Ramaswamy was on MSNBC yesterday with Andrea Mitchel and I was sickened that even Fascist Republicans could stand to listen to his total stupidity, arrogance,rudeness,disrespect, and complete incompetence to run for any office.
I do believe Robert Reich’s article clearly explains what Ramaswamy game plan he is following!
Once again, just like Fascist DeSantis, is this type of Americans that are coming out of Ivy League schools today?
I’m beginning to not want to turn on the news due to the traitor trump indictments, the lying non productive Fascist Republican Congress, and the Republican candidates!
If a Democrat or normal American had all these indictments against them, threatened judges, Special Counsel, Prosecutors, jurors, grand jurors, etc., they would be sitting in jail!
This Republican dweeb is a Trump kissing freak. He wants the VP position under Trump hoping the fool will find a medical reason to leave office and make Ramaswamy our President. How stupid can you be. His entire philosophy is to echo everything Trump supports in hopes of luring Donnie's base over to his side.
Don: Don't think the trumpster would want a thinner younger brasher naturally suntanned version of himself as veep. Not betting on that combo. Plus he's gotta choose a running mate he thinks he can dominate. I say it's gotta be a female.
dnkarr--I agree with you. I think Lake was a shoe in until she lost in her election bid, and we all know how much Donnie Boy hates losers. MTG I'm sure has caught his eye. Nikki Haley might be considered but lately she has presented herself as a less than candidate. Boebert is out there but even Trump isn't that stupid.
However when he ‘jumped’ on Al Sharpton he elicited the best detailed explanation I had heard from Al why he was the most experienced person in the debate to be president. So, Ramaswamy’s debate tool of provocation was very fruitful. Whether that was his intention or not.
Legacy admissions & a mirror of inequality at its worst; aside from suggesting education as a public good (i.e. by contrast), what good does it do? (Are the outputs of Ivy League schools really representative of America? How so?)
I'm leaning toward the idea that many of the most arrogant, privileged, entitled, unethical brats who graduate from Ivy League colleges were already so inclined, just from their upbringing. Generally speaking, most colleges--including Ivy League colleges--turn out many more kids who go on to prove that they did indeed earn their education.
Unfortunately, too many of the privileged ones brought their elite arrogance to college with them along with their assumption that they are OWED a high position in business and politics. Don't blame college for turning them into unbearably entitled fools (although, the legacy system CAN be blamed for admitting them in the first place).
TL, I think you are right about folks like DeSantis and Ramaswamy being their pathetic selves before entering university, but you are also right about legacy admissions enhancing their belief that they are better than everyone else and deserve whatever they decide they want, even if it includes being president. I would tell Ramaswamy he should go home and grow up, but alas, he thinks he is grown, the way Republicans harbor so many toddler-adults. Yo America, that does not mean we have to elect them to office. Money does not buy caring, kind, decent people. It often gets us just the opposite, whiney, privileged, self-indulgent, as well as self-absorbed child-adults who care only for the applause their smart-ass comments get. Media loves them, but I think the media would do better covering actual children who know how to play together, take care of each other, and are still creative. I am guessing the media will not find those kids in the rich neighborhoods but in the public park and public school playgrounds. Go there and skip the Trumps, DeSantises, Ramaswamys, and the toddler caucus in the House. It would provide far more interesting stories.
It's a systemic problem: privilege fortifies corruption - and demoralizes in the process (because it does so under the guise of merit); the resultant inequality leads to a lack of income mobility - and robs American democracy of its quintessential character.
Absolutely! I have seen the fiction of meritocracy used in many high profile jobs to promote someone with the right pedigree and practically no employable skills.
Read the NYT article on DeSantis’ short stint as a history teacher at a private school in Georgia between his Yale and Harvard years. a number of them viewed him as arrogant and very conservative (even reactionary) on issues like the cause of the Civil War (economic rather than slavery) and abortion.
Fascist DeSantis is a devil no matter where he originated! Fascist DeSantis is ruling Florida with his radical right wing white Nationalist fake Christian GOP super majority Legislators as an autocracy! Floridians have 3 more years of this Nazi! I hope he does not get the nomination. He will run for the Senate where he can be protected from his illegal acts, lack of transparency, all his hate,anger, bigotry, racism, and homophobia, where he can gain more personal power and personal financial wealth.
I wouldn’t throw out all the Ivy Leaguers as though they were a monolith. But the NETWORKING that goes on among the most “well-connected” of them brings us to where we are.
Prof. Reich is, I think, a highly principled and rational person, with the common good as one of his highest ideals. He’s an Ivy Leaguer.
He also profited from knowing powerful people he went to school with.
Our problem is not Ivy Leauge schools, per se, but legacy admissions are most certainly a factor …
Pat, that's it! You've got it. We really must judge people by their words and actions, not by the school they attend or the money their family has accumulated. Our nation's businesses and other institutions depend too much on the Ivy League schools for their leadership as though coming from one of those and a few others counts for something. It might for some people in the sciences and research, but perhaps not so much in other fields. If one thinks they will get a job when they graduate, it changes not only how hard one works, but on what. With so many child-men and some child-women coming from the Ivy Leagues plus lately, those institutions should step back and look at what they are offering their students and why so many of them are like Trump, DeSantis, Ramaswamy, Musk, and the rest of that crowd.
The people themselves are a symptom of the problem; the problem is the system (because it is corrupt - which makes a bad problem of inequality that much worse).
Ruth, I agree. Judge by words, actions and in particular what bills do they support, what bills have they introduced, who are their "friends?" Who do they have a tendency to be seen with? I mean when you see a representative from your own state with a neo Nazi from the Aryan Freedom Network, that should be a warning... not just to democrats but to all regardless of political party, who are for the common good! Pay attention....
I comment about an Ivy League Education because I value it so highly! I am probably naïve to believe that having the privilege to attend these colleges should create individuals who graduate and bring to this great country and ALL Americans their Ivy League education and knowledge as Robert Reich would say “for the greater good”!
I would like to know what the hell the Ivy Leagues are doing, letting loose this endless stream of snide, seemingly well-spoken unabashed fascists on the American people. Is this their idea of a good education!!! What are their standards of admission? I'm talking about Tom Cotton, Josh Hawley, Ted Cruz, de Santis, Ben Sasse. . . .
To fully understand that question we would need to know the qualities of the professors at these schools. Is it possible that they have begun to lean to the right politically?
