People in the UK and Europe who are alert to American politics are hoping the citizens of Georgia will do the right thing with their votes. I live in England and follow American politics because the results affect the world and my life. A stable and enlightened American government is essential to the world. I have looked aghast at the Trump antics and those who slavishly follow him fearful of erratic and idiotic outcomes that will damage America's standing by destroying our trust. A truly Democratic America is essential to world peace.
Irene, it’s more than the people’s will. It is corruption of our politics. Hillary Clinton WON the popular vote by almost 3 MILLION VOTES! Our electoral college can delete the will of the people. This is something our British friends din’t always realize and are always shocked at such a stupid and intentionally confusing system. The electoral college must go!
Seeking Reason, you are right about the electoral college. It is one of the most ridiculous appalling things the founders came up with. I know they were convinced that ordinary people really couldn't be trusted, but they knew well, state legislatures couldn't be trusted either. Now, we have the Supreme Court about to hear an equally ridiculous case about something Republicans have been working on for a while, creating a theory that somehow the founders wanted state legislators to control voting at all levels. I suspect a few who wanted state power did, but for most, there is no evidence of it, yet our conservative Court is about to manipulate our democracy for purposes only they know. How will the people be able to trust elections? That, of course is the point, screw with elections so people won't vote and rich white men and a few women can control everything, or at least enough that Congress will be rich, white, mostly male from the white states and ignore everyone else. Johnny Roberts will be delighted because his little racist self is trying to manufacture a white Catholic country to give to his god to earn him his way into heaven or something like that. He plans to inhabit it with the other 5. Disgusting!
Ruth and SeekingReason, under our Constitution we cannot 'get rid of the Electoral College'. Changing any part of the Constitution, as you know, requires an Amendment, which requires 2/3 agreement of both Houses of Congress AND ratification of 3/4 of the States. If you lived in Montana, Wyoming, Rhode Island, Maine, would you be willing to give up this power? What we can do practically is select REAL Democratic candidates in "red" States, Give them sufficient staff members to reach every registered voter to LISTEN to what these people really want. Yes, I know they are going to say such silly things as we want to "own the libs" "tell those elites where to go", but that is not what they really want and need, What they really seek is respect, and a government responsive to their real needs, clean water, decent roads, access to education for their children. The GOP gives them their "we'll get 'em for you" but they no more listen to their real needs than we do. It will take time, but we'd have a better County for it, if we did our best to get self-interest, and the accompanying corruption out of government, and truly governed in the best interests of all. Even creepy billionaires would prosper more under a 'well regulated' government for all, whether they believe it or not. If my lifetime wish came true the first to be disposed of would be lobbyists (:-)
Thank you!!! Well said!!! The problem has long been the attitude of many liberals, that Hillary Clinton expressed with her "basket of deplorables" arrogance. I think some of the "woke" agenda that Dems stand for, as important as that is for a fair and just nation of heart and equal rights and opportunity for all, should be tempered a bit, and more emphasis placed on the problems of rural America
John - BS! Where have you been? Everything Hilary said has turned out to be true! Basket of Deplorables is way, way too nice. Rural America has supported racist, nationalist, fascist Republicans, despite what Democrats have done for rural America. There is NOTHING arrogant about calling out the party that prevented trump from being removed after being impeached TWICE. And they protected him after inciting a coup. That’s arrogance.
Your points are also well-taken, but I still say that the Democratic party is seen by many of the people that supported Trump as a lot of East Coast, urban liberals that don't know or care about the people in the rest of the country. Calling out the Republican party is one thing, and the Republican BS needs to be shown openly for what it is. Calling a mass of the American electorate a "basket of deplorables" was as arrogant and, frankly, stupid as was Mitt Romney's secretly-taped, "There are 47 percent of the people who will vote for the president no matter what ... who are dependent upon government, who believe that they are victims. ... These are people who pay no income tax. ... and so my job is not to worry about those people. I'll never convince them that they should take personal responsibility and care for their lives."
Fay my lifetime wish would be to nullify Citizens United. It opened the door to all the dark money in our elections. Congress does not have the intestinal fortitude it would take to bite the hand that feeds them! I have absolutely no respect for any lobbyist.
Thanks for the reminder of the electoral college mess. It reminds me that Jack Smith who has brought us some grounding worked for the Hague. The world court the US never signed on to because we tried to get Cheney indicted
We have work to do. Jack Smith bless your deep morality.
Are you sure about "real needs," Fay? Respect, of course. They should have it -- but no more than any other cohort of the population. "Regardless of race, color, creed, religion, gender or sexual orientation." If god told a redneck he's a more deserving person than you are, I reject the redneck and his god. If god told you you're a more deserving person than a redneck, I reject your god and you.
If people want access to education, they need to stop electing people who block it with RW -- and especially RW Christian -- "values."
The education they need is being deliberately withheld from them so they'll remain afraid, upset, and therefore amenable to promises from liars and cheats.
What you're saying is that we need to elect people who aren't greedy and selfish. Good plan. Unfortunately, there's no requirement to pass a "not greedy and selfish" litmus test before filing a petition to run for office.
The USA wasn't founded with universal suffrage in mind. As voting rights spread, education about the obligations and rights of citizenship didn't. So in the last 250 years we've developed a barely controlled mob of angry adolescents who are pretty sure they're getting shafted somehow (because "someone" -- there's always "someone" -- keeps telling them that's what's happening) and who don't know how or why or what to do about it. But by god they won't stand for it.
Ignorance is preventable. Greed and selfishness are just containable.
There was no reason for lobbyists except to push legislation that would benefit their companies, or their personal political views! IMHO lobbyists should be banned from contact with any congressional employee to include SC judges, and the executive branch.
I know it’s a pipe dream, but if we can keep working on getting corporate influence out of our government, the sooner we will have accountability to our citizens.
I know Ruth. It should have been addressed ages ago. Yet our legislators sit silently by hoping to look like a unified group when they never are, never have been.
Religion is another thing that must be exposed for what it is. It has always prevented progress and is suggested by Roman Piso to have been created by royalty ages ago. I can believe it.
Alas, Seeking Reason, as an ordained minister, I must slightly disagree with you a bit. Religion is a complex factor in our nation's history. Our founders definitely did not want any kind of established religion and wanted people to be able to worship or not as they chose. Some were rather religious like John Adams but most like Jefferson, Franklin, and their ilk were not and saw religion as a personal thing not to be messed with by anyone, particularly a government. Some people are so desperate to be right they will force other people to at least pretend they believe what the insecure claim to believe. I guess they think there is strength in numbers. Others isolate themselves from the rest and create their own little church that only the "chosen" people can belong to. There have been non-Christians in this country since before the Revolution, mostly in the cities, a fact some decried while most ignored. At various times, groups have tried to make this a Christian country so everyone will be "saved," or something like that: around 1800, the early 20th century, and the 1950s with the anti Communist crap. There have always been elements within all or most of the religious traditions in this country that fought forcing people to worship. Then, other religious groups evolved. The Puritans over time became strong abolitionists and now as the UCC, champion human rights at all levels, stand against Trumpism and the Republican policy of "cruelty is the point." (disclosure, I am a UCC minister) I have noticed that if a particular religious group is not getting enough attention and they believe they deserve it (right now, white evangelicals and Roman Catholics) the group will stir up some kind of trouble, complaining about how the world is suffering because people have no faith or things like 9/11 happened because homosexuality is permitted. There are enough desperate people in this world to want to believe god is telling them what they should do and that it involves blaming or hurting others. By putting 6 conservative Roman Catholics (well, one high Episcopalian which is almost the same thing) on the Court, Republicans have pandered to them so they could get the force of the church behind whatever it is they want to do to hurt people. It has worked and will continue to work until the justices are stopped by more justices being brought on board who are not held captive by a religious tradition that creates and mandates all kinds of rules that supposedly must be obeyed on pain of sin and ultimate death. It is a dilemma.
Ruth, this may come as a surprise to some readers, but as a full out Atheist, I agree with you. Some people need to believe. Perhaps it is fear, insecurity, feelings of inconsequence, whatever. I respect that need and in no way deny their right to believe. However, as I do believe that regulation is best for government, business, military, I also believe some regulation is essential for religions. No person living on Planet Earth is God, despite what the trumpster may think of himself, therefore no one has the right to decree what other people MUST believe. I hold this to be true whether it is Iran, the deep South or mid-west America.
You are so right Fay, no one on earth has the right to tell anyone else what to believe or even to believe. People who do are simply making up a religion they want everyone in their sphere to obey. It is what scared people do. They want power over everyone in their life, and will do anything to make it look somehow as though they are holy and doing god's will when they are really doing their own will and that of those they surround themselves with. There was nothing holy about the Inquisition, burning of "heretics," purging from society anyone who wasn't praying in just the right way or wearing their Hijab in just the right way, or forcing women to be covered in black from head to foot. It's all nonsense drummed up to make a bunch of men feel powerful and in control. If they really cared about their actual religion, they would know that no religions encourage human beings to kill other human beings. That's stuff made up to make a particular religious set of beliefs seem important and the guys (and it is almost 100% men, seem like they have god's ear and that god has theirs. This is also 100% not true, but those men always are the ones with the weapons and the police forces. The followers only realize that when their rights are gone and any faith they once had has been replaced with something warped and disgusting.
Ruth & Fay, People who are religious can be some of the best on earth. But that is not because they are religious. It is people who accomplish charitable giving not gods. I disagree that some people NEED to believe. It is a relic without an ounce of provability. There are numerous dead religions. Those all used to be real in their time. (Zeus) The reasons religions are still around is, like MAGAs, indoctrination. There is NOTHING outside of the bible and other religious texts to provide proof of these declared gods. The bible itself has numerous authors, not one. Religion has been considered a norm because it is indoctrinated at a young age and has been privileged in the US with tax exemption etc.
We need open discussions and education about what religion is. It’s about control, it’s about money too. The fact that people who challenged religion were killed, ostracized and mentally destroyed (historically & recently) says a lot about it.
I know there are some nice sections of the bible with good advice, there are wonderful people who practice it. But that doesn’t make it worthy. We’ve never allowed atheism at the table but that is changing. And I’m glad of it.
When you lump Roman Catholics, with other evangelicals, please use the word Protestants, otherwise it becomes an escape hatch for all the Christian Nationalists. JMO
Yes, Hillary Clinton won the popular vote, BUT it was the DNC that actually chose the candidate. The DNC and the Clintons treated Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren as obstacles to the "entitlement" that the Clintons assumed was owed to Hillary. Like it or not, the Electoral College is still a fact and Hillary had to win the EC. Before that election, polls showed that voters considered Trump and Hillary Clinton similarly "bad" candidates. (Something hard to imagine now, having lived through the horrors of Trump.)
