Lawrence, Maddow And Trump

(Alan: Here is my reply to friend Tarantino's favorable view of MSNBC's Lawrence and Maddow.)

I like Lawrence a lot.

I also like Rachel - but more for her content than her presentation (which I find "snarky").

"Snark" can be fun for fervent liberals and passionate progressives but it also limits Rachel to "preaching to the choir."

On the other hand, were it not for Rachel's snarkiness she would not have risen to a position of national prominence.

Trying to imagine Rachel as something other than what she is, is like trying to imagine Trump as a "winning" politician had he tried to be reasonable, truthful and well-behaved.

Most Trump supporters - and all Deplorables - cheer Trump on because he is crass, because he is a liar, because he is unreasonable.

In a word, Trump is a fantasist playing to peoples fantasies. Trump himself admits this:

"The final key to the way I promote is bravado. I play to people’s fantasies. People may not always think big themselves, but they can still get very excited by those who do. That’s why a little hyperbole never hurts. People want to believe something is the biggest and the greatest and the most spectacular... I call it truthful hyperbole. It’s an innocent form of exaggeration — and a very effective form of promotion.

The quote in question is a variation of a propaganda technique known as “the big lie,” which Adolf Hitler described in his memoir Mein Kampf:

All this was inspired by the principle – which is quite true in itself – that in the big lie there is always a certain force of credibility; because the broad masses of a nation are always more easily corrupted in the deeper strata of their emotional nature than consciously or voluntarily; and thus in the primitive simplicity of their minds they more readily fall victims to the big lie than the small lie, since they themselves often tell small lies in little matters but would be ashamed to resort to large-scale falsehoods. It would never come into their heads to fabricate colossal untruths, and they would not believe that others could have the impudence to distort the truth so infamously. Even though the facts which prove this to be so may be brought clearly to their minds, they will still doubt and waver and will continue to think that there may be some other explanation. For the grossly impudent lie always leaves traces behind it, even after it has been nailed down, a fact which is known to all expert liars in this world and to all who conspire together in the art of lying. These people know only too well how to use falsehood for the basest purposes. Snopes: http://www.snopes.com/donald-trump-lie-truth/ 

S-Trump-ets support Donald because he reflects them and in him they see a strong, "patriotic" man who always puts himself first and who embodies the deplorable desire to be mendacious, vengeful, punitive, "exceptional," arrogant, supercilious, damning and white.

Trump is a mad man supported by mad men.