There are a couple "trains of thought" in law school- a conservative, libertarian thought (it is all about individual liberty/freedom- if we allow federal programs that impedes upon our individual freedom to do the BEST we can) or the social justice- for the common good thought (taxes to help so all can have healthcare, get an education- hence public education, safe work environment, roads etc). I would say the conservative leaning ones stood by all the libertarian courses primarily and the democrats/progressives stood by the more "woke" social justice- for the common good classes....
Some Ivy Leaguers such as Ketanji Brown Jackson are grounded in the realities of America. Unfortunately, she appears to be more the exception than the rule.
Perhaps there should be a public service requirement for any Ivy League graduate wanting high office?
I'm honestly surprised that those drooling, uneducated Trumplicans SUPPORT someone who WENT to an Ivy League school! Nevermind the fact that >GASP!!!< HE'S NOT WHITE!!!
Daniel, they needed a token or two and I think they are getting worried about Clarence Thomas and Nikki Haley is a woman (god forbid). They are OK with an Indian-American who spouts crap like a white supremacist, male jerk. That's what they like and want. DeSantis can't manage being with people, so Ramaswamy is next best a guy who will never match Trump, but he doesn't have to. He just has to be a white wannabee who can race-trash and fearmonger with the best of them (or worst of them). Oh yes, and Republicans love child-adults in office so they can manipulate them with ease. It's scary.
Rishi, I was going to mark "like" but that would have been incorrect, "love it" You have him and his crew down. I hadn't thought of banana or Twinkie before, but they fit, especially Twinkie, sickeningly sweet with nothing of value in it. OK, I still like them, but not people who are Twinkies. It seems to me people of all minorities have worked too hard to make a life in a racist, misogynistic society they don't need Twinkies letting already-scared white people believe that is who people of color are in general. Ramaswamy is a privileged toddler who thinks he is better than anyone else and has to answer to no one. The media needs to bring that out about him as an individual, not representing anything but the Republican Party and himself.
Let's hope populism has already run its ugly course - or, at least, gone out of fashion (the process could use more salient debate about public policy)...
Sandra, you mentioned MSNBC and which alludes to the issue of the use of mainstream media in politics. Mainstream media is owned by large profit oriented corporations and they have increasing control over what is presented as "news". News must now bring the highest ratings to attract the highest paying advertisers. So the owners of these mega corporations now call the shots. CNN's debacle with Trump is a good example of this. Fox News is owned by Rupert Murdock and we have witnessed where that goes. Ramaswamy recognizes he can get a news channel high ratings and more $$$ the more outrageous he is so the "News" eats his outrageous statements up.
Beginner, that shows you do not watch MSNBC. It is nothing at all like Fox or any of the right-wing media. They clearly have a slant progressive, but they are not hateful about it. They report facts, and they do offer to give Republicans/conservatives a say. Most don't go there because they are not too friendly with facts. Also MSNBC interviewers know their subjects and acknowledge when they don't. They will expect reasonable answers which is probably why Ramaswamy will never show up on MSNBC, or if he agrees to go on once, he will not return. He is a complex of 3-word phrases, nonsense statements he never is asked to back up, and blather or malarky as President Biden would call it.
Where did you see that, Beginner Buddhist? Are you suggesting that Chevron is rabid left? What does that mean anyway? Corporations fuel all commercial media. Without sponsors they go out of business. MSNBC isn't exactly obscure irl or online. Thousands of.RR readers watch it every day. So can you. I suggest experiencing it first-hand before you again repeat something that sounds like a bot wrote it. Or are you a bot?
Think what y'all want, but the expression on Mc Connells face in his freeze-up today was >fear.< I think there's more to his "falls" and freeze-ups than meets the eye. He was >definitely< not the frail old man looking kind of guy he appears to be now, before that first fall. I'm wondering if someone indicated to him he shouldn't run again. He's definitely rained on that MAGA parade from time to time, and he wasn't having that kind of problem answering that kind of question prior to his first fall. Just sayin'. Then again, maybe I've just gotten all spooky in the midst of the Machiavellian MAGA allegations and machinations.
Andrea Mitchell should have retired years ago. She is a classic example of the old school "journalist" that shy away from confrontation, and thus don't challenge. Ramaswamy ran all over her and she let him. Why did she even bring him on. She's currently out of her league with the shamless "in your face" Republicans of today. Joy Reid never would have let that jerk push her around.
Mitchell did exactly what she aimed to do: She let Vivek drop his drawers and expose himself to anyone who chose to watch. I had to tune out. Mission accomplished.
Yes, I am totally with you. Sickening garbage from Republican idiots permeating the mainstream news every day is almost more than one can handle. I also agree with you when you said that if a Dem had done any of this criminal bullsh*t, the Republican party would have gone apesh*t(pardon my French here). It is totally infuriating that Trump is allowed to run again for POTUS and is the R front runner, to boot. I think a lot of this country has had it up to here with all of this ridiculous, seditious pandering. Heather Cox Richardson said yesterday on her Facebook live commentary that Rs throw out"smokescreens of crap" to cover and confuse. I think she is on to something as a lot of us are.
Yes, the media is sickeningly wimpy. I'm a former newspaper reporter and shocked at the lack of courageous, investigative journalism, across the board.
When I said "across the board," I meant mainstream (corporate) media. There are a few brave journalists like independent Amy Goodman, and even some able reporters on the staff of major newspapers. But overall, there's a gaping hole in coverage, and the infuriating "he said, she said" kind of thing, that passes for "balance" but isn't.
Democracy Now! is a good place to start. Ever hear of ProPublica? The New Yorker? The mindless kneejerk media-bashing around here by people too incurious to explore reminds me of the small-town mental stagnation that forced me to move to the big city.
Sorry. Don't agree. I live in a vibrant, progressive small town. I stand by my criticism of the media. There are exceptions of course. Yes, I've known New Yorker staff personally. I know ProPublica. Newspapers in general have been circling the drain. Given the corporate takeover of local papers, the downsizing of staff, the erosion of the wall between editorial and adverrtising, it's a trainwreck.
