So grateful for Republican Mayor Giles, of Mesa, AZ, speaking up to encourage the MAGAS to break away from, as Kamala and Walz gain more momentum by the hour, the morally and ethically Bankrupt Trump, with his only defense now being, to blame the Deep State Conspiracy, which is, his biggest Lie of All! My fear is that can the Secret Service protect Harris&Walz??
Margie, I thought Mayor Giles was awesome in that speech! Everything he said was so true! He isn't the only republican calling for republicans to break away from the orange man and his cult. There are so many now saying it is time to purge the republican party and bring it back to what it once was. Vote blue, America!
Imo that’s a good line to follow, Peggy. Purging the far right actually opens a path for Republicans to reinvigorate the party. And Dems are ok with this.
Elections should reflect the will of voters, not the selfish and self-serving goals of candidates.
As much as a president who believes in the country, we need a Congress that does too and will promote legislation to replace the guardrails the Roberts Court has destroyed.
Doesn't the fact that the electorate has been so evenly split between Dems and GOP, despite the fact they have Trump as their nominee, mean that the party brand and a voter's sense of affiliation with that party (and animus toward the other party) is more important to most than anything else? To the extent you don't believe this is the extent to which you view people who vote for Trump as morally deficient, irrational, racist, misogynist, etc etc. Of course, the GOP brand ain't what it used to be,
Once we win the presidency in November, it's Congress that will be the problem. Decades of GOP gerrymandering have diluted the voice of Democrats in the election processes in the states. It's almost ten years till the next census, which is when gerrymandering occurs. We've got to make a plan to reverse-gerrymander then! Until then, though, it's going to be touch-and-go to hold even one house of Congress. (Not to mention the rogue and corrupt Supreme Court. Can we just make a national agreement to ignore everything they say?)
There are some GOP that are realizing they cannot win the general elections with the right-wing, gun toting, extremists of their party. (In this red state, we got to see an arsenal of guns during the primary). It doesn’t mean the GOP will turn into a party for the people. They will still be for big business, $, pharmaceuticals, big oil. But at least they may be trying to go back to being more civil about it.
You are right, Midwest! Republicans like Mayor Giles are finally saying what they should have said back in 2016. Had they blocked the orange stain back then, it is possible we would not be in this situation today. At some point, we would be facing this threat on Democracy. This change with the GOP began decades ago. They worked to get politicians in that thought like they did and began to work from within. I think what has happened is they jumped the gun and pushed Project 2025/Agenda 47 before they had all their ducks in a row! Once Project 2025 came to light and the American people could read for themselves what the republicans planned to do, the rude awakening happened and the American people said NO WAY! In America, we love our Democracy even with all its flaws. We will never vote for an authoritarian regime and dictator - not here in America! Vote blue, America!
The wacko republicans got their 'moral' boost from the libertarian party, and it's belief in the "virtue of selfishness" as promoted by Ayn Rand. Their ideal man is an Elon Musk type. Her books drips with hatred for the common good, and paints those who esposs it with gross incompetance, and stupidity. This simple viewpoint led them to free up the billionaires to do their 'good' work.
What they failed to realize is that the separation of society into the oligarchs and the serfs is a lousy solution to the age old problem of laziness and greed among everyone. We get the rich supporting their laziness and greed by taking the due benefits from the workers. We get the poor suupporting their laziness and greed by living off of government handouts.
We need government to promote fairness is the distribution of the goods that are produced. It is all about justice.
Mayor Giles was amazing. It reminds me of Heather Cox Richardson's analyses: the Republican party under Lincoln broke away from the corrupt Southerners and put an end, successfully, to Black slavery. The Republican party in the 19th and 20th-century Midwest championed labor and held corporate greed in check. This is the Republican party as it should be (even though I'm a yellow-dog Democrat, I now cherish and revere the Eisenhowers, the McCains, the Romneys, the Liz Cheneys of the world. I miss them. I want them back.) If we can isolate the MAGA people, who are NOT Republicans of this historical kind, and get the real Republicans to stand away from Trump and with American values, we have an even better chance of winning in November. The Republicans-for-Harris and the Mayor Gileses of today are a hopeful note. We need to do everything we can to give real Republicans a place to stand, away from the MAGA people and with American values (which Trump has nothing to do with).
I think even his supporters are beginning to recognize at least Trump's disintegration. The right-wing Morning Joe people were very critical of Trump's recent behavior this morning. They did not defend him at all. They called him unhinged.
I like it, Margie. The convicted felon and bankrupt Trump - - oh, goodness, there is a MAJOR "catch phrase" there that I'm just not quite getting... (Lack of sleep from watching the Perseids!)
Margie.... I agree... Let's Hope that the Secret Service can protect the Harris/Walz Team... DJT will get more unhinged as Accountability creeps closer... His Zombies may as well... Next Week's Democratic Convention will be a test... I've talked to a lot of the Zombies... They don't see the World the same way we do... Their Reality Filters are beyond 'Industrial Strength'...
YUP GOTV knock on doors, work phone banks,, contact PostCards to Swing States or a similar organization if it takes 100 postcards to move the Dems forward by just one vote in a swing state and we collectively write millions of them, well you do the math it starts adding up fast! don`t delay time is flying by and the opportunity to turn talk amongst believers into mobilization of would be Dem voters is NOW
Before GOTV, millions of unregistered folk trend heavily Democratic. Register them, then get them to the polls. Gen Z represents 25% of the voting population. FT 6 has 22k volunteers nationwide and a gung-ho volunteer staff of 120 activists who lead 25 specialized teams, stretching every donor dollar to the limit. Register Democrats, save the world.
The Republicans have concentrated their voter suppression laws and activities in the 2020 Swing states, especially Georgia and North Carolina.
What the Democrats need to do,is identify heretofore Red States, that are weak and can lean Democrat if the right issue is raised, like women's rights and choice. Texas is actually one of those states, I think. Missouri, Kansas maybe.
I think the macro economic forces at work are that TV media is becoming passe’.
The younger people are not getting news from TV they are getting it from TikTok, podcasts etc.
The oligarchs that own the print and TV monopolies feel it in their bones… they know their gravy train is about to drive off a cliff— so they are trying to sensationalize to squeeze out every last drop.
Trumpet 🎺 is playing the Long game he knows he has only a slight chance to win the election and end his federal legal woes.
Instead , Trumpet 🎺 is faking Alzheimer’s and dementia so that when he is held accountable for his criminal traitorous behavior he will claim that he is mentally unfit to be prosecuted and serve jail time. Therefore Leave the warped old man alone he is not accountable for his crimes he has Alzheimer’s and is Demented.
Trumpet avoided the draft with shin splints claiming dementia and Alzheimer’s is not a stretch and doctors are for sale and testify for trumpet 🎺.
...If only America DID know what to do, while don't overestimate most of your countrypersons given that many of them don't read and frankly do not think, as testified to by Trump's '16 win!
Trump 'won' in 2016 only because of the electoral college and Putin's help [and now, it turns out, maybe the $ millions 'loaned' to him by the Egyptian dictator]. We will have to see why Bill Barr, his Roy Cohn at the time quashed the investigation in this scandal. He lost the popular vote and in on pass to lose it again.
Dictators all help one another because to them, Democracy is the common enemy.
Bunkerboy LOST to Hillary, a despised but competent career politician, in 2016. I cannot count the electoral college in good comscience, as it was ONLY created because our honkey founders were a-scared of non-white people.
"ONLY created because our honkey founders were a-scared of non-white people." Daniel, please let's not forget, the honkeys didn't even acknowledge the existence of women who were chattel, but with no monetary value, unlike slaves that were at least "worth" something. Con-vanced?
That’s not 100% true… dowry payments used to be a thing 🙃 so while white women “had value,” it was harder to quantify an intrinsic, ineffable sort of value (what makes the southern belle) than simply judging the work an enslaved person could do. Idk why I never see people talk about the historical trade of women between men as slavery. It literally was buying domestic labor/childbearing services; I’m pretty sure the only differences between marriage and slavery in America in the early 1800s was that it was frowned upon to “resell” or beat your wife to death, and she needed to be dressed better than your slaves 🙄
I think only rich men made dowry payments for their daughters. Not a lot of Americans in the last 240 years were rich enough to do that. Women were just chattels, property to be handed off from father to husband without payment.
I agree, Cecile, while my country finds your electoral college stuff a nonsense! That said, those who might 'normally' have voted for Hillary had been alienated by her further to the destruction of the Dem. working class base which her husband (and therein she by association) had presided over prior to 'Junior' taking over as Prez. In other words, H. should have won in a way that bypassed her need for EC validation. ...As for Putin's influence further to my reference to so many (if not most) Americans not being able to think, I shall merely say to that, Q.E.D.: quod erat demonstrandum!
Having thought more about your weird EC sanctioning regimen, the closest approximation, I think, to that in my country (Australia) is the quota system which elects members of the Australian Senate (our upper house) or perhaps even the Hare-Clark quota voting method which occurs only in our Tasmania. While America has much to commend it (despite its vile cultural imperialisms and its rabid foreign machinations as these relate to supporting its industrial or now post industrial state), it's the most collectivised thinking nation on the face of the earth further to its uncritical belief in rationalism as an operating formula, with this being combined with (still, and further to Arthur Miller) bad theocracy.
With Aussie greetings and best wishes to all there across the even vaster pond!
IMO, since the election was determined by the electoral votes in the Great Lakes/Rust Belt/Swing states, I don't think that the Putin cult had much influence, but that hasn't stopped them as there are still at it thousands of bots on Xitter,and quite a few AI bots, and fanatics are posting on free substack like Robert's. We have our share., they know how to appeal to liberal sensibilities, so they fling out trigger words as accusations, like racism, genocide, neo liberal,neo conservative, but in the direction of Biden, now Harris, Redirect to the real genocidal perp, Putin, and they ignore and keep attacking the Democrats.
Incorrect. He won '16 because his opponent was not a person enough people wanted to vote for. Quit assigning blame to anything but the candidate and their team's strategy. I am so tired of losing politicians refusing to own their failures. Quit blaming voters when they don't support your team. It's pathetic and nobody is owed anyone's votes.
Troll. Read the Mueller Report. Putin aided Trump. Whether he took a bribe is relevant to this election. That's the first question that he should have been asked at his "press conference" at Mar a Lago and it should be headlines until he gives a response. .
Meanwhile, HRC won by 2 mil votes. Maybe a million more provisional ballots weren't counted.
She was far from a perfect candidate, but she didn't protest the outcome. Maybe she should have.
Ben, alas, Hillary Clinton won the popular vote by nearly 3 million. In any other democracy that would be a victory, but our racist forebears wanted slave states to have more power than they deserved and we are stuck with this "electoral college" insanity until we can get people to wake up to its stupidity. Trump also had lots of help from Russia, proven by numerous sources. Then there's the systemic misogyny that is endemic and strikes at nearly every woman who wants to do anything that involves power, no matter at what level of society. It is fortunate so many women have been able to break through that barrier over time. Trump is and was a racist, misogynistic, xenophobic classist reality TV personality that people thought was something positive because of the way he fired people. In reality he was terrible on that show and most of it was hours and hours of recorded content they couldn't use. Most of the people can be fooled most of the time, but in this case, it was the scared white people in the white states and some swing states that put a total fool into the White House and while he was there he proved over and over just how much of a fool or rather, ignoramus he was.
Ben, like millions of Independents, I wanted Sanders but voted HRC b/c DT is a malignant con artist. You’re right that HRC was a very poor choice, but your comment is misleading. HRC won the popular vote by 3,000,000. DT took office b/c he won the Electoral College.
That is true, but the Electoral College has existed for more than 200 years. Successful candidates know that they have to get to that magic number of 270. Hillary didn't campaign in Michigan or Wisconsin. She apparently thought that so many voters would see that Trump is unfit to be president that there was no way she could lose. And because Democrats had neglected downballot races for so long, there was almost no base of support in critical battleground states. Kamala Harris, in contrast, is campaigning in battleground states and there are now Democratic elected officials to get their voters out.
I do hate the electoral college… presidential candidates only have to pull in what seven states out of 50!! That is ridiculous… the candidates should have to get the majority vote period!! Winning the popular vote should be an equivalent to a certain # of electoral? Or abolish that electoral… POTUS is over the entire country… they should need the popular vote to win!
She could have won the popular vote by more but there were plenty in red states who simply did not vote for Clinton or Trump because they saw the outcome would be for Trump in their state. Had it been a close race many would have voted for Clinton (holding their noses). I don't agree with that voting rationale.
I’m sorry but I disagree, it was in fact the electoral college that helped him to win in 2016.
There were more than enough voters who supported Hillary, the problem was that they didn’t live in the right states.
She won the popular vote by a landslide, but people in swing states were so convinced that Trump never could win, so they didn’t bother to go out and vote.
In 2020 everybody realized the need to vote, which resulted in a record number of voters and a win for the blue team.
It was little more than Putin's troll farms and Comey's BS, T L Mills.
It was the rust belt/swing states that put Trump in office.
The rust belt became the rust belt and swing states because of Bill Clinton 's NAFT and GATT. and the millions of blue collar workers that lost their jobs didn't forget that it was a Clinton who was responsible.
The causes are many, but I believe that her campaign and the old Democratic Party has neglected workers and Unions for much too long. I remember seeing a comment [and I wish I could remember who said it in the Hillary camp]. It was, talking about workers :" Who else are they going to vote for, anyway?" In Wisconsin, I remember that the remark landed like a heavy rock in the pond.
