Here's why Trump WILL be our next president

[kenny]

... and why you, I, and every America with more than two brain cells should just slit our wrists right now.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-rosenblum/donald-trump-is-going-to_b_11637008.html

Donald Trump is going to be elected president.

The American people voted for him a long time ago.

They voted for him when The History Channel went from showing documentaries about the Second World War to Pawn Stars and Swamp People.

They voted for him when The Discovery Channel went from showing Lost Treasures of the Yangtze Valley to Naked and Afraid.

They voted for him when The Learning Channel moved from something you could learn from to My 600 Pound Life.

They voted for him when CBS went from airing Harvest of Shame to airing Big Brother.

These networks didn’t make these programming changes by accident. They were responding to what the American people actually wanted. And what they wanted was Naked and Afraid and Duck Dynasty.

The polls may show that Donald Trump is losing to Hillary Clinton, but don’t you believe those polls. When the AC Nielsen Company selects a new Nielsen family, they disregard the new family’s results for the first three months. The reason: when they feel they are being monitored, people lie about what they are watching. In the first three months, knowing they are being watched, they will tune into PBS. But over time they get tired of pretending. Then it is back to The Kardashians.

The same goes for people who are being asked by pollsters for whom they are voting. They will not say Donald Trump. It is too embarrassing. But the truth is, they like Trump. He is just like their favorite shows on TV.

Mindless entertainment.

Trump’s replacement of Paul Manafort with Breitbart’s Steve Bannon shows that Trump understands how Americans actually think. They think TV. They think ratings. They think entertainment.

We are a TV based culture. We have been for some time now. The average American spends 5 hours a day, every day, watching TV. After sleep, it is our number one activity.

More shockingly, we spend 8.5 hours a day staring at screens - phones, tablets, computers. And more and more of the content on those devices is also video and TV.

If you spend 5 to 8 hours a day, every day, for years and years doing the same thing it has an impact on you. For the past 40 years we have devoted 5 to 8 hours a day staring at a screen - every day. And we haven’t been watching Judy Woodruff. We have been watching Reality TV shows. That is what we love. That is what we resonate to. The Real Housewives of Atlanta.

The French may love food, the Italians may love opera. What we love is TV. We are TV culture. It defines who we are.

In the 1950s, early television was allowed, with many restrictions, to be an observational guest at political conventions. They were quiet ‘flies on the wall’, carefully and quietly commentating on what they saw way down below. They did not get involved in the process. Today, they ARE the process. Today, political conventions are nothing but carefully directed TV shows. Likewise ‘debates’. They exist only to entertain a TV audience. TV and entertainment now dictate everything political. It is a never-ending show. The biggest Reality Show on air.

And Donald Trump is great TV.

He knows how to entertain.

He understands ratings.

Hillary Clinton is crap TV.

She may be smarter, better prepared, a better politician. It won’t matter. She is terrible entertainment.

That’s just how it is. Depressing, but true.

He is Kim Kardashian. She is Judy Woodruff.

Who gets better ratings?

Who would you rather watch for the next four years?

Honestly...

In 1825, the great French gastronom Brillat de Savarind said, “tell me what you eat and I will tell you what you are”. Today, in America, we can safely say, “tell me what you watch and I will tell you what you are”.

And what do we watch?

It isn’t The PBS Newshour.

 

[arkieb1]

I'm not entirely convinced the majority of intelligent Americans and yes, I assume there are a few of you left, want someone with the brains of Kim Kardashian running the country... it might be entertaining but it doesn't necessarily make it economically stable/viable.

 

[AGBF]

Thank you for this thread, kenny. I actually went cold turkey away from all computers (I do not have a smart phone) from Saturday until last night (Tuesday night). I also did not see a newspaper and only managed to catch a few minutes of stray television (much of it cartoons in French) at a nursing home. Until I drove home and listened to Sirius radio non-stop I had no idea what was going on in the world. But I felt really good. I was fully immersed in caring for my best friend, who had just a hip replacement, and was not doing well and in helping her husband clean their house and care their seven dogs. I didn't feel the need to check into a computer forum to connect with the world. There is a computer in my friend's home, and I used it briefly on my last visit there, although it is an Apple and I can't figure those out, but I was just too tired from actual work to bother with it.

