David Brooks has learned “a lesson that I have to change the way I do my job if I’m going to report accurately on this country.”
Well, David, you should get out more. You might also try reading InstaPundit regularly. But mostly, you owe a bigger apology than this.
The Tea Party movement — which you also failed to understand, and thus mostly despised — was a bourgeois, well-mannered effort (remember how Tea Party protests left the Mall cleaner than before they arrived?) to fix America. It was treated with contempt, smeared as racist, and blocked by a bipartisan coalition of business-as-usual elites. So now you have Trump, who’s not so well-mannered, and his followers, who are not so well-mannered, and you don’t like it.
Indeed.
The nose-in-the-air “progressive” type of conservatives (who aren’t really conservative at all)are carrying around more dishonesty than large L Liberals.
Quoting Brooks – “Donald Trump is an affront to basic standards of honesty, virtue and citizenship.”
=========================================
Really? I’m not enamoured of Trump but compared to Hillary he’s a paragon of virtue!
If Brooks actually meant what he said, he’d tender his resignation from the New York Times, effective immediately.
“Donald Trump is an affront to basic standards of honesty, virtue and citizenship.”….well at least according to somebody who thinks that he himself is the judge of such things.
No coincidence that this same person would be of the opinion that Barry Hussein is well equipped intellectually , morally and humble enough to run the good old U S of A.
There may be some narcissism that you could attribute to both Donald and Barry both may think they are really something, Donald for making a ton of money and building successful businesses and Barry for running up a huge debt and running the greatest country in the world into the ditch.
But I remember when David Brooks wrote, in 2008;
“Barrack Obama is epically unprepared to be president. He has no realistic policies, no advisers, no capacity to learn. His vast narcissism makes him a closed fortress. He doesn’t know what he doesn’t know and he’s uninterested in finding out. He insults the office Abraham Lincoln once occupied by running for it with less preparation than most of us would undertake to buy a sofa.”
Oh, maybe he didn’t say that, but I’m sure he just recently wrote’
“Hillary is perhaps the most dishonest person to run for high office in our lifetimes. All politicians stretch the truth, but she has a steady obliviousness to accuracy.”
What? He didn’t say that either? Huh.
You know what I find most amusing about this year’s Republican nomination travelling road-show? How self-identified “real conservatives” — Trump supporters, Tea Party refugees, SDA readers, etc. — are finally coming around to the notion that the country’s economic and political “elite” have been screwing them all along. That Washington DC sold out to Big Business decades ago. That America’s “government of the people, by the people, for the people” has long been supplanted by plutocracy.
In other words, the same criticisms that lefties (and by “lefties”, I don’t mean the David Brooks of the world. I mean dyed-in-the-wool, old-school, boots-on-the-ground left-wingers) have been levelling against the ruling class — Republican and and Democrat alike — for, what, 10 years now (mhpbooks.com/books/you-cant-be-president/)? 20 years (hartford-hwp.com/archives/45/006.html)? A hundred years (cartooningcapitalism.com/plutocracy-vs-democracy/)?
To be sure, the political solutions preferred by such folks differ wildly from those by the Trump-supporter crowd, but at least everyone is starting to agree on the nature of the problem. Better late than never.
“Donald Trump is epically unprepared to be president. He has no realistic policies, no advisers, no capacity to learn. His vast narcissism makes him a closed fortress. He doesn’t know what he doesn’t know and he’s uninterested in finding out.”
So Trump is unprepared, has no realistic policies, and no capacity to learn. Could this not be said of a large number of politicians seeking office, including our current PM, Justin? Why single Trump out for this? And I disagree with his claim of Trump having no advisers; he has always worked with advisers in his various business endeavors, why would he stop doing that now? Finally, isn’t knocking Trump for being a narcissist while the White House is occupied by one of the biggest narcissists ever just a bit…biased?
But the article is still inaccurate. Trump is about more than the dispossessed. Some of his so called extreme proposals are actually common sense, or would be in a sane world. One does not have to be angry or dispossessed to see merit in a man who speaks his mind and disagrees with the perceived wisdom of the current political establishment.
Trump is a populist, but not nemesis. He appeals to a broader section of the American population ( and indeed the world ) than most republican pols would. And as far as I am concerned democracy, at it heart has more in common with democracy ( or the constitutional republic of the United states) than then elitest top down monstrosies we call governments today.