Elizabeth Warren would have been a marvelous "first female President" with the added bonus of having made her bona fides on her own accomplishments! The DNC took her aside and made a bargain with her - and after that meeting, she began to campaign for Clinton. (Even though in past interviews with Bill Moyers, Warren had expressed her very candid - and true - opinions of Hillary Clinton). As for Bernie Sanders, well, the Clintons and the DNC treated him extremely poorly, even though it was Bernie's declaration during one of the primary debates "enough with the damn e-mails!" to a question about Hillary's email security that turned Hillary's campaign around! She laughed and thanked him at the time - but later, disingenuously, "trashed" him. It is very hard to say, but the DNC, as a factotum of the Clintons, gave us Trump - and that has been/is a once unimaginable nightmare.
Just to "pile on" I also think the Clintons gave us NAFTA, a crass and craven gift to corporate greed, and the disingenuous "effort" for health care reform - which was never a genuine or honest effort, but was a gift to Big Insurance (BIG donors to the Clintons). The Clintons are largely responsible for the Democratic Party becoming a simulacrum to the Republican Party for $$$. Their machinations worked to that end and the Democratic Party started raking in the bucks that once mostly flowed to the Republicans, but what it did to values, principles, policies..... decades of loss for America, but great wealth for the Clintons and their ilk.
It is possible to hold more than one idea in mind at a time and thus it is possible to dislike the Clintons and the Bushes, to detest Trump and to hold the Clintons' power at least partially responsible for inflicting him on us, for Al Gore's loss, for NAFTA and for decades of loss of hope for true health care reform.
The shiny gloss that has been spread over the Clinton "legacy" is false gold, in my opinion.
They tried to convince America that personal and public character were two different things; that was never true and America may finally be seeing that character is character, not something that has shifting meanings, as we have lived through an era of crime syndicate masquerading as government. May we finally, at long last, be waking up and ready to be better, to perhaps try to define who and what we are and then actually behaving accordingly. The definitions have been narrowed and made smaller than they should be: it is not just "freedom" but freedom for what? Freedom to destroy the country? Freedom to install a dictator? Or the narrowing words "stop the peaceful transfer of power" - power for what? whose power? Or "end our democracy" - what kind of democracy? Voting alone is not what makes "our democracy." Hitler and Putin were, after all and strictly speaking, elected! It is what we STAND for, what our values are, what is our national CHARACTER - these are the progenitors of freedom, peaceful transfer of power, our democracy.
It's time we figured out where we actually stand and who we actually are - and then reflect those values in our policies and elections.
Annie, the fact that you wrote a book on a whole different tangent seems unnecessary. The fact is Hillary was the candidate when the votes took place. I did not discuss the DNC behind the scenes of not giving Bernie the pedestal he should have had. I voted for Bernie. There have been other candidates who really should have been candidates and were knocked out by by poor decisions of the designated kings & queens of our elections. Henry Wallace comes to mind. I am not a fan of Warren after the way SHE treated Bernie on stage. Quite outrageous. And she’s a former Republican to boot. I would like to see a strong progressive woman seated as president but first the tyrant trump et al need to be suitably punished.
I think you're a little harsh, but maybe not too much. The entire Dem leadership got very smug when Obama won in 2012, despite the total loss of Congress and state positions, and the DNC under Debbie what's-her-name was a waste of space imo. Also Obama's intellectual approach to several practical problems didn't fill the vacuums other Dem leaders were ignoring.
The insurance industry was in charge of the ACA, and that was on Obama's watch. Despite the many terrific things Nancy Pelosi has done as Speaker, saying "We have to pass the bill to know what's in it" ranks as my personal all-time stand-out idiotic statement by a MOC (Sen. Roman Hruska's "Mediocrity deserves representation" gaff is a close second).
Dems have had cohesion and internal problems for decades. As the Old Guard fades away by necessity, younger generations will move up, and it seems to me that some of them are getting a pretty good handle on how to wield power.
I accept the "a little harsh" and appreciate the "maybe not too much" critique of my comments. I admit to feeling "harsh" about the effects of the Clintons on the Democratic Party versus the loving pass they get from most Democrats. I'm comfortable with being an iconoclast in some regards.
Add to your (short) list of "all-time stand-out idiotic statements," statements that led to subsequent problems that we and the world still struggle with, the ones from Pelosi and Obama that repudiated any possibility of pursuing investigations, or even allowing investigations, of Bush-Cheney-Rumsfeld in the Bush-Cheney era of war crimes when they said the new Obama administration would not be looking back, would only look forward, and there would be NO investigations. Since ANY investigation involves "looking back," they were gilding a refusal to hold the previous administration accountable at all for their acts as if their refusal to investigate represented some "progressive" facade. It is ipso facto bedrock investigation: looking back.
It seems increasingly apparent that each new administration is reluctant to hold any previous administration accountable for any wrong-doing, just in case the new or subsequent administration might want to do that "wrong thing" themselves someday. Precedent cuts both ways, after all. Disgusting and cynical, yep, but also seems to be true.
There are so many examples of some American citizens being above the law, of stretching the very definition of "the law" and of what ignoring the equal application of the law to all has meant to American character - and, I think, in nuanced, gradual and accretive ways, to the vicious, seditious acts on January 6. Seems to be kind of a "look what we can get away with; let's see what else we can get away with." Prime example, of course, being Trump's pushing those "boundaries" further and further away from any recognizable rule of law, system of morality or decency, or sanity (his sociopathy being often cited by expert diagnosticians).
Gerald Ford's bargain with Nixon that allowed for Nixon's pardon. The Democratic Party's defense of Bill Clinton vis a vis Monica Lewinski while demeaning all women, including working to promote the idea that it was Monica Lewinski, not Bill Clinton, who was the guilty party; trying to make him the victim of a "seductive vixen" trope; using "classist" terminology like "trailer trash," and simultaneously trying to claim respect for women; Democratic members of Congress voting for and with Bush-Cheney's invasion of a country that had nothing to do with 911 while continuing the courtship and dancing with the Saudis, still to this day, etc. etc.
Acknowledging that governance and diplomacy may be more complex and complicated than personal values, hewing to some consistent values and principles as some foundational guiding features might be a good place to re-commence for Democrats. (Republicans appear to be a long-lost cause; they appear to be full-bore for fascism - and thus must be considered domestic enemies!)
As to your saying "Dems have had cohesion and internal problems for decades," that is a long-held observation, but possible reasons for it are never part of the observation; isn't it possible that those problems derive from not having clear and relatively consistent values that lead to clear, relatively consistent policies.
And that leads me back to Bill and Hillary Clinton, Trump, the whole magilla: is it really honest to expect honest support for one who seeks out microphones and cameras on a world stage to say, "Women's rights are human rights" (stating the obvious, by the way), while calling women nasty names if they had accused Bill of inappropriate behavior (including being a late middle-aged, married father and employment superior to a young intern, however sexually aggressive that intern might be); the "entitled" Bill accusing African-American voters of disloyalty to Hillary and him by their support of Barack Obama! secret speeches that forbade press coverage by candidate Hillary Clinton to Goldman-Sachs! and so on and so on.....
The Democratic Party has stood for something, but those "somethings" may not be the things that most Americans - actual or potential Democrats - think are - well, let's use that old-fashioned word, right.
Regarding "harsh," yes, there are harsh feelings because of what the cult of Clintons led the country to - worst of all, to Trump and his cult of criminality - but I also feel great compassion for Hillary after the loss to someone who should never, ever be invited to the White House, let alone inhabit it, and to see her, read about her, after the loss and imagine how horrible it must be to live with that. It was truly poignant and heartbreaking to feel for her. I admire that she is able to speak out more of late and be a more public figure again. I have even found myself wishing that she would be a candidate again..... (but I hope not!) I would like to know that she and Bill are donating money and time to good candidates and good causes, ones that are outside of their own self-named organizations and that do not involve profit-making; they are multi-millionaires who could become beloved actual philanthropists, not just fund-raisers of other people's money, but that doesn't seem to be the case. Any lack of humanity or altruism from anybody anywhere of any kind will always pale in comparison to the absolute, immutable selfishness and hoarding greed of Donald Trump
So, the milk of human kindness and harsh feelings can co-exist, but it's probably curdled milk.
I agree to your analysis, I would add, unfortunately morality is not a criteria most Americans care about. It’s more what can this candidate give or do for me.
I agree, but Hillary "won" by less than 2 million votes. For all the media strikes against him, Biden beat Trump by over 7 million votes. I'm afraid that, like the filibuster, the Electoral College, flawed as it is for our representative democracy, is still supported by both Democrats and Republicans, and will be with us forever.
15 states and DC support the Popular Vote Compact (pretty much the Blue states, I think). Imo we need to keep bringing up how bad the EC is. Maybe some purple states will swing over. And maybe more states will go purple as the RW goes more cuckoo-bananas.
Roger, that SC decision in 2000 was just so wrongly decided, but conservatives are nearly always wrong for the past say 4 decades because they are working from a different playbook from everyone else. They are so desperate to enshrine in something what they want. They are like spoiled little kids whose parents have indulged them so much they can't think beyond what they want and want to make sure everyone gives it to them all the time. So little real thought has gone into recent Conservative judgments by the SC it is hard to see them as anything but childish wantings and gettings because they are a supermajority of little spoiled brats that no one can question. It seems Alito is coming up on the top of the heap of that bunch. He doesn't even have to reason in a 21st century way because he doesn't care what happens now, only what he imagines rich white men were thinking over 200 years ago when his family was most likely barely literate in Italy. His racism and misogyny as well as homo/transphobia raise their heads for him regularly and he is OK with leaking decisions as long as he things it will help his religious fanatics throughout the country. The 2000 election decision was appalling and got us a fool as president who took us into 2 wars and a near depression, but I am sure Alito et al are super proud of the decision. Yes, we do need to fix the SC soon.
I'm an American and you're right to feel as you do. Imagine how all of us NON- TRUMPERS feel living over here with these sheeplike cultish MAGA minions!!! 🇺🇸🤦🏾
Vdry true and we have those who want just America. Ignorant to the fact we are a GLOBAL community with the world watching and depend ing on us. Following Trump is not the way to go.
Unfortunately, we got Liz Truss and her mini budget that has sent the UK crashing into recession. Now we have Rishi Sunak. Problem is these conservatives are more interested in serving the rich than the poor and vulnerable. Small government is their cry and trickle down economics neither of which work. If you want decent public services you have to accept that you can only provide them through adequate taxation. Our much cherished National Health Service has been starved of cash and staff training under the present regime. Yes, I am a socialist believing we should ensure that everyone has a right to live free from fear of poor health and the inability to pay for treatment and penury. To have a roof over your head and food in your belly. P.lease don't confuse socialism with communism they are very different.
Well said Irene. I am a Democratic Socialist myself. People confuse any socialism with those lead by dictators.
We got trickle down from Ronald Reagan and our system is more accurately a plutocracy. Republicans have starved funds from education, our brilliant post office service & more.
