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Travis's avatar

"In yesterday’s presidential primaries in Ohio, Illinois, Arizona, and Florida, Nikki Haley got somewhere between 14 percent and 19 percent of the vote."

I had not heard this stat before (source?), but if true, this represents a major threat to Trump. Perhaps not in Ohio and Illinois, which will vote red and blue respectively, but if there are numbers *even close to this* in states like Michigan, Wisconsin, and Arizona--I'm talking 5+% here--then that's the Bannon Line being moved under our feat already, and so long as anti-Trump turnout remains strong on the left (it will) then this is "bigly" bad news for Trump. Let us hope the pattern holds/grows over the next 7.5 months.

"If we have a “normal” presidential election in November, with Biden as an incumbent with low approval running against a challenger who has a bunch of problems, the challenger would be favored to win—as troubled challengers did in 1980 and 1992, and (acknowledging of course that Hillary Clinton wasn’t an actual incumbent) in 2016."

Here's where my opinion differs: Trump is no longer an outsider running as a fresh challenger. He is the present head of the GOP, a recent former president--"and with a record!" as Walter Sobchek would say, and his "bunch of problems" would make the Gipper and Slick Willy blush by comparison. So no, I don't think he is a "challenger" comparable to Reagan or Clinton (the presidential one) because he is closer to incumbent than challenger. That means he has his own record to defend, and Biden has Trump's record to attack. Shall we take a stroll down memory lane?:

- The Muslim Ban that saw Americans & green card holders detained at airports upon implementation

- Tried to repeal the ACA (again) that saw an additional 40M+ Americans gain medical coverage

- Kids in cages as policy at the border

- Kissing up to MBS after Jamaal Khashoggi

- "Very fine people" "On both sides" when remarking on Charlottesville in 2017

- More tax cuts for the rich in 2017

- Siding with Putin over America's intelligence agencies multiple times in public

- Using arms transfers to Ukraine as leverage to try to blackmail Zelenski into manufacturing dirt against Biden (election interference, blackmail of an anti-Russia ally, corrupt intent)

- Appointing the SCOTUS justices who enabled to overturning of Roe v Wade

- Sacking the CDC's advance team in Wuhan prior to 2020, allowing the virus to get a head start here in the US without any advanced warnings from China while China lied and downplayed the virus

- Refusing to invoke the DPA to get tests mass-produced prior to viral ramp up that led to unnecessary spread of CV-19 and unnecessary loss of life (DPA eventually invoked to make vents)

- Delayed releasing the federal government's supply of ventilators, leading to unnecessary deaths

- Promoting and believing debunked misinformation from the WH about things like Ivermectin, colloidal silver, UV light, and bleach injections like some IRL version of Jude Law's character in Contagion

- Praised Xi's response to CV-19 in China

- Multiple public/private instances of desecrating veterans, fallen troops, and the families of fallen troops--up to and including the late and great senator John McCain

- Freezer trucks full of American corpses adjacent to major hospitals in cities around the country and the first mass graves seen in this country for decades (Hart Island, NYC)

- Tried to start a war with Iran by assassinating their equivalent of Jim Mattis

- Use of unmarked federal police to round up and detain protestors without due process, warrants, or any kind of adhesion to the 6th amendment

- Use of military helicopters, national guard personnel, and federal police to violently break up peaceful protests at LaFayette Square

- Creation of the Big Lie that threatened American democracy via losers of elections refusing to accept genuine losses

- Incited insurrection that disrupted the peaceful transfer of power and nearly averted the transfer of power altogether, leading to over 140+ police injuries and at least 7 deaths (officer suicides included)

- Got over 1,000 of his supporters arrested and convicted of crimes for believing his Big Lie and storming the capitol on his behalf in support of the Big Lie

- Tried to steal the 2020 election with *activated* slates of "alternate electors" on Jan 6th--many of whom are now facing federal and state criminal charges for doing so, including Trump

- Was impeached twice for corrupt blackmailing of Zelenski and inciting the J6th Insurrection

- Signed the surrender agreement with the Taliban that cut out the Afghan government and released 5,000 Taliban fighters

- Cut the SIV program in 2018 that resulted in Afghan allies not being able to be processed for domestic asylum when the Afghan evacuation took place (a problem to this day, just ask Will Selber)

- Stole Top Secret documents from the US government and then hid them from the government when given multiple opportunities to turn them over

- Was found liable for sexual assault by violating a woman's body with his fingers

- Was found liable for massive loan fraud with banks

- Has paid zero taxes year after year

- Cheated on his wife with a porn star and then hid it from the American people via tax fraud

- Routinely engages in nativist "blood and soil" fascistic rhetoric when rallying supporters

- Likes extra-judicial violence and the use of armed militias in politics

The list goes on folks. The question is, can Biden and dems effectively remind Americans with short memories just how fucked America was under Trump's leadership?

