Regarding Trump's rage at Milley, it's darkly amusing that he chose Milley for the job as a way of spiting Matthis. It's appalling that he was proud to declare it as a basis for selecting a chairman of the Joint Chiefs. Trump is constantly displaying his pathology -- and MAGAs see nothing wrong at all.
Many people in the White House saw his pathology and were alarmed -- and did whatever they could to restrain the maniac. Here's a little passage from Miles Taylor's book - from the excerpt in Vanity Fair. He's discussing the Doomsday Book, i.e., the secret guide to what the president can do in a dire emergency:
"A former White House lawyer familiar with the situation confirmed that Trump was in the dark. The president didn’t have full knowledge of his emergency authorities, and no one who was “in the know” wanted to brief him. If Trump had been made aware of the full extent of the powers he possessed, the person said, the result would have been catastrophic."
Some Trump loyalists wanted Christina Bobb to have access to the Doomsday Book. The responsible adults said heck no.
We should be grateful to the people who strove to prevent the lunatic from driving the country over a cliff -- instead of reflexively saying "They wouldn't have stuck around if they were decent people."
And we should be alarmed that MAGA apologists believe that the only problem with the Trump administration was that he didn't have completely unbridled power, and that the most important qualification for a public official is absolute loyalty to Trump or whomever they would accept as a replacement.
Lee and Beau fail to realize the Democrat Party is not run by extremists. Granted they do have extremist members, but those extremists have no power. So their “centrist” plan is dead at the starting block. Concentrate on killing the Republican Party once and for all (and exiling their extremists from anywhere in government) and you can have a better starting point.
DeSantis's comment about killing people at the border pairs well with Stephen Miller supposedly asking about the use of Predator drone strikes on migrant boats.
"In a series of non-binding resolutions, the Republican delegates advocated for, among other causes, enforcing the state’s 174-year-old abortion ban, stomping out early voting, building a border wall, ending vaccine mandates, curbing the authority of public health officials, arming school teachers with guns and abolishing the Wisconsin Elections Commission."
-----
While it should be astounding, or at least it would have been ten years ago, is just how out of touch with the average American these MAGA legislators are. The tent in the Psychiatric Facility Escapee Caucus contains one of the most "effective" echo chambers see in modern American politics.
Further. while I know that MAGA cultists have a problem with expertise - at least within the sciences - ridding the country of advise from the professionals within the healthcare field would do nothing more than increase the mortality rate. Of course, if you want to believe that Hydroxychloroquine or Ivermectin are cure-alls for Covid or that childhood vaccines are a direct cause of Autism, that is your right, just don't try to force your disinformation down the rest of our throats.
The arming of teachers and the elimination of an elections commission is just too absurd to even contemplate.
If Sabato's Crystal Ball is accurate, then the Dems would only need to get one of the 4 (except Nevada-too small) to get to 270. Or flip NC which is the one lean GOP state.
It's interesting that the only candidate that is remotely close to Trump's numbers for the primary, is apparently against the entire idea of gathering revenue through taxation, in so far as he wants to eliminate the IRS.
The clear follow-up question that should have been asked was how on earth DeSantis was planning to fund NECESSARY government spending if not through taxation, which is enforced by the IRS.
Second, he says he wants to eliminate the Department of Engery, apparently having learned noting from Rick Perry's brutal ignorance of the functions of the Department of Energy, such that he called for it's abolition during the primary debates, but changed his mind once he was appointed to head the Department by Trump.
RFK Jr is your typical very very wealthy person who never learned to see the humanity in the rest of us. Many of these wealthy people tend to be very peculiar people out of touch with humanity. It’s their bizarre ideas they love, not humanity. If you have read “Dark Money” , Jane Mayer describes the peculiarities of the Kochs pretty well. And, of course, you have the Murdochs. Ugh.
Why, oh why, is there any support for DeSantis? Is there a hint in the Bulwark that this would be a good thing? In my opinion, he would be just as bad as Trump. Look at the crap he’s doing in Florida. If he would get the nomination, and then win the Presidency, I’d leave the US. And I understand his wife is his chief advisor.