Not just wimpy, but shoddy in researching and more interested in $$$ and deadlines (and playing what sells to their target audience) than doing the painstaking research to tell the whole story. This can apply to liberal-minded reporting as well. For instance, NYT posted an article that is climate change related on fish die-back on the Cowichan River (today’s edition). The article is lengthy and blames the huge die-off of fish there on climate change. Yet research is still underway there to determine what caused it. There is more than one possible cause, and the results won’t be in for 6 months or so. Yet, the reporter evidently based his conclusion on the words of an environmentalist
who has lived and worked in the area for many years. Why not wait until the results are in? Most likely because such reporting is deemed to meet the target audience. I enjoyed reading the article by the way, and there is a good chance that the forgone conclusion is correct. Nevertheless, a good reporter would have waited for the whole story.
Daniel Soloman, good questions and motive. Someone did ask him why he is running against the "other guy" and he that,, because he thinks he can take what the former guy accomplished even further.
😱 Dear God in Heaven...NO, no, no nada, nyet, nay, nope. RamaSmarmy is definitely NOT what this country needs! Maybe the media is in love with their shiny new plaything, but hopefully the unrelenting glare of publicity will eventually reveal something that will abruptly end the media infatuation with this overly ambitious, arrogant little know-nothing.
M Tree, Yeah, Ramaswamy said he was running because he could take what Trump did further. Trump did a lot of dividing, a lot of hating, a lot of hurting innocent people and blaming folks for things he himself did. Oh yeah, we need more of that!
Nah...Would like to see him get out of politics, however. Let him go join the family business and suck up more superfunds for their careless disregard of EPA regs.
You wrote "He is the product of a broken media culture that caters to attention spans of fruit flies flitting from one provocation to the next without any intervening thought." My only disagreement with this statement is that it is needlessly insulting to fruit flies. Fruit flies have proved themselves to be extremely valuable to scientific research. Vivek Ramaswamy, on the other hand, has yet to demonstrate any real value.
Neither! Vivek is yet another symptom of corporate rule corruption and dysfunction, brought on by Citizens United.
SCOTUS gave our POWER to corporate interests so that the power of the people would be inconsequential. Trump was the result, and many more Trumps are lined up behind him.
ONLY HJR54 will end this nightmare!!!
The We the People Amendment, HJR54, will overrule SCOTUS and overturn Citizens United! It will greatly increase the power of the people by establishing that only we are entitled to constitutional rights and powers! And that money in politics must be regulated!!!!!!!
Please help us restore our broken system by signing on at movetoamend.org.
Nothing is more important because we can and we must fix this root problem of our time, and time is running out.
We must get back to spending limits. SCOTUS did harm to politics and the American people by #1, allowing gobs of money into politics #2 without knowing where it came from. SCOTUS needs to be reformed as they are allowing money into politics and personally. By accepting lifetime vacations and CEO's buying their homes, fixing them up and allowing their mothers to live there rent free. They don't represent the majority of the people. They have their own adgenda.
I’m not merely talking about money in politics! Citizens United stripped us of our Constitution when SCOTUS handed it to corporations. They made our government dysfunctional! That is why Trump types are lining up. HJR54 will restore our power and good government.
Speaking of corruption… GOP House members want to use a must-pass funding bill to DEFUND or LIMIT law enforcement from investigating Trump. Doesn’t this qualify for “obstruction of justice”?
Just think. Jim Jordan is paid $174,000/year . If he is using it to “investigate the investigation” he should relinquish his position. We need someone who can accomplish more than illegalities with the taxpayers money. Perhaps it is Jim Jordan who should be impeached!
I’m not merely talking about campaign finance. Citizens United stripped us of our Constitution when SCOTUS handed it to corporations. They made our government dysfunctional! That is why Trump types are lining up. HJR54 will restore our power and good government.
Sure - but note that ours is a constitutional democracy, i.e. with a system of checks & balances: the system would prove dysfunctional even with control of campaign finance and the advantages it affords to incumbency - because of giving the ultimate power to, ultimately, the executive; as has been laid out in excruciating detail, misappropriating war powers in that way has profound consequences (all but precluding "good government").
Like Trump, Ramaswamy is another hot air blimp full of nothing but hot air. "It’s a perfect loop of nothingness. No critical assessment of what they stand for. No analysis of what they seek to do. No in-depth reporting of their qualifications. Just contentless sensationalism." This one paragraph tells us all we need to know, both about the Republican front runners and the inept media.
The inept prime-time and front-page media, yes. Sadly, there’s so much OTHER, better and competent media out there, but the audience is drawn to the shiny bits … A rubbernecking public has shaped the media coverage, in an age where the news is a product for sale rather than a necessary element, like our daily vitamins, that we need to knuckle down and consume.
Some of us actually WANT to consume substantive news coverage, but we have to go out and find it. The prime-time and “front pages” of print and Internet [especially “news” sources that are ad-supported, rather than behind a pay wall] are delivered like a jelly donut on our plate. Hard to resist consuming that first, for too many … And going after that ad revenue means feeding people the donut …
Media is not being manipulated, our attention is. Media use these clowns to make money, knowingly. They are parts of the same machine. Dana Bash is not fooled by a clown. What she lucks is conscience, just like the clown, or courage to stand up to him snd her boss. She is on crusade to save the GOP from itself for the Big Money class.
Americans love a circus and every circus must have a clown. *8 years ago TFG fufilled that role and Republicans and blue color workers were only too willing to go to the show. Now TFG is old hat, a mass of grievances impelled by a desire for revenge. Not much entertainment there., even if the failthul fan base will always have a soft spot for the man who brought "fun" and purpose to their lives. He told them that spending weekends in the woods shoot paintballs at each other was patriotic and that they were doing all of that because they knew the country was in trouble. Since that was the case, it was quite alright to hate the Left, the educated , the coastal elities. In other words to hate all thei people their relatives hate. But now, he's run out of shock value and he hasn't gotten any new material to keep the mob entertained.
Enter then next chimera on the right, a man who is so vacuous and whose knowledge and experience is so non-existant that his listeners can enjoy his outrageous suggestions and feel superior to his lack of any political training. He is young, has money-so needn't constantly remind people about his great wealth and did graduate from elite schools. There is no doubt that he is competent in his tech business but he is no more qualified to run anyting than Elon Musk, another rich genius, is qualified to run twitter or X or whatever he decides to call it today. Flaunting your power can be a heady experience but power without knowledge is just the spectacle of a man reeling from one crises to anouther.
Has it escaped your - and just about everyone else's - notice that the Ivy League schools that so many Яepubлиkan politicians hail from are coastal and elite ‽ I think someone should consider standing that "coastal elites" language on its ear!