Another one, after the defeat, was to blame "uneducated voters", "low Education voters"; by that, she meant folks who only had their High School diploma or less. Strategically, it was one of the biggest mistakes. "Gun Toting Bible Thumpers" was another one.
There were many less insulting ways of putting it, even if that was her belief, but by searching for the catchy phrase [would also provide her loss with a fig leaf,] she lost them. "Workers who don't believe in Unions", "folks who believe in the 2nd Amendment Uber Ales", "Christians who need to remember what Jesus stood for" are expressions that capture the truth of it without being insulting. It is less "catchy", I'll grant you that, but it didn't take her where she wanted to go.
Also, there is the question of finances: The Unions used to be the backbone of the Democratic Party. More than money, they provided support and votes: those are the folks who will canvass, come to rallies, and more importantly, VOTE! The Democratic Party, the Blue dog wing of it [Manchin, Sinema, Clinton and others] turned to wealthier donors on Wall Street, and so became "The third Way".
I hope Dems realize that and never again neglect workers.
Look at who was winning every contest before James Clyburn endorsed Joe Biden: It was Bernie Sanders, and you still can't find someone in the Democratic Party with a more Pro-Union bona Fides.
So you are dead wrong about 2016. and we don't know yet the complete influence of a Russian Operative, who was convicted of being a Foreign Agent, Mr. Manafort, who got crucial electoral polls given to him by Trump.
You said:" I am so tired of losing politicians refusing to own their failures". Yet you are supporting Trump? who lost in 2020, and had a deadly tantrum that caused January 6th. He did not get the Popular Vote in 2016 or in 2020 and I predict he will *also* lose the popular vote in 2024. Don't drink the Kool-Aid, my friend!
Cecile, blaming the Russians is too easy of an excuse, it saves Hillary and the DNC from accepting responsibility and the fact that they have been tone deaf for decades.
The states of the Great Lakes were blue collar states, and the Democrats took them for granted and thought that they were safe.
Bill Clinton signed NAFTA and GATT and gave tax breaks to manufacturers who relocated to Mexico and Asia, and thus with a stroke of a pen created the rust belt which turned Red, Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennslvania. Ohio appears to be irrevocably red.,where it was once blue.
Also Hillary was not an attractive candidate, she is not charismatic, and does not come off as sincere.
She was a terrible choice by the DNC, but she had stood in line, earned creds in foreign affairs, paid her dues and that is what the DNC required of candidates, so in the Primary they put their thumb on the scale for Hillary.
The DNC misjudged, and still does, the mood and temperature of the people.
I don't think that the present ticket is one that the DNC would choose.
They would have preferred Josh Shapiro, a centrist Democrat with neo liberal inclinations.
Here is what a mid-western senator stated recently: "there is something dark and ugly in the Democratic Party." Don't expect that to change any time soon.
Please don't presume I'm a Cult 45er. I attend D meetings, very rarely vote R, and (along with my spouse & child) were turned off enough in '16 to not bother voting. That is the only election (including primaries and off year) I have sat out. Obama broke my heart, a little, and Secretary Clinton utterly disgusted us all.
Ben. In my early years I was a single issue ultra conservative, my single issue was anti communism. I voted for Goldwater in 68, but realized that both parties were two sides of the same coin, and did not vote again until Trump came down the elevator, by that time I had matured and realized that communism was a phony and dead issue, and that the real threat was from right wing, racist, religious extremism,
When Trump came down the escalator opened his foul mouth, I ran out and registered Democrat. I didn't like Hillary, I didn't trust her, I voted Bernie in the Primary, but I had no choice but to vote for Hillary as she was the only viable alternative to that filthy pig, Trump.
You and those like you are the reason that we are on the verge of a dictatorship.
I can speak for Michigan because -- besides being born and raised there (Dearborn) -- I still have family there, and went up to visit them often in 2016. My wife and I noted, and then became shocked at the lack of Hillary signs. She was so sure she'd win Michigan she never campaigned there. This led to complacency by voters who felt she was taking them for granted. Some have calculated she lost Michigan by an average of TWO votes per precinct.
Putin had NOTHING to do with it. I sure wish people would try to really learn the truth. (The religious right had their voters out in force.)
on edit: MANY on what would have been the natural base for Democrats were put off by the term "super-predator." I recall hearing this brought up again and again. Her husband greatly modified the welfare programs and signed NAFTA. All the above combined to deny her Michigan's 16 electoral votes.
Appreciate the analysis, Tom. HRC was a dreadful choice for a lotta reasons. I point out the 3,000,000 vote margin because it matters. As bad as she was, a huge number of Americans understood that her opponent was a clear danger to democracy itself. He and the oligarchs who support him still are 🇺🇸
When folks mention the three million vote margin, it's also good to recall that she won one state -- CA -- by nearly 4.5 million. Which means that massive lead was whittled down by 1.5 million in the other states. Having just one state out of 50 playing such a dominant role also COULD be a problem were we to just abandon the EC.
Also, I don't think many considered Trump to be a danger in 2016. Many were willing to take a chance on the reality TV host. My impression of him was a demagogic BS artist. I didn't realize how mentally damaged he was.
Thomas, that the Democrats took Michigan for granted is arrogance and stupidity on their part. Michigan became a swing state, because Hillary's husband Bill, created it when he signed NAFTA and GATT and manufacturers moved to Mexico. The People did not forget.
IMNSHFO, the loss by the Democrats in ‘16 was a perfect storm of all the aforementioned influences; Bill and Hillary’s political baggage (as you highlighted), Russian interference, lackluster campaigning (particularly in the Midwest), FBI investigations gone awry, and voter complacency, all contributing in varying degrees.
William. For the most part I agree with your comments... but, Hillary's 3 million vote win came from every state. Not just California. Even deep red states have millions of loyal voting Dems.
Past is past. Lets hope more folks this time are really listening to the Mad Orange Man and make the Blue choice again. Cheers... GH
Ben, except for Electoral I don’t think there’s any word in my reply over 2 syllables, but sure, I can go shorter: You are wrong. HRC won 3,000,000+ more votes than Trump.
All 1-syllable words (you have to know what the 0’s represent). Hope that helps.
Ben, Hillary won the popular vote by 6 million. She had the support of the people. What she didn’t have was the support and help from the Russians and the votes from the key states in the electoral college.
Exactly right. Dumpty Humpty never "won" anything, let alone 2016. He cheated. Like all Rethuglicons, the ONLY way they have any power is by their lying, cheating and stealing our votes, our elections.
Gerrymandering in red-ruled states guarantees they stay red. Throwing away millions and millions of blue district ballots and voter intimidation whenever they have control of the courts and election committees is how they grab and hold power.
Lie, cheat and stealing our votes is their only plan and has been for decades--atleast since Paul Weyrich.
It’s so very satisfying to see a super articulate, competent, intelligent, talented woman and attractive, Best the not aging well, poor very, out of shape, wispy haired, pitted skin, down right ugly “djt” former guy, everybody just wishes would go away, doesn’t have the decency to know people roll their eyes, ‘cause he’s a hanger on, a loser, needs to go away, pack it up. Face up to he’s a has been. Go retire to soggy Mar a go go, spin those long ago Old timey”used to be hits” from back in your day. Way back when, buster. Put a fork in it. You’re done.
Assuming the votes get counted. It appears that swing states controlled by the GOP have passed laws to allow them to not certify the election on the vaguest of terms.
So Tom, why, then are you on this thread? Is your task to undermine people's hope in our future. If so, you are doing an OK job, but in moments, what you have written will be a fleeting memory. We get enough crap from Trump and Kump that yours is a minor blip. Keep spouting it that Harris is just as bad as Trump blah blah blah, but it really isn't true, and I think most people here know it isn't.
Voting is a fundamental civic responsibility. Tom, Wittingly or not, you’re peddling an argument that runs counter to the US national interests. Americans who fail to vote advance the interests of the GOP and the oligarchs they embrace. VOTE BLUE in 2024! 🇺🇸 🗽
As long as you use the qualifier “probably,” you leave a sliver of hope that you are wrong. If you’re wrong, and I think you are, then you have the right and, if you’re an American citizen, the obligation, to vote. You could vote for TFG, but the most likely candidate to alter course is VP Harris. You’re somewhat right as the billionaire class has a lot of control with the “supreme” court and republicans in their pockets. But there are more of us than them, and the US electorate has demonstrated on several occasions the ability to change course. You can be a part of the change. Vote. Vote blue. Campaign for your cause. Don’t give up. Don’t go back! Just do it. Vote!
It was one thing to stand on principle when the choice was Biden or Trump, but now with Harris and a reall “Midwest Populist” in the race, you just look stubborn.
No. He just looks dumb. Dumb and high. I know Robert doesn't go with this type of discourse but I'd say Tom has earned a smack down or two, wouldn't you?
For once, we seem to agree on something, but give VP Harris the time, she might surprise you.
One thing is certain, with TFG you can be sure the weapons sales to Israel will actually continue. He desperately wants to stay friends with Netanyahu.
What happened in the Tabeen school was atrocious and cruel. This has to stop, no matter what.
I see your concerns, Tom, but you’re looking at the elephant. We are only capable of one bite at a time. We have always had a class of people with outsized influence. Unfortunately for us, it seems there’s a current bunch that are looney tunes authoritarians and not the philanthropic type.
Jan, I don't see Harris and Walz ignoring "the elephant in the room," taking up the entire roomm. Biden-Harris have been working on this throughout their time in office and have made some attempts, mostly stopped by Republicans in Congress or by Joe Manchin and Kirsten Sinema who for money betrayed the American people, so it isn't that they don't have the will, it is do they have the congressional support?
Despite everything being just as "rotten in the state of DEM-mark" as in GOP-land (with Harris being as much a cheer leader of oligarchical interests as the orange man), it's the lesser of those two evils further to even Obama having fervently drunk the cool-aid. So then , get out and vote for KH on Nov 5, and this while taking heart in Walz's Veep selection given he's not (yet) as much in the corporate interest tent - even if he'll invariably drink from their cup later on!
...Well yes, the "later on" is indeed how it is Tom, while the US would never vote in a Green's candidate or an indy like Cornel West for Prez! Therefore, a vote for Jill is really a wasted vote (as it regrettably is for West), while as 'bad' as H. & W. are re: 'em toeing the oligarchy line, they're at least better than 'Agent Orange'!
That is a word salad worthy of your crooked hero. She's been "on the job", actively campaigning for less than a week. [Actually, not even :she first has to be elected.] but nice try, Tom. She's harsher on Netanyahu than Trump was, but she is not Commander in Chief yet.
Trump was all in for the Nut and Yahoo, even invited him in Our Congress to bash Obama, and then to bash President Biden. Trump is "all in" for the genocide!
And, Cécile, Trump is on board with Ukraine surrendering to Russia, an insanity, but what a lot of guys who know little of the world are in favor of. It's a shame but there are a lot of Americans who have been brainwashed into Trumpian thinking and it is healthy for no one.
Harris, as VP, does not have any authority over policy.
Let us also note that AIPAC money has defeated TWO progressive Democrats. We know where AIPAC stands with regard to fascist Israel -- now shown to be running torture and rape centers.
If I thought I would have a better chance at changing policy by NOT resigning, I would not resign, but hang on and bide my time. What you are advising is sheer foolishness.
As an individual, Trump may well be “cracking up“ or as I call it “unhinged” like a door falling off its hinges. However, those that are behind Trump, who used his blustering bullying methods for their own gain, do not go away. Right at this very moment, as we are commenting on this most excellent well thought out essay, there are those huddled together, determined to see that the ultra wealthy monopolies do not lose their power, even if they lose control over their presidential candidate .
The Trump dominated Republican party may well be losing this particular battle, but for them, the war is far from over. The wealthy oligarchs who have had a taste of coming into power will now have voracious appetites to continue the feast that they started.
Winning a presidential election is not enough, even if the Democrats win the House as well as maintaining the Senate. There is no winning the Supreme Court without drastic changes in our constitution.
Our problem lies not so much in the faults of our democratic system as it does in our very un democratic embrace of capitalism . Even the most progressive forums do not dare to question whether capitalism is still a viable system on which to run an economy.
At the end of the middle ages, the concept of capitalism assisted a moribund European economy to begin to move again. However, it is a system that relies on a motivation built on the desire money and power. And, it is a system where often it is the greediest who eventually rise to the top, such as Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk
We must come to the realization that there is no such thing as “Saving Capitalism“. We are much better focused on replacing capitalism with a new system that ensures everyone has the opportunity to have a well paying jobs, education, food and housing. It must stress local economies, utilization of coops as well as a place for small creative business owners. It is a powerful system where truly every vote counts. It is then through these economic and governing bodies that national policy is made. to benefit all. This is called “Economic Democracy.” It is the next natural evolutionary step beyond capitalism. It is time for us to move on.
What a brilliant and cogent analysis of the past, present, and future of the political and economic landscape.
tRump will disappear soon enough; however Trumpism will remain.
The task will soon be to check and balance the SCOTUS to prevent that sycophantic majority from turning our already great nation into an irreversible oligarchy.
And that’s the problem. All the deregulation of corporations coupled with the citizens United case before Scotus has turned our capitalism into a toxic mix. Capitalism requires regulation to keep those with money and power in check. Increasing regulation to prevent monopolies has been demonstrated historically to keep those entities from controlling government.
"THEY" believe that "free" enterprise is gravity - leave it alone and it works by itself! The same way if FDR hadn't "interfered" the "market" would have corrected itself and we wouldn't be burdened with all this "entitlement!"
J EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE Z US!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
That’s why Joe has already started proposing major changes and let the American people know it. Used to be the president kept “quiet about the co-equal branch”. Be careful not to be too cynical just yet because right now it’s only the hope we have that will save us. Watch a Harris/Walz rally, you will not only feel better but also you could be inspired to ideas on how you can help. I apologize if you’re altdoing this, and I wholeheartedly agree the SOC is next in line of ripeness for reform.
Wendy, you are spot on! Change does take time and President Biden has been hard at work trying to make those changes. Our society has become an "I want it NOW" society and can't be patient enough for these changes to happen. Look at how long from Newt Gingrich and Reagan's "trickle down" economics to take place. Everyone was "how did we get in this position" because those changes took until the present to show how disastrous they were! We've got to get Kamala Harris/Tim Walz elected, blue senate and blue house and then we can get busy making the necessary changes to ensure a better America for everybody! Vote blue, America!
I don't think capitalism in itself is the problem, nor should it go away entirely; if monopolies are kept under control, not allowed to destroy honest competition and our environment, it is an efficient system. The problem is 'real' capitalism doesn't exist right now due to the monopolies and autocracies that favor hyper-rich like Bezos and Musk.
The problem is government has been weakened to the point where it is no longer allowed to regulate sensibly the destructive parts of capitalism, especially in the areas of protecting the environment and anti-monopoly policies. That's a delicate counterbalance that was upended back in the Reagan days.
Well said! Marc, first we elect Harris/Waltz and a Democratic majority in both Houses, then we hold their feet to the fire to rid us of the electoral college and big money in politics. Then they must double the minimum wage and implement a single-payer healthcare system. We can't allow more excuses.
Gloria: Also restore the guardrails that protect voting rights, women’s rights, antitrust laws, etc (pretty much every major decision the Roberts Court has made since 2010).
"Holding their feet to the fire" won't be the problem. Winning a clear majority in the House and a fillibuster-proof majority in the Senate (or at least a majority and abolishment of the fillibuster)
will be. That's if we win. Our government is set up to give too much power to minorities.
Marc, I think you are right. But we need to think about what has happened: how did this empty and stupid man gained such a strong following? He stirred up the anger of feeling declassified and combined it with the greed of big money.
We share maybe your concept of economic democracy, but you will not realise it in a couple of years; but the coalition of project 2025 is still there.
Ha! tRUMP... That is clever and I like it... Talk about "age"...tRUMP is like a dinosaur, right? At the same time I think we need to be careful to not simply get into name calling, which is what Trump does, what bullies do, de-personalizing their "enemies." His failings as a person are enough to do him in...
CR ; I generally agree about name calling, but the dino style T-Rump was hard to resist. With any luck, he will be a curious footnote in history sooner than later.
It definitely is hard to resist. This could really catch on! :) Maybe doing this kind of thing playfully is key, like in cartoons, but how would we want to be treated if we had gone off the deep end like Trump. Not sure.
Call him Don-old, CR. It’s short and accurate. Weird and unhinged are also good because true — and they bug him. Which leads him to display how weird and unhinged he is even more. Win-win.
Laurie, Fox sure did; the time that Lincoln and Douglas had a debate for four hours and then stopped for dinner, came back and continued at least had the charme that there had to be content, instead of incoherent rants, or untrue oneliners. But why the media are so important? Are we smart enough to comprehend the distortions of big money?
Tom Van Doormaal ; Most of US seem smart enough to see this huckster clearly. But if lies are repeated enough, and they can get people to laugh and have fun "owning" the "libs", they are blinded to the facts pretty fast. That is why trump has often said he loves the "un-eds". They are a "soft touch" that he can bilk so easily, it is not even funny, in the end. At least not for them. While he laughs al the way to the bank.
Maybe my central point faded away. I meant to say: watch out; it is a problem that media can be bought, it is a problem that a moron can win such an electoral support, so let him crack down. But the coalition behind the Heritage foundation is still there and a threat.
The people have been shafted by the system. The institutions. That's what Bernie said. That's what Trump said. They both offered to fix it as "outsiders" (yes I think you can say that Bernies is an outsider as well). This is a popular message that motivated peope to vote for them.
steve reed ; Yes, Bernie pointed out that he is a "Democratic Socialist" . But he caucuses with the Democrats, and supports their campaigns. unlike tRUMP. To make Bernie look like he is cut from the same cloth is B.S. That is cynical and wrong. I'm glad that he is still in the Senate.
Another puppet put in place by the rich and powerful . Trump didn't (couldn't ) have been able to get away with all his corruption had it not been for the quiet few in charge
The Supreme Court issue can easily be fixed if the Dems take the House and Senate as well. All the President has to do is nominate 4 more Judges, to bring the total up to 13, to match the 13 Circuit Courts. The number on the court now was fixed when there were just 9 Circuit Courts, so it’s time to bring the Supreme Court up to match that. And that won’t need a Constitutional change.
Yes, there is, Marc. The Const says nothing about the size of the SC. The act setting its current size is over 150 years old. Update it to reflect the reality of a nation that has nearly 10 times the population it did then.
Imo the notion that 9 people have ultimate legal authority to speak for the US is silly — especially these 9, which are really 6, one of whom is flamingly corrupt, another who is unrepentantly elitist, and 3 who were wrongly appointed stemming from the unethical behavior of McConnell.
Agreed. The "elites" greatest success in this realm has been (and continues to be) dividing people by stupid culture nonsense. Hyper rare events/wildly local little disputes (think late term abortion or rigid gender bathroom freakouts) rile enough people up enough to overlook their natural class similarities. This isn't an accident.
Stupid arguments over pronouns have been enough to help degrade class solidarity. We need to stop fighting over really dumb stuff which doesn't affect us personally and seek out more common ground.
An evaluation of the text of your comment from my Chat GPT since I’m not as educated about the economy as you seem to be and I worry about disinformation and misinformation and targeting:
The text you provided presents a critique of capitalism and suggests transitioning to a system called "Economic Democracy." Let's break down the claims and ideas in this passage:
### 1. Wealth and Power Dynamics in Politics
- **Claim**: The Republican Party, influenced by wealthy oligarchs, will continue to pursue power.
- **Fact Check**: The influence of wealthy individuals and corporations in politics is a well-documented phenomenon, particularly in the United States, where campaign financing plays a significant role in elections. This influence is not limited to one political party but affects the political landscape broadly.
### 2. Supreme Court and Democratic Wins
- **Claim**: Winning the presidency and Congress is insufficient for Democrats because the Supreme Court remains a challenge.
- **Fact Check**: The Supreme Court is a lifetime appointment body, and its composition can significantly impact U.S. law and policy. Shifts in the Court often require either new appointments or changes to the Constitution, which are challenging and infrequent processes.
### 3. Critique of Capitalism
- **Claim**: Capitalism is inherently undemocratic and needs replacement with a system that ensures basic rights for everyone.
- **Fact Check**: Capitalism, characterized by private ownership and free markets, has been criticized for creating inequality and concentrating wealth. However, it has also driven economic growth and innovation. The text argues for an alternative that prioritizes equality and democratic participation in economic decisions.
### 4. Economic Democracy
- **Definition**: Economic Democracy emphasizes local economies, cooperatives, small businesses, and broad-based participation in economic decision-making.
- **Is it Communism?**: Economic Democracy differs from traditional communism. Communism involves state ownership of all means of production and aims for a classless society, often associated with centralized planning. Economic Democracy, as described here, focuses on decentralized control, localism, and cooperative ownership, distinguishing it from state-run communism.
### Conclusion
The text argues for a system beyond capitalism, promoting greater economic equality and participation. While it shares some goals with socialism—such as reducing inequality and ensuring basic rights—it does not advocate for full state control over the economy, which is a hallmark of communism.
If you're interested in exploring more about Economic Democracy or how it differs from other systems, let me know, and I can provide more information!
I don't see the four requirements as realizable. Though I agree with the basic premise about the need for economic democracy. Seems hopelessly utopian to use simplistic perjoratives ILO analysis.
Wendy MacNeill ; "Fact Check" re; the "Supreme Court" ; There is nothing in the Constitution that says Justices have "lifetime tenure". there is only a vague statement about being on the court "so long as they have good behavior". Of course, it may be forever that semantics and outright lies will prevent any agreement on what constitutes good or bad behavior, so God help US.
the GOP thinks SCOTUS can do no wrong (for the most part) so we are really stuck. The US constitution and its checks and balances were not designed for a major political party bent on destroying the government. Let's not mince words. Even if Republicans say and believe that is not their aim, their actions are designed to do just that.The best we can hope for is for the Trump national nightmare to be over and for the GOP to start returning to some normalcy. And Dems can help make that happen with good economic policies.
“There is no winning the Supreme Court without drastic changes in our constitution.”
Not necessarily, the number of Justices on the SCOTUS bench is not Constitutionally determined. It was once presumed that there would be one Justice for every Federal District Court.
Yes, it is: capitalism has failed! And we are not some “commie traitors” to begin the change! The bully billionaires have ruined it for themselves with their greed and irresponsible tax evasion! The widening wealth gap is the glaring proof change must begin now!
You still need to live in reality Marc.You will still choose not too You will still choose to deny that 2 X 1 is 2.
This is called the Matthew effect ( principle ) in finance ,derived from some parable or other in the bible.I have no interest in religion so religious people may give you chapter and verse on it. The short version of it is the rich get richer,the poor get poorer. Slightly longer,those that have will be given more,those have little,that little will be taken off them.
Refer back to Wal Mart,a simple company to analyse. First week of opening say 1000 customers @ $1 net profit per customer. $1,000 net profit. A good sum in 1970. 1x1 is 1.You'll deny that for the whole of your life . The company grows,so we'll look at big numbers. 1980, 100,000 customers per week@ $1 per customer. $100,000 net profit A good sum in 1980.You,ll still deny that 1x1 is 1.
The magic happens, 1990 the company is much bigger,it keeps growing,more people go there for cheap prices and ease of shopping. 2 million customers per week @$1 per customer net profit. $2 million per week net profit ,A tidy sum in 1990. You will deny that 2x1 is 2.
Exponential growth continues, the year 2000 and 4 million customers per week @$1. $4 million per week net profit A tidy sum in 2000. The rich got richer simply by taking a small amount of money from those that have little .They got poorer in comparison .The Matthew effect .You will deny that 4x1 is 4.
The parable of 1 grain of rice,1 grain of rice in the first square,double it on every square of the chess board. I don't play chess. 64 squares on a chess board?. See what happens if you keep multiplying by 2.More rice than the world produces apparently .Simple and obvious.You will continue to deny 2x1 is 2 etc etc .
Do that with the shares. 1 share in 1970 @ $16.50 each.Multiply that by 2 for 11 times,them multiply it by 3 for the last share split.Round it to 6,200 ,or 6000,whichever number you are happy to deny for your life up to now,and every day in the future. Exponential growth,a concept which somehow people find impossible to see . If I could get $1 off everybody in the world?.
Deny basic maths for 2000 years,the Matthew effect. Or Aristotle explained it more than 2000 years ago If the facts don't fit in with what I want to see,the facts are wrong,there is no other possible reason. There is no way that 2x1 is 2 ,2x2 is 4 etc all I (you) have to do is refuse to see it,so the facts are wrong.
Refer to university of Arizona and Bessembinder for the exponential growth of $1 over periods of time from ~ 75 years and up.All in companies in the USA,and all in companies you have probably heard..
Or,the Matthew effect ( principle).You have probably used the goods or services of those companies every day of your life.Have a good day when you wake up.
Agreed. Their latest sidewinder came from a relative who has fallen down the global criminal mega wealthy corporate cartel hole on X who just sent me a sophisticated hour and a half film which demonises environmentalists and concludes that the global ecological movement to combat climate catastrophe is a conspiracy backed by corporate dark money. The conclusion was that people are facing being terrorised by a corporate run fake climate catastrophe so their individual freedoms can be stolen. The poster displayed two flags: the Israeli flag and that of St George, both are regularly flown together in housing estates run by Northern Irish British loyalist gangs here. The Northern Irish extreme British Unionist political party, the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), were instrumental in delivering Brexit by rabble rousing this voting base of armed gangsters. The white supremacist Christo fascist pro MAGA membership of the DUP as well as the even more extremist Traditional Unionist Party (TUV), have long been heavily and openly funded by US MAGA fundamentalism. I suspect it is amongst these political and financial fellow travellers that Musk received his widely circulated on X information that ‘civil war was inevitable’ in the UK. The recent UK and Northern Irish far right racist riots carry the common recreational violence hallmarks of the ongoing organised loyalist rabble rousing against all ‘Others’ here in Northern Ireland. So maybe watch out for Trump/MAGA weighing in on climate and the environment next 🐈⬛
This is fascinating. I knew MAGA was messing around with European politics, but to have them advertising a connection between Israel and Northern Irish British loyalist gangs in one swipe is quite the alliance. Watching the racist riots over in UK, I wondered if it was a dry rehearsal for something over here in the US.
If it does, I hope we can learn our lesson from watching the counter-protests that flooded the streets to deny those thugs their day in the sun. I think people are fed up finally and unwilling to let rogues rule.
The racist riots in Britain were tiny, and in a few cities. The follow up anti-racist public demonstrations in each of those cities was far, far bigger.
If you want to learn anything from the British example, it is that the vast majority of people don't support the racists and will take to the streets to stop them. I would hope Americans would do the same.
