In which 'The Kraut' makes up what passes for my mind

That tiny, soggy, splatting sound you heard was me making up my mind.  Or, to be absolutely truthful, it was 'The Kraut' doing it for me.  As you regulars will know, I have long been a fan of Charles Krauthammer whom I first 'met' courtesy of my ex-best friend, 'Rupe', when, via SKY TV, he enabled me to watch Fox News.  'The Kraut' was a regular on the political talk shows and very quickly he impressed me with his intelligence.  Now, I only get to read him, usually via the National Review site.

Again, as some of you already know, I have been shilly-shallying on the totally theoretical question of which way I would vote were the great United States of America unfortunate enough to have me as a citizen.  My detestation of 'HillBilly' and all her works have been enough to blind me to the approaching horror of a Trump presidency.  Foremost in my mind has been the dread thought of a Supreme Court being irrevocably shifted - for decades - to the very worst sort of activist Left.  It will be bad, no doubt about that, and even if 'HillBilly' only rules for four years because of age and ill-health, any subsequent Republican president will be well and truly stymied by the SCOTUS.

Even so, the horror of a Trump presidency is beyond contemplation.

This [Trump's behaviour when criticised] is beyond narcissism. I used to think Trump was an eleven-year-old, an undeveloped schoolyard bully. I was off by about ten years. His needs are more primitive, an infantile hunger for approval and praise, a craving that can never be satisfied. He lives in a cocoon of solipsism where the world outside himself has value — indeed exists — only insofar as it sustains and inflates him. Most politicians seek approval. But Trump lives for the adoration. He doesn’t even try to hide it, boasting incessantly about his crowds, his standing ovations, his TV ratings, his poll numbers, his primary victories. The latter are most prized because they offer empirical evidence of how loved and admired he is.

Prized also because, in our politics, success is self-validating. A candidacy that started out as a joke, as a self-aggrandizing exercise in xenophobia, struck a chord in a certain constituency and took off. The joke was on those who believed that he was not a serious man and therefore would not be taken seriously. They — myself emphatically included — were wrong.

And I was wrong, too!  I kept hoping that the clown-like figure that appeared so regularly was simply a marketing device and that eventually a newer, shrewder Trump would emerge. Fat chance!  So, my American friends, my (useless) advice to you is:

VOTE 'HILLBILLY' - and pray!

 

Comments

[Antisthenes]

What a choice which ever way the Americans vote they are in deep sh*t and doubtlessly so are we. It's a rerun of the end of the Roman empire.

[Whyaxye]

It's a choice I'm glad I don't have to make.

Still, they'll pull through. They are, after all, Americans.

[Laban]

The Kraut is one of the invade-the-world, invite-the-world, in-hock-to-the-world neocons who have made the Middle East the delightful place it is today. Hillary is Continuity George Bush, who he loved.

He was never going to do anything else but go Hillary - along with the entire National Review crew. Basically everyone who thinks Iraq was a good idea, that Libya was a good idea, and that funding the Syrian headchoppers is a good idea.

PS - did you know that the motto of Liverpool John Lennon Airport is "Above us only sky" - seriously?

Except for their baggage handlers, who have the motto "Imagine no possessions".

[Cuffleyburgers]

Duffers - lucky for all of us then that you don't have a vote.

Having said that, whichever way it goes, may god have mercy on our souls.

[Whitewall]

What a devil's choice we have. Democrats resented losing the Cold War more than I thought so they finally got their revenge with Obama and with Hillary as his third term..they hope.

To defend America from these Soviet era hold overs, we have managed to saddle ourselves with a thin skinned, undisciplined ego with a big mouth. It is a contest between her crimes and his mouth. The media is writing only about the latter, naturally.

From Instapundit last night:
THE BIG DIFF BETWEEN HILLARY AND TRUMP: Her crimes damage US national security. Yes, Loose Lips Sink Ships. The Donald mouths off. Experts like Don Surber think Trump’ll learn. He’s a rookie candidate, Surber told me. Trump adapts. The Clinton Foundation? It sells off. It has sold off and sold out. And selling out America is dyed in its crooked wool."

If the SCOTUS ever becomes too much of an obstacle, then we take a page from the Dems---How many divisions does Chief Justice Roberts have?

[JK]

http://duffandnonsense.typepad.com/duff_nonsense/2012/07/whats-in-a-name-loadsa-money.html

[David Duff]

I noticed that someone had been raking through my old posts and guessed it was you, JK, but I am mystified at your choice. What bearing does that example of sublime prose - who giggled? - on my post above?

