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<div class="moz-cite-prefix">EricS wrote:<br>
</div>
<blockquote type="cite"
cite="mid:0D220150-BC8A-4775-9744-810C3EDED4BE@santafe.edu">
<pre class="moz-quote-pre" wrap="">This article (apologies for paywall; I don’t know how to send an open version)
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/13/opinion/matt-gaetz-attorney-general-trump.html">https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/13/opinion/matt-gaetz-attorney-general-trump.html</a>
is another example of missing the point, I think.</pre>
</blockquote>
I took the liberty of cutting and pasting from my own sub... <br>
<br>
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style="margin: 0px 0px auto; padding: 0px; border: 0px;
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baseline; min-width: 50px; display: inline-block;"><a
href="https://www.nytimes.com/by/david-french"
class="css-uwwqev" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;
border: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%; font: inherit;
vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none; color:
black; width: 100%; height: 100%;"><img alt="David French"
title="David French"
src="https://static01.nyt.com/images/2023/01/10/opinion/david-french/david-french-thumbLarge-v2.png"
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<p class="css-1tx0lhj e1jsehar1" style="margin: 0.1875rem
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border: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%; font: inherit;
vertical-align: baseline;">By<span> </span></span><a
href="https://www.nytimes.com/by/david-french"
class="last-byline css-ojhyzr e1jsehar0" itemprop="name"
style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px;
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text-underline-offset: 1px; display: inline-block;">David
French</a></p>
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inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-feature-settings:
inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit;
vertical-align: baseline; color:
var(--color-content-secondary,#363636);">Opinion
Columnist</p>
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<section name="articleBody" class="meteredContent css-1r7ky0e"
style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust:
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<div class="css-s99gbd StoryBodyCompanionColumn"
data-testid="companionColumn-0" style="margin: 0px 0px 1rem;
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inherit; vertical-align: baseline; display: flex;
flex-direction: column;">
<div class="css-53u6y8" style="margin: 0px auto; padding: 0px;
border: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%; font: inherit;
vertical-align: baseline; width: 725.143px;">
<p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0" style="margin: 0px auto
0.78125rem; padding: 0px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust:
100%; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit;
font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-size:
1.125rem; line-height: 1.5625rem; font-family: nyt-imperial,
georgia, "times new roman", times, serif;
font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-kerning: inherit;
font-feature-settings: inherit; font-variation-settings:
inherit; vertical-align: baseline; overflow-wrap:
break-word; color: var(--color-content-secondary,#363636);
width: calc(100% - 40px); max-width: 600px;">Throughout the
presidential campaign, I noticed that Trump supporters
tended to fall into one of two camps. The first camp — core
MAGA — heard Donald Trump’s wild rhetoric, including his
vows to punish his political enemies, and loved every bit of
it. They voted for Trump because they believed he’d do
exactly what he said.</p>
<p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0" style="margin: 0px auto
0.78125rem; padding: 0px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust:
100%; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit;
font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-size:
1.125rem; line-height: 1.5625rem; font-family: nyt-imperial,
georgia, "times new roman", times, serif;
font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-kerning: inherit;
font-feature-settings: inherit; font-variation-settings:
inherit; vertical-align: baseline; overflow-wrap:
break-word; color: var(--color-content-secondary,#363636);
width: calc(100% - 40px); max-width: 600px;">Then there was
a different camp — normie Republican — that had an entirely
different view. They did not believe Trump’s words. They
rolled their eyes at media alarmism and responded with some
version of “stop clutching your pearls. This is just Trump
being Trump. He’s far more bark than bite.”</p>
<p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0" style="margin: 0px auto
0.78125rem; padding: 0px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust:
100%; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit;
font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-size:
1.125rem; line-height: 1.5625rem; font-family: nyt-imperial,