I have been gifted a fractured itinerant life both geographically and class wise. Having ended up living for nigh on three decades in a DUP/Loyalist stronghold but coming from a childhood raised in the City of London by a stepfather who served with SOE in WW2 and was involved in Profumo, with British politicians and high flying journalists, academics and artists regulars at our dinner table, I was enabled to perceive a direct link between British state run assets in the poor Unionist communities here and homecoming disenchanted military with rogue Intelligence handlers as the DUP funded Brexit campaign began to happen here back in 2009. Either through UK state neglect born of class bigotry or complicity born of criminal venality or via a hostile agent taking advantage of both, it would seem that the present violent social meltdown unfolding across UK has its roots in the counterinsurgency legacies of Northern Ireland’s conflict.
yes, they also believe the Covid pandemic was a hoax too. ("plandemic), There's a poster who frequently posts here who falls into that same hole.
For years, until the rise of Brexit and Trump, I was studying scripture with a group of "messianics." They try to follow Jewish law, but believe that Jesus is the messiah. I become more serious about studying Torah and left them and Christianity behind.
What's going on now is very much like the makings of a holy war.
Thomas, some of our oil tycoons believe that their oil is God's gift to them, and they are financing the white supremacist, Christian nationalist crusade against the "Left" and the "woke."
Marc, you are right, so We the People need to step up and start actions through our representatives to stop the bullying and get those corporate actors under control. We have the power, but somehow, money often trumps power (pun intended). So we need to be removing money as a factor through a "luck tax" on all incomes over say, $5 million. It should get larger as the income gets higher, so it is a progressive tax. I suspect there are some members of Congress like Elizabeth Warren who could come up with a reasonable figure of what that tax should look like and how to promote it.
The first is violence. I expect violence before and after the election.
My second thought is Maga is going to be mad. They are going to be really mad that the election was stolen by a "communist black woman" from their front man/hero Trump.
Trump is burning out though. Much of his appeal is is to fear and anger like WWF. The fear of the liberals will linger longer, as will the racism, but without Trump, it will be hard to focus.
Third thought.... What about the evangelicals? I suspect they are going to either feel betrayed by their God, or maybe beaten by the devil or I don't know what they will think but I suspect it will be even more powerful than what the Maga folks are feeling.
Lacking intellect and morality these billionaires blunder again and again: first it was Trump, now it is Vance, one fraudster after another. Even if their candidate wins, they will not fare well.
LUCKILY, Bunkerboy will keep them in line by erratically firing them if they even so much as LOOK at Dear Leader wrong. I foresee "The Bigly Heart Attack" coming any day now, hopefully before November!
(I know hoping for someone's death is anti-Christian, but I cannot find a trace of humanity in the massive toddler.)
Sad but true, also playing one group against another so well stated in "White Trash" Blacks and poor whites with similar roles in "Our Perfect Union [Not]" being pitted against one another, and how far the Venture Capitalsts have come to wrecking this country. Is there a Mafia anymore?
Professor Reich: donOLD trump is, if i recall correctly, experiencing narcissistic mortification: “Narcissistic Mortification is the primitive terror of self-dissolution, triggered by the sudden exposure of one's sense of a defective self ... it is death by embarrassment." according to what i've read, narcissistic mortification is one consequence of sociopathic disorder, so one must be a sociopath before they can experience narcissistic mortification.
and whilst i'm here, wondering about donOLD stuff, has anyone heard anything about the assassination attempt? isn't this the sort of thing that trump goes on and on and on and ON! about? what was the shooter's motivation? why didn't the secret service check out the dozen or so people pointing him out to them as he climbed onto the roof with a high-powered rifle? where are the interviews with the shooter's parents and family and neighbours and school friends? what ever happened to the other two (? was it two or more?) people who were seriously injured & hospitalized? not only have i never learnt their names, but i have no idea if they are okay. (one whisper i heard was that one died in hospital, but have read no reports or confirmations, etc., so who really knows?) i've also not seen any GoFundMe sites set up to help with medivcal or funeral costs -- have any of you? what about the grieving victims' families, coworkers and friends: why haven't we heard from any of them? these and dozens more questions torment me endlessly, especially since typically, there is a massive media circus surrounding mass shootings and school shootings -- these events sell shittons of newspapers -- surely an assassination attempt would sell even MORE newspapers?
i have to say that i am tempted to think this really and truly was, as i first suspected, STAGED to win trump votes, attention and sympathy. but i am sure one or more of you will correct me where i'm wrong and share the answers to those basic questions i've asked, right?
You'll notice by the way that he's now going around unbandaged - and apparently unscathed. Pretty good for someone who has just survived an assassination attempt!
Still not convinced it actually was an attempted assassination, we never heard from any qualified doctor. Now "completely healed like it never was. Would not surprise me that they offered the guy who fired the weapon a "place in Valhalla" for his purposefully misplaced shot.
He may only have been intending to show that Trump is in danger. Trouble is that he was a rubbish shot - killed a man, injured 3 others and maybe winged the target.
Interesting term. idk about mortification yet bc there are so many others to blame. Remember he 's still in denial about 2020 & now claiming his Jan 6 crowd was bigger than MLK's. It will probably take losing everything before trump ever gets mortified.
just saw a commercial; young boy… 10- ish, getting school supplies; telling his off camera mom that he has out grown his fascinations with dinosaurs now, he’d “ into” sharks. he says at the end something like if it’s not sharks, it’s not for me.”
And tge vest part when they win after the Bkue Wace the media will rapidly abandon Trumo. We will be relieved of his continuous smog of resentment. He will be left walking the darkened halls of Nar A Kago muttering to himself
The more successful Kamala is the more he melts down and she knows exactly how to get under his skin by ignoring him. Her joy and passion and message about a great future flys in the face of his Donny downer messaging. “The sky is falling.”
All true, Dr Reich, with the exception of the suggestion that there's any space for The Senile Felon to hang the "southern border" issue on Kamala and the (D)s.
History shows that House (R)s put the screws to (D)-sponsored bills that passed the Senate w/ 2/3 bipartisan majorities in '06 and '13. Then (R)s refused to discuss the Comprehensive Immigration Reform bill sent to Congress by Joe on his FIRST DAY IN OFFICE. Finally, The Felon publicly and boastfully scuttled the '24 bill that had been hammered out in the Senate and gave (R)s everything they demanded.
Our immigration policy is based on the '52 INA that has been amended and addended into it's current Rube Goldbergian mess. We will not "fix" immigration w/o a new comprehensive framework w/in which to manage it. (R)s have no intention of participating as long as they can convince their base of The Felon's beloved "poorly educated" voters that (D)s are the problem.
Here's hoping he's carried off in a strait jacket at the debate. He is unhinged. Kamala Harris is competent, caring, and intelligent. She will be a good president. It depends on us to make sure she gets to the White House.
Harris and Walz are a “breath of fresh air”. I think most of us are sick of the doom and gloom atmosphere of the Trump campaign that has been going on for nearly 4 years, with their message of fear, despair, and anger. We can only take so much of it and being given the opportunity to go in the direction of joy, faith, and hope has energised us like nothing else. It’s the miracle I have been praying for.
Trump has never been about policy, other than that which is self serving in the moment. His campaigns have been run on anger and fear- of women, of other races and classes, immigrants, people with disabilities. He has a scarcity mindset. He is consistent in his approach, and is now noticing his popularity is waning. Of course his answer to changing circumstances (including his diminishing faculties) is to double down on the -isms, because he doesn’t know anything else. Moreover, his wealthy supporters are fine with his decline and lack of care or understanding about policy because it benefits their bottom line.
SAD, that it is her only claim to fame. She's had face work and body surgery too. So, obvious! Sad is your devotion to the fake and manufactured look that very that wealthy men love.... It's why we become older cat women, we can trust the cats!
Thanks for the recap of don OLD's downfall, Prof Reich! And I love the comments below. Rational thought has some insightful and articulate followers. The trolls are *crickets* today! Yay!
Have we reached that tipping point where Trump's increasingly egregious behavior combined with very real fear of losing cause him to flip?
With anger playing against fear he could reach the edge. This leads to more voters seeing he is unhinged but also that he does crazier things. Don't give him power as he reaches this stage.
At the root of it all is that he knows full well his whole campaign - his life even - is false, a pack of lies with no authenticity in any element. And he can finally see the big “L” sign that represents this.
The question is, will enough voters that also see this actually turn out to stop him?
You must have never been under a narcissistic thumb. They NEVER "understand" who or what they are. Kamala is great because she calls him out, and he's left with silly lies about Joe to defend him self.
Today I opened my newspaper about Trump with a sour face shaking JD’s hand. The long ridiculous no news article was Trump complaining that Iranian actors were stealing classified documents from his campaign. Sorry that when you stole classified documents, Trump, it wasn’t so entertaining.
Kamala is a competent woman. Trump is an incoherent man.
America: you know what to do.
Vote Blue! 💙
Turn the blue wave into the blue tsunami.
https://www.fieldteam6.org/
So grateful for Republican Mayor Giles, of Mesa, AZ, speaking up to encourage the MAGAS to break away from, as Kamala and Walz gain more momentum by the hour, the morally and ethically Bankrupt Trump, with his only defense now being, to blame the Deep State Conspiracy, which is, his biggest Lie of All! My fear is that can the Secret Service protect Harris&Walz??
Margie, I thought Mayor Giles was awesome in that speech! Everything he said was so true! He isn't the only republican calling for republicans to break away from the orange man and his cult. There are so many now saying it is time to purge the republican party and bring it back to what it once was. Vote blue, America!
Imo that’s a good line to follow, Peggy. Purging the far right actually opens a path for Republicans to reinvigorate the party. And Dems are ok with this.
Elections should reflect the will of voters, not the selfish and self-serving goals of candidates.
As much as a president who believes in the country, we need a Congress that does too and will promote legislation to replace the guardrails the Roberts Court has destroyed.
Doesn't the fact that the electorate has been so evenly split between Dems and GOP, despite the fact they have Trump as their nominee, mean that the party brand and a voter's sense of affiliation with that party (and animus toward the other party) is more important to most than anything else? To the extent you don't believe this is the extent to which you view people who vote for Trump as morally deficient, irrational, racist, misogynist, etc etc. Of course, the GOP brand ain't what it used to be,
Well said, Jan. We need a Congress that represents the people, not billionaires.
Once we win the presidency in November, it's Congress that will be the problem. Decades of GOP gerrymandering have diluted the voice of Democrats in the election processes in the states. It's almost ten years till the next census, which is when gerrymandering occurs. We've got to make a plan to reverse-gerrymander then! Until then, though, it's going to be touch-and-go to hold even one house of Congress. (Not to mention the rogue and corrupt Supreme Court. Can we just make a national agreement to ignore everything they say?)
There are some GOP that are realizing they cannot win the general elections with the right-wing, gun toting, extremists of their party. (In this red state, we got to see an arsenal of guns during the primary). It doesn’t mean the GOP will turn into a party for the people. They will still be for big business, $, pharmaceuticals, big oil. But at least they may be trying to go back to being more civil about it.
You are right, Midwest! Republicans like Mayor Giles are finally saying what they should have said back in 2016. Had they blocked the orange stain back then, it is possible we would not be in this situation today. At some point, we would be facing this threat on Democracy. This change with the GOP began decades ago. They worked to get politicians in that thought like they did and began to work from within. I think what has happened is they jumped the gun and pushed Project 2025/Agenda 47 before they had all their ducks in a row! Once Project 2025 came to light and the American people could read for themselves what the republicans planned to do, the rude awakening happened and the American people said NO WAY! In America, we love our Democracy even with all its flaws. We will never vote for an authoritarian regime and dictator - not here in America! Vote blue, America!
Civil but still amoral.
The wacko republicans got their 'moral' boost from the libertarian party, and it's belief in the "virtue of selfishness" as promoted by Ayn Rand. Their ideal man is an Elon Musk type. Her books drips with hatred for the common good, and paints those who esposs it with gross incompetance, and stupidity. This simple viewpoint led them to free up the billionaires to do their 'good' work.
What they failed to realize is that the separation of society into the oligarchs and the serfs is a lousy solution to the age old problem of laziness and greed among everyone. We get the rich supporting their laziness and greed by taking the due benefits from the workers. We get the poor suupporting their laziness and greed by living off of government handouts.
We need government to promote fairness is the distribution of the goods that are produced. It is all about justice.
👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼 The more they come out and say it, the more they WILL continue to come out and say it. The trend is so rewarding to finally see.
Mayor Giles was amazing. It reminds me of Heather Cox Richardson's analyses: the Republican party under Lincoln broke away from the corrupt Southerners and put an end, successfully, to Black slavery. The Republican party in the 19th and 20th-century Midwest championed labor and held corporate greed in check. This is the Republican party as it should be (even though I'm a yellow-dog Democrat, I now cherish and revere the Eisenhowers, the McCains, the Romneys, the Liz Cheneys of the world. I miss them. I want them back.) If we can isolate the MAGA people, who are NOT Republicans of this historical kind, and get the real Republicans to stand away from Trump and with American values, we have an even better chance of winning in November. The Republicans-for-Harris and the Mayor Gileses of today are a hopeful note. We need to do everything we can to give real Republicans a place to stand, away from the MAGA people and with American values (which Trump has nothing to do with).
Beautifully said!
MS Lynch/MS Freeman...again and again...once more...
" From your lips to.God's ear"! This man is disintegrating before our very eyes!
Why can't his cult recognize truth when they see it and hear it so vividly ????
I think even his supporters are beginning to recognize at least Trump's disintegration. The right-wing Morning Joe people were very critical of Trump's recent behavior this morning. They did not defend him at all. They called him unhinged.