It could be as simple as interjecting when a Яepubлиkan says it - not usually considered foul play when Яepubлиkans >do< it - "Says the coastal elite politician!"
Vivek Ramaswamy DID NOT SAY "climate change is a hoax". What he said was "the climate agenda is a hoax" That's what I heard him say and this source backs me up: https://time.com/6309085/6309085/.
He went on to say “the reality is more people are dying of bad climate change policies than they are of actual climate change.” BS! However, I think this position is more dangerous than simply saying that climate change doesn't exist. He is saying that the necessary actions than Biden is taking to combat climate change are wrong. I believe his position appeals to many Americans who want to do nothing about climate change that impacts their lives or the fossil fuel industry that employs thousands of Americans.
Yes, he did say that — and the word “agenda” was somewhat buried in all the noise.
I figured he added that word to allow him ALL the wiggle room necessary to disparage trying to understand the influences on, and possible mitigations for, our changing climate. It’s one word that provides so much room to maneuver for the con man. They can’t get away with saying worldwide climates have not changed, so he’s added “agenda,” and the denial regime is safe and goes forward…
Vivek is yet another example of a broken media system. It’s entertainment, vying for viewers glued to social media and television, and not real journalism. Anyone with a decent education that includes critical thinking can see through it which is why so much of the GOP has consistently advocated cuts to education.
@Chris. IMO you are SO correct. Money in media = adverts, and they gotta get eyeballs to get ratings to get the advertising bucks. That’s what we mean when we say “broken” media!
@Donald J. I think you have discerned only part of his plan. Get rich? Yes, even though he already has money. But to get the power that big money can provide in politics? That seems to me to be a more likely objective.
Where I live we have a colorful character who parades around our public places attired in an impressive array of musical instruments which he manages to play all at once, none of them particularly well. He gets a lot of attention.
He loves attention and will say anything to get it. just as Trump will. He is probably not looking to be president but for publicity or to be vice president.
I watched the republican primary debates (debacle?) and witness Vikrams nonesense. If there was an extreme position to be had he sought it out and took it (climate, abortion, immigration). If he has to take 2 positions at once he also did it. Ie strong unregulated police force and no prosecution of Trump. He reminds me of the CEO of a company that plays dress up for whatever theme that company has and is a contortionist to whatever the shareholders (in this case MAGA and more importantly big money donors want). His lips will move in whatever way is needed even if it means immigrants who arent rich are attacked and blacks persecuted by police because of his rhetoric. Whether or not he gets elected Broadcasting his themes in main stream media is a bad idea. You dont need to be white to purport white supremist ideas. Oh wait, if he says it with a big grin on his face that makes it ok right?
Ramaswamy was on MSNBC yesterday with Andrea Mitchel and I was sickened that even Fascist Republicans could stand to listen to his total stupidity, arrogance,rudeness,disrespect, and complete incompetence to run for any office.
I do believe Robert Reich’s article clearly explains what Ramaswamy game plan he is following!
Once again, just like Fascist DeSantis, is this type of Americans that are coming out of Ivy League schools today?
I’m beginning to not want to turn on the news due to the traitor trump indictments, the lying non productive Fascist Republican Congress, and the Republican candidates!
If a Democrat or normal American had all these indictments against them, threatened judges, Special Counsel, Prosecutors, jurors, grand jurors, etc., they would be sitting in jail!
This Republican dweeb is a Trump kissing freak. He wants the VP position under Trump hoping the fool will find a medical reason to leave office and make Ramaswamy our President. How stupid can you be. His entire philosophy is to echo everything Trump supports in hopes of luring Donnie's base over to his side.
Just like DeSatan.
Don: Don't think the trumpster would want a thinner younger brasher naturally suntanned version of himself as veep. Not betting on that combo. Plus he's gotta choose a running mate he thinks he can dominate. I say it's gotta be a female.
dnkarr--I agree with you. I think Lake was a shoe in until she lost in her election bid, and we all know how much Donnie Boy hates losers. MTG I'm sure has caught his eye. Nikki Haley might be considered but lately she has presented herself as a less than candidate. Boebert is out there but even Trump isn't that stupid.
I would not put it past him! He IS that stupid.
Sarah--They sat time heals all wounds, well we have a wound in need of healing and its long past due.
Yes he is. If she sucks his ego….
Jean--From what I've heard that's all he has to ----.
I told you so…. Dangerous !
If we can’t agree that climate change is dangerous….. how will we ever recognize “hot air?”
Jean--Just stay away from what Trump exhales.
Would that I could!😱
I think you are onto something there … Argh.
This kid has been around since 2004 when he jumped on Al Sharpton.
However when he ‘jumped’ on Al Sharpton he elicited the best detailed explanation I had heard from Al why he was the most experienced person in the debate to be president. So, Ramaswamy’s debate tool of provocation was very fruitful. Whether that was his intention or not.
Carol--All did get the last laugh.
Legacy admissions & a mirror of inequality at its worst; aside from suggesting education as a public good (i.e. by contrast), what good does it do? (Are the outputs of Ivy League schools really representative of America? How so?)
I'm leaning toward the idea that many of the most arrogant, privileged, entitled, unethical brats who graduate from Ivy League colleges were already so inclined, just from their upbringing. Generally speaking, most colleges--including Ivy League colleges--turn out many more kids who go on to prove that they did indeed earn their education.
Unfortunately, too many of the privileged ones brought their elite arrogance to college with them along with their assumption that they are OWED a high position in business and politics. Don't blame college for turning them into unbearably entitled fools (although, the legacy system CAN be blamed for admitting them in the first place).
You left out mentally ill like Musk. All these rich, spoiled narcissists ruling (or wanting to)our world. 🤮
I think Musk is covered under the unbearably entitled and arrogant part, already! Genius, he is not.
AMEN!
TL, I think you are right about folks like DeSantis and Ramaswamy being their pathetic selves before entering university, but you are also right about legacy admissions enhancing their belief that they are better than everyone else and deserve whatever they decide they want, even if it includes being president. I would tell Ramaswamy he should go home and grow up, but alas, he thinks he is grown, the way Republicans harbor so many toddler-adults. Yo America, that does not mean we have to elect them to office. Money does not buy caring, kind, decent people. It often gets us just the opposite, whiney, privileged, self-indulgent, as well as self-absorbed child-adults who care only for the applause their smart-ass comments get. Media loves them, but I think the media would do better covering actual children who know how to play together, take care of each other, and are still creative. I am guessing the media will not find those kids in the rich neighborhoods but in the public park and public school playgrounds. Go there and skip the Trumps, DeSantises, Ramaswamys, and the toddler caucus in the House. It would provide far more interesting stories.
