The deadly legacy of the orange narcissist-felon lives on, a virulent cancer in the human heart.
He has 'normalized' lying, cheating, stealing, deception, distrust. He has nourished crude epithets, personal attacks, rage, revenge, the sowing of hatred, divisiveness, distrust, cruelty to others. He has perverted every person and organization he touches, as he glories in pride, greed, lust, anger, gluttony, envy, sloth.
He has brought down a great nation, and a sometimes hopeful world. That hopeful world has abandoned him, justifiably.
He is the living horror that destroys all our better instincts, and attacks our souls.
The biggest problem with the normalization that you mention is that there is a large swath of unthinking, "gut feeling" voters who believe that anyone who stands against Trump is "evil" and an agent of that which "ruined this country". And I'm very afraid they're not going down without a fight.
Humans can be regrettably self-interested. The appeal of the MAGA movement has always been that it would reward the perceived in-group and punish the out-group.
But in my daily life of late - there are some MAGA adherents who are now feeling like the out-group. And whether they change their tune because of self-interest or because of some higher calling, at least from the people I talk to daily, some of the fever may be breaking. So I second the comment to be a tiny bit hopeful…
The battle is in church. The main reason these "Trump's foes are evil" people don't look at their lived experience is because they get this lesson from church. They will allow church to override their real life examples where they would not allow anyone else.
I have seen highly educated Trump apologists use "anti-Trump" as a term of moral opprobrium. They've written a narrative in which he is the hero of a righteous cause, and therefore being critical of him is the mark of a bad person.
Without wishing to invoke past dictators like Hitler, Mussolini, Franco, Mao, Pol Pot and Stalin for purposes of drawing a direct analogy to Our Man Trump--he stands in a reeking, brutal, deeply corrupt class of his own--I would remind you that even those men did not bring down the world.
They did great harm, as other madmen had before them going back to the dawn of human time; but the fact is they slithered into power because great harm had already been done--because of existing inequality and discontent, the door was opened to them.
When they were overthrown, most of the nations they had crushed (perhaps with the exception of Russia, which has a history of brutality, inequity and cruelty that stretches back centuries) proved to be resilient although not unflawed.
Despite scars and quarrels and outbreaks of ugliness, Germany and Italy and Spain are all relatively democratic today. Cambodia, though still traumatized by the horrors of its descent into Khmer Rouge madness, is recovering. As for China--that eternal country--it is no more unequal than it has always been, and in relative terms it is thriving.
We cannot give up: not on the US, not on the possibility of a less fraught future. We cannot let the Trumpistas crush our better instincts.
My hope remains that, no matter what he destroys, we can build back a country that is fair and decent to all and finally regulates money in politics and prizes participation above all.
Thanks for the insights and perspective, Willoughby. The comparison with those other dictators is revealing, and terrifying--yes, it induces terror in considering what the orange narcissist-felon has 'achieved,' and is still delivering.
Except that his allies feel morally entitled to attack their opponents on any of the sins for which they extend unrestricted indulgence to Trump and his associates.
Trumpism elevated hypocrisy to the status of a high virtue.
Sure, Linda. But that's escapism, and solves nothing. As for 'doing his job,' he has failed to execute the responsibilities of his office effectively, in the record We may decide to praise his wonderful executive performance, at will. Many do.
Before 2024, I referred to him as "Orange Julius", bkz he wanted to neuter the people's representatives (Senate) and install a dictatorship that would last a thousand years. Now he's more like Nero, completely obsessed with his own popularity and uninterested in what happens to his people, and fiddling (more likely singing, in Nero's case) while Rome burns.
(some of the following were not, strictly speaking, Emperors, but that is a discussion of the structure of post-republican Rome):
Octavian/Augustus
Tiberius
Caligula
Claudius
Nero
Vespasian
Titus
Domitian
Trajan
Hadrian
Antonius Pius
Marcus Aurelius
A couple of Phillips
Septimus Severus
Aurelian
Diocletian
Constantine and his son (also Constantine)
Julian the Apostate
Valentinian
I missed a lot, many of the ones I missed did not last long or were just not memorable. You could also count all of the "byzantine" emperors up until 1453... because "Byzantine" is a label applied later, they saw themselves as Roman.
It’s becoming increasingly obvious that Trump’s life-long pathological narcissism and increasing dementia are cracking under the stress of realities that won’t disappear with a lie or a meme.
Not from Trump's perspective. To Trump, anyone that doesn't support him isn't a real American - they're either paid protestors or treasonous, Marxist/leftists who want to destroy the country. Thus, no matter what his approval numbers are, Trump believes he has full support from "real Americans."