If there is a will, there is a way. They need more members.
I like it, Margie. The convicted felon and bankrupt Trump - - oh, goodness, there is a MAJOR "catch phrase" there that I'm just not quite getting... (Lack of sleep from watching the Perseids!)
I worry about them, but I trust they will be on that task, Margie…
Margie.... I agree... Let's Hope that the Secret Service can protect the Harris/Walz Team... DJT will get more unhinged as Accountability creeps closer... His Zombies may as well... Next Week's Democratic Convention will be a test... I've talked to a lot of the Zombies... They don't see the World the same way we do... Their Reality Filters are beyond 'Industrial Strength'...
Yes, more "normal" Republicans should do the same.
YUP GOTV knock on doors, work phone banks,, contact PostCards to Swing States or a similar organization if it takes 100 postcards to move the Dems forward by just one vote in a swing state and we collectively write millions of them, well you do the math it starts adding up fast! don`t delay time is flying by and the opportunity to turn talk amongst believers into mobilization of would be Dem voters is NOW
Before GOTV, millions of unregistered folk trend heavily Democratic. Register them, then get them to the polls. Gen Z represents 25% of the voting population. FT 6 has 22k volunteers nationwide and a gung-ho volunteer staff of 120 activists who lead 25 specialized teams, stretching every donor dollar to the limit. Register Democrats, save the world.
https://www.fieldteam6.org/fund-the-mission
The Republicans have concentrated their voter suppression laws and activities in the 2020 Swing states, especially Georgia and North Carolina.
What the Democrats need to do,is identify heretofore Red States, that are weak and can lean Democrat if the right issue is raised, like women's rights and choice. Texas is actually one of those states, I think. Missouri, Kansas maybe.
I contribute to common cause and other organizations doing just that.
American Oversight. https://www.americanoversight.org/american-oversight-sues-georgia-state-election-board-for-violating-open-meetings-act
Registering voters is how you magnify your power this election.
Start here https://www.lwv.org/local-leagues/find-local-league?field_zip_code_value=
And when there's a Democratic majority in both houses and the presidency, make registration for voting automatic on a person's 18th birthday.
I did hundreds of post cards in 2020 it gives you a good feeling to help this way and hopefully get a few people out the door on Election Day!
That’s the plan and it seems to be working Daniel. 🎉💙
I think the macro economic forces at work are that TV media is becoming passe’.
The younger people are not getting news from TV they are getting it from TikTok, podcasts etc.
The oligarchs that own the print and TV monopolies feel it in their bones… they know their gravy train is about to drive off a cliff— so they are trying to sensationalize to squeeze out every last drop.
We call that the toilet bowl which is why all of your liberal blue towns and State look and smell like the scum they vote for.
Trumpet 🎺 is playing the Long game he knows he has only a slight chance to win the election and end his federal legal woes.
Instead , Trumpet 🎺 is faking Alzheimer’s and dementia so that when he is held accountable for his criminal traitorous behavior he will claim that he is mentally unfit to be prosecuted and serve jail time. Therefore Leave the warped old man alone he is not accountable for his crimes he has Alzheimer’s and is Demented.
Trumpet avoided the draft with shin splints claiming dementia and Alzheimer’s is not a stretch and doctors are for sale and testify for trumpet 🎺.
I understand the assignment!
magdalene_1024 16h
Okay, folks-Harris picked a teacher, so it's not gonna be enough to understand the assignment, we're gonna have to show the work as well.
group project. Teamwork makes the dream work. Grade is Pass: Fail.
...If only America DID know what to do, while don't overestimate most of your countrypersons given that many of them don't read and frankly do not think, as testified to by Trump's '16 win!
Trump 'won' in 2016 only because of the electoral college and Putin's help [and now, it turns out, maybe the $ millions 'loaned' to him by the Egyptian dictator]. We will have to see why Bill Barr, his Roy Cohn at the time quashed the investigation in this scandal. He lost the popular vote and in on pass to lose it again.
Dictators all help one another because to them, Democracy is the common enemy.
Bunkerboy LOST to Hillary, a despised but competent career politician, in 2016. I cannot count the electoral college in good comscience, as it was ONLY created because our honkey founders were a-scared of non-white people.
"ONLY created because our honkey founders were a-scared of non-white people." Daniel, please let's not forget, the honkeys didn't even acknowledge the existence of women who were chattel, but with no monetary value, unlike slaves that were at least "worth" something. Con-vanced?
That’s not 100% true… dowry payments used to be a thing 🙃 so while white women “had value,” it was harder to quantify an intrinsic, ineffable sort of value (what makes the southern belle) than simply judging the work an enslaved person could do. Idk why I never see people talk about the historical trade of women between men as slavery. It literally was buying domestic labor/childbearing services; I’m pretty sure the only differences between marriage and slavery in America in the early 1800s was that it was frowned upon to “resell” or beat your wife to death, and she needed to be dressed better than your slaves 🙄
I think only rich men made dowry payments for their daughters. Not a lot of Americans in the last 240 years were rich enough to do that. Women were just chattels, property to be handed off from father to husband without payment.
I agree, Cecile, while my country finds your electoral college stuff a nonsense! That said, those who might 'normally' have voted for Hillary had been alienated by her further to the destruction of the Dem. working class base which her husband (and therein she by association) had presided over prior to 'Junior' taking over as Prez. In other words, H. should have won in a way that bypassed her need for EC validation. ...As for Putin's influence further to my reference to so many (if not most) Americans not being able to think, I shall merely say to that, Q.E.D.: quod erat demonstrandum!
Having thought more about your weird EC sanctioning regimen, the closest approximation, I think, to that in my country (Australia) is the quota system which elects members of the Australian Senate (our upper house) or perhaps even the Hare-Clark quota voting method which occurs only in our Tasmania. While America has much to commend it (despite its vile cultural imperialisms and its rabid foreign machinations as these relate to supporting its industrial or now post industrial state), it's the most collectivised thinking nation on the face of the earth further to its uncritical belief in rationalism as an operating formula, with this being combined with (still, and further to Arthur Miller) bad theocracy.
With Aussie greetings and best wishes to all there across the even vaster pond!
IMO, since the election was determined by the electoral votes in the Great Lakes/Rust Belt/Swing states, I don't think that the Putin cult had much influence, but that hasn't stopped them as there are still at it thousands of bots on Xitter,and quite a few AI bots, and fanatics are posting on free substack like Robert's. We have our share., they know how to appeal to liberal sensibilities, so they fling out trigger words as accusations, like racism, genocide, neo liberal,neo conservative, but in the direction of Biden, now Harris, Redirect to the real genocidal perp, Putin, and they ignore and keep attacking the Democrats.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts. It is always good to know diverse perspectives.
Incorrect. He won '16 because his opponent was not a person enough people wanted to vote for. Quit assigning blame to anything but the candidate and their team's strategy. I am so tired of losing politicians refusing to own their failures. Quit blaming voters when they don't support your team. It's pathetic and nobody is owed anyone's votes.
Troll. Read the Mueller Report. Putin aided Trump. Whether he took a bribe is relevant to this election. That's the first question that he should have been asked at his "press conference" at Mar a Lago and it should be headlines until he gives a response. .
Meanwhile, HRC won by 2 mil votes. Maybe a million more provisional ballots weren't counted.
She was far from a perfect candidate, but she didn't protest the outcome. Maybe she should have.
Ben, alas, Hillary Clinton won the popular vote by nearly 3 million. In any other democracy that would be a victory, but our racist forebears wanted slave states to have more power than they deserved and we are stuck with this "electoral college" insanity until we can get people to wake up to its stupidity. Trump also had lots of help from Russia, proven by numerous sources. Then there's the systemic misogyny that is endemic and strikes at nearly every woman who wants to do anything that involves power, no matter at what level of society. It is fortunate so many women have been able to break through that barrier over time. Trump is and was a racist, misogynistic, xenophobic classist reality TV personality that people thought was something positive because of the way he fired people. In reality he was terrible on that show and most of it was hours and hours of recorded content they couldn't use. Most of the people can be fooled most of the time, but in this case, it was the scared white people in the white states and some swing states that put a total fool into the White House and while he was there he proved over and over just how much of a fool or rather, ignoramus he was.
Ben, like millions of Independents, I wanted Sanders but voted HRC b/c DT is a malignant con artist. You’re right that HRC was a very poor choice, but your comment is misleading. HRC won the popular vote by 3,000,000. DT took office b/c he won the Electoral College.
That is true, but the Electoral College has existed for more than 200 years. Successful candidates know that they have to get to that magic number of 270. Hillary didn't campaign in Michigan or Wisconsin. She apparently thought that so many voters would see that Trump is unfit to be president that there was no way she could lose. And because Democrats had neglected downballot races for so long, there was almost no base of support in critical battleground states. Kamala Harris, in contrast, is campaigning in battleground states and there are now Democratic elected officials to get their voters out.
Thanks for an excellent analysis, Carolyn!
I do hate the electoral college… presidential candidates only have to pull in what seven states out of 50!! That is ridiculous… the candidates should have to get the majority vote period!! Winning the popular vote should be an equivalent to a certain # of electoral? Or abolish that electoral… POTUS is over the entire country… they should need the popular vote to win!
She was out of touch. Her campaign was out of touch. One of several reasons she lost.
She could have won the popular vote by more but there were plenty in red states who simply did not vote for Clinton or Trump because they saw the outcome would be for Trump in their state. Had it been a close race many would have voted for Clinton (holding their noses). I don't agree with that voting rationale.
I think James Comey had a big influence on the voters too. He helped trump win.
All he had to do was do his job. He abused his office position.
I’m sorry but I disagree, it was in fact the electoral college that helped him to win in 2016.
There were more than enough voters who supported Hillary, the problem was that they didn’t live in the right states.
She won the popular vote by a landslide, but people in swing states were so convinced that Trump never could win, so they didn’t bother to go out and vote.
In 2020 everybody realized the need to vote, which resulted in a record number of voters and a win for the blue team.
Hillary Clinton SHOULD have won, but for Putins's troll farms and Comey's BS. She DID win the popular vote which has bothered Trump ever since.
It was little more than Putin's troll farms and Comey's BS, T L Mills.
It was the rust belt/swing states that put Trump in office.
The rust belt became the rust belt and swing states because of Bill Clinton 's NAFT and GATT. and the millions of blue collar workers that lost their jobs didn't forget that it was a Clinton who was responsible.
Also Hillary is a neo liberal.
The causes are many, but I believe that her campaign and the old Democratic Party has neglected workers and Unions for much too long. I remember seeing a comment [and I wish I could remember who said it in the Hillary camp]. It was, talking about workers :" Who else are they going to vote for, anyway?" In Wisconsin, I remember that the remark landed like a heavy rock in the pond.
Another one, after the defeat, was to blame "uneducated voters", "low Education voters"; by that, she meant folks who only had their High School diploma or less. Strategically, it was one of the biggest mistakes. "Gun Toting Bible Thumpers" was another one.
There were many less insulting ways of putting it, even if that was her belief, but by searching for the catchy phrase [would also provide her loss with a fig leaf,] she lost them. "Workers who don't believe in Unions", "folks who believe in the 2nd Amendment Uber Ales", "Christians who need to remember what Jesus stood for" are expressions that capture the truth of it without being insulting. It is less "catchy", I'll grant you that, but it didn't take her where she wanted to go.
Also, there is the question of finances: The Unions used to be the backbone of the Democratic Party. More than money, they provided support and votes: those are the folks who will canvass, come to rallies, and more importantly, VOTE! The Democratic Party, the Blue dog wing of it [Manchin, Sinema, Clinton and others] turned to wealthier donors on Wall Street, and so became "The third Way".
I hope Dems realize that and never again neglect workers.
Look at who was winning every contest before James Clyburn endorsed Joe Biden: It was Bernie Sanders, and you still can't find someone in the Democratic Party with a more Pro-Union bona Fides.
Trump lost the popular vote in 2016, but won the Electoral College vote, which allowed him to rule for 4 years.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2016_United_States_presidential_election
So you are dead wrong about 2016. and we don't know yet the complete influence of a Russian Operative, who was convicted of being a Foreign Agent, Mr. Manafort, who got crucial electoral polls given to him by Trump.
You said:" I am so tired of losing politicians refusing to own their failures". Yet you are supporting Trump? who lost in 2020, and had a deadly tantrum that caused January 6th. He did not get the Popular Vote in 2016 or in 2020 and I predict he will *also* lose the popular vote in 2024. Don't drink the Kool-Aid, my friend!
Oh, and I didn't blame voters either.
Cecile, blaming the Russians is too easy of an excuse, it saves Hillary and the DNC from accepting responsibility and the fact that they have been tone deaf for decades.
The states of the Great Lakes were blue collar states, and the Democrats took them for granted and thought that they were safe.
Bill Clinton signed NAFTA and GATT and gave tax breaks to manufacturers who relocated to Mexico and Asia, and thus with a stroke of a pen created the rust belt which turned Red, Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennslvania. Ohio appears to be irrevocably red.,where it was once blue.
Also Hillary was not an attractive candidate, she is not charismatic, and does not come off as sincere.
She was a terrible choice by the DNC, but she had stood in line, earned creds in foreign affairs, paid her dues and that is what the DNC required of candidates, so in the Primary they put their thumb on the scale for Hillary.
The DNC misjudged, and still does, the mood and temperature of the people.
I don't think that the present ticket is one that the DNC would choose.
