rotekz wrote: 
indeed it does:

 

This letter to Donald Trump really is amazing and gives some great insight into the Trump phenomenon.

http://blog.dilbert.com/post/140353736681/a-letter-to-donald-trump-from-a-voter-not-me

A Letter to Donald Trump (from a voter, not me)

Posted March 2nd, 2016 @ 4:34pm in #Trump

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This letter from Troy Morton was in the comments to my post from earlier today. I am reposting it here, with permission, because it is simply beautiful.

Breathtaking, actually.

Enjoy. 

—

To: President Trump

From: Just a simple man

I’ve been following your campaign since your announcement, reading millions of words written about you, watching thousands of hours of video and speeches, listening to many talk radio show segments, and engaging in dozens of debates with people around me.

No candidate has ever captured my attention the way you have.

Now that it’s clear you will be the Republican nominee, I want to share with you something so personal, painful, and uplifting, that I almost don’t want to write it, but I will anyway…trolls be damned:

My whole life, up until yesterday, has been based on reaction to fear.

Growing up as a black man in Washington D.C. during the “crack 80’s”, when Marion Barry was mayor, I lived a lower middle class childhood in one of the most dangerous cities in America. Though I had many friends, I was also subject to the threats, intimidation, and bullying that happens when you’re not like the people around you.

There was no father in my life to steel me against the world I lived in. My mother was strong, but it’s not exactly the kind of strength I needed. I was a boy, and needed a Man.

Without strong male guidance, I learned to fear…but not how to face fear and win. Even joining the military and going to war didn’t overcome my weakness, and all my future decisions considered strongly the level of fear I had at the time.

As a result, my life has been full of conflict, as I have unintentionally signaled to adversaries that I am an easier opponent to beat than others. I have won victories, but never truly enjoyed them knowing the battle is never won for me…only endured. I have also suffered crushing defeats, and important people in my life lost confidence in me as a result. I have not reached my potential, and settled instead into apathy and stasis, content to only being “smart enough” or “good enough”…not great. Not strong. Not resolute…

Not a leader. Not a winner.

My life, in many important ways, mirrors the American experience. Potential to be great, but paralyzed by fear. Full of conflict. Enduring, not winning. No leadership. No strong Male inspiration. And occasional, crushing defeats that hit to the core of our country…most notably 9/11, but also with the erosion of our middle class and uniquely American culture.

Like you say so often: we don’t WIN anymore.

Watching your campaign, and being as invested in it as I am, has been an exercise in recognizing, and confronting, fear that I never expected. Every time your opponents hit you…I feel fear for your candidacy and our country. Every charge of racist, sexist, facist, etc. causes me to worry that no one, not even you, can really change the country for the better. That we’re doomed to failure…

Then…inevitably…you win the battle. You don’t “survive”, or “endure”…you attack, and put fear into your opponents. You don’t stop until they are buried under your feet. Until they become paralyzed…

Sometimes, you even bait them into hitting you, just so you can beat the crap out of them again. Your life is full of conflict, but it becomes yet another opportunity to WIN, and makes you MORE powerful…not less.

Then, once they are eliminated as a threat, you are generous to the vanquished. It’s not personal, and they are not evil. They were, simply…in the way. Once they are not, they become worthy of kindness and respect.

Furthermore, you’re not just a blunt instrument…your strategy is impeccable. You go into every conflict knowing exactly what your opponents weaknesses are, how to exploit them, and what levers to pull to ensure victory. Clearly, you spend good time before announcing your candidacy doing the things the military taught me as a young soldier: surveying, recon, intelligence-gathering, ammunition, discipline, execution…

You are defending America from our enemies within, and it’s an AMAZING thing to watch.

Last night, you also did something else. You became the Man that helped me see fear for what it is: an illusion of power, a powerful teacher, and the path to winning if used properly. There is no reason, regardless of the enormity of the task, to lose to fear if you prepare well, are disciplined in your execution, and have the faith necessary, in God, yourself, and in others…that leads to victory.