It's a systemic problem: privilege fortifies corruption - and demoralizes in the process (because it does so under the guise of merit); the resultant inequality leads to a lack of income mobility - and robs American democracy of its quintessential character.
Absolutely! I have seen the fiction of meritocracy used in many high profile jobs to promote someone with the right pedigree and practically no employable skills.
Read the NYT article on DeSantis’ short stint as a history teacher at a private school in Georgia between his Yale and Harvard years. a number of them viewed him as arrogant and very conservative (even reactionary) on issues like the cause of the Civil War (economic rather than slavery) and abortion.
Fascist DeSantis is a devil no matter where he originated! Fascist DeSantis is ruling Florida with his radical right wing white Nationalist fake Christian GOP super majority Legislators as an autocracy! Floridians have 3 more years of this Nazi! I hope he does not get the nomination. He will run for the Senate where he can be protected from his illegal acts, lack of transparency, all his hate,anger, bigotry, racism, and homophobia, where he can gain more personal power and personal financial wealth.
I wouldn’t throw out all the Ivy Leaguers as though they were a monolith. But the NETWORKING that goes on among the most “well-connected” of them brings us to where we are.
Prof. Reich is, I think, a highly principled and rational person, with the common good as one of his highest ideals. He’s an Ivy Leaguer.
He also profited from knowing powerful people he went to school with.
Our problem is not Ivy Leauge schools, per se, but legacy admissions are most certainly a factor …
Pat, that's it! You've got it. We really must judge people by their words and actions, not by the school they attend or the money their family has accumulated. Our nation's businesses and other institutions depend too much on the Ivy League schools for their leadership as though coming from one of those and a few others counts for something. It might for some people in the sciences and research, but perhaps not so much in other fields. If one thinks they will get a job when they graduate, it changes not only how hard one works, but on what. With so many child-men and some child-women coming from the Ivy Leagues plus lately, those institutions should step back and look at what they are offering their students and why so many of them are like Trump, DeSantis, Ramaswamy, Musk, and the rest of that crowd.
The people themselves are a symptom of the problem; the problem is the system (because it is corrupt - which makes a bad problem of inequality that much worse).
Ruth, I agree. Judge by words, actions and in particular what bills do they support, what bills have they introduced, who are their "friends?" Who do they have a tendency to be seen with? I mean when you see a representative from your own state with a neo Nazi from the Aryan Freedom Network, that should be a warning... not just to democrats but to all regardless of political party, who are for the common good! Pay attention....
Yes, yes, yes!
Amen!
Oooo, I posted almost the same exact thought before I read your post---apologies!
HEY — Post! Post! Post! It’s all good, right? Talk. Argue. Agree. It’s how we get there … 😎
🫶👍👌
😎
I comment about an Ivy League Education because I value it so highly! I am probably naïve to believe that having the privilege to attend these colleges should create individuals who graduate and bring to this great country and ALL Americans their Ivy League education and knowledge as Robert Reich would say “for the greater good”!
I’d prefer it worked that way, too.
I would like to know what the hell the Ivy Leagues are doing, letting loose this endless stream of snide, seemingly well-spoken unabashed fascists on the American people. Is this their idea of a good education!!! What are their standards of admission? I'm talking about Tom Cotton, Josh Hawley, Ted Cruz, de Santis, Ben Sasse. . . .
What they've always done: socialization of risk, privatization of benefit.
To fully understand that question we would need to know the qualities of the professors at these schools. Is it possible that they have begun to lean to the right politically?
There are a couple "trains of thought" in law school- a conservative, libertarian thought (it is all about individual liberty/freedom- if we allow federal programs that impedes upon our individual freedom to do the BEST we can) or the social justice- for the common good thought (taxes to help so all can have healthcare, get an education- hence public education, safe work environment, roads etc). I would say the conservative leaning ones stood by all the libertarian courses primarily and the democrats/progressives stood by the more "woke" social justice- for the common good classes....
Some Ivy Leaguers such as Ketanji Brown Jackson are grounded in the realities of America. Unfortunately, she appears to be more the exception than the rule.
Perhaps there should be a public service requirement for any Ivy League graduate wanting high office?
👍
The So called Ivies should be hiding in shame. Good god, are we this bored?
Isn't the "Ivy League" the very definition of "coastal elite," the very Brahmins of the US college caste system ‽ Correct me if I'm wrong.
(A later thought.) Shouldn't someone be out there standing that "coastal elite" nonsense on its ear ‽
I'm honestly surprised that those drooling, uneducated Trumplicans SUPPORT someone who WENT to an Ivy League school! Nevermind the fact that >GASP!!!< HE'S NOT WHITE!!!
Daniel, they needed a token or two and I think they are getting worried about Clarence Thomas and Nikki Haley is a woman (god forbid). They are OK with an Indian-American who spouts crap like a white supremacist, male jerk. That's what they like and want. DeSantis can't manage being with people, so Ramaswamy is next best a guy who will never match Trump, but he doesn't have to. He just has to be a white wannabee who can race-trash and fearmonger with the best of them (or worst of them). Oh yes, and Republicans love child-adults in office so they can manipulate them with ease. It's scary.
White on the *inside* - 'cause if he's yellow or brown on the outside, it doesn't matter: they're all bananas.
; )
PS: If he is truly as yellow-bellied as his rhetoric, there's a reason everyone loves him (he is a Twinkie).
Rishi, I was going to mark "like" but that would have been incorrect, "love it" You have him and his crew down. I hadn't thought of banana or Twinkie before, but they fit, especially Twinkie, sickeningly sweet with nothing of value in it. OK, I still like them, but not people who are Twinkies. It seems to me people of all minorities have worked too hard to make a life in a racist, misogynistic society they don't need Twinkies letting already-scared white people believe that is who people of color are in general. Ramaswamy is a privileged toddler who thinks he is better than anyone else and has to answer to no one. The media needs to bring that out about him as an individual, not representing anything but the Republican Party and himself.
Let's hope populism has already run its ugly course - or, at least, gone out of fashion (the process could use more salient debate about public policy)...
Yeah wondering about that myself.
It’s “coastal elite,” not “costal.” I don’t usually correct online spelling errors, but you seem to be within reach of declaring yourself a monolith.