They would have preferred Josh Shapiro, a centrist Democrat with neo liberal inclinations.
Look at my latest post: I totally agree with you 100%.
Here is what a mid-western senator stated recently: "there is something dark and ugly in the Democratic Party." Don't expect that to change any time soon.
Please don't presume I'm a Cult 45er. I attend D meetings, very rarely vote R, and (along with my spouse & child) were turned off enough in '16 to not bother voting. That is the only election (including primaries and off year) I have sat out. Obama broke my heart, a little, and Secretary Clinton utterly disgusted us all.
Ben. In my early years I was a single issue ultra conservative, my single issue was anti communism. I voted for Goldwater in 68, but realized that both parties were two sides of the same coin, and did not vote again until Trump came down the elevator, by that time I had matured and realized that communism was a phony and dead issue, and that the real threat was from right wing, racist, religious extremism,
When Trump came down the escalator opened his foul mouth, I ran out and registered Democrat. I didn't like Hillary, I didn't trust her, I voted Bernie in the Primary, but I had no choice but to vote for Hillary as she was the only viable alternative to that filthy pig, Trump.
You and those like you are the reason that we are on the verge of a dictatorship.
If you can't vote for, then vote against.
How did that not voting in 2016 work out for you? Sorry Ben, but I can't resist. Maybe you were in a red state.
I can speak for Michigan because -- besides being born and raised there (Dearborn) -- I still have family there, and went up to visit them often in 2016. My wife and I noted, and then became shocked at the lack of Hillary signs. She was so sure she'd win Michigan she never campaigned there. This led to complacency by voters who felt she was taking them for granted. Some have calculated she lost Michigan by an average of TWO votes per precinct.
Putin had NOTHING to do with it. I sure wish people would try to really learn the truth. (The religious right had their voters out in force.)
on edit: MANY on what would have been the natural base for Democrats were put off by the term "super-predator." I recall hearing this brought up again and again. Her husband greatly modified the welfare programs and signed NAFTA. All the above combined to deny her Michigan's 16 electoral votes.
Appreciate the analysis, Tom. HRC was a dreadful choice for a lotta reasons. I point out the 3,000,000 vote margin because it matters. As bad as she was, a huge number of Americans understood that her opponent was a clear danger to democracy itself. He and the oligarchs who support him still are 🇺🇸
When folks mention the three million vote margin, it's also good to recall that she won one state -- CA -- by nearly 4.5 million. Which means that massive lead was whittled down by 1.5 million in the other states. Having just one state out of 50 playing such a dominant role also COULD be a problem were we to just abandon the EC.
Also, I don't think many considered Trump to be a danger in 2016. Many were willing to take a chance on the reality TV host. My impression of him was a demagogic BS artist. I didn't realize how mentally damaged he was.
Mary, not only the oligarchs: in 2020 Trump got more votes than in 2016.
Thomas, that the Democrats took Michigan for granted is arrogance and stupidity on their part. Michigan became a swing state, because Hillary's husband Bill, created it when he signed NAFTA and GATT and manufacturers moved to Mexico. The People did not forget.
IMNSHFO, the loss by the Democrats in ‘16 was a perfect storm of all the aforementioned influences; Bill and Hillary’s political baggage (as you highlighted), Russian interference, lackluster campaigning (particularly in the Midwest), FBI investigations gone awry, and voter complacency, all contributing in varying degrees.
Thomas, thank you for sharing this important information.
Er, more people voted for HRC than for Trump, Ben. Do you live under a rock or do you just not know what the Electoral College is?
Marcus is 100% correct. The Electoral College can and has blocked the will of the people more than once.
Hillary beat Trump by 3 million votes,all of them from one state,California.
California had 4.5 million votes, 1.5 mill for Trump, 3 mill forHillary.
William. For the most part I agree with your comments... but, Hillary's 3 million vote win came from every state. Not just California. Even deep red states have millions of loyal voting Dems.
Past is past. Lets hope more folks this time are really listening to the Mad Orange Man and make the Blue choice again. Cheers... GH
Not sure what your point is, Jan. Perhaps you need to use shorter words for me?
Ben, except for Electoral I don’t think there’s any word in my reply over 2 syllables, but sure, I can go shorter: You are wrong. HRC won 3,000,000+ more votes than Trump.
All 1-syllable words (you have to know what the 0’s represent). Hope that helps.
He LOST the popular vote.
Ben, Hillary won the popular vote by 6 million. She had the support of the people. What she didn’t have was the support and help from the Russians and the votes from the key states in the electoral college.
Let us not forget the contributions of FBI Director James Comey.
Exactly right. Dumpty Humpty never "won" anything, let alone 2016. He cheated. Like all Rethuglicons, the ONLY way they have any power is by their lying, cheating and stealing our votes, our elections.
Gerrymandering in red-ruled states guarantees they stay red. Throwing away millions and millions of blue district ballots and voter intimidation whenever they have control of the courts and election committees is how they grab and hold power.
Lie, cheat and stealing our votes is their only plan and has been for decades--atleast since Paul Weyrich.
Right! Don't forget, Hilllary won by three million votes.
We understand the assignment.
🩵
What happens if Trump is replaced? We’re making a consistent and convincing argument that he should be. We might regret it.
Trump will be replaced; it's a matter of time.
It’s so very satisfying to see a super articulate, competent, intelligent, talented woman and attractive, Best the not aging well, poor very, out of shape, wispy haired, pitted skin, down right ugly “djt” former guy, everybody just wishes would go away, doesn’t have the decency to know people roll their eyes, ‘cause he’s a hanger on, a loser, needs to go away, pack it up. Face up to he’s a has been. Go retire to soggy Mar a go go, spin those long ago Old timey”used to be hits” from back in your day. Way back when, buster. Put a fork in it. You’re done.
Assuming the votes get counted. It appears that swing states controlled by the GOP have passed laws to allow them to not certify the election on the vaguest of terms.
VOTE BLUE!!!!!
All you have going for you is to slam Trump! Nothing new here!
He's a demented old man.
You could call him a “man” but that insults men. He’s only a part of a man…the asshole to be specific.
Is that an Eric the Actor reference? Johnny Fratto knows what to do? 😂
Well continue this focus if you do not care if Trump wins. If Trump wins big we are really and truly finished!
Okay, Vladimir.
So Tom, why, then are you on this thread? Is your task to undermine people's hope in our future. If so, you are doing an OK job, but in moments, what you have written will be a fleeting memory. We get enough crap from Trump and Kump that yours is a minor blip. Keep spouting it that Harris is just as bad as Trump blah blah blah, but it really isn't true, and I think most people here know it isn't.
I hope Tom is getting paid for his efforts. I feel sorry for him if he's doing this on his own.
Voting is a fundamental civic responsibility. Tom, Wittingly or not, you’re peddling an argument that runs counter to the US national interests. Americans who fail to vote advance the interests of the GOP and the oligarchs they embrace. VOTE BLUE in 2024! 🇺🇸 🗽
As long as you use the qualifier “probably,” you leave a sliver of hope that you are wrong. If you’re wrong, and I think you are, then you have the right and, if you’re an American citizen, the obligation, to vote. You could vote for TFG, but the most likely candidate to alter course is VP Harris. You’re somewhat right as the billionaire class has a lot of control with the “supreme” court and republicans in their pockets. But there are more of us than them, and the US electorate has demonstrated on several occasions the ability to change course. You can be a part of the change. Vote. Vote blue. Campaign for your cause. Don’t give up. Don’t go back! Just do it. Vote!
Tom, here's my problem with what you write >> "the liberal class has the stomach to do what is necessary"
But nowhere do you try to offer what YOU think is necessary.
So you’re still voting for Jill Stein, Tom.
It was one thing to stand on principle when the choice was Biden or Trump, but now with Harris and a reall “Midwest Populist” in the race, you just look stubborn.
No. He just looks dumb. Dumb and high. I know Robert doesn't go with this type of discourse but I'd say Tom has earned a smack down or two, wouldn't you?
For once, we seem to agree on something, but give VP Harris the time, she might surprise you.
One thing is certain, with TFG you can be sure the weapons sales to Israel will actually continue. He desperately wants to stay friends with Netanyahu.
What happened in the Tabeen school was atrocious and cruel. This has to stop, no matter what.
I see your concerns, Tom, but you’re looking at the elephant. We are only capable of one bite at a time. We have always had a class of people with outsized influence. Unfortunately for us, it seems there’s a current bunch that are looney tunes authoritarians and not the philanthropic type.
Agree, Midwest. If Harris and Walz win and don’t address the valid issues of corporatism and capitalist oligarchs, I predict a red wave in 2028.
Jan, I don't see Harris and Walz ignoring "the elephant in the room," taking up the entire roomm. Biden-Harris have been working on this throughout their time in office and have made some attempts, mostly stopped by Republicans in Congress or by Joe Manchin and Kirsten Sinema who for money betrayed the American people, so it isn't that they don't have the will, it is do they have the congressional support?
Are you high??? Or just a Russian bot 🤖?
Either way you talk nothing but nonsense.
Tom is high. Articulate but nonetheless a troll. He is doom and gloom personified and a stealth Trump supporter.
How else would you explain his peculiar "positions?" And that piss-poor analogy he trotted out?
Oh, was that an analogy, Adam? I thought it was a bad comedy routine. Thx for clarifying. 🙂
Oh honey, sticks and stones… the likes of you can never insult me, you’re not worth it.
If I want your opinion, I’ll ask for it, boy.
Have a nice life, Vladimir.
Despite everything being just as "rotten in the state of DEM-mark" as in GOP-land (with Harris being as much a cheer leader of oligarchical interests as the orange man), it's the lesser of those two evils further to even Obama having fervently drunk the cool-aid. So then , get out and vote for KH on Nov 5, and this while taking heart in Walz's Veep selection given he's not (yet) as much in the corporate interest tent - even if he'll invariably drink from their cup later on!
...Well yes, the "later on" is indeed how it is Tom, while the US would never vote in a Green's candidate or an indy like Cornel West for Prez! Therefore, a vote for Jill is really a wasted vote (as it regrettably is for West), while as 'bad' as H. & W. are re: 'em toeing the oligarchy line, they're at least better than 'Agent Orange'!
That is a word salad worthy of your crooked hero. She's been "on the job", actively campaigning for less than a week. [Actually, not even :she first has to be elected.] but nice try, Tom. She's harsher on Netanyahu than Trump was, but she is not Commander in Chief yet.
Trump was all in for the Nut and Yahoo, even invited him in Our Congress to bash Obama, and then to bash President Biden. Trump is "all in" for the genocide!
And, Cécile, Trump is on board with Ukraine surrendering to Russia, an insanity, but what a lot of guys who know little of the world are in favor of. It's a shame but there are a lot of Americans who have been brainwashed into Trumpian thinking and it is healthy for no one.
You KNOW Netenyahu and chump are evil dictator friends, right? Who both could care LESS about palestine.
I suggest you Get off your high horse.
You’re high, Tom. Fuck off.
Harris, as VP, does not have any authority over policy.
Let us also note that AIPAC money has defeated TWO progressive Democrats. We know where AIPAC stands with regard to fascist Israel -- now shown to be running torture and rape centers.
If you seriously believe her resignation would change policy, I have bridge to sell you.
If I thought I would have a better chance at changing policy by NOT resigning, I would not resign, but hang on and bide my time. What you are advising is sheer foolishness.
Sometimes, one just needs a little medication…Don’t worry, I’ve read it usually doesn’t bite..(pssst!! What’s with your surname, ‘sir’?!?)
As an individual, Trump may well be “cracking up“ or as I call it “unhinged” like a door falling off its hinges. However, those that are behind Trump, who used his blustering bullying methods for their own gain, do not go away. Right at this very moment, as we are commenting on this most excellent well thought out essay, there are those huddled together, determined to see that the ultra wealthy monopolies do not lose their power, even if they lose control over their presidential candidate .
The Trump dominated Republican party may well be losing this particular battle, but for them, the war is far from over. The wealthy oligarchs who have had a taste of coming into power will now have voracious appetites to continue the feast that they started.
Winning a presidential election is not enough, even if the Democrats win the House as well as maintaining the Senate. There is no winning the Supreme Court without drastic changes in our constitution.
Our problem lies not so much in the faults of our democratic system as it does in our very un democratic embrace of capitalism . Even the most progressive forums do not dare to question whether capitalism is still a viable system on which to run an economy.
At the end of the middle ages, the concept of capitalism assisted a moribund European economy to begin to move again. However, it is a system that relies on a motivation built on the desire money and power. And, it is a system where often it is the greediest who eventually rise to the top, such as Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk
We must come to the realization that there is no such thing as “Saving Capitalism“. We are much better focused on replacing capitalism with a new system that ensures everyone has the opportunity to have a well paying jobs, education, food and housing. It must stress local economies, utilization of coops as well as a place for small creative business owners. It is a powerful system where truly every vote counts. It is then through these economic and governing bodies that national policy is made. to benefit all. This is called “Economic Democracy.” It is the next natural evolutionary step beyond capitalism. It is time for us to move on.
What a brilliant and cogent analysis of the past, present, and future of the political and economic landscape.
tRump will disappear soon enough; however Trumpism will remain.
The task will soon be to check and balance the SCOTUS to prevent that sycophantic majority from turning our already great nation into an irreversible oligarchy.
"Unfettered Capitalism" is the incubator for billionaire authoritarianism!
And that’s the problem. All the deregulation of corporations coupled with the citizens United case before Scotus has turned our capitalism into a toxic mix. Capitalism requires regulation to keep those with money and power in check. Increasing regulation to prevent monopolies has been demonstrated historically to keep those entities from controlling government.