Same as with the right during Viet Nam and the Nixon years. "Real Americans" were all in for the war. Only those nattering nabobs of negativity were against it. (Agnew was ahead of his time with his grift.)
Or real estate developer/salesman. "under budget and ahead of schedule" " the finest black granite, marble is beautiful but not as durable" "the hottest country is a version of the "hottest address in the city" Actually he seems to have reverted completely to that persona now.
Miller: "We live in a world, in the real world . . . that is governed by strength, that is governed by force, that is governed by power. These are the iron laws of the world."
This is the same guy who keeps yelling about saving Western Civilization when in reality he wants to go back to the pre-Enlightenment age.
Stephen Miller wants us to teach the Western canon but purge it of independent thought and revolutionary thought and human solidarity. I think that leaves out the Greeks and the Europeans so I'm not sure what's left of the Western canon after that.
The most important phrase in this article is Trump on the 2026 midterms: "We cannot allow there to be an Election that is conducted unconstitutionally."
By rewriting election law while voting has already begun, the partisan and corrupt Supreme Court has handed Trump a gift (of course), that will allow him to declare in November 2026 that this or that election is null and void due to constitutional issues. Hell, he may declare the entire next Congress "unconstitutional."
I don’t think we have touched the stove for long enough just yet. We need a few more months before the average American voter is ready to learn his or her lesson.
Side note, such a busy weekend we don’t even have time to mention that America’s Mayor is hospitalized in critical condition.
The real economic calamity of Trump's War will hit hard this summer, right about when campaigns are ramping up for the midterms. Who knew that when fascism came to America it would be this stupid?
Fascism is a combination of opposites. Need popular approval but crony support at first. Then crony support leads to massive corruption and popular support wanes. Both cannot continue, the regime fails. Except for North Korea, fascism does a lousy job with succession, making the entire entity relying on one person’s lifetime. I would call that type of government, short sighted and stupid as well. All that pain for one person.
Agreed. Gas needs to go above $5 nationwide, for starters. And watch for the accompanying grocery bills. (President Man: Groceries are "a sort of ... bag with different things in it." In case you weren't sure.)
So up until now Tennessee’s districts did not reflect the will of its voters? I would like to know what counts as voters for the governor of Tennessee, as clearly the African American ones do not count, and only the white ones whose will has been thwarted this whole time.
In his newsletter yesterday, Marc Elias pointed out that a few years ago, when he won a redistricting case prior to an election, the court used the Purcell rule to delay enactment of he ruling. Funny that the court hasn't used he Purcell rule now....gee, I wonder why...
When I lived in Guam during high school, Liberation Day — July 21 — was one of the biggest holidays of the year and always included the US military in the parade.
Supporters of Trumpism often approvingly describe it as nationalistic, with its greatest virtue being its patriotism. No moment more definitively showed how fake this "patriotism" is than the Oval Office attack on Zelensky by Trump and Vance. True patriots have great respect for the patriotism that foreigners feel for their own country. Zelensky is perhaps our greatest living example of true patriotism and that attack proved beyond a doubt that Trumpian patriotism is only an instrument of manipulation in pursuit of sinister aims.
I'm just trying to figure out if we're at war or not. And with who, Cuba or Iran.
I'm very, very, very disturbed that Trump's anti-Black rally on Friday afternoon was not reported as the attack on Black Americans that it was, but I really didn't expect anything else. This is where I feel Democratic leadership could be stronger rather than having reps trickle out quotes by ones and twos. Say the party is against race baiting and promises that the Federal government will no longer be used to attack Americans of color. Or is defending Americans too woke these days? Does ANYONE defend Americans anymore? Or does Trump just get to shit on us indefinitely while Congress says, "don't say anything, people will think you're a liberal if you do!"
You put voice to why I am doubtful that there will be a large wave, and that if the Dems take the house, it will be a much subdued margin, certainly not enough to begin to write the obituary of MAGA.
And this morning Rick Wilson wrote about how it is clear that Tucker Carlson is working to be the next MAGA candidate. All those who are sure that there is no heir apparent for Trump when he either shuffles off the mortal coil, or actually leaves office in early 2029 and that will be the start of the end of MAGA and America First that is poisoning the well are deluding themselves.
No, I will not live long enough to see the ship righted.
President Carlson would truly own the libs. The high triumph of racism. Yes, it's extremely clear that's where Carlson is going. I don't see the country following willingly though. The majority of the country prefers racism lite, with just enough dogwhistles to pretend it doesn't exist. Trump and Carlson are too explicit to catch the people who need everything spelled out for them.