[Bob]

"[T]he clown-like figure that appeared so regularly [IS] simply a marketing device," and that's exactly the point, old boy. Over time I've detested both parties about equally and suspect their fundamental structures are malignant. At this point, however, we have only one with any interest in actually running the country.

At the risk of being repetitive, the Republicans don't represent a philosophy or workable legislative program. They are only an advertising firm that spews whatever dubious pitch will win votes: "We can lower taxes and the deficit at the same time and still supply social services people demand; we can put God back in the public square; we can revive the post-war boom by giving everything to the rich and powerful; we can make the US population Northern European again" and so on.

Trump is a cunning salesman with TV experience. That was all it took to conquer the Republican reality bubble made up of outlets like Fox News, Talk Radio, NRO, and others that would be the envy of Joseph Goebbels.

If you're interested in the results of actually applying the Republicans' shamelessly fantastical advertisements, read about what's happening in our state of Kansas.

[Andra]

Well, if you (Americans) aren't happy with either of the two citizens left to fight the race, why don't you sack both of them and start all over again?
JK and the Big Henry can take over the day to day running of the US of A until everybody agrees on a nice Democrat and Republican and a new ballot can take place.
Otherwise, just hire somebody from a temp. office worker place.
How hard can it be?

[David Duff]

Bob, you touch upon a point that has been worming its way into my mind recently because 'over here' we have a Labour party run by ultra-Leftist clowns and 'over there' you have the Republicans run by Big Business clowns of whom Trump is merely the latest. When I have sorted out my thoughts I will post them.

Andra, I would (almost but not quite) pay good money to see a US government run by JK and Henry.

[JK]

"What bearing does that example of sublime prose" Sorry that was a harummph rather than a giggle.

In 1978, Krauthammer moved to Washington, DC, to direct planning in psychiatric research under the Carter administration.[1] He contributed to the creation of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, currently referred to as the DSM-III. In 1984 he was board certified in psychiatry by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology.[13] (Wikipedia)

For bearing refer to above link. I'm off to the lake until at least The Monday Funnies. Maybe longer.

And I'm still gonna cast a vote for Trump! Screw Hillar ... uhm, f ... not not that either. To hell with Hillary.

http://hookersforhillary.com/

[David Duff]

Ah, well done, JK, now I see the point and I hereby stamp your leave pass, er, don't forget to pass on my tropical breathings to 'Honey Pie'!

[Whitewall]

Andra, you have alarming common sense!

JK, catch some bass!!

[David Duff]

Not too sure, Whiters, just how many fish JK will catch with his 'Honey Pie' by his side. As you know well, women and fishing do not always go well together!

[TheBigHenry]

My very dear Andra and equally dear David,

When American Civil War General William Tecumseh Sherman was being considered as a possible Republican candidate for the presidential election of 1884, he famously declined, saying, "I will not accept if nominated and will not serve if elected." I, of course, am not General Sherman.

If nominated, I will definitely accept and choose JK as my running mate. I will also urge Robert Whitewall to become my Secretary of State, thereby succeeding to the Presidency if our Leftist enemies have me, JK, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the President Pro Tempore of the Senate (yes, there is such an office; (s)he serves as the Presiding Officer of the Senate in the Absence of the Vice President of the United States) assassinated. And if elected, I will, of course, serve. With a vengeance. And you think Hillary is a fury from hell?

[Whitewall]

Henry, I appreciate your confidence in my diplomatic skills as they have become rusty over the decades.

[TheBigHenry]

Robert,

I have been told that it's like riding a bike (a 2-wheeler without training wheels attached). In any case, I am quite confident that whatever you do in office will always make sense.

[Andra]

Big Henry,
If you bring in Damedom for Aussie sheilas then I really think you're onto something.
Ya got my vote anyway.

[TheBigHenry]

Andra,

It's amazing that you should mention Damedom for Aussie sheilas because I've been thinking about my campaign this afternoon, and that is the first item I have on my "Promise them anything" list!

[Whitewall]

David, "As you know well, women and fishing do not always go well together!" JK can always teach her how to fish. I tried with my wife but she seemed to stay fixated on just how far away "porcelain facilities" were. This really tried my patience.

[David Duff]

I can understand that, Whiters, given that there was, presumably, a running river or a lake in front of her!

[Bob]

JK: Thanks for the hookers for Hillary link. You've helped a cynical old man realize there's still honesty and beauty in the world.

Andra: A good, albeit legally sticky, idea. JK and Big Henry aren't likely to be turned into Russian "intelligence" assets:

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/ex-cia-chief-mike-morell-donald-trump-is-already-damaging-our-national-security/