I am telling this story because my experience of being without a computer to tug me off from "the real world" feels analogous to being without "junk" TV. It felt cleansing, even though I am back at the keyboard today.

I am glad that I do not have a clue what any of the programs you mentioned above are (except my 600 lb life, which my daughter has watched and which upsets me). I cannot bear to see my daughter glued to the television , fascinated by how huge some woman is, on the pretext of watching her recover. In my opinion, it is just like going to see The Fat Lady in the circus.

I heard a lot on the radio about the devastation in Baton Rouge on the radio yesterday and I am feeling I should be engaged more "in the real world". And I am remembering redwood's posting of one of my favorite quotations, the one usually attributed to John Wesley, exhorting us to help others.

“Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as ever you can.”

Links to ways to help in Baton Rouge...http://www.volunteerlouisiana.gov/disaster-services/donate/

AGBF

 

[momhappy]

I have long been saying that the media is (in part) responsible for the Trump machine. I have no doubt that Trump is what he is thanks to the non-stop coverage of him (good and bad). It's not necessarily that he's good tv, it's just that he's everywhere. all. the. time. I am not confident, however, that he will win. He might, but I think HRC has a pretty good shot.
I don't care for the implication that Trump voters are mindless idiots. I don't think that it does anyone any favors to put down an entire group of people based on a single misconception. I think it's offensive to stereotype Trump supporters (as all racists, or all idiots, etc.) and I'm sad that some people seem to think it's okay (probably because they somehow feel justified because they feel Trump is an awful human being). I don't disagree that maybe some Trump supporters are embarrassed to admit that they support the candidate, but I think it's more likely that they are afraid of being stereotyped and/or bullied by Trump protestors because things have gotten so ugly. This is such a sad election in so many, many ways.

 

[redwood66]

What a pretentious f*cking snob. Articles like these piss me off. People like him are part of the reason for Trump and his supporters who are tired of holier than thou media bullsh*t. Most Americans are hard working people who do what they want in their time off. And I agree with momhappy about the stereotyping of Trump supporters as racists idiots.

Trump will likely not win either so he is just writing a column for his elitist contemporaries so they can all feel better about themselves.

 

[kenny]

IMO this excellent! article makes an excellent, and alarming, point.
Trump supporters are embarrassed to admit it, and this makes polling unreliable.
That is why I'm worried that Trump MAY win.

But nobody is watching voters in the warm privacy of the voting booth.

Excessive consumption of ever-more-mindless entertainment has dumbed us down.
IMO TV and, now, constantly staring into a little screen all day IS making us stupid.
Since I don't watch TV, and don't have a smartphone or FB, Twitter, or Instagram account I feel I have the distance and perspective to see this.

I'm not referring to any voter or any candidate per se but ... IF enough Americans become piles of shit they will elect a pile of shit as president, and in a democracy there is nothing we can do about it.

We may have already reached that critical mass.
I'm glad I'm old.
I feel sorry for young Americans.

 

[Tekate]

What a pretentious f*cking snob. Articles like these piss me off. People like him are part of the reason for Trump and his supporters who are tired of holier than thou media bullsh*t. Most Americans are hard working people who do what they want in their time off. And I agree with momhappy about the stereotyping of Trump supporters as racists idiots.

Trump will likely not win either so he is just writing a column for his elitist contemporaries so they can all feel better about themselves.

What is pretentious and snobby, he sounds sad to me, sad that TV was formerly a place where people could learn which is entertainment to some and we still had our "I dream of jeannie" "beat the clock" "queen for a day"... it would be much better for Americans if we all became pretentious, effing snobs because right now we come across as uneducated, poorly mannered, unschooled and illiterate. I'm for being a snob vs being a Duck Dynasty watcher. I think most Trump supporters ARE racists but don't think they are, they don't get white privilege nor do they get Black Lives Matter, because if they did, they would never ever vote for Trump.