I definitely learned this year that the left will tolerate Nazi tattoos, rape apologia, and laws that exclude trans people from public life, all in the name of "that's what most of the country supports and this is a democracy."
Yeah, seeing all the fawning over Platner is really heinous, as well as all the acceptance for Piker.
I used to defend my tribe (the Democrats) but it is getting harder and harder. We really need a parliamentary system, and abolition of the EC, but that isn't in the cards, so we have just shit as far as the eye can see, and the horseshoe theory of the far left and the far right being kissin' cousins is spot on.
Maybe you saw The Meet the Press Kristin Welker interview with Todd Blanche... his take on multiple topics was revealing. Notably and to your point about Black Americans....driven by voting rights and the SCOTUS decision this prior week.... Welker points out the disconnect of the public's perception of racial inequality and the SCOTUS decision. Blanche suggests that the Democrats are impeding "fair elections" calling them "laughable" and that voter ID is the answer. This is the acting AG. This part is around 17:20 in the link below.
The broader reading of SCOTUS decisions in this realm seems to be moving back to the Jim Crow era. I lived and worked for over 20 years in the "South". Georgia, Florida, and Louisiana. Travelled through, but spent some time in Alabama, Mississippi, South Carolina. Anyone that says or suggests that racism does not exist anymore is not very observant. It exists. I am not trying to paint the majority of citizens of any of these states as racist, but apparently there are enough voices to influence lawmakers. When Louisiana Gov. Landry stops a portion of an election already in progress with votes being cast, to redraw previously (2024) drawn districts? A clear and recent demonstration. And a preparatory act for future elections. This must be stopped in its tracks. Immediately.
Dan - Well said. One other thought - my 7 decades have been lived in Ohio, Arizona, & Indiana, and have traveled many other states. I've never needed to be below the Mason-Dixon line to observe racism in word & action 😔
Awful polling? Yet still at 37%? I find that shocking, alarming, and appalling. Still, after all T has done and said—more than ONE-THIRD of population supports him? That’s almost 4 people out of every 10. How can that be? Beyond comprehension!
Only beyond comprehension if you don’t get a chance to meet these folks. What baffles me is the ones who have turned away for now - but will come running back as soon as they see an AI modified picture of a trans, woke, mouthy gerbil somewhere on their individually moderated screen feeds.
True. Someone said they would rather go bankrupt (or be poor, without healthcare, etc.) than have elected officials support gay marriage. Or abortion rights.Or trans rights.
Fantastic. Looks like the entire country south of the Mason Dixon is about to be swept up by rural voters who are a fraction of the country but find anti-democratic authoritarianism irresistible. Luckily, there are so few blue seats down there that the potential red gains are limited. But it's hard for geographically distinct liberal and illiberal regions to coexist in one democracy.
I think maybe we could cut ties with them, but on the condition that they form a new nation, called Welfare Queensland. And they can change the name of the Gulf of Mexico, not to the Gulf of America, since they’re no longer part of America, but the Gulf of Welfare Queensland.
I’m in the Triangle area, but liberal Asheville absolutely should have Democratic representation. Instead, they’ve been gerrymandered into being represented by MAGA lowlifes such as Cawthorn and Meadows.
Jamie Ager is awesome, and can hopefully pull this off. He's a (progressive) farmer who is incredibly down-to-earth and comes from a political family. I think he could connect w/ anyone; and has been traveling around the area talking to people for months. He's told me some interesting stories about people you wouldn't expect telling him he's got their support. Chuck Edwards has done NOTHING for the area's hurricane relief efforts, which has really pissed people off - so hopefully that will help as well.
Sounds promising! I know it's egregiously gerrymandered, but there are reliable Democratic votes out there, and maybe there will be enough people who have paid attention and are not willing to vote for the incumbent to make a difference.
I mostly agree with you, but that rural-urban divide also affects the rest of the country. It's just more obvious in the South. (I lived in Atlanta for 30 years, and Atlantans did not want to be conflated with the folks in, say, Moultrie. Even if they originally came from Moultrie. That's why they left!)
Last year California’s governor said his state paid $82b, that’s billion, to the Fed and received no services. Red states got them. In Kentucky, for every $1 paid to the Fed, the state receives $3.55 back, or a net profit of $2.55. The then Governor of New York pointed that out to Mitch McConnell. Talk about entitlement and welfare on a grand scale.
