Biden no longer has any relevance for the future of any politician in the Democratic party. While there's still time left, the congressional Democrats should immediately bring a Bill of Impeachment against him. It should largely eliminate the expected "But the Democrats did it" when Trump issues his promised pardons to the January 6th protestors and all the other miscreants who broke the law to advance Trump's interests. Yes, it is performative, but it might have some effect in the coming propaganda war.
Thanks for continuing to expose these deviants. Isn't it nice we don't have to dance around Trump making excuses for these few for just a few hours? The pent up sexual frustrations of these MAGA freaks need for sadistic domination will be their Waterloo. Rapacious mentalities will be consumed by paranoia and thoughts of murder in the purgatory gauntlet they are constructing for the sheep. However, they are contending with alot of Americans who have thrived on thinking they are free individuals. Major worry is their communications plot to shut down media outlets as its already happening. I am hoping we will still have our online connections.
Why is concern about Hegseth’s abuse of alcohol ON THE JOB being portrayed as a “personal issue”? That’s a damned national security issue if you’re in the Department of Defense let alone leading it.
Such a contrast with Biden's big appointments. (Anthony Blinken springs to mind.) I would love to see a comparative piece, looking at relevant experience and other qualifications for all the cabinet-level posts. I'm all for getting younger people into office but someone does have to steer the ship. Or will they just let the deep-state employees run things while they talk to the media and kowtow to the chief?
To build a long-term winning coalition, why haven't Democrats addressed three issues that would resonate with the voters they need to attract? We hear over and over that they're not connecting with the electorate. How about looking at issues that impact the lives of ordinary Americans: ATM fees, absurdly high credit card rates, baggage fees on airlines.
After Dodd-Frank the banks were looking for any way possible means to boost revenues. ATM transactions cost pennies on the dollar and yet we're being gouged often at $3 or more per transaction. Imagine the support from working and middle class Americans if legislation were introduced to cap current rates at $1 per transaction. I'm quite confident the banks would still be making a profit: ATMs don't need vacations, sick time, retirement etc. Yes, the do need servicing from time to time.The GOP, would have to jump on board or look to be the party behind the wailing of the financial institutions. This is a no brainer, you're either for the people or the banks.
As for credit card interest rates, even when money market rates were under 1% there were companies charging more than 25% annually. Why not introduce legislation capping rates at 1.5% above long-term interest rates? I recall back in the early 90s when Dems tried to address the usury rates. The march of credit card executives to Capitol Hill came with their ever present sad story about how the rates needed to be high to offset bad card users, yet those who weren't scofflaws were left holding the bag as well. Democrats could put the GOP on the spot by pushing for rates that were much more reasonable than many of the current ones. If the GOP isn't on board (and they probably won't be, too much feeding at the money trough) then the public will see where they stand.
Finally, airline baggage fees were put in place when oil was north of $125/barrel. The airlines were bleeding red ink, but there was nothing in the law to remove the fees when oil dropped to say $80/barrel or less. The public continues to get soaked while the airlines earn record profits, much of it from unjustifiable baggage fees. Many of us travelers remember when you bought a ticket and you checked a bag, that's what the hold was for, not for revenue generation.
These are easy to understand issues that millions can relate to. They need to go after the GOP on relatable issues like these in order to win back former supporters, create new support, and build a long-term viable future for the party and the country.
People are too dumb AND don't care. They treat their government like making sausage, they don't want to know how it happens. They only care that gas and bacon are cheap NOT HOW you get to that result, only that their entitled little comfortable life never has an inconvenience.
Of course, we haven't ANY doubt about the lack of ability of ANY of the Felon's choices for cabinet seats. Hardly a need for discussing that when their sleaziness is the ONLY interesting thing about them.
I think you guys are missing the boat here. There is massive change coming to this country - that is, IMO, a done deal. Stop trying to halt or even slow the change; a plurality of the American electorate just voted for it. The only real option at this point is to manage the change so that it does the least long-term harm. All this #resist stuff serves only to mitigate changes in the near term and does nothing about long term harm. That will be solved only by winning a plurality of voters back and rejecting the Trump movement. And that will only happen if they see real, near term harm from Trump policies.
