I think I agree with what Bill is saying but also think it could be preaching to the choir about Trump, and most of the country is the choir at this point. Who is the more unknown quantity for those not on board with either, Trump or Harris? I think it's likely Harris. However, the message against Trump is more unequivocal, whereas learning more about Harris and her policy proposals may not be. Still, maybe it's worth a shot. Shes pro NATO, pro freedom (at home and abroad) in contrast to Trump who is either woefully unengaged or outright antagonistic on those things, depending on what side of the bed he woke up on. Where Harris speaks clearly and forthright he rambles with hyperbole and insults. He's like some sort of weird self-referential performance art and she's being an earnest politician trying to contrast herself. Doesn't everyone see this by now? Either they like chaotic schtick or want normalcy. The case Trump's enablers could perhaps make pre-Jan 6 , pre-"Russia can do whatever the hell they want", pre-Harris featuring conservatives at her convention, now endorsed by the Cheneys, is gone, and if they aren't aware of it by now they're living in a cave. They should know Harris is running as a moderate; Trump is openly an extremist.
1) So Graham says that Harris is “the most radical nominee in the history of American politics”. Gus Hall would be jealous. But, really, this tactic is nothing new. They tried a very similar line on Obama (Hannity called him the “most radical President”). And while they weren’t able to call Biden “most radical”, they did say that he was a prisoner of the “radical Left” of the Democratic Party. So it was just about as bad. The sad thing is that no Trumplicant will realize that this is just a shopworn line that they trot out every four years to scare people. They’ll think it’s true.
2) So Vance says that Cheney is “is not motivated by a love of this country”. Another line they perfected on Obama (“he doesn’t love this country the way the rest of us do”). It’s always been amazing to me (OK, probably not that amazing) that Republicans automatically go for the “they’re unpatriotic” slur, and so many people seem just to believe it. And this year it’s even more amazing. Trump is hailed as the only one who really loves America, yet he is the one who does such clearly unpatriotic things like publicly challenge the results of an election for which zero evidence of fraud exists. No one who really loves this country would put her through what Trump has regarding the election (and by all indications will do so again if he loses). A decent, patriotic American would have done what Gore did – concede graciously.
Vance also says that Cheney is motivated “by an obsessive hatred of the people who cost her Wyoming congressional seat”. The problem with this explanation (besides its obvious phoniness) is the chronology. Cheney was an outcast in Republicans circles long before she lost her congressional seat because of her audacity to be a member of the January 6 committee. Someone should explain to Vance how time works.
3) McConnell is supporting Trump despite his statement that “if he hasn’t committed indictable offenses, I don’t know who has”. I guess it’s OK if Trump is a criminal as long as he is “our” criminal. Truly beyond pathetic. But McConnell showed us long ago that nothing matters to him except power.
Have you listened to Gen. Mattis’s New York Al Smith dinner podium appearance? I saw the CNN coverage of the speech on YouTube. At about 7 minutes 45 seconds he gets serious and talks of a speech given by President Lincoln at a time of distress in American history. I thought it might interest you and others. The speech feels nostalgic in a way, but I fear this experiment is about to end from ignorance as was long ago feared.
He answers that in a 2019 interview with PBS newshour’s Judy Woodruff, also on YouTube. He says there will come a time when he speaks up, but he feels obligated to stay out of the discourse out of the tradition of the office. He does however, as you know, make a statement in the email to Bob Woodward and the release of his new book. That is as good as it will get. My only solace is believing, hoping, that one day, one day, those who are ready to abandon our history of a nation with a free democracy will realize their mistake, and they take that shame to their grave.
Jill Stein isn't at risk of being thrown in a concentration camp if Trump wins on November 5th, but Abdel Salam and Kshama Sawant certainly are. The fact that they're more interested in punishing the Biden Administration for the actions of Netanyahu than they are in preserving their freedom really speaks to a massive misunderstanding of this moment.
