Dump Trump
- LAURENCE TRIBE, “Attorney General” — Constitutional law professor at Harvard Law School.
- MARIELENA HINCAPIE, “INS/ICE/Immigration” — executive director, National Immigration Law Center
- DERAY MCKESSON, “Justice Issues” – Co-founder, Black Lives Matter. civil rights activist.
- ROBERT REICH, “Labor/Commerce” — Ex-Labor Secretary, best-selling author.
- LAURA TYSON, “Treasury/Trade” — Ex-chair CEA, professor at BerkeleyHass Business School
- DAVID CAY JOHNSTON, “IRS” — Pulitzer prize-winning journo/author. Founder of new DCReport.
- DIANE RAVITCH, “Education” — Professor at NYU, author/editor of 24 books on education.
- JOAN CLAYBROOK, “Transportation” — Ex-head of National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
- ROB WEISSMAN, “Consumer Agencies” — President, Public Citizen.
- DAVID FREEMAN, “Energy & EPA” — Ex-head of TVA & NYS Power Authority.
- DAVID HIMMELSTEIN, STEFFIE WOOLFINDLER, “HHS/Health” — Distinguished Professors at Pub. Health School, CUNY/Hunter; co-founders Physicians for National Health.
- COLIN KAHL, “NSA/Terrorism” – V.P. Biden’s National Security Adviser.
- ROSA BROOKS, “State Department” — Ex–DoD counselor, author, columnist Foreign Policy.
- ANDREW BACEVICH, “Defense Department” — Author/historian, BU.Pardee School Global Affairs.
This is pretty great stuff, and should come in handy as The Russian Usurper addresses the joint session of congress (his politburo) and lies to our faces again on Tuesday.
Mock Paper Scissors 
People of goodwill need all the help they can get, so this is all just fine.
But not only is there not a carpenter or a miner or a roofer or a taxi driver in the bunch, I’ve got a pocketful of quatloos that sez not a single one of those characters has had anyone in a category like that over for dinner at anytime in the last 20 years, if ever, and a half-pocketful that sez they don’t even know such people by name at all.
So, whoopee.
And, well, meh.
There’s a whole lot of people who the Dims must win back (after increasingly throwing them under the bus for almost two generations now) to become really competitive where it counts (hint; not on the coasts) and this isn’t going to reach hardly a single one of them.
Liberals who like to jerk each other off will get a kick out of it, though.
Hmmmm. It seems something must have triggered my proletarian flamethrower reflex this morning. That happens from time to time. Can’t be helped, I’m afraid.
LikeLike
9-K:
Deray is not an academic or from the coasts, but letting that slide, the purpose of having a shadow cabinet is to have a set of experts to refute THEIR experts.
I like that you lead with your values, I think that’s not a flamethrower at all, I think that’s a guiding light.
Rgds,
TG
LikeLiked by 1 person
I hear you TG, and thanks for being gracious about my stomping around in your house in muddy boots from time to time.
My point is only, and I think you know this, to wonder who is the intended audience for this stuff.
Who is this aimed at?
Who will it reach?
I know a lot of working class people, one hell of a lot, and I don’t know a single one with a twitter account , or hardly a single one whose eyes don’t roll back in their heads at the mention of “experts”.
That’s wrong, of course, because not so long ago working people *did* value genuine expertise, and maybe we have Grandpa Walnuts to thank for unleashing she-who-must-not-be-named upon us , and who, by picking up the “pointy-headed liberal” banner, really got that “elitist” ball rolling once more.
But we are where we are, and I’m unpersuaded that any amount of reactive twitter output is going to really get us much traction where we need it most. A big part of the problem all along is that we’ve been trapped in reaction mode by the forces of darkness for years, and certainly that’s been true in spades since Trump declared his candidacy.
This thing we’re talking about here will be fun, sure, but no matter how true, or how witty and brilliant, it’s going to be, by design, reactive rather than proactive, which makes it spectacularly vulnerable, *systemically*, to being manipulated into chasing chaff.
LikeLike
I like it, but I would like an actual shadow government such as the opposition does in the UK a lot more. That would require actual spinitude from too many vertebrae-challenged dems, though.
LikeLike
This oughta be some fun – in a macabre kinda way, but mostly it could be invaluable under a regime that has practically no respect for fact or for the people they’re misleading.
And not because it’ll sway anyone in 9thousandfeet’s circle – it won’t and there’s little that will, for now. But the point is that all of this gives everybody else vocabulary and phrasing and honest countervailing information that helps in ways we’re not even aware of yet.
And one good place to start is simply: Train the trainers and let it percolate. The more I know, the more I can do with my own little circle of “workin’ guy” buddies. It takes a long time, but eventually it starts to stick, and then it starts to sink in a little.
I’ve been at this shit for 45 years now, and I’ve seen my share of the merry chase more than a few times. All I know for sure is that you get back up on your hind legs and you take another run at it.
Fire
Observe
Correct
Repeat
Keep doin’ good, TG.
LikeLike
Sorry, but what madness is this?
There are a lot of working-class people who embraced and delighted in Bernie’s flamethrowing critiques of Wall Street, just as one example.
In fact, that was so obvious that Trump stole that messaging for his own campaign. The only difference being that, unlike Bernie, he didn’t mean a word of it. Still managed to fool no small number of people just the same.
There are lots of other examples we could discuss as well.
This “there’s nothing that will sway them right now” narrative is nothing but an extension of the idea that they’re “beyond reach” be reason of being dim-witted. This narrative is now so thoroughly ingrained in liberal circles that they’re often unaware of when they’re using it.
The “let’s train the trainers” attitude is a little bit problematic too. We’re not fucking circus animals.
LikeLike
Like I said – not a lot gets thru that intellectual or emotional armor.
LikeLike
Pingback: Follow @ShadowingTrump on Your Electronic Twitter Device | The Last Of The Millenniums
I’ll bet my entire tax return of $5.00 that he introduces his wife and makes her stand up and take a bow.
In 140 characters of less to boot.
🙂
Yeah, first…lady!!!
Stand up and show em’ your phat ass baby.”
(sorry, I can’t take this Orange unbleached asshole seriously anymore-not that I ever did)
http://static2.wwtdd.com/data/images/wwtdd/001/804/814/melania_trump_naked_in_new_york_post_02-d47051b0_web.jpg?1470014323
LikeLike