Interesting to think about what is going on. I just listened to Allan Lichtman on the medias touch podcast. He has correctly predicted the outcome of at least 8 (but I’m sure more) of the last presidential races, including Trump beating Hilary.
He pointed out how horribly wrong the polls have been over the years in predicting just about everything. I agree.
I’m sorry but I believe, like Allan Lichtman, that the Democrats (which I have been since I first started to vote 50 years ago) are spineless in wanting to throw Biden under the bus. What they and the media are doing is creating a self-fulfilling scaredy-cat prophecy that Trump will beat Biden.
The reason the donations are going down isn’t because of what Biden has done. It’s because of what the dems are doing to cause such turmoil and paralyzation. They refuse to take Biden’s answer as his answer.
They are not in any way demonstrating the ideals of democracy. They are letting a rich Hollywood actor donor have more coverage about his comments on Biden’s capabilities than ANY time spend on calling out all the lies that Trump spewed during the debate and every day since.
The democrats speaking out against Biden are not loyalists to the principles of the party, to the president who has done more in one term than Obama did in eight years or to the principles we ‘supposedly’ hold so dear. They’re ready to cave in on terrible press coverage created by the media who are all in a bubble repeating each other and calling it credible, reliable reporting.
I stand with both Clinton’s, AOC, Bernie Sanders, the black women’s caucus, the Clyborn caucus, the Hispanic caucus, and the millions of voters who made a very strong decision to vote in their primaries to demonstrate their support for Biden, no matter his performance during the debate.
We are in the best of situations if we stay strong with Biden knowing that he picked Kamala Harris because he thought she would make a great president. When the time is right which would be when Biden is not forced or threatened to leave.
The idea of thinking that Biden would be the reason Trump would win is absolutely ludicrous and very insulting to the incredible work and foundation that Biden has laid in a very short time.
JVL, I am completely in your camp as regards Sotomayor and I feel the same way about Kagen. They both should retire and give Biden the chance to appoint two, younger liberal justices NOW and avoid another RBG calamity. Don’t be surprised to see Alito and Thomas retire if Trump wins the election in order for two, younger conservatives justices to fill their seats. Why give another Trump presidency an opportunity to fill as many as 4 seats?
I was strongly in favor of Biden hanging in there until this evening. Two things changed my mind. One was that Nancy Pelosi supposedly had urged Biden to step aside. As perhaps the premier House vote counter of all time, I respect her take that Biden can't win. The second thing that solidified my decision that Biden needs to step aside is the fact that he's come down with COVID. I know three people in their 70s who had a really hard time with it this year. My sister and her husband were symptomatic for a month, and another person tested positive for over one week and was also laid low by it. All were in pretty good health beforehand. I hate to say it, but if Biden is symptomatic for two to four weeks and can't campaign, we are done.
I am agreeing with those before who are still in for the fight. Resignation does not help as down talking the only guy in the race who ever beat Trump does not. I try to understand why so many reasonable people now want to change the horse when in fact we have only one. No other brings Bidens reputation, presidential record, bipartisan appeal and most important, incumbent advantage. Yes, he has gotten older and it shows. I think people can deal with it better than the panic suggest. If this is a race of character, experience and professionalism against none of the three than we still have a very good horse in the race. If you look for Superman battling the con man like in a boxing match, well, good luck.
I am all for preparation, but it is not the time to assume the worst. It's time to work harder to mobilize the largest coalition to vote against the extreme minority. Whomever is the Democratic nominee- the message remains the same. People who make up this majority know what's at stake. I recently had an interesting conversation with a Hispanic late 30's early 40's man who is doing some work in our home. He happened to bring up the debate and we had a good conversation about what's at stake. Ironically, not always a safe topic for discussion with someone you don't know, especially in my state. We are both Texans who reside in Central Texas. We come from different backgrounds but we both see the threat. Let's keep up the good fight!
I for one am not assuming the worst. I don't think JVL has made a good case for doing so if that's what he's doing. Because we don't know the outcome, we need to fight for a Dem win AND do the contingency planning in the event that they don't.
I’ve read a lot of comments, both, “this can’t happen here”, and “oh sh*t, it’s gonna happen here”. The Bulwark is my go to place for reassurance, or pain, but, 1 to 3 likes on each comment? It’s a small cohort. I will reiterate JVL’s lead in. Prepare for the worst. Stop spewing “ Biden up by 2 points in West Bumblefuck, Ohio”. You are only deluding yourselves.