OOPS! My bad. Now fixed! Thanks for bringing that to my attention. I just hat it when that happens! 😁
(Whateves the devil declaring m'self a monolith means!)
🤣
I wish Grammarly would work in Substack!!!
Sandra, you mentioned MSNBC and which alludes to the issue of the use of mainstream media in politics. Mainstream media is owned by large profit oriented corporations and they have increasing control over what is presented as "news". News must now bring the highest ratings to attract the highest paying advertisers. So the owners of these mega corporations now call the shots. CNN's debacle with Trump is a good example of this. Fox News is owned by Rupert Murdock and we have witnessed where that goes. Ramaswamy recognizes he can get a news channel high ratings and more $$$ the more outrageous he is so the "News" eats his outrageous statements up.
Remember when the media big boys created The Monkeys to make a buck?
Now they create presidential hopefuls and presidents, just to make a buck. No diff.
Everyone with a device glued to their nose is a fan or a fanatic. 2007 was the end of the age of reason.
Yes, MY iphone matches my iglasses, does yours?.
Another pleasant valley Sunday....
Yeah... ;)
Microsoft partnered with NBC to start MSNBC in 1996. Its another example of capitalistic enterprises taking control of media primarily for profit.
I’ve read MSNBC is fueled by Chevron $$. I’ve thought of them as the rabid left version of FOX
Beginner, that shows you do not watch MSNBC. It is nothing at all like Fox or any of the right-wing media. They clearly have a slant progressive, but they are not hateful about it. They report facts, and they do offer to give Republicans/conservatives a say. Most don't go there because they are not too friendly with facts. Also MSNBC interviewers know their subjects and acknowledge when they don't. They will expect reasonable answers which is probably why Ramaswamy will never show up on MSNBC, or if he agrees to go on once, he will not return. He is a complex of 3-word phrases, nonsense statements he never is asked to back up, and blather or malarky as President Biden would call it.
MSNBC rabid left???? Not even in the vicinity.
Where did you see that, Beginner Buddhist? Are you suggesting that Chevron is rabid left? What does that mean anyway? Corporations fuel all commercial media. Without sponsors they go out of business. MSNBC isn't exactly obscure irl or online. Thousands of.RR readers watch it every day. So can you. I suggest experiencing it first-hand before you again repeat something that sounds like a bot wrote it. Or are you a bot?
ASIDE:
Think what y'all want, but the expression on Mc Connells face in his freeze-up today was >fear.< I think there's more to his "falls" and freeze-ups than meets the eye. He was >definitely< not the frail old man looking kind of guy he appears to be now, before that first fall. I'm wondering if someone indicated to him he shouldn't run again. He's definitely rained on that MAGA parade from time to time, and he wasn't having that kind of problem answering that kind of question prior to his first fall. Just sayin'. Then again, maybe I've just gotten all spooky in the midst of the Machiavellian MAGA allegations and machinations.
Andrea Mitchell should have retired years ago. She is a classic example of the old school "journalist" that shy away from confrontation, and thus don't challenge. Ramaswamy ran all over her and she let him. Why did she even bring him on. She's currently out of her league with the shamless "in your face" Republicans of today. Joy Reid never would have let that jerk push her around.
Mitchell did exactly what she aimed to do: She let Vivek drop his drawers and expose himself to anyone who chose to watch. I had to tune out. Mission accomplished.
Yes, I am totally with you. Sickening garbage from Republican idiots permeating the mainstream news every day is almost more than one can handle. I also agree with you when you said that if a Dem had done any of this criminal bullsh*t, the Republican party would have gone apesh*t(pardon my French here). It is totally infuriating that Trump is allowed to run again for POTUS and is the R front runner, to boot. I think a lot of this country has had it up to here with all of this ridiculous, seditious pandering. Heather Cox Richardson said yesterday on her Facebook live commentary that Rs throw out"smokescreens of crap" to cover and confuse. I think she is on to something as a lot of us are.
Topping what Taegan Goddard's politicalwire.com reports Inmate No. P01135809 said to Glenn Beck about Vivek would be nearly impossible:
“He’s a very, very, very intelligent person. He’s got good energy, and he could be some form of something. I tell you, I think he’d be very good."
At minimum.
The media never asks "If you love Trump so much, why are you running against him, making him spend money he needs to defend himself?"
"Where were you on Jan 6, 2021?"
"Did you support, 'Kill Mike Pence?'" "What about now?"
"Have you donated to the Trump Family Charity?" "Trump Defense Fund?"
Yes, the media is sickeningly wimpy. I'm a former newspaper reporter and shocked at the lack of courageous, investigative journalism, across the board.
When I said "across the board," I meant mainstream (corporate) media. There are a few brave journalists like independent Amy Goodman, and even some able reporters on the staff of major newspapers. But overall, there's a gaping hole in coverage, and the infuriating "he said, she said" kind of thing, that passes for "balance" but isn't.
Democracy Now! is a good place to start. Ever hear of ProPublica? The New Yorker? The mindless kneejerk media-bashing around here by people too incurious to explore reminds me of the small-town mental stagnation that forced me to move to the big city.
Sorry. Don't agree. I live in a vibrant, progressive small town. I stand by my criticism of the media. There are exceptions of course. Yes, I've known New Yorker staff personally. I know ProPublica. Newspapers in general have been circling the drain. Given the corporate takeover of local papers, the downsizing of staff, the erosion of the wall between editorial and adverrtising, it's a trainwreck.
Not just wimpy, but shoddy in researching and more interested in $$$ and deadlines (and playing what sells to their target audience) than doing the painstaking research to tell the whole story. This can apply to liberal-minded reporting as well. For instance, NYT posted an article that is climate change related on fish die-back on the Cowichan River (today’s edition). The article is lengthy and blames the huge die-off of fish there on climate change. Yet research is still underway there to determine what caused it. There is more than one possible cause, and the results won’t be in for 6 months or so. Yet, the reporter evidently based his conclusion on the words of an environmentalist
who has lived and worked in the area for many years. Why not wait until the results are in? Most likely because such reporting is deemed to meet the target audience. I enjoyed reading the article by the way, and there is a good chance that the forgone conclusion is correct. Nevertheless, a good reporter would have waited for the whole story.
Don’t forget potential contributions to Drumpf University!
Daniel Soloman, good questions and motive. Someone did ask him why he is running against the "other guy" and he that,, because he thinks he can take what the former guy accomplished even further.
