I would love to see a short-term massive media buy on Fox News by the Dems to illustrate the contrasts. Nothing inflammatory. Low key narration. Biden at work, with his successes. The Democratic agenda, regular people benefitting, etc. Then, reminders of the Trump years: riots, pandemic, etc...It may not change many votes, but it would make them insane. And it would be playing on offense for a change.
C'mon, people, we aren't going to take down Fox News. Let's focus on taking down Kevin McCarthy. That can be done, and soon.
Everyone knows the impeachment "investigation" is a sideshow, meant to distract not only from Trump's trials but also from Mr. McCarthy's miserable tenure as Speaker. We are now facing a government shutdown, just as we recently faced a U.S. debt default, solely because the Speaker traded away his power to MAGA last January. He has no control over the extremist minority, so they obstruct all normal functioning of the House.
The bipartisan majority that passed the debt ceiling bill (Fiscal Responsibility Act), and will eventually pass the appropriation bills that will keep the government running, needs to step up. They need to end this charade now, move to "vacate the chair" and elect a sensible Republican like Don Bacon (R-NE) Speaker.
Everyone reading this can help make that happen. Learn more here:
Trump called Joe a crook, that's what I love about Donnie in order to relate to anyone he has to first demean them. Childish nicknames that have no bearing on anything. Trump can't compete with people on an equal basis so he finds it necessary to pull their image down publicly to his level where he feels more comfortable. He lies, he hyperbolizes his grandeur, and he constantly promotes civil discontent. In my entire life I have never been confronted by a more despicable excuse for a man.
He's not--not by any stretch--a man. He is a mess; a cretinous monster of conflicting needs and chaotic impulses. Emotionally he is still a child. He has somehow managed to leverage his one "gift" into a life time of grift and sketchy moves. He is an embarrassment to all honest men and I can't believe he hasn't been tarred, feathered and run out of Noo Yawk on a rail.
Trump projects, he calls people what he is. Pure projection. As for his lies they are almost always the exact opposite of the truth. There are not enough pejoratives to describe such an excuse of a human.
Agree 200%. Trump was trained well by his Dad who was a slum lord in New York. A story that has circulated some time ago was that Trump convinced a building contractor to build a new building (high rise?) and convinced the contractor to use his own money. Trump would, of course, pay promptly on completion of the project. When the contractor finished and went to collect his pay, Trump's lawyers told him that yes, they had agreed on $X, but now Trump was only going to pay half of $X. If the contractor tried to get more the attorneys would just keep him in court until he went bankrupt and then he would get zero dollars. Contractor decided he would accept half of $X and spent a long time digging out of the hole Trump had pushed him into. Don't know how true this story is, but it completely explains Trump's character whether it is either true or false.
1. You are absolutely right, Daniel. The two are not mutually exclusive. I fully support your effort to bring down Fox News in addition to bringing down Kevin McCarthy. Please let me know what I can do to help.
2. The Fiscal Responsibility Act passed in the House of Representatives with 149 Republican votes and 165 Democratic votes. A similar bipartisan majority will eventually pass all 12 appropriation bills to fund the government. Moderate Republicans have their own reasons to resent the antics of MAGA extremists.
As Prof. Reich points out today: "McCarthy doesn’t have the votes of moderate Republicans, whose constituents don’t want the House to waste time and money impeaching Biden."
Focusing on a hostile takeover of Fox would be like pasting a mere band-aid on the cancerous growth that is the extreme cabal of Republicans that are colluding with their MAGA constituents on a hostile takeover of our country. The same would apply to the myriad dark websites fueled by the poisonous hatred and money of their users.
IMO, the only way for our democracy to survive is to take out this cancer by the roots; indict and arrest these congressional perps and their backers for treason; cut their power and all other systems fail.
there is no doubt that Fox is a criminal enterprise. Still, The dark alternative websites are no less a threat to our democracy. Rooting out their users and supporters would be a strong beginning to avert a civil war that may be coming if Trump and his MAGA gangs are not checked now, before primaries and elections. Enough of this relentless media sh*t show!!
There won’t be a civil war, unless you count what is currently happening as civil war. The reason we won’t have a full blown war is because it would ruin the economy. We all know money is the most important thing to republicans. What they’re doing is a stealth takeover. Evidence of it is the recent state takeover of the Houston Independent school district.
The new superintendent is a man who ran a chain of Charter schools. The libraries are empty and will be used as “disciplinary centers.”
And so it begins...maybe not the historic 1860's version but by domination of gun-wielding, violence-addicted TrumpThugs who care less about money than their license to spread hatred of laws and the people that laws were created to protect.
You get hostile with 'money bags' Freaks News, and (guaranteed !) you will get stomped on by bigger bad(er) responses. They are GOOD & GENIUS at being evil to common people. Nothing more.
I believe the MAGAs don’t really have allegiance to trump. They would support anyone who breaks laws, norms, and pledges to tear down government institutions and structure. They believe that the existing laws and regulations have prevented them from excelling and being wealthy. It’s a class war. They believe “the government “ has deprived them of this make believe opportunity of wealth. They have no idea what they are truly in for in the absence of a fair government. Advertisements need to portray that reality.
The level of infiltration of these folks who want to tear down existing protective rules, guidelines and laws should alarm us all.
Like I've said many times before, ol' P01135809 isn't the disease; he's the symptom. He represents a criminal-minded "deviant subculture" in US politics.
As an afterthought:
It's not for the dead to define the needs of a society in which future generations must actually live. They can only point the general direction so that future generations can correct course - that is, >evolve< - according to the society's current needs. The founders that the "originalists" would have us believe are demi-gods got it wrong in many ways - most notably in the festivities that took place from 1860 - 1864, a scant 70 years later, serve as proof. Where they didn't go wrong is in pointing the general direction this society must head, from a tradition nominally dating to the Magna Carta in England - remember, they were colonial British citizens - and democracy writ large from the time of Ancient Greece. They successfully identify the evolutionary state of democracy at that time. It is for us as a society, as a nation, to evolve in accordance with that vision - not to become extinct within the values and sensibilities British aristocrats - for lack of a better characterization - held in 1789, no matter how great we perceive them to be.
Hell! Even Einstein isn't non-controversial about the nature of physical reality among scientists who have devoted their lives to studying physical reality. Although Einstein adjusted Newton's laws in a way that allows us to drive to an unknown destination directed by satellites orbiting the planet, or nuke ourselves into oblivion precisely 😁, it doesn't completely work in all situations - for example the slug notions of dark matter and dark energy scientists use to avoid saying "we don't have a friggin' clue," or why gravity doesn't express itself as the theoretic "graviton" in particle physics. Nevertheless, that kind of navigation would've been impossible under Newtonian physics.
It is just so in US society today, who are >not< 18th century British colonial aristocrats - for those who - rightly - object that the letter of the Constitution is biased toward - well - 18th century British colonial aristocrats! Fortunately for future generations, they provide for updating The Constitution by future generations to amend and evolve, albeit not easily.
I think I follow what you're saying, at least most of it, and I like it. What I keep searching for in all the writings and pronouncements and opinions and analyses here, there, everywhere are ways to shore up the listing ship of state before it sinks, i.e. STAT.
I think many of us "regular, decent" citizens keep hoping we'll begin to see some fire and inspiration and leadership from those "electeds" who still might deserve our respect - but we keep waiting and waiting - and we hear crickets....
What are they waiting for?!
There is actually a post-Idalia hurricane headline today that claims that Biden praises DeSantis. Really?! Isn't that analogous to praising Hitler for taking care of his dog while meanwhile.....
Good question. To me it's an essential political statement. Biden needs to at least appear even-handed. I'm sure you're quick enough to figure out why. It's the "stopped clock is right at least once a day" kind of praise. After all, without Hitler, there would be no Volkswagen, for example - if you happen to like Volkswage!
@Debbie. You are describing basic civics education, for students to understand that government is the tool of the people, so long as we don't let the rich, powerful and influential bend it to their service. I'm still hopeful that we will keep our democracy, flawed though it is, and perhaps improve it if we can get rid of Citizens United. Not as hopeful about getting rid of the Electoral College, but we should try.
Debbie, I think your analysis is perfect. The beliefs you describe encompass so many areas where those beliefs are expressed: militias, "sovreign nation" ideation, individual over any notion of collective good, noblesse oblige over systemic progress, sheriffs' organization ad hoc enforcement of laws, chaos and disruption over publicly elected officials and public meetings, destruction of all public-funded/public-use institutions (schools, libraries, public health, etc.)....
The take-over by a fascist tribal mentality..... the end of America as we thought we knew it, as it was still "forming a more perfect union."
When a "gummint shutdown" shuts off SSI, disability, VA payments and other Federal monies...maybe the rednecks will come to their senses and start to elect more responsive Representatives, who actually believe in constituent service.
Fox is vulnerable. Already out $787.5 mil to Dominion. Smartmatic filed a $2.7 billion defamation lawsuit against Fox in February 2021, accusing the news network of falsely implicating the company in a bogus narrative about vote rigging in the 2020 election. That case looks golden.
Lots of other contingent liabilities. How about Jan 6 damages? Fox executives and hosts were shown to have broadcast claims about the election that they believed to be false and put on people they did not find credible in order to win back viewers who admired Trump.
@Daniel. I'd also suggest a social media offense - example boycott Fox sponsors, use all the platforms in the same way they are used by the right, to do some "rabble rousing" from the Democrats pointing out how buying from these advertisers is enabling the false narratives from Faux Noose.
What I am suggesting is not that taking down Fox can't be done. I am saying that if Fox goes away, all that rhetoric will just move to another platform, or channel.
I read that Biden's campaign ran an ad on Faux that aired right before last week's Republican debate. Faux is facing "bigly" financial liabilities...they'll sell the time to Dems simply because they need the cash. Furthermore, they don't care about what their viewers think about running Dem campaign ads as long as those viewers keep tuning in and they will.
Don’t give the FoxFauxFolks any $$$. Their audience is already around the bend, irretrievable. Focus on the broader common sense crowds of moderate, reasonable voters.
Ah Lefty, you pick the two areas Biden inherited from King Donnie that weren't taken care of in a way Republicans claim to have wanted. That is nonsense, of course. After the worst pandemic in a century it is amazing things were not worse. They would have, had King Donnie remained in power. He has no ideas, no sense of the world beyond himself and the things he can manipulate. As for Afghanistan, the devastation happened when we started a war in a nation we knew nothing about with people we didn't even do much to get to know or understand. King Donnie started the pull-out and Biden went through with it. There is absolutely no evidence that the US staying there longer would have made anything better. Hey, we should have armed and trained the women in addition to the men. Maybe the outcome would have been better for everyone. As for inflation, we still are not addressing the price-gouging by the greedy already-too-rich. Somehow, they seem off limits. I suspect if they had not been so eager to steal what they could, inflation would have come down much more quickly. So, sorry, but your assessment is weak.
Hey Leftie. Your post is useful in two ways. One way is to illustrate how twisted arguments can be made through "motivated reasoning" as described by professional psychologists. Great example of essentially reversing the facts. The second useful thing is that you are previewing the stupid shit that Republicans will try to roll out during this campaign season. Not fooling anyone on here, but there are those in the general public who might be swayed. That's why fact-centric people need to put down stupid shit like you posted here.
Rebutted here: Afghanistan was a Republican war. don't be a nut ball; Biden got us out. It was awkward. But we are out and many thousands of innocents (our troops and their citizens) are much safer. The deficit that Biden is FIXING was put in place by Republicans, namely the big tax break during Trump's tenure. There is no such thing as "cumulative inflation"; you just made that up so you could add some numbers together and try to sound scary. Leftie, your stuff is bogus and is easily proven bogus.
Don't need anything else. You've already confirmed your ignorance. That is, if you can't express yourself correctly, why would we think anything you assert as fact is correct?
Hey Leftie. This is some of the stupidest shit I have seen on here (or anywhere). Afghanistan was a Republican war. don't be a nut ball; Biden got us out. It was awkward. But we are out and many thousands of innocents (our troops and their citizens) are much safer. The deficit that Biden is FIXING was put in place by Republicans, namely the big tax break during Trump's tenure. There is no such thing as "cumulative inflation"; you just made that up so you could add some numbers together and try to sound scary. Leftie, your stuff is bogus and is easily proven bogus.