"THEY" believe that "free" enterprise is gravity - leave it alone and it works by itself! The same way if FDR hadn't "interfered" the "market" would have corrected itself and we wouldn't be burdened with all this "entitlement!"
J EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE Z US!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Let’s revive and enforce our antitrust laws!
That’s why Joe has already started proposing major changes and let the American people know it. Used to be the president kept “quiet about the co-equal branch”. Be careful not to be too cynical just yet because right now it’s only the hope we have that will save us. Watch a Harris/Walz rally, you will not only feel better but also you could be inspired to ideas on how you can help. I apologize if you’re altdoing this, and I wholeheartedly agree the SOC is next in line of ripeness for reform.
One day at a time we will do it. I think it’s 88!
Wendy, you are spot on! Change does take time and President Biden has been hard at work trying to make those changes. Our society has become an "I want it NOW" society and can't be patient enough for these changes to happen. Look at how long from Newt Gingrich and Reagan's "trickle down" economics to take place. Everyone was "how did we get in this position" because those changes took until the present to show how disastrous they were! We've got to get Kamala Harris/Tim Walz elected, blue senate and blue house and then we can get busy making the necessary changes to ensure a better America for everybody! Vote blue, America!
88 what? I don't get what you are referring to.
Days until the election, I believe.
Oh. Thank you!
Maybe you meant ‘28?
SS , protecting Harris&Walz should be your utmost concern!! The wealthy Oligarchs have even more money than
needed!!
Yes, a lot of work is ahead. With or without tRump, the forces will continue to march against our democracy.
I don't think capitalism in itself is the problem, nor should it go away entirely; if monopolies are kept under control, not allowed to destroy honest competition and our environment, it is an efficient system. The problem is 'real' capitalism doesn't exist right now due to the monopolies and autocracies that favor hyper-rich like Bezos and Musk.
The problem is government has been weakened to the point where it is no longer allowed to regulate sensibly the destructive parts of capitalism, especially in the areas of protecting the environment and anti-monopoly policies. That's a delicate counterbalance that was upended back in the Reagan days.
Exactly!!
Where is Teddy Roosevelt, Republican TrustBuster with a shred of Decency??
Well said! Marc, first we elect Harris/Waltz and a Democratic majority in both Houses, then we hold their feet to the fire to rid us of the electoral college and big money in politics. Then they must double the minimum wage and implement a single-payer healthcare system. We can't allow more excuses.
Gloria: Also restore the guardrails that protect voting rights, women’s rights, antitrust laws, etc (pretty much every major decision the Roberts Court has made since 2010).
It’s a BIG job.
Jan C ; It is Encouraging that President Biden is working on some improvements and guardrails for the courts, especially the Supreme Court.
"Holding their feet to the fire" won't be the problem. Winning a clear majority in the House and a fillibuster-proof majority in the Senate (or at least a majority and abolishment of the fillibuster)
will be. That's if we win. Our government is set up to give too much power to minorities.
Marc, I think you are right. But we need to think about what has happened: how did this empty and stupid man gained such a strong following? He stirred up the anger of feeling declassified and combined it with the greed of big money.
We share maybe your concept of economic democracy, but you will not realise it in a couple of years; but the coalition of project 2025 is still there.
Fox "news" certainly had something to do with boosting tRUMP.
Ha! tRUMP... That is clever and I like it... Talk about "age"...tRUMP is like a dinosaur, right? At the same time I think we need to be careful to not simply get into name calling, which is what Trump does, what bullies do, de-personalizing their "enemies." His failings as a person are enough to do him in...
CR ; I generally agree about name calling, but the dino style T-Rump was hard to resist. With any luck, he will be a curious footnote in history sooner than later.
It definitely is hard to resist. This could really catch on! :) Maybe doing this kind of thing playfully is key, like in cartoons, but how would we want to be treated if we had gone off the deep end like Trump. Not sure.
Call him Don-old, CR. It’s short and accurate. Weird and unhinged are also good because true — and they bug him. Which leads him to display how weird and unhinged he is even more. Win-win.
He is impaired with an observed (by over 100 specialists) form of dementia! He’s unfit to be on the ballot!
Laurie, Fox sure did; the time that Lincoln and Douglas had a debate for four hours and then stopped for dinner, came back and continued at least had the charme that there had to be content, instead of incoherent rants, or untrue oneliners. But why the media are so important? Are we smart enough to comprehend the distortions of big money?
Tom Van Doormaal ; Most of US seem smart enough to see this huckster clearly. But if lies are repeated enough, and they can get people to laugh and have fun "owning" the "libs", they are blinded to the facts pretty fast. That is why trump has often said he loves the "un-eds". They are a "soft touch" that he can bilk so easily, it is not even funny, in the end. At least not for them. While he laughs al the way to the bank.
Maybe my central point faded away. I meant to say: watch out; it is a problem that media can be bought, it is a problem that a moron can win such an electoral support, so let him crack down. But the coalition behind the Heritage foundation is still there and a threat.
The people have been shafted by the system. The institutions. That's what Bernie said. That's what Trump said. They both offered to fix it as "outsiders" (yes I think you can say that Bernies is an outsider as well). This is a popular message that motivated peope to vote for them.
steve reed ; Yes, Bernie pointed out that he is a "Democratic Socialist" . But he caucuses with the Democrats, and supports their campaigns. unlike tRUMP. To make Bernie look like he is cut from the same cloth is B.S. That is cynical and wrong. I'm glad that he is still in the Senate.
Another puppet put in place by the rich and powerful . Trump didn't (couldn't ) have been able to get away with all his corruption had it not been for the quiet few in charge
Hear! Hear!
The Supreme Court issue can easily be fixed if the Dems take the House and Senate as well. All the President has to do is nominate 4 more Judges, to bring the total up to 13, to match the 13 Circuit Courts. The number on the court now was fixed when there were just 9 Circuit Courts, so it’s time to bring the Supreme Court up to match that. And that won’t need a Constitutional change.
Yes, there is, Marc. The Const says nothing about the size of the SC. The act setting its current size is over 150 years old. Update it to reflect the reality of a nation that has nearly 10 times the population it did then.
Imo the notion that 9 people have ultimate legal authority to speak for the US is silly — especially these 9, which are really 6, one of whom is flamingly corrupt, another who is unrepentantly elitist, and 3 who were wrongly appointed stemming from the unethical behavior of McConnell.
Agreed. The "elites" greatest success in this realm has been (and continues to be) dividing people by stupid culture nonsense. Hyper rare events/wildly local little disputes (think late term abortion or rigid gender bathroom freakouts) rile enough people up enough to overlook their natural class similarities. This isn't an accident.
Stupid arguments over pronouns have been enough to help degrade class solidarity. We need to stop fighting over really dumb stuff which doesn't affect us personally and seek out more common ground.
Your comments are spot on, energizing, and encouraging! If only there were more individuals like you!
An evaluation of the text of your comment from my Chat GPT since I’m not as educated about the economy as you seem to be and I worry about disinformation and misinformation and targeting:
The text you provided presents a critique of capitalism and suggests transitioning to a system called "Economic Democracy." Let's break down the claims and ideas in this passage:
### 1. Wealth and Power Dynamics in Politics
- **Claim**: The Republican Party, influenced by wealthy oligarchs, will continue to pursue power.
- **Fact Check**: The influence of wealthy individuals and corporations in politics is a well-documented phenomenon, particularly in the United States, where campaign financing plays a significant role in elections. This influence is not limited to one political party but affects the political landscape broadly.
### 2. Supreme Court and Democratic Wins
- **Claim**: Winning the presidency and Congress is insufficient for Democrats because the Supreme Court remains a challenge.
- **Fact Check**: The Supreme Court is a lifetime appointment body, and its composition can significantly impact U.S. law and policy. Shifts in the Court often require either new appointments or changes to the Constitution, which are challenging and infrequent processes.
### 3. Critique of Capitalism
- **Claim**: Capitalism is inherently undemocratic and needs replacement with a system that ensures basic rights for everyone.
- **Fact Check**: Capitalism, characterized by private ownership and free markets, has been criticized for creating inequality and concentrating wealth. However, it has also driven economic growth and innovation. The text argues for an alternative that prioritizes equality and democratic participation in economic decisions.
### 4. Economic Democracy
- **Definition**: Economic Democracy emphasizes local economies, cooperatives, small businesses, and broad-based participation in economic decision-making.
- **Is it Communism?**: Economic Democracy differs from traditional communism. Communism involves state ownership of all means of production and aims for a classless society, often associated with centralized planning. Economic Democracy, as described here, focuses on decentralized control, localism, and cooperative ownership, distinguishing it from state-run communism.
### Conclusion
The text argues for a system beyond capitalism, promoting greater economic equality and participation. While it shares some goals with socialism—such as reducing inequality and ensuring basic rights—it does not advocate for full state control over the economy, which is a hallmark of communism.
If you're interested in exploring more about Economic Democracy or how it differs from other systems, let me know, and I can provide more information!
Here is a short, cogent easy to read essay that covers the basics. I highly recommend it. https://www.proutinstitute.org/policy-solutions/economic-democracy-the-alternative-to-corporate-rule
I don't see the four requirements as realizable. Though I agree with the basic premise about the need for economic democracy. Seems hopelessly utopian to use simplistic perjoratives ILO analysis.
"Economic Democracy" only can be achieved by undemocratic means, i.e., revolution--that's what Karl Marx argued.
Wendy MacNeill ; "Fact Check" re; the "Supreme Court" ; There is nothing in the Constitution that says Justices have "lifetime tenure". there is only a vague statement about being on the court "so long as they have good behavior". Of course, it may be forever that semantics and outright lies will prevent any agreement on what constitutes good or bad behavior, so God help US.
the GOP thinks SCOTUS can do no wrong (for the most part) so we are really stuck. The US constitution and its checks and balances were not designed for a major political party bent on destroying the government. Let's not mince words. Even if Republicans say and believe that is not their aim, their actions are designed to do just that.The best we can hope for is for the Trump national nightmare to be over and for the GOP to start returning to some normalcy. And Dems can help make that happen with good economic policies.
To Marc Nevas…I really like what you’re saying! Thank you for sharing your thoughts.
“There is no winning the Supreme Court without drastic changes in our constitution.”
Not necessarily, the number of Justices on the SCOTUS bench is not Constitutionally determined. It was once presumed that there would be one Justice for every Federal District Court.
So thirteen?
The wealthy oligarchs are starting to back HARRIS! They know their ship is sinking.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=C2YpStPD8qg
Yes, it is: capitalism has failed! And we are not some “commie traitors” to begin the change! The bully billionaires have ruined it for themselves with their greed and irresponsible tax evasion! The widening wealth gap is the glaring proof change must begin now!
It's called Democratic Socialism.
You still need to live in reality Marc.You will still choose not too You will still choose to deny that 2 X 1 is 2.
This is called the Matthew effect ( principle ) in finance ,derived from some parable or other in the bible.I have no interest in religion so religious people may give you chapter and verse on it. The short version of it is the rich get richer,the poor get poorer. Slightly longer,those that have will be given more,those have little,that little will be taken off them.
Refer back to Wal Mart,a simple company to analyse. First week of opening say 1000 customers @ $1 net profit per customer. $1,000 net profit. A good sum in 1970. 1x1 is 1.You'll deny that for the whole of your life . The company grows,so we'll look at big numbers. 1980, 100,000 customers per week@ $1 per customer. $100,000 net profit A good sum in 1980.You,ll still deny that 1x1 is 1.
The magic happens, 1990 the company is much bigger,it keeps growing,more people go there for cheap prices and ease of shopping. 2 million customers per week @$1 per customer net profit. $2 million per week net profit ,A tidy sum in 1990. You will deny that 2x1 is 2.
Exponential growth continues, the year 2000 and 4 million customers per week @$1. $4 million per week net profit A tidy sum in 2000. The rich got richer simply by taking a small amount of money from those that have little .They got poorer in comparison .The Matthew effect .You will deny that 4x1 is 4.
The parable of 1 grain of rice,1 grain of rice in the first square,double it on every square of the chess board. I don't play chess. 64 squares on a chess board?. See what happens if you keep multiplying by 2.More rice than the world produces apparently .Simple and obvious.You will continue to deny 2x1 is 2 etc etc .
Do that with the shares. 1 share in 1970 @ $16.50 each.Multiply that by 2 for 11 times,them multiply it by 3 for the last share split.Round it to 6,200 ,or 6000,whichever number you are happy to deny for your life up to now,and every day in the future. Exponential growth,a concept which somehow people find impossible to see . If I could get $1 off everybody in the world?.
Deny basic maths for 2000 years,the Matthew effect. Or Aristotle explained it more than 2000 years ago If the facts don't fit in with what I want to see,the facts are wrong,there is no other possible reason. There is no way that 2x1 is 2 ,2x2 is 4 etc all I (you) have to do is refuse to see it,so the facts are wrong.
Refer to university of Arizona and Bessembinder for the exponential growth of $1 over periods of time from ~ 75 years and up.All in companies in the USA,and all in companies you have probably heard..
Or,the Matthew effect ( principle).You have probably used the goods or services of those companies every day of your life.Have a good day when you wake up.
