I have been a Bulwark member for years, I believe almost since the beginning. I rarely, if ever, leave comments but between your yesterday's and today's newsletter, I feel compelled to add my two cents' worth. ( Actually, it has ended up being more than two-cents' worth!) I will try to summarize my thinking/feelings at this point. I beliā¦
I have been a Bulwark member for years, I believe almost since the beginning. I rarely, if ever, leave comments but between your yesterday's and today's newsletter, I feel compelled to add my two cents' worth. ( Actually, it has ended up being more than two-cents' worth!) I will try to summarize my thinking/feelings at this point. I believe I have been, since the late 1960s when I started voting, an "informed" voter. I have been an independent since the early 1970s and have always tried to read extensively both liberal and conservative points of views. (and I mean what both meant historically, not the bizarre redefinitions which have occurred over the last 8 years). Even today both my husband and I try to reach extensively across a range of publications, substack newsletters, and other information sources on domestic and international policy and governance matters as well as socio-political, legal and economic subjects.
Over the last year, my feelings of despair, fear and helplessness have increased dramatically, though I will say that those feelings have been with me since Trump was first elected. (By the way, I worked my whole career in NYC and intimately know Trump's grim, fraudulent and corrupt history, actually working at a buyout firm who invested in two deals with him and got royally shafted and never did another transaction with him, as was true of every over reputable Wall St. firm in the late 1980s into the1990s). What has been going on more recently is to see the ripping apart of the social, political and economic fabric of the country. My husband and I had already thought that the country had already tipped over the edge two years ago, and it was hard to imagine how we were going to come back from the cultural and political collapse. It has been clear who Trump is for decades, who has just gotten worse and worse, and it has also been clear that his hardcore MAGA supporters weren't going away. However, now, what are we to make of so many US citizens, who having observed over the last 8 years the absolute horror of Trump, what's happened in the Republican party, the chaos and total lack of governance capabilities of Republicans across the country, the systematic dismantling of rights for so many individuals (as a woman for example, I will say that the issue isn't just about abortion; it's about women's role and full participation in society of her choosing; look what is happening at local and state levels across the country) and I could go on. What is now appalling is to see so many people beyond the MAGA hardcore welcoming Trump and his cronies, willing to vote for him as some sort of return to normality and stability! It is truly surreal and frightening given that the country seems to be welcoming authoritarianism with open arms. How can this be happening? You are right, JVL. This time Trump and the cronies around him have very specific plans that are in the open and which are horrifying in their detail. This time around, everything is in place, from local and state up to the federal level, and none of it will be good. Either we say that people don't care, are ignorant of basic information (I am not expecting people to have the time I do to dig deeply into subject matter, policy, international affairs) or really do want an authoritarian government in place. What I find hard to accept is that people can't take any time to get even the basic understanding of what is happening.
I also have reached a point that I am angry at mainstream media, particularly the New York Times and Washington Post. (They put up opinions that are simply Trump apologia or hagiographies that are for all intents and purposes pro-Trump propaganda and yet rarely do I see counters to them). I couldn't agree more with your comments, JVL, about the NYT! In fact, before I had even read your newsletter, my husband and I had had a conversation that observed exactly what you said. Additionally, every day there is a negative article about Biden, or incessant harping about gas prices (we have travelled in Europe twice in the last year where gas prices are twice as high; maybe Americans shouldn't be buying gargantuan pickups and SUVs, do you think?), immigration (when border crossings are down 40% since the beginning of the year in large part because Mexico through quiet negotiating with the Biden administration is keeping many migrants from traversing the country. I found an article discussing it but not covered seemingly in the Times or the Post), and inflation (where much of it at this point isn't Biden's fault) and the list goes on. Why isn't there a daily report on Trump's economic plans which would cause inflation to go up, possibly substantially, a 100% stoppage at the border and non-existent legal immigration as well as the deporting of all illegal immigrants (wouldn't that essentially mean a police state in order to accomplish it?), or his buying off oil and gas executives by promising to rescind all regulations in place or how about his proposed tax cuts across the board (meaning, if Social Security, Medicare and Defense are not touched, spending would be slashed in all of the non-discretionary parts of the budget), then there would be the gutting of international treaties which would have huge and negative repercussions on our national security, etc. Can you imagine this man with the nuclear codes and national defense and security information in his hands again and with people around him who know nothing at all? I just don't understand why there isn't really any coverage on this. It's already evident to us that this election is going to be much worse than the last, whether Trump wins or loses. Look at all of the Republicans now who are not committing anymore to the peaceful transfer of power: If we win, it's fair, if Democrats win, it's fraudulent. We are down the rabbit hole so far and yet so many Americans seem to be in a memory black hole about the Trump administration past and have blinders on when it comes to what is before their eyes. Look at all of the people who worked for him who say he is a security threat to the country?! Why is media complicit in this? I just don't understand it at all!