Think of the Pulitzers that could be won by any reporter who ripped the band aid off what is happening in the GOP and Russia and Jill Stein etc. I guess the paycheck from NYTimes or WaPost or NBC is worth more but I wouldn't think so.
Bill Kristol with a very strong closing argument: "This is the time to sound the alarm, and not to let any of our fellow Americans be lulled into complacency about Trump.
Unlike baseball, this is no time to look ahead to spring training. It’s no time to wait ‘till next year. It’s no time to leave any runners on base. It’s time to bring every possible pro-democracy voter home."
Here's my election prediction as someone who's reading as little about the polls as possible this close to election day: If Kamala wins the number of Electoral College votes required to become president -- an outcome I fervently wish for -- we can all thank American women. My guess is that women of all ages, races and party affiliation will be the deciding factor.
It doesn't surprise me that women have been among the most prominent voices in the Republicans for Harris movement despite the career death that's invited. If there is anything that makes me believe it's finally time for a woman to serve as US President, it's these brave women and the millions of others like me who will vote this year to give Trump the greatest shame imaginable: being beaten by a woman.
This granny plans to bike to the polls tomorrow to cast her vote for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz.
What I think is a better question is if Trump's actions around the 2020 election (you know, spreading lies, refusing to recognize the courts' rulings, instigating an insurrection, things like that) aren't disqualifying, what would be?
Re Kristol: Agreed—“better luck next year” isn’t appropriate. Should Trump win, I expect my yellow star in the post (Priority Mail?) and a space on a cattle car heading south.
As a registered Independent voter I was not able to vote in either Republicrat or Demopublican primaries which always rather rankled me although I usually split my ticket depending on my research of the candidates up and down ballot. I voted for Nixon but could not go for Reagan and I began to notice that the Republicrats were drifting ever rightward and the more center candidates that I tended to vote for simply never made it through the Republicrat primaries. And then the Demopublicans opened their primaries to Independent voters. I retained my Independent registration for a few election cycles and changed to Demopublican when it became obvious that there were no longer any Republicrat candidates I could vote for. The Republicrat clown car is the final straw and they will have to do some pretty extreme reforms for me to change back to Independent. On the other hand, the Demopublicans will have to continue to be the party which defends the Constitution in order for me not to change my registration again. We shall see.
Remember to vote, encourage others to do likewise, and wave as you fly over the Christian nationalist swamp of Oklahoma.
Thinking outside the box, I wonder if the MAGA plan is to get Trump elected and then vote him out for Vance. To me that would be just as destructive but to Financial and Corporate leaders it may be appealing. On a different level, I continue to think about our enormous number of citizens taking Drugs. My young Boston friends are extremely concerned about the levels of Fentanyl added to street drugs. Ketamine has been around for decades. Marijuana is hundreds times stronger than years ago and gets laced with unknown additives. Housewives are popping mushrooms and some folks want to change the law to produce psychedelics at home. Is it any wonder that voters have a hard time seeing how completely nuts and incompetent Trump is?
The MAGA base has abiding affection for Trump, not Vance. Their loyalty is to Trump. Unless and until that changes, Trump will be at the helm. And Republicans in Congress will stay in line, or lose their seats.
More likely the MAGA base does not have much of a plan, but Vance and his elected allies might. They could immediately move to use the 25th Amendment, and voila, Vance is president.
Many commentators are assuming Trump was saying something about Arnold Palmer with the allusion to genitals. But if we assume that, as usual, Trump was--and is always--saying something about himself, his remarks were probably just garden-variety envy, with some latent homosexuality thrown in for good measure. Recall that one of his fave songs is YMCA.
I don't have a subscription, but did sign up for the newsletter. A lucid explanation of what's been happening since the past 40 years. Terrifying, and hopeful if Harris wins.
I hope the polls are wrong, but Trump's support appears to be increasing. Trump's supporters know full well what they are voting for. Evidently, they want chaos, blowing up the "establishment," which of course includes Liz Cheney, and the suppression of their "enemies." We'll see what they want after four years of this.