So let all his batshit nominees through. Hold up the red cape, let the bull charge, and get out of the way. You voted for tariffs? Here they are, with all the economic impact. You held up “mass deportations now” sighs? You got ‘em, with all the videos you can stomach of people being thrown into camps. You like RFK? Ok, here’s a measles outbreak.
Far too much of the reaction to the incoming Trump administration feels like early WWI; people getting gassed and bombed and responding with a different formation for the mounted cavalry. There is no going back; there is no ‘normal’ to go back to.
Yes, it seems we've gone from the sweetly singing trio PP&M to the London Bad Boy Band of Mick, Ronnie & the dearly departed Brian Jones. Quite a swing of the pendulum. But your analysis seems a little more true to the actual melody than Bill's.
Shouldn’t we take his word for it? Alcoholism is well- known for honesty and integrity. They swear off drinking all the time, over and over, just to get back their drivers license. Wouldn’t they be even more sincere for national security? What if they crossed their heart??
You won’t get enough support to torpedo the worst nominees if you focus on their bad policies and beliefs. There are too many voters and even Senators who think these things are a good idea. Not to mention if a Senator comes out against a nominee for policy reasons, they risk incurring Trump’s wrath. If they come out against the nominee for verifiable non-policy reasons they can tank a nomination without incurring Trump’s wrath. The important thing is to get rid of “the worst of the worst” using the most effective tools available, which in the cases of Gaetz and Hegseth has been sexual harassment, sex trafficking, theft, getting fired from other positions of authority for embezzlement and abuse of authority, etc. Better to do what will actually work than what feels good.
You have good point. But what can be unearthed out his past to tank Kash? He looks like a psychopath, with those wild eyes. But you can't tag someone's face or body, really. Pray some hardworking journalist finds a thing or two.
For Patel, you may have to play the policy card. OTOH, there is some evidence of him lying and exaggerating the truth to the point of lying during his tenure in government. There were instances of him taking classified reports out of Fiona Hill’s office on questions concerning Russia and showing them to Trump without clearing any of it with Hill, who was his boss (if I have my facts straight). It might be possible to package these things together into a good non-policy argument, not to mention him hawking his stupid King Donald children’s books. With the right set of facts and the right Senators, it may be possible to make Patel look incompetent enough and untrustworthy enough to avoid going into policy with him as well. 🙏🤞
Bill, And to juxtapose your thoughts on Trump/ Patel with how Comey describes the pains he took not to be in the same room alone with Trump to avoid the appearance of impropriety and how he tried to keep an appropriate distance at all times for fear of compromising the historical relationship between the WH and the FBI, it just makes your head explode.
Jesus Fudgepacking Christ on a gluten-free bagel, that Steve Schale piece (which doesn't have comments open) makes me want to scream.
"But basically, we must get back to listening to the median voter."
/headdesk
The NYT did repeated interviews with undecided voters in swing states. Disclaimer: I understand that "undecided voter" != "median voter," so I don't know how applicable this information is. But, well, how do I put this politely?
Listening to these undecided voters was an exercise in immense frustration. They either focused entirely on their personal experience ("groceries are expensive, therefore Biden/Harris suck") or latched onto some far-left badness they had seen on social media. They ascribed near-supernatural powers to the President, like, being angry with Biden for not having single-handedly solved inflation already. They dealt in contradictions and non sequiturs. An interviewee would say she really cares about morals and standards and politicians not being so nasty to each other, and in the next breath, she would say she's undecided between Harris (a sane, decent person) and Trump (the single worst person to run for POTUS in living memory).
What the F are Democrats supposed to do with all this?!? OK, listen to the median voter who tells you that he wants cheap groceries AND well-paying jobs AND to deport all illegal immigrants AND plentiful housing AND no new construction where he lives. Then what?!?
Biden no longer has any relevance for the future of any politician in the Democratic party. While there's still time left, the congressional Democrats should immediately bring a Bill of Impeachment against him. It should largely eliminate the expected "But the Democrats did it" when Trump issues his promised pardons to the January 6th protestors and all the other miscreants who broke the law to advance Trump's interests. Yes, it is performative, but it might have some effect in the coming propaganda war.