It has been a long-standing convenience to corporate and other profiteering interests to demonize "socialism" and to re-define and mis-define words and concepts. All collective endeavors can be considered socialistic: libraries, tax-funded roadways and schools and airports, etc. It wasn't a free market (what is that anyway?) that gave false connotations to words like "socialism"; it was corporate greed and entrenched, inherited wealth. The erosion and destruction of anything that benefits, or potentially benefits, "the masses" is a threat to the "elite" and must stopped: public education, universal/single-payer health care, modern, excellent, universal infrastructure, safe communities, etc. etc....
"Communism.....socialism..... 'Reds'......" among the buzzwords employed to make sure that programs and policies and constructs that benefit "the public" are marginalized and denigrated.
Bernie Sanders espoused ideas that once upon a time were bedrock Democratic Party values, but he got labeled a "socialist" (even though he self-described as a democratic socialist) and that was that.
What kind of country do we want? What kind of country do any of us want to live in? Define it for yourself, ask others; let's work to make it so.
The people demonizing socialism are full out fascists and installed one in the White House, got into Congress, and were appointed as federal judges. The MAGA population ignorance seems to be a bottomless pit.
Thanks for the comment, Irene. Much of what we are experiencing here in the States comes from the Reagan / Thatcher debacle of "trickle down", which was a complete con from start to finish, and in many ways Trump and BREXIT were spin offs of that.
We are all aghast. This peculiar individual of limited intellect, -like something out of a bad dream - has unroofed the collective basal ganglia and revealed the collective animal brain. Happened in central Europe almost a century ago. Hopefully it will not happen here.
I'm pleased to read this since I stewed all morning over a BBC World Service report that—typically—reported the contest with a heavy-handed Republican spin. Atypically coherent Walker clips were played before a GOP analyst was featured. The only Warnock clip was a negative ad example, as though the party of Willy Horton/Swift Boat commercials was above such reprehensible behavior. All BBC reporting on the U.S. that I hear is this skewed, which of course makes me doubt BBC reports from any other country.
Not surprising as they are conservative. We have had so much destroyed by letting right wing multi-billionaires monopolize control over our media / airwaves.
Trump’s anti democracy machine will only stop when he’s in prison or dead (I’m not calling for killing him, but everyone dies eventually) that said there will still be candidates who try to take up his mantle.
Like Ron DeSantis for instance. We must make sure that those who think like Trump stay out of power.
Derek, you are right about keeping those who think like Trump from office, but alas, there are a lot of Americans who just love those guys. They somehow came to believe that such bad behavior is a sign of strength and virility. In reality, it is pretty much a sign of ignorance, hatred for others, sociopathy and other mental issues. DeSantis is clearly not playing with a full deck. He comes up with stuff (or his buddies do), and he just pushes them through a legislature that has given up on caring about the state or its people, only what their new hero wants, whoever that is today. That does not make him strong, just willing to amplify the worst impulses of humanity, and he is pretty good at it. It will be hard to stop that because people seem to like hurting other people when they can't be blamed for it - "it wasn't me that said trans parents who try to help their kids should be arrested, I am just following the law." or "You know, I like that book, but it is now banned and . . ."
tfg and disantis are both bullies, plain and simple....accustomed to getting their ways and never being held accountable. . . . that's about to stop for at least one, but we need to wake up and see people like these for what they are right in the beginning. People really DO show you who they are pretty quickly. One of OUR problems is that we have never paid enough attn to other world bullies (putin, kim jung un, MBS, xi jinping, etc) who have been fiddling with our elections from behind the scenes, and who found gold when the narcissistic fg showed up and could be manipulated big time. But going back to bullies right in front of us, we CAN do something about them right now, and the recent election did reveal that there WAS push back on some. We need to keep the momentum going, develop more awarenes,s and act (speak out, vote, etc.) accordingly.
It really starts with a suitable punishment for Trump but I no longer believe he’ll get the suitable punishment. Our nation needs to witness that to feel like voting matters and that we can trust Congress & the DOJ.
Seeking Reason, the challenge we have with holding folks accountable is that it requires adults to actually be in the room to bring the charges and to carry through. Then there needs to be a jury of adults who can see what harm has actually been done. We did not have that when Trump was rightly impeached and Republicans just couldn't hold their Baby Donnie accountable for his crimes. I hope the courts can, but I have my doubts. They aren't doing too well with the other criminals in the Trump gang either. Disgusting!
Ruth, I was reading that Michael Avenatti received a 14 year sentence for stealing from clients. Violent deadly coup participants are getting 2-6 months! TFG -nothing for an endless list of high crimes. It is disgusting beyond the pale!
Seeking Reason, you are right about the pathetic sentences. Don't forget, those perps are white. Racism puts Black men in jail for having a tiny amount of pot or meth for years while white guys who tried to take over our government for their stupid Donnie get almost no time at all. The only thing they get, though is a record. I know there are enough MAGAs out there to make sure that is not a hardship for them. It's just wrong.
Agree Ruth. Donnie will either have a fake death or prison for a king. He allowed a deadly coup attempt. I get impatient with people when they say, No one is above the law. Yes, some are.
All records of pot use should be expunged. I think my state did that but I have to double check. Our police are very good at keeping their eye on the suspicious black man, but not available for an attack at the capitol. If BLM had scaled the walls on J6, they would still be cleaning up the bloodstains.
I was feeling as pessimistic as you, but the news that the Jan 6th is recommending criminal charges be brought on people (as of now, no news of which people), has given me more hope that DJT will be punished for what he's done. Hopefully the punishment will be severe enough to make both (all) of us happy!
Sorry, but you're wrong. DeSantis has a very, very good chance of being the Republican candidate. He has too many of the qualities that DJT's followers (maybe not the extremists) like, without the loudness and brashness. He is very dangerous. If he gets someone who can write good speeches for him (and maybe someone who would coach him on how to talk to push his message) and pares that with more ads - lookout!
The right to protest the actions of our state govt. is under threat from a proposed rule change currently being considered by DeStupid's Dept. of Management Services.(DMS)If enacted,it would give law enforcement sweeping authority to determine if free speech is permitted and remove and arrest anyone they deem disruptive. This is absolutely ludicrous and the rest of the country needs to know how he is!
Mr.DeStupid is mega arrogant,mega toxic and extremely pugilistic.It didn't impress me that he sent his wife around w/ a basket collecting money for victims of Hurricane Ian,it WAS a good thing to do but I saw right thru it,they were grandstanding(w/ a view right to the White House)
He lives and breathes it every minute,lust for power and greed!!!
Derek, I don’t think the danger dies with Trump. There are far more intelligible people just as right wing and hence more dangerous. Trump is a puppet.
DJT is definitely not the only danger we face. Nor is he the worst. DeSantis could be even more dangerous because of his ability to think, rather than react. He's more of a smooth-talker, can be much more devious than DJT, and far less likely to do things to alienate those he needs to stand behind him. But either would be truly bad for the country, so Democrats must work really hard to get out the vote to avoid the consequences that would follow either of them winning.
Derek, I'm rooting for a prison term for Trump. The GA runoffs today will, hopefully, be a win for Warnock. But, it's so very disappointing that results of the general election have led to this.
It’s true it is a disappointment that someone as ignorant as Walker even has a legitimate shot, but given history, the results of the midterm elections in general could have been far worse.
I’m having a very hard time explaining Georgia Republicans to myself. I just cannot fathom people who choose to avert their eyes to the lies and deceptions for so long.
All u said is so scary truthful! I’m worried about the Gen X folks taking over politics in our country! Way too many of them r Trumpers & will follow him over the Cliff!! The World depends on American Democracy & stability! What a mess we could find ourselves in if the GOP doesn’t wake up & condemn his outlandish comments & notorious lies, racism, & anti-democratic actions! He needs to be imprisoned for his crimes & out of the public eye!
Shirley, there are plenty of people in every generation alive today doing great things to get us back on track. And there is rot in every generation. I totally agree that TRUMP et al need to go to prison. It is horrible that we have been for ed to wait this long while people die from the lies.
I look forward to the behavior of an increasingly desperate Donald Trump - desperate to where he really does go bonkers to the extent that he becomes an embarrassment even to members of his Base. Call me vengeful, but I want to watch him unravel himself as he fades from limelight to twilight to midnight to Endless Night with Herschel Bonkers by his side. As together they disappear into the abyss, it would be thrilling to see the final glimmer of Trump as a bit of orange glow, going, Going, GONE! As Robert Frost writes in his poem Out, Out: "Little, less, nothing. And that ended it. No more to build on there."
It's VERY hard to envision tfg exhibiting such extreme/heinous behaviour that his MAGAcultists would actually disavow him...They've cheered--even bragged about--every repulsive thing he's said or done so far...
You are correct. He will never lose his MAGA base. That's kind of the point. The Republicans cannot abandon him because of the hard core nature of his base. They would lose too many votes. But meanwhile, saner heads - greedy though they may be - are steadily turning away and moving on. Quite a (Republican) conumdrum. They have collectively trapped themselves.
But astonishingly, other than Liz Cheney, there seems to be no one of the "mainstream" gop capable and/or willing enough to take on a leadership role in defiance of the disantis/abbott/mcconnell types and the irresponsible circus mc carthy & co. are putting on. Maybe it's too dangerous or simply ill-advised to attempt anything at this point..
Well... There have been those who, like Liz Cheney, have stood up. But almost all have either had to bow out of running for reelection or have lost - mostly in primaries, where it is only the party that is voting. That's exactly the point. They are trapped by his base. In addition there are "never Trumpers," like the Lincoln Project who have been actively nipping at his heels with some pretty significant advertising campaigns. So they're out there.
Part of it is the blind love/admiration that many in the population have for any "celebrity" - esp if they have (even if only purportedly) a lot of money.
The more and more desperate side of all of this is finding voice in events like his dinner with bigots. It's giving the Republicans fits. (George Stephanopolous did a great job of holding a Re[publican Congressman to the fire on ABC this Sunday).
Randy, I know Trump's eating with antisemites has been something of a problem for a few Republicans, but they have only mildly objected for the most part, and want so desperately to believe Trump's whine that he didn't really know who they were really. Of course he did, but if one can cling to the "lies" and enough of your base believes them, there is no real problem and the lie stands, and no one's need to worship at the Trump is impacted. Republicans can go along as they have for the past decades believing in nothing but whiteness and money and power and see where it takes them in 2024.
I hope it goes as you envision, but he scares me. He is a malignant narcissist, seeing the world only in terms of winners and losers. People like him cannot tolerate being seen as any form of LOSER. I'm terrified that the more cornered he feels the more he will do something radical, feeling that if HE can't be "king" nobody else can either, possibly even taking the entire country down with him. He is very obviously growing more and more unstable (and we don't know what he may have already done with the stolen documents...).