Losing the Confederate states wouldn't actually hurt the rest of us that much. TX somewhat, bkz of their oil, but they're STILL a welfare state, taking more from the feds than they put in. We'd have to move out a bunch of military bases, but maybe the Confeds would buy them.
I’m waiting for GOP electeds to decide the tide has turned and they should abandon ship. Better yet, they should be all swept away in the rising blue tide. Redistricting be damned. It ain’t gonna work.
In the Guardian today there was a story from Springfield, Ohio. The “They’re eating the dogs. They’re eating the cats” city. Well, the Republican representative who shunned talking to the people of Springfield Ohio, no town meeting, no replies to meeting or phone conversation, is now, just now, talking about rights for Haitians, and bucking his party to keep them here. Can’t have racism and greed if one doesn’t have a job. The message is finally getting to the Republicans. Republican voters cannot be counted on doing the Republican thing. They are actually thinking of doing the correct thing. Not vote for Republicans.
I'm hoping some of the Rs find the courage to at least distance themselves from Trump once the primaries are over with, and he can't hurt them any more.
Of course, two years of absolute capitulation will be hard to defend in the general.
Whatever happened to the good old *Purcell* test regarding changing election maps, etc. too close to elections? Like 60 days close. How does literally cancelling elections that are already happening fit into this?
Maybe Mark Hertling could explain to us why today the US Navy can escort vessels through the Strait of Hormuz, but 3 weeks ago they were not able to? Until then, my assumption the announcement was the usual attempt to influence the oil and stock market on Monday’s open.
I wish more Americans were familiar with the revolutions of 1848. The 48ers who came to the United States started helping en masse by 1861 and through until today.
Yes, indeed. But it's much worse.
The deadly legacy of the orange narcissist-felon lives on, a virulent cancer in the human heart.
He has 'normalized' lying, cheating, stealing, deception, distrust. He has nourished crude epithets, personal attacks, rage, revenge, the sowing of hatred, divisiveness, distrust, cruelty to others. He has perverted every person and organization he touches, as he glories in pride, greed, lust, anger, gluttony, envy, sloth.
He has brought down a great nation, and a sometimes hopeful world. That hopeful world has abandoned him, justifiably.
He is the living horror that destroys all our better instincts, and attacks our souls.
The biggest problem with the normalization that you mention is that there is a large swath of unthinking, "gut feeling" voters who believe that anyone who stands against Trump is "evil" and an agent of that which "ruined this country". And I'm very afraid they're not going down without a fight.
Humans can be regrettably self-interested. The appeal of the MAGA movement has always been that it would reward the perceived in-group and punish the out-group.
But in my daily life of late - there are some MAGA adherents who are now feeling like the out-group. And whether they change their tune because of self-interest or because of some higher calling, at least from the people I talk to daily, some of the fever may be breaking. So I second the comment to be a tiny bit hopeful…
I'm glad to know that information, James. Thank you for sharing your personal experience with us.
Remember Alexander Pope, Kass: "Hope springs eternal in the human breast." And the three enduring virtues: faith, hope, and charity.
The battle is in church. The main reason these "Trump's foes are evil" people don't look at their lived experience is because they get this lesson from church. They will allow church to override their real life examples where they would not allow anyone else.
The breadth of the 'christian' nationalist right's usurpation of Christ's moral authority is one of the more astonishing developments of my lifetime
Yet another reason churches should pay taxes. They want to be involved in the political process, they should pay.
I have seen highly educated Trump apologists use "anti-Trump" as a term of moral opprobrium. They've written a narrative in which he is the hero of a righteous cause, and therefore being critical of him is the mark of a bad person.
Yup. This is what I'm talking about. It prevents them from changing their minds about him as well because it makes themselves "bad".
Without wishing to invoke past dictators like Hitler, Mussolini, Franco, Mao, Pol Pot and Stalin for purposes of drawing a direct analogy to Our Man Trump--he stands in a reeking, brutal, deeply corrupt class of his own--I would remind you that even those men did not bring down the world.
They did great harm, as other madmen had before them going back to the dawn of human time; but the fact is they slithered into power because great harm had already been done--because of existing inequality and discontent, the door was opened to them.
When they were overthrown, most of the nations they had crushed (perhaps with the exception of Russia, which has a history of brutality, inequity and cruelty that stretches back centuries) proved to be resilient although not unflawed.
Despite scars and quarrels and outbreaks of ugliness, Germany and Italy and Spain are all relatively democratic today. Cambodia, though still traumatized by the horrors of its descent into Khmer Rouge madness, is recovering. As for China--that eternal country--it is no more unequal than it has always been, and in relative terms it is thriving.
