Hillary's comment about 1/2 of Trump supporters being a "basket of deplorables" wasn't harsh enough
This evening from Salon;In response to:
Hillary Clinton tried to warn us — and paid the price. Let's at least call Republicans what they are
Still, America's political class is unwilling to call the fascist, white supremacist Republicans what they are
By Chauncey DeVega
Published September 22, 2021 5:50AM (EDT)
During a speech in September 2016, Hillary Clinton — then the Democratic presidential nominee — warned the American people and the world of the dangers represented by Donald Trump and his followers. She described the "volatile political environment" of that moment:
"You know, to just be grossly generalistic, you could put half of Trump's supporters into what I call the basket of deplorables. Right? The racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, Islamophobic — you name it. And unfortunately there are people like that. And he has lifted them up. He has given voice to their websites that used to only have 11,000 people, now have 11 million. He tweets and retweets offensive, hateful, mean-spirited rhetoric. Now some of those folks, they are irredeemable, but thankfully they are not America."
In many ways, Clinton was too kind. If anything, she underestimated how many Americans were in fact committed and enthusiastic human deplorables.
After that speech, Clinton was pilloried by the mainstream news media, some leading Democrats, and of course the Republican Party and right-wing propaganda hate machine. Clinton's characterization of Trump's "basket of deplorables" was described as insensitive and unfair to the "white working class" Americans that elites and out-of-touch Democrats had too often ignored.
That reaction to Clinton's truth-telling helped to legitimate Trumpism and American neofascism (operating under the mask of "populism") as something that was reasonable and understandable, rather than as a manifestation of racial resentment, a racist temper tantrum and a declaration of white supremacy. This reflected our society's deep investment in a narrative of white racial innocence. In that logic, America is a great and exceptional country, and by implication, this is especially true of white people — especially those "real Americans" whose supposed patriotism and presumed Christian values render them a bit more American than anyone else.
Many members of the news media likely agreed with Clinton's warnings in private, but the institution as a whole had been beaten into submission by Republican fictions about so-called liberal bias. So it was that Clinton's warning about Trump and his "deplorables" — and their embrace of fascism — was deemed to be outside the limits of approved public discourse.
If Clinton's warnings had been heeded in 2016, we might be living in a quite different country today. America would not necessarily be drowning under a fascist tide which has imperiled our democracy and our future. Had Hillary Clinton been elected president, it's also likely that far fewer Americans would have been killed by the coronavirus pandemic, and the nation's economy might not have been pushed to the edge of a second Great Depression.
Matters are now so dire that it is now not a question of whether American democracy will succumb to a nightmare reign of full-on fascism but rather when that will happen. If America's neofascist movement continues to gain momentum, Joe Biden will be relegated to the role of a speed bump or an asterisk in American history.
In the five years since the 2016 election, Hillary Clinton has continued her efforts to rally America's pro-democracy forces against the right-wing and its fascist assaults. Last Tuesday, during a Guardian Live interview, she continued her warnings. The Guardian summarized her interview:
Hillary Clinton tried to warn us — and paid the price. Let's at least call Republicans what they are
Still, America's political class is unwilling to call the fascist, white supremacist Republicans what they are
By Chauncey DeVega
Published September 22, 2021 5:50AM (EDT)
During a speech in September 2016, Hillary Clinton — then the Democratic presidential nominee — warned the American people and the world of the dangers represented by Donald Trump and his followers. She described the "volatile political environment" of that moment:
"You know, to just be grossly generalistic, you could put half of Trump's supporters into what I call the basket of deplorables. Right? The racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, Islamophobic — you name it. And unfortunately there are people like that. And he has lifted them up. He has given voice to their websites that used to only have 11,000 people, now have 11 million. He tweets and retweets offensive, hateful, mean-spirited rhetoric. Now some of those folks, they are irredeemable, but thankfully they are not America."
In many ways, Clinton was too kind. If anything, she underestimated how many Americans were in fact committed and enthusiastic human deplorables.
