One of the political themes that has fascinated me is the convergence of far left and far right opinion. We saw in the primaries that many Bernie supporters shared the same basic concerns as Trump supporters, even if the thought of supporting a republican was unthinkable to them. Similarly, we see the black nationalist "hotep" movement openly advocating alliance with the alt right.
This article is a pretty good examination of this phenomenon from the perspective of an apparently non-crazy progressive.
She makes the point that the decision whether or not to prosecute Julian Assange will likely be a make or break issue for Trump and his alt right supporters. Assange is the Deep State's number one enemy, as he has repeatedly embarrassed them and in the process, assumed cult hero status among groups like 4chan.
Trump's dizzying move from non-interventionist to neo-con has already alarmed supporters. His seeming willingness to use trade reform as a bargaining chip to enlist China's help with North Korea is perhaps understandable, but it undermines another key campaign issue. He appears to be holding fairly strong on immigration, his other signature issue.
Assange admittedly presents a difficult issue. He did publish secret documents that probably hurt national security. So did the NYTimes and WashPost and no one is prosecuting them. Assange also exposed the lies told to congress by the head of national security. Not coincidentally Wikileaks published the leaked DNC and Podesta files that exposed corruption in the democrat party and sickening toadying by the mainstream media.
Underestimating Trump is dangerous. He may be using Assange as leverage or as a bargaining chip with the Deep State. "Bring me the leakers and people who spied on my campaign and I'll give you Assange." And they could always let Assange off with a slap on the wrist.
It seems very wrong however. Why alienate your most ardent supporters? A little gratitude would not be out of place either.
This article is a pretty good examination of this phenomenon from the perspective of an apparently non-crazy progressive.
She makes the point that the decision whether or not to prosecute Julian Assange will likely be a make or break issue for Trump and his alt right supporters. Assange is the Deep State's number one enemy, as he has repeatedly embarrassed them and in the process, assumed cult hero status among groups like 4chan.
Trump's dizzying move from non-interventionist to neo-con has already alarmed supporters. His seeming willingness to use trade reform as a bargaining chip to enlist China's help with North Korea is perhaps understandable, but it undermines another key campaign issue. He appears to be holding fairly strong on immigration, his other signature issue.
Assange admittedly presents a difficult issue. He did publish secret documents that probably hurt national security. So did the NYTimes and WashPost and no one is prosecuting them. Assange also exposed the lies told to congress by the head of national security. Not coincidentally Wikileaks published the leaked DNC and Podesta files that exposed corruption in the democrat party and sickening toadying by the mainstream media.
Underestimating Trump is dangerous. He may be using Assange as leverage or as a bargaining chip with the Deep State. "Bring me the leakers and people who spied on my campaign and I'll give you Assange." And they could always let Assange off with a slap on the wrist.
It seems very wrong however. Why alienate your most ardent supporters? A little gratitude would not be out of place either.
