Mr. Terrific Temperament
[Content Note: Bigotry.]
Donald Trump appeared on This Week with George Stephanopoulos yesterday, and the entire thing was incredible, in every way, but perhaps the most amazing part was this exchange about his temperament:
STEPHANOPOULOS: Hillary Clinton's speech—22 direct mentions of your name, 78 references, very tough, including this one hit on your temperament.Donald Trump believes he has a great temperament and has run a flawless campaign. DONALD TRUMP BELIEVES HE HAS A GREAT TEMPERAMENT AND HAS RUN A FLAWLESS CAMPAIGN.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CLINTON: A man you can bait with a Tweet is not a man we can trust with nuclear weapons.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STEPHANOPOULOS: She quoted Jackie Kennedy suggesting you're a little man moved by fear and pride.
TRUMP: She's a very dishonest person. I have one of the great temperaments. I have a winning temperament. She has a bad temperament. She's weak. We need a strong temperament and that's all it is, I have a strong temperament. And—
STEPHANOPOULOS: But there are—
TRUMP: —I do know how to win.
STEPHANOPOULOS: —polls do show some concern about this, that—whether you can be trusted with the nuclear codes.
TRUMP: Well, I think that's probably because Hillary, that's all they talk about is temperament. I think I have a great temperament. I beat 16 very talented people in—and I've never done this before. You don't do that with a bad temperament. I'm leading her in the polls, as you probably have noticed. And I think I have a great temperament. I have a temperament where I know how to win. She doesn't know how to win. She's not a winner. She doesn't know how to win.
Honestly, she lies a lot and she really—she should tell the truth. I honestly believe if she told the truth—because she made some reference to my campaigning, I've had a beautiful—I've had a—had a flawless campaign. You'll be writing books about this campaign. And yet she's criticizing my campaign. Now, her campaign, she couldn't beat Bernie, OK?
STEPHANOPOULOS: Well, she did beat him.
TRUMP: Well, barely.
Donald Trump does not have a great temperament. Just for a start, he is deeply unkind. And it's not just that he is a deeply unkind person. It's that he publicly rolls around in his own unkindness like a pig in shit.
The sheer glee at his own cruelty is terrifying. Someone who delights at their capacity to harm cannot be given any position of authority. It would be a grave mistake to ignore that he revels in abuse. Given the power of the office of the presidency, he would be a true villain.
We Are America
[Content Note: Bigotry.]
I've got a new essay up at BNR about the Khans, Donald Trump, and the future of the United States of America:
He claims to have been "viciously attacked," without a trace of irony, by citizens of this country who merely criticized his Islamophobic policies. They have been viciously attacked. By him.Head on over to read the whole thing.
And not just by him: The Khans, like Muslims all over this country, have been repeatedly attacked by Islamophobic non-Muslims, both rhetorically and literally. Hate crimes against Muslims spike dramatically after any violent act committed by a Muslim, as all Muslims are blamed by bigots for the actions of one individual, with no regard for whether those Muslims are among, as examples, the countless Muslim healthcare providers across this country, the owners of a beloved neighborhood business, or the parents of a service member who died for this country.
This nation, as a collective, is not always a friendly place (to put it politely) to its Muslim countrypersons.
As I was thinking about this lamentable reality, and sitting inside the thought of what it means that the Khans, despite this reality, raised a son who was willing to die for this country, and took to the stage at the Democratic convention to declare their deep patriotism, I began to consider the company they were in, in that space.
...That, too, is the story of the Democratic convention. Not just its diversity, and not just its optimism, but the numbers of people who took to the stage on behalf of a hopeful, aspirational, audacious vision for the future of a country that is often not very kind to them.
People who have, truly, been viciously attacked.
People whose communities have been neglected and scapegoated and exploited and over-policed. People whose families have been torn apart by violence and failed policy. People whose identities have been used to marginalize them. People whose lives and voices have been ignored. People who have been targeted by hate crimes and home-grown terrorists. People who have been obliged by systemic oppression to survive every day.
They showed up. They showed up to say, "This is our country, too. We are not other. We are America."
And a related piece from over the weekend: Do Republicans Own the American Flag? "I have spent the last two weeks deeply immersed in first the Republican convention and then the Democratic convention, and I have come away of the firm (and unexpected) opinion that I want Democrats waving the U.S. flag right now and saying: 'We're America—not those white nationalist authoritarian creeps.'"
I hope you enjoy both!
The Virtual Pub Is Open
[Explanations: lol your fat. pathetic anger bread. hey your gay.]
TFIF, Shakers!
Belly up to the bar,
and name your poison!
What Are You Going to Do About It?