 

[redwood66]

We will definitely agree to disagree.

And I don't "get" BLM especially after reading this platform and list of demands. If you do not address black on black criminality as well as demanding all of this then you will not receive my attention.

https://policy.m4bl.org/

ETA - Conservative blacks and hispanics support Trump so are they racist also? That is a broad brush you used T - and the author also.

 

[Dancing Fire]

We will definitely agree to disagree.

And I don't "get" BLM especially after reading this platform and list of demands. If you do not address black on black criminality as well as demanding all of this then you will not receive my attention.

https://policy.m4bl.org/

ETA - Conservative blacks and hispanics support Trump so are they racist also? That is a broad brush you used T - and the author also.

There are < 100 in the whole country...

 

[Dee*Jay]

By choice I haven not owned a TV in my entire adult life so I may be a little out there with this thought... but what if the people who used to watch PBS aren't watching ANY TV any more? So they haven't transitioned from Show A to Show B, they have actually transitioned from Show A to ACTIVITY C? And I'm hoping the people engaged in Activity C are the ones who are actually going to go to the polls while those watching Show A are too busy flipping channels to be bothered. Too good to be true I'm sure, but I'm just throwing it out there...

ETA: Activity C for purposes of this discussion can be anything BUT watching TV. Reading, finger painting, chasing Pokemons -- anything.

 

[shaggy1]

Never mind.

 

[momhappy]

By choice I haven not owned a TV in my entire adult life so I may be a little out there with this thought... but what if the people who used to watch PBS aren't watching ANY TV any more? So they haven't transitioned from Show A to Show B, they have actually transitioned from Show A to ACTIVITY C? And I'm hoping the people engaged in Activity C are the ones who are actually going to go to the polls while those watching Show A are too busy flipping channels to be bothered. Too good to be true I'm sure, but I'm just throwing it out there...

ETA: Activity C for purposes of this discussion can be anything BUT watching TV. Reading, finger painting, chasing Pokemons -- anything.

I think you make a fair point. I know people who either don't watch tv or don't even own one.

 

[ruby59]

want someone with the brains of Kim Kardashian running our country
____________________________________________________________

and the mental stability of a 3 year old having a temper tantrum

What happened. I thought Clinton according to the polls had it pretty much sewn up and was too far ahead for Trump to catch up.

 

[House Cat]

The electoral college was established on the premise that the people were too stupid to actually vote for themselves......

 

[shaggy1]

The electoral college was established on the premise that the people were too stupid to actually vote for themselves......

I believe it was actually established to avoid debate if the popular vote was a close one.

 

[kenny]

What happened.
I thought Clinton according to the polls had it pretty much sewn up and was too far ahead for Trump to catch up.

Your question was answered in the article quoted in my OP.
It states polls are not reliable because Trump supporters are too embarrassed to tell the pollster that they support Trump.
(I don't blame them.)

That's why the only 'poll' that can be accurate is the election itself.
On Tuesday, Nov 8 Americans will cast their votes in private, where nobody is embarrassed by revealing their true self.

 

[House Cat]

The electoral college was established on the premise that the people were too stupid to actually vote for themselves......

I believe it was actually established to avoid debate if the popular vote was a close one.

The framers, who were wealthy, white land owners feared "the tyranny of the majority." The "majority" we're not wealthy, white land owners, or involved in politics, or educated, etc... This is why they established the electoral college

 

[Madam Bijoux]

I recently read a newspaper editorial that said he's nothing more than a carnival barker. That's the most perfect description of him ever written. Carnival barkers always suck people in because people always want a really big show.

 

[kenny]

Carnival barkers always suck people in because people always want a really big show.

I wouldn't go near carnival if you paid me.