Let’s not fall into the trap of belittling trumps supporters as angry, or dispossessed, or anti establishment.
kt, selective reading in here does you no more favors than the bullsh*t Brooks wrote does for Brooks, he like you just does not get it. In here there have been comments in the past about the “political class”. I’v commented on the Kennedy assassination several times, and that little fiasco involved pols on both sides of the divide. Your classical Dems would be to the rite of many conservatives of today. Read an article about 10 years ago that stated that European rite wingers were more comfortable dealing with the American dems then the GOP. What has changed is available information in todays world. The closet door has been opened, and “secrets” are being exposed. The pols find it much harder to hide their dirty laundry. You, like some other so called cons in here may eventually catch on to the “shift” in the dynamics of those behind the curtain. You’v done a good job, over time, of proving yourself a political and social illiterate. Trump is a sign and not a cause, and even though I think of him as a buffoon, I hope he wins. He just can’t be any worst than obungles, and he’s a lot more honest than hillary
NME666- I pretty much agree with your thoughts on kt. However i do think your description of Donald Trump as a buffoon is some what analogous to the thinking expressed by kt.
Trump is less a buffoon than the many people who are inclined to disassociate with the process He finds necessary to move His Presidential Candidcy though the Cesspool of interconnected North American Progressive Politics. Is it necessary to use Mr. Trump’s approach to survive the enormous mis-information which has been directed in His direction, or any other person who decided to contest the vested interests, I cannot say.
However Trump has the wherewithal to support His thought-through on the approach to be taken. Donald Trump has been very successful to date and I am quite convinced He will be so in the future.
The number of “sucker punches” Trump has landed on the Compromised North American Media, unfortuntely also necessary for Fox News, is really outstanding.
The latest comment to place Economic Pressure on the merchandizing decisions of retail products is also brilliant and I feel has been well thought through with and without advisors. Cheers;.
actually I think the byline ‘you cant make this up’ is somehow more applicable to this posting.
a peek into the mind and psyche of a hard core Republican conservative can be found in eminent domain.
the big money boyz turn on the lesser clouts and STEAL that symbol of independence and self sufficiency, the very ground beneath their feet.
yessiree, pribate propuddy rights and all that, until some uber wealthy bunch hiding behind a corporate logo sets their sights on the thing that’s been in the conservative’s fambly for generations. a few signatures, wait for the calendar to flip a couple times, and voila !! ours now !! watcha gonna dooooooo ’bout it dear Republican voter?
eminent domain.
I have to change the way I do my job if I’m going to report accurately on this country.
You and just about everybody else who writes for the Times, David, and it’s been that way for decades.
“Your classical Dems would be to the rite of many conservatives of today. Read an article about 10 years ago that stated that European rite wingers were more comfortable dealing with the American dems then the GOP.”
That’s the thing, NME666 — you’re still hung up on whether there are any true “conservatives” left among politicians, or if they’ve all “shifted” to the left over the years. You’re still pinning the problem on “liberals” and “RINOs”.
This misses the point entirely. Whether your preferred nominee is pro-choice or pro-life, in favour or against the 2nd Amendment, a proponent or opponent of “Big Government” — none of that really matters. It’s all just noise, intended to distract the electorate into engaging in pointless Red Team/Blue Team, “us vs. them” partisan bickering. That way, when “your team” wins, you can ride that high even as they betray or ignore all your actual economic interests once in office.
The real elite — the one’s who really run Washington, the ones who really shape laws and policy decisions — don’t care which party wins, because they know they can control them both. For them, it’s all about power and money, and the best way to amass and hold on those things is to just play both sides.
Why do you think institutions like Goldman Sachs (opensecrets.org/orgs/recips.php?cycle=2014&id=D000000085) donate to both the Dems and Republicans) every election cycle?
Why do the “Big Banks” (opensecrets.org/industries/indus.php?ind=F03++) do the same?
Why do HMOs (opensecrets.org/industries/indus.php?ind=H03++) play both sides of the aisle?
Why does “Big Pharma” (opensecrets.org/industries/indus.php?ind=H4300)…well, you get the idea.