[Content Note: Bigotry.]
I've got a new piece up at BNR: "Conservatives Are Despondent About the Republican Party — They Should Be."
They have every reason to lament the state of the Republican Party. After four days immersed in the Republican convention, I was left with a physical, lingering feeling of unease. I was unsettled. These were not people with whom I merely had deep political disagreements, but people who were espousing a vision of and for America that is fundamentally at odds with what most people, of either party, want the country to be.Can you guess what my recommendation is? (I bet you can!) Head on over to read the whole thing.
I am relieved to know that there are conservatives who are just as alarmed as I am; who also watched the Democratic convention and saw how stark the differences between the two parties now are.
But I'm also wondering: What are they going to do about it?
Simply not voting for Donald isn't good enough. It took the Republican Party decades to reach this point – and, let us be perfectly clear: It didn't happen by accident.
...Conservatives who are horrified by this spectacle cannot bury their heads in the sand, nor can they put a bandage on this mess with some sort of half-hearted, ineffectual protest vote for Gary Johnson.
What is required, urgently, is a full-throated repudiation of everything that has happened in this election; a wholesale rejection of Donald and his movement.
The situation is grim. We know it and they know it. Public hand-wringing and a refusal to endorse Donald is aggressively insufficient.
Two-Minute Nostalgia Sublime
Alicia Keys: "Girl on Fire"
This week's TMNS has been brought to you by Hillary's campaign playlist.
Mike Pence Is the Worst
[Content Note: Bigotry.]
I just spent some time tweetstorming about Mike Pence. If you want to read those tweets, I've Storified them for you.
Seriously. He is dreadful. Tell everyone you know he's probably even worse than they imagine.
In the News
My time continues to be tight because of wrapping up convention stuff, so let's continue to crowdsource this! Please feel free to use this thread to share news items of interest you've seen in your travels 'round the web today.
(As always, please be sure to add relevant content notes. Thanks!)
Here are a couple of links of interest:
Appeals Court Strikes Down North Carolina's Voter-ID Law.
FBI Probes Hacking of Democratic Congressional Group. (The DCCC. Yes, a different one from the previous DNC hack.)
[CN: Video may autoplay] Six State Employees Criminally Charged in Flint Water Crisis.
Clinton and Trump Will Soon Receive Classified Briefings; Here's How That Works.
Tim Kaine Clarifies Position on Federal Funding for Abortion; Is 'for the Hyde Amendment'. (Ughhhhh. I don't think this is the final word here. My guess is that it's another "personally feel this way; publicly support this policy" situation.)
Why Will Arnett Is the Anti-Donald Trump That America Needs.
Quote of the Day
.@timkaine says Republican convention was journey through Trump's mind: "That is a very frightening place." https://t.co/VFbuDBRUz8
— ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) July 29, 2016
"The Republican convention was like a twisted and negative tour— It wasn't a tour of this country; it was a journey through Donald Trump's mind. And that is a very frightening place. That is a very frightening place."—Democratic Vice-Presidential nominee Tim Kaine, on the campaign trail.
Daily Dose of Cute
As always, please feel welcome and encouraged to share pix of the fuzzy, feathered, or scaled members of your family in comments.
Meet Hillary Clinton
[Content Note: Misogyny.]
I've got a new essay up at BNR about the Democratic convention and how every speaker was willing and eager to talk about who Hillary Clinton really is, and what that means in the context of decades of narratives about her that have created a caricature we are meant to regard as the "real" Hillary:
It's very common at political conventions to hear from speakers who have benefited from a candidate's policies, but never so many who have been personally helped by the nominee – whether it's Anastasia Somoza, the young disability activist, who has known Hillary since she was 9; or Lauren Manning, the 9/11 survivor who told us of Hillary sitting at her hospital bedside; or the Mothers of the Movement, sharing their painful stories and acknowledging Hillary as the only one who would really listen.Head on over to read the whole thing. It's a long one, so settle in. I hope you'll enjoy it.
Hillary has made a personal impact on an enormous number of people's lives. And they are showing up for her. They are passionate about telling us about the Hillary they know.
They want us to know her character; not the caricature – and they are inviting us, pleading with us, to see past the decades of false narratives, personal attacks, petty demeanments, and straight-up sexism which have been used to try to discredit and destroy her, in order that we might see the real person. The person they know.
...As someone who has long and zealously advocated for letting marginalized people be the authorities on our own lives, to let us tell our own stories and to believe us, there is some bit of aching irony for me that I am now suggesting listening to other people talk about Hillary, to find out who she is.
But there has never been anyone like Hillary before, and no woman in her position. No candidate has been subjected to such a concentrated, sustained campaign to destroy them, both personally and professionally, before they even secured the nomination.