georgia, "times new roman", times, serif;
font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-kerning: inherit;
font-feature-settings: inherit; font-variation-settings:
inherit; vertical-align: baseline; overflow-wrap:
break-word; color: var(--color-content-secondary,#363636);
width: calc(100% - 40px); max-width: 600px;">But Trump’s
selection of Matt Gaetz as his nominee for attorney general,
along with his selection of Pete Hegseth for secretary of
defense and Tulsi Gabbard for director of national
intelligence, shows that Trump did mean what he said. He is
going to govern with a sense of vengeance, and personal
loyalty really is the coin of his realm.</p>
<p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0" style="margin: 0px auto
0.78125rem; padding: 0px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust:
100%; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit;
font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-size:
1.125rem; line-height: 1.5625rem; font-family: nyt-imperial,
georgia, "times new roman", times, serif;
font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-kerning: inherit;
font-feature-settings: inherit; font-variation-settings:
inherit; vertical-align: baseline; overflow-wrap:
break-word; color: var(--color-content-secondary,#363636);
width: calc(100% - 40px); max-width: 600px;">Gaetz’s
nomination is particularly dreadful. He isn’t just the
least-qualified attorney general in American history (he
barely practiced law before running for elected office and
has served mainly as a MAGA gadfly in Congress), he’s also
remarkably dishonest and depraved.</p>
<p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0" style="margin: 0px auto
0.78125rem; padding: 0px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust:
100%; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit;
font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-size:
1.125rem; line-height: 1.5625rem; font-family: nyt-imperial,
georgia, "times new roman", times, serif;
font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-kerning: inherit;
font-feature-settings: inherit; font-variation-settings:
inherit; vertical-align: baseline; overflow-wrap:
break-word; color: var(--color-content-secondary,#363636);
width: calc(100% - 40px); max-width: 600px;">...</p>
<p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0" style="margin: 0px auto
0.78125rem; padding: 0px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust:
100%; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit;
font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-size:
1.125rem; line-height: 1.5625rem; font-family: nyt-imperial,
georgia, "times new roman", times, serif;
font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-kerning: inherit;
font-feature-settings: inherit; font-variation-settings:
inherit; vertical-align: baseline; overflow-wrap:
break-word; color: var(--color-content-secondary,#363636);
width: calc(100% - 40px); max-width: 600px;">Gaetz has
created immense turmoil in the House. He was primarily
responsible for deposing the House speaker Kevin McCarthy in
a fit of pique, and he’s so alienated House colleagues that
one had to be physically<span> </span><a class="css-yywogo"
href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/07/us/politics/house-floor-confrontation-gaetz-rogers.html"
title="" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px;
text-size-adjust: 100%; font: inherit; vertical-align:
baseline; text-decoration-line: underline;
text-decoration-thickness: 1px; text-decoration-style:
solid; text-decoration-color:
var(--color-signal-editorial,#326891); color:
var(--color-signal-editorial,#326891);">restrained from
attacking him</a><span> </span>on the House floor. He has
a reputation as showing colleagues<span> </span><a
class="css-yywogo"
href="https://www.cnn.com/2021/04/01/politics/matt-gaetz-photos-women/index.html"
title="" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"
style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px;
text-size-adjust: 100%; font: inherit; vertical-align:
baseline; text-decoration-line: underline;
text-decoration-thickness: 1px; text-decoration-style:
solid; text-decoration-color:
var(--color-signal-editorial,#326891); color:
var(--color-signal-editorial,#326891);">explicit pictures
of his sexual partners</a>, and he is<span> </span><a
class="css-yywogo"
href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/09/us/politics/gaetz-sex-trafficking.html"
title="" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px;
text-size-adjust: 100%; font: inherit; vertical-align:
baseline; text-decoration-line: underline;
text-decoration-thickness: 1px; text-decoration-style:
solid; text-decoration-color:
var(--color-signal-editorial,#326891); color:
var(--color-signal-editorial,#326891);">under a House
ethics investigation</a><span> </span>into whether he had
sex with an underage girl while he was a member of Congress.</p>
</div>
</div>
<div class="css-s99gbd StoryBodyCompanionColumn"
data-testid="companionColumn-1" style="margin: 0px 0px 1rem;
padding: 0px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%; font:
inherit; vertical-align: baseline; display: flex;
flex-direction: column;">
<div class="css-53u6y8" style="margin: 0px auto; padding: 0px;
border: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%; font: inherit;
vertical-align: baseline; width: 725.143px;">
<p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0" style="margin: 0px auto
0.78125rem; padding: 0px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust:
100%; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit;
font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-size:
1.125rem; line-height: 1.5625rem; font-family: nyt-imperial,
georgia, "times new roman", times, serif;
font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-kerning: inherit;
font-feature-settings: inherit; font-variation-settings:
inherit; vertical-align: baseline; overflow-wrap:
break-word; color: var(--color-content-secondary,#363636);
width: calc(100% - 40px); max-width: 600px;">Gaetz has
denied these claims, and the Department of Justice closed
its own investigation into sex trafficking and obstruction
of justice last year.</p>
<p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0" style="margin: 0px auto
0.78125rem; padding: 0px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust:
100%; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit;
font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-size:
1.125rem; line-height: 1.5625rem; font-family: nyt-imperial,
georgia, "times new roman", times, serif;
font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-kerning: inherit;
font-feature-settings: inherit; font-variation-settings:
inherit; vertical-align: baseline; overflow-wrap:
break-word; color: var(--color-content-secondary,#363636);
width: calc(100% - 40px); max-width: 600px;">Gaetz’s
nomination is a test for Senate Republicans. Can they summon
up the minimum level of decency and moral courage to reject
Gaetz? Or will they utterly abdicate their constitutional
role of advice and consent in favor of simply consenting
even to Trump’s worst whims?</p>
<p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0" style="margin: 0px auto;
padding: 0px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%;
font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight:
inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-size: 1.125rem;
line-height: 1.5625rem; font-family: nyt-imperial, georgia,
"times new roman", times, serif;
font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-kerning: inherit;
font-feature-settings: inherit; font-variation-settings:
inherit; vertical-align: baseline; overflow-wrap:
break-word; color: var(--color-content-secondary,#363636);
width: calc(100% - 40px); max-width: 600px;">No matter what
happens next, however, Gaetz’s nomination is reaffirmation
that the Donald Trump who tried to overthrow an American
election hasn’t matured or evolved or grown. He is who he
is, and it should surprise no one that he nominated a
vengeful loyalist to lead the most powerful law enforcement
agency in the United States.</p>
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</section>
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inherit; font-size: 16px; line-height: inherit; font-family:
Times; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-kerning: inherit;
font-feature-settings: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit;
vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); letter-spacing:
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-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal;
background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness:
initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color:
initial;">
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vertical-align: baseline; width: calc(100% - 40px); max-width:
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<div class="css-h77nca e1e7j8ap0" style="margin: 0px; padding:
0px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%; font-style: inherit;
font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 500; font-stretch:
inherit; font-size: 0.9375rem; line-height: 1.25rem;
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font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-kerning: inherit;
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text-size-adjust: 100%; font: inherit; vertical-align:
baseline;">
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 0.75rem; padding: 0px; border:
0px; text-size-adjust: 100%; font: inherit;
vertical-align: baseline;">David French is an Opinion
columnist, writing about law, culture, religion and armed
conflict. He is a veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom and a
former constitutional litigator. His most recent book is<span> </span><a
href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/22/books/review/divided-we-fall-david-french.html"
style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px;
text-size-adjust: 100%; font: inherit; vertical-align:
baseline; text-decoration: underline; color:
var(--color-content-primary,#121212);">“Divided We Fall:
America’s Secession Threat and How to Restore Our Nation</a>.”