I've said it before, and I'll say it again, DeSantis would accomplish nothing, zero, zip, nada if he didn't have a rubber stamp state assembly in his back pocket. Should he actually win the nomination and the general election he won't be able to achieve any of his misplaced goals that would be of benefit to only him and his supporters since it is likely to have a mixed Congress where he will be unable to win a majority in both Houses.
If he is elected we can look forward to another four years of performative politics with no legislation passed into law. IMO, his second term would be as likely as TFG's was in '20 - ain't gonna happen cap'n.
About DeSantis and his hate for immigrants. He demonizes them by saying "they come here to poison us". That means that according to him, every immigrant that crosses the border illegally, somehow in their small sack carry drugs. Yes, they are so stupid that they travel thousands of miles fleeing prosecution and poverty, some are raped, some beaten but they do that to bring drugs to the USA. The fact is that drugs are coming here by ship, trucks, etc. which are difficult to check at the border. The demand for drugs like fentanyl and opiates in many cases, starts when someone needs pain medicine, and it is given more than needed, so people become addicted. I know, because after an operation, I was given a lot of oxycodone to take home. Since I know about how addictive that is, I threw them away and took Tylenol or ibuprofen. But how many know, at the beginning? After a person becomes addicted, he/she goes to dealers after the nice prescriptions are stopped. Of course, this problem is very complex, my point is that to blame immigrants, for that is appalling. Yes, we should take care of the problem of illegal immigration but in a humanistic way. During the pandemic, who went and pick fruit and vegetables, who worked under dangerous conditions on meat factories, who cleaned many buildings and homes for minimum wage if that? These "poison deliverers". And they called themselves "Christian". I am proud to be an agnostic, would not like to belong to that club.
It's very possible that when Donald Trump is giving his acceptance speech at the GOP convention next summer, he will be awaiting sentencing after being convicted in as many three separate criminal trials.
I didn't read through all the comments so maybe this has been covered, but what is wrong with Dems and never Trumpers in these polls. Even if they really don't like Biden, why does Trump ever have a majority. 2020 polls, I think, pretty much always showed Biden in the lead. Hopefully these numbers don't reflect increasing apathy or a real dropoff in determination to keep Trump out of the White House.
I wonder if people are just f**king with the pollsters right now thinking 🤔 “seriously, you want to know what I think about something that’s 18 months away “.
I agree with Liz Cheney and many others -- including some who worked in the Trump White House -- that denying Trump a second term is the highest imperative.
Bad policy can be reversed. More long-term damage can be done by handing power back to someone who clearly believes that no legal or ethical limits should bind him and who is openly bent on revenge against all who tried to maintain the guardrails -- and someone who would be surrounded & boosted by people who want an all-powerful executive to impose their agenda with no resistance, some of whom openly admire Putin's style of rule.
The irony is that Trump was originally promoted in part on the claim that America was in such existential peril that it was necessary to take drastic action by placing a norm-breaker in the presidency.
But Trumpites think it's ludicrously paranoid to suggest that Trump presents an existential threat.
"I know, I know, it’s such a low bar, but considering where we’ve been, it marks a significant change."
I don't know if I dare to have hope, but I'm more positive about upcoming elections than I otherwise would be.
Florida is where old people go to die.
Florida is where woke goes to die.
Florida is where Republicans go to die of self-inflicted wounds.
Shouldn't that be #кэннэдий2024 ??
Double Bulwark on @MSNBC this arvo’. Both a delight to watch.
Regarding Trump's rage at Milley, it's darkly amusing that he chose Milley for the job as a way of spiting Matthis. It's appalling that he was proud to declare it as a basis for selecting a chairman of the Joint Chiefs. Trump is constantly displaying his pathology -- and MAGAs see nothing wrong at all.