Yeah, I don't think Trump holds "leverage" over any SCT judge. They have lifetime appointments. They are at the very top of the legal profession ... nowhere else to be promoted to, unlike a Judge Aileen Cannon of the district court. Trump can't lay a glove on them. Nobody anywhere can discipline them. (Yeah, I know they can be impeached and removed by the Senate...good luck with thhat.) When SCT judges are ruling in favor of Trump, they're doing so because they want to, not because they feel Trump has leverage on them.
Trump doesn't need to place a glove on them. They are Federalist Society conservatives. Like all such conservatives, they want to roll back the clock to before the Rights Revolution of the 60s, which actually began in 1954 with the Warren Court's unanimous decision that segregation is inherently unequal.
I’ve been following you guys quite a while and I respect your opinions, but I’ve got to offer you a different opinion on Biden and this election. I’m a Rando I live in a rainbow city in a red state. I’m 71 years old living on Social Security and part-time job month-to-month I have a college degree. I would be thrown out in any poll on the first round as an Anomaly in those polls you hold with trembling hands.
But I’ve gotta tell you this I know Joe’s old and he’s probably shorting his life considerably if he takes on another four years. But I’m not voting for Biden. I’m voting for his administration. You said many times great he’s been through this crisis. He didn’t do it alone Had good people who knew their job and how to do them efficiently to help people like me and I appreciate that.
And I know that they can carry on for another four years with or without Joe. So if Joe thinks he’s up it - I think he deserves the chance to beat that SOB one more time.
As I say, I’m a Rando but I know there’s a lot of us out there. We know how deadly serious project 2025 Is. What the Supreme Court has done is devastating. And with this assassination attempt, we see Trump milking it for all it’s worth, but he still hasn’t called the widow has he?
Worst of all, we know these folks, the Christian nationalists,the Tech billionaires, the zealots ,the private equity bros-they really don’t need Trump once he’s elected. They just need his legacy And the little doughboy and his good buddy Mike can carry on.
So yes, we randos are going to vote for Joe , his administration, and any Democrat worth his/her/they/them to get us through this and we will. (I apologize for the quality of typing-it’s hard to be grammatical on telephone keypad)
Sorry, Tallie, you may be voting for Biden's admin in the next four years, but few voters are not. They are voting for the guy they see on their TV and Tik Tok videos, and he looks weak. According to Bill Clinton, strong and wrong beats weak and right every time.
Biden is seeking two things: 1) win the election 2) serve a second term. You say you're voting for #2. You do realize though, you don't get to have the "administration" without winning the election? And Biden isn't going to win the election.
Most comments are about the election but you asked about preparations for the new term so I have one. Given we know what Project 2025 is about, lawsuits could be drafted to be filed if the most egregious plans get implemented, such as firing all civil service employees or having the FDA ban mifepristone. Any sizable delays will weaken the cases if they are too hard to overturn. Get the lawyers ready to take action!
You have to have a legal basis to file a lawsuit. You can't just file a lawsuit because some policy is "egregious." "Egregious" policies are legal as long as they don't violate a law or a constitutional provision. "Egregious" laws are legal as long as they don't violate the Constitution. But let's say you're successful in court, who enforces that decision? The very administration you're suing to stop the egregious policies. It's heads you lose, tails you lose. Don't count on the courts to bail us out.
But why not anticipate the action and draft something now? (The civil servants are the ones who will have standing.) That way it's ready to go when the "egregious", i.e. unconstitutional, thing happens. I was responding to what JVL asked, which is what can we do now to prepare. Saying don't count on the courts is giving up. What do you propose?
Personally, though I know all of Biden’s frailties and shortcomings all the hand-wringing by you and others makes me sick. When it comes right down to it, do you really believe there is a significant portion of the electorate that’s going to change course and pull the lever for Trump over Biden? The polling (I know, I know, the polls have problems) still shows this as a toss up even after everything that’s happened. You do immeasurable harm to Biden’s chances by constantly undermining him with all your “the race is over, it’s gonna be Trump” bullshit”. The election is still over three months away, a lot can happen and the race certainly isn’t over. Trump remains the same high floor, low ceiling candidate he’s always been. Stop helping him! I thought this place was run by usta be conservatives, your collective balls have shriveled just like us always were liberals…
It's the swing voters how might pull the lever for Trump instead of Biden or just stay home - which is a win for Trump.