Finally, I do have to say that while I will vote for Biden, I thought he should not have run. I also am angry about some of his approaches to placate progressives, which were and are unnecessary. As in 2016 (when in the fall of 2015 I swore I would never vote for Hillary Clinton but I did!), I will never vote for Trump and will vote for Biden because he is a "normal" President who is not trying to overthrow our government and Constitution. A second term of Trump will be a disaster.
I agree with everything you say. People don't realize how good they have it and how bad it will be if Trump gets elected. And, yes, 2020 was just a rehearsal. They will have their "take over" strategy honed to perfection. Why else do we see only people who swear 2020 was stolen can get jobs in the Republican government. Why the media is all in for Trump I'll never know. The NYT publisher says he personally bashes Biden in the paper because he wouldn't give a personal interview. Imagine being so childish you'd be willing to set fire to the country because your feelings were hurt.
I couldn't agree with you more. I simply don't understand anything anymore. None of it makes sense. Since the 1980s, it has been clear that Trump is a vile human being and has no redeeming qualities. And yet here we are. Are we as a country sleep walking into chaos and turmoil, a police state or worse? Family members say I am an alarmist but I have read a great deal of history on authoritarianism as well as quite a few books focused on how democracies die, and we are certainly in the throes of it. Arab Americans are boycotting Biden but Trump undoubtedly helped bring about the Hamas attack: the Abraham Accords essentially abdicated to Netanyahu power, giving permission to annex lands, move the embassy to Jerusalem, and undermine unequivocally the two-state solution. If Trump is elected, he will back Netanyahu and his rabid right wing 100%, supporting annexation and undermining any chance of a two-state solution. He could care less about Palestinians. In the meantime, Trump has said he will ban immigration for all Muslims. How possibly could you be Arab and Muslim and vote for him when Biden is truly working hard to bring about a solution for both Israel and Palestinians? And, of course, then there is NATO, Ukraine and Trump's explicit statement that he would withdraw from NATO and pull all support from Ukraine. What kind of world are we heading to? It is surreal and frightening at the same time. How can American voters be so blind to what will happen if Trump is elected? It will affect their daily lives, no question. We are not going back to some fairy tale time when we had low interest rates and low inflation. It is pure fantasy. People rewriting what happened during his first administration is bizarre beyond reckoning. For Godsakes, Trump lost by 10 million votes altogether in 2020, including third-party candidates. And then everything that's happened since then, January 6th, election lies, local and state efforts to undermine so many things in people's everyday lives and so on...How can this be happening?
Don't know and don't understand hew so many people can see he is a good choice. Especially well to do people and people with influence. How can the NYT (radical left News source?) publisher see Trump as a good choice? I can only assume these people have been working towards a fascist government all along. Which is funny since they
I too am disappointed and more than a little concerned that Biden chose to run again. Frankly, I think he's been much more than a 'normal' or even good president; I think in most respects he's been exceptional. But he's simply too old and he projects this fact all too clearly. Not to say he's feeble or befuddled- he isn't- but perceptions matter, especially in a presidential election.
A Dem presidential candidate contest could have brought fresh, much younger and dynamic blood. There are some really great people who might have thrown their hat in the ring. A personal favorite of mine would be Gretchen Whitmere. And there are plenty of others, including Gavin Newsome, that I think would handily beat Trump. Trounce him, in fact. Now we're left wringing our hands and hoping for the best while - as you so eloquently wrote about - dreading the worst.