Many people in the White House saw his pathology and were alarmed -- and did whatever they could to restrain the maniac. Here's a little passage from Miles Taylor's book - from the excerpt in Vanity Fair. He's discussing the Doomsday Book, i.e., the secret guide to what the president can do in a dire emergency:
"A former White House lawyer familiar with the situation confirmed that Trump was in the dark. The president didn’t have full knowledge of his emergency authorities, and no one who was “in the know” wanted to brief him. If Trump had been made aware of the full extent of the powers he possessed, the person said, the result would have been catastrophic."
Some Trump loyalists wanted Christina Bobb to have access to the Doomsday Book. The responsible adults said heck no.
We should be grateful to the people who strove to prevent the lunatic from driving the country over a cliff -- instead of reflexively saying "They wouldn't have stuck around if they were decent people."
And we should be alarmed that MAGA apologists believe that the only problem with the Trump administration was that he didn't have completely unbridled power, and that the most important qualification for a public official is absolute loyalty to Trump or whomever they would accept as a replacement.
Lee and Beau fail to realize the Democrat Party is not run by extremists. Granted they do have extremist members, but those extremists have no power. So their “centrist” plan is dead at the starting block. Concentrate on killing the Republican Party once and for all (and exiling their extremists from anywhere in government) and you can have a better starting point.
DeSantis's comment about killing people at the border pairs well with Stephen Miller supposedly asking about the use of Predator drone strikes on migrant boats.
"In a series of non-binding resolutions, the Republican delegates advocated for, among other causes, enforcing the state’s 174-year-old abortion ban, stomping out early voting, building a border wall, ending vaccine mandates, curbing the authority of public health officials, arming school teachers with guns and abolishing the Wisconsin Elections Commission."
-----
While it should be astounding, or at least it would have been ten years ago, is just how out of touch with the average American these MAGA legislators are. The tent in the Psychiatric Facility Escapee Caucus contains one of the most "effective" echo chambers see in modern American politics.
According to a Pew Research poll 61% of Americans are in favor of abortion (https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2022/06/13/about-six-in-ten-americans-say-abortion-should-be-legal-in-all-or-most-cases-2/).
According to a Marist poll conducted in April of this year, 61% (again) agree that abortion should be legal, with some restrictions (https://www.npr.org/2023/04/26/1171863775/poll-americans-want-abortion-restrictions-but-not-as-far-as-red-states-are-going).
We've already been witness to attempts to build a border wall, another MAGA proposal that flies in the face of the desires of the general public.
The ability to cast one's ballot early is paramount to the working poor and those below the poverty line who probably cannot get time off in order to vote. In 2022 a Gallop shows 78% in favor of early voting (https://news.gallup.com/poll/403052/eight-americans-favor-early-voting-photo-laws.aspx).
Further. while I know that MAGA cultists have a problem with expertise - at least within the sciences - ridding the country of advise from the professionals within the healthcare field would do nothing more than increase the mortality rate. Of course, if you want to believe that Hydroxychloroquine or Ivermectin are cure-alls for Covid or that childhood vaccines are a direct cause of Autism, that is your right, just don't try to force your disinformation down the rest of our throats.
The arming of teachers and the elimination of an elections commission is just too absurd to even contemplate.
fnord
If Sabato's Crystal Ball is accurate, then the Dems would only need to get one of the 4 (except Nevada-too small) to get to 270. Or flip NC which is the one lean GOP state.
Re: DeSantis
It's interesting that the only candidate that is remotely close to Trump's numbers for the primary, is apparently against the entire idea of gathering revenue through taxation, in so far as he wants to eliminate the IRS.
The clear follow-up question that should have been asked was how on earth DeSantis was planning to fund NECESSARY government spending if not through taxation, which is enforced by the IRS.
Second, he says he wants to eliminate the Department of Engery, apparently having learned noting from Rick Perry's brutal ignorance of the functions of the Department of Energy, such that he called for it's abolition during the primary debates, but changed his mind once he was appointed to head the Department by Trump.
https://www.cnn.com/2017/01/19/politics/rick-perry-hearing-energy-department/index.html
So another crucial follow-up question for DeSantis shoud have been:
"Governor, what is your understanding of the function of the Department of Energy?"
Psssst the Department of Energy is literally mandated to secure and maintain the American stock of nuclear weapons.