 

[ruby59]

On Tuesday, Nov 8 Americans will cast their votes in private, where nobody is embarrassed by revealing their true self.
____________________________________________

It is funny you posted that Kenny. A neighbor of mine had a Trump for President poster in his front yard for about a week. Now it is gone. My husband and I wondered why?

 

[kenny]

On Tuesday, Nov 8 Americans will cast their votes in private, where nobody is embarrassed by revealing their true self.
____________________________________________

It is funny you posted that Kenny. A neighbor of mine had a Trump for President poster in his front yard for about a week. Now it is gone. My husband and I wondered why?

Ask him.
Report back here.

 

[Dancing Fire]

On Tuesday, Nov 8 Americans will cast their votes in private, where nobody is embarrassed by revealing their true self.
____________________________________________

It is funny you posted that Kenny. A neighbor of mine had a Trump for President poster in his front yard for about a week. Now it is gone. My husband and I wondered why?

Ask him.
Report back here.

Kenny burned the sign..

 

[kenny]

On Tuesday, Nov 8 Americans will cast their votes in private, where nobody is embarrassed by revealing their true self.
____________________________________________

It is funny you posted that Kenny. A neighbor of mine had a Trump for President poster in his front yard for about a week. Now it is gone. My husband and I wondered why?

Ask him.
Report back here.

Kenny burned the sign..

Naw, I can (effectively) burn more signs here on the Internet.

 

[momhappy]

On Tuesday, Nov 8 Americans will cast their votes in private, where nobody is embarrassed by revealing their true self.
____________________________________________

It is funny you posted that Kenny. A neighbor of mine had a Trump for President poster in his front yard for about a week. Now it is gone. My husband and I wondered why?

And my neighbor had a Clinton sign that disappeared.... I wondered why too, but it could be any number of reasons.

 

[kenny]

On Tuesday, Nov 8 Americans will cast their votes in private, where nobody is embarrassed by revealing their true self.
____________________________________________

It is funny you posted that Kenny. A neighbor of mine had a Trump for President poster in his front yard for about a week. Now it is gone. My husband and I wondered why?

And my neighbor had a Clinton sign that disappeared.... I wondered why too, but it could be any number of reasons.

That proves Trump and Clinton are exactly the same.

 

[momhappy]

^Well, to me they are I think that they are both equally vile human beings....
My point was just that yard signs disappear and that doesn't necessarily mean anything. A missing Trump sign doesn't necessarily mean that a person suddenly became embarrassed to be a supporter any more than I would think that of a Hillary supporter. It was more likely a product of vandalism (or some other explanation).

 

[AGBF]

ETA - Conservative blacks and hispanics support Trump so are they racist also? That is a broad brush you used T - and the author also.

In reality, conservative blacks do not support Trump. I was astounded that actually 95-100% of African-Americans rejected Trump in favor of Hillary Clinton in many areas in the most recent polls. Barack Obama did not get as much of the black vote as Hillary Clinton when she was put up against Trump.

Link...https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/07/13/new-polls-in-pennsylvania-and-ohio-show-donald-trump-with-0-percent-of-the-black-vote/

AGBF

 

[redwood66]

Really? Polls of a whole whopping 848 and 829 voters of which 10 and 11% were black voters? Not a good poll to me to make that finite of a determination. With all due respect Deb.

That is just not true to say that conservative blacks do not support Trump. He has many supporters in the black conservative community. Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke is one of the most vocal. Along with Col. Allen West. Both very conservative. I do not regularly believe anything in WaPo.

Here is an article in Philly.

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/politics/presidential/20160822_Think_black_people_aren_t_voting_for_Trump__Guess_again.html

 

[luv2sparkle]

I agree with Momhappy. I think they are both equally vile for entirely different reasons. I can't stomach either one and I think it is a toss up who would be worse as president.

It is an interesting mentality in this election that if you don't agree with someone, they must be an idiot or a piece of s**t. How does that make a person feel superior? That is as bad as Trump, and just exactly what he does.

 

[Dancing Fire]

We have two choices ...A crazy nut or a corrupt liar.