You ask where this will end... and sadly my conclusion is that either he will end his own life as Hitler did, or end democracy as we know it by rousing his base to civil war. I live in Florida where the Trump/Desantis base is rabidly emboldened, stirred up, angry, and out for blood. Civil discourse is non-existent-an innocent, apolitical question on a local fb group regarding the dismissal/resignation of a school superintendent erupts into threats and demands that I leave the state because I don’t agree with them. They are so proud that the governor proclaimed that woke dies here-which means open hearts, open minds and open lives to all is nonexistent-it is toxic here-and likely to increase in toxicity as Desantis’ educational structures have been labeled by experts as those that raise up a next generation of ignorant racists. Trump opened the door for a fascist like Desantis-and unless both are stopped and held accountable along with all their congressional enablers-I truly fear for the future of our entire country, not just my state. Trump may be heading toward irrelevance, but the normalization of ugly, angry hatred allows others like Desantis to step up to the plate-and, I fear, Desantis is trump 2.0-smarter, intentionally cruel. It’s going to get worse before it gets better. We, the people, have a true fight ahead of us if we wish to preserve a democracy in the tears to come.
DeSantis will have to get a major charisma transplant before he takes over tfg's MAGA base. DeSantis may fly high in Floriduh, but to the nation as a whole...Ronnie just doesn't have tfg's super power of emotional manipulation and rabble-rousing. Little Ronnie definitely bears careful watching, but I can't see his "smarts" over-coming his other lacks.
Wild. Isn’t it? Were they always so angry, or did trump normalize it? It’s exhausting to be around people so hateful. Ugh! I’m sorry you see it, too. 😔. At least we have this community to give us hope.
Exactly! Many of the news pundits are stating he said for the Constitution to be suspended. He literally wrote for all to see on Twatter (not a typo) he wants it terminated. Even with this treasonous statement, MSM still provides cover. It’s exasperating!
William, I don't know if Trump had had a chance to use the documents before they were confiscated, but I am absolutely sure he intended to use them to get money from people all over the world. Trump is a criminal from the tip of his vacant head to his big toe. He and his cronies were planning probably from the day before he was inaugurated. We the people had no idea what having a criminal in office could be like and we are learning more each day just how bad it was/is and that it is deep damage to who we are as a people.
Not merely a criminal, but a thuggish Mob criminal. Putin is similar--thinks like a gangster, because he IS a gangster (read about Putin's charming exploits as deputy mayor of St. Petersburg in the early 1990's.) Sick-making. Like calls to like.
Kristofarian, I like your thinking! I know you are right about Trump not being worth anything to Putey, so he wouldn't give anyone for him. Trump was just a good tool.
Brittany wasn’t a saint. She cursed our country when she still played basketball. Wonder if she thinks those Russian prisons are better than the ones we have.
"When you surround an army, leave an outlet free. Do not press a desperate foe too hard." - Sun Tzu
Having Trump lose more credibility and power is great, but if we were wise, we'd at least create the illusion of a way out. Perhaps the GOP floats some type of Ambassadorship or other role that gives him the hope that he will be able to soon claim his beloved "absolute immunity" due to some type of political position even if he doesn't become President. This is a genuinely sick man who will burn lives and nations to the ground on a whim. We should seriously consider stringing him along in some way until 2024 is done. Given the millions living off his Kool-Aid for years, I fear what this trapped rat can and will do with whatever power remains should he truly see no way out.
As is often the case, I get up to pee, turn on the computer and you suck me in. A large part of me wants to thank you, professor, you raise interesting and important issues. Another part, thinks I need to sleep more regular hours.
If Walker loses today, as I hope he does, it will be another nail in the coffin of Donald Trump. Unfortunately, he has climbed out of too many coffins in the past to be confident that he will stay buried in the coffin.
Even if he stays in the coffin, I am still worried about the future of the USA. Full disclosure, I am what used to be called a progressive, I am in favor of more income equality, I am in favor more rights for people who are not like me, people with different color skins, different backgrounds, different gender and sexual identities. I am also in favor of more resources for people like me, with mental and physical disabilities that make working hard and perhaps impossible.
There are signs, that those concerns, are at risk even if, Trump is gone from public life.
After Nixon was gone, there were a few years of a presidency of a Ford and Carter. Decent men, although too conservative for my taste.
Then there was Reagan, a hard right turn, and the rest of my adult lifetime the USA sliding even more into a world of a few winners and many losers.
I am afraid that is what will happen now. Although I do have to admit November and early December is much better than I thought it would be.
I am still alone, and dysfunctional, a war is going on in Ukraine with hardships that I cannot imagine. But it is not as bad as I thought it would be.
Economic and individual justice are also my major concerns and I, too see deep problems continuing well beyond Trump. It will do no good for political colors to blend if, along with that change, money continues to flow upward to those in power. I do not find comfort in the fact that more Democrats are gaining more money. I don not find comfort in the news that a Democratic President and Congress has had to force a resolution to the railroad impasse. The system that allows for the disproportionate wealth and that allows that to control our political lives is the core problem that has to be faced and fixed. We cannot allow
We cannot allow our relief that we have excised one tumor to blind us to the deadly metastases in other parts of our system.
I sincerely hope you can hang on Fred, hopefully the government will soon wake up and realize we need to help valuable people like you to have a better, safer life
Well said Fay! The task of mental, and physical disablement is hard on the person. But to think how many slide under the radar of our “health care” system is beyond the pale!
It ends when he’s either dead and gone or in prison with all of his repugnant enablers in the congress/senate. Accountability should be the name of the game but politics trumped it, literally..,,
Agreed. He as much told us so during his debates with Hillary. Dead or in prison is the only way to stop his insanity from harming those within his reach and releasing the spell he has on the Winkle Guards.
In July of 2019, then-president Trump declared that Article 2 of the Constitution gave him "the power to do whatever I want." Articles of impeachment should have been drawn up immediately.
In one of the most insane statements by an astute politician, Nancy Pelosi stated that Trump was not worth impeaching.
I look more to mc connell and the other gop hypocrites who KNEW BETTER and secretly admitted it ... and STILL did NOT convict during both impeachment hearings.... and who were still so busy trying to ride tfg's coattails in terms of hanging onto his base (and therefore their jobs) that they never stood up to the orange bully. I wonder if any of them now stop to think that this country is in a big jam when THEY could have stopped it. I think some are too dumb to realize the predicament THEY have created for us....
With one exception...not we...the corrupted system and the Dems fear of what it might “look” like. It’s time for Dems to protect us and not worry about negotiating with terrorists!
I believe the significance of today’s Georgia runoff lies in the people’s voice: that more voters will choose to send another serious person to the Senate - one who understands our responsibilities to each other and the world.
It depends on where Warnock stands on vampires. Walker pointed out that Warnock didn't take a stand on them. And the fact that Warnock knows what a pronoun is, definitely works against him.
Hopefully this will end with a cry and a whimper, and the wicked orange witch will dissolve in a puddle. All the 'king's' horses and all the 'king's' men will never want tRumpty together again.
It ends when he’s locked up and the key thrown away. Even then, who knows if he’d be pardoned by the likes of someone like DeSantis - God forbid he ever gets into the People’s House. It ends with his death.
Good Luck to Raphael Warnock today… I hope the polls are way off (as they often are) and that it’s a landslide! 🌻
I am fervently wishing for a learning moment for all. "A Republic, if we can keep it", type of learning moment for all of us on both sides of the aisle.
People in the UK and Europe who are alert to American politics are hoping the citizens of Georgia will do the right thing with their votes. I live in England and follow American politics because the results affect the world and my life. A stable and enlightened American government is essential to the world. I have looked aghast at the Trump antics and those who slavishly follow him fearful of erratic and idiotic outcomes that will damage America's standing by destroying our trust. A truly Democratic America is essential to world peace.
Irene, it’s more than the people’s will. It is corruption of our politics. Hillary Clinton WON the popular vote by almost 3 MILLION VOTES! Our electoral college can delete the will of the people. This is something our British friends din’t always realize and are always shocked at such a stupid and intentionally confusing system. The electoral college must go!
Seeking Reason, you are right about the electoral college. It is one of the most ridiculous appalling things the founders came up with. I know they were convinced that ordinary people really couldn't be trusted, but they knew well, state legislatures couldn't be trusted either. Now, we have the Supreme Court about to hear an equally ridiculous case about something Republicans have been working on for a while, creating a theory that somehow the founders wanted state legislators to control voting at all levels. I suspect a few who wanted state power did, but for most, there is no evidence of it, yet our conservative Court is about to manipulate our democracy for purposes only they know. How will the people be able to trust elections? That, of course is the point, screw with elections so people won't vote and rich white men and a few women can control everything, or at least enough that Congress will be rich, white, mostly male from the white states and ignore everyone else. Johnny Roberts will be delighted because his little racist self is trying to manufacture a white Catholic country to give to his god to earn him his way into heaven or something like that. He plans to inhabit it with the other 5. Disgusting!
Ruth and SeekingReason, under our Constitution we cannot 'get rid of the Electoral College'. Changing any part of the Constitution, as you know, requires an Amendment, which requires 2/3 agreement of both Houses of Congress AND ratification of 3/4 of the States. If you lived in Montana, Wyoming, Rhode Island, Maine, would you be willing to give up this power? What we can do practically is select REAL Democratic candidates in "red" States, Give them sufficient staff members to reach every registered voter to LISTEN to what these people really want. Yes, I know they are going to say such silly things as we want to "own the libs" "tell those elites where to go", but that is not what they really want and need, What they really seek is respect, and a government responsive to their real needs, clean water, decent roads, access to education for their children. The GOP gives them their "we'll get 'em for you" but they no more listen to their real needs than we do. It will take time, but we'd have a better County for it, if we did our best to get self-interest, and the accompanying corruption out of government, and truly governed in the best interests of all. Even creepy billionaires would prosper more under a 'well regulated' government for all, whether they believe it or not. If my lifetime wish came true the first to be disposed of would be lobbyists (:-)
Thank you!!! Well said!!! The problem has long been the attitude of many liberals, that Hillary Clinton expressed with her "basket of deplorables" arrogance. I think some of the "woke" agenda that Dems stand for, as important as that is for a fair and just nation of heart and equal rights and opportunity for all, should be tempered a bit, and more emphasis placed on the problems of rural America
John - BS! Where have you been? Everything Hilary said has turned out to be true! Basket of Deplorables is way, way too nice. Rural America has supported racist, nationalist, fascist Republicans, despite what Democrats have done for rural America. There is NOTHING arrogant about calling out the party that prevented trump from being removed after being impeached TWICE. And they protected him after inciting a coup. That’s arrogance.
Your points are also well-taken, but I still say that the Democratic party is seen by many of the people that supported Trump as a lot of East Coast, urban liberals that don't know or care about the people in the rest of the country. Calling out the Republican party is one thing, and the Republican BS needs to be shown openly for what it is. Calling a mass of the American electorate a "basket of deplorables" was as arrogant and, frankly, stupid as was Mitt Romney's secretly-taped, "There are 47 percent of the people who will vote for the president no matter what ... who are dependent upon government, who believe that they are victims. ... These are people who pay no income tax. ... and so my job is not to worry about those people. I'll never convince them that they should take personal responsibility and care for their lives."