Winning is always possible, but becomes probable if you never back down, never quit, and become your dominant self. Once the battle is won, treat the vanquished with kindness and respect. Be the bigger man.

You taught me how to Win.

I appreciate what you’ve done for me personally, and what you’re doing for our country. I know I’m not the only man who admires you, and can’t wait for you to become the father, and leader, of our country. It’s been a long, cold winter for men in America the last 8 years, and I believe that your election will dramatically improve the level of respect, admiration, and love people will show for strong men and Fathers, and will create a new generation of leaders from impressionable young boys.

That, more than anything, will Make America Great Again.

-Troy

 

 Beaker wrote: 
opposite side of the fence 

 sirdroseph wrote: 
I was keeping with the Hunger Games plot... the books aren't terrible, by the way. I pre-read them to see if it was okay for our girl...

 ScottFromWyoming wrote: 
True dat and for all of the "panic", I sincerely believe there would be little difference in a Clinton and Trump presidency.   They pretty much hold the same positions on policy with the major exception being immigration, but neither of them would be able to enact any meaningful immigration reform wherever they are coming from.  I think Trump is just using his hard core immigration position cause he liked the reaction and ran with it.

 sirdroseph wrote: 
Things don't look too good for Hillary in that scenario, either. 

I seriously lol'd

 

 

 

 

Scott, drawing of amusement much; very nice, and fun. Thank you .
 

 rotekz wrote: 
Just curious, because you seem to have a tenuous grasp on this one. You sometimes use words and (especially) American idioms in ways that do not make sense. I'm being totally serious now. Your use of "run the table" today —when that is now impossible— is only the most recent example.

 ScottFromWyoming wrote: 
Can you tell me why my first language matters to you?

 Steely_D wrote: 

 Lazy8 wrote: 
I'm afraid you don't get it. You can see on my FB page that I have a lot of friends who don't vote the way I do. I love and respect everyone (even hair-splitters like you). What I take issue with, and typically respond to is actions and statements. In this case, it's the refusal to acknowledge reality, i.e. how the GOP funders and leadership played a fundamental role in creating the conditions which allowed someone as obnoxious to many of the GOP's leadership as Trump to gain political ascendancy. Pointing out that Trump (or Bernie Sanders) is tapping into anger or fearfulness misses the point. Any time we have weak fundamentals (like the current slow recovery from the great recession of 2008-2009), there are going to be people who feel upset, marginalized, etc. The shrinking middle class, which has been occurring on both parties' watches, and seems to be a particularly intractable problem, is another contributor to economic anxiety for many, certainly. The existence of such angst doesn't typically compel obviously unsuitable/unacceptable candidates (rather than what Marty Cohen called "credible and at least reasonably electable representatives of their partisan traditions") to a GOP or Democratic presidential nomination. Most savvy political candidates will try to tap into such angst/unrest if they think they can use it to advantage. Trump's candidacy is anomalous, and ascribing it to common conditions (like the eagerness of the voters whose party has not been in the WH for the last 8 years to recapture it) which have not produced such anomalous candidacies in the past is wrong-headed IMO.

This is from January, and contains some good insight.

The Republican Party May Be Failing 

 aflanigan wrote: 
Proving it's not biased just means your sources are part of the Great Conspiracy.

BRB, have to go to the store for more foil. 

 meower wrote: 
How dare you cite snopes as evidence? Republicans are sure it is biased.

 rotekz wrote: 
If by "grammar" you mean "words that in no way mean anything possible," then yeah. And after that steaming shitpile of a "cartoon" you posted yesterday, and your use of the word "classy" here, again I'm wondering if English is your first language.

 ScottFromWyoming wrote: 
You must have been nitpicking grammar then. Classy.

 rotekz wrote: 
I know what it means. 

 ScottFromWyoming wrote: 
https://www.google.co.uk/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&es_th=1&ie=UTF-8#safe=off&q=trump%20runs%20the%20table

 rotekz wrote: 
Is English your first language?