The Divide and Conquer tactics used by the GOP to divide the left.

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divideandconquer

This cartoon clearly shows how Divide and Conquer works.

 

I think my experience as a survivor of narcissistic abuse and my subsequent “crash course” in how this type of abuse works (which is the original reason I started this blog)  is the primary reason I am now so aware of the narcissistic abuse that the Trump administration is inflicting on America and the whole world (and yes, that even includes his supporters, who are codependent to him as they would be to an abusive spouse or parent — or are suffering from Stockholm Syndrome).

One of the Machiavellian tactics used by malignant narcissist Trump and his equally sociopathic regime (and it IS a regime, which is why I call it that)  is Divide and Conquer.  Malignant narcissists and other Dark Triad people use D&C as a way to manipulate and control their marks.  Dividing people works, because it’s easier to take control over them when they are not united as an opposing force because they are too busy fighting each other to see the real danger right in front of them.

There are many examples of Divide and Conquer used by the Trump regime, but some are less obvious than others.  Rallying his supporters to hate journalists and the “fake news,” or using racist dog whistles to rile up his base against “the Other”  are more obvious examples that can be fairly easily detected by anyone who follows the news and is against the Trump regime.

One of the less obvious D&C tactics are insidious ploys to divide “the left.”   I need to mention here that “the left” is no longer limited to latte sipping East Coast intellectuals and artists, socialist Millennials, and pot smoking aging hippies.   It now refers to anyone who is against Trump and his regime.   We are at a point in history where even moderate conservatives who oppose this president (the so called “Never Trumpers”) are now part of “the left.”  George W. Bush could be considered a leftist now — that is how far right the Overton Window has moved in recent years.   But I digress.

In the past few days, I have noticed a smear campaign being used against Democratic Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi.  Liberals and Democrats on Twitter have been arguing and fighting amongst themselves (even blocking other people on the left who otherwise agree with them politically), over whether Nancy Pelosi should keep her job in the House or be replaced with someone younger and “more relevant.”

It turns out this smear campaign was started by the GOP and specifically Trump, who constantly tweets derogatory and inflammatory things about her, knowing she is controversial to people on the left to begin with.   Here is a tweet from the other day that seemed to be the catalyst for the current discord:

Democrats, please do not distance yourselves from Nancy Pelosi. She is a wonderful person whose ideas & policies may be bad, but who should definitely be given a 4th chance. She is trying very hard & has every right to take down the Democrat Party if she has veered too far left!

What he’s doing is taking advantage of the fact Pelosi is already controversial to divide the left even further and create deeper discord and division.  His goal is to provide a distraction from the real damage he and his regime are doing while simultaneously making the left lose focus on who the real enemy here is — and it is not Nancy Pelosi.

This is a sneaky and insidious way to divide (and subsequently conquer) Trump’s enemies and it’s being used because IT WORKS.    It’s so insidious that unless we have received an education in how to spot narcissistic abuse and Machiavellianism, we may not even be aware that we are just marks being used and manipulated by a sociopathic leader for his own benefit.

That Trump is using a common technique known to abusers and malignant narcissists is as obvious to me as the sky is blue, but it may not be so obvious to others not familiar with how narcissistic abuse works.    I recommend people opposed to Donald Trump and his regime read The Sociopath Next Door by Martha Stout.  This blog also features many articles about narcissistic abuse, or if you prefer, just Google “narcissism” or “narcissistic abuse” to find other blogs, articles, and resources about this pervasive problem that begins in families and between individuals and works its dark magic all the way up to our highest world leaders.

14 thoughts on “The Divide and Conquer tactics used by the GOP to divide the left.”

  1. The Far left is trying to take over the Democratic party. You’d be surprised how tey had taken over all the Dem Party fora…… they still bash Hillary Clinton, to this day.

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    • I’m not sure they’re trying to take over, unless they are SO far to the left that the far right (Trumpism) has more in common with them than moderates do. Google “the Horseshoe effect” to explain how that works.
      I may write about it sometime.

      I also think we may need forces moving us farther to the left in order to counteract the national shift to the far right. It may seem extremist, but eventually things balance out and the Overton window is back where it should be (somewhere in the middle). You may be too young to remember, but what passed for the center back in the 50s and 60s would be regarded by most as socialism or at least democratic socialism today (fiscally this is true, socially not as much). A politician advocating for universal healthcare would not have been seen as extremist back then. FDR was all about what is called socialism today, and even certain Republicans (Nixon and Eisenhower) wanted single payer healthcare here.

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  2. Another example was the agitation of the Hillary v Bernie supporters during the 2016 primaries (ably assisted by Russian trolls). His tactics in dealing with foreign allies and trade “deals” shows the D&C thinking also, including his preference for one-on-one negotiations rather than dealing with collectives. There are signs he also does it with his own advisers and department heads, I think mainly to be sure of never being upstaged (why Bannon had to go). It was obvious in The Apprentice that he plays “Let’s you and him fight.” both for control and his own entertainment.

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    • That’s an excellent example of D&C. I actually wrote about the rift here (although at the time I didn’t realize it was a deliberate effort by Russian trolls to divide the left).

      The Bernie vs . Hillary wars must stop.

      I also agree with you Trump always gets rid of anyone he thinks might be upstaging him. I know it must have really rankled to always hear of Steve Bannon be referred to as “President Bannon,” lol!

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      • Oh, yes, the idea that was being bandied about by Bannon that he was calling the shots must have been intolerable. The White House was clearly not big enough for two such personalities. There can be only one spotlight and only one man in it.

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          • It occurred to me that Mr. Bannon is staying far away from Mr. Mueller, perhaps in the vain hope of being forgotten and/or not being available to become one of Trump’s scapegoats when the trouble gets serious.

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            • I also am rather sure that if either Trump or Bannon were to have to consider making a deal with Mueller, either one would throw the other under the bus without a second thought. Of course, that goes just as much for Trump and many of his associates. Loyalty for him is a one way street. If Paul Manafort is convicted in the current trial, he may finally be ready to flip before the second trial if it looks like he will otherwise spend the rest of his life in prison, especially if whoever is paying his legal bills decides he is a lost cause.

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            • None of these people have any real loyalty to each other and any of them will throw anyone else under the bus to save themselves. These are people who care only about themselves and have no empathy for others, which means any loyalty is based on fear (blackmail) and/or bribery. I am certain Putin has Kompromat on them all. Soon we’ll know the whole truth!

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  4. Sure Trumpers are always calling Democrats “extreme lefties” but it’s Bullshit. You know what the real far left is doing? They are not voting Democratic because Democrats support capitalism. They even don’t like Bernie Sanders because he’s not socialist enough for the likes of them. And they sound just like Republicans when they use words like “Killery.” As for Pelosi, I would support a new majority leader if we could get a more progressive one.

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    • I would prefer someone other than Nancy Pelosi too, but attacking her is stupid because she isn’t the enemy to us, even if you don’t care for her style or specific platform or whatever.

      Totally agree that the far left won’t be voting and actually helped Trump win by voting for the third party candidate (Jill Stein) in 2016. When democracy itself is at stake, if you vote for a third party candidate, you are part of the problem.

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