80% of Americans live in areas that are served by only one broadband internet provider. No competition = no consumer power. “Vote with your wallet” only works when you actually have at least a second choice.
The five largest banks in the US hold nearly half of all banking assets in the country (up from 10% in the 1990s). Don’t like that your banking fees are going up again? How much power does the average consumer really have against that degree of corporate consolidation?
Four airlines control 70% of the US air travel market. Meanwhile, your economy class leg room keeps getting tighter and the salted peanuts now cost $2.50. And so on and so on.
Until you figure out what the real problem is, you’re just a pawn in a game you don’t even know you’re playing.
And you’re on your own on the Kennedy assassination thing.
Let’s not kid ourselves. Even with Trump out of the picture, any GOP POTUS nominee would be branded a racist; that’s progressive SOP. With Trump they have to push harder because he one ups their media savvy, but with use of the imprecise language of the voters, who don’t appreciate being called racist rubes because they’re against illegal immigration and self-serving government. Trump has already said he will calm his tone somewhat, but he will remain a fighter, though always an outsider.
The idea of a brokered convention is a pipe dream. Even Carl Rove admits in his delusional math Trump will be very close to the 1237 delegates needed, assuming Kasich stays in. A poll today puts Trump at 43% of 92% of voters naming a candidate, that’s roughly 47% of that total. The Bloomberg poll puts him at 53%. That includes the negatives of disaffected overall millennials, Latinos and women. In the middle of a party bloodbath, with establishment screaming for his ouster, with charges of racist affiliation, approval of torture, and bleats of his un-electability, his support rises despite unrelenting hatred.
That means he has a good chance to lock it up before primaries end. If not then very close, and it’s quite likely he will be given the nomination before convention. If it goes to convention and he doesn’t win the first ballot with three candidates, each having already received their share of defeated nominees off the ballot, then Kasich presumably is out and only his delegates become unbounded. Trump and Cruz supporters can’t change their vote, by law. How does Cruz convince all unbounded candidates to vote for him? That scenario has yet to play out in primaries, will state GOPers tow Cruz’s line virtually unanimously? That’s what it will take. It’s simply an unrealistic scenario. So Trump will be the nominee, time to get with the program.
None of this matters, if he’s the GOP candidate, or anyone else, then by definition they are a racist who hates America and wants to make it great again for rich people like Hillary; but she says everything is okeedokee for an Obama III, but wants to “make America whole again,” even though apparently there’s nothing wrong with the country. You gotta love her slogan “fighting for us.” “Yes, you’re fighting for me.”
She needs a new slogan – “Me and my Pardon” seems apt.
To save America from whatever, oh yeah, racism, we must fight for Hillary. For her privilege, for her influence peddling, for her now admitted negligent/law-breaking email behaviour; backed by the man who doubled the US debt, turned federal agencies into ideological witch hunters, who bluffed and lost Syria, who left and lost Iraq, who threw Israel under the bus, whose catastrophically poor judgment has addled the nation with Obamacare and enabled a pariah state that sponsors terrorism and open US hatred around the world, while Putin gallivants into former USSR republics, while the Chinese with only 5% more trade than Canada with the US, racks up 13 times our US trade surplus, at over $.5t and counting, with no reciprocity?
Sure, good deals all around. Trump would be worse than this apparently because he a racist and not a politician?
What are the 5 stages of denial?
This David Brooks, whatever he be, reads just like a fully funded member of the Guild of Parasites.
Looking down his nose at any who dare to doubt his wisdom.
Denying the evidence of his own eyes.
The trump Campaign should broadcast this idiot all over social media, another home goal by another established leech.
The only way these fools can hurt Trumps voter support is if they start pretending to love him.
I try to stay away from following the circus that has been created around Donald Trump. But, like a moth to a flame, I’m irresistibly drawn to it again and again.
Following is a comment by M. Aubrey of Berwyn, Illinois, written very well in response to the Brooks’ article. I suspect that M. Aubrey and I may differ on how to work to improve the USA (and Canada – less interference by the Government vs more). Still, this comment comes pretty damn close to capturing my view of American politics and my opinion of Mr. Brooks.