We cannot give up: not on the US, not on the possibility of a less fraught future. We cannot let the Trumpistas crush our better instincts.
My hope remains that, no matter what he destroys, we can build back a country that is fair and decent to all and finally regulates money in politics and prizes participation above all.
Thanks for the insights and perspective, Willoughby. The comparison with those other dictators is revealing, and terrifying--yes, it induces terror in considering what the orange narcissist-felon has 'achieved,' and is still delivering.
Except that his allies feel morally entitled to attack their opponents on any of the sins for which they extend unrestricted indulgence to Trump and his associates.
Trumpism elevated hypocrisy to the status of a high virtue.
Reagan on steroids.
I’m told that I would enjoy life more if I stopped obsessing about him because he’s just doing his job,
We're told a lot of things, aren't we? ;) Don't let the bastards get you down, Linda. We're still sane compared to everyone else. Sort of.
Sure, Linda. But that's escapism, and solves nothing. As for 'doing his job,' he has failed to execute the responsibilities of his office effectively, in the record We may decide to praise his wonderful executive performance, at will. Many do.
"Crazy how many are so ungrateful to be living in the HOTTEST COUNTRY ON EARTH right in the middle of its GOLDEN AGE."
More than a little bizarre that the lower Trump's approval numbers go, the more he seems to think that monuments should be erected in his honor.
Ozymandias would like a word or two about the durability of monuments.
There's a fantastic song named Ozymandias by MC Lars and Mega Ran:
We cast our votes and now he gloats
Killing hope among the very folks
That he'd claimed he'd help out the most
Looks like this bloke is one big joke
In the desert, looked his people in the eye
Took away protection and left them to die
Nothing remains, around decay
No one can stop him get out of the way
Even the info you think you receive
He calls it false and you have to believe
The air you breathe the marks you set
The hand that mocked them, the heart that fed
King of Kings, boundless and bare
Look on his works - and run in despair
Not exactly "Shelley", are they?
Amazing how prescient Shelley was, wot? England in 1819 is also a very timely poem right now.
Just read it. Thank you!
He's desperate to scar our national landscape before he's gone. I say we raze it all to the ground.
He's a world historic megalomaniac.
Before 2024, I referred to him as "Orange Julius", bkz he wanted to neuter the people's representatives (Senate) and install a dictatorship that would last a thousand years. Now he's more like Nero, completely obsessed with his own popularity and uninterested in what happens to his people, and fiddling (more likely singing, in Nero's case) while Rome burns.
He's never cared about what happens to his own people. He cares exclusively about himself, and that's been true for 80 years.
Like Sauron."He does not share power". And only cares for himself.
Ok quick- how many Roman emperors can you name other than Nero?
Trump's motivation revealed.
Ha, watch this: Caesar, Caesar, Caesar, and then a few more Caesars.
What Trump needs to do is insist that his cabinet members adopt his last name.
Crouton?
DJT: Was Caesar salad an emperor?
I can name a whole lot of Roman Emperors., just an FYI ;)
Flavius and...?
(some of the following were not, strictly speaking, Emperors, but that is a discussion of the structure of post-republican Rome):
Octavian/Augustus
Tiberius
Caligula
Claudius
Nero
Vespasian
Titus
Domitian
Trajan
Hadrian
Antonius Pius
Marcus Aurelius
A couple of Phillips
Septimus Severus
Aurelian
Diocletian
Constantine and his son (also Constantine)
Julian the Apostate
Valentinian
I missed a lot, many of the ones I missed did not last long or were just not memorable. You could also count all of the "byzantine" emperors up until 1453... because "Byzantine" is a label applied later, they saw themselves as Roman.
Me? Quite a few...
Insertsome
DJT:none.
The only thing HOT about America right now is the stove that MAGA is touching.
Speaking of hot, (in his mind) could DJT name Ivanka his successor? Think about it.
It doesn’t seem to be having that much of an effect. Maybe time to fling MAGA into the oven.
It’s becoming increasingly obvious that Trump’s life-long pathological narcissism and increasing dementia are cracking under the stress of realities that won’t disappear with a lie or a meme.
He also just discovered that he will, in fact, die one day.
Golden age or Gilded age?
Not from Trump's perspective. To Trump, anyone that doesn't support him isn't a real American - they're either paid protestors or treasonous, Marxist/leftists who want to destroy the country. Thus, no matter what his approval numbers are, Trump believes he has full support from "real Americans."
Same as with the right during Viet Nam and the Nixon years. "Real Americans" were all in for the war. Only those nattering nabobs of negativity were against it. (Agnew was ahead of his time with his grift.)