The Bulwark cannot undermine Biden's chances. Only Biden's live performances can do that. He was terriffic at his March SOTU and he got no bump in the polls.
"Personally, though I know all of Biden’s frailties and shortcomings all the hand-wringing by you and others makes me sick. When it comes right down to it, do you really believe there is a significant portion of the electorate that’s going to change course and pull the lever for Trump over Biden?" No, more likely than not they won't vote or skip the President's race. Biden only won by about 50,000 votes in 3 states in 2020. It wouldn't take of Biden 2020 supporters not supporting him in 2024 to lose the election. Over 72% of the voters think Biden is too old for a second term and that includes more than 50% of Democrats. And you don't think that's a problem? Biden and the Democrats (we Never Trumpers know better) who support him are on a suicide mission.
I can’t disagree. My 43 year old son doesn’t like Trump, thinks Biden is too old, so he’s only voting down ticket, in his state. Mt other son, 46, probably won’t vote at all, because he really doesn’t care that much. I think there are a lot of that generation doing one or the other. I will vote for Biden, because he does have a good administration, or whoever may replace him if he steps down ( which he should), but there is not much energy in the Democratic Psrty, and unfortunately a lot of it in the MAGA Party.
1. “Jeez, if Biden is that debilitated, I might just vote for Trump”; or
2. If the Dems are going to gaslight us and stick with a decrepit candidate, why should I bother to vote?”
So yes, in answer to your question, I do know people contemplating giving either a full (by voting for him) or half (by not voting at all) vote for Trump as a result of Biden’s weakness. Anecdotes aren’t data, but they’re not nothing either.
Control of the House, even narrowly, does two important things: 1) control of the budget; 2) preventing MAGA bills becoming law. Of course, for a lawless bunch like this GQP, those might not matter as much as I think it would.
Trump has massive media surrogate reach courtesy of Fox News talk radio, you tube, X, Rogan, the WSJ opinion page, etc, spinning for him relentlessly. They’ve successfully made right-leaning swing voters believe crime is up when it’s down, that the rate of inflation is up when it’s falling, that we aren’t producing record domestic oil and gas when we are, that trans people and DEI are things to hand-wring over, while purposefully encouraging would-be VP assassins in real time, threatening swing state officials to do his personal electoral bidding and sponsoring fake electors in defiance of the people’s will is fine. To literally do any extra judicial action to stop the peaceful transfer of power in the U.S. To openly threaten the western alliance on the world stage. That’s all good compared to Biden. It’s an amazing feat of propaganda that surely delights our adversaries. And this was basically the state of affairs before a critical mass of swing voters told us Biden is clearly too diminished, even if some of the manufactured policy propaganda against him didn’t land. The GOP has rolled over for him, and now the DNC seems to be saying they’d rather have Trump to fund raise off of with their alarmist texts instead of make a real effort to give the Dem ticket a fighting chance. Obviously we needed a moderate non-DC figure like Josh Shapiro to dispatch with Trump but it’s likely too late now. The reframing of Biden is complete, and his blind hubris to not do what he could to help prevent Trump 2.0 will likely seal our fate.
Looks like the Biden effort to run out the clock and remain the nominee might be taking on water. Adam Schiff just called for him to drop out. Hopefully this is the beginning of a flood of such calls. I would be so relieved if we can get him out of the race and nominate someone who actually has a shot.
Since you posted this, Darin, Schumer and Pelosi and Jeffries have joined him. Kristol predicted about a half an hour ago Biden will announce at 8pm tomorrow night and step on Trump's convention speech. (Yay!)
In response to Project 2025, Democrats need to immediately put forth a comprehensive plan to quash the hideous objectives of the MAGA Republican’s autocratic fever-dream. I have developed a two-fold approach which promotes true democracy that both sides can swallow. This objective affords citizens the right to coalesce and vote on policies prior to an election, not what politicians claim to be their mandate. It’s time to end the practice of them campaigning on one thing and doing the opposite while in office. Secondly, all consumers will enjoy a uniquely funded economic incentive where their everyday purchases of goods and services are applied towards stock instead of meaningless ‘reward points’. Furthermore, the business system utilized for this operation is eligible for a US patent.