Biden stepped in Trump admins plans when Trump cut a deal to get people out of there by March and Biden had no choice but to follow through so he extended their escape from Afghanistan to August. Read the facts. TRUMP CUT THE DEAL.
If the Lincoln Project's pitch is effective, who cares what their politics are? I don't confirm a restaurateur's politics for fear of being poisoned if they differ from mine.
I've been following them on Instagram since they opened up shop before the last presidential election. Their media messaging is brilliant and devastating to the MAGAts. They are a blessing to Dems and progressives with their brilliant criticism and satire. https://lincolnproject.us/
The Lincoln Project creates, funds, and places top quality ads exposing the worst of Trump. Research them and see what you think. Not a pro-Repub vibe.
The news media always goes for whatever grabs ears, eyeballs, and mouse clicks, NOTHING else matters. I have absolutely zero idea where a person could go, these days to find an accurate source of news that would report, without sensationalism or bias, the important events and issues of the day. I don't believe such a source exists any longer. The movie, "Don't Look Up," is turning out to be a documentary, but the issue is not a comet. It's climate change.
That, and billions of dollars infusion such as right-wing media currently get. Dems don't have a messaging problem; the dems' messaging has a FUNDING problem. Follow the money, plain and simple.
Here in Texas the Republicans are mobilizing the grassroots. Almost 50% of registered voters didn't vote. No one is coming to save us, we have to do it.
It's going to have to be the grassroots. There are plenty of great ideas here. Start talking to people in your circle, family, friends, neighbors, coworkers, the stranger in line at the grocery story. Heck, wear Tshirts with the message.
Trump is entertaining. Trump is expert at speaking to their hate, fears, resentment & prejudices. Trump says what they WANT to believe & gives them cover for believing it. They are very gullible so he has a lot to work with & mold to his purposes. Tucker Carlson is also really good at that (& Fox in general).
Jaime, you are so right about Trump and Carlson using the people who are disgruntled and scared. So, how do we reframe things? How do we make it worth people's time to think about things differently? I know good media presentations can lead to change. Maybe we need to employ people who understand how to reach people who are lost in fear, anger, and resentment as "the base" of the Republican Party currently is.
Speak simply & directly, addressing their concerns, & maybe bring up issues they haven't thought of but would be harmed if Republicans are in power.
Note who funds, owns & directs Republicans (corporate executives & other billionaires; fossil fuel companies & other corporations) & that they repeat predictable lies & propaganda. Using verifiable statistics from credible sources, point out the much superior economic record of Democrats. Note that Republicans want to get rid of their financial & healthcare security (including Social Security & Medicare). Explain succinctly how their rights & freedom of choice will be harmed by Republican policies & plans, like their 2025 plan to essentially make the President dictator or king & suppress individual rights & usurp power that currently belongs to Congress & independent agencies if Republicans take back the executive branch. Point out how their policies will pollute the air & water, exhaust our resources, annihilate iconic animals & plants & destroy the environment (avoiding trigger terms like "climate change" or "global warming"). Note how far behind we are other nations on various social, education, environmental, health & safety policies.
Speak factually, not hostilely or condescendingly & do not resort to insults or name calling even if they do (unless, in the latter case, you can be very clever, ironic or humorous)
Jaime, These ideas should be presented to the Democratic advertising folks (whoever they are). I think these ideas could make a big difference when it comes to letting Republicans know what is really going on. I know they choose to be outside reality a good portion of the time, but maybe some of your suggestions could actually touch them when they happen to be in a "real" frame of mind one day.
Consider that those folks consider losing money at one of ol' P01135809's casinos - before he bankrupted them - the supreme entertainment. (I'm still a'scratchin' m'head over how >anyone< could possibly bankrupt a single casino, let alone 3!)
David, I think it can be fun for scared white people who like the idea that "one of them" is saying the things they are thinking or think they are thinking, and on a world stage. When asked about Trump after a rally, the people act as though they have had some kind of religious experience. I am sure that is fun for them and the reason so many of them follow him around and go to so many of his rallies. It's like getting a hit from a drug. Trump is not the brightest bulb in the string, but he sure does know how to manipulate people's emotions, even when what he is saying makes no sense. I think it is the sing-song way he pitches his voice. The ups and downs often have no relation to what he is saying, but I think it creates a kind of hypnotic effect. I have been trying to figure that out, but his voice makes me nauseous, so my analysis is superficial, but I think there is really something there.
I wonder sometimes if it isn't because they've listened for years to white evangelical preachers (Franklin Graham, for example) who hype things up. I know I have a similar reaction to both.
ProgWoman, I think there is something about the cadence of certain preachers and con artists that captivates a certain percentage of the population. They get caught up in the tone and the phrases and not the piece as a whole. When the listeners are done hearing the speech, they can't usually remember much about it, just that it made them feel sooo good. Trump doesn't quite have it, but he has the loud bluster that I think makes up for any lack in content and meaning. Trump, just like Graham and the rest know well how to read an audience and how to play them. They can "preach" hate and make it sound like they are offering the audience "the love of god." They know just how to focus attention on their primary points and I have found, their points are exclusive, often white supremacist here but religiocentric in other places, and specifically targeted. Only the "right" people will get the message and follow through with their vote, their money, their anti-whoever actions. It really is pretty disgusting, but practitioners can be found all over the world and collectively they have done enormous damage.
I think we ALL have a propensity for attraction to something "meaningful," whether it's positive or negative. As a big music fan, the Grateful Dead always did it for me, and NOW
I'm REALLY INTO MY JAZZ!
It is DEFINITELY an emotional attachment...
I must confess, I really have an adrenaline/endorphine rush when I listen to Cornel West.
I LOVE his message and is usually "spot on!" Only wish he were electable..
David, music does it for me too. It was Simon and Garfunkel for me in the 60s and 70s as well as a bunch of great folk singers. I am also moved by Renaissance and Baroque music. I, too like Cornel West and think he is a fine educator. Perhaps he needs to be Secretary of Education. Maybe a new Cabinet-level office on human rights should be started with Cornel West as the first Secretary. I do not think he is electable either. Besides, I do believe we need people as president who actually have experience in elected office, maybe not as much as Biden, but certainly more than Trump or Bush, Jr.
You see them cackling over “owning the libs” every time they make some outrageous claim or behave like troglodytes … It kind of resonates that the “fun” of a loud-mouthed rule breaker would be fun appealing to some folks who otherwise have a good deal of stress in their lives. The fact that he gives the other side, the wealthy types, permission to hoard, well, that resonates, too.
Marcus, a lot of haters find hate and hurting others fun, unfortunately. Check out some prison guards, police officers, concentration camp officials and guards, and lynch mobs. Hate gives people an excuse to get a high from spewing hatred and doing harm to others. Trump gets that.
Jacquelyn, is it possible good advertising could help change that "spectacle" mode. It is not healthy for anyone, except maybe the showman and we know Trump is not healthy. We have always had spectacle, but have rarely elected it. Maybe trying to focus on the fact that one does not have to be a showman or a loud-mouthed whiner to get things done could work. Baby Donnie claims to just looooove his people, but in reality, he cares only for their votes and their unthinking loyalty. Should they be unfaithful, even for a moment, he will drop them "like a hot potato." Biden on the other hand really is/was one of them. He is from a working-class family and is still part of an actual community, not a resort that only rich folks can visit, and poor ones get to serve.
Oh, ProgWoman, good ole hypocrisy! I love how Thomas talks about "the simple life." They are oblivious, or pretend to be, and Thomas is on our Supreme Court, judging others.
Me too. Their communications shop is woefully inept. Why does the Biden WH team think Anita Dunn is all that and a bag of chips? Why the hell don't they hire Rachel Bitecofer? Or Rick Wilson? Or MAYBE NICOLLE WALLACE, who could turn it all around in the blink of an eye. But they'd better hurry. We are losing the public relations wars. And in this current political climate, PR is E V E R Y T H I N G
It boils down to the fear that those "others" represent changes that they can't accept. And those changes are changing the country in a way that is unacceptable. They may deny their racism and xenophobia, homophobia, anti-trans, and swallow a bunch of rationalizations to justify their hatred.
People keep needing reminded that Biden is a stutterer. What folks spin as his inability to be quick on repartee as being old and senile is - in fact - his effort to keep his stutter under control, much like Demosthenes, who was considered the greatest orator in Ancient Greece: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Demosthenes-Greek-statesman-and-orator
That perception has >nothing< to do with his ability to effectively execute his remit. From that perspective, compare Biden with McConnell - not some mad or half-mad carnival barker!
DZK, thanks for that comment. Our society is so terribly ableist and ageist it is hard to know where to begin when discussing someone who has a speech challenge and is also getting older. We as a society seem to think that a loud-mouthed fast talker is somehow better because of the way they can speak. They are wrong, but somehow Trump and Biden are nearly equal in the polls. How is that possible? Well, Trump is loud and speaks really fast, but in reality says nothing useful to anyone but his unthinking base. That base chooses to go with someone who is loud keeps repeating the same tripe, and makes them feel something like approval that their hatred and whining is OK. Biden on the other hand, gives the basics, does not yell for the most part, and actually does the work, unlike Trump who gets everyone else to do everything for him. I didn't know we had so many people in our nation who choose not to think and choose to follow a fool who speaks like a spoiled child. Now, some are liking Ramaswamy, who also speaks fast, says a lot of nonsense, but does it glibly with no apologies or stutters. Gag!
Kind'a makes you wonder when that nice Nigerian prince who emails us all those money-making opportunities will be allowed to run as a Яepubлиkan candidate for something!
The problem isn’t that Biden MIGHT be unstable on his feet, it is that people think that matters, even if he’s competent and clear-headed to do his job. FDR was in a wheelchair and hid it because of ableist prejudice.
Stephen Hawking was one of the most brilliant men on this planet for decades when he could not move any part of his body beyond his mouth!
Trips and falls....As for the sandbag placement at the Naval Academy commencement - well if that wasn't a planned obstacle I don't know what is....SecService and many "secret" haters contaminate high ranking agencies. How else has he TFG been so protected. For those who have not listened or read Miles Taylor's, Blowback, he provides warnings about the level of infiltration that MAGA/s have achieved and he is spot on.
One major problem that Biden has is that voters don't connect his accomplishments with him. Sure, their Medicare costs go down but they don't connect that to Biden. Sure, their roads are improving, their bridges aren't collapsing, but there is no overt visible connection to Biden. Whereas Trump constantly claims credit for things that don't even happen! Biden is invisible but Trump is unavoidable.
The ' Main stream media' does not help. But I have seen some ads that boost Biden and mention his achievements. On MSNBC I see frequent excerpts from these ads featured on many of the shows. President Biden has given some strong speeches lately, too. I have also seen some good remarks made by Vice President Kamala Harris.
This is key. Getting these districts back to the Democratic side of the aisle would be game changing. Working for and contributing to these campaigns will be the most effective way to begin to return to majority rule.
Is there an organized way to direct contributions to these 18 races? That is something I could definitely get behind.
Especially strong were the President’s and Vice President’s speeches before the Civil Rights Attorneys at the White House (from the heart, no prompter), and his very recent speech on drug negotiations via Medicare, on which the Vice President spoke very well, too.
The speakers are in full volume for trump and the speakers for Biden are in low volume. Democratic politicians should raise the volume and should persuade the media to do the same.
And can you imagine Trump riding a bicycle? I can't...not even a stationary bike. But when Biden was riding his bike earlier this summer and his shoe got caught in one of the bike's pedal "cages" he faltered a bit when he stopped to speak to the press, all the media talked about was that "falter" as in "Look, he's too old and he can't even handle a bike" rather than "Look at that 80 year old guy competently riding a bike."
That is why Democrats need to make that connection!! Tell everyone you know who is responsible for lower Medicare costs, improved infrastructure, student debt relief, etc. President Biden did these things!!! If all Democrats began to scream that message loud and proud, some just might listen!
TRUE — On MSNBC is reaching people who already know … My friends who are on the Right think I’m nuts when I say Biden is achieving good things for us. They think he is asleep. THE PRESS needs to do better. ALL the press. But if they won’t, then organizations need to run Public Service Announcements telling people.
I’ve been thinking that an entire messaging campaign to “connect the dots” would be a good idea. You’re right, people don’t make connections. All of this Democrat hatred stems from historical amnesia, propaganda, and being poorly informed. Connecting Democrats to Social Security, clean water, safe food, and good paying jobs is only a start. Connecting Biden to the accomplishments of IRA, support for Ukraine, job growth, help for student loan borrowers, etc. would help. As would the opposite: connect the GOP to George Santos, gun violence, unaffordable health care, and closing women’s health care clinics.