It’s a wonder how any of us survived as Americans these 250 years before he came along.
Trump sounds like a used car salesman.
Or real estate developer/salesman. "under budget and ahead of schedule" " the finest black granite, marble is beautiful but not as durable" "the hottest country is a version of the "hottest address in the city" Actually he seems to have reverted completely to that persona now.
Miller: "We live in a world, in the real world . . . that is governed by strength, that is governed by force, that is governed by power. These are the iron laws of the world."
This is the same guy who keeps yelling about saving Western Civilization when in reality he wants to go back to the pre-Enlightenment age.
Also, truly strong men don't talk like this.
This is also the virulent little shrew who keeps screaming about centuries' long Anglo Heritage when he has nothing of the sort.
When I see that quote, all I can imagine is someone with a voice like Kermit the Frog saying it. Because it's that ridiculous.
Or, maybe inhaling helium just before speaking. That would be worth hearing.
Helium is too precious to waste, even on making that piece of human excrement sound even more ridiculous.
Yes. But it is a delightful thought. Maybe AI could be substituted for helium.
LOL!
Stephen Miller wants us to teach the Western canon but purge it of independent thought and revolutionary thought and human solidarity. I think that leaves out the Greeks and the Europeans so I'm not sure what's left of the Western canon after that.
Whatever Miller says it is. Because for Miller, dissent is treason.
Machiavelli and the racial theorists from Blumenbach through Günther.
"Indeed we’re barely on the side of the Free World".....what a truly sad, and sadly true quote.
The most important phrase in this article is Trump on the 2026 midterms: "We cannot allow there to be an Election that is conducted unconstitutionally."
By rewriting election law while voting has already begun, the partisan and corrupt Supreme Court has handed Trump a gift (of course), that will allow him to declare in November 2026 that this or that election is null and void due to constitutional issues. Hell, he may declare the entire next Congress "unconstitutional."
Thanks, Supremes. As venal as ever.
I don’t think we have touched the stove for long enough just yet. We need a few more months before the average American voter is ready to learn his or her lesson.
Side note, such a busy weekend we don’t even have time to mention that America’s Mayor is hospitalized in critical condition.
The real economic calamity of Trump's War will hit hard this summer, right about when campaigns are ramping up for the midterms. Who knew that when fascism came to America it would be this stupid?
Fascism is a combination of opposites. Need popular approval but crony support at first. Then crony support leads to massive corruption and popular support wanes. Both cannot continue, the regime fails. Except for North Korea, fascism does a lousy job with succession, making the entire entity relying on one person’s lifetime. I would call that type of government, short sighted and stupid as well. All that pain for one person.
Agreed. Gas needs to go above $5 nationwide, for starters. And watch for the accompanying grocery bills. (President Man: Groceries are "a sort of ... bag with different things in it." In case you weren't sure.)
💯
ETTD.
So up until now Tennessee’s districts did not reflect the will of its voters? I would like to know what counts as voters for the governor of Tennessee, as clearly the African American ones do not count, and only the white ones whose will has been thwarted this whole time.
What counts as a voter is a Republican.
A Republican who always without thought votes Republican.
In his newsletter yesterday, Marc Elias pointed out that a few years ago, when he won a redistricting case prior to an election, the court used the Purcell rule to delay enactment of he ruling. Funny that the court hasn't used he Purcell rule now....gee, I wonder why...
Bill wrote: "In the twentieth century, we helped liberate them. In the twenty-first century, couldn’t they help liberate us?"
Indeed. It happens to be Liberation Day tomorrow in the Netherlands.
When I lived in Guam during high school, Liberation Day — July 21 — was one of the biggest holidays of the year and always included the US military in the parade.
Supporters of Trumpism often approvingly describe it as nationalistic, with its greatest virtue being its patriotism. No moment more definitively showed how fake this "patriotism" is than the Oval Office attack on Zelensky by Trump and Vance. True patriots have great respect for the patriotism that foreigners feel for their own country. Zelensky is perhaps our greatest living example of true patriotism and that attack proved beyond a doubt that Trumpian patriotism is only an instrument of manipulation in pursuit of sinister aims.
True patriotism in the United States means believing in and keeping alive the ideals and forms of government our founders fought for and instituted.
I'm just trying to figure out if we're at war or not. And with who, Cuba or Iran.