So listen to the people who speak for her. Listen to every marcher in the parade of intelligent, respected, ethical, and trusted people, some of whom are elected politicians and some of whom are private citizens, telling stories about the Hillary they know.
...And then listen even harder to her when she speaks for herself.
Maybe you will hear that Hillary has some policies with which you disagree. Welcome to the club. The argument is not that you should have no differences with Hillary, nor that she is above criticism; the argument is that she is not the sum of those differences.
That is the treatment to which Hillary is subjected against which I'm arguing – this reductive dehumanization the consequence of which is Hillary being defined, only and exclusively, by her perceived flaws.
Her abundant achievements, her many positive qualities, the enthusiasm of her supporters, the admiration and adoration of her friends and colleagues – these have all been systematically disappeared from the public conversation about Hillary.
If you were reduced to only your worst features, only your failures, and those shortcomings magnified alongside misrepresentations and outright lies about you, and your successes and attributes minimized until some of them were virtually invisible, and all of it was broadcast on an impossibly grand scale for decades, do you think that caricature of you would resemble who you actually are?
What would the portrait of your life look like if your triumphs had been excised? Your qualities turned into points of exploitation?
I bet you would hope that people who had seen nothing but that caricature listened to the people who love you. That they would listen to you.
Democratic Convention Day Four Wrap-Up!
That sound you heard last night was the shattering of glass.
I again did some live-tweeting of the primetime speakers, and I've Storified those tweets for anyone who wants to read them.
Here are a few of the pieces we published at BNR last night:
Ginger: Who Runs the World of the Democratic Convention? Black Women.
Me: Wow: Muslim American Offers Donald His Copy of the Constitution.
Susie: Preach: Rev. William Barber Brings Down the House at Dem Convention.
Peter: Awe: Look at the Face of This Woman as Hillary Talks About Making History.
Video Team: [Note: Video may autoplay at link] Jarrett Hill: My American Dream.
Naturally, Hillary Clinton gave a terrific address: Part stump speech, part acceptance speech, part fuck no Trump speech. Below, video of the complete address (and link to transcript):
[Complete transcript available at the Washington Post.]
What can I say? She should be our next president. Not just because Trump is a nightmare human, but because she is the most qualified candidate we've ever had. Ever.
I mostly kept it together through her speech. The moment I just utterly broke down was actually at the very end, when she was standing there on the stage alone in her smart white suit, waving to the crowd, and it struck me: There's a woman standing on the stage, not because she's the wife, but because she's the nominee.
I still can't quite get over it. I hope I never do.
Democratic Convention Day Four Thread
Instead of doing Questions of the Day during the conventions, I'm posting Convention Threads, since the big speeches happen in the evenings, and I thought we might all want a place to discuss.
Here is a partial schedule of speakers for this evening.
But the big speech tonight is, of course, HILLARY CLINTON!
I am aware, as I'm sure most of you are, too, that there are various disruptions planned for her speech. I certainly hope that doesn't happen. I hope that the people who care so much about social justice will consider that they would be disrupting a historic address by the first ever female nominee of a major party, and think about what a truly shitty and ugly and counterproductive thing that would be to do.
"I care about social justice so much that I'm going to disrupt the speech of a historic nominee and ruin a key moment in women's history!"
— Melissa McEwan (@Shakestweetz) July 28, 2016
But just in case they fail to reconsider, here's a piece, for anyone who missed it, on shouting at the convention: "What's All That Shouting at the Democratic Convention?" Which I hope will make you feel a little better, if you're feeling bad about it.
If that doesn't work, maybe this tweet by one of my best friends about the "Fart In" will!
“I sharted myself at the DNC! Take THAT, Establishment!”
— I Must, Yet I Cannot (@SoDevolved) July 13, 2016
Hahahahahahahahahahaha! Let's get ready to CELEBRATE!!! WOO!
I See You, Donald
[Content Note: Misogyny.]
I've got a new piece up at BNR about Donald Trump's condescending admonishment to NBC reporter Katy Tur to "be quiet" when she was trying to do her job by asking him serious questions about his calamitous comments on Russian government hackers, and then his absurd subsequent explanation that those comments were "sarcasm."
Congratulations and gratitude to Tur for her persistence in trying to do her job — and do it well.There is much more at the link, including a Bridesmaids clip, because why not!
Donald's response is, first of all, entirely typical of his hostility toward the press. And, as Politico reports, typical of his hostility toward Tur personally: He has previously called her "not a very good reporter" and "Little Katy, third-rate journalist," her cardinal sin being asking hardball questions in an attempt to hold him accountable.
