(12-15-2023, 11:39 AM)mikesez Wrote:

(12-15-2023, 09:56 AM)Lucky2Last Wrote: Firstly, I am not a Trump fan. I do think he fights the establishment, and I do think that is what this country needs. Trump is a narcissist. He's inarticulate. He's petty and bullish. Those traits are what keeps him going, and I will take that if it means going after articulate, calculating, greedy narcissists who are slowly destroying American values and opportunities. 

Secondly, he's not the only person who can do it, but he's got the opportunity. 

Thirdly, your cause and effect is backwards. The MAGA movement is not based on Trump. It was already there. Trump just put his finger on the pulse of American frustration and is able to mobilize a base that is desperately hoping for someone to right the ship. You and Mikey are cool with the ship going down so long as the band keeps playing. Of course, you don't believe the ship is going down because the band is playing. Shame on Trump for interrupting the show. He's really ruining the whole "cruise." Kick him off.

You fail to appreciate that while "MAGA" includes many trains of thought and possible courses of action, it has now become a cult of personality.  If Trump is gone, his acolytes will emphasize different things and start fighting each other for dominance.  It seems unlikely that any one of them will be able to reassemble the cult of personality that held it together.