For some it's a practical concern. He wants to build a wall, put a halt to Muslim immigration, repeal large portions of NAFTA . . . so on and so forth. I am neither a Mexican with dreams of El Norte, nor a Muslim fleeing homeland turmoil/seeking reunion with my recently-settled American family members. Reintroducing tariffs to NAFTA, on the other hand, might have an effect on my comfort. At this point it's too early to say. Besides, I publicly opposed NAFTA in the original go-round -- I'd be a hypocrite if I expressed consternation at this particular Trump policy-bashing.
For most of us it's a psychological concern. This is a guy we'll be facing every single day -- whether we turn on the television, log on to the internet, glance at the magazine rack, or play the radio while driving the kids to soccer or grandma to the doctor's office. For those of us who thought we had too much exposure to the man decades before he jumped into politics, this will require a substantial shift in the parlour of our consciousness. He's been banging at the windows for the last 30 years -- now he's in Father's chair, fer cryin' out loud!
It's not an appealing prospect, to put it mildly. But we'll manage -- if manage we must.
Starting with kitties. Tickle their bellies twice. |
There are exceptions. Matt Taibi, f'rinstance:
"No one should be surprised that [Trump is] tearing through the Republican primaries, because everything he's saying about his GOP opponents is true. They really are all stooges on the take, unable to stand up to Trump because they're not even people, but are, like Jeb and Rubio, just robo-babbling representatives of unseen donors."And, for those of a more conservative bent, Robert W. Merry.
Finally, a word to my fellow Canuckle-heads: those of you expressing smug, superior, "witty" opinions on what's happening to the south of us -- yeah, I'm looking at you, The Canada Party and Cape Breton If Trump Wins -- knock it the fuck off. We're the country that only yesterday indulged in supportive nepotism and gave our highest office to a Drama Teacher, the son of a former Prime Minister.
Also: Rob Ford.
This shit happens everywhere.
2 comments:
Ah, yes, I'd temporarily forgotten about Rob Ford.
I remember thinking at the time, "What is wrong with Toronto?" But I guess I can't feel so smug about it now.
Of course, Rob Ford never held any national office. It was just a subset of the Canadian Population.
Same with Trump. Or so I hope. He may be very popular with the extreme fringe of the Republican Party, but once the primaries are over and he has to go into the general election, I'm still hopeful that he's going to get creamed.
How things finally shake down is anyone's guess at this point. I've said it before, but if the so-called race hadn't been framed months ago as yet another go-round of "Bush vs. Clinton" I very much doubt this guy would have got the traction he currently has. Very lamentable, all of it.
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