Thanks for continuing to expose these deviants. Isn't it nice we don't have to dance around Trump making excuses for these few for just a few hours? The pent up sexual frustrations of these MAGA freaks need for sadistic domination will be their Waterloo. Rapacious mentalities will be consumed by paranoia and thoughts of murder in the purgatory gauntlet they are constructing for the sheep. However, they are contending with alot of Americans who have thrived on thinking they are free individuals. Major worry is their communications plot to shut down media outlets as its already happening. I am hoping we will still have our online connections.
Why is concern about Hegseth’s abuse of alcohol ON THE JOB being portrayed as a “personal issue”? That’s a damned national security issue if you’re in the Department of Defense let alone leading it.
Such a contrast with Biden's big appointments. (Anthony Blinken springs to mind.) I would love to see a comparative piece, looking at relevant experience and other qualifications for all the cabinet-level posts. I'm all for getting younger people into office but someone does have to steer the ship. Or will they just let the deep-state employees run things while they talk to the media and kowtow to the chief?
To build a long-term winning coalition, why haven't Democrats addressed three issues that would resonate with the voters they need to attract? We hear over and over that they're not connecting with the electorate. How about looking at issues that impact the lives of ordinary Americans: ATM fees, absurdly high credit card rates, baggage fees on airlines.
After Dodd-Frank the banks were looking for any way possible means to boost revenues. ATM transactions cost pennies on the dollar and yet we're being gouged often at $3 or more per transaction. Imagine the support from working and middle class Americans if legislation were introduced to cap current rates at $1 per transaction. I'm quite confident the banks would still be making a profit: ATMs don't need vacations, sick time, retirement etc. Yes, the do need servicing from time to time.The GOP, would have to jump on board or look to be the party behind the wailing of the financial institutions. This is a no brainer, you're either for the people or the banks.
As for credit card interest rates, even when money market rates were under 1% there were companies charging more than 25% annually. Why not introduce legislation capping rates at 1.5% above long-term interest rates? I recall back in the early 90s when Dems tried to address the usury rates. The march of credit card executives to Capitol Hill came with their ever present sad story about how the rates needed to be high to offset bad card users, yet those who weren't scofflaws were left holding the bag as well. Democrats could put the GOP on the spot by pushing for rates that were much more reasonable than many of the current ones. If the GOP isn't on board (and they probably won't be, too much feeding at the money trough) then the public will see where they stand.
Finally, airline baggage fees were put in place when oil was north of $125/barrel. The airlines were bleeding red ink, but there was nothing in the law to remove the fees when oil dropped to say $80/barrel or less. The public continues to get soaked while the airlines earn record profits, much of it from unjustifiable baggage fees. Many of us travelers remember when you bought a ticket and you checked a bag, that's what the hold was for, not for revenue generation.
These are easy to understand issues that millions can relate to. They need to go after the GOP on relatable issues like these in order to win back former supporters, create new support, and build a long-term viable future for the party and the country.
Great version of Leaving on a jet plane.
https://youtu.be/zusFHHAhim4?si=EBXsZ_JzjmPs-Ar2
People are too dumb AND don't care. They treat their government like making sausage, they don't want to know how it happens. They only care that gas and bacon are cheap NOT HOW you get to that result, only that their entitled little comfortable life never has an inconvenience.
I like the irony that senators such as Ernst sit in judgement of nominees' qualifications.
Of course, we haven't ANY doubt about the lack of ability of ANY of the Felon's choices for cabinet seats. Hardly a need for discussing that when their sleaziness is the ONLY interesting thing about them.
I think you guys are missing the boat here. There is massive change coming to this country - that is, IMO, a done deal. Stop trying to halt or even slow the change; a plurality of the American electorate just voted for it. The only real option at this point is to manage the change so that it does the least long-term harm. All this #resist stuff serves only to mitigate changes in the near term and does nothing about long term harm. That will be solved only by winning a plurality of voters back and rejecting the Trump movement. And that will only happen if they see real, near term harm from Trump policies.
So let all his batshit nominees through. Hold up the red cape, let the bull charge, and get out of the way. You voted for tariffs? Here they are, with all the economic impact. You held up “mass deportations now” sighs? You got ‘em, with all the videos you can stomach of people being thrown into camps. You like RFK? Ok, here’s a measles outbreak.