The Republicans are in complete meltdown mode and are drowning in CLEAR and CONVINCING evidence of guilt and are just merely doing everything and anything to attempt to redirect the media and focus away from past and current wrong doing! When I took lifesaving class they always warned us that a drowning person will panic and grab and threaten anything and anybody in the final stages of drowning . The baseless and senseless claims are the final stages of a desperate group doomed with attempting to avoid personal responsibility.
McCarthy, Gym Jordan, etc were in contempt of the prior Congress. GOP lawmakers were ‘intimately involved’ in Jan. 6 protest planning, according to several reports . All House members will stand for reelection in 2024. Last Wednesday, Free Speech for the People, a liberal-leaning group that unsuccessfully tried to strike House Republicans from the ballot in 2022, sent a letter to the secretaries of state in New Hampshire, as well as Florida, New Mexico, Ohio and Wisconsin, urging them to bar . Trump from the ballot under the 14th Amendment. They could add members of Congress from those states who were engaged in insurrection.
In a battle of the biggest bullhorns, whoever has the biggest bullhorn wins.
MSNBC is not a Dem bullhorn. The left tint in most shows is still paid for by advertisers who call the shots and attenuate the message. It's a corporate media outlet with marketing targeting non-Fox audiences by delivering news. Dems do not own MSNBC, even if many MSNBC commentators seem "Dem friendly."
FoxNews is a GOP entertainment propaganda system, funded by Wall Street. CNN? Do ABC, NBC, CBS still do news? Who pays to put that together (it's not the audiences that pay).
No matter what messaging one offers, no matter how brilliant it seems, whoever holds the biggest bullhorn wins...UNLESS something captures people's attention more effectively than loud noises. Economic collapse. War. Pandemic.
People think "climate catastrophe" effects everyone who breathes. Tornadoes, floods, hurricanes, wildfires, heat waves hurt people who cannot afford to jump on an airplane and go somewhere else.
Think what happened in Louisiana after Katrina: a bit of frowning, hemming and hawing, and what machinery wound up taking almost complete control over the legislature and local govt in what had been a swingy state until then? (Yes, they've had a Dem gov, but no, it's as red as states get in terms of control).
The model for exploiting climate change is old: make poor people suffer. Watch their houses get wrecked. Sell them $300k houses "as of" they were flood proofed - and then blame the federal govt for failing to cover a shortfall. Then build another set of $400k houses and sell them to the next group of suckers (and for some reason, every real estate agent will join a chorus denying climate change...until they get their money selling houses designed to be destroyed).
FLORIDA is a world center for the scam - because it's basically a repeat of the 1920s swamp trading debacles, BUT updated with better actuarial tables so that billionaires can be quite sure what they will gain and lose (and that they come out ahead through their insurance) - while everyone else pays.
Harder to do that with a pandemic. When people are dying, it's hard to set things up to exploit the opportunity - things get ramshackled together. Even harder with wars: exploit those opportunities too obviously, and people may realize that you were cashing in on dead or injured soldiers.
Brent, I think you are right. The problem is that even in its death struggle, Republicans are getting elected all over the country and are causing havoc for a lot of people, women, people of color, LGBTQ persons, older people, poor people, children, disabled persons, etc. That pretty much means the only people not being harmed are rich, white, male, "straight," middle-aged pseudo-christians. That is clearly a minority, so why are We the People letting a small minority rule in our democracy? Oh wait, our courts are to a great extent in that minority and are often stopping any laws that try to expand rights to more of the people. In the coming elections, We the People need to help people focus on the fact that a small minority is trying to rule through manipulation, changing laws to just suit themselves, and stacking our courts with incompetent young lawyers who will be on the courts for life bowing to whatever that minority wants. Biden, Harris, and Democrats in general are trying to fight this insanity, but it is hard when even the media prefers to savor and push the will of the minority, probably because they are owned and often operated by that minority. That all needs to change, but how?
Ruth I think your correct on your assessment that the current threat to democracy is real. America and democracy was the " great experiment " and was novel approach to begin with. We have taken Democracy for granted to long to the point we foolish believe it would last forever. I think the Roman Empire , Greek Empire teach us that all things have a finite life. So how do attempt to preserve Democracy and the Constitution we deem so dear. First I perceive the American Education System is truly broken. We seem more interested in winning High School football teams than concern about the quality of our teachers or the necessary academic minimum required of students. High School students are leaving school with little or no knowledge of how the constitution or government at the three basic level interact. High Schools need to teach basic ethics eop,history, chemistry., biology, math,and useful trades . Schools need to stop the dumbing down students and handing out diplomas for merely breathing. Colleges need to stop praying on students also. Colleges misrepresent to students that student loans for some degrees are a smart personal investment. Clearly they are not. SECOND the Free Press in this country is in danger from the death of thousands of failed newspapers. Social Media and So Called News Media have an extraordinary amount of control over what we see and how we see it. Second some so called News organizations are profiting by supporting certain poltical positions . The News Corporations are more interested in market share and profits than objective News reporting. In Summary and in my opinion the life blood of any democracy is a educated electorate and a free objective press. Unfortunately both are in horrible decline!
The entire effort is nothing but a smoke screen. Create as much negativity surrounding the Biden image as possible in hopes of damaging his chances in 2024. There hasn't been enough evidence to even consider impeachment on a moral level but leading Republicans aren't moral people. Its all smoke.
And Speaker Newt Gingrich thought he could bring down Bill Clinton on the basis of a fudged answer in a deposition in a civil case that had nothing to do with the nation’s business, only to find out that the newly-acquitted Clinton’s poll numbers were higher than ever.
McCarthy should take a look at that and take note that, as thin as Gingrich’s grounds for impeaching Clinton were, McCarthy’s got even fewer arrows rattling around in his threadbare quiver.
Yes, i like that idea. McCarthy is almost as deplorable as TUMP is. And i almost forgot, McCarthy's lover, Maggot Traitor Goon is another one i despise.
professor reich: i am sooo tired of rethuglicans, and the hate-filled degenerates who vote them in to office. at this point, i see no redeeming value to the GQP nor its so-called "values". and as for trump? i hope he chokes to death on a double whopper with cheese.
That would work. I wouldn't want anyone to assassinate him and make him a martyr. A group of us were hoping that Trump would die of COVID, which would have been the ultimate justice. Now we're hoping he has a massive stroke not allowing him to talk or use his hands to tweet and that the place his lives is owned by Democrats who keep news from PBS, BBC. NHK, and MSNBC playing on his room television.
My thoughts, EXACTLY!!! I was hoping that hurricane that hit the State of DeSatan would been a direct hit on his Mar a Lardo residence, but i suppose it missed.
Hurricane Ian came close! Maybe the next hurricane headed towards the east coast of Florida could be named Hurrican Retribution! Then it might hit Mar a Lago!
well, if there's one good thing about the climate catastrophe is there are going to be plenty more opportunities to flood mar-a-lardo and force a Catastrophic Rapid Unplanned Deconstruction (CRUD)
Great reply, and thank you. I agree with that. I figure in a few short years, the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico will merge and swallow up Mar a Lardo and the whole thing will be underwater. The whole south end of the state of DeSatan (also know as the state Florida) will be under the salt water.
Trump is counting on his followers to not think and just follow him. Then the weight of intimidation will drag the other republicans to follow. A classic mob boss strategy (let me give you an offer you cannot refuse). Since the Republican Party no longer depends on funding from the members of the party to be elected (dark money from rich patrons now fund the GOP), the counter current which used to slow down corruption has been removed. The rich few are steering the agenda.
While the Republicans are busy playing political stunts the Democrats are actually getting things done for the American people. I think that as more and of Biden’s wins like the Medicare drug price reduction and how well the economy is doing make the news, the impeachment antics will make the Magats look even more foolish.
Problem is, it isn't making the news. And people aren't seeing a huge difference in their day-to-day lives, as there are still the massive disparities in income, and the poor are still poor, while the middle class is still struggling, too.
I read a very good substack about this perception not too long ago.
Yes- that is a huge problem - when you point out the good projects Biden has accomplished to friends and family - they come back with GAS PRICES or GROCERY PRICES are still high - I then ask how would Trump lower prices without fundamentally taking away free enterprise and selling democracy for authoritarianism? It’s way over the heads of most Americans.
One problem is that the news seems to downplay Biden's
achievements. As another also stated, those things have not made a huge difference in people's day-to-day lives, and many are struggling . Repubs are also pushing emotion over rationality, and on the scale of hate, the things Biden has done to help the American people count for very little. With polls showing Biden neck and neck with an obvious criminal, we should be very worried.
The Republican Tumpian wing has no moral compass but like a bunch of idiots shout the loudest!
TRUMP is a lost cause but the idiots neither have the sense to see it or worse still can see it but don't have the guts or balls to stand up to bully boy Trump.
Trump is a typical schoolyard BULLY & will be so until some body is willing to brow beat him!
Yes. Though this bully is going to have to sit there, in court, for hours and hours, day after day, listening to testimony from one after another after another of his lackeys condemning him, without being able to grimace or fidget or open his big foul mouth at all, in Georgia, on television, in full view of millions of Americans in a trial that the legal experts say should take from six to eight weeks. This is my idea of the system working.
Yes he is a mega bully who turns his goons on anyone who stands up to him or even speaks truth. Trump creates a distracting side show to keep the public from seeing what an immoral, immature, selfish, stupid man he really is, and from facing the consequences of his own poor actions and decisions. Useless drama. Biden has got to scream about Trump’s modus operandi!
Why, after all this time are Democrats so terrible at messaging. I've heard so many excuses, but seriously why do they suck at keeping the electorate informed. It's as if they don't want to tip the scales of power too much.
David Deane ; It's a choice to be poorly informed? the electorate controls the quality of information? Back when the 'airwaves' were owned by Us, "The people" ( not the Corporations) ; there was a "Fairness Doctrine", and the FCC ; (The federal Communications Commission) had some authority to take a broadcasting license away from broadcasters who were misleading the voters. With privately owned media today, and a weak FCC, that is just a memory. We have the likes of FOX 'news' (which they claim is just entertainment when in court), and 'Newsmax'. We have no choice unless we have been educated to have critical thinking skills and are lucky enough to have access to good news sources.
I am constantly complaining about the media and how Trump is manipulating thru content with false narratives- but friends and family are so acclimated to the lack of morals on the internet they don’t seem concerned about Americas future or democracy, it’s almost as if they think some super hero will swoop in and save everything at the last minute
David Deane ; The ability to objectively evaluate what their own eyes 'see' is key. "Let the buyer beware " is not the greatest guardrail for media, IMHO. Not every voter has had 'critical thinking skills ' taught to them.
Yes, Laurie, we are short on critical thinking skills much of the time. Leading up to the recent August 8th special election in Ohio the republicans ran TV ads featuring a little girl in bed in a darkened room (a little white girl in a comfortable bed), parent hovering over her, tucking her in, with ominous tension-inducing music designed to terrify voters into confusion about losing control of their children's wellbeing. A voice talks about protecting her, implying from abortion and gender affirming care. Issue One on the ballot in August was not directly about abortion or gender affirming care. Instead, Issue One was about ending majority rule and instituting a 60% majority to pass ballot initiatives to permanently and irrevocably amend the Ohio state constitution. It is true that there will be a ballot initiative protecting abortion in the state constitution in the upcoming November '23 election, but not in the August special election. If Issue One passed, it would have affected every ballot initiative in Ohio forever, whether it addressed land use, gun safety, minimum wage or abortion. I spoke to one voter who said he didn't know how to vote on Issue One BECAUSE HE DOESN'T HAVE ANY CHILDREN!!! I understood that he was referring to the misleading ads. Luckily, he was willing to hear my explanation of what Issue One would do, and he quickly understood that it was important for him to vote no on August 8th to preserve majority rule for ballot initiatives and not to permanently change the state constitution. Given the lack of critical thinking skills that pervades much of the electorate, it is crucial that we reach out and contact voters one by one, listen to them, talk through the issues with them, and help them make a plan to vote.