Fay my lifetime wish would be to nullify Citizens United. It opened the door to all the dark money in our elections. Congress does not have the intestinal fortitude it would take to bite the hand that feeds them! I have absolutely no respect for any lobbyist.
Thanks for the reminder of the electoral college mess. It reminds me that Jack Smith who has brought us some grounding worked for the Hague. The world court the US never signed on to because we tried to get Cheney indicted
We have work to do. Jack Smith bless your deep morality.
Are you sure about "real needs," Fay? Respect, of course. They should have it -- but no more than any other cohort of the population. "Regardless of race, color, creed, religion, gender or sexual orientation." If god told a redneck he's a more deserving person than you are, I reject the redneck and his god. If god told you you're a more deserving person than a redneck, I reject your god and you.
If people want access to education, they need to stop electing people who block it with RW -- and especially RW Christian -- "values."
The education they need is being deliberately withheld from them so they'll remain afraid, upset, and therefore amenable to promises from liars and cheats.
What you're saying is that we need to elect people who aren't greedy and selfish. Good plan. Unfortunately, there's no requirement to pass a "not greedy and selfish" litmus test before filing a petition to run for office.
The USA wasn't founded with universal suffrage in mind. As voting rights spread, education about the obligations and rights of citizenship didn't. So in the last 250 years we've developed a barely controlled mob of angry adolescents who are pretty sure they're getting shafted somehow (because "someone" -- there's always "someone" -- keeps telling them that's what's happening) and who don't know how or why or what to do about it. But by god they won't stand for it.
Ignorance is preventable. Greed and selfishness are just containable.
Fay,what actually ever was the need for lobbyists?
There was no reason for lobbyists except to push legislation that would benefit their companies, or their personal political views! IMHO lobbyists should be banned from contact with any congressional employee to include SC judges, and the executive branch.
I know it’s a pipe dream, but if we can keep working on getting corporate influence out of our government, the sooner we will have accountability to our citizens.
I know Ruth. It should have been addressed ages ago. Yet our legislators sit silently by hoping to look like a unified group when they never are, never have been.
Religion is another thing that must be exposed for what it is. It has always prevented progress and is suggested by Roman Piso to have been created by royalty ages ago. I can believe it.
Alas, Seeking Reason, as an ordained minister, I must slightly disagree with you a bit. Religion is a complex factor in our nation's history. Our founders definitely did not want any kind of established religion and wanted people to be able to worship or not as they chose. Some were rather religious like John Adams but most like Jefferson, Franklin, and their ilk were not and saw religion as a personal thing not to be messed with by anyone, particularly a government. Some people are so desperate to be right they will force other people to at least pretend they believe what the insecure claim to believe. I guess they think there is strength in numbers. Others isolate themselves from the rest and create their own little church that only the "chosen" people can belong to. There have been non-Christians in this country since before the Revolution, mostly in the cities, a fact some decried while most ignored. At various times, groups have tried to make this a Christian country so everyone will be "saved," or something like that: around 1800, the early 20th century, and the 1950s with the anti Communist crap. There have always been elements within all or most of the religious traditions in this country that fought forcing people to worship. Then, other religious groups evolved. The Puritans over time became strong abolitionists and now as the UCC, champion human rights at all levels, stand against Trumpism and the Republican policy of "cruelty is the point." (disclosure, I am a UCC minister) I have noticed that if a particular religious group is not getting enough attention and they believe they deserve it (right now, white evangelicals and Roman Catholics) the group will stir up some kind of trouble, complaining about how the world is suffering because people have no faith or things like 9/11 happened because homosexuality is permitted. There are enough desperate people in this world to want to believe god is telling them what they should do and that it involves blaming or hurting others. By putting 6 conservative Roman Catholics (well, one high Episcopalian which is almost the same thing) on the Court, Republicans have pandered to them so they could get the force of the church behind whatever it is they want to do to hurt people. It has worked and will continue to work until the justices are stopped by more justices being brought on board who are not held captive by a religious tradition that creates and mandates all kinds of rules that supposedly must be obeyed on pain of sin and ultimate death. It is a dilemma.
Ruth, this may come as a surprise to some readers, but as a full out Atheist, I agree with you. Some people need to believe. Perhaps it is fear, insecurity, feelings of inconsequence, whatever. I respect that need and in no way deny their right to believe. However, as I do believe that regulation is best for government, business, military, I also believe some regulation is essential for religions. No person living on Planet Earth is God, despite what the trumpster may think of himself, therefore no one has the right to decree what other people MUST believe. I hold this to be true whether it is Iran, the deep South or mid-west America.
You are so right Fay, no one on earth has the right to tell anyone else what to believe or even to believe. People who do are simply making up a religion they want everyone in their sphere to obey. It is what scared people do. They want power over everyone in their life, and will do anything to make it look somehow as though they are holy and doing god's will when they are really doing their own will and that of those they surround themselves with. There was nothing holy about the Inquisition, burning of "heretics," purging from society anyone who wasn't praying in just the right way or wearing their Hijab in just the right way, or forcing women to be covered in black from head to foot. It's all nonsense drummed up to make a bunch of men feel powerful and in control. If they really cared about their actual religion, they would know that no religions encourage human beings to kill other human beings. That's stuff made up to make a particular religious set of beliefs seem important and the guys (and it is almost 100% men, seem like they have god's ear and that god has theirs. This is also 100% not true, but those men always are the ones with the weapons and the police forces. The followers only realize that when their rights are gone and any faith they once had has been replaced with something warped and disgusting.
Ruth & Fay, People who are religious can be some of the best on earth. But that is not because they are religious. It is people who accomplish charitable giving not gods. I disagree that some people NEED to believe. It is a relic without an ounce of provability. There are numerous dead religions. Those all used to be real in their time. (Zeus) The reasons religions are still around is, like MAGAs, indoctrination. There is NOTHING outside of the bible and other religious texts to provide proof of these declared gods. The bible itself has numerous authors, not one. Religion has been considered a norm because it is indoctrinated at a young age and has been privileged in the US with tax exemption etc.
We need open discussions and education about what religion is. It’s about control, it’s about money too. The fact that people who challenged religion were killed, ostracized and mentally destroyed (historically & recently) says a lot about it.
I know there are some nice sections of the bible with good advice, there are wonderful people who practice it. But that doesn’t make it worthy. We’ve never allowed atheism at the table but that is changing. And I’m glad of it.
So,what exactly does Christmas mean to people who don't believe?
It just doesn’t have to be this way!
When you lump Roman Catholics, with other evangelicals, please use the word Protestants, otherwise it becomes an escape hatch for all the Christian Nationalists. JMO
Roberts may plan...but, in my personal opinion, he may be a little surprised at where his life's journey places him.
Yes, Hillary Clinton won the popular vote, BUT it was the DNC that actually chose the candidate. The DNC and the Clintons treated Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren as obstacles to the "entitlement" that the Clintons assumed was owed to Hillary. Like it or not, the Electoral College is still a fact and Hillary had to win the EC. Before that election, polls showed that voters considered Trump and Hillary Clinton similarly "bad" candidates. (Something hard to imagine now, having lived through the horrors of Trump.)
Elizabeth Warren would have been a marvelous "first female President" with the added bonus of having made her bona fides on her own accomplishments! The DNC took her aside and made a bargain with her - and after that meeting, she began to campaign for Clinton. (Even though in past interviews with Bill Moyers, Warren had expressed her very candid - and true - opinions of Hillary Clinton). As for Bernie Sanders, well, the Clintons and the DNC treated him extremely poorly, even though it was Bernie's declaration during one of the primary debates "enough with the damn e-mails!" to a question about Hillary's email security that turned Hillary's campaign around! She laughed and thanked him at the time - but later, disingenuously, "trashed" him. It is very hard to say, but the DNC, as a factotum of the Clintons, gave us Trump - and that has been/is a once unimaginable nightmare.
Just to "pile on" I also think the Clintons gave us NAFTA, a crass and craven gift to corporate greed, and the disingenuous "effort" for health care reform - which was never a genuine or honest effort, but was a gift to Big Insurance (BIG donors to the Clintons). The Clintons are largely responsible for the Democratic Party becoming a simulacrum to the Republican Party for $$$. Their machinations worked to that end and the Democratic Party started raking in the bucks that once mostly flowed to the Republicans, but what it did to values, principles, policies..... decades of loss for America, but great wealth for the Clintons and their ilk.
It is possible to hold more than one idea in mind at a time and thus it is possible to dislike the Clintons and the Bushes, to detest Trump and to hold the Clintons' power at least partially responsible for inflicting him on us, for Al Gore's loss, for NAFTA and for decades of loss of hope for true health care reform.
The shiny gloss that has been spread over the Clinton "legacy" is false gold, in my opinion.
They tried to convince America that personal and public character were two different things; that was never true and America may finally be seeing that character is character, not something that has shifting meanings, as we have lived through an era of crime syndicate masquerading as government. May we finally, at long last, be waking up and ready to be better, to perhaps try to define who and what we are and then actually behaving accordingly. The definitions have been narrowed and made smaller than they should be: it is not just "freedom" but freedom for what? Freedom to destroy the country? Freedom to install a dictator? Or the narrowing words "stop the peaceful transfer of power" - power for what? whose power? Or "end our democracy" - what kind of democracy? Voting alone is not what makes "our democracy." Hitler and Putin were, after all and strictly speaking, elected! It is what we STAND for, what our values are, what is our national CHARACTER - these are the progenitors of freedom, peaceful transfer of power, our democracy.
It's time we figured out where we actually stand and who we actually are - and then reflect those values in our policies and elections.
Annie, the fact that you wrote a book on a whole different tangent seems unnecessary. The fact is Hillary was the candidate when the votes took place. I did not discuss the DNC behind the scenes of not giving Bernie the pedestal he should have had. I voted for Bernie. There have been other candidates who really should have been candidates and were knocked out by by poor decisions of the designated kings & queens of our elections. Henry Wallace comes to mind. I am not a fan of Warren after the way SHE treated Bernie on stage. Quite outrageous. And she’s a former Republican to boot. I would like to see a strong progressive woman seated as president but first the tyrant trump et al need to be suitably punished.
Don't forget destroying Glass-Steagall.
I think you're a little harsh, but maybe not too much. The entire Dem leadership got very smug when Obama won in 2012, despite the total loss of Congress and state positions, and the DNC under Debbie what's-her-name was a waste of space imo. Also Obama's intellectual approach to several practical problems didn't fill the vacuums other Dem leaders were ignoring.