That is, doing what she is supposed to be doing as a member of the press.
Photo of the Day
I don't even know how to describe how much I love this photo. That is all.
Dear White Lefty Friends Who Are Too Cool For School
Dear White Lefty Friends Who Are Too Cool For School And Keep Sniffing About The Democratic Convention on Facebook:
I get it. Political Parties are Corrupt, We Need Alternatives, Holding Your Nose for Hillary, Yadda. Yadda.
But can you please stop pretending that there is no significant difference between the rhetoric of the Democratic Party and the Republican Party?
Can you please stop with the nonsense that the Democratic National Convention is full of GOP-style “American Exceptionalism”? Because it is not.
Look, stuff like "greatest country in the world" bugs me too. Because I grew up living in two different countries, and even as a child I had a finely tuned nose for the bullshit of “America is the only free country in the woooorld!” and other sentiments fit mainly for Lee Greenwood songs or the garbage bin. (In retrospect, I think it must have been pretty shocking for adults to be asked “What would you call Canada then?” by an 11 year old. Sorry, grade four teachers!)
But let’s talk context here. We are talking about the diversity of the modern Democratic party. These aren’t people who say the Founders are gods, the 1950s were perfect, and we have to “get back” to that perfection.
When someone like Michelle Obama puts it in context [CN: video autoplays at link] that the White House was built by SLAVES and now there is an African-American First Family living in it, that’s not GOP rhetoric. That is acknowledging the racism that literally built our country. While also celebrating that we have come pretty far.
When I see something like Meryl Streep’s speech, and the video that followed [CN: autoplays at link], the one that included explicit references to segregated busing, to the oppression of queer folk…I am seeing something that would emphatically not be found at a GOP convention. It celebrates activists and activism who struggled and sacrificed for greater justice. The rhetoric in that video explicitly acknowledges the US has become a more perfect union, but is not a perfect union yet. It challenges the listener to pick up the legacy of activists and do more…to expect more.
This is not Republican stuff.
Let’s just quote Tim Kaine (and yes, yes, I know how you feel about him, but seriously just think about this):
Thomas declared all men equal, and Abigail remembered the women. Woodrow brokered peace, and Eleanor broke down barriers. Jack told us what to ask, and Lyndon answered the call. Martin had a dream, Cesar y Dolores said si se puede, and Harvey gave his life. Bill bridged a century, and Barack gave us hope.
Do you really think you are going to find that at a GOP convention? None of those people are above criticism, and Kaine isn’t saying that. He’s saying they all contributed something, and, importantly, they’re not ranked. Thomas Jefferson and Martin Luther King get equal weight. So do Eleanor Roosevelt and Cesar Chavez. And he trusts that his audience doesn’t even have to know their last names, that “Harvey” and “Dolores” will be as familiar as “Bill and “Barack.”
If that’s Lee Greenwood –level GOP arglebargle, then I am Abe Lincoln’s tall stovepipe hat.
Look, party conventions aren't academic conferences. Yes, we should be critical, and think critically. Yes, we should be alert to the dangers of nationalism and hyper patriotism. But there is also a time and place for celebration and rousing the troops. And in the end, that’s a big part of what a party convention is all about.
The Democratic Party of the United States is not perfect. It contains people you fundamentally disagree with, it contains people I fundamentally disagree with, above all it is a political party that exists to get shit done. That means it will always have to be less pure than you and I in our ivory towers.
But when you look at the party convention floor and there’s an ocean of faces of so many different colors, and when you hear references to the freedom to love as a fundamental right, and you see the women crying at Hillary Clinton’s nomination, then maybe, just maybe, you could stop complaining for a minute about how both parties are basically alike and how the Democrats “sound just like Republicans.”
Because the Democratic National Convention is evidence that there has been a sea change in where the voting power is in the United States. And that? That is something worth celebrating.
In the News
My time continues to be tight because of convention stuff, so let's continue to crowdsource this! Please feel free to use this thread to share news items of interest you've seen in your travels 'round the web today.
(As always, please be sure to add relevant content notes. Thanks!)
Here are a couple of links of interest:
Clinton Campaign: Trump Needs to Guarantee He Won't Leak Before Getting Briefed.
Trump Said He Would Bring Jobs Back to the Country; He Just Quietly Hired 78 Foreign Workers.
NARAL President Tells Her Abortion Story at the Democratic National Convention.
North Carolina GOP Mistakenly Attacks Kaine for 'Shameful' Marine Pin That Honored His Son.
Chelsea Clinton Blasts the GOP Platform's Support for Gay Conversion Therapy.
Beyoncé Leads MTV's VMAs Pack with 11 Nominations.