The Fairness Doctrine has to be updated to include social media. It's a complicated issue that is worth exploring IMO. Fair and balanced coverage of controversial issues was required in the Fairness Doctrine. However, it was overturned by Reagan on first amendment free speech violations. It prevented controversial views and it violated first amendment rights. Broadcasters had to present controversial issues and air contrasting views. Based on the assumption that there were only two sides to an issue, you had to engage in both sidism. We all know how that worked out. There are often more than two sides, as we have come to realize. Who decides what's controversial and who decides what's free speech and defamation are other issues. These roadblocks, I believe, can be overcome by better minds than mine, but the effort needs to be made. The argument for including social media in the Fairness Doctrine is explored in the Columbia Journalist Review. https://www.cjr.org/opinion/social-media-fairness-doctrine.php
It does seem that the Dems don't want to tip the scales of power too much, as you said. I heard both Pelosi and Schiff say we need a strong Republican Party. I thought, "What? Why? For the circus we watch every day?" It seems like the outcome is predetermined in some backrooms or elite gatherings and it needs to look like there is a democratic republic where things are negotiated and compromised for the benefit of the masses. Is the full moon affecting me tonight? Joking.
Gloria Maloney ; I heard Retired conservative judge, Michael Luttig say that, in order to function properly, our democracy is better with two properly functioning law respecting parties, not the disaster that the 'republican' party has become, and I agree. Judge Luttig said he does not consider himself a Republican at this time in this 'republican' party. I'm sure that he is not alone.
I think he is sane. He speaks slowly and deliberately. Judges Luttig has my respect and it is someone more like him on the Supreme Court. This whole Country is tilted. Overweighted by MAGAs. Plus all the other crazy groups. Disgusted.
Gloria, we need at least a strong two-party system, I'd prefer 3 just to keep all of us in balance. I happen to be on the Liberal Progressive side, I appreciate a strong fiscally conservative party to keep my 'dreams' in check. That is what Pelosi and Schiff meant. they don't want the 3 ring circus of Trump, DeSantis, McConnell, McCarthy. They want a real Republican party. Our nation was founded on checks and balances. The current Fascist party masquerading under the name Republican is not what they want or ask for.
Perhaps our two-party system is part of the problem not the solution. Our neighbor Canada has a parliamentary system with multiple parties to cover a broad range of citizen's interests and needs. Whoever gets a majority vote must form a coalition of other parties to form a government. If the new government fails to govern properly, a vote of no-confidence can be called and the government dissolved if it loses.
The winner-take-all two-party system lumps all sorts of citizens together under two broad umbrellas and there is no incentive for reaching out and forming coalitions. Extremism is a "feature" not a "flaw" of our dysfunctional political system.
Oh, I might add that Canada's elections only last a few months and private donations to candidate is strictly regulated and/or prohibited. It is not like we have to start from scratch. Canada and most of Europe already work this way with a lot less drama unless you're Italian...
Most of the more democratic governments are based on the parliamentary system. We would have to re-write our Constitution to change to this type of system. I am not saying we shouldn't do it, but it would be difficult to implement in this country. We must fix the government we have, if our democracy is going to keep on working.
Somebody once remarked that the U.S. has an old constitution for such a young country. Europe got the chance to rebuild their governments but we're stuck with our old 18th century antique (and proud of it I might add). Yeah, we'll probably have to wait until a catastrophe happens before we can rebuild.
I agree. What I'd call you - like I call myself - is an American social democrat. I think the needs of the many must be balanced with moderate incentives for the few - not the kind of insanely parasitic incentives we must now live with. I'll buy that human instincts require a bit of incentive to progress, but not to the extent that a'pissin' in the drinking pond would be tolerated.
You might want to rethink that "checks and balances" system. I first learned from an online course about the Constitution about the Federalist Papers and was particularly interested in # 10. The checks and balance system was created to protect the opulent few and their property from the masses who will never get their way. I was thrilled to find that Robert Ovetz explains this in a book, "We the Elites: Why the U.S. Constitution Serves the Few." It is easier for other countries to accomplish what is needed for the public good. We have been conned.
Gloria J. Maloney ; The 'circus' is not a true republican party. Look at George Santos, who was ushered in by dirty money and a fake resume. His constituents in Long Island could not get rid of him. McCarthy, the 'Speaker' would not remove him because he 'needed the votes'. this is fraud, not Democracy!
It's the party the system allows and encourages. The surviving Koch wants a constitutional convention, but although Ovetz is ready to move beyond our dysfunctional constitution, he said we are not prepared. We could end up with something worse if Koch and his ilk get the chance to remake the system. Should we be preparing? What would a more Democratic society look like? Should we keep the Senate and the Supreme Court or reduce the courts power? Should we draw new districts apart from the states and increase the number of Representatives by 40 times? Maybe we should start the discussion so we're not blindsided.
Agreed. To start, if I were the monarch instead of an ordinary citizen I would dispense with 2 things in the Constitution, the Electoral College and the 2/3 or 3/4ths vote. I might include in the requirements for elected or appointed office honesty, integrity and willingness to uphold all the laws, regulations, and rules of the land. I would also either add term limits for judges and justices and/or clearly spell out what the meaning of what "good behavior" is and is not. Obviously Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, and John Roberts see nothing wrong with their behavior. They haven't stolen any property, killed or maimed anyone, and they don't see accepting bribes (gifts) as not good behavior.
My Congressman keeps me informed by email of all the current happenings in Washington, including President Biden's accomplishments. It is my choice to read these emails or not. If your Congress person doesn't contact you, contact them and get on their email list.
Mine is Chip Roy , his newsletters are bullying and hateful. Makes me sick to read. Comments on his FB page mostly makes me scared of my neighbors. If they all think like that...
I don’t like my congresspersons- I think she was a result of gerrymandering- she doesn’t represent my district which is low and middle class - she is a trump republican
Mine too, but the real problem is reaching those who aren't on the lists & substacks, who's MSM doen't accurately report our country or worlds news. How do we reach the masses & grab their attention on true issues & achievements, vs sensationalism & gaslighting? What legislation is possible to ensure civic education, stimulate critical reasoning skills, & provide vital news reporting to our communities.
Michael Rosenberg ; Your 'command' of the English language and punctuation along with your repetition of Republican talking points makes me wonder if you are a Russian troll.
Ha ha try again. Two is a number = 2, too = also or more, to = goes with verbs, other words, when too or two is not appropriate. Too hasty, but to proof.
I doubt it will change anyone’s votes. The MAGAs will continue to support their cult leader and rational people will vote for Biden. I guess the question here is this: Are the majority of Americans sensible people who want a real president who gets things done. Or are they all members of the MAGA cult who’ll only believe what their leader tells them to believe.
Personally I am so done with the Republican theatrics and faux hearings not to mention the QAnon conspiracies. Every time I hear the repugnican refrain of “the weaponization of the Justice Department I my blood pressure soars. But okay Kevin have your little hearing and think what a big man you are.
There’s some clown on tiktok claiming that FEMA is trying to incinerate the fire victims, (pretty sure he said 8,000 victims) so they can’t be found. WTF? Why? Have people always been this crazy or has trump given them permission to do and say the most vile things that they used to just think to themselves?
I agree with you that the theatrics are getting very tiresome. I also believe from President Biden's win in 2020 there are over 7 million more Americans are sensible and vote for a real president and by now that number has risen as many members of the cult have quit it. Those people that have left the cult are growing.
Finally, I am in Portugal and Spain, on a long walk and for volunteering like I do here at home and am looking through my wide angle lens at the mess we, as in USA, are in. Despite the laptop and what about B, the Dems and President Biden are helping citizens who vote and pay taxes and expect or wish to be protected. Time on legislation and governing. Laws that make people healthier and safer. People need to recognize the difference. Good infrastructure, medical care for all, jobs, education and mix in a scandal or two and you have working government. I won’t list why so many Americans are moving here. But they have to afford it. We cannot compare the USA to small countries, but we can compare government for the people. And take an honest look at the repubs and the differences. Trading in necessities for scandal and broken promises. Time for Billboards and megaphones.
I would love to see a short-term massive media buy on Fox News by the Dems to illustrate the contrasts. Nothing inflammatory. Low key narration. Biden at work, with his successes. The Democratic agenda, regular people benefitting, etc. Then, reminders of the Trump years: riots, pandemic, etc...It may not change many votes, but it would make them insane. And it would be playing on offense for a change.
That wouldn't hurt McCarthy, Gym Jordan.
Better. Make it hurt. Threaten a hostile takeover of Fox.
https://www.investopedia.com/terms/h/hostiletakeover.asp#:~:text=How%20Is%20a%20Hostile%20Takeover,the%20target's%20uncooperative%20board%20members.
The corollary is that DNC spent ad money on Fox in 2020, 2022 only to discover in the Dominion Voting Systems case that Fox was using it against them.
Do they not have lawyers?
C'mon, people, we aren't going to take down Fox News. Let's focus on taking down Kevin McCarthy. That can be done, and soon.
Everyone knows the impeachment "investigation" is a sideshow, meant to distract not only from Trump's trials but also from Mr. McCarthy's miserable tenure as Speaker. We are now facing a government shutdown, just as we recently faced a U.S. debt default, solely because the Speaker traded away his power to MAGA last January. He has no control over the extremist minority, so they obstruct all normal functioning of the House.
The bipartisan majority that passed the debt ceiling bill (Fiscal Responsibility Act), and will eventually pass the appropriation bills that will keep the government running, needs to step up. They need to end this charade now, move to "vacate the chair" and elect a sensible Republican like Don Bacon (R-NE) Speaker.
Everyone reading this can help make that happen. Learn more here:
www.FeathersOfHope.net or JerryWeiss.Substack.com
.
1. Not mutually exclusive. Some of us can walk and chew gum at the same time.
2. Relying on Republicans to do the right thing is crazy. Obama learned it too late to his detriment.
Trump called Joe a crook, that's what I love about Donnie in order to relate to anyone he has to first demean them. Childish nicknames that have no bearing on anything. Trump can't compete with people on an equal basis so he finds it necessary to pull their image down publicly to his level where he feels more comfortable. He lies, he hyperbolizes his grandeur, and he constantly promotes civil discontent. In my entire life I have never been confronted by a more despicable excuse for a man.
He's not--not by any stretch--a man. He is a mess; a cretinous monster of conflicting needs and chaotic impulses. Emotionally he is still a child. He has somehow managed to leverage his one "gift" into a life time of grift and sketchy moves. He is an embarrassment to all honest men and I can't believe he hasn't been tarred, feathered and run out of Noo Yawk on a rail.
Trump projects, he calls people what he is. Pure projection. As for his lies they are almost always the exact opposite of the truth. There are not enough pejoratives to describe such an excuse of a human.
Agree 200%. Trump was trained well by his Dad who was a slum lord in New York. A story that has circulated some time ago was that Trump convinced a building contractor to build a new building (high rise?) and convinced the contractor to use his own money. Trump would, of course, pay promptly on completion of the project. When the contractor finished and went to collect his pay, Trump's lawyers told him that yes, they had agreed on $X, but now Trump was only going to pay half of $X. If the contractor tried to get more the attorneys would just keep him in court until he went bankrupt and then he would get zero dollars. Contractor decided he would accept half of $X and spent a long time digging out of the hole Trump had pushed him into. Don't know how true this story is, but it completely explains Trump's character whether it is either true or false.
Let’s use person when referring to djt. That person is in no way shape or form a man.
The behavior you describe above is classic Narcissism. I was just reading about the subject earlier this morning.
Think Roy Cohen - Trump’s mentor. Trump does’ t match this man’s vitriol.
1. You are absolutely right, Daniel. The two are not mutually exclusive. I fully support your effort to bring down Fox News in addition to bringing down Kevin McCarthy. Please let me know what I can do to help.
2. The Fiscal Responsibility Act passed in the House of Representatives with 149 Republican votes and 165 Democratic votes. A similar bipartisan majority will eventually pass all 12 appropriation bills to fund the government. Moderate Republicans have their own reasons to resent the antics of MAGA extremists.
As Prof. Reich points out today: "McCarthy doesn’t have the votes of moderate Republicans, whose constituents don’t want the House to waste time and money impeaching Biden."
.
If you look below I identify 18 House Republicans who represent district that Biden carried. I think they may be vulnerable.
But reptiles are cold blooded.
Poor you
not as funny as imagined....
You are vulgar because of your lack of communication skills.
Focusing on a hostile takeover of Fox would be like pasting a mere band-aid on the cancerous growth that is the extreme cabal of Republicans that are colluding with their MAGA constituents on a hostile takeover of our country. The same would apply to the myriad dark websites fueled by the poisonous hatred and money of their users.