After that speech, Clinton was pilloried by the mainstream news media, some leading Democrats, and of course the Republican Party and right-wing propaganda hate machine. Clinton's characterization of Trump's "basket of deplorables" was described as insensitive and unfair to the "white working class" Americans that elites and out-of-touch Democrats had too often ignored.
That reaction to Clinton's truth-telling helped to legitimate Trumpism and American neofascism (operating under the mask of "populism") as something that was reasonable and understandable, rather than as a manifestation of racial resentment, a racist temper tantrum and a declaration of white supremacy. This reflected our society's deep investment in a narrative of white racial innocence. In that logic, America is a great and exceptional country, and by implication, this is especially true of white people — especially those "real Americans" whose supposed patriotism and presumed Christian values render them a bit more American than anyone else.
Many members of the news media likely agreed with Clinton's warnings in private, but the institution as a whole had been beaten into submission by Republican fictions about so-called liberal bias. So it was that Clinton's warning about Trump and his "deplorables" — and their embrace of fascism — was deemed to be outside the limits of approved public discourse.
If Clinton's warnings had been heeded in 2016, we might be living in a quite different country today. America would not necessarily be drowning under a fascist tide which has imperiled our democracy and our future. Had Hillary Clinton been elected president, it's also likely that far fewer Americans would have been killed by the coronavirus pandemic, and the nation's economy might not have been pushed to the edge of a second Great Depression.
Matters are now so dire that it is now not a question of whether American democracy will succumb to a nightmare reign of full-on fascism but rather when that will happen. If America's neofascist movement continues to gain momentum, Joe Biden will be relegated to the role of a speed bump or an asterisk in American history.
In the five years since the 2016 election, Hillary Clinton has continued her efforts to rally America's pro-democracy forces against the right-wing and its fascist assaults. Last Tuesday, during a Guardian Live interview, she continued her warnings. The Guardian summarized her interview:
(continued in my first comment below)
Comments (27)
But Jimbob, without your convoluted rhetoric. Have you ever heard the expression "explaining is complaining"?
Akin to making exucuses whilst not actually stopping the whaammmubulance at the bottom of the cliff.
I think you need to consider reality, regardless of your die hard politics whether red, blue, pink or whatever. Biden is a 'walking' disaster
I'm pretty sure that Killery and smidgeon Biden would concur.......what do you reckon mate? Do ya reckon Killary and Biden are honest or do you reckon they deserve a break regardless of donations?
MAGA
Looking FORWARD ...
The '22 Mid-Terms -
The '24 Prez Race -
"Yeah, I wanna see how many Bernie Bros. vote for Trump or Republican. Maybe go to a rally in a phone booth somewhere? Do they still have any?""
To be honest Rapunzel, I find it ironic when you mentioned phones. Wasn't it Obama that handed out phones, just so long as they voted for a 'freebie'.
You're obviousely more up to date than me regarding American politics (I'm a kiwi), but isn't that tantamount to bribery? Similar to the 'refugee' from Minnesota paying for votes
Either way Rapuzel.......doesn't look good does it, the piper calls the tune as Obama tweets
Im surprised the Dems have a 1 in 3 odds rating. Huge likelihood the incumbent Party in Whitehouse will lose seats in House and Senate.
The Coatails vs. Anger theories will definitely be Anger this time.
"The stronger the presidential victory margin or the more seats won in the presidential year and therefore 'at risk,' the greater will be the subsequent midterm seat loss."
Another reason: the so-called "presidential penalty," or the tendency of more voters to go the polls only when they are angry. If more angry voters vote than do satisfied voters, the president's party loses."
But there will be plenty of anger this time on both sides.
"The future is now"- George Allen.
"The future is not now"-me.
"Only Time will tell".- me
In a possibly related News Item ...
Clark Kent was arrested for Public Disrobing
One very smart lady...
IMO
Is it a publication or where you get your information? Or maybe your hairdresser?
Honestly I have never heard of this guy but that is not surprising. He would not fit the description of "main stream media". But that does make sense and answers at least one of my conjectures....where do the lefties get their source of information?
Now jimbo gets his from a source called "Salon", another name I'm not familiar with, but quite possibly this Hal guy is a hairdresser there. He fits the mold....he interrupts constantly. Too funny!