proportion of our country is just flat out, delusionally crazy. 

[homersapien 11,453]

18 hours ago, AU64 said:

Thanks...interesting post though Sykes is just another :"never Trumper" who did not get anything actually accomplished as a conservative pundit.....a parrot of Bill Kristol ….though after reading the piece I wondered if Kristol was writing under a pseudonym for foreign publications.  

Prime example for how a conservative "thinker" can get himself reproduced by the liberal press....just criticize the US or DT....

What BS.  

Kristol is publishing what he thinks, period.  And I missed the "criticizing the U.S."

[AU64 10,122]

1 hour ago, homersapien said:

What BS.  

Kristol is publishing what he thinks, period.  And I missed the "criticizing the U.S."

That was a general comment about how conservatives can become popular with our national media.....and get lots of invites for TV talking shows.  

[homersapien 11,453]

30 minutes ago, AU64 said:

That was a general comment about how conservatives can become popular with our national media.....and get lots of invites for TV talking shows.  

That's true of any public figure who starts acting against type, regardless of political persuasion.

Dog bites man, no news.  Man bites dog, worthy news.

[AuburnNTexas 7,174]

If I was going to write about Orwellian I would talk about when you say one thing and mean another.

You can keep your current Insurance. - When they knew it wasn't true

We are going to lower your rates - when their own projections said differently

Obama talking to the Russians - after the election I can be more flexible

Obama in debating Romney - basically said the cold war is over the Russians are no longer our enemy and the press agreeing with him.

Hillary we want to reset our relations with Russia.

 

I am not denying that I thought Trump came across weak in his discussion of his meeting with Putin. That said we don't know what actually was said in the meeting as there is no transcript.

I wish Trump had been stronger in Public with Putin just as I wish Hillary and Obama had been. What I don't understand was why the press castigates Trump for his weakness but did not do the same for Hillary and Obama.

Unlike the press at the time I said Hillary and Obama were weak with Russia and I am saying in Public speech so was Trump.

I want to get back to a press that has the same standards for Liberals and Conservatives. In most cases if you are a conservative Fox will back you even when you screw up and If you are liberal CNN, MSNBC and a few others will back you even when you screw up. Fox will only give accolades to a conservative and the others will only give accolades to a liberal.

It has been going on for a while but it escalated rapidly to two camps and no compromise with the Obama election and Conservatives with Obama Derangement Syndrome and now Liberals with Trump Derangement Syndrome. Each side accuses the other of Derangement Syndrome but can't see they are doing the same thing.

Sometimes we as people need to step back and take a look at ourselves before we judge others.

 

 

 

[AuCivilEng1 11,026]

18 hours ago, AU64 said:

That was a general comment about how conservatives can become popular with our national media.....and get lots of invites for TV talking shows.  

Kellyanne Conway gets invited to shows and is popular with our media. She's about as far from a left appeaser as it gets. This narrative about the leftist media only giving other leftist a fair shot to defend themselves is just wrong. The reason most of the people on the right get hassled is because they absolutely refuse to answer the questions being asked.  They deflect to how bad the left is/was under past administrations. They never answer for their own party, and that's got to be frustrating for reporters and interviewers. The truth of the matter is Donald Trump rubs the majority of this country the wrong way. Even some Republicans. And rightfully so. The guy is an absolute joke when it comes to seeming intelligent and knowledgeable to how the world works . Listen to him talk about hard Brexit from a few weeks ago. It's embarrassing. And to say he has questionable character is an understatement. 

[AuCivilEng1 11,026]

Also since we are talking about George Orwell, what is this nonsense about Trump telling people not to believe what they see or hear and the White House rewriting the Helsinki transcripts?! This is a nightmare. Is this acceptable for the people on the right in here?