IMO, the only way for our democracy to survive is to take out this cancer by the roots; indict and arrest these congressional perps and their backers for treason; cut their power and all other systems fail.
Fox is also criminally responsible for aiding, abetting and giving cover to the insurrection.
there is no doubt that Fox is a criminal enterprise. Still, The dark alternative websites are no less a threat to our democracy. Rooting out their users and supporters would be a strong beginning to avert a civil war that may be coming if Trump and his MAGA gangs are not checked now, before primaries and elections. Enough of this relentless media sh*t show!!
There won’t be a civil war, unless you count what is currently happening as civil war. The reason we won’t have a full blown war is because it would ruin the economy. We all know money is the most important thing to republicans. What they’re doing is a stealth takeover. Evidence of it is the recent state takeover of the Houston Independent school district.
The new superintendent is a man who ran a chain of Charter schools. The libraries are empty and will be used as “disciplinary centers.”
And so it begins...maybe not the historic 1860's version but by domination of gun-wielding, violence-addicted TrumpThugs who care less about money than their license to spread hatred of laws and the people that laws were created to protect.
Good grief!
🤬🤬🤬🤯
You get hostile with 'money bags' Freaks News, and (guaranteed !) you will get stomped on by bigger bad(er) responses. They are GOOD & GENIUS at being evil to common people. Nothing more.
I believe the MAGAs don’t really have allegiance to trump. They would support anyone who breaks laws, norms, and pledges to tear down government institutions and structure. They believe that the existing laws and regulations have prevented them from excelling and being wealthy. It’s a class war. They believe “the government “ has deprived them of this make believe opportunity of wealth. They have no idea what they are truly in for in the absence of a fair government. Advertisements need to portray that reality.
The level of infiltration of these folks who want to tear down existing protective rules, guidelines and laws should alarm us all.
Like I've said many times before, ol' P01135809 isn't the disease; he's the symptom. He represents a criminal-minded "deviant subculture" in US politics.
As an afterthought:
It's not for the dead to define the needs of a society in which future generations must actually live. They can only point the general direction so that future generations can correct course - that is, >evolve< - according to the society's current needs. The founders that the "originalists" would have us believe are demi-gods got it wrong in many ways - most notably in the festivities that took place from 1860 - 1864, a scant 70 years later, serve as proof. Where they didn't go wrong is in pointing the general direction this society must head, from a tradition nominally dating to the Magna Carta in England - remember, they were colonial British citizens - and democracy writ large from the time of Ancient Greece. They successfully identify the evolutionary state of democracy at that time. It is for us as a society, as a nation, to evolve in accordance with that vision - not to become extinct within the values and sensibilities British aristocrats - for lack of a better characterization - held in 1789, no matter how great we perceive them to be.
Hell! Even Einstein isn't non-controversial about the nature of physical reality among scientists who have devoted their lives to studying physical reality. Although Einstein adjusted Newton's laws in a way that allows us to drive to an unknown destination directed by satellites orbiting the planet, or nuke ourselves into oblivion precisely 😁, it doesn't completely work in all situations - for example the slug notions of dark matter and dark energy scientists use to avoid saying "we don't have a friggin' clue," or why gravity doesn't express itself as the theoretic "graviton" in particle physics. Nevertheless, that kind of navigation would've been impossible under Newtonian physics.
It is just so in US society today, who are >not< 18th century British colonial aristocrats - for those who - rightly - object that the letter of the Constitution is biased toward - well - 18th century British colonial aristocrats! Fortunately for future generations, they provide for updating The Constitution by future generations to amend and evolve, albeit not easily.
I think I follow what you're saying, at least most of it, and I like it. What I keep searching for in all the writings and pronouncements and opinions and analyses here, there, everywhere are ways to shore up the listing ship of state before it sinks, i.e. STAT.
I think many of us "regular, decent" citizens keep hoping we'll begin to see some fire and inspiration and leadership from those "electeds" who still might deserve our respect - but we keep waiting and waiting - and we hear crickets....
What are they waiting for?!
There is actually a post-Idalia hurricane headline today that claims that Biden praises DeSantis. Really?! Isn't that analogous to praising Hitler for taking care of his dog while meanwhile.....
Good question. To me it's an essential political statement. Biden needs to at least appear even-handed. I'm sure you're quick enough to figure out why. It's the "stopped clock is right at least once a day" kind of praise. After all, without Hitler, there would be no Volkswagen, for example - if you happen to like Volkswage!
@Debbie. You are describing basic civics education, for students to understand that government is the tool of the people, so long as we don't let the rich, powerful and influential bend it to their service. I'm still hopeful that we will keep our democracy, flawed though it is, and perhaps improve it if we can get rid of Citizens United. Not as hopeful about getting rid of the Electoral College, but we should try.
Debbie, I think your analysis is perfect. The beliefs you describe encompass so many areas where those beliefs are expressed: militias, "sovreign nation" ideation, individual over any notion of collective good, noblesse oblige over systemic progress, sheriffs' organization ad hoc enforcement of laws, chaos and disruption over publicly elected officials and public meetings, destruction of all public-funded/public-use institutions (schools, libraries, public health, etc.)....
The take-over by a fascist tribal mentality..... the end of America as we thought we knew it, as it was still "forming a more perfect union."
Agree whole-heartedly, Debbie and Annie!
When a "gummint shutdown" shuts off SSI, disability, VA payments and other Federal monies...maybe the rednecks will come to their senses and start to elect more responsive Representatives, who actually believe in constituent service.
Hahaha...I wish.
Fox is vulnerable. Already out $787.5 mil to Dominion. Smartmatic filed a $2.7 billion defamation lawsuit against Fox in February 2021, accusing the news network of falsely implicating the company in a bogus narrative about vote rigging in the 2020 election. That case looks golden.
Lots of other contingent liabilities. How about Jan 6 damages? Fox executives and hosts were shown to have broadcast claims about the election that they believed to be false and put on people they did not find credible in order to win back viewers who admired Trump.
@Daniel. I'd also suggest a social media offense - example boycott Fox sponsors, use all the platforms in the same way they are used by the right, to do some "rabble rousing" from the Democrats pointing out how buying from these advertisers is enabling the false narratives from Faux Noose.
They are promotors of lies and arrogant Thievery, of the peoples money 💰 ( Rotten to the core )
Trying to take down Fox is a game of whack-a-mole.
Not really. Check out current litigation exposure.
https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/FOX/key-statistics/
What I am suggesting is not that taking down Fox can't be done. I am saying that if Fox goes away, all that rhetoric will just move to another platform, or channel.
Not go away. Creditors take over.
Fingers crossed
I think like Mr. Ford.
it's happening in AZ, PENN. and WI
I'm not sure Faux would sell them the time.
In exchange to avoid litigation, they might.
I read that Biden's campaign ran an ad on Faux that aired right before last week's Republican debate. Faux is facing "bigly" financial liabilities...they'll sell the time to Dems simply because they need the cash. Furthermore, they don't care about what their viewers think about running Dem campaign ads as long as those viewers keep tuning in and they will.
Don’t give the FoxFauxFolks any $$$. Their audience is already around the bend, irretrievable. Focus on the broader common sense crowds of moderate, reasonable voters.
like he or she said
Probably wouldn't work and besides, why give more money to Faux News?
Also the other "news" outlets that R's patronize. But maybe the "news" outlets won't even publish them, including Faux Nooz.
would fox accept ads promoting Dems?
Good idea
Great idea!
Are you based in St. Petersburg or Novosibirsk?
Your Cyrillic translation missed a "p".
"Missed a "P"!!" LOLOLOLOLOL
Ah Lefty, you pick the two areas Biden inherited from King Donnie that weren't taken care of in a way Republicans claim to have wanted. That is nonsense, of course. After the worst pandemic in a century it is amazing things were not worse. They would have, had King Donnie remained in power. He has no ideas, no sense of the world beyond himself and the things he can manipulate. As for Afghanistan, the devastation happened when we started a war in a nation we knew nothing about with people we didn't even do much to get to know or understand. King Donnie started the pull-out and Biden went through with it. There is absolutely no evidence that the US staying there longer would have made anything better. Hey, we should have armed and trained the women in addition to the men. Maybe the outcome would have been better for everyone. As for inflation, we still are not addressing the price-gouging by the greedy already-too-rich. Somehow, they seem off limits. I suspect if they had not been so eager to steal what they could, inflation would have come down much more quickly. So, sorry, but your assessment is weak.
Hmmmm (Russian for "gaslighting much?")
Hey Leftie. Your post is useful in two ways. One way is to illustrate how twisted arguments can be made through "motivated reasoning" as described by professional psychologists. Great example of essentially reversing the facts. The second useful thing is that you are previewing the stupid shit that Republicans will try to roll out during this campaign season. Not fooling anyone on here, but there are those in the general public who might be swayed. That's why fact-centric people need to put down stupid shit like you posted here.
Rebutted here: Afghanistan was a Republican war. don't be a nut ball; Biden got us out. It was awkward. But we are out and many thousands of innocents (our troops and their citizens) are much safer. The deficit that Biden is FIXING was put in place by Republicans, namely the big tax break during Trump's tenure. There is no such thing as "cumulative inflation"; you just made that up so you could add some numbers together and try to sound scary. Leftie, your stuff is bogus and is easily proven bogus.
If you're going to troll, LFC, at least check your spelling: "rebuttal." Obviously misspelled words kinda undercuts any credibility you might muster.
Don't need anything else. You've already confirmed your ignorance. That is, if you can't express yourself correctly, why would we think anything you assert as fact is correct?
You should not be allowed to post anything, anywhere in America.
Hey Leftie. This is some of the stupidest shit I have seen on here (or anywhere). Afghanistan was a Republican war. don't be a nut ball; Biden got us out. It was awkward. But we are out and many thousands of innocents (our troops and their citizens) are much safer. The deficit that Biden is FIXING was put in place by Republicans, namely the big tax break during Trump's tenure. There is no such thing as "cumulative inflation"; you just made that up so you could add some numbers together and try to sound scary. Leftie, your stuff is bogus and is easily proven bogus.
Biden stepped in Trump admins plans when Trump cut a deal to get people out of there by March and Biden had no choice but to follow through so he extended their escape from Afghanistan to August. Read the facts. TRUMP CUT THE DEAL.
Please check corporate profits.
"Ridickulous." :)
You are not being factual Leftie Fact Check.
Get help. You're apparently a deaf mute.
What happened in Afghanistan was in large part due to Trump’s abysmal negotiations with the Taliban.
BEHOLD the intellectual power of those who kiss arse with criminal events!!
The Democrats need a first-class advertising agency.
The Lincoln Project is pretty great.
But make no mistake. Those Libertarians aren't our friends. We need an agency that is like them, but is not of them.
If the Lincoln Project's pitch is effective, who cares what their politics are? I don't confirm a restaurateur's politics for fear of being poisoned if they differ from mine.
The Nazi's pitch was effective too. Extrapolate from there.
Surely you jest. Are you really unaware of Godwin's Law?
And they’re all Republicans. So the point that democrats can’t message for crap still stands. Much to our collective detriment.
Yeah really 🎯
Kerry, I am not familiar with the Lincoln Project. I had thought they were Republicans. What are they that you value them? Thanks.
I've been following them on Instagram since they opened up shop before the last presidential election. Their media messaging is brilliant and devastating to the MAGAts. They are a blessing to Dems and progressives with their brilliant criticism and satire. https://lincolnproject.us/
Ruth
The Lincoln Project creates, funds, and places top quality ads exposing the worst of Trump. Research them and see what you think. Not a pro-Repub vibe.
If the news media did its job and reported on the accomplishments of Biden and the Democrats, they wouldn't need to hire an advertising agency!
The news media always goes for the performance.
Hence Trump’s $millions of free press coverage in 2016.
No, the faux news goes for the hacks.
Democracy Now does a fairly decent straight forward report.
Yes, but its buried on channel 9415 (Free Speech TV) on Dish Network, so few Dish subscribers know it exists.
I watch them on YouTube, do not have dish. Don’t even have regular tv.
The news media always goes for whatever grabs ears, eyeballs, and mouse clicks, NOTHING else matters. I have absolutely zero idea where a person could go, these days to find an accurate source of news that would report, without sensationalism or bias, the important events and issues of the day. I don't believe such a source exists any longer. The movie, "Don't Look Up," is turning out to be a documentary, but the issue is not a comet. It's climate change.