Far too much of the reaction to the incoming Trump administration feels like early WWI; people getting gassed and bombed and responding with a different formation for the mounted cavalry. There is no going back; there is no ‘normal’ to go back to.
Leaving on a jet plane? Nice one Bill. I kinda lean towards "Shattered" when I think about these cabinet nominees:
"...Laughter, joy, and loneliness and sex and sex and sex and sex!!
And look at me, I'm in tatters
I'm a shattered
Shattered...All this chitter-chatter, chitter-chatter, chitter-chatter about
Shmatta, shmatta, shmatta,
...Pride and joy and greed and sex
That's what makes that town the best..."
Yes, it seems we've gone from the sweetly singing trio PP&M to the London Bad Boy Band of Mick, Ronnie & the dearly departed Brian Jones. Quite a swing of the pendulum. But your analysis seems a little more true to the actual melody than Bill's.
Shouldn’t we take his word for it? Alcoholism is well- known for honesty and integrity. They swear off drinking all the time, over and over, just to get back their drivers license. Wouldn’t they be even more sincere for national security? What if they crossed their heart??
You won’t get enough support to torpedo the worst nominees if you focus on their bad policies and beliefs. There are too many voters and even Senators who think these things are a good idea. Not to mention if a Senator comes out against a nominee for policy reasons, they risk incurring Trump’s wrath. If they come out against the nominee for verifiable non-policy reasons they can tank a nomination without incurring Trump’s wrath. The important thing is to get rid of “the worst of the worst” using the most effective tools available, which in the cases of Gaetz and Hegseth has been sexual harassment, sex trafficking, theft, getting fired from other positions of authority for embezzlement and abuse of authority, etc. Better to do what will actually work than what feels good.
You have good point. But what can be unearthed out his past to tank Kash? He looks like a psychopath, with those wild eyes. But you can't tag someone's face or body, really. Pray some hardworking journalist finds a thing or two.
For Patel, you may have to play the policy card. OTOH, there is some evidence of him lying and exaggerating the truth to the point of lying during his tenure in government. There were instances of him taking classified reports out of Fiona Hill’s office on questions concerning Russia and showing them to Trump without clearing any of it with Hill, who was his boss (if I have my facts straight). It might be possible to package these things together into a good non-policy argument, not to mention him hawking his stupid King Donald children’s books. With the right set of facts and the right Senators, it may be possible to make Patel look incompetent enough and untrustworthy enough to avoid going into policy with him as well. 🙏🤞
Why is the focus on the unqualified, flawed candidates and not on the person choosing the unqualified, flawed candidates?
Because at this point we can't prevent him from taking office.
Bill, And to juxtapose your thoughts on Trump/ Patel with how Comey describes the pains he took not to be in the same room alone with Trump to avoid the appearance of impropriety and how he tried to keep an appropriate distance at all times for fear of compromising the historical relationship between the WH and the FBI, it just makes your head explode.
Jesus Fudgepacking Christ on a gluten-free bagel, that Steve Schale piece (which doesn't have comments open) makes me want to scream.
"But basically, we must get back to listening to the median voter."
/headdesk
The NYT did repeated interviews with undecided voters in swing states. Disclaimer: I understand that "undecided voter" != "median voter," so I don't know how applicable this information is. But, well, how do I put this politely?
Listening to these undecided voters was an exercise in immense frustration. They either focused entirely on their personal experience ("groceries are expensive, therefore Biden/Harris suck") or latched onto some far-left badness they had seen on social media. They ascribed near-supernatural powers to the President, like, being angry with Biden for not having single-handedly solved inflation already. They dealt in contradictions and non sequiturs. An interviewee would say she really cares about morals and standards and politicians not being so nasty to each other, and in the next breath, she would say she's undecided between Harris (a sane, decent person) and Trump (the single worst person to run for POTUS in living memory).
What the F are Democrats supposed to do with all this?!? OK, listen to the median voter who tells you that he wants cheap groceries AND well-paying jobs AND to deport all illegal immigrants AND plentiful housing AND no new construction where he lives. Then what?!?
Every single person who voted for Trump is objectively comfortable with psychopathic amorality at the highest levels of power.
chef's kiss!