I have been a Bulwark member for years, I believe almost since the beginning. I rarely, if ever, leave comments but between your yesterday's and today's newsletter, I feel compelled to add my two cents' worth. ( Actually, it has ended up being more than two-cents' worth!) I will try to summarize my thinking/feelings at this point. I believe I have been, since the late 1960s when I started voting, an "informed" voter. I have been an independent since the early 1970s and have always tried to read extensively both liberal and conservative points of views. (and I mean what both meant historically, not the bizarre redefinitions which have occurred over the last 8 years). Even today both my husband and I try to reach extensively across a range of publications, substack newsletters, and other information sources on domestic and international policy and governance matters as well as socio-political, legal and economic subjects.
Over the last year, my feelings of despair, fear and helplessness have increased dramatically, though I will say that those feelings have been with me since Trump was first elected. (By the way, I worked my whole career in NYC and intimately know Trump's grim, fraudulent and corrupt history, actually working at a buyout firm who invested in two deals with him and got royally shafted and never did another transaction with him, as was true of every over reputable Wall St. firm in the late 1980s into the1990s). What has been going on more recently is to see the ripping apart of the social, political and economic fabric of the country. My husband and I had already thought that the country had already tipped over the edge two years ago, and it was hard to imagine how we were going to come back from the cultural and political collapse. It has been clear who Trump is for decades, who has just gotten worse and worse, and it has also been clear that his hardcore MAGA supporters weren't going away. However, now, what are we to make of so many US citizens, who having observed over the last 8 years the absolute horror of Trump, what's happened in the Republican party, the chaos and total lack of governance capabilities of Republicans across the country, the systematic dismantling of rights for so many individuals (as a woman for example, I will say that the issue isn't just about abortion; it's about women's role and full participation in society of her choosing; look what is happening at local and state levels across the country) and I could go on. What is now appalling is to see so many people beyond the MAGA hardcore welcoming Trump and his cronies, willing to vote for him as some sort of return to normality and stability! It is truly surreal and frightening given that the country seems to be welcoming authoritarianism with open arms. How can this be happening? You are right, JVL. This time Trump and the cronies around him have very specific plans that are in the open and which are horrifying in their detail. This time around, everything is in place, from local and state up to the federal level, and none of it will be good. Either we say that people don't care, are ignorant of basic information (I am not expecting people to have the time I do to dig deeply into subject matter, policy, international affairs) or really do want an authoritarian government in place. What I find hard to accept is that people can't take any time to get even the basic understanding of what is happening.
I also have reached a point that I am angry at mainstream media, particularly the New York Times and Washington Post. (They put up opinions that are simply Trump apologia or hagiographies that are for all intents and purposes pro-Trump propaganda and yet rarely do I see counters to them). I couldn't agree more with your comments, JVL, about the NYT! In fact, before I had even read your newsletter, my husband and I had had a conversation that observed exactly what you said. Additionally, every day there is a negative article about Biden, or incessant harping about gas prices (we have travelled in Europe twice in the last year where gas prices are twice as high; maybe Americans shouldn't be buying gargantuan pickups and SUVs, do you think?), immigration (when border crossings are down 40% since the beginning of the year in large part because Mexico through quiet negotiating with the Biden administration is keeping many migrants from traversing the country. I found an article discussing it but not covered seemingly in the Times or the Post), and inflation (where much of it at this point isn't Biden's fault) and the list goes on. Why isn't there a daily report on Trump's economic plans which would cause inflation to go up, possibly substantially, a 100% stoppage at the border and non-existent legal immigration as well as the deporting of all illegal immigrants (wouldn't that essentially mean a police state in order to accomplish it?), or his buying off oil and gas executives by promising to rescind all regulations in place or how about his proposed tax cuts across the board (meaning, if Social Security, Medicare and Defense are not touched, spending would be slashed in all of the non-discretionary parts of the budget), then there would be the gutting of international treaties which would have huge and negative repercussions on our national security, etc. Can you imagine this man with the nuclear codes and national defense and security information in his hands again and with people around him who know nothing at all? I just don't understand why there isn't really any coverage on this. It's already evident to us that this election is going to be much worse than the last, whether Trump wins or loses. Look at all of the Republicans now who are not committing anymore to the peaceful transfer of power: If we win, it's fair, if Democrats win, it's fraudulent. We are down the rabbit hole so far and yet so many Americans seem to be in a memory black hole about the Trump administration past and have blinders on when it comes to what is before their eyes. Look at all of the people who worked for him who say he is a security threat to the country?! Why is media complicit in this? I just don't understand it at all!