Agreed. Their latest sidewinder came from a relative who has fallen down the global criminal mega wealthy corporate cartel hole on X who just sent me a sophisticated hour and a half film which demonises environmentalists and concludes that the global ecological movement to combat climate catastrophe is a conspiracy backed by corporate dark money. The conclusion was that people are facing being terrorised by a corporate run fake climate catastrophe so their individual freedoms can be stolen. The poster displayed two flags: the Israeli flag and that of St George, both are regularly flown together in housing estates run by Northern Irish British loyalist gangs here. The Northern Irish extreme British Unionist political party, the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), were instrumental in delivering Brexit by rabble rousing this voting base of armed gangsters. The white supremacist Christo fascist pro MAGA membership of the DUP as well as the even more extremist Traditional Unionist Party (TUV), have long been heavily and openly funded by US MAGA fundamentalism. I suspect it is amongst these political and financial fellow travellers that Musk received his widely circulated on X information that ‘civil war was inevitable’ in the UK. The recent UK and Northern Irish far right racist riots carry the common recreational violence hallmarks of the ongoing organised loyalist rabble rousing against all ‘Others’ here in Northern Ireland. So maybe watch out for Trump/MAGA weighing in on climate and the environment next 🐈⬛
This is fascinating. I knew MAGA was messing around with European politics, but to have them advertising a connection between Israel and Northern Irish British loyalist gangs in one swipe is quite the alliance. Watching the racist riots over in UK, I wondered if it was a dry rehearsal for something over here in the US.
If it does, I hope we can learn our lesson from watching the counter-protests that flooded the streets to deny those thugs their day in the sun. I think people are fed up finally and unwilling to let rogues rule.
The racist riots in Britain were tiny, and in a few cities. The follow up anti-racist public demonstrations in each of those cities was far, far bigger.
If you want to learn anything from the British example, it is that the vast majority of people don't support the racists and will take to the streets to stop them. I would hope Americans would do the same.
I have been gifted a fractured itinerant life both geographically and class wise. Having ended up living for nigh on three decades in a DUP/Loyalist stronghold but coming from a childhood raised in the City of London by a stepfather who served with SOE in WW2 and was involved in Profumo, with British politicians and high flying journalists, academics and artists regulars at our dinner table, I was enabled to perceive a direct link between British state run assets in the poor Unionist communities here and homecoming disenchanted military with rogue Intelligence handlers as the DUP funded Brexit campaign began to happen here back in 2009. Either through UK state neglect born of class bigotry or complicity born of criminal venality or via a hostile agent taking advantage of both, it would seem that the present violent social meltdown unfolding across UK has its roots in the counterinsurgency legacies of Northern Ireland’s conflict.
Fascinating. Thank you for sharing, Monnina.
You are more than welcome. It’s a great emotional relief to be enabled to 🐈⬛🐕🦺
I vote class bigotry and its ignorance as the major cause. But not knowledeable on what's happening in UK, so....
It’s as good a take as any. Only hindsight and full exposure will gift us the truth 🐈⬛
yes, they also believe the Covid pandemic was a hoax too. ("plandemic), There's a poster who frequently posts here who falls into that same hole.
For years, until the rise of Brexit and Trump, I was studying scripture with a group of "messianics." They try to follow Jewish law, but believe that Jesus is the messiah. I become more serious about studying Torah and left them and Christianity behind.
What's going on now is very much like the makings of a holy war.
Thomas, some of our oil tycoons believe that their oil is God's gift to them, and they are financing the white supremacist, Christian nationalist crusade against the "Left" and the "woke."
The Crusades all over again?
I’m concerned about that too
Marc, you are right, so We the People need to step up and start actions through our representatives to stop the bullying and get those corporate actors under control. We have the power, but somehow, money often trumps power (pun intended). So we need to be removing money as a factor through a "luck tax" on all incomes over say, $5 million. It should get larger as the income gets higher, so it is a progressive tax. I suspect there are some members of Congress like Elizabeth Warren who could come up with a reasonable figure of what that tax should look like and how to promote it.
Corporate actors own my representative. We can't get her out because of gerrymandering. Not for a while.
A few things I can't help but consider.
The first is violence. I expect violence before and after the election.
My second thought is Maga is going to be mad. They are going to be really mad that the election was stolen by a "communist black woman" from their front man/hero Trump.
Trump is burning out though. Much of his appeal is is to fear and anger like WWF. The fear of the liberals will linger longer, as will the racism, but without Trump, it will be hard to focus.
Third thought.... What about the evangelicals? I suspect they are going to either feel betrayed by their God, or maybe beaten by the devil or I don't know what they will think but I suspect it will be even more powerful than what the Maga folks are feeling.
Lacking intellect and morality these billionaires blunder again and again: first it was Trump, now it is Vance, one fraudster after another. Even if their candidate wins, they will not fare well.
So insightful: “…even if they lose control over their presidential candidate.” Oh, the cynicism…😥
Yup. Stop the vote count. Refuse to certify. It is legal in Georgia now, and I am not sure exactly where else.
LUCKILY, Bunkerboy will keep them in line by erratically firing them if they even so much as LOOK at Dear Leader wrong. I foresee "The Bigly Heart Attack" coming any day now, hopefully before November!
(I know hoping for someone's death is anti-Christian, but I cannot find a trace of humanity in the massive toddler.)
Get your point, but we should be sure T loses the election and then lives a long life afterward... behind bars! Cheers... GH
They backed the wrong horse -- maybe -- THIS TIME. But there's time and money to try again and maybe not even wait until 2028.
Sad but true, also playing one group against another so well stated in "White Trash" Blacks and poor whites with similar roles in "Our Perfect Union [Not]" being pitted against one another, and how far the Venture Capitalsts have come to wrecking this country. Is there a Mafia anymore?
Professor Reich: donOLD trump is, if i recall correctly, experiencing narcissistic mortification: “Narcissistic Mortification is the primitive terror of self-dissolution, triggered by the sudden exposure of one's sense of a defective self ... it is death by embarrassment." according to what i've read, narcissistic mortification is one consequence of sociopathic disorder, so one must be a sociopath before they can experience narcissistic mortification.
and whilst i'm here, wondering about donOLD stuff, has anyone heard anything about the assassination attempt? isn't this the sort of thing that trump goes on and on and on and ON! about? what was the shooter's motivation? why didn't the secret service check out the dozen or so people pointing him out to them as he climbed onto the roof with a high-powered rifle? where are the interviews with the shooter's parents and family and neighbours and school friends? what ever happened to the other two (? was it two or more?) people who were seriously injured & hospitalized? not only have i never learnt their names, but i have no idea if they are okay. (one whisper i heard was that one died in hospital, but have read no reports or confirmations, etc., so who really knows?) i've also not seen any GoFundMe sites set up to help with medivcal or funeral costs -- have any of you? what about the grieving victims' families, coworkers and friends: why haven't we heard from any of them? these and dozens more questions torment me endlessly, especially since typically, there is a massive media circus surrounding mass shootings and school shootings -- these events sell shittons of newspapers -- surely an assassination attempt would sell even MORE newspapers?
i have to say that i am tempted to think this really and truly was, as i first suspected, STAGED to win trump votes, attention and sympathy. but i am sure one or more of you will correct me where i'm wrong and share the answers to those basic questions i've asked, right?
I also wonder how the Secret Service let Vance and crew get away with approaching Air Force Two.
You'll notice by the way that he's now going around unbandaged - and apparently unscathed. Pretty good for someone who has just survived an assassination attempt!
Still not convinced it actually was an attempted assassination, we never heard from any qualified doctor. Now "completely healed like it never was. Would not surprise me that they offered the guy who fired the weapon a "place in Valhalla" for his purposefully misplaced shot.
He may only have been intending to show that Trump is in danger. Trouble is that he was a rubbish shot - killed a man, injured 3 others and maybe winged the target.
Agree!!
Lizards can regrow severed limbs. Probably ears, too.
Interesting term. idk about mortification yet bc there are so many others to blame. Remember he 's still in denial about 2020 & now claiming his Jan 6 crowd was bigger than MLK's. It will probably take losing everything before trump ever gets mortified.
"death by embarrassment"
Thus, I have been resurrected multiple times... (lol)
trump is now having nightmares that Kamala is chasing him down while riding a shark. https://samray.substack.com/p/dark-kamala-terrorizes-trumps-subconscious
HAAAAA HA HA FRIGGING HA!!! That’s the BEST VISION EVER!!!
If you didn't click the link, there's a real image of it there.
Thank you so much, this is going on my recently re-opened Facebook Wall, because DARK KAMALA 🫶🏼🇺🇸💙😂😘
Most welcome. It is a joyful sight to behold.
Darn tootin it is and about damn time! And I thought Dark Brandon was fun!!!!
Same. I was just having a little fun with Dark Brandon and Kamala but then Dark Kamala has become a bit of a hit, so happy to go with it.
"DARK KAMALA" - someone should look into THAT... (giggle, giggle)
Love it!
just saw a commercial; young boy… 10- ish, getting school supplies; telling his off camera mom that he has out grown his fascinations with dinosaurs now, he’d “ into” sharks. he says at the end something like if it’s not sharks, it’s not for me.”
!
Lol, Sam.
If it wasn’t for all these narcissists, I’d just be trying to get laughs.
It is apparently a battery operated shark! All the scarier to tRUMP. guaranteed laughs!
Hahaha!
I'll be laughing all the way to the ballot box. Love the happiness and joy in the Harris/Walz campaign!
Happy Days Are Here Again!
REGISTER DEMOCRATS for the win!
https://www.fieldteam6.org/
Lots of ways to volunteer!
And tge vest part when they win after the Bkue Wace the media will rapidly abandon Trumo. We will be relieved of his continuous smog of resentment. He will be left walking the darkened halls of Nar A Kago muttering to himself
I hope you’re right, Miriam, but I thought media would abandon Trump in 2021 and it didn’t.
SS please protect Harris/Walz!
The more successful Kamala is the more he melts down and she knows exactly how to get under his skin by ignoring him. Her joy and passion and message about a great future flys in the face of his Donny downer messaging. “The sky is falling.”
All true, Dr Reich, with the exception of the suggestion that there's any space for The Senile Felon to hang the "southern border" issue on Kamala and the (D)s.
History shows that House (R)s put the screws to (D)-sponsored bills that passed the Senate w/ 2/3 bipartisan majorities in '06 and '13. Then (R)s refused to discuss the Comprehensive Immigration Reform bill sent to Congress by Joe on his FIRST DAY IN OFFICE. Finally, The Felon publicly and boastfully scuttled the '24 bill that had been hammered out in the Senate and gave (R)s everything they demanded.
Our immigration policy is based on the '52 INA that has been amended and addended into it's current Rube Goldbergian mess. We will not "fix" immigration w/o a new comprehensive framework w/in which to manage it. (R)s have no intention of participating as long as they can convince their base of The Felon's beloved "poorly educated" voters that (D)s are the problem.
Here's hoping he's carried off in a strait jacket at the debate. He is unhinged. Kamala Harris is competent, caring, and intelligent. She will be a good president. It depends on us to make sure she gets to the White House.
Harris and Walz are a “breath of fresh air”. I think most of us are sick of the doom and gloom atmosphere of the Trump campaign that has been going on for nearly 4 years, with their message of fear, despair, and anger. We can only take so much of it and being given the opportunity to go in the direction of joy, faith, and hope has energised us like nothing else. It’s the miracle I have been praying for.
Not just “ gloom and doom”, but why don’t people connect him with unceasing chaos?
Future movie writers will have so many titles to choose from! The first one that comes to mind,
“THE MELTDOWN”
Trump has never been about policy, other than that which is self serving in the moment. His campaigns have been run on anger and fear- of women, of other races and classes, immigrants, people with disabilities. He has a scarcity mindset. He is consistent in his approach, and is now noticing his popularity is waning. Of course his answer to changing circumstances (including his diminishing faculties) is to double down on the -isms, because he doesn’t know anything else. Moreover, his wealthy supporters are fine with his decline and lack of care or understanding about policy because it benefits their bottom line.
“When I have a Rally, and 100,000 people show up, the Fake News doesn’t talk about it, THEY REFUSE TO MENTION CROWD SIZE.”
You know the old maxim: short fingers, small hands, small crowds.
So "SIZE" DOESN'T MATTER?!? (lol)
SAD, that it is her only claim to fame. She's had face work and body surgery too. So, obvious! Sad is your devotion to the fake and manufactured look that very that wealthy men love.... It's why we become older cat women, we can trust the cats!
WHO is?
Thanks for the recap of don OLD's downfall, Prof Reich! And I love the comments below. Rational thought has some insightful and articulate followers. The trolls are *crickets* today! Yay!
Have we reached that tipping point where Trump's increasingly egregious behavior combined with very real fear of losing cause him to flip?
With anger playing against fear he could reach the edge. This leads to more voters seeing he is unhinged but also that he does crazier things. Don't give him power as he reaches this stage.
At the root of it all is that he knows full well his whole campaign - his life even - is false, a pack of lies with no authenticity in any element. And he can finally see the big “L” sign that represents this.
The question is, will enough voters that also see this actually turn out to stop him?
You must have never been under a narcissistic thumb. They NEVER "understand" who or what they are. Kamala is great because she calls him out, and he's left with silly lies about Joe to defend him self.
Actually I believe he does know the facts, what fuels his narcissism is the feeling of victory he gets when he overcomes them with his fantasies.
REGISTER DEMOCRATS for the WIN!
https://www.fieldteam6.org/
Today I opened my newspaper about Trump with a sour face shaking JD’s hand. The long ridiculous no news article was Trump complaining that Iranian actors were stealing classified documents from his campaign. Sorry that when you stole classified documents, Trump, it wasn’t so entertaining.