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SandyG's avatar

That IS the $64 million dollar question.

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Lynn Van Haren's avatar

This should be on MSM every single day! Ty

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Len Gardner's avatar

Great round up! Thanks.

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Color Me Skeptical's avatar

Thank you Travis for this excellent reminder of the havoc Trump wreaked.

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Travis's avatar

"Lest we forget" as they say. And as other commenters have pointed out with other examples, this list is not compete at all.

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TomD's avatar

Let's not forget "Liberate Michigan"--from public health measures--and "Stand back and stand by."

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Travis's avatar

I forgot about this. It was an early version of what we'd later see on Jan 6th, with Trump vocally supporting both. And those militias showed up to the state capitols armed, whereas on J6th the long guns were kept off site for a "QRF team." Good catch. God damn so much corrupt shit happened under Trump that it is genuinely hard to remember every slice of it.

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Old Man's avatar

Travis, you have completed Part One. Now, do Part two.

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TomD's avatar

It's fascinating to go back and look at what all he was tweeting during that time period. On the same day, as "Liberate Michigan, " 35 other tweets, half of them purely deranged.

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Mingo's avatar

Your list is exhaustive as his antics are. It's a level of disgraceful no other president has achieved. He's truly a bottom feeder, always trying to be top dog. His crowning achievement was the complete failure to mitigate and manage the COVID pandemic response. As a licensed allied health care practitioner who has worked with pulmonary patients for almost 40 years I was nauseated by his daily briefings. Screaming at the tv and throwing my slippers so much so, my dog scurried away in fright.

BTW- here in AZ 20% of GOP voters went for Nikki Haley who isn't even the race.

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knowltok's avatar

"BTW- here in AZ 20% of GOP voters went for Nikki Haley who isn't even the race."

I gotta think that if half of those don't vote for Trump, and half of those left vote for Biden, it is game over for Trump in AZ.

We see a lot of doom and gloom polls, but actual voting results keep being encouraging.

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tupper's avatar

Shit. I've been waking up pissed off for the last 8 years, and couldn't figure out why. I remember now

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Travis's avatar

Holy fucking shit this list is long and I'll bet dollars to donuts that I'm still missing some key stuff here

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R Mercer's avatar

The list is, indeed, long.

Te list needs to be run in front of everyone's eyes, every time Trump is mentioned--or in lieu of actually using his name...

My predecessor, who by the way.....

or

the sexual assaulter candidate, the fraud candidate, pro-Russia candidate... tons and tons of stuff.

Notice that I never actually use Trump's name. You never use his name.. and you never call him President. He is the <derogatory appellation> candidate.

You do not use his name because it will piss him off. You drumbeat all of this stuff because it will piss him off. Your goal is to piss him off and it is an EASY goal to achieve.

And he will reward you with lots and lots of fodder for your attacks. More errors and mis-statements. Increasing decompensation. Moe and more time spent whining and pissing and moaning. People get tired of that shit after a while. many are already tired of it.

Real winners don't whine and cry.

Notice you did not mention the Trump University fraud or his charitable fraud.

Would you leave this man alone in a room with your daughter? Your wife?

Trump will contribute mightily to a Biden victory.. and believe that the stategy that Bill talked about yesterday (and that I posted about) would be quite effective.

As long as you have people out there working this stuff.. and working it 24/7 and bombarding Trump and his campaign with it. Flood the zone. And browbeat the media about the BS they do.

Don't wait to react to what Trump does. Get ahead of the curve. Bury what he does and says under what YOU do and say, turning his own tactic against him. It works both ways.

I also believe that many people are aware that this is an election unlike any previous election, on at least a subliminal plane. This is not going to go down like any previous election and you can pretty much throw out much of the recieved wisdom.