I'm very, very, very disturbed that Trump's anti-Black rally on Friday afternoon was not reported as the attack on Black Americans that it was, but I really didn't expect anything else. This is where I feel Democratic leadership could be stronger rather than having reps trickle out quotes by ones and twos. Say the party is against race baiting and promises that the Federal government will no longer be used to attack Americans of color. Or is defending Americans too woke these days? Does ANYONE defend Americans anymore? Or does Trump just get to shit on us indefinitely while Congress says, "don't say anything, people will think you're a liberal if you do!"
You put voice to why I am doubtful that there will be a large wave, and that if the Dems take the house, it will be a much subdued margin, certainly not enough to begin to write the obituary of MAGA.
And this morning Rick Wilson wrote about how it is clear that Tucker Carlson is working to be the next MAGA candidate. All those who are sure that there is no heir apparent for Trump when he either shuffles off the mortal coil, or actually leaves office in early 2029 and that will be the start of the end of MAGA and America First that is poisoning the well are deluding themselves.
No, I will not live long enough to see the ship righted.
President Carlson would truly own the libs. The high triumph of racism. Yes, it's extremely clear that's where Carlson is going. I don't see the country following willingly though. The majority of the country prefers racism lite, with just enough dogwhistles to pretend it doesn't exist. Trump and Carlson are too explicit to catch the people who need everything spelled out for them.
I definitely learned this year that the left will tolerate Nazi tattoos, rape apologia, and laws that exclude trans people from public life, all in the name of "that's what most of the country supports and this is a democracy."
Yeah, seeing all the fawning over Platner is really heinous, as well as all the acceptance for Piker.
I used to defend my tribe (the Democrats) but it is getting harder and harder. We really need a parliamentary system, and abolition of the EC, but that isn't in the cards, so we have just shit as far as the eye can see, and the horseshoe theory of the far left and the far right being kissin' cousins is spot on.
Kate - should that Carlson campaign ever arise, please join me in a loud chorus:
"...but his LAUGH, though"
Maybe you saw The Meet the Press Kristin Welker interview with Todd Blanche... his take on multiple topics was revealing. Notably and to your point about Black Americans....driven by voting rights and the SCOTUS decision this prior week.... Welker points out the disconnect of the public's perception of racial inequality and the SCOTUS decision. Blanche suggests that the Democrats are impeding "fair elections" calling them "laughable" and that voter ID is the answer. This is the acting AG. This part is around 17:20 in the link below.
The broader reading of SCOTUS decisions in this realm seems to be moving back to the Jim Crow era. I lived and worked for over 20 years in the "South". Georgia, Florida, and Louisiana. Travelled through, but spent some time in Alabama, Mississippi, South Carolina. Anyone that says or suggests that racism does not exist anymore is not very observant. It exists. I am not trying to paint the majority of citizens of any of these states as racist, but apparently there are enough voices to influence lawmakers. When Louisiana Gov. Landry stops a portion of an election already in progress with votes being cast, to redraw previously (2024) drawn districts? A clear and recent demonstration. And a preparatory act for future elections. This must be stopped in its tracks. Immediately.
https://youtu.be/ZHE2Hgmnis4?si=Xqo2VtaIFjIgBKwE&t=1040
Dan - Well said. One other thought - my 7 decades have been lived in Ohio, Arizona, & Indiana, and have traveled many other states. I've never needed to be below the Mason-Dixon line to observe racism in word & action 😔
Awful polling? Yet still at 37%? I find that shocking, alarming, and appalling. Still, after all T has done and said—more than ONE-THIRD of population supports him? That’s almost 4 people out of every 10. How can that be? Beyond comprehension!
Only beyond comprehension if you don’t get a chance to meet these folks. What baffles me is the ones who have turned away for now - but will come running back as soon as they see an AI modified picture of a trans, woke, mouthy gerbil somewhere on their individually moderated screen feeds.
True. Someone said they would rather go bankrupt (or be poor, without healthcare, etc.) than have elected officials support gay marriage. Or abortion rights.Or trans rights.
That’s the new and improved GOP, the MAGA Party. Their approval rating is what keeps the felon’s numbers so high. A lot of hate in that group.
Fantastic. Looks like the entire country south of the Mason Dixon is about to be swept up by rural voters who are a fraction of the country but find anti-democratic authoritarianism irresistible. Luckily, there are so few blue seats down there that the potential red gains are limited. But it's hard for geographically distinct liberal and illiberal regions to coexist in one democracy.
Also, these states are "takers" while most blue states are "makers". If it were up to me, Don, I wouldn't give a penny to these people.
I think maybe we could cut ties with them, but on the condition that they form a new nation, called Welfare Queensland. And they can change the name of the Gulf of Mexico, not to the Gulf of America, since they’re no longer part of America, but the Gulf of Welfare Queensland.