You might try PBS news. They seem unbiased.
That, and billions of dollars infusion such as right-wing media currently get. Dems don't have a messaging problem; the dems' messaging has a FUNDING problem. Follow the money, plain and simple.
Here in Texas the Republicans are mobilizing the grassroots. Almost 50% of registered voters didn't vote. No one is coming to save us, we have to do it.
It's going to have to be the grassroots. There are plenty of great ideas here. Start talking to people in your circle, family, friends, neighbors, coworkers, the stranger in line at the grocery story. Heck, wear Tshirts with the message.
Like Fox... except based on truth
Don't forget, the "former" is the billionaire on the next barstool
who can totally relate to your plight... the "current" is a politician
going through the motions! A PR NIGHTMARE, INDEED!!!!!!!!!!!
Trump is entertaining. Trump is expert at speaking to their hate, fears, resentment & prejudices. Trump says what they WANT to believe & gives them cover for believing it. They are very gullible so he has a lot to work with & mold to his purposes. Tucker Carlson is also really good at that (& Fox in general).
Jaime, you are so right about Trump and Carlson using the people who are disgruntled and scared. So, how do we reframe things? How do we make it worth people's time to think about things differently? I know good media presentations can lead to change. Maybe we need to employ people who understand how to reach people who are lost in fear, anger, and resentment as "the base" of the Republican Party currently is.
Speak simply & directly, addressing their concerns, & maybe bring up issues they haven't thought of but would be harmed if Republicans are in power.
Note who funds, owns & directs Republicans (corporate executives & other billionaires; fossil fuel companies & other corporations) & that they repeat predictable lies & propaganda. Using verifiable statistics from credible sources, point out the much superior economic record of Democrats. Note that Republicans want to get rid of their financial & healthcare security (including Social Security & Medicare). Explain succinctly how their rights & freedom of choice will be harmed by Republican policies & plans, like their 2025 plan to essentially make the President dictator or king & suppress individual rights & usurp power that currently belongs to Congress & independent agencies if Republicans take back the executive branch. Point out how their policies will pollute the air & water, exhaust our resources, annihilate iconic animals & plants & destroy the environment (avoiding trigger terms like "climate change" or "global warming"). Note how far behind we are other nations on various social, education, environmental, health & safety policies.
Speak factually, not hostilely or condescendingly & do not resort to insults or name calling even if they do (unless, in the latter case, you can be very clever, ironic or humorous)
Jaime, These ideas should be presented to the Democratic advertising folks (whoever they are). I think these ideas could make a big difference when it comes to letting Republicans know what is really going on. I know they choose to be outside reality a good portion of the time, but maybe some of your suggestions could actually touch them when they happen to be in a "real" frame of mind one day.
Steven Hassan's 'The CULT of Trump,he specializes in deprogramming.
They need to be deprogrammed.We need a major mindset change in our nation.
Indeed and agreed Jaime. Been meaning to get back to you on another matter but I'd lost track of the days. Deadlines at work. Sorry.
No problem! Reply if & when it's convenient for you.
A Trumper's statement that Trump is "fun" as a reason to follow him is closer to the truth than most pundits get.
Consider that those folks consider losing money at one of ol' P01135809's casinos - before he bankrupted them - the supreme entertainment. (I'm still a'scratchin' m'head over how >anyone< could possibly bankrupt a single casino, let alone 3!)
OH, so all the anxiety, outrage and frustration I have been experiencing is
just "fun!!?!!" Nice to know... feeling BETTER already!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
David, I think it can be fun for scared white people who like the idea that "one of them" is saying the things they are thinking or think they are thinking, and on a world stage. When asked about Trump after a rally, the people act as though they have had some kind of religious experience. I am sure that is fun for them and the reason so many of them follow him around and go to so many of his rallies. It's like getting a hit from a drug. Trump is not the brightest bulb in the string, but he sure does know how to manipulate people's emotions, even when what he is saying makes no sense. I think it is the sing-song way he pitches his voice. The ups and downs often have no relation to what he is saying, but I think it creates a kind of hypnotic effect. I have been trying to figure that out, but his voice makes me nauseous, so my analysis is superficial, but I think there is really something there.
I wonder sometimes if it isn't because they've listened for years to white evangelical preachers (Franklin Graham, for example) who hype things up. I know I have a similar reaction to both.
ProgWoman, I think there is something about the cadence of certain preachers and con artists that captivates a certain percentage of the population. They get caught up in the tone and the phrases and not the piece as a whole. When the listeners are done hearing the speech, they can't usually remember much about it, just that it made them feel sooo good. Trump doesn't quite have it, but he has the loud bluster that I think makes up for any lack in content and meaning. Trump, just like Graham and the rest know well how to read an audience and how to play them. They can "preach" hate and make it sound like they are offering the audience "the love of god." They know just how to focus attention on their primary points and I have found, their points are exclusive, often white supremacist here but religiocentric in other places, and specifically targeted. Only the "right" people will get the message and follow through with their vote, their money, their anti-whoever actions. It really is pretty disgusting, but practitioners can be found all over the world and collectively they have done enormous damage.
Love your comments. Always so savvy.
I think we ALL have a propensity for attraction to something "meaningful," whether it's positive or negative. As a big music fan, the Grateful Dead always did it for me, and NOW
I'm REALLY INTO MY JAZZ!
It is DEFINITELY an emotional attachment...
I must confess, I really have an adrenaline/endorphine rush when I listen to Cornel West.
I LOVE his message and is usually "spot on!" Only wish he were electable..
David, music does it for me too. It was Simon and Garfunkel for me in the 60s and 70s as well as a bunch of great folk singers. I am also moved by Renaissance and Baroque music. I, too like Cornel West and think he is a fine educator. Perhaps he needs to be Secretary of Education. Maybe a new Cabinet-level office on human rights should be started with Cornel West as the first Secretary. I do not think he is electable either. Besides, I do believe we need people as president who actually have experience in elected office, maybe not as much as Biden, but certainly more than Trump or Bush, Jr.
You see them cackling over “owning the libs” every time they make some outrageous claim or behave like troglodytes … It kind of resonates that the “fun” of a loud-mouthed rule breaker would be fun appealing to some folks who otherwise have a good deal of stress in their lives. The fact that he gives the other side, the wealthy types, permission to hoard, well, that resonates, too.
“Fun” for them. They hate us.
Marcus, a lot of haters find hate and hurting others fun, unfortunately. Check out some prison guards, police officers, concentration camp officials and guards, and lynch mobs. Hate gives people an excuse to get a high from spewing hatred and doing harm to others. Trump gets that.
Trump understands that because he also gets off on cruelty and revenge. He can be quite a sadistic 'barstid'.
Indeed he does.
Yes, hate is unfortunately so much fun.
It’s all they talk about.
Fun for the MAGAts, not fun for the rational among us.
Jacquelyn, is it possible good advertising could help change that "spectacle" mode. It is not healthy for anyone, except maybe the showman and we know Trump is not healthy. We have always had spectacle, but have rarely elected it. Maybe trying to focus on the fact that one does not have to be a showman or a loud-mouthed whiner to get things done could work. Baby Donnie claims to just looooove his people, but in reality, he cares only for their votes and their unthinking loyalty. Should they be unfaithful, even for a moment, he will drop them "like a hot potato." Biden on the other hand really is/was one of them. He is from a working-class family and is still part of an actual community, not a resort that only rich folks can visit, and poor ones get to serve.
Reminds me a bit of Clarence and Ginni Thomas, who claim to love hanging out in Walmart parking lots in their fancy $300,000 SUV.
Oh, ProgWoman, good ole hypocrisy! I love how Thomas talks about "the simple life." They are oblivious, or pretend to be, and Thomas is on our Supreme Court, judging others.
Me too. Their communications shop is woefully inept. Why does the Biden WH team think Anita Dunn is all that and a bag of chips? Why the hell don't they hire Rachel Bitecofer? Or Rick Wilson? Or MAYBE NICOLLE WALLACE, who could turn it all around in the blink of an eye. But they'd better hurry. We are losing the public relations wars. And in this current political climate, PR is E V E R Y T H I N G
It boils down to the fear that those "others" represent changes that they can't accept. And those changes are changing the country in a way that is unacceptable. They may deny their racism and xenophobia, homophobia, anti-trans, and swallow a bunch of rationalizations to justify their hatred.
I don't like what you are saying for one reason. YOU ARE RIGHT. This was the same point in Gore Vidal's play The Best Man, view it.
Well and truly stated, Jacqueline.
Just the US (not the World).
Seems the US loves circus'.
People keep needing reminded that Biden is a stutterer. What folks spin as his inability to be quick on repartee as being old and senile is - in fact - his effort to keep his stutter under control, much like Demosthenes, who was considered the greatest orator in Ancient Greece: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Demosthenes-Greek-statesman-and-orator
That perception has >nothing< to do with his ability to effectively execute his remit. From that perspective, compare Biden with McConnell - not some mad or half-mad carnival barker!
DZK, thanks for that comment. Our society is so terribly ableist and ageist it is hard to know where to begin when discussing someone who has a speech challenge and is also getting older. We as a society seem to think that a loud-mouthed fast talker is somehow better because of the way they can speak. They are wrong, but somehow Trump and Biden are nearly equal in the polls. How is that possible? Well, Trump is loud and speaks really fast, but in reality says nothing useful to anyone but his unthinking base. That base chooses to go with someone who is loud keeps repeating the same tripe, and makes them feel something like approval that their hatred and whining is OK. Biden on the other hand, gives the basics, does not yell for the most part, and actually does the work, unlike Trump who gets everyone else to do everything for him. I didn't know we had so many people in our nation who choose not to think and choose to follow a fool who speaks like a spoiled child. Now, some are liking Ramaswamy, who also speaks fast, says a lot of nonsense, but does it glibly with no apologies or stutters. Gag!
Kind'a makes you wonder when that nice Nigerian prince who emails us all those money-making opportunities will be allowed to run as a Яepubлиkan candidate for something!
👍
Yes, in an ableist society, that’s a point. He can be as sharp and competent as the day is long, but if he walks funny, that’s bad.
The problem isn’t that Biden MIGHT be unstable on his feet, it is that people think that matters, even if he’s competent and clear-headed to do his job. FDR was in a wheelchair and hid it because of ableist prejudice.
Stephen Hawking was one of the most brilliant men on this planet for decades when he could not move any part of his body beyond his mouth!
This ableist bullsh—t really gets my goat.
Trips and falls....As for the sandbag placement at the Naval Academy commencement - well if that wasn't a planned obstacle I don't know what is....SecService and many "secret" haters contaminate high ranking agencies. How else has he TFG been so protected. For those who have not listened or read Miles Taylor's, Blowback, he provides warnings about the level of infiltration that MAGA/s have achieved and he is spot on.
@Rodingo. that's McConnell, yes.
Yeah, fuck off.
One major problem that Biden has is that voters don't connect his accomplishments with him. Sure, their Medicare costs go down but they don't connect that to Biden. Sure, their roads are improving, their bridges aren't collapsing, but there is no overt visible connection to Biden. Whereas Trump constantly claims credit for things that don't even happen! Biden is invisible but Trump is unavoidable.
The ' Main stream media' does not help. But I have seen some ads that boost Biden and mention his achievements. On MSNBC I see frequent excerpts from these ads featured on many of the shows. President Biden has given some strong speeches lately, too. I have also seen some good remarks made by Vice President Kamala Harris.
In the short term, concentrate on 18 House Republicans from districts Biden won. https://newrepublic.com/article/172366/18-republicans-just-made-democratic-recapture-house-likely
This is key. Getting these districts back to the Democratic side of the aisle would be game changing. Working for and contributing to these campaigns will be the most effective way to begin to return to majority rule.
Is there an organized way to direct contributions to these 18 races? That is something I could definitely get behind.
Especially strong were the President’s and Vice President’s speeches before the Civil Rights Attorneys at the White House (from the heart, no prompter), and his very recent speech on drug negotiations via Medicare, on which the Vice President spoke very well, too.
The speakers are in full volume for trump and the speakers for Biden are in low volume. Democratic politicians should raise the volume and should persuade the media to do the same.
Tried with the Media.........doesn't work. I know others have too.
Thank you Laurie, for reporting this. It's good to know.
Unfortunately, the MAGAts don't seem to be wide ranging in their news choices.