Roughly 20% of FLA GoP voters said that they would NOT vote for Trump come November in exit polling.

20%

FLORIDA GoP voters.

If that is reflected nation-wide... if even half of that is reflected nationwide... Trump loses.

The Grand Trump Party (which is what it is now, with the takeover) has worked hard at becoming increasingly insular, homogeneous, smaller, less inclusive. Worked HARD at it.

Trump has worked even HARDER at that. Every tijme he turns around he alienates someone.

There is a price that is paid for that.

Gerrymandering and vote suppression might keep you in the State House and it will help with Congress... but less so with a Presidential election.

Sooner or later this stuff catches up to you. Karma is slow but it usually gets there.

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Travis's avatar

"Notice that I never actually use Trump's name. You never use his name.. and you never call him President. He is the <derogatory appellation> candidate."

I think this is key and I think Biden is starting down this path (he did this during SOTU). His campaign staff and fellow dems would do well to also follow suit.

"Real winners don't whine and cry." ---> the Crybaby Candidate who does nothing but whine and cry about his personal grievances and self-excuses his own criming

"As long as you have people out there working this stuff.. and working it 24/7 and bombarding Trump and his campaign with it. Flood the zone. And browbeat the media about the BS they do."

This is crucial. Repetition of message is what causes issues to sink in with voters. Trump and his crew in the GOP know this well, which is why they play that game so thoroughly. No disagreements from me on any of what you've said here.

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Colleen Kochivar-Baker's avatar

If this strategy was implemented, I would market red 'SAY HIS NAME' t shirts with MTG as my spokesperson.

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Kate Fall's avatar

Absolutely. Biden isn't a gimmick guy. His sincerity is his strength.

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R Mercer's avatar

In politics EVERYONE is a gimmick guy. Because gimmicks win.

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Jeff the Original's avatar

One of my "favorites" is that he declared the border situation was a national emergency thereby enabling him to redirect military construction money to the border wall construction.

That's like a 3-fer....with a bogus emergency declaration, stealing money from the military (real patriotic) and outing himself about the whole "Mexico will pay for the wall" stupid meme.

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Kate Fall's avatar

Do you mind if I steal this list to post to Reddit?

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Travis's avatar

Go for it!

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DH's avatar

Quite the list! He also attempted to alter the path of a hurricane with a sharpie, my personal favorite in the litany of Trump scandals.

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Travis's avatar

Didn’t he also make the suggestion that we could H-bomb the hurricane while it was far enough out at sea?

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Colleen Kochivar-Baker's avatar

Or his suggestion in the before I love Rocket Man switch, that we could evacuate Seoul and nuke North Korea.

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DH's avatar

I'm unsure if that was the same hurricane, but yes, there was definitely reporting that he asked aides about that "option". After all, what could go wrong?

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knowltok's avatar

Less than injecting bleach into your body.

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steve robertshaw's avatar

And don't forget shining an ultraviolet light source into some vague body cavity because the stable genius was told UV light is virucidal in the environment the same way bleach is.

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knowltok's avatar

Now I'm no doctor, and I didn't even stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night, but I do think this treatment could be more survivable than bleach injections and have less lasting consequences than increased radiation from nuking hurricanes.

Pretty sure they use a light for colonoscopies, and I'm still fine!

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steve robertshaw's avatar

True, it would only kill a few thousand of your body cells exposed to it, not necessarily kill you. Visible light spectrum is used in colonoscopies and other fiberoptic visualiztions, those frequencies are not harmful to the nucleic acid chains in cells. UV light is.

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knowltok's avatar

See!!! More survivable!

Total Exoneration. Bigly!

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knowltok's avatar

My guess is that the real story is worse. His people did the altering to cover up for a simple brain fart.

If he was President and we somehow went to war with Spain, I'd be a bit nervous if I lived in Toledo, Ohio.

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Colleen Kochivar-Baker's avatar

Moscow Idaho can breathe a sigh of relief.

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knowltok's avatar

For the win. Well played.

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max skinner's avatar

St Petersburg Florida also sighing with relief.

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Carol's avatar

Thank you for a good, hearty laugh this morning.

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zedsdead's avatar

Mezuzah Travis. I need to print this out just to remember it

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Travis's avatar

Trump’s “firehose of bullshit” is in actions as much as it is in words

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