Tim Pool often says that the world is not Twitter. It’s kind of mind-boggling when you think about it. Then again, as one who is a frequent user of social media, my anecdotal bias might be in full swing here.
From what Tim says, the moderate majority of people out there don’t give two shits about Twitter, Facebook, etc. Even YouTube viewership isn’t really an accurate barometer upon which to base, well, much of anything. Sure, content creators may get millions of subscribers and thousands of views on their content, but some days I wonder just how much of an impact that makes in the long run.
This is not to throw shade at anyone with the balls to put themselves out there, especially if you want to produce news, political commentary, or other subjects these days that, when you post, you sometimes end up running for your life. Mad props to you and yours, folks. You’re doing what you love and bravely risking it all to do so.
And before I go on, let me state that I’m not a dyed in the wool conservative, OK? I own no MAGA hats, and personally I think Trump is an asshole. However, that being said, he’s sadistically brilliant at playing the political game. It makes me wonder, after this next election, how the far left is going to react.
You might think I’m being a little presumptuous and you’re right. However, unless the Democrats do a complete ideological 180 in the next few months, they’re going to lose and lose big. All the progress that was made in 2018 is going to go away. Their credibility is going to go down the tubes because of their single-minded obsession with Trump, Russia, and impeachment. They’ve gone on record as saying it’s OK if they lose the house if it means impeaching Trump. I’m all for sacrificing pawns in chess to get at the king, but your Queen? Your Bishops? All the pieces on the board? Is it really worth it?
Trump has done a great job making sure that people see the Democrats’ crazy side. He put AOC front and center for the longest time, making sure everyone got a good long look at how she acts. He’s doing the same with the others as well, highlighting how much of a dumpster fire the leadership race is going with the DNC. He’s helping to expose the in-fighting they’re experiencing and eroding the moderates’ confidence in the party.
Diabolically brilliant.
Being in Canada, I’m able to watch this whole thing with an outsider’s perspective, and while I don’t like Trump at all, I have to respect his shrewdness at this. He’s playing the DNC like a harp from hell and they’re dancing to his tune without even knowing it. Their leadership is going to be decided on who screams ‘Orange Man Bad’ the loudest, and then will have to pray that it carries them through the election. I can just see it now: Vote for me, because Orange Man Bad.
The thing is, the majority of the population isn’t looking at Twitter or some internet news rag for their information. As much as new technology has been taking over, the majority of people still look at TV or papers for their news. They have no idea what kind of word war is being waged on places like Twitter or Facebook, yet the Democrats are flocking to those areas almost exclusively. Why? Part of me thinks it’s because there’s so much shit-flinging there that feeling good about stirring up rage against Trump there is a smart campaign strategy.
The naivete of it is sickening.
You expect people to vote you into the highest office in the land, to hand you the keys to the American nuclear arsenal, to become the guiding voice of domestic and foreign policy for the foreseeable future, and your platform is ‘Orange Man Bad?’ Is that how you’re going to represent your country abroad? Get serious; Trump may be fucking up with foreign policy, but at least he’s trying.
And really, do you think some OMB-trumpeting blow-hard from the Democrats is going to be much better? I’ve not heard word one from the Dems on foreign policy, except to be the polar opposite of anything Trump does. That didn’t work so well when it turned out the Dems wanted our troops to stay in certain areas and continue fighting a war in which the US had no business.
I really do wish that the Dems would collect themselves and get back to doing what they’re supposed to be doing: serving the American people. I’d like to see a powerful, policy-driven party rise up and strike down the populist, ushering in a new age of the government actually doing their jobs and not ruling with catch-phrases and slogans.
I’m pretty sure 2020 is now unreachable for the Democrats. I just hope that if that’s the case, they’ll realize where they went wrong and get back to work instead of pandering to the screeching extremists who have no foresight and even less experience.