You can follow him on Threads (<a
href="https://www.threads.net/@davidfrenchjag"
style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px;
text-size-adjust: 100%; font: inherit; vertical-align:
baseline; text-decoration: underline; color:
var(--color-content-primary,#121212);">@davidfrenchjag</a>).<span>
</span>
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</div>
<blockquote type="cite"
cite="mid:0D220150-BC8A-4775-9744-810C3EDED4BE@santafe.edu">
<pre class="moz-quote-pre" wrap="">
It’s all about messaging, and the campaign of demoralization. The puzzle that the trumper inside-group spends their time on is “What is the loudest way we can say I wipe my ass with your `rule of law’?”</pre>
</blockquote>
<p>Among my MAGA "associates" (hard to call them friends given how
they choose to back/applaud this precise behaviour) this is the
standard and typically the end of any discussion we might have
tried to have. Either I end up mocking their mean-spiritedness by
recommending other, even more absurd versions of their aspirations
which I *know* would blow up in *their* face immediately, or I
close the conversation with them at that point out of
dis(appointment/gust). <br>
</p>
<p>30ish years ago, my fairly (for their "greatest" generation)
progressive/liberal/forward-thinking/educated parents fell into
the proto-MAGA world with the likes of (early?) FOX news and
Limbaugh. My father in particular but, he entrained my mother in
the opinions and style. When we would (very rarely) verge on
political topics it would always go to them quoting or referencing
various mean-spirited POVs which I would have sworn they knew
better about. The "butts" of their judgements were very familiar
to us, people they would have known and cared about all their
lives, yet they somehow had a way of carving those particulars out
as "exceptions" and then re-applying the ugly "rule" to everyone
except their "familiars" which they chose to "exceptionalize".
Their behaviour felt "addictive" in style to me.<br>
</p>
<p>As demonstration that I think they actually understood what they
were doing at some level, the last political discussions we had
was ended when I said: "I don't necessarily disagree with all of
the points being made in this type of discussion, it is the
mean-spirited aspect that I simply cannot abide...". I swear
they quit talking politics with me at that point as if they
actually understood that their preferred source/style was in fact
specifically mean-spirited and were therefore not interested in
discussing any issues or topics if they couldn't bring in the
resentful/angry gotchas?
</p>
<blockquote type="cite"
cite="mid:0D220150-BC8A-4775-9744-810C3EDED4BE@santafe.edu">
<pre class="moz-quote-pre" wrap="">So it is important to pick the lowest, both in terms of depravity and incompetence, to put as lords over the best, to prove that they can’t get out from under it.</pre>
</blockquote>
You nailed it so well many months ago when you first referenced (or
I heard) "performative cruelty"...
<blockquote type="cite"
cite="mid:0D220150-BC8A-4775-9744-810C3EDED4BE@santafe.edu">
<pre class="moz-quote-pre" wrap="">
I don’t think I “feel” anything about this, except that it is very important and I would like to understand the response to it. At the end, only effectiveness gets you back under a living circumstance you consider acceptable.</pre>
</blockquote>
<p>This is my own scramble... trying to recalibrate what/how/when I
can be effective in my intentions with the world. I have more
than a few people in my life who are very appropriately wigged out
by this... not because they are "bleeding heart liberals,
clutching their pearls and filling MAGA cups with tears" but
because in fact there are real-world consequences likely to start
falling over on them very soon. A few even were from the class
of those who "voted against their own interests" ... though I
think it will take longer for them to recognize (if they ever do)
the cause-effect relations.<br>
</p>
<p>While I *might* want to "flee" this country, I feel that there
are still plenty of things I can (should?) do which I can best do
while still nearby to those folks.<br>
</p>
<p>As with the events in Klemperer's journals (Jochen's astute
reference) from Nazi Germany, it is very likely that these
dominoes will fall quietly and slowly, masked by the din raised by
the big-fat dominoes that get thrown down hard to help make the
(seemingly) tiny (acutely relevant to real people in their real
lives) ones seem insignificant. <br>
</p>
<p>Maybe not dominoes, maybe something more like Mah Jong (at least
in the vigorous style of play).</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Trump's nominations: <i>Bam! Crack! Gong!</i><br>
</p>
</blockquote>
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