Breaking up the country is the outcome Putin wants.
So is expensive oil. So is a president Trump.
The "real" USA would re-join NATO, and probably be good with letting Ukraine join. That would ruin whatever gains Putin gets by breaking us up.
Time to cut the Confederate states loose, and let them live in the Fox-Nooze-created world they believe in. See how far that gets them.
I'm not even kidding a little bit.
Western NC is absolutely "my place on earth." But I'd be willing to move to live in a sane, kind area if we could have a national divorce.
I’m in the Triangle area, but liberal Asheville absolutely should have Democratic representation. Instead, they’ve been gerrymandered into being represented by MAGA lowlifes such as Cawthorn and Meadows.
Jamie Ager is awesome, and can hopefully pull this off. He's a (progressive) farmer who is incredibly down-to-earth and comes from a political family. I think he could connect w/ anyone; and has been traveling around the area talking to people for months. He's told me some interesting stories about people you wouldn't expect telling him he's got their support. Chuck Edwards has done NOTHING for the area's hurricane relief efforts, which has really pissed people off - so hopefully that will help as well.
Sounds promising! I know it's egregiously gerrymandered, but there are reliable Democratic votes out there, and maybe there will be enough people who have paid attention and are not willing to vote for the incumbent to make a difference.
NC is salvageable, tho... Went for Obama at least once, and the Senate race there is at least close.
Yeah, North Carolina is purple at this point. But we'll see what redistricting on steroids brings them.
If the election is at all fair, Cooper has a good shot. He was a very popular governor.
I mostly agree with you, but that rural-urban divide also affects the rest of the country. It's just more obvious in the South. (I lived in Atlanta for 30 years, and Atlantans did not want to be conflated with the folks in, say, Moultrie. Even if they originally came from Moultrie. That's why they left!)
Come hang out in the country here on the border with Canada. Look at Elise Stefanik's district. It's everywhere.
Last year California’s governor said his state paid $82b, that’s billion, to the Fed and received no services. Red states got them. In Kentucky, for every $1 paid to the Fed, the state receives $3.55 back, or a net profit of $2.55. The then Governor of New York pointed that out to Mitch McConnell. Talk about entitlement and welfare on a grand scale.
Breaking up the country is the outcome Putin wants.
Losing the Confederate states wouldn't actually hurt the rest of us that much. TX somewhat, bkz of their oil, but they're STILL a welfare state, taking more from the feds than they put in. We'd have to move out a bunch of military bases, but maybe the Confeds would buy them.
I’m waiting for GOP electeds to decide the tide has turned and they should abandon ship. Better yet, they should be all swept away in the rising blue tide. Redistricting be damned. It ain’t gonna work.
? ? Are you sure you are not underestimating the ignorance, stupidity and malice of a population poisoned by racism and greed?
In the Guardian today there was a story from Springfield, Ohio. The “They’re eating the dogs. They’re eating the cats” city. Well, the Republican representative who shunned talking to the people of Springfield Ohio, no town meeting, no replies to meeting or phone conversation, is now, just now, talking about rights for Haitians, and bucking his party to keep them here. Can’t have racism and greed if one doesn’t have a job. The message is finally getting to the Republicans. Republican voters cannot be counted on doing the Republican thing. They are actually thinking of doing the correct thing. Not vote for Republicans.
Daphne, if they ARE poisoned by greed, the current moment may shake more individuals loose than we think.
Not saying it’s a guarantee. Or that the new reconstruction won’t be hard… so not too much hopeium. But a little.
This is a distinct possibility but I must cling to a vestige of hope, as irrational as that may be.
I'm hoping some of the Rs find the courage to at least distance themselves from Trump once the primaries are over with, and he can't hurt them any more.
Of course, two years of absolute capitulation will be hard to defend in the general.
Whatever happened to the good old *Purcell* test regarding changing election maps, etc. too close to elections? Like 60 days close. How does literally cancelling elections that are already happening fit into this?
C'mon, that is woke garbage, and that only shitlibs buy into that... /s
Maybe Mark Hertling could explain to us why today the US Navy can escort vessels through the Strait of Hormuz, but 3 weeks ago they were not able to? Until then, my assumption the announcement was the usual attempt to influence the oil and stock market on Monday’s open.
"In the twenty-first century, couldn’t they help liberate us?"
Could they please hurry?
I wish more Americans were familiar with the revolutions of 1848. The 48ers who came to the United States started helping en masse by 1861 and through until today.