Nope, doesn’t sound like it. I found the original story:
I hear ya. And I know they will look and they will try. But I’m banking on the fact that there’s no one exactly like thump. No one who might run for President who is a grandstanding, opportunistic bottom-feeder without one shred of character or self-awareness, a narcissistic liar who is utterly shameless in the sense that he does and says exactly what he wants with only one thought: how will it make him look. Thump is a very special person. I don’t think the confluence of events that made him President is exactly replicable. God, I hope not.
To refer to something I posted recently:
I can only think of two people who fit that description as closely as thump: Putin and Kim Jong-un. So far they aren’t eligible to run.
I guess what I’m saying is, as hard as it is to believe, the next stooge of the billionaire class might actually be worse than Trump. It’s hard to believe because Trump is such an utter buffoon, but it’s important to recognize that Trump is the symptom of what’s wrong with American politics - he’s not the disease, but the symptom of the disease that’s been slowly getting worse for the past few decades. And that disease is the lack of balance between the mega-rich and the rest of us.
I know I’ve probably tossed out my share of comparisons to Nazi Germany, and there are indeed some parallels. But in some ways, our current mess is akin to the collapse of Rome, which took place not at once, but over a span of time. The inequality of the classes was a feature of Rome. Much of what the Founding Fathers of our country placed into the machinery of our own Constitution was influenced by the cautionary tale of Rome. And yet here we are.
Not to mention someone who, in addition to having all of these very special qualities, has the TV reality star charisma that will attract and hold the adulation of angry, lost people who need a demagogue* to stand at a podium and spew the bullshit they want to shout at society without a speck of awareness regarding the consequences.
A unique collection of events has come together to give us president thump. Not saying we couldn’t elect another demagogue, but it wouldn’t be exactly like The Donald. Unfortunately, it would likely be someone smarter and more subtle. And yes, the billionaires will look for someone like that. I hope we’ve learned something from this debacle.
[* a political leader who seeks support by appealing to popular desires and prejudices rather than by using rational argument.]
ETA: You’re right, of course. References to Nazi Germany and Rome are not inappropriate. The USA’s time of greatness is probably over. Let’s just not go down in flames if possible.
And an interesting take on the GOP symbol. (Because he can!)
Maybe the silver lining is that Trump is such a nitwit, that he has inoculated us against the next person who does this, but competently. Depends on how we deal with it.
Our last President actually did care about the people of this country and the world. And worked his ass of trying to make things better. It’s hard to understand why trump supporters support a man that will actually make things WORSE for them. I guess xenophobia, racism and bigotry are powerful motivators. trump has turned over every rock and now these assholes/trump supporters THINK they will be better off. When the opposite is true.
I have not read much about Rome, but do follow history. Half of what I read is historical. I need to dig into that time period. Any recommendations?
Caligula did nothing wrong!
They even made a movie about him!
It’s been a while since I’ve read about the economic and power dynamics of Rome, but I think Ian Morris discusses some of the factors behind Rome’s decline. He does so not so much as a “Romanologist” but more so from the perspective of studying the rise and fall of political powers. If you want some general writings and scholarly work on corruption, authoritarianism, etc, then there’s Tim Snyder who’s become somewhat of a rock star lately.
Thanks. I’m now reading a book about the Italian resistance of the Nazi occupation of Italy in WWII. It was written about real accounts of a 17yo boy that got caught up in a real mess, and ended up joining the Nazis as a way to be prevented to be cannon fodder on the eastern front (at his parents insistence). He ends up a spy for the Allies. A driver for one of the most important Nazis in Italy at the time.
Beneath a Scarlet Sky - Mark T. Sullivan. [sub]sorry for hijack.[/sub]
God…I have to admit that I didn’t even notice that until I looked back on it in response to your post!
Neither did I – that’s hilarious!! Thanks for bringing it to my attention, bobot. 
Unfair! Fake history! Make Rome great again! 
Loving the current cover of The Week magazine. It shows “Trump’s Truthers” in their tinfoil hats.
Nice! (Though for verisimilitude, there should have been some misspellings on that chart, surely.)
Lawyers Urge Trump to Refuse Interview With Mueller
How the hell is that going to look?
Yeah, let’s drag this out longer.
IOW their client is too stupid to keep from stepping on his dick in such an interview. I’d agree with this.
Thump doesn’t take advice from anyone, so he’ll probably do it anyway.
Or to paraphrase only slightly: “His lawyers are concerned that the president, who has a history of lying to investigators, could be charged with lying to investigators.”
Fascinating and unexpected that the House Intelligence Committee voted to send the Democratic counter-memo to the White House for review and release. The White House now has to decide whether to release something that will expose the Republican memo as a fraud and a sham and not the TOTAL VINDICATION that Trump said it was; or look like hypocritical whiny little bitches. I’m going with (b).
As someone said elsewhere a few days ago;
“Republicans keep stepping on their dicks and insisting they got laid.”
Bizarre. Why are Democrats acting like the rules matter to Republicans? They should go for (c), deliver their counter-memo directly to the press.