Regarding the Russian photo used by RFK Jr, does the woman in the photo look real to anyone? She looks totally fake to me, like AI.
(Apologies if I'm repeating an earlier comment.)
It seems to be a stock image that's been used in other ad campaigns. If she's not AI, she's heavily photoshopped.
RFK Jr is your typical very very wealthy person who never learned to see the humanity in the rest of us. Many of these wealthy people tend to be very peculiar people out of touch with humanity. It’s their bizarre ideas they love, not humanity. If you have read “Dark Money” , Jane Mayer describes the peculiarities of the Kochs pretty well. And, of course, you have the Murdochs. Ugh.
Why, oh why, is there any support for DeSantis? Is there a hint in the Bulwark that this would be a good thing? In my opinion, he would be just as bad as Trump. Look at the crap he’s doing in Florida. If he would get the nomination, and then win the Presidency, I’d leave the US. And I understand his wife is his chief advisor.
I've said it before, and I'll say it again, DeSantis would accomplish nothing, zero, zip, nada if he didn't have a rubber stamp state assembly in his back pocket. Should he actually win the nomination and the general election he won't be able to achieve any of his misplaced goals that would be of benefit to only him and his supporters since it is likely to have a mixed Congress where he will be unable to win a majority in both Houses.
If he is elected we can look forward to another four years of performative politics with no legislation passed into law. IMO, his second term would be as likely as TFG's was in '20 - ain't gonna happen cap'n.
fnord
About DeSantis and his hate for immigrants. He demonizes them by saying "they come here to poison us". That means that according to him, every immigrant that crosses the border illegally, somehow in their small sack carry drugs. Yes, they are so stupid that they travel thousands of miles fleeing prosecution and poverty, some are raped, some beaten but they do that to bring drugs to the USA. The fact is that drugs are coming here by ship, trucks, etc. which are difficult to check at the border. The demand for drugs like fentanyl and opiates in many cases, starts when someone needs pain medicine, and it is given more than needed, so people become addicted. I know, because after an operation, I was given a lot of oxycodone to take home. Since I know about how addictive that is, I threw them away and took Tylenol or ibuprofen. But how many know, at the beginning? After a person becomes addicted, he/she goes to dealers after the nice prescriptions are stopped. Of course, this problem is very complex, my point is that to blame immigrants, for that is appalling. Yes, we should take care of the problem of illegal immigration but in a humanistic way. During the pandemic, who went and pick fruit and vegetables, who worked under dangerous conditions on meat factories, who cleaned many buildings and homes for minimum wage if that? These "poison deliverers". And they called themselves "Christian". I am proud to be an agnostic, would not like to belong to that club.
It's very possible that when Donald Trump is giving his acceptance speech at the GOP convention next summer, he will be awaiting sentencing after being convicted in as many three separate criminal trials.
I didn't read through all the comments so maybe this has been covered, but what is wrong with Dems and never Trumpers in these polls. Even if they really don't like Biden, why does Trump ever have a majority. 2020 polls, I think, pretty much always showed Biden in the lead. Hopefully these numbers don't reflect increasing apathy or a real dropoff in determination to keep Trump out of the White House.
I wonder if people are just f**king with the pollsters right now thinking 🤔 “seriously, you want to know what I think about something that’s 18 months away “.
I agree with Liz Cheney and many others -- including some who worked in the Trump White House -- that denying Trump a second term is the highest imperative.
Bad policy can be reversed. More long-term damage can be done by handing power back to someone who clearly believes that no legal or ethical limits should bind him and who is openly bent on revenge against all who tried to maintain the guardrails -- and someone who would be surrounded & boosted by people who want an all-powerful executive to impose their agenda with no resistance, some of whom openly admire Putin's style of rule.
I agree. The situation is more dire and terrifying than we realized in 2016 and even 2020.
The irony is that Trump was originally promoted in part on the claim that America was in such existential peril that it was necessary to take drastic action by placing a norm-breaker in the presidency.
But Trumpites think it's ludicrously paranoid to suggest that Trump presents an existential threat.