All people are focused on with Biden is his age - even though Trump is only 3 years younger and acts like a 2 year old
& Trump is apparently in worse health
And can you imagine Trump riding a bicycle? I can't...not even a stationary bike. But when Biden was riding his bike earlier this summer and his shoe got caught in one of the bike's pedal "cages" he faltered a bit when he stopped to speak to the press, all the media talked about was that "falter" as in "Look, he's too old and he can't even handle a bike" rather than "Look at that 80 year old guy competently riding a bike."
That is why Democrats need to make that connection!! Tell everyone you know who is responsible for lower Medicare costs, improved infrastructure, student debt relief, etc. President Biden did these things!!! If all Democrats began to scream that message loud and proud, some just might listen!
TRUE — On MSNBC is reaching people who already know … My friends who are on the Right think I’m nuts when I say Biden is achieving good things for us. They think he is asleep. THE PRESS needs to do better. ALL the press. But if they won’t, then organizations need to run Public Service Announcements telling people.
Every time I see road work being done lately, (and there is a lot lately!) I say “Thank you President Biden”
I drive the Northeastern corridor with regularity.
We need billboards stating:
President Biden and his constituents are proudly bringing you these improvements and our infrastructure to the 21st Century!
Vote for Democracy and Biden in 2024 !
I’ve been thinking that an entire messaging campaign to “connect the dots” would be a good idea. You’re right, people don’t make connections. All of this Democrat hatred stems from historical amnesia, propaganda, and being poorly informed. Connecting Democrats to Social Security, clean water, safe food, and good paying jobs is only a start. Connecting Biden to the accomplishments of IRA, support for Ukraine, job growth, help for student loan borrowers, etc. would help. As would the opposite: connect the GOP to George Santos, gun violence, unaffordable health care, and closing women’s health care clinics.
The metaphorical hit to the side of the head with a 2 x 4 should be a Trump conviction.
However, I still think that he'll never stand trial - next year in Abu Dhabi.
I like the new signage being placed where Biden infrastructure has done its magic.
"Trump is unavoidable." Exactly!
See Bayjh comments/replies above.
The Republicans are in complete meltdown mode and are drowning in CLEAR and CONVINCING evidence of guilt and are just merely doing everything and anything to attempt to redirect the media and focus away from past and current wrong doing! When I took lifesaving class they always warned us that a drowning person will panic and grab and threaten anything and anybody in the final stages of drowning . The baseless and senseless claims are the final stages of a desperate group doomed with attempting to avoid personal responsibility.
Democrats should fight fire with fire.
McCarthy, Gym Jordan, etc were in contempt of the prior Congress. GOP lawmakers were ‘intimately involved’ in Jan. 6 protest planning, according to several reports . All House members will stand for reelection in 2024. Last Wednesday, Free Speech for the People, a liberal-leaning group that unsuccessfully tried to strike House Republicans from the ballot in 2022, sent a letter to the secretaries of state in New Hampshire, as well as Florida, New Mexico, Ohio and Wisconsin, urging them to bar . Trump from the ballot under the 14th Amendment. They could add members of Congress from those states who were engaged in insurrection.
In a battle of the biggest bullhorns, whoever has the biggest bullhorn wins.
MSNBC is not a Dem bullhorn. The left tint in most shows is still paid for by advertisers who call the shots and attenuate the message. It's a corporate media outlet with marketing targeting non-Fox audiences by delivering news. Dems do not own MSNBC, even if many MSNBC commentators seem "Dem friendly."
FoxNews is a GOP entertainment propaganda system, funded by Wall Street. CNN? Do ABC, NBC, CBS still do news? Who pays to put that together (it's not the audiences that pay).
No matter what messaging one offers, no matter how brilliant it seems, whoever holds the biggest bullhorn wins...UNLESS something captures people's attention more effectively than loud noises. Economic collapse. War. Pandemic.
"Economic collapse. War. Pandemic." Add Climate Catastrophe.
People think "climate catastrophe" effects everyone who breathes. Tornadoes, floods, hurricanes, wildfires, heat waves hurt people who cannot afford to jump on an airplane and go somewhere else.
Think what happened in Louisiana after Katrina: a bit of frowning, hemming and hawing, and what machinery wound up taking almost complete control over the legislature and local govt in what had been a swingy state until then? (Yes, they've had a Dem gov, but no, it's as red as states get in terms of control).
The model for exploiting climate change is old: make poor people suffer. Watch their houses get wrecked. Sell them $300k houses "as of" they were flood proofed - and then blame the federal govt for failing to cover a shortfall. Then build another set of $400k houses and sell them to the next group of suckers (and for some reason, every real estate agent will join a chorus denying climate change...until they get their money selling houses designed to be destroyed).
FLORIDA is a world center for the scam - because it's basically a repeat of the 1920s swamp trading debacles, BUT updated with better actuarial tables so that billionaires can be quite sure what they will gain and lose (and that they come out ahead through their insurance) - while everyone else pays.
Harder to do that with a pandemic. When people are dying, it's hard to set things up to exploit the opportunity - things get ramshackled together. Even harder with wars: exploit those opportunities too obviously, and people may realize that you were cashing in on dead or injured soldiers.
Brent, I think you are right. The problem is that even in its death struggle, Republicans are getting elected all over the country and are causing havoc for a lot of people, women, people of color, LGBTQ persons, older people, poor people, children, disabled persons, etc. That pretty much means the only people not being harmed are rich, white, male, "straight," middle-aged pseudo-christians. That is clearly a minority, so why are We the People letting a small minority rule in our democracy? Oh wait, our courts are to a great extent in that minority and are often stopping any laws that try to expand rights to more of the people. In the coming elections, We the People need to help people focus on the fact that a small minority is trying to rule through manipulation, changing laws to just suit themselves, and stacking our courts with incompetent young lawyers who will be on the courts for life bowing to whatever that minority wants. Biden, Harris, and Democrats in general are trying to fight this insanity, but it is hard when even the media prefers to savor and push the will of the minority, probably because they are owned and often operated by that minority. That all needs to change, but how?
Ruth I think your correct on your assessment that the current threat to democracy is real. America and democracy was the " great experiment " and was novel approach to begin with. We have taken Democracy for granted to long to the point we foolish believe it would last forever. I think the Roman Empire , Greek Empire teach us that all things have a finite life. So how do attempt to preserve Democracy and the Constitution we deem so dear. First I perceive the American Education System is truly broken. We seem more interested in winning High School football teams than concern about the quality of our teachers or the necessary academic minimum required of students. High School students are leaving school with little or no knowledge of how the constitution or government at the three basic level interact. High Schools need to teach basic ethics eop,history, chemistry., biology, math,and useful trades . Schools need to stop the dumbing down students and handing out diplomas for merely breathing. Colleges need to stop praying on students also. Colleges misrepresent to students that student loans for some degrees are a smart personal investment. Clearly they are not. SECOND the Free Press in this country is in danger from the death of thousands of failed newspapers. Social Media and So Called News Media have an extraordinary amount of control over what we see and how we see it. Second some so called News organizations are profiting by supporting certain poltical positions . The News Corporations are more interested in market share and profits than objective News reporting. In Summary and in my opinion the life blood of any democracy is a educated electorate and a free objective press. Unfortunately both are in horrible decline!
The entire effort is nothing but a smoke screen. Create as much negativity surrounding the Biden image as possible in hopes of damaging his chances in 2024. There hasn't been enough evidence to even consider impeachment on a moral level but leading Republicans aren't moral people. Its all smoke.
And Speaker Newt Gingrich thought he could bring down Bill Clinton on the basis of a fudged answer in a deposition in a civil case that had nothing to do with the nation’s business, only to find out that the newly-acquitted Clinton’s poll numbers were higher than ever.
McCarthy should take a look at that and take note that, as thin as Gingrich’s grounds for impeaching Clinton were, McCarthy’s got even fewer arrows rattling around in his threadbare quiver.
Avie Hern ; It's not McCarthy's decision to make ; Trump holds the puppet strings.
Absolutely !! McCarthy is just a puppet and even he knows it and has done since day One of his job.
The REAL McCarthy. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dR0Ojo0FEig
“Artificial Suffocation” love it. McCarthy is indeed drowning and will grab anything to keep his gavel. His rules, just one member to call him out?
Perhaps it is time for a 14th Amendment, sec. 3 case against McCarthy for his actions on Jan 6?
Yes, i like that idea. McCarthy is almost as deplorable as TUMP is. And i almost forgot, McCarthy's lover, Maggot Traitor Goon is another one i despise.
See my comment, above.
https://freespeechforpeople.org/the-14point3-campaign/
👍 (Grammarly not necessary!) 😁
professor reich: i am sooo tired of rethuglicans, and the hate-filled degenerates who vote them in to office. at this point, i see no redeeming value to the GQP nor its so-called "values". and as for trump? i hope he chokes to death on a double whopper with cheese.
I hope he chokes too !
That would work. I wouldn't want anyone to assassinate him and make him a martyr. A group of us were hoping that Trump would die of COVID, which would have been the ultimate justice. Now we're hoping he has a massive stroke not allowing him to talk or use his hands to tweet and that the place his lives is owned by Democrats who keep news from PBS, BBC. NHK, and MSNBC playing on his room television.
My thoughts, EXACTLY!!! I was hoping that hurricane that hit the State of DeSatan would been a direct hit on his Mar a Lardo residence, but i suppose it missed.
Hurricane Ian came close! Maybe the next hurricane headed towards the east coast of Florida could be named Hurrican Retribution! Then it might hit Mar a Lago!
Republicans are so full of bs that they will blame the hurricane as being Bidens fault, just like the hunter Biden thing.
Teofilo Aviles Jr ; tfg will just redraw the weather map and make it go to Tampa in a round about way, like the "genius ' he Thinks he is .
well, if there's one good thing about the climate catastrophe is there are going to be plenty more opportunities to flood mar-a-lardo and force a Catastrophic Rapid Unplanned Deconstruction (CRUD)
lardo CRUD?
Great reply, and thank you. I agree with that. I figure in a few short years, the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico will merge and swallow up Mar a Lardo and the whole thing will be underwater. The whole south end of the state of DeSatan (also know as the state Florida) will be under the salt water.
"god" (copyright 2016) is on THEIR side!!!
Trump is counting on his followers to not think and just follow him. Then the weight of intimidation will drag the other republicans to follow. A classic mob boss strategy (let me give you an offer you cannot refuse). Since the Republican Party no longer depends on funding from the members of the party to be elected (dark money from rich patrons now fund the GOP), the counter current which used to slow down corruption has been removed. The rich few are steering the agenda.
That is the truth! The ultra rich are basically running the country!! They put their puppets in place and then make them dance!!
The rich should be investigated. They are not supposed to coordinate with the campaign, however, I would bet they do.
While the Republicans are busy playing political stunts the Democrats are actually getting things done for the American people. I think that as more and of Biden’s wins like the Medicare drug price reduction and how well the economy is doing make the news, the impeachment antics will make the Magats look even more foolish.
Problem is, it isn't making the news. And people aren't seeing a huge difference in their day-to-day lives, as there are still the massive disparities in income, and the poor are still poor, while the middle class is still struggling, too.
I read a very good substack about this perception not too long ago.
Yes- that is a huge problem - when you point out the good projects Biden has accomplished to friends and family - they come back with GAS PRICES or GROCERY PRICES are still high - I then ask how would Trump lower prices without fundamentally taking away free enterprise and selling democracy for authoritarianism? It’s way over the heads of most Americans.
Here's the article I was referring to.
https://popular.info/p/if-the-us-economy-is-doing-well-why?r=em53x&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
One problem is that the news seems to downplay Biden's
achievements. As another also stated, those things have not made a huge difference in people's day-to-day lives, and many are struggling . Repubs are also pushing emotion over rationality, and on the scale of hate, the things Biden has done to help the American people count for very little. With polls showing Biden neck and neck with an obvious criminal, we should be very worried.
But you never hear about it. The republicans dominate the news cycle. Even MSNBC shows focus on republicans.
even this substack focuses on Republicans
The Republican Tumpian wing has no moral compass but like a bunch of idiots shout the loudest!
TRUMP is a lost cause but the idiots neither have the sense to see it or worse still can see it but don't have the guts or balls to stand up to bully boy Trump.
Trump is a typical schoolyard BULLY & will be so until some body is willing to brow beat him!