The insurance industry was in charge of the ACA, and that was on Obama's watch. Despite the many terrific things Nancy Pelosi has done as Speaker, saying "We have to pass the bill to know what's in it" ranks as my personal all-time stand-out idiotic statement by a MOC (Sen. Roman Hruska's "Mediocrity deserves representation" gaff is a close second).
Dems have had cohesion and internal problems for decades. As the Old Guard fades away by necessity, younger generations will move up, and it seems to me that some of them are getting a pretty good handle on how to wield power.
Thank you for the Glass-Steagall reminder.
I accept the "a little harsh" and appreciate the "maybe not too much" critique of my comments. I admit to feeling "harsh" about the effects of the Clintons on the Democratic Party versus the loving pass they get from most Democrats. I'm comfortable with being an iconoclast in some regards.
Add to your (short) list of "all-time stand-out idiotic statements," statements that led to subsequent problems that we and the world still struggle with, the ones from Pelosi and Obama that repudiated any possibility of pursuing investigations, or even allowing investigations, of Bush-Cheney-Rumsfeld in the Bush-Cheney era of war crimes when they said the new Obama administration would not be looking back, would only look forward, and there would be NO investigations. Since ANY investigation involves "looking back," they were gilding a refusal to hold the previous administration accountable at all for their acts as if their refusal to investigate represented some "progressive" facade. It is ipso facto bedrock investigation: looking back.
It seems increasingly apparent that each new administration is reluctant to hold any previous administration accountable for any wrong-doing, just in case the new or subsequent administration might want to do that "wrong thing" themselves someday. Precedent cuts both ways, after all. Disgusting and cynical, yep, but also seems to be true.
There are so many examples of some American citizens being above the law, of stretching the very definition of "the law" and of what ignoring the equal application of the law to all has meant to American character - and, I think, in nuanced, gradual and accretive ways, to the vicious, seditious acts on January 6. Seems to be kind of a "look what we can get away with; let's see what else we can get away with." Prime example, of course, being Trump's pushing those "boundaries" further and further away from any recognizable rule of law, system of morality or decency, or sanity (his sociopathy being often cited by expert diagnosticians).
Gerald Ford's bargain with Nixon that allowed for Nixon's pardon. The Democratic Party's defense of Bill Clinton vis a vis Monica Lewinski while demeaning all women, including working to promote the idea that it was Monica Lewinski, not Bill Clinton, who was the guilty party; trying to make him the victim of a "seductive vixen" trope; using "classist" terminology like "trailer trash," and simultaneously trying to claim respect for women; Democratic members of Congress voting for and with Bush-Cheney's invasion of a country that had nothing to do with 911 while continuing the courtship and dancing with the Saudis, still to this day, etc. etc.
Acknowledging that governance and diplomacy may be more complex and complicated than personal values, hewing to some consistent values and principles as some foundational guiding features might be a good place to re-commence for Democrats. (Republicans appear to be a long-lost cause; they appear to be full-bore for fascism - and thus must be considered domestic enemies!)
As to your saying "Dems have had cohesion and internal problems for decades," that is a long-held observation, but possible reasons for it are never part of the observation; isn't it possible that those problems derive from not having clear and relatively consistent values that lead to clear, relatively consistent policies.
And that leads me back to Bill and Hillary Clinton, Trump, the whole magilla: is it really honest to expect honest support for one who seeks out microphones and cameras on a world stage to say, "Women's rights are human rights" (stating the obvious, by the way), while calling women nasty names if they had accused Bill of inappropriate behavior (including being a late middle-aged, married father and employment superior to a young intern, however sexually aggressive that intern might be); the "entitled" Bill accusing African-American voters of disloyalty to Hillary and him by their support of Barack Obama! secret speeches that forbade press coverage by candidate Hillary Clinton to Goldman-Sachs! and so on and so on.....
The Democratic Party has stood for something, but those "somethings" may not be the things that most Americans - actual or potential Democrats - think are - well, let's use that old-fashioned word, right.
Regarding "harsh," yes, there are harsh feelings because of what the cult of Clintons led the country to - worst of all, to Trump and his cult of criminality - but I also feel great compassion for Hillary after the loss to someone who should never, ever be invited to the White House, let alone inhabit it, and to see her, read about her, after the loss and imagine how horrible it must be to live with that. It was truly poignant and heartbreaking to feel for her. I admire that she is able to speak out more of late and be a more public figure again. I have even found myself wishing that she would be a candidate again..... (but I hope not!) I would like to know that she and Bill are donating money and time to good candidates and good causes, ones that are outside of their own self-named organizations and that do not involve profit-making; they are multi-millionaires who could become beloved actual philanthropists, not just fund-raisers of other people's money, but that doesn't seem to be the case. Any lack of humanity or altruism from anybody anywhere of any kind will always pale in comparison to the absolute, immutable selfishness and hoarding greed of Donald Trump
So, the milk of human kindness and harsh feelings can co-exist, but it's probably curdled milk.
I agree to your analysis, I would add, unfortunately morality is not a criteria most Americans care about. It’s more what can this candidate give or do for me.
I agree, but Hillary "won" by less than 2 million votes. For all the media strikes against him, Biden beat Trump by over 7 million votes. I'm afraid that, like the filibuster, the Electoral College, flawed as it is for our representative democracy, is still supported by both Democrats and Republicans, and will be with us forever.
You are Incorrect, Alan. To be exact, Hillary won by 2,864,974 votes. It’s ok to call that almost 3 million, not 2 million.
15 states and DC support the Popular Vote Compact (pretty much the Blue states, I think). Imo we need to keep bringing up how bad the EC is. Maybe some purple states will swing over. And maybe more states will go purple as the RW goes more cuckoo-bananas.
👏👏👏👏👏 YESSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This comes up quadrennially, yet it's still there, in place, for probably until the Republic goes glub and sinks into history ..
YES!
Roger, that SC decision in 2000 was just so wrongly decided, but conservatives are nearly always wrong for the past say 4 decades because they are working from a different playbook from everyone else. They are so desperate to enshrine in something what they want. They are like spoiled little kids whose parents have indulged them so much they can't think beyond what they want and want to make sure everyone gives it to them all the time. So little real thought has gone into recent Conservative judgments by the SC it is hard to see them as anything but childish wantings and gettings because they are a supermajority of little spoiled brats that no one can question. It seems Alito is coming up on the top of the heap of that bunch. He doesn't even have to reason in a 21st century way because he doesn't care what happens now, only what he imagines rich white men were thinking over 200 years ago when his family was most likely barely literate in Italy. His racism and misogyny as well as homo/transphobia raise their heads for him regularly and he is OK with leaking decisions as long as he things it will help his religious fanatics throughout the country. The 2000 election decision was appalling and got us a fool as president who took us into 2 wars and a near depression, but I am sure Alito et al are super proud of the decision. Yes, we do need to fix the SC soon.
Writing on the wall Roger, to bad our democratic leaders didn’t recognize that writing.
The closest election ever--1 vote. Then last night, a neighboring town had 2 council candidates tie, so the winner was drawn by lot ..
Hi
I'm an American and you're right to feel as you do. Imagine how all of us NON- TRUMPERS feel living over here with these sheeplike cultish MAGA minions!!! 🇺🇸🤦🏾
They are getting off their couches and out of theur houses and negating theur neighbors' red votes with blue
Monique: I’d delete the “ish” from cult. For all intents and purposes it is a cult.
Good catch on that Harry.
A former Republican here. Learned my lesson again with the clown. Never ever again!
Vdry true and we have those who want just America. Ignorant to the fact we are a GLOBAL community with the world watching and depend ing on us. Following Trump is not the way to go.
Yes.
The UK set a good example for the rest of us, by expelling Boris Johnson quickly and decisively.
Unfortunately, we got Liz Truss and her mini budget that has sent the UK crashing into recession. Now we have Rishi Sunak. Problem is these conservatives are more interested in serving the rich than the poor and vulnerable. Small government is their cry and trickle down economics neither of which work. If you want decent public services you have to accept that you can only provide them through adequate taxation. Our much cherished National Health Service has been starved of cash and staff training under the present regime. Yes, I am a socialist believing we should ensure that everyone has a right to live free from fear of poor health and the inability to pay for treatment and penury. To have a roof over your head and food in your belly. P.lease don't confuse socialism with communism they are very different.
Well said Irene. I am a Democratic Socialist myself. People confuse any socialism with those lead by dictators.
We got trickle down from Ronald Reagan and our system is more accurately a plutocracy. Republicans have starved funds from education, our brilliant post office service & more.
I agree with your political outlook.
It has been a long-standing convenience to corporate and other profiteering interests to demonize "socialism" and to re-define and mis-define words and concepts. All collective endeavors can be considered socialistic: libraries, tax-funded roadways and schools and airports, etc. It wasn't a free market (what is that anyway?) that gave false connotations to words like "socialism"; it was corporate greed and entrenched, inherited wealth. The erosion and destruction of anything that benefits, or potentially benefits, "the masses" is a threat to the "elite" and must stopped: public education, universal/single-payer health care, modern, excellent, universal infrastructure, safe communities, etc. etc....
"Communism.....socialism..... 'Reds'......" among the buzzwords employed to make sure that programs and policies and constructs that benefit "the public" are marginalized and denigrated.
Bernie Sanders espoused ideas that once upon a time were bedrock Democratic Party values, but he got labeled a "socialist" (even though he self-described as a democratic socialist) and that was that.
What kind of country do we want? What kind of country do any of us want to live in? Define it for yourself, ask others; let's work to make it so.
The people demonizing socialism are full out fascists and installed one in the White House, got into Congress, and were appointed as federal judges. The MAGA population ignorance seems to be a bottomless pit.
Thanks for the comment, Irene. Much of what we are experiencing here in the States comes from the Reagan / Thatcher debacle of "trickle down", which was a complete con from start to finish, and in many ways Trump and BREXIT were spin offs of that.
Where are the Liberals?
MaryK it was swift and necessary, ours was extremely critical and we’re still giving it more thought
We are all aghast. This peculiar individual of limited intellect, -like something out of a bad dream - has unroofed the collective basal ganglia and revealed the collective animal brain. Happened in central Europe almost a century ago. Hopefully it will not happen here.
I'm pleased to read this since I stewed all morning over a BBC World Service report that—typically—reported the contest with a heavy-handed Republican spin. Atypically coherent Walker clips were played before a GOP analyst was featured. The only Warnock clip was a negative ad example, as though the party of Willy Horton/Swift Boat commercials was above such reprehensible behavior. All BBC reporting on the U.S. that I hear is this skewed, which of course makes me doubt BBC reports from any other country.
Not surprising as they are conservative. We have had so much destroyed by letting right wing multi-billionaires monopolize control over our media / airwaves.
The only airwaves of ours involved are NPR's. Increasingly when I go there for news I find BBC World Service.
Your last sentence says it all.
Thank you for your support.
