I ran into this little video clip, where comedian Bill Maher and former Trump campaign manager Steve Bannon have a makeshift debate on Maher's show.
This was interesting. Admittedly, I was a bit surprised to find myself agreeing with Bannon at times, as he made good points, particularly regarding how the Democratic party was essentially shooting itself in the foot by trying to stifle any momentum by Bernie Sanders and his supporters. He said, again with accuracy, that while this was actually hurting the Democrats, the mainstreamers in that party were too arrogant and had too much of a sense of entitlement to see it.
Bannon is a much brighter man than the one he helped put into the Oval Office. Agree or disagree with him, it is clear that he can actually hold his own in a rational debate, that he makes points and counters points made by others.
All that said, however, it is hard to believe that such a man would have been the architect of such a disastrous man like Trump ascending to the presidency, or that he has his thumbprint on many "news stories" of dubious repute, quite a few of which seem to have a decided white supremacist (often referred to these days as white nationalist) bent to them. Maybe that explains it.
It goes without saying that intelligence and an ability to articulate one's ideas and even vision capably automatically lends credence to the viewpoint being forwarded. Whatever points Bannon makes here are, to me, undermined by his own shady history, and by his uncritical support of everything that Trump does while in the White House. Also, frankly, those tiresome and repetitive arguments about how much tax breaks will generate enough money to pay for the money added to our national debts have not born fruit for the past four decades now, as the national debt just keeps growing and growing and spiraling out of control, while Trump's budget deficit is astonishingly high. Those same arguments that Bannon is making were the economic policy in this country back in the so-called "Roaring Twenties," a time of seeming economic boom in this country. But everyone remembers what happened in 1929, and the Great Depression that followed, right?
Those who subscribe to this theory of trickle-down economics are either ignorant of this past (and that seems unlikely with Bannon, although not so much with many Republicans and particularly with Trump supporters), or are very self-serving and, frankly, selfish to the point of being detrimental to this country. It seems obvious that we need to remind people that we already fought these battles, much like we fought literal wars against different version of white supremacy. This is basic history, and anyone who claims to truly be patriotic should know this history.
In any case, here is the video below. It is roughly 12 minutes, but it is interesting and worth watching. Take a look:
Bannon is a much brighter man than the one he helped put into the Oval Office. Agree or disagree with him, it is clear that he can actually hold his own in a rational debate, that he makes points and counters points made by others.
All that said, however, it is hard to believe that such a man would have been the architect of such a disastrous man like Trump ascending to the presidency, or that he has his thumbprint on many "news stories" of dubious repute, quite a few of which seem to have a decided white supremacist (often referred to these days as white nationalist) bent to them. Maybe that explains it.
It goes without saying that intelligence and an ability to articulate one's ideas and even vision capably automatically lends credence to the viewpoint being forwarded. Whatever points Bannon makes here are, to me, undermined by his own shady history, and by his uncritical support of everything that Trump does while in the White House. Also, frankly, those tiresome and repetitive arguments about how much tax breaks will generate enough money to pay for the money added to our national debts have not born fruit for the past four decades now, as the national debt just keeps growing and growing and spiraling out of control, while Trump's budget deficit is astonishingly high. Those same arguments that Bannon is making were the economic policy in this country back in the so-called "Roaring Twenties," a time of seeming economic boom in this country. But everyone remembers what happened in 1929, and the Great Depression that followed, right?
Those who subscribe to this theory of trickle-down economics are either ignorant of this past (and that seems unlikely with Bannon, although not so much with many Republicans and particularly with Trump supporters), or are very self-serving and, frankly, selfish to the point of being detrimental to this country. It seems obvious that we need to remind people that we already fought these battles, much like we fought literal wars against different version of white supremacy. This is basic history, and anyone who claims to truly be patriotic should know this history.
In any case, here is the video below. It is roughly 12 minutes, but it is interesting and worth watching. Take a look:
Steve Bannon and Bill Maher Go Head-to-Head | Real Time (HBO)
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