The Economist's model shows Trump with a slight lead. Although they predict Harris wining the popular vote, their model shows Trump leading in 5 of the 7 swing states with two weeks to go. Before the latest batch of polls, they had Harris leading since mid August. But then, it's just a model although one that is fairly objective.
Nevertheless, we shall see. But I am afraid that like Peter Whener, I have lost faith in the inherent goodness and good sense of the American public. A man like Trump should be polling in single digits.
Yes, polls have returned to the Dem candidate and Trump pingponging within the margin of error rather than the recent observation that while both always remained within the margin of error, Harris stayed a couple points ahead. It looks like getting rid of Biden made no real difference except a bit of emotional bounce among pessimistic Dems. Biden gets some rest and he is fine, and in fact there is no indication that he has not been able to perform his duties as president. Meanwhile, Trump is getting worse and worse, and yet Mark Caputo just told us we should be sympathetic to Trump, an old man feeling understandably exhausted. When Biden was exhausted, we were told that a president must "be on his game 24/7."
Except, what they want in four years will no longer matter. When someone tells you they are going to be a dictator and you elect them anyway, they usually follow through.
I'm not worried about Trump becoming a dictator. He's too old and too addled. I'm not even sure he can survive 4 years in office. But he can still do a lot of damage. What his minions do and what comes next are the things to be most concerned about. But that said, I don't think our institutions are so damaged that a course correction - refutation of Trumpism if you will - would be impossible if the Trumpists overplay their hand and go against the popular will.
I think I agree with what Bill is saying but also think it could be preaching to the choir about Trump, and most of the country is the choir at this point. Who is the more unknown quantity for those not on board with either, Trump or Harris? I think it's likely Harris. However, the message against Trump is more unequivocal, whereas learning more about Harris and her policy proposals may not be. Still, maybe it's worth a shot. Shes pro NATO, pro freedom (at home and abroad) in contrast to Trump who is either woefully unengaged or outright antagonistic on those things, depending on what side of the bed he woke up on. Where Harris speaks clearly and forthright he rambles with hyperbole and insults. He's like some sort of weird self-referential performance art and she's being an earnest politician trying to contrast herself. Doesn't everyone see this by now? Either they like chaotic schtick or want normalcy. The case Trump's enablers could perhaps make pre-Jan 6 , pre-"Russia can do whatever the hell they want", pre-Harris featuring conservatives at her convention, now endorsed by the Cheneys, is gone, and if they aren't aware of it by now they're living in a cave. They should know Harris is running as a moderate; Trump is openly an extremist.
A few comments...
1) So Graham says that Harris is “the most radical nominee in the history of American politics”. Gus Hall would be jealous. But, really, this tactic is nothing new. They tried a very similar line on Obama (Hannity called him the “most radical President”). And while they weren’t able to call Biden “most radical”, they did say that he was a prisoner of the “radical Left” of the Democratic Party. So it was just about as bad. The sad thing is that no Trumplicant will realize that this is just a shopworn line that they trot out every four years to scare people. They’ll think it’s true.
2) So Vance says that Cheney is “is not motivated by a love of this country”. Another line they perfected on Obama (“he doesn’t love this country the way the rest of us do”). It’s always been amazing to me (OK, probably not that amazing) that Republicans automatically go for the “they’re unpatriotic” slur, and so many people seem just to believe it. And this year it’s even more amazing. Trump is hailed as the only one who really loves America, yet he is the one who does such clearly unpatriotic things like publicly challenge the results of an election for which zero evidence of fraud exists. No one who really loves this country would put her through what Trump has regarding the election (and by all indications will do so again if he loses). A decent, patriotic American would have done what Gore did – concede graciously.
Vance also says that Cheney is motivated “by an obsessive hatred of the people who cost her Wyoming congressional seat”. The problem with this explanation (besides its obvious phoniness) is the chronology. Cheney was an outcast in Republicans circles long before she lost her congressional seat because of her audacity to be a member of the January 6 committee. Someone should explain to Vance how time works.