😱 Dear God in Heaven...NO, no, no nada, nyet, nay, nope. RamaSmarmy is definitely NOT what this country needs! Maybe the media is in love with their shiny new plaything, but hopefully the unrelenting glare of publicity will eventually reveal something that will abruptly end the media infatuation with this overly ambitious, arrogant little know-nothing.
T L Mills, unfortunately, I think we have entered a whole new frontier in the last 8 years. ---- a "Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome".
TL, I would add, snivling brat, but that is kind of mean, isn't it. He is such a toddler. I can't wait to see his first tantrum. It should be a doozy!
It reminds me of when the media fell for DeSatan and look what happened after America got know him.
A repeat, Sally. That's what saturation coverage is for. Andrea Mitchell's Vivek interview made me switch channels. Its job was done.
M Tree, Yeah, Ramaswamy said he was running because he could take what Trump did further. Trump did a lot of dividing, a lot of hating, a lot of hurting innocent people and blaming folks for things he himself did. Oh yeah, we need more of that!
Ruth Sheets, right and he said it like it was a good thing!
Most folks are O.K. with 'Hang Mike Pence!'-
= )
Nah...Would like to see him get out of politics, however. Let him go join the family business and suck up more superfunds for their careless disregard of EPA regs.
So... you would *not* wish to see him hang? (Even if completely lifeless?)
Absolutely! We would be in jail..what is all of this saying to young people??
I totally agree. Put these worthless sob in jail now.
“a perfect loop of nothingness”
An excellent turn of phrase. Right on target!
It's a nice flourish... but we should still settle for it being even less if possible (my nothingness was so much more void of a Ramaswamy!)...
= )
You wrote "He is the product of a broken media culture that caters to attention spans of fruit flies flitting from one provocation to the next without any intervening thought." My only disagreement with this statement is that it is needlessly insulting to fruit flies. Fruit flies have proved themselves to be extremely valuable to scientific research. Vivek Ramaswamy, on the other hand, has yet to demonstrate any real value.
THIEF ! You stole. my reply.
A horse fly, in other words ('tis no peach, that-)...
Ha ha ha ha ha ha!
Neither! Vivek is yet another symptom of corporate rule corruption and dysfunction, brought on by Citizens United.
SCOTUS gave our POWER to corporate interests so that the power of the people would be inconsequential. Trump was the result, and many more Trumps are lined up behind him.
ONLY HJR54 will end this nightmare!!!
The We the People Amendment, HJR54, will overrule SCOTUS and overturn Citizens United! It will greatly increase the power of the people by establishing that only we are entitled to constitutional rights and powers! And that money in politics must be regulated!!!!!!!
Please help us restore our broken system by signing on at movetoamend.org.
Nothing is more important because we can and we must fix this root problem of our time, and time is running out.
Actually, he maintains that he will spend $100,000,000 of his own money. .
Daniel Solomon ; Wasn't there a time when campaigns had spending limits?
We must get back to spending limits. SCOTUS did harm to politics and the American people by #1, allowing gobs of money into politics #2 without knowing where it came from. SCOTUS needs to be reformed as they are allowing money into politics and personally. By accepting lifetime vacations and CEO's buying their homes, fixing them up and allowing their mothers to live there rent free. They don't represent the majority of the people. They have their own adgenda.
HJR54, the We the People Amendment will undo the damage that SCOTUS has inflicted. Please sign on, and help, at movetoamend.org
I did. Ty for getting the message out
Thank you Kathryn
Not foe candidates' own money.
Or money they say is their own…
HJR54 will prevent a rich candidate from buying an election. Please help at movetoamend.org
We can and must go back to that time. We must overrule SCOTUS on these decisions for FASCISM! Please help at movetoamend.org Sign on.
HJR54 will make it illegal for rich candidates from using their money power to buy their election! Check it out, and sign on at movetoamend.org
I’m not merely talking about money in politics! Citizens United stripped us of our Constitution when SCOTUS handed it to corporations. They made our government dysfunctional! That is why Trump types are lining up. HJR54 will restore our power and good government.
Please sign on to help at movetoamend.org
Check it out!
@Daniel. Clearly a lie.
The AUMF should get repealed too - maybe before trying to fix campaign finance. (Corruption is an eternal issue; the AUMF is merely constitutional.)
Speaking of corruption… GOP House members want to use a must-pass funding bill to DEFUND or LIMIT law enforcement from investigating Trump. Doesn’t this qualify for “obstruction of justice”?
Just think. Jim Jordan is paid $174,000/year . If he is using it to “investigate the investigation” he should relinquish his position. We need someone who can accomplish more than illegalities with the taxpayers money. Perhaps it is Jim Jordan who should be impeached!
I’m not merely talking about campaign finance. Citizens United stripped us of our Constitution when SCOTUS handed it to corporations. They made our government dysfunctional! That is why Trump types are lining up. HJR54 will restore our power and good government.
Please sign on to help at movetoamend.org
Check it out!
Sure - but note that ours is a constitutional democracy, i.e. with a system of checks & balances: the system would prove dysfunctional even with control of campaign finance and the advantages it affords to incumbency - because of giving the ultimate power to, ultimately, the executive; as has been laid out in excruciating detail, misappropriating war powers in that way has profound consequences (all but precluding "good government").
HJR54 goes way beyond campaign finance reform. It unrigs our rigged system by returning our Constitution back to us!
HJR54 will shift the balance of power back to We the People. Trust the People to do the right thing when balance is restored!
Like Trump, Ramaswamy is another hot air blimp full of nothing but hot air. "It’s a perfect loop of nothingness. No critical assessment of what they stand for. No analysis of what they seek to do. No in-depth reporting of their qualifications. Just contentless sensationalism." This one paragraph tells us all we need to know, both about the Republican front runners and the inept media.
Fay Reid ; We get a pretty good idea who he is working for ; And they have nothing to do with the Common Good!
Working is a bit generous: no policy platform & nothing learned from cult-of-personality tribalism.
> = |
The inept prime-time and front-page media, yes. Sadly, there’s so much OTHER, better and competent media out there, but the audience is drawn to the shiny bits … A rubbernecking public has shaped the media coverage, in an age where the news is a product for sale rather than a necessary element, like our daily vitamins, that we need to knuckle down and consume.
