Discussion: Bannon Dismisses 'Ethno-Nationalism': It's A 'Fringe Element'

Please feel free to steal Donnie Two Scoops. I have been using it quite some time, so I have forgotten from where and from whom, but I am pretty sure I swiped it from another wit and thus can’t take credit for it. (And it sooooo fits the fat, spoiled, selfish slob.)

3 Likes

The idea of some kind of trade war with China strikes me as just as dangerous as the ethnic nationalism that he has been seen as promoting. Trade wars impoverish everyone and throughout history have tended to lead to shooting wars. The cock-up over Brexit shows that in the end those who think they can go it alone are idiots, no less than the thugs in the streets,.

2 Likes

Let me add that pundits have read much more into the 2016 election than they should. The decisive factor was not ethno nationalism or trade or economic dislocation, it was the two candidates. The voters who turned the election in Trump’s favor were not enamored of him, they just didn’t like Hillary. A Democrat who could have portrayed him or herself as something other than a tired retread would have achieved a result close to what Macron got in France, regardless of their policy positions. Yes, the person matters at least as much as the policy.

Lee Atwater consultant and Republican party strategist. Advisor to Ronald Reagan, campaign manager for George H. W. Bush, and Chairman of the Republican National Committee:

You start out in 1954 by saying, “Nigger, nigger, nigger.” By 1968 you can’t say “nigger” — that hurts you. Backfires. So you say stuff like forced busing, states’ rights and all that stuff. You’re getting so abstract now you’re talking about cutting taxes, and all these things you’re talking about are totally economic things and a byproduct of them is blacks get hurt worse than whites.

6 Likes

It doesn’t matter. Bannon knows that, which is why he can lie so cavalierly. He called a reporter about China? Right.

His statement presumes the left has the propaganda power to control the debate. We don’t. The conservative movement’s multi-tactical tentacles — from ignoring the Constitution, to gerrymandering, to fraud — now supported by the Russian intelligence apparatus and flanked by a heavily-armed Nazi presence in our neighborhoods assures Bannon that he can take the debate anywhere he wants it to go.

He’s just trying to figure out the best way to keep fooling Republican voters.

3 Likes

Why can’t the Democrats support both? The Democrats were at their strongest when they carried rural America. When I was growing up in rural Minnesota, just about every farmer in our state had a DFL sign at the end of their driveway, labor and blue collar issues is what “brung em”.
One will see more albino deer than DFL signs on a farmer’s driveway anymore. This is what we need in a leader:

1 Like

Bannon is a white supremacist. He’s trying to save his job,however, by calling them clowns. He should not be in the White House.

2 Likes

Bannon revealed in 2-3 interviews just how dangerous and out of his depth he is. He reveals himself to be a pathological liar and manipulator - more like Lord Baelish (Littlefinger) from Game of Thrones: dangerous but less clever.

In this interview with the American Prospect, he’s talking to a pro-Bernie reporter and pandering to Berners. After saying approvingly in one interview how the Nazis in Charlottesville were ‘Trump’s people’ (meaning his people) he dismisses them here as fools. He’s clearly lying. He has spent years cultivating racism. Can’t do that if you don’t feel it yourself.

The most shocking reveal was his statements on North Korea. He revealed thoughts from secret Nat Sec meetings on a present national security issue. He gave up the game to Lil 'Kim and essentially said ‘I got nothing’. That undermines US negotiating leverage and the US-Pacific alliance. I think he should be investigated and prosecuted for that. Imagine if HRC had done something like this.

I’ve heard a lot of statements that Bannon’s views on Korea are reasonable. Here’s the point: he doesn’t have any beliefs except in his own aggrandizement of power.

I’m certain that Bannon has spoken on all sides of the Korea issue in order to manipulate Trump and the generals and to play one off the other. Recall that our tensions with NK have been created by Trump himself. Bannon has been there the whole time. If he was this firmly committed to not doing anything in Korea, he certainly didn’t make those views known from the beginning. He’s doing it now as a self-serving matter of convenience because he knows Trump has nothing. He has given up on Trump. He’s giving up on white nationalism. He’s trying to create a new brand that isn’t as tied down to racism. It’s like selling a start-up and moving in another direction.

He is also angling for increased confrontation with China. That’s dangerous. Stuff like that usually leads to war. He has been a driving force behind dismantling the Atlantic alliance and our global economic order. This man should be nowhere near power.

2 Likes

1 Like

I dunno (shrugs). I’m not the one saying Democrats need to stop talking about social issues, particularly issues of race. At the same time, I don’t really care if Democrats in rural districts focus almost solely on economic issues. I don’t live in some bright blue state. I actually know what the challenges are in appealing to different swaths of voters.

At the same time, I expect the party itself to speak to issues of racial injustice. 94+% of black women vote Democratic, and the party can go fuck themselves if they think they can trade us in for whiter, penis’d versions of ourselves. But that’s what some on the left think the party should do.

3 Likes

Now… what does this remind me of ? ? … Hmmmm…

2 Likes

I think Democrats need to emphasize what is important wherever they are running and still be firm on supporting other Democratic social issues. Hey, I read an encouraging article over at Vox a few days ago and I’m impressed with this young Democratic Oklahoma chairperson. We need more young people like her:

1 Like

This is his target audience

1 Like

It’s just a fringe. Like in the that song, “The Surrey with the Ginormous, Gob-Smackingly Soul-Crushing Fringe on Top.”

1 Like

https://twitter.com/jonathanvswan/status/897997990920683520

1 Like

It’s weird that we’re hearing more from this dingbat (or is he an alt-dingbat?). He seems to be coming out of the woodwork and I’m wondering what it means that he is doing more communication with the press.

bannon says he was drawing fire away from trump. okie-dokie. let’s talk Russia.

1 Like

Let us indeed talk Russia. Drawing fire? Pfft.

1 Like

More ramblings from a bitter old man unable to believe that white people are not going to be the top of the food chain much longer