"You only hate Obama because he's black"

[KevinM1]

And that's one of the big problems with our two party, winner take all system.  We're seeing how easy it is for someone charismatic to step up, feed off of people's fear largely borne of ignorance, and intensify that fear, creating a feedback loop.  

Now, it's not all Trump, but this is the culmination of the Tea Party movement.  Ignorance is championed.  Hate is fuel.  Fear must be obliterated rather than understood.  Bravado above all else.  The only thing missing is a trend to evangelicalism, and, well, that's what Cruz is for.

At least the Germans had crippling post-war poverty to blame for wanting to listen to a person who had easy answers.  What's our excuse?

"At least" what the fuck kind of argument is that? So because we were and are not as bad off as Germans were, that excuses Trump's xenophobic bullshit?

Uh, no.  What I'm saying is that the rise of Hitler makes (terrible) sense when you look at that point of German history.  They were in a position that seemed hopeless, and a monster capitalized on it.  He gave them a convenient enemy, played into their racism and fear and national pride (which had been bruised because of the previous World War and their crumbling economy), and rose to power because of it.

Trump is different in that he's capitalizing on the same things which we, naively, thought were only in the minds of a small minority.  It turns out we were wrong, and it's even more scary because our economy isn't in shambles and any bruised national pride comes from people like him who have embroiled us in endless war, plus our new modern obsession with drone warfare.

It's not that anything excuses Trump (I seriously don't understand how you came to that conclusion with what I wrote), it's that Trump's rise to power is more frightening because a lot of the environmental things that usually produces fascist wannabe dictators aren't present here.  

No, that is just another bullshit excuse the rich make to justify a race to the bottom so they can maximize profits on cheap labor.

No we are most certainly NOT Germany, which is why that asshole Trump should not be demonizing Mexicans or Muslims as if they were Jews.

Yes our poor SHOULD have it better, we are the richest nation in the world, so there is no excuse for lack of livable wages. And if the assholes on the economic right would do the right thing and pay livable wages they would find that would create that "less dependency" they all claim we should be.

NOW economics in our species history always leads to unrest just like stretching a rubber band too far, it will break. Now when that unrest happens, we see our species over correct in the opposite direction. The issue is not no rules or nanny state,  that is a bullshit argument. The issue is abuse of power. And any system you set up can be manipulated regardless. 

MONOPOLIES OF POWER can take place in political ideology, religious ideology, economic ideology and class ideology or a combo of those. But there is still NOT ONE government on the face of the planet, friend or foe, that does not invest in the global market. NOT ONE.

Far too many libertarians and republicans have been sold the bullshit idea that "capitalism" is a form of government and it is not. China allows western business and it's one party dictatorship keeps it's power by allowing western businesses. The Saudi Royal family owns oil companies and invests in banks and weapons. Gadaffi was a billionaire that owned stock in GE.

NOW liberals are not communists nor do we want Stalin's Russia. But it still remains that worker pay is not keeping up with the cost of living. PERIOD.

We do have a plutocracy and it does not require a one party state or a family dictatorship to happen. MONOPOLY OF POWER is the issue.

You'll get no argument from me on any of this, especially the fetishization of the 'free market'.  History has shown what happens in a free market - monopolization, stratification, brutality.  There's a reason why we've fought (and continue to fight) for things like:

Safe working conditions
Work breaks
A maximum number of hours one can work
Elimination of child labor
Etc.

What I want is what we're supposed to have:

A minimum wage that is a living wage, like it was intended to be
Corporations paying their employees a living wage
Corporations paying their fair share of taxes
Renewed emphasis on science, especially on renewable energy
Improvements on our aging infrastructure
Etc.

Unfortunately, with Clinton sweeping 5 states yesterday, it looks like the choice is between the status quo and a new reich.