Some of us actually WANT to consume substantive news coverage, but we have to go out and find it. The prime-time and “front pages” of print and Internet [especially “news” sources that are ad-supported, rather than behind a pay wall] are delivered like a jelly donut on our plate. Hard to resist consuming that first, for too many … And going after that ad revenue means feeding people the donut …
He is a disturbingly obnoxious empty shirt.
No. He is a lean, mean, media manipulating machine. And they fall for it…
Media is not being manipulated, our attention is. Media use these clowns to make money, knowingly. They are parts of the same machine. Dana Bash is not fooled by a clown. What she lucks is conscience, just like the clown, or courage to stand up to him snd her boss. She is on crusade to save the GOP from itself for the Big Money class.
@ Val. IMO your perspectives are not without merit. It’s simple and complicated at the same time…
Rick Santorum traveled faster & farther; Mike Huckaby was more popular with evangelicals; John Hunstmann had more potential. Eh.
@Rishi. Fair enough. I’d be happy to see this as a flash in the pan…
Americans love a circus and every circus must have a clown. *8 years ago TFG fufilled that role and Republicans and blue color workers were only too willing to go to the show. Now TFG is old hat, a mass of grievances impelled by a desire for revenge. Not much entertainment there., even if the failthul fan base will always have a soft spot for the man who brought "fun" and purpose to their lives. He told them that spending weekends in the woods shoot paintballs at each other was patriotic and that they were doing all of that because they knew the country was in trouble. Since that was the case, it was quite alright to hate the Left, the educated , the coastal elities. In other words to hate all thei people their relatives hate. But now, he's run out of shock value and he hasn't gotten any new material to keep the mob entertained.
Enter then next chimera on the right, a man who is so vacuous and whose knowledge and experience is so non-existant that his listeners can enjoy his outrageous suggestions and feel superior to his lack of any political training. He is young, has money-so needn't constantly remind people about his great wealth and did graduate from elite schools. There is no doubt that he is competent in his tech business but he is no more qualified to run anyting than Elon Musk, another rich genius, is qualified to run twitter or X or whatever he decides to call it today. Flaunting your power can be a heady experience but power without knowledge is just the spectacle of a man reeling from one crises to anouther.
“The educated, the coastal elites”. Do you see what you’re saying to anyone who doesn’t live on the east or west coast?
Has it escaped your - and just about everyone else's - notice that the Ivy League schools that so many Яepubлиkan politicians hail from are coastal and elite ‽ I think someone should consider standing that "coastal elites" language on its ear!
It could be as simple as interjecting when a Яepubлиkan says it - not usually considered foul play when Яepubлиkans >do< it - "Says the coastal elite politician!"
Vivek Ramaswamy DID NOT SAY "climate change is a hoax". What he said was "the climate agenda is a hoax" That's what I heard him say and this source backs me up: https://time.com/6309085/6309085/.
He went on to say “the reality is more people are dying of bad climate change policies than they are of actual climate change.” BS! However, I think this position is more dangerous than simply saying that climate change doesn't exist. He is saying that the necessary actions than Biden is taking to combat climate change are wrong. I believe his position appeals to many Americans who want to do nothing about climate change that impacts their lives or the fossil fuel industry that employs thousands of Americans.
Yes, he did say that — and the word “agenda” was somewhat buried in all the noise.
I figured he added that word to allow him ALL the wiggle room necessary to disparage trying to understand the influences on, and possible mitigations for, our changing climate. It’s one word that provides so much room to maneuver for the con man. They can’t get away with saying worldwide climates have not changed, so he’s added “agenda,” and the denial regime is safe and goes forward…
Vivek is yet another example of a broken media system. It’s entertainment, vying for viewers glued to social media and television, and not real journalism. Anyone with a decent education that includes critical thinking can see through it which is why so much of the GOP has consistently advocated cuts to education.
@Chris. IMO you are SO correct. Money in media = adverts, and they gotta get eyeballs to get ratings to get the advertising bucks. That’s what we mean when we say “broken” media!
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He reminds me of every "get rich quick" infomercial I have seen.
@Donald J. I think you have discerned only part of his plan. Get rich? Yes, even though he already has money. But to get the power that big money can provide in politics? That seems to me to be a more likely objective.
He clearly loves the spotlight — money, power, AND attention. Yummy!
I am just talking about the way he talks. The hype.
@Donald. You are right! very excited voice: "This tape can hold a 100 lbs and then you can reuse it!"
👍
ITS A POPULARITY CONTEST ; STUPID
Maybe it’s his face ; or he is the Tallest,
Or just simply Worship of The candidate with the most symbols of god in his pocket ( US Dollar Bills)...
And his faultless appearance “A Sharp Dressed Man”
Citizen J ; Hey wait! Please do not insult ZZ Top! He is working for the billionaires! Probably IS one!
We can only hope ; great tunes
@ Citizen. Love the ZZ Tops reference…
poll response
" all of the above"
Here is Vivek Ramaswamy running to be an Airline Pilot . . .
ailerons are a hoax
thrust reversers don't reverse
an open engine intake is no intake
I've given 30 interviews explaining how I will be your best pilot
I've logged 12,000 hours of podcast time explaining aerodynamics
Did you forget "and I have the latest version of the usoft Flight Simulator on my laptop"?
Where I live we have a colorful character who parades around our public places attired in an impressive array of musical instruments which he manages to play all at once, none of them particularly well. He gets a lot of attention.
He loves attention and will say anything to get it. just as Trump will. He is probably not looking to be president but for publicity or to be vice president.
He's like... eight years late... or something...
I watched the republican primary debates (debacle?) and witness Vikrams nonesense. If there was an extreme position to be had he sought it out and took it (climate, abortion, immigration). If he has to take 2 positions at once he also did it. Ie strong unregulated police force and no prosecution of Trump. He reminds me of the CEO of a company that plays dress up for whatever theme that company has and is a contortionist to whatever the shareholders (in this case MAGA and more importantly big money donors want). His lips will move in whatever way is needed even if it means immigrants who arent rich are attacked and blacks persecuted by police because of his rhetoric. Whether or not he gets elected Broadcasting his themes in main stream media is a bad idea. You dont need to be white to purport white supremist ideas. Oh wait, if he says it with a big grin on his face that makes it ok right?
If you turn off the audio and just watch the TV you can pick the winner ahead of words in most debates.
I can say with confidence that everyone on that stage was a loser.
Only the ones that pledge blind allegiance to Donny trumpet 🎺