House Majority Whip shot at congressional baseball field

[Dill]

(06-15-2017, 02:37 PM)Benton Wrote: Agreed, but the problem is, Trump showed it worked. Be hateful. Advocate violence. Mock your foes and those not in the majority. Go to that extreme, and you win.

He ran up until the very end on a platform calling for extremism. It's fair to ask those who oppose those views not to advocate the same things, but it's also understandable why they wouldn't want to. Doing so presumably loses more ground in Congress and — in three years — the White House. Representation and policy making shrink for one side, those concerned will do what has been shown to be effective.

We've moved to a culture where being a good person isn't regarded or worth as much as being the winner.

Yes, Trump did that. Not the other Republican nominees; not Hillary and Bernie. And a segment of the electorate responded to the extreme rhetoric or thought it negligible enough to look past. Now Trump does it from the highest position of leadership in that party, setting the standards/incentives (and disincentives) for success within his party.

If I understand you correctly, Democrats looking for success may have to incorporate Trump-style extremism into their campaigns as well. I am not sure this will work so well on that side of the aisle, though.  I think someone who runs as a Democrat for any office anywhere will lose votes by promising to pay legal fees for supporters who use violence against hecklers.

I too deplore where the culture has moved.