May I review this with you further? I believe you will be intrigued by how we as a country can begin to step away from the Trump/MAGA madness after he is defeated at the polls. However, we must be prepared to challenge the Project 2025 if he wins.
Thank you very much for your time and all you do to keep our country moving forward.
Excellent! Finally some details on what can be done even if, and especially if, the MAGA cult wins in '24. The Republic won't die immediately, and our jobs to save it will be certainly harder, but I'm also 100% convinced that, in a 2nd Trump term, with far fewer "guardrails," and not preoccupied with re-election, MAGA voters will start feeling the pain of "be careful what you ask for." I'm certainly not recommending sitting back and waiting for it to happen, but rather prepare how to leverage it. BTW, I'm glad to finally hear someone else who hates that "reward points" nonsense.
Trump needs to be defeated at all costs. I hate the idea of Democrats succumbing to a defeatist attitude towards this election. They should open their minds to a totally different way to appeal to voters with a creative and responsive alternative to Project 2025. However, getting anyone to listen to changing platforms is almost impossible as I have found.
JVL! I have been thinking about the National Guard and related matters a lot from my home in the former anarchist jurisdiction of Portland. Shit was bananas here and I have all sorts of thoughts about what happened during the George Floyd protests locally (short version everyone sucks!). The truly unsettling part was the introduction of federal personnel into the mix on Trumps orders. There was some almost certainly illegal shit,but also just they weirdness of using federal prison operators,and using federal power to ostensibly protect statues but in reality to send a message and cause havoc.
All hilarious in hindsight (we miss you Chad Wolf!) but I do not have a lot of confidence in the local leadership to hold the line against Trump if he decides to bigfoot on pdx. Things like federalizing the Oregon guard. Good times!
In my dreams there are regular meetings of local leaders working the problem,but I believe that is the only place.
Interesting to think about what is going on. I just listened to Allan Lichtman on the medias touch podcast. He has correctly predicted the outcome of at least 8 (but I’m sure more) of the last presidential races, including Trump beating Hilary.
He pointed out how horribly wrong the polls have been over the years in predicting just about everything. I agree.
I’m sorry but I believe, like Allan Lichtman, that the Democrats (which I have been since I first started to vote 50 years ago) are spineless in wanting to throw Biden under the bus. What they and the media are doing is creating a self-fulfilling scaredy-cat prophecy that Trump will beat Biden.
The reason the donations are going down isn’t because of what Biden has done. It’s because of what the dems are doing to cause such turmoil and paralyzation. They refuse to take Biden’s answer as his answer.
They are not in any way demonstrating the ideals of democracy. They are letting a rich Hollywood actor donor have more coverage about his comments on Biden’s capabilities than ANY time spend on calling out all the lies that Trump spewed during the debate and every day since.
The democrats speaking out against Biden are not loyalists to the principles of the party, to the president who has done more in one term than Obama did in eight years or to the principles we ‘supposedly’ hold so dear. They’re ready to cave in on terrible press coverage created by the media who are all in a bubble repeating each other and calling it credible, reliable reporting.
I stand with both Clinton’s, AOC, Bernie Sanders, the black women’s caucus, the Clyborn caucus, the Hispanic caucus, and the millions of voters who made a very strong decision to vote in their primaries to demonstrate their support for Biden, no matter his performance during the debate.
We are in the best of situations if we stay strong with Biden knowing that he picked Kamala Harris because he thought she would make a great president. When the time is right which would be when Biden is not forced or threatened to leave.
The idea of thinking that Biden would be the reason Trump would win is absolutely ludicrous and very insulting to the incredible work and foundation that Biden has laid in a very short time.
JVL, I am completely in your camp as regards Sotomayor and I feel the same way about Kagen. They both should retire and give Biden the chance to appoint two, younger liberal justices NOW and avoid another RBG calamity. Don’t be surprised to see Alito and Thomas retire if Trump wins the election in order for two, younger conservatives justices to fill their seats. Why give another Trump presidency an opportunity to fill as many as 4 seats?
I was strongly in favor of Biden hanging in there until this evening. Two things changed my mind. One was that Nancy Pelosi supposedly had urged Biden to step aside. As perhaps the premier House vote counter of all time, I respect her take that Biden can't win. The second thing that solidified my decision that Biden needs to step aside is the fact that he's come down with COVID. I know three people in their 70s who had a really hard time with it this year. My sister and her husband were symptomatic for a month, and another person tested positive for over one week and was also laid low by it. All were in pretty good health beforehand. I hate to say it, but if Biden is symptomatic for two to four weeks and can't campaign, we are done.