M. Aubrey:
“David, once again you miss the point: you want to address the symptom – Trump – but not the disease – the broken American political system, especially the party of Lincoln. You have the temerity to quote the Bible when those very words could apply to Republican icons like Ted, Cruz , Mitt Romney, and George Bush. You wave the flag and cue the Star Spangled Banner: “…he is a threat to the long and glorious experiment of American self-government.” But – the experiment is not working because the system is being manipulated by Oligarchs of which Donald Trump is a member. As are you . Turn the spotlight on yourself and the conservative policies your words support. Your tepid apology that you will have to keep your ear closer to the ground in the future rings false as it emanates from your ivory tower. The real threat to America are the banks who gutted the economy, and the corporations who send jobs overseas. The real threat is the inequitable education system and a trillion dollars of student debt – none of which affects an oligarch. As soon as the Trump threat goes away you will sink back into the comforting opiate haze of American myth and ideals, of the glorious visions of the founding fathers – none of which have anything to do with the reality of the average American today who can’t earn enough to pay the rent or afford decent healthcare. You seem to think that good thoughts and ideals – if repeated over and over again – are enough to sustain a nation. Think again.”
Well Pete, Trump is a successful business man and is bad because he wants to represent the right in the US. Trudeau is a total failure, but is a progressive. So this just shows that if the politics are right you could run a jackass for the progressive side and win an election.
David Brooks, another talking head ….. puffing smoke and fire and sounding like the big wizard head in the Wizard of Oz (ignore that man behind the curtain!).
Mr. Brook’s article …. heavy on the gloom and doom, denigration and contempt with just a touch of religious fervor although a bit light on facts …. ah (pause), yeah.
Will anyone’s opinion of Donald Trump be changed? Doubtful, very doubtful. But plenty of clicks for the NY Times!!!
@kt: if the BIG corporations hadn’t suppressed the 100 mpg carburetor gasoline would be cheaper than water today. I mean it’s just like now where BIG corporations are suppressing cheap energy by denying cold fusion exists and by keeping those 100% efficient solar panels off the market. The little guy just can’t seem to catch a break. Okay, just kidding. I happen to agree with some of what you say.
The public behavior of conservatives is completely irrelevant. TEA party. Taxed Enough Already. Same with Trumps Troops … Who say … stop crushing the working class with taxes, fees, and expensive regulations! The HATRED for BOTH groups from the dependent class is all about the Benjamins. These leaches want $$$$ … and will shout-down anyone to get it. These are the fringe, misfits of our society who are bullying their way to relevance. And a shameful press is their advocate …
I am tempted to say D-bag Dave should have an anvil tied to his neck and be dropped into the Mariana Trench, but I’m afraid people might take it the wrong way, so I won’t.
I used to watch David Brooks’ segment on the Friday edition of PBS’s “Newshour”. When he started politicizing a mass shooting in the U. S., I stopped.
In fact, I quit watching the show altogether. The undisguised leftism of the reporting finally got to me.
“the one’s who really run Washington, the ones who really shape laws and policy decisions — don’t care which party wins, because they know they can control them both.”
Pretty much. And you can add Gore, Suzuki and all the other enviro-parasites to your list of Ivory Tower Trash.
The divide right now is between the useful and the useless; the makers and the takers. All parties are working for the latters.
The nice thing about having the name of the poster at the top of post – is that if we choose, we can skip.
Type kt, type. I scroll through it. I won’t read an idiot’s rantings.
David Brooks is rich and privileged so he like the status quo …
David Brooks sees a shake up coming to his world and he is crappin’ his pants.
I think the old “he protest too much” is in order. He did an over-kill in that piece on Trump. … he is crappin’ his pants and so are a lot of the ruling elite and their minions.
We have been trying to exist in David Brooks’ world for the past three decades and it sucks … and it may just be over … at lest for a while.
In Canada, we are all going to live off the drippings of Justin Trudeau’s bleeding heart. I would prefer Trump anytime.
Next time you’re listening to some progressive low-info idiot attacking Trump (online or real life, Canadian or American or neither), just ask them a simple question: in your personal life do you know a single Donald Trump supporter?
When it turns out they don’t, tell them straight up that their ignorance has left them uninteresting to listen to on the matter.
From the comments: “Brooks believes the U.S. borders are bounded on the West by the Hudson River, on the East by the East River and to the North by the Harlem River.”