3) McConnell is supporting Trump despite his statement that “if he hasn’t committed indictable offenses, I don’t know who has”. I guess it’s OK if Trump is a criminal as long as he is “our” criminal. Truly beyond pathetic. But McConnell showed us long ago that nothing matters to him except power.
Bill, Andrew-
Have you listened to Gen. Mattis’s New York Al Smith dinner podium appearance? I saw the CNN coverage of the speech on YouTube. At about 7 minutes 45 seconds he gets serious and talks of a speech given by President Lincoln at a time of distress in American history. I thought it might interest you and others. The speech feels nostalgic in a way, but I fear this experiment is about to end from ignorance as was long ago feared.
And Mattis is just sitting back watching it happen.
He answers that in a 2019 interview with PBS newshour’s Judy Woodruff, also on YouTube. He says there will come a time when he speaks up, but he feels obligated to stay out of the discourse out of the tradition of the office. He does however, as you know, make a statement in the email to Bob Woodward and the release of his new book. That is as good as it will get. My only solace is believing, hoping, that one day, one day, those who are ready to abandon our history of a nation with a free democracy will realize their mistake, and they take that shame to their grave.
Jill Stein isn't at risk of being thrown in a concentration camp if Trump wins on November 5th, but Abdel Salam and Kshama Sawant certainly are. The fact that they're more interested in punishing the Biden Administration for the actions of Netanyahu than they are in preserving their freedom really speaks to a massive misunderstanding of this moment.
Think of the Pulitzers that could be won by any reporter who ripped the band aid off what is happening in the GOP and Russia and Jill Stein etc. I guess the paycheck from NYTimes or WaPost or NBC is worth more but I wouldn't think so.
Bill Kristol with a very strong closing argument: "This is the time to sound the alarm, and not to let any of our fellow Americans be lulled into complacency about Trump.
Unlike baseball, this is no time to look ahead to spring training. It’s no time to wait ‘till next year. It’s no time to leave any runners on base. It’s time to bring every possible pro-democracy voter home."
Copy this url and send it to everyone in your contact list:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PsiYrT137ig
Funny and brutal!
OMG, ROTFLMAO!
I look forward to watching Sarah, Kamala and Liz.
Here's my election prediction as someone who's reading as little about the polls as possible this close to election day: If Kamala wins the number of Electoral College votes required to become president -- an outcome I fervently wish for -- we can all thank American women. My guess is that women of all ages, races and party affiliation will be the deciding factor.
It doesn't surprise me that women have been among the most prominent voices in the Republicans for Harris movement despite the career death that's invited. If there is anything that makes me believe it's finally time for a woman to serve as US President, it's these brave women and the millions of others like me who will vote this year to give Trump the greatest shame imaginable: being beaten by a woman.
This granny plans to bike to the polls tomorrow to cast her vote for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz.
Every Republican supporting Trump needs to be asked if they’d vote to remove him if he “becomes” mentally incapacitated.
What I think is a better question is if Trump's actions around the 2020 election (you know, spreading lies, refusing to recognize the courts' rulings, instigating an insurrection, things like that) aren't disqualifying, what would be?
Re Kristol: Agreed—“better luck next year” isn’t appropriate. Should Trump win, I expect my yellow star in the post (Priority Mail?) and a space on a cattle car heading south.
If Elise Stefanik has any say I’ll be right there next to you.
As a registered Independent voter I was not able to vote in either Republicrat or Demopublican primaries which always rather rankled me although I usually split my ticket depending on my research of the candidates up and down ballot. I voted for Nixon but could not go for Reagan and I began to notice that the Republicrats were drifting ever rightward and the more center candidates that I tended to vote for simply never made it through the Republicrat primaries. And then the Demopublicans opened their primaries to Independent voters. I retained my Independent registration for a few election cycles and changed to Demopublican when it became obvious that there were no longer any Republicrat candidates I could vote for. The Republicrat clown car is the final straw and they will have to do some pretty extreme reforms for me to change back to Independent. On the other hand, the Demopublicans will have to continue to be the party which defends the Constitution in order for me not to change my registration again. We shall see.