James 😄👍🏼
Trump’s anti democracy machine will only stop when he’s in prison or dead (I’m not calling for killing him, but everyone dies eventually) that said there will still be candidates who try to take up his mantle.
Like Ron DeSantis for instance. We must make sure that those who think like Trump stay out of power.
Derek, you are right about keeping those who think like Trump from office, but alas, there are a lot of Americans who just love those guys. They somehow came to believe that such bad behavior is a sign of strength and virility. In reality, it is pretty much a sign of ignorance, hatred for others, sociopathy and other mental issues. DeSantis is clearly not playing with a full deck. He comes up with stuff (or his buddies do), and he just pushes them through a legislature that has given up on caring about the state or its people, only what their new hero wants, whoever that is today. That does not make him strong, just willing to amplify the worst impulses of humanity, and he is pretty good at it. It will be hard to stop that because people seem to like hurting other people when they can't be blamed for it - "it wasn't me that said trans parents who try to help their kids should be arrested, I am just following the law." or "You know, I like that book, but it is now banned and . . ."
tfg and disantis are both bullies, plain and simple....accustomed to getting their ways and never being held accountable. . . . that's about to stop for at least one, but we need to wake up and see people like these for what they are right in the beginning. People really DO show you who they are pretty quickly. One of OUR problems is that we have never paid enough attn to other world bullies (putin, kim jung un, MBS, xi jinping, etc) who have been fiddling with our elections from behind the scenes, and who found gold when the narcissistic fg showed up and could be manipulated big time. But going back to bullies right in front of us, we CAN do something about them right now, and the recent election did reveal that there WAS push back on some. We need to keep the momentum going, develop more awarenes,s and act (speak out, vote, etc.) accordingly.
You left out Victor Orban, and his views are spreading like crazy.
It really starts with a suitable punishment for Trump but I no longer believe he’ll get the suitable punishment. Our nation needs to witness that to feel like voting matters and that we can trust Congress & the DOJ.
Seeking Reason, the challenge we have with holding folks accountable is that it requires adults to actually be in the room to bring the charges and to carry through. Then there needs to be a jury of adults who can see what harm has actually been done. We did not have that when Trump was rightly impeached and Republicans just couldn't hold their Baby Donnie accountable for his crimes. I hope the courts can, but I have my doubts. They aren't doing too well with the other criminals in the Trump gang either. Disgusting!
Ruth, I was reading that Michael Avenatti received a 14 year sentence for stealing from clients. Violent deadly coup participants are getting 2-6 months! TFG -nothing for an endless list of high crimes. It is disgusting beyond the pale!
Seeking Reason, you are right about the pathetic sentences. Don't forget, those perps are white. Racism puts Black men in jail for having a tiny amount of pot or meth for years while white guys who tried to take over our government for their stupid Donnie get almost no time at all. The only thing they get, though is a record. I know there are enough MAGAs out there to make sure that is not a hardship for them. It's just wrong.
Agree Ruth. Donnie will either have a fake death or prison for a king. He allowed a deadly coup attempt. I get impatient with people when they say, No one is above the law. Yes, some are.
All records of pot use should be expunged. I think my state did that but I have to double check. Our police are very good at keeping their eye on the suspicious black man, but not available for an attack at the capitol. If BLM had scaled the walls on J6, they would still be cleaning up the bloodstains.
I was feeling as pessimistic as you, but the news that the Jan 6th is recommending criminal charges be brought on people (as of now, no news of which people), has given me more hope that DJT will be punished for what he's done. Hopefully the punishment will be severe enough to make both (all) of us happy!
Surely do hope so, but the way it’s going my grandchildren won’t even remember what happened, or who he was!
Desantis has none of Trump's charisma, but all of his hate. He is probably a dead duck as a candidate.
Sorry, but you're wrong. DeSantis has a very, very good chance of being the Republican candidate. He has too many of the qualities that DJT's followers (maybe not the extremists) like, without the loudness and brashness. He is very dangerous. If he gets someone who can write good speeches for him (and maybe someone who would coach him on how to talk to push his message) and pares that with more ads - lookout!
The right to protest the actions of our state govt. is under threat from a proposed rule change currently being considered by DeStupid's Dept. of Management Services.(DMS)If enacted,it would give law enforcement sweeping authority to determine if free speech is permitted and remove and arrest anyone they deem disruptive. This is absolutely ludicrous and the rest of the country needs to know how he is!
Mr.DeStupid is mega arrogant,mega toxic and extremely pugilistic.It didn't impress me that he sent his wife around w/ a basket collecting money for victims of Hurricane Ian,it WAS a good thing to do but I saw right thru it,they were grandstanding(w/ a view right to the White House)
He lives and breathes it every minute,lust for power and greed!!!
Yep, needs a come uppence, a knee bending one that strikes fear and humbleness to his very soul. If he has one.
Derek, I don’t think the danger dies with Trump. There are far more intelligible people just as right wing and hence more dangerous. Trump is a puppet.
True, that’s why I mentioned DeSantis.
DJT is definitely not the only danger we face. Nor is he the worst. DeSantis could be even more dangerous because of his ability to think, rather than react. He's more of a smooth-talker, can be much more devious than DJT, and far less likely to do things to alienate those he needs to stand behind him. But either would be truly bad for the country, so Democrats must work really hard to get out the vote to avoid the consequences that would follow either of them winning.
Trump,et al,don’t ‘think’. Preponderance of of the college-educated don’t vote for Trump . Most Trump supporters use only the reptilian brain.!!!
Derek, I'm rooting for a prison term for Trump. The GA runoffs today will, hopefully, be a win for Warnock. But, it's so very disappointing that results of the general election have led to this.
It’s true it is a disappointment that someone as ignorant as Walker even has a legitimate shot, but given history, the results of the midterm elections in general could have been far worse.
I’m having a very hard time explaining Georgia Republicans to myself. I just cannot fathom people who choose to avert their eyes to the lies and deceptions for so long.
It’s not just Georgia, every deep red state does the same thing.
All u said is so scary truthful! I’m worried about the Gen X folks taking over politics in our country! Way too many of them r Trumpers & will follow him over the Cliff!! The World depends on American Democracy & stability! What a mess we could find ourselves in if the GOP doesn’t wake up & condemn his outlandish comments & notorious lies, racism, & anti-democratic actions! He needs to be imprisoned for his crimes & out of the public eye!
Shirley, there are plenty of people in every generation alive today doing great things to get us back on track. And there is rot in every generation. I totally agree that TRUMP et al need to go to prison. It is horrible that we have been for ed to wait this long while people die from the lies.
I look forward to the behavior of an increasingly desperate Donald Trump - desperate to where he really does go bonkers to the extent that he becomes an embarrassment even to members of his Base. Call me vengeful, but I want to watch him unravel himself as he fades from limelight to twilight to midnight to Endless Night with Herschel Bonkers by his side. As together they disappear into the abyss, it would be thrilling to see the final glimmer of Trump as a bit of orange glow, going, Going, GONE! As Robert Frost writes in his poem Out, Out: "Little, less, nothing. And that ended it. No more to build on there."
It's VERY hard to envision tfg exhibiting such extreme/heinous behaviour that his MAGAcultists would actually disavow him...They've cheered--even bragged about--every repulsive thing he's said or done so far...
You are correct. He will never lose his MAGA base. That's kind of the point. The Republicans cannot abandon him because of the hard core nature of his base. They would lose too many votes. But meanwhile, saner heads - greedy though they may be - are steadily turning away and moving on. Quite a (Republican) conumdrum. They have collectively trapped themselves.
But astonishingly, other than Liz Cheney, there seems to be no one of the "mainstream" gop capable and/or willing enough to take on a leadership role in defiance of the disantis/abbott/mcconnell types and the irresponsible circus mc carthy & co. are putting on. Maybe it's too dangerous or simply ill-advised to attempt anything at this point..
Well... There have been those who, like Liz Cheney, have stood up. But almost all have either had to bow out of running for reelection or have lost - mostly in primaries, where it is only the party that is voting. That's exactly the point. They are trapped by his base. In addition there are "never Trumpers," like the Lincoln Project who have been actively nipping at his heels with some pretty significant advertising campaigns. So they're out there.
kinda like the German Industrialists
who backed Hitler who then
dismantled Democracy
& all quite Legally.
He told them he was a snake, they didn’t believe him, so he showed them!
just when you think the trumpfster
can't go any Lower he pulls one
outta the Bag and his Disciples
Always Eat It Up. s.a.d.
Part of it is the blind love/admiration that many in the population have for any "celebrity" - esp if they have (even if only purportedly) a lot of money.
The more and more desperate side of all of this is finding voice in events like his dinner with bigots. It's giving the Republicans fits. (George Stephanopolous did a great job of holding a Re[publican Congressman to the fire on ABC this Sunday).
Randy, I know Trump's eating with antisemites has been something of a problem for a few Republicans, but they have only mildly objected for the most part, and want so desperately to believe Trump's whine that he didn't really know who they were really. Of course he did, but if one can cling to the "lies" and enough of your base believes them, there is no real problem and the lie stands, and no one's need to worship at the Trump is impacted. Republicans can go along as they have for the past decades believing in nothing but whiteness and money and power and see where it takes them in 2024.
But it’s not watched by republicans!
If he hasn't become an embarrassment by now, he never will.
I agree.
I hope it goes as you envision, but he scares me. He is a malignant narcissist, seeing the world only in terms of winners and losers. People like him cannot tolerate being seen as any form of LOSER. I'm terrified that the more cornered he feels the more he will do something radical, feeling that if HE can't be "king" nobody else can either, possibly even taking the entire country down with him. He is very obviously growing more and more unstable (and we don't know what he may have already done with the stolen documents...).
You are correct. But with the midterms he has now lost twice. I think three will be, as they say, "the charm."
I hope it doesn’t go that far!
Oh Karen, I can imagine the fading orange light into the mist of history. Thanks for that one.
His family really needs to have him mentally evaluated.
Karen, 👍🏼😄 Not being the center of attention and seeing his “supporters” abandon him will dry him crazy! Count me in at the vengeful party!
You ask where this will end... and sadly my conclusion is that either he will end his own life as Hitler did, or end democracy as we know it by rousing his base to civil war. I live in Florida where the Trump/Desantis base is rabidly emboldened, stirred up, angry, and out for blood. Civil discourse is non-existent-an innocent, apolitical question on a local fb group regarding the dismissal/resignation of a school superintendent erupts into threats and demands that I leave the state because I don’t agree with them. They are so proud that the governor proclaimed that woke dies here-which means open hearts, open minds and open lives to all is nonexistent-it is toxic here-and likely to increase in toxicity as Desantis’ educational structures have been labeled by experts as those that raise up a next generation of ignorant racists. Trump opened the door for a fascist like Desantis-and unless both are stopped and held accountable along with all their congressional enablers-I truly fear for the future of our entire country, not just my state. Trump may be heading toward irrelevance, but the normalization of ugly, angry hatred allows others like Desantis to step up to the plate-and, I fear, Desantis is trump 2.0-smarter, intentionally cruel. It’s going to get worse before it gets better. We, the people, have a true fight ahead of us if we wish to preserve a democracy in the tears to come.