Finally, I do have to say that while I will vote for Biden, I thought he should not have run. I also am angry about some of his approaches to placate progressives, which were and are unnecessary. As in 2016 (when in the fall of 2015 I swore I would never vote for Hillary Clinton but I did!), I will never vote for Trump and will vote for Biden because he is a "normal" President who is not trying to overthrow our government and Constitution. A second term of Trump will be a disaster.
I agree with everything you say. People don't realize how good they have it and how bad it will be if Trump gets elected. And, yes, 2020 was just a rehearsal. They will have their "take over" strategy honed to perfection. Why else do we see only people who swear 2020 was stolen can get jobs in the Republican government. Why the media is all in for Trump I'll never know. The NYT publisher says he personally bashes Biden in the paper because he wouldn't give a personal interview. Imagine being so childish you'd be willing to set fire to the country because your feelings were hurt.
I couldn't agree with you more. I simply don't understand anything anymore. None of it makes sense. Since the 1980s, it has been clear that Trump is a vile human being and has no redeeming qualities. And yet here we are. Are we as a country sleep walking into chaos and turmoil, a police state or worse? Family members say I am an alarmist but I have read a great deal of history on authoritarianism as well as quite a few books focused on how democracies die, and we are certainly in the throes of it. Arab Americans are boycotting Biden but Trump undoubtedly helped bring about the Hamas attack: the Abraham Accords essentially abdicated to Netanyahu power, giving permission to annex lands, move the embassy to Jerusalem, and undermine unequivocally the two-state solution. If Trump is elected, he will back Netanyahu and his rabid right wing 100%, supporting annexation and undermining any chance of a two-state solution. He could care less about Palestinians. In the meantime, Trump has said he will ban immigration for all Muslims. How possibly could you be Arab and Muslim and vote for him when Biden is truly working hard to bring about a solution for both Israel and Palestinians? And, of course, then there is NATO, Ukraine and Trump's explicit statement that he would withdraw from NATO and pull all support from Ukraine. What kind of world are we heading to? It is surreal and frightening at the same time. How can American voters be so blind to what will happen if Trump is elected? It will affect their daily lives, no question. We are not going back to some fairy tale time when we had low interest rates and low inflation. It is pure fantasy. People rewriting what happened during his first administration is bizarre beyond reckoning. For Godsakes, Trump lost by 10 million votes altogether in 2020, including third-party candidates. And then everything that's happened since then, January 6th, election lies, local and state efforts to undermine so many things in people's everyday lives and so on...How can this be happening?
Don't know and don't understand hew so many people can see he is a good choice. Especially well to do people and people with influence. How can the NYT (radical left News source?) publisher see Trump as a good choice? I can only assume these people have been working towards a fascist government all along. Which is funny since they
pretend to be for the people.
Perfection!
Yes to everything you said Henrietta.
I too am disappointed and more than a little concerned that Biden chose to run again. Frankly, I think he's been much more than a 'normal' or even good president; I think in most respects he's been exceptional. But he's simply too old and he projects this fact all too clearly. Not to say he's feeble or befuddled- he isn't- but perceptions matter, especially in a presidential election.
A Dem presidential candidate contest could have brought fresh, much younger and dynamic blood. There are some really great people who might have thrown their hat in the ring. A personal favorite of mine would be Gretchen Whitmere. And there are plenty of others, including Gavin Newsome, that I think would handily beat Trump. Trounce him, in fact. Now we're left wringing our hands and hoping for the best while - as you so eloquently wrote about - dreading the worst.
Thanks for being on this ride together. And thanks for taking the time to write today.