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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsWe should not overlook the susceptability, the vulnerability, and the gullibility of the voters...
Donald Trump defeated 16 Republicans to win the nomination of his Party. It was said that they were the strongest field of Republicans ever. It included Jeb Bush, Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz, Lindsey Graham, and others. Donald Trump defeated them all.
Primarily, he defeated them with sloganeering, bullshit, and name-calling. Mostly bullshit. He never got into any specifics. Make America Great Again was all he needed. There was nothing "normal" about Donald Trump. He defined "Little Marco", "Low-Energy Jeb", and "Lyin' Ted" and they could never recover from the personal characterizations.
We should not overlook how susceptible America was to a demagogue running for President. He was vulgar. He was racist. He was misogynistic. He was a liar. All the terrible qualities that we would never want to see in our children, he exhibited. He appealed to the very worst in our people and it worked.
They were vulnerable and gullible to the propaganda and fake news that was disseminated by the Trump campaign. All the other analysis about the last campaign should not overlook the fact that America was susceptible to such a campaign and that it could happen again.
Was it fair? No, it was cheating. It was deception in the most basic, unprincipled, and simplistic form. America was naive enough to buy the Elmer Gantry bullshit. James Comey, the emails, Wikileaks, and Russian involvement were all factors in the general election but none of them were as effective as our weaknesses within.
kentuck
(111,111 posts)It was an effective strategy.
Nay
(12,051 posts)take major, life-threatening, eye-opening, immediate personal consequences for any Trump voter to wake up. And some won't wake up even then. As I've said many times, 1) propaganda works, and 2) you have to be very, very careful what you keep telling your citizens, because if it's repeated enough, even the most brazen and horrific lies become truth. And the citizens will act upon those lies.