4-D Chess: Charlottesville The other day Ben Shapiro was explaining that it was a major political mistake for President Trump to keep bringing the conversation back to Charlottesville. He mentioned that Trump already got past the issue and keeps returning the conversation to it by relitigating it. This shows that while Ben is able to defend principles on the right well he has very little political instinct. There is a reason that President Trump wants these events in the news. The more this is in the news the more exposure groups like Anti-fa get to mainstream Americans. It would not be a surprise to anyone to see that before these events very few people knew they existed. The mistake Ben and the media on the left make is that they assume people will view the events of Charlottesville in isolation. The CNN panel with the Trump supporters the other day got heated when the supporters said they did not have a problem with the response of Trump to Charlottesville. They specifically cited violence in other places where Anti-fa was involved while the moderator kept trying to limit the conversation to the events of that day. The mistake that Shapiro and the liberal media both make is that people do not look at these events in isolation. When they look at the KKK and neo-nazis they remember their history. When they look up Anti-fa they will see everything they participated in. From the riots in Illinois that prevented a Trump rally in the primaries to blocking Ben Shapiro from giving his speech in Berkeley. They may even see the rally in California where they used pepper spray on the child of a Trump supporter.* Democrats Every single Republican has denounced the KKK and Anti-fa. In contrast most major Democrats have defended the actions of Anti-fa. The longer Anti-fa is in the news the more Democrat politicians have to defend them. The Republicans are actively dissociating itself from extremists on the right while the Democrats are embracing them. It is important to note that the only reason Democrats are forced to defend Anti-fa because Trump has taken a stance that both sides are to blame for the violence. If they were to condemn Anti-fa then they would be in agreement with Trump and that is something they cannot do. In short this issue forces the Democrats to tie themselves with Anti-fa. I would wager that most mainstream Americans would be horrified at their antics. Republicans For Republicans the issue is very similar. Anti-fa has attempted to shut down free speech on the right many times. Charlottesville is only the most famous attempt and the one the media will focus on the most because they were up against identifiable neo-nazis. Republican politicians have a choice. They can either side with Trump and condemn the organization that have been targeting every gathering of conservatives with violence or side with the left in defending Anti-fa. Even silence will be taken as a stance for Anti-fa as it is the Republican voter that they have been going after.* In essence the Republican establishment have been given a chance to defend their base from those wanting to restrict their right to free speech or not. Come primary time who do you think the voters will side with? Misconception Shapiro and the mainstream media can never understand Trump because in their mind he is nothing more than a buffoon who got lucky by beating Clinton. Suppose Shapiro was advising Trump during this period of time and his advice was taken. Trump condemns the KKK and Neo-Nazis exclusively and keeps silent about Anti-fa. At worse the media would still have blamed Trump for having emboldened them just by his very existence and at best we would have the status quo maintained. Instead because of his response we are now in a situation where the left is being forced to tie their brand closer to their very worst members every day.
Then why do even people like Romney feel compelled to speak out against Trump. Good people don't march with nazis. Is that too complicated for you?
Meh Trump keeps bringing it back up as a distraction. If there is one thing he is good at it is creating distractions. It was how he got the nomination and the presidency. They used to call it smoke and mirrors, but Donnie done took a flame thrower to the fun house. Either way, presidents come and Presidents go. Unless you are dependent on the government or a political party for your paycheck, not much of it truly matters.
Noam Chomsky was able to describe what's now going on. The smart way to keep people passive and obedient is to strictly limit the spectrum of acceptable opinion, but allow very lively debate within that spectrum, even encourage the more critical and dissident views. That gives people the sense that there's free thinking going on, while all the time the presuppositions of the system are being reinforced by the limits put on the range of the debate. The left is playing this game very, very well.
Donald Trump keeps bringing it up because he played to his base one time too often, and he lost the media narrative. So he (falsely) attacked the media for reporting his remarks accurately and tried to rewrite his own words. Any child who tells a lie and gets caught quickly learns that their credibility is not enhanced by belaboring the point. It only makes you look like a loser. And Trump played the loser in Phoenix. I fully expect him to keep this up, too. Trump can't admit a mistake, ever. He doesn't have the judgement to shut up and let self inflicted wounds heal. Not to his adoring audience. But to the world. He looked like he is. Weak and petulant.
I am not aware that Democrats have defended Antifa. Nor am I a aware taht Antifa is even important. There is no formal organization by that name. The non existant movement has no leaders. The people in Charlottesville who protested the Nazi and right wing thugs who showed up were not organized or led by Antifa. But out there in Limbaughlooneyland, the narrative is the Trump "both sides" falsehood. Good luck with that. As Mr Trump seems not to understand, this narrative only plays in right wing talk radio. Donald Trump played the the prejudices of the angry white man and is still doing it. The dregs of the angry white man world felt empowered by Trump's dog whistles. All you have to do is listen to them. By continuing to try and justify his behavior and lie about it, Trump makes himself look like a loser. Which is what he always was.