I am agreeing with those before who are still in for the fight. Resignation does not help as down talking the only guy in the race who ever beat Trump does not. I try to understand why so many reasonable people now want to change the horse when in fact we have only one. No other brings Bidens reputation, presidential record, bipartisan appeal and most important, incumbent advantage. Yes, he has gotten older and it shows. I think people can deal with it better than the panic suggest. If this is a race of character, experience and professionalism against none of the three than we still have a very good horse in the race. If you look for Superman battling the con man like in a boxing match, well, good luck.
I am all for preparation, but it is not the time to assume the worst. It's time to work harder to mobilize the largest coalition to vote against the extreme minority. Whomever is the Democratic nominee- the message remains the same. People who make up this majority know what's at stake. I recently had an interesting conversation with a Hispanic late 30's early 40's man who is doing some work in our home. He happened to bring up the debate and we had a good conversation about what's at stake. Ironically, not always a safe topic for discussion with someone you don't know, especially in my state. We are both Texans who reside in Central Texas. We come from different backgrounds but we both see the threat. Let's keep up the good fight!
I for one am not assuming the worst. I don't think JVL has made a good case for doing so if that's what he's doing. Because we don't know the outcome, we need to fight for a Dem win AND do the contingency planning in the event that they don't.
I’ve read a lot of comments, both, “this can’t happen here”, and “oh sh*t, it’s gonna happen here”. The Bulwark is my go to place for reassurance, or pain, but, 1 to 3 likes on each comment? It’s a small cohort. I will reiterate JVL’s lead in. Prepare for the worst. Stop spewing “ Biden up by 2 points in West Bumblefuck, Ohio”. You are only deluding yourselves.
Yeah, I don't think Trump holds "leverage" over any SCT judge. They have lifetime appointments. They are at the very top of the legal profession ... nowhere else to be promoted to, unlike a Judge Aileen Cannon of the district court. Trump can't lay a glove on them. Nobody anywhere can discipline them. (Yeah, I know they can be impeached and removed by the Senate...good luck with thhat.) When SCT judges are ruling in favor of Trump, they're doing so because they want to, not because they feel Trump has leverage on them.
Trump doesn't need to place a glove on them. They are Federalist Society conservatives. Like all such conservatives, they want to roll back the clock to before the Rights Revolution of the 60s, which actually began in 1954 with the Warren Court's unanimous decision that segregation is inherently unequal.
I’ve been following you guys quite a while and I respect your opinions, but I’ve got to offer you a different opinion on Biden and this election. I’m a Rando I live in a rainbow city in a red state. I’m 71 years old living on Social Security and part-time job month-to-month I have a college degree. I would be thrown out in any poll on the first round as an Anomaly in those polls you hold with trembling hands.
But I’ve gotta tell you this I know Joe’s old and he’s probably shorting his life considerably if he takes on another four years. But I’m not voting for Biden. I’m voting for his administration. You said many times great he’s been through this crisis. He didn’t do it alone Had good people who knew their job and how to do them efficiently to help people like me and I appreciate that.
And I know that they can carry on for another four years with or without Joe. So if Joe thinks he’s up it - I think he deserves the chance to beat that SOB one more time.
As I say, I’m a Rando but I know there’s a lot of us out there. We know how deadly serious project 2025 Is. What the Supreme Court has done is devastating. And with this assassination attempt, we see Trump milking it for all it’s worth, but he still hasn’t called the widow has he?
Worst of all, we know these folks, the Christian nationalists,the Tech billionaires, the zealots ,the private equity bros-they really don’t need Trump once he’s elected. They just need his legacy And the little doughboy and his good buddy Mike can carry on.
So yes, we randos are going to vote for Joe , his administration, and any Democrat worth his/her/they/them to get us through this and we will. (I apologize for the quality of typing-it’s hard to be grammatical on telephone keypad)
So great, Tallie, your words made my day. Thank you 🙏
Sorry, Tallie, you may be voting for Biden's admin in the next four years, but few voters are not. They are voting for the guy they see on their TV and Tik Tok videos, and he looks weak. According to Bill Clinton, strong and wrong beats weak and right every time.
Biden is seeking two things: 1) win the election 2) serve a second term. You say you're voting for #2. You do realize though, you don't get to have the "administration" without winning the election? And Biden isn't going to win the election.
Most comments are about the election but you asked about preparations for the new term so I have one. Given we know what Project 2025 is about, lawsuits could be drafted to be filed if the most egregious plans get implemented, such as firing all civil service employees or having the FDA ban mifepristone. Any sizable delays will weaken the cases if they are too hard to overturn. Get the lawyers ready to take action!
All lower court decisions will be appealed to the SC. They abandoned the Constitution in both the 14th Amendment and the immunity cases.
You have to have a legal basis to file a lawsuit. You can't just file a lawsuit because some policy is "egregious." "Egregious" policies are legal as long as they don't violate a law or a constitutional provision. "Egregious" laws are legal as long as they don't violate the Constitution. But let's say you're successful in court, who enforces that decision? The very administration you're suing to stop the egregious policies. It's heads you lose, tails you lose. Don't count on the courts to bail us out.
But why not anticipate the action and draft something now? (The civil servants are the ones who will have standing.) That way it's ready to go when the "egregious", i.e. unconstitutional, thing happens. I was responding to what JVL asked, which is what can we do now to prepare. Saying don't count on the courts is giving up. What do you propose?
Agree. You also have to have standing to sue.
Personally, though I know all of Biden’s frailties and shortcomings all the hand-wringing by you and others makes me sick. When it comes right down to it, do you really believe there is a significant portion of the electorate that’s going to change course and pull the lever for Trump over Biden? The polling (I know, I know, the polls have problems) still shows this as a toss up even after everything that’s happened. You do immeasurable harm to Biden’s chances by constantly undermining him with all your “the race is over, it’s gonna be Trump” bullshit”. The election is still over three months away, a lot can happen and the race certainly isn’t over. Trump remains the same high floor, low ceiling candidate he’s always been. Stop helping him! I thought this place was run by usta be conservatives, your collective balls have shriveled just like us always were liberals…
It's the swing voters how might pull the lever for Trump instead of Biden or just stay home - which is a win for Trump.
The Bulwark cannot undermine Biden's chances. Only Biden's live performances can do that. He was terriffic at his March SOTU and he got no bump in the polls.
"Personally, though I know all of Biden’s frailties and shortcomings all the hand-wringing by you and others makes me sick. When it comes right down to it, do you really believe there is a significant portion of the electorate that’s going to change course and pull the lever for Trump over Biden?" No, more likely than not they won't vote or skip the President's race. Biden only won by about 50,000 votes in 3 states in 2020. It wouldn't take of Biden 2020 supporters not supporting him in 2024 to lose the election. Over 72% of the voters think Biden is too old for a second term and that includes more than 50% of Democrats. And you don't think that's a problem? Biden and the Democrats (we Never Trumpers know better) who support him are on a suicide mission.
I can’t disagree. My 43 year old son doesn’t like Trump, thinks Biden is too old, so he’s only voting down ticket, in his state. Mt other son, 46, probably won’t vote at all, because he really doesn’t care that much. I think there are a lot of that generation doing one or the other. I will vote for Biden, because he does have a good administration, or whoever may replace him if he steps down ( which he should), but there is not much energy in the Democratic Psrty, and unfortunately a lot of it in the MAGA Party.
I think there would be a lot of energy in the Dem party if Biden steps down.
With respect, JC, I know people who are saying
1. “Jeez, if Biden is that debilitated, I might just vote for Trump”; or
2. If the Dems are going to gaslight us and stick with a decrepit candidate, why should I bother to vote?”
So yes, in answer to your question, I do know people contemplating giving either a full (by voting for him) or half (by not voting at all) vote for Trump as a result of Biden’s weakness. Anecdotes aren’t data, but they’re not nothing either.
Control of the House, even narrowly, does two important things: 1) control of the budget; 2) preventing MAGA bills becoming law. Of course, for a lawless bunch like this GQP, those might not matter as much as I think it would.
I just wanted to leave a comment someone as who has Russia as a neighbour that I believe Russia will attack a NATO country within a couple of years.
Not like they currently attack (trying to assassin Rheinmetall CEO, burn up malls, blowing up arms manufacturing plants, cyber attacks etc.)
I just wonder when that happens what the Trump/Vance America would do.
Trump has massive media surrogate reach courtesy of Fox News talk radio, you tube, X, Rogan, the WSJ opinion page, etc, spinning for him relentlessly. They’ve successfully made right-leaning swing voters believe crime is up when it’s down, that the rate of inflation is up when it’s falling, that we aren’t producing record domestic oil and gas when we are, that trans people and DEI are things to hand-wring over, while purposefully encouraging would-be VP assassins in real time, threatening swing state officials to do his personal electoral bidding and sponsoring fake electors in defiance of the people’s will is fine. To literally do any extra judicial action to stop the peaceful transfer of power in the U.S. To openly threaten the western alliance on the world stage. That’s all good compared to Biden. It’s an amazing feat of propaganda that surely delights our adversaries. And this was basically the state of affairs before a critical mass of swing voters told us Biden is clearly too diminished, even if some of the manufactured policy propaganda against him didn’t land. The GOP has rolled over for him, and now the DNC seems to be saying they’d rather have Trump to fund raise off of with their alarmist texts instead of make a real effort to give the Dem ticket a fighting chance. Obviously we needed a moderate non-DC figure like Josh Shapiro to dispatch with Trump but it’s likely too late now. The reframing of Biden is complete, and his blind hubris to not do what he could to help prevent Trump 2.0 will likely seal our fate.
Looks like the Biden effort to run out the clock and remain the nominee might be taking on water. Adam Schiff just called for him to drop out. Hopefully this is the beginning of a flood of such calls. I would be so relieved if we can get him out of the race and nominate someone who actually has a shot.
Since you posted this, Darin, Schumer and Pelosi and Jeffries have joined him. Kristol predicted about a half an hour ago Biden will announce at 8pm tomorrow night and step on Trump's convention speech. (Yay!)
Thank God.
My sentiments exactly!
The effort to accelerate the virtual roll-call of delegates has stalled according to the NYT.
In response to Project 2025, Democrats need to immediately put forth a comprehensive plan to quash the hideous objectives of the MAGA Republican’s autocratic fever-dream. I have developed a two-fold approach which promotes true democracy that both sides can swallow. This objective affords citizens the right to coalesce and vote on policies prior to an election, not what politicians claim to be their mandate. It’s time to end the practice of them campaigning on one thing and doing the opposite while in office. Secondly, all consumers will enjoy a uniquely funded economic incentive where their everyday purchases of goods and services are applied towards stock instead of meaningless ‘reward points’. Furthermore, the business system utilized for this operation is eligible for a US patent.
May I review this with you further? I believe you will be intrigued by how we as a country can begin to step away from the Trump/MAGA madness after he is defeated at the polls. However, we must be prepared to challenge the Project 2025 if he wins.
Thank you very much for your time and all you do to keep our country moving forward.
Excellent! Finally some details on what can be done even if, and especially if, the MAGA cult wins in '24. The Republic won't die immediately, and our jobs to save it will be certainly harder, but I'm also 100% convinced that, in a 2nd Trump term, with far fewer "guardrails," and not preoccupied with re-election, MAGA voters will start feeling the pain of "be careful what you ask for." I'm certainly not recommending sitting back and waiting for it to happen, but rather prepare how to leverage it. BTW, I'm glad to finally hear someone else who hates that "reward points" nonsense.
Trump needs to be defeated at all costs. I hate the idea of Democrats succumbing to a defeatist attitude towards this election. They should open their minds to a totally different way to appeal to voters with a creative and responsive alternative to Project 2025. However, getting anyone to listen to changing platforms is almost impossible as I have found.
JVL! I have been thinking about the National Guard and related matters a lot from my home in the former anarchist jurisdiction of Portland. Shit was bananas here and I have all sorts of thoughts about what happened during the George Floyd protests locally (short version everyone sucks!). The truly unsettling part was the introduction of federal personnel into the mix on Trumps orders. There was some almost certainly illegal shit,but also just they weirdness of using federal prison operators,and using federal power to ostensibly protect statues but in reality to send a message and cause havoc.
All hilarious in hindsight (we miss you Chad Wolf!) but I do not have a lot of confidence in the local leadership to hold the line against Trump if he decides to bigfoot on pdx. Things like federalizing the Oregon guard. Good times!
In my dreams there are regular meetings of local leaders working the problem,but I believe that is the only place.