DeSantis will have to get a major charisma transplant before he takes over tfg's MAGA base. DeSantis may fly high in Floriduh, but to the nation as a whole...Ronnie just doesn't have tfg's super power of emotional manipulation and rabble-rousing. Little Ronnie definitely bears careful watching, but I can't see his "smarts" over-coming his other lacks.
Praying you are correct.
We need to show him to the rest of the country the way "he really is"!!!
The Nazis have DeSantis as a backup for Trump if he gets thrown in prison or dies.
DeSanctemonius! One of the few things that Trump got right! (Use it Dems --Use it, use it, use it!!)
Sorry about living in Florida. We moved from Fl. to just as ignorant red state, tx. Ugly, angry, hatred is rampant.
Wild. Isn’t it? Were they always so angry, or did trump normalize it? It’s exhausting to be around people so hateful. Ugh! I’m sorry you see it, too. 😔. At least we have this community to give us hope.
I believe Trump actually called for the Constitution to be "terminated," not merely set aside.
Treasonous, even for a bloke who will say anything to stay in the headlines.
Exactly! Many of the news pundits are stating he said for the Constitution to be suspended. He literally wrote for all to see on Twatter (not a typo) he wants it terminated. Even with this treasonous statement, MSM still provides cover. It’s exasperating!
One obituary I will read with great pleasure.
trump's never going to die.
How about in prison where he belongs!
excellent Idea!
and then how 'bout we swap him for
Britteny Griner tho I doubt Putin'd
fall for such a crappy deal. we
might hafta toss in Rudy
and a few more Mis-
creants to be de-
termined Later.
Good idea, while we are at it let's bring Paul Whelan home too.
Love he idea of a
Prisoner exchange but who knows if he still has any of those “Top Secret” documents…🙈
He has already shown them to Russia.
Big coincidence: Trump took the documents in January of 2021 and in October of 2021 many CIA agents were being outed. Some killed, some captured.
William, I don't know if Trump had had a chance to use the documents before they were confiscated, but I am absolutely sure he intended to use them to get money from people all over the world. Trump is a criminal from the tip of his vacant head to his big toe. He and his cronies were planning probably from the day before he was inaugurated. We the people had no idea what having a criminal in office could be like and we are learning more each day just how bad it was/is and that it is deep damage to who we are as a people.
Not merely a criminal, but a thuggish Mob criminal. Putin is similar--thinks like a gangster, because he IS a gangster (read about Putin's charming exploits as deputy mayor of St. Petersburg in the early 1990's.) Sick-making. Like calls to like.
That would be a really good idea!
...and isn't it fun to think that Rudy is in the middle of an ethics hearing that could lead to his eventual disbarment. https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/05/politics/rudy-giuliani-ethics-hearing/index.html
How many times can you be disbarred?
offer him trump - oh wait, he already owns him...
At this point I don't think Putin would take him.
we'll make a Nighttime Deposit.
.
perhaps there's a Moscow Highrise
(with operable windows) where
they might go up together
'to Enjoy the view.'
Two birds with
only One
stone.
Very harsh... But not impossible.
it doesn't get much Harsher
than Putin and his Wannabee.
.
Putin just Outlawed LGBTQs.
tumpf's formerly Supreme
Court'll likely follow Suit
.
the Fascism is Coming
Here too brought to
U.S. by today's gop.
Kristofarian, I like your thinking! I know you are right about Trump not being worth anything to Putey, so he wouldn't give anyone for him. Trump was just a good tool.
Brittany wasn’t a saint. She cursed our country when she still played basketball. Wonder if she thinks those Russian prisons are better than the ones we have.
we're jailing peeps
for cussing? I
had no Idea
Honestly, I want him to hang for treason. I'm serious.
"When you surround an army, leave an outlet free. Do not press a desperate foe too hard." - Sun Tzu
Having Trump lose more credibility and power is great, but if we were wise, we'd at least create the illusion of a way out. Perhaps the GOP floats some type of Ambassadorship or other role that gives him the hope that he will be able to soon claim his beloved "absolute immunity" due to some type of political position even if he doesn't become President. This is a genuinely sick man who will burn lives and nations to the ground on a whim. We should seriously consider stringing him along in some way until 2024 is done. Given the millions living off his Kool-Aid for years, I fear what this trapped rat can and will do with whatever power remains should he truly see no way out.
Ambassador to the North Pole?
it doesn't get much Whiter.
perhaps he can befriend
a Polar Bear and they
might get a Cave
together some-
wheres.
Polar bears deserve better!
Love it! Maybe he could be inspired to be @ the real Santa! The Grinch had a change of heart! But the Grinch did mot cause deaths!
I think his best "way out" may be to turn Mar-a-Lago into a personal mental hospital. -- By the way, I loved your opening quote. Very on point.
String him along in prison
Which other country do you hate sufficiently to send them Ambassador trump?
his Disciples are Overly-Well-Armed
and Exceedingly Dangerous
spoiling for a Fight to
the Finish. he could
stir 'em Up in a
Heartbeat - to
live and Die
for the tru-
mpfster is
the Glory
they seek
.
right wing terrorism
gets little notice when
the guys in Uniform're
not inamicable to it too.
.
well there ya go
As is often the case, I get up to pee, turn on the computer and you suck me in. A large part of me wants to thank you, professor, you raise interesting and important issues. Another part, thinks I need to sleep more regular hours.
If Walker loses today, as I hope he does, it will be another nail in the coffin of Donald Trump. Unfortunately, he has climbed out of too many coffins in the past to be confident that he will stay buried in the coffin.
Even if he stays in the coffin, I am still worried about the future of the USA. Full disclosure, I am what used to be called a progressive, I am in favor of more income equality, I am in favor more rights for people who are not like me, people with different color skins, different backgrounds, different gender and sexual identities. I am also in favor of more resources for people like me, with mental and physical disabilities that make working hard and perhaps impossible.
There are signs, that those concerns, are at risk even if, Trump is gone from public life.
After Nixon was gone, there were a few years of a presidency of a Ford and Carter. Decent men, although too conservative for my taste.
Then there was Reagan, a hard right turn, and the rest of my adult lifetime the USA sliding even more into a world of a few winners and many losers.
I am afraid that is what will happen now. Although I do have to admit November and early December is much better than I thought it would be.
I am still alone, and dysfunctional, a war is going on in Ukraine with hardships that I cannot imagine. But it is not as bad as I thought it would be.
And with that I am off to bed again.
Economic and individual justice are also my major concerns and I, too see deep problems continuing well beyond Trump. It will do no good for political colors to blend if, along with that change, money continues to flow upward to those in power. I do not find comfort in the fact that more Democrats are gaining more money. I don not find comfort in the news that a Democratic President and Congress has had to force a resolution to the railroad impasse. The system that allows for the disproportionate wealth and that allows that to control our political lives is the core problem that has to be faced and fixed. We cannot allow
We cannot allow our relief that we have excised one tumor to blind us to the deadly metastases in other parts of our system.
I sincerely hope you can hang on Fred, hopefully the government will soon wake up and realize we need to help valuable people like you to have a better, safer life
Well said Fay! The task of mental, and physical disablement is hard on the person. But to think how many slide under the radar of our “health care” system is beyond the pale!
It ends when he’s either dead and gone or in prison with all of his repugnant enablers in the congress/senate. Accountability should be the name of the game but politics trumped it, literally..,,
Agreed. He as much told us so during his debates with Hillary. Dead or in prison is the only way to stop his insanity from harming those within his reach and releasing the spell he has on the Winkle Guards.
We have only ourselves to blame.
Trump should have been removed from the office of the presidency
on January 7th.
It's been nearly two years now and Trump is still walking around free.
I think it was a huge mistake to let Trump finish out his term in office.
In July of 2019, then-president Trump declared that Article 2 of the Constitution gave him "the power to do whatever I want." Articles of impeachment should have been drawn up immediately.
In one of the most insane statements by an astute politician, Nancy Pelosi stated that Trump was not worth impeaching.
You are right: We have only ourselves to blame.
But she did it twice.
Don’t pi$$ off someone smarter than your self!
After a half-dozen (at least) impeachable offenses. She's a pure political creature -- and what a tragedy that turns out to be.
I look more to mc connell and the other gop hypocrites who KNEW BETTER and secretly admitted it ... and STILL did NOT convict during both impeachment hearings.... and who were still so busy trying to ride tfg's coattails in terms of hanging onto his base (and therefore their jobs) that they never stood up to the orange bully. I wonder if any of them now stop to think that this country is in a big jam when THEY could have stopped it. I think some are too dumb to realize the predicament THEY have created for us....
With one exception...not we...the corrupted system and the Dems fear of what it might “look” like. It’s time for Dems to protect us and not worry about negotiating with terrorists!
Cjthebrickman, Couldn’t agree more
where do i hope this will end? death for trump by hanging for treason.
where WILL it (probably) end? mar a largo, with trump hosting a fundraising event to grift his few remaining supporters to pay his legal expenses.
or death by firing squad for treason. it's no less than what the rosenbergs got, and for less on their parts.
He's never going to die.
Everyone dies. Some sooner, some later.
Nancy—We can only hope it's not too late. If only his cult would follow him all the way!
he'll have 'em put his head
in a jar with tubes and shit
where he'll Barkout Orders
to whomever will listen
from there he'll prolly
Rule the Universe.
.
just think:
WE knew
Him When.
I believe the significance of today’s Georgia runoff lies in the people’s voice: that more voters will choose to send another serious person to the Senate - one who understands our responsibilities to each other and the world.
It depends on where Warnock stands on vampires. Walker pointed out that Warnock didn't take a stand on them. And the fact that Warnock knows what a pronoun is, definitely works against him.
/s
From your keyboard to the Eyes of Yahweh. Make it so, God.
I would like to see Kirsten Cinema primaried out and an actual Democrat take her place.
Hopefully this will end with a cry and a whimper, and the wicked orange witch will dissolve in a puddle. All the 'king's' horses and all the 'king's' men will never want tRumpty together again.
A cry, a whimper and prison!
SeekingReason; Significant time out for the corpulent toddler!
He could at least use a more flattering shade of orange 'makeup'.
It ends when he’s locked up and the key thrown away. Even then, who knows if he’d be pardoned by the likes of someone like DeSantis - God forbid he ever gets into the People’s House. It ends with his death.
Good Luck to Raphael Warnock today… I hope the polls are way off (as they often are) and that it’s a landslide! 🌻
The end of this paragraph stated: "Where will this end"? When people and main stream news quit talking about Trump. That is when it will end.
I am fervently wishing for a learning moment for all. "A Republic, if we can keep it", type of learning moment for all of us on both sides of the aisle.