Remember to vote, encourage others to do likewise, and wave as you fly over the Christian nationalist swamp of Oklahoma.
Just https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PsiYrT137ig
What's with misspelling the parties?
Inside Baseball.
For the "humer" of it?
“There’s no doubt who inspired [January 6th],” McConnell added, “and I just hope that he’ll have to pay a price for it.”
F*** you, Mitch McConnell. F***, f****, f***, f***, f*** you to tears.
Thinking outside the box, I wonder if the MAGA plan is to get Trump elected and then vote him out for Vance. To me that would be just as destructive but to Financial and Corporate leaders it may be appealing. On a different level, I continue to think about our enormous number of citizens taking Drugs. My young Boston friends are extremely concerned about the levels of Fentanyl added to street drugs. Ketamine has been around for decades. Marijuana is hundreds times stronger than years ago and gets laced with unknown additives. Housewives are popping mushrooms and some folks want to change the law to produce psychedelics at home. Is it any wonder that voters have a hard time seeing how completely nuts and incompetent Trump is?
You're forgetting that it's a cult.
The MAGA base has abiding affection for Trump, not Vance. Their loyalty is to Trump. Unless and until that changes, Trump will be at the helm. And Republicans in Congress will stay in line, or lose their seats.
More likely the MAGA base does not have much of a plan, but Vance and his elected allies might. They could immediately move to use the 25th Amendment, and voila, Vance is president.
Forgive the levity, but you have to be really stoned to not see how completely nuts and incompetent Trump is.
Many commentators are assuming Trump was saying something about Arnold Palmer with the allusion to genitals. But if we assume that, as usual, Trump was--and is always--saying something about himself, his remarks were probably just garden-variety envy, with some latent homosexuality thrown in for good measure. Recall that one of his fave songs is YMCA.
I don't think he knows that YMCA is a gay anthem...
https://hartmannreport.com/p/can-america-avoid-another-civil-war-ee8?utm_campaign=email-half-post&r=9tet7&utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email
I don't have a subscription, but did sign up for the newsletter. A lucid explanation of what's been happening since the past 40 years. Terrifying, and hopeful if Harris wins.
I hope the polls are wrong, but Trump's support appears to be increasing. Trump's supporters know full well what they are voting for. Evidently, they want chaos, blowing up the "establishment," which of course includes Liz Cheney, and the suppression of their "enemies." We'll see what they want after four years of this.
I'm not seeing any legit polls that shows trump's support increasing.
The Economist's model shows Trump with a slight lead. Although they predict Harris wining the popular vote, their model shows Trump leading in 5 of the 7 swing states with two weeks to go. Before the latest batch of polls, they had Harris leading since mid August. But then, it's just a model although one that is fairly objective.
Nevertheless, we shall see. But I am afraid that like Peter Whener, I have lost faith in the inherent goodness and good sense of the American public. A man like Trump should be polling in single digits.
Yes, polls have returned to the Dem candidate and Trump pingponging within the margin of error rather than the recent observation that while both always remained within the margin of error, Harris stayed a couple points ahead. It looks like getting rid of Biden made no real difference except a bit of emotional bounce among pessimistic Dems. Biden gets some rest and he is fine, and in fact there is no indication that he has not been able to perform his duties as president. Meanwhile, Trump is getting worse and worse, and yet Mark Caputo just told us we should be sympathetic to Trump, an old man feeling understandably exhausted. When Biden was exhausted, we were told that a president must "be on his game 24/7."
Except, what they want in four years will no longer matter. When someone tells you they are going to be a dictator and you elect them anyway, they usually follow through.
I'm not worried about Trump becoming a dictator. He's too old and too addled. I'm not even sure he can survive 4 years in office. But he can still do a lot of damage. What his minions do and what comes next are the things to be most concerned about. But that said, I don't think our institutions are so damaged that a course correction - refutation of Trumpism if you will - would be impossible if the Trumpists overplay their hand and go against the popular will.