Yes. Though this bully is going to have to sit there, in court, for hours and hours, day after day, listening to testimony from one after another after another of his lackeys condemning him, without being able to grimace or fidget or open his big foul mouth at all, in Georgia, on television, in full view of millions of Americans in a trial that the legal experts say should take from six to eight weeks. This is my idea of the system working.
Fingers crossed that the trial is televised and the MAGAts chose to watch it. I hope they understand it.
Yes he is a mega bully who turns his goons on anyone who stands up to him or even speaks truth. Trump creates a distracting side show to keep the public from seeing what an immoral, immature, selfish, stupid man he really is, and from facing the consequences of his own poor actions and decisions. Useless drama. Biden has got to scream about Trump’s modus operandi!
Counting on Jack and Fani and their respective judiciary colleagues.
Why, after all this time are Democrats so terrible at messaging. I've heard so many excuses, but seriously why do they suck at keeping the electorate informed. It's as if they don't want to tip the scales of power too much.
Why does the electorate choose to be so poorly informed.
David Deane ; It's a choice to be poorly informed? the electorate controls the quality of information? Back when the 'airwaves' were owned by Us, "The people" ( not the Corporations) ; there was a "Fairness Doctrine", and the FCC ; (The federal Communications Commission) had some authority to take a broadcasting license away from broadcasters who were misleading the voters. With privately owned media today, and a weak FCC, that is just a memory. We have the likes of FOX 'news' (which they claim is just entertainment when in court), and 'Newsmax'. We have no choice unless we have been educated to have critical thinking skills and are lucky enough to have access to good news sources.
I am constantly complaining about the media and how Trump is manipulating thru content with false narratives- but friends and family are so acclimated to the lack of morals on the internet they don’t seem concerned about Americas future or democracy, it’s almost as if they think some super hero will swoop in and save everything at the last minute
It’s always a choice. Why would anyone choose to believe a talking head over their own eyes.
I guess if they want entertainment with little concern for the future, their children will get what they get.
David Deane ; The ability to objectively evaluate what their own eyes 'see' is key. "Let the buyer beware " is not the greatest guardrail for media, IMHO. Not every voter has had 'critical thinking skills ' taught to them.
Yes, Laurie, we are short on critical thinking skills much of the time. Leading up to the recent August 8th special election in Ohio the republicans ran TV ads featuring a little girl in bed in a darkened room (a little white girl in a comfortable bed), parent hovering over her, tucking her in, with ominous tension-inducing music designed to terrify voters into confusion about losing control of their children's wellbeing. A voice talks about protecting her, implying from abortion and gender affirming care. Issue One on the ballot in August was not directly about abortion or gender affirming care. Instead, Issue One was about ending majority rule and instituting a 60% majority to pass ballot initiatives to permanently and irrevocably amend the Ohio state constitution. It is true that there will be a ballot initiative protecting abortion in the state constitution in the upcoming November '23 election, but not in the August special election. If Issue One passed, it would have affected every ballot initiative in Ohio forever, whether it addressed land use, gun safety, minimum wage or abortion. I spoke to one voter who said he didn't know how to vote on Issue One BECAUSE HE DOESN'T HAVE ANY CHILDREN!!! I understood that he was referring to the misleading ads. Luckily, he was willing to hear my explanation of what Issue One would do, and he quickly understood that it was important for him to vote no on August 8th to preserve majority rule for ballot initiatives and not to permanently change the state constitution. Given the lack of critical thinking skills that pervades much of the electorate, it is crucial that we reach out and contact voters one by one, listen to them, talk through the issues with them, and help them make a plan to vote.
Apparently they really really want to believe. And if they never watch any other news sources, they are very poorly informed.
The Fairness Doctrine has to be updated to include social media. It's a complicated issue that is worth exploring IMO. Fair and balanced coverage of controversial issues was required in the Fairness Doctrine. However, it was overturned by Reagan on first amendment free speech violations. It prevented controversial views and it violated first amendment rights. Broadcasters had to present controversial issues and air contrasting views. Based on the assumption that there were only two sides to an issue, you had to engage in both sidism. We all know how that worked out. There are often more than two sides, as we have come to realize. Who decides what's controversial and who decides what's free speech and defamation are other issues. These roadblocks, I believe, can be overcome by better minds than mine, but the effort needs to be made. The argument for including social media in the Fairness Doctrine is explored in the Columbia Journalist Review. https://www.cjr.org/opinion/social-media-fairness-doctrine.php
Not only social media, but cable channels as well.
Good question. I might suggest overwork and info overload.
It does seem that the Dems don't want to tip the scales of power too much, as you said. I heard both Pelosi and Schiff say we need a strong Republican Party. I thought, "What? Why? For the circus we watch every day?" It seems like the outcome is predetermined in some backrooms or elite gatherings and it needs to look like there is a democratic republic where things are negotiated and compromised for the benefit of the masses. Is the full moon affecting me tonight? Joking.
Gloria Maloney ; I heard Retired conservative judge, Michael Luttig say that, in order to function properly, our democracy is better with two properly functioning law respecting parties, not the disaster that the 'republican' party has become, and I agree. Judge Luttig said he does not consider himself a Republican at this time in this 'republican' party. I'm sure that he is not alone.
I think he is sane. He speaks slowly and deliberately. Judges Luttig has my respect and it is someone more like him on the Supreme Court. This whole Country is tilted. Overweighted by MAGAs. Plus all the other crazy groups. Disgusted.
Gloria, we need at least a strong two-party system, I'd prefer 3 just to keep all of us in balance. I happen to be on the Liberal Progressive side, I appreciate a strong fiscally conservative party to keep my 'dreams' in check. That is what Pelosi and Schiff meant. they don't want the 3 ring circus of Trump, DeSantis, McConnell, McCarthy. They want a real Republican party. Our nation was founded on checks and balances. The current Fascist party masquerading under the name Republican is not what they want or ask for.
Perhaps our two-party system is part of the problem not the solution. Our neighbor Canada has a parliamentary system with multiple parties to cover a broad range of citizen's interests and needs. Whoever gets a majority vote must form a coalition of other parties to form a government. If the new government fails to govern properly, a vote of no-confidence can be called and the government dissolved if it loses.
The winner-take-all two-party system lumps all sorts of citizens together under two broad umbrellas and there is no incentive for reaching out and forming coalitions. Extremism is a "feature" not a "flaw" of our dysfunctional political system.
Oh, I might add that Canada's elections only last a few months and private donations to candidate is strictly regulated and/or prohibited. It is not like we have to start from scratch. Canada and most of Europe already work this way with a lot less drama unless you're Italian...
Most of the more democratic governments are based on the parliamentary system. We would have to re-write our Constitution to change to this type of system. I am not saying we shouldn't do it, but it would be difficult to implement in this country. We must fix the government we have, if our democracy is going to keep on working.
Somebody once remarked that the U.S. has an old constitution for such a young country. Europe got the chance to rebuild their governments but we're stuck with our old 18th century antique (and proud of it I might add). Yeah, we'll probably have to wait until a catastrophe happens before we can rebuild.
I agree. What I'd call you - like I call myself - is an American social democrat. I think the needs of the many must be balanced with moderate incentives for the few - not the kind of insanely parasitic incentives we must now live with. I'll buy that human instincts require a bit of incentive to progress, but not to the extent that a'pissin' in the drinking pond would be tolerated.
Fay Reid ; Well said!
You might want to rethink that "checks and balances" system. I first learned from an online course about the Constitution about the Federalist Papers and was particularly interested in # 10. The checks and balance system was created to protect the opulent few and their property from the masses who will never get their way. I was thrilled to find that Robert Ovetz explains this in a book, "We the Elites: Why the U.S. Constitution Serves the Few." It is easier for other countries to accomplish what is needed for the public good. We have been conned.
About which part?
Gloria J. Maloney ; The 'circus' is not a true republican party. Look at George Santos, who was ushered in by dirty money and a fake resume. His constituents in Long Island could not get rid of him. McCarthy, the 'Speaker' would not remove him because he 'needed the votes'. this is fraud, not Democracy!
It's the party the system allows and encourages. The surviving Koch wants a constitutional convention, but although Ovetz is ready to move beyond our dysfunctional constitution, he said we are not prepared. We could end up with something worse if Koch and his ilk get the chance to remake the system. Should we be preparing? What would a more Democratic society look like? Should we keep the Senate and the Supreme Court or reduce the courts power? Should we draw new districts apart from the states and increase the number of Representatives by 40 times? Maybe we should start the discussion so we're not blindsided.
Agreed. To start, if I were the monarch instead of an ordinary citizen I would dispense with 2 things in the Constitution, the Electoral College and the 2/3 or 3/4ths vote. I might include in the requirements for elected or appointed office honesty, integrity and willingness to uphold all the laws, regulations, and rules of the land. I would also either add term limits for judges and justices and/or clearly spell out what the meaning of what "good behavior" is and is not. Obviously Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, and John Roberts see nothing wrong with their behavior. They haven't stolen any property, killed or maimed anyone, and they don't see accepting bribes (gifts) as not good behavior.
I would like to have NO Rethuglican party. We don't need them. They are good for nothing but to cause mayhem and promote hate.
I am certain they mean a real Republican party, not the party of tfg.
Michael--What message have I missed that I should have been informed of previously.
My Congressman keeps me informed by email of all the current happenings in Washington, including President Biden's accomplishments. It is my choice to read these emails or not. If your Congress person doesn't contact you, contact them and get on their email list.
Good idea, but my Congressman is Bob Good, one of the "Freedom Caucus" Republicans. I would rather not be on his email list!
Mine is Chip Roy , his newsletters are bullying and hateful. Makes me sick to read. Comments on his FB page mostly makes me scared of my neighbors. If they all think like that...
I don’t like my congresspersons- I think she was a result of gerrymandering- she doesn’t represent my district which is low and middle class - she is a trump republican
Mine too, but the real problem is reaching those who aren't on the lists & substacks, who's MSM doen't accurately report our country or worlds news. How do we reach the masses & grab their attention on true issues & achievements, vs sensationalism & gaslighting? What legislation is possible to ensure civic education, stimulate critical reasoning skills, & provide vital news reporting to our communities.
Michael Rosenberg ; Your 'command' of the English language and punctuation along with your repetition of Republican talking points makes me wonder if you are a Russian troll.
😂😂 No, not a bot, just being a little to hasty to proof spell check. But I deserved that for being sloppy. I corrected the errors.😊
Ha ha try again. Two is a number = 2, too = also or more, to = goes with verbs, other words, when too or two is not appropriate. Too hasty, but to proof.
Apply 14.3 to ALL the GOP scumbags who took part in the insurrection and let us all get on with our lives again at long last!
👍
What I say?
I doubt it will change anyone’s votes. The MAGAs will continue to support their cult leader and rational people will vote for Biden. I guess the question here is this: Are the majority of Americans sensible people who want a real president who gets things done. Or are they all members of the MAGA cult who’ll only believe what their leader tells them to believe.
Personally I am so done with the Republican theatrics and faux hearings not to mention the QAnon conspiracies. Every time I hear the repugnican refrain of “the weaponization of the Justice Department I my blood pressure soars. But okay Kevin have your little hearing and think what a big man you are.
There’s some clown on tiktok claiming that FEMA is trying to incinerate the fire victims, (pretty sure he said 8,000 victims) so they can’t be found. WTF? Why? Have people always been this crazy or has trump given them permission to do and say the most vile things that they used to just think to themselves?
I agree with you that the theatrics are getting very tiresome. I also believe from President Biden's win in 2020 there are over 7 million more Americans are sensible and vote for a real president and by now that number has risen as many members of the cult have quit it. Those people that have left the cult are growing.
Finally, I am in Portugal and Spain, on a long walk and for volunteering like I do here at home and am looking through my wide angle lens at the mess we, as in USA, are in. Despite the laptop and what about B, the Dems and President Biden are helping citizens who vote and pay taxes and expect or wish to be protected. Time on legislation and governing. Laws that make people healthier and safer. People need to recognize the difference. Good infrastructure, medical care for all, jobs, education and mix in a scandal or two and you have working government. I won’t list why so many Americans are moving here. But they have to afford it. We cannot compare the USA to small countries, but we can compare government for the people. And take an honest look at the repubs and the differences. Trading in necessities for scandal and broken promises. Time for Billboards and megaphones.
I totally support Biden. He doesn’t waste his time
in sleazes like Trump; he gets the job done!