Ducey and Kemp - just two more spineless, cowardly Republicans. Hey, insult me, insult my wife, insult my family - no problem - I'll kiss your ass. Thank you sir, may I have another!! Useless pieces of shit.
Maybe there’s something innate about most people who are willing to go into politics that allows them to compartmentalize and ignore any pangs of conscience they may feel.
I cannot comprehend how anyone could simply accept and ignore insults directed at their loved ones and themselves. Personally, I couldn’t and wouldn’t do it.
Hmmm…..maybe that’s one more reason I’m not in politics….in addition to never being able to be completely honest and open with anyone, having to publicly support positions I really don’t agree with because it’s the “party’s position,” and constantly having to calculate how anything I say or do can be used against me.
I cherish the occasional politician who at least seems to be a caring, rational, principled, and decent person. Maybe they’ve always been rare creatures, but they’re almost extinct these days.
I am not quite that cynical. Ducey, my former Republican governor, has very elastic morals in the way you describe, imo. Mark Kelly, my Democratic senator, and Mesa, Arizona mayor Giles, a Republican who has endorsed Harris because his party is corrupt, have some moral fiber, I think.
Mary I'm also in AZ. In fact I live in Mesa . I'm proud of our mayor for standing up for his principles. Ducey, not so much. He expanded the school voucher grift, I mean program over the voters defeating it at the ballot box. The state now has a 900 million deficit because of that move Now he's announced he's throwing his support to Chump and Fake Lake. Another GOP hack.
Doesn't Ducey own a share of a private/charter school in AZ called Kind Hearts, or something like that? I know that Hugh Hewitt owns a stake and used to talk about the school on his horrible radio show, not disclosing his interest in it.
That wouldn't surprise me. Some GOP members have financial ties to Charter schools and have made millions. It's part of their plan to destroy public education.
I agree…about Kelly, at least (I don’t know anything about your mayor, of course). There still exist (I think & hope) at least SOME politicians of moral & ethical fiber in this country, and hopefully more emerge as we (again, hopefully) work out way out of the stinking political morass that trump has engendered.
If Kamala wins in Nov, I think we will, eventually, work our way out of the morass. That's what we in the pro-democracy coalition need to start working on in 225.
No problem there. Surely he has another set in his bathroom cabinet. Wouldn't surprise me a bit to learn he has a set in gold...the pyrite kind, not the element.
They aren't cowardly. They are cunning. They know how bad the things they are going along with are, but they want more riches and power for themselves.
I bet when the Snake in Chief tells his snake tale at rallies, he mentally superimposes any number of gutless GOP hotshots as the woman who took him in. Except some hot shots keep taking the Snake in or now they've decided it best to accept Hannibal's dinner invitation.
Ann Coulter says she’s voting or him this time because, if he loses, he’ll just run again 4 years from now and cost them 4 elections. Let him eat us now so he doesn’t eat us later. That is the kind of logic that makes the GOP great.
I have seen Liz Cheney's "Our Great Task" emails quite clearly saying Trump isn't fit to serve but I've not yet seen her explicitly support the D ticket for POTUS
The party has spent the last 8 years trying to find and expel anyone with a spine. They have been largely successful. I was surprised the Republican mayor of Mesa AZ endorsed Harris. I did not think there were any politicians with a moral compass left in the party.
Just as an experiment I would love to see Democrats automatically adopt the nicknames Trump creates for his fellow Republicans ie. Lyin’ Ted Cruz. The responses would be entertaining and educational.
Exactly what I was thinking. And what does Ducey have to lose? He’s termed out as gov and was adamant he didn’t want to run for senate. Of course, what does that even mean when a politician is “adamant” these days, particularly a Republican.
This whole “Stolen Valor” nonsense is ironic. Vance disparaging Walz when his boss Trump had five deferments! Walz served honorably for 24 years, rising to the highest non-commissioned rank in the army. Walz could have retired four years before he did; deciding to run for Congress. If this is all they’ve got, good luck with it!….:)
I know this is old news now, going all the way back to yesterday, but I find myself increasingly angry over one specific aspect of the DJT-Musk feelgood session. Somewhat lost in the shuffle is how DJT praised Musk for suppressing employees’ efforts to unionize and how they both had a good laugh over how much fun it is to fire people and keep them economically repressed, for their own personal gain. It has the look and feel of two adolescents enjoying picking the wings off of flies, just because they can.
Really, how hard it is to see that these guys have no interest whatsoever in the "little people" -- the average working person trying to make ends meet and establish some reasonable sense of financial security? They care only about their own power structure, wealth, and how to both use them and flash them for maximum impact. I easily could see these two sitting on a hill with beverages, watching someone's home float downriver in a flood and joke about it being a hillbilly houseboat. No working person with any respect for how hard it is to go through life on a basic budget and save for the future should ever want anything to do with either of these two self-absorbed turds. Boycott both with your purchases and your vote.
As a classical Democrat/leftie I've always supported and admired (and somewhat envied) the working class people who have skills and know how to make and fix things. In fact, since I have none of those skills I have to live at the mercy of tradesmen. That's why it feels like such a kind of betrayal that so many of them have embraced a person who has no real interest in making their lives better. In fact I'm convinced after a rally Trump walks off stage thinking, "God, I can't get away from these people fast enough."
What I sometimes ask people is: would DJT ever have Joe the Plumber over to his home for a cookout and some beverages? If not, you're looking at a purely transactional relationship.
Agreed, that should be made into a political ad immediately. Trump pretends to be pro-union, but I think he revealed what he really thinks of unions, and it wasn't pretty.
Apparently the UAW is filing a case (or something) against them for worker intimidation over that comment. Can't imagine it goes anywhere, but who knows.
DJT and Elon would sooner piss on any working/middle-class person than lift a pinkie finger to help them in any way. The Harris campaign--really any Dem running for office--should use clips from that disgusting X interview in their campaign ads to emphasize just how little the modern GOP cares about workers (or about anyone who's not in the top 0.1%). Keep emphasizing this until election day.
What do you mean? Gas prices were lower when DJT was president! As far as I can tell, that's good enough for most of middle America. [I'm only half kidding. Sadly.]
Yes, according to those yokels, we are only another pandemic away from greater purchasing power across the board. At least until people start hoarding and reselling toilet paper again.
In his first campaign, Trump said "Our wages are too high" and it made U.S. companies uncompetitive. Asked about it afterward, he repeated the claim.
Evidently someone told him it wasn't a great vote-getter, because he dropped the idea. But when a Trump apologist later asserted that Trump "promised to raise wages," I wondered: When did he say that? How did he promise to do it?
In fairness to the propaganda-pilled, some critiques of some unions have merit. There are definitely unions out there whose leadership is in it for themselves and not their members, and I could see how a person who had experience in that type of situation might sour on unions in general (though they'd be wrong).
Because unions can be as heavy-handed and even unlawful in their behavior as management, an not just in the dim past either. I remember in the 1990s group proposing a charter school for the county held a community forum at the library to answer the public's questions. The teacher's union represented by a couple of burly football coaches blocked entry. The union rep had called the organizer the night before and told her to cancel the forum because the union would see to it that no one came.
Well, Sean O’Brien (the idiot who spoke at the RNC) noticed - called it 'economic terrorism'. Perhaps that will give him some credibility with his Trump-leaning members, because you can be sure every Teamster is going to know what Trump said.
Dave, please note most members of the military are eligible for forward deployment and stray rockets can hit even REMF (rear echelon ...). But Vance is a former Marine and "all Marines are riflemen." There are no chaplains or medical staff in the Marines (these roles are performed by the Navy) because all Marines are combatants. He signed up, he served, and I would ask all our Bulwark community to choose another line of attack on him, of which there are many.
I respect Vance's service. I do not respect his attacking another's service. But Vance is the prime example of a right wing "sorter" - just like Trump does not prefer losers and suckers, Vance does not prefer nonparents, divorcees, left wing Christians, Muslims/Hindis/etc, recovered drug addicts, or women who have had life-saving abortions, to name just a few.
I had an acquaintance from college who died in Iraq on a rear base from a mortar attack. I am sure there were a few truly safe spaces, but nothing is ever certain. That being said I honor Walz's service, I can easily put myself in his place. He had already put his 20 in, re-upped after 9/11, was gone over a year with a young family, and I am sure knew at some point he would be called up again. At some point it is okay to say I have done my service and it is time to retire. It isn't as if he skipped out right before deployment it was a full 10 months.
Exactly. Voluntary service isn't indentured service. He is free to go. One could just as easily ask why Vance didn't see fit to stay in voluntary service.
I think we can hold these separate thoughts in our heads at the same time. Walz and Vance both honor us with their military service. Vance is acting like an ass. Walz is acting like an adult. That's where the line is there.
He can be told his military service is respected and appreciated but that he doesn't get a pass for being a civilian asshole just because he wore a uniform.
I might push back a bit on the "all Marines are combatants" line, but it's certainly the case that being stationed at Al Asad airbase in 2005-06 involved danger, even if you were just baking bread or fixing trucks, and some light Googling indicates that Vance made trips outside the wire to write news stories on USMC operations, which is more dangerous still.
More generally, the US military is a big, complicated bureaucracy in addition to being a fighting force and its effectiveness is due to expertise in logistics, communication and other unexciting tasks alongside the performance of the combat arms. Generally my attitude is that if someone served, in any capacity, they are due the thanks and esteem of the citizens of the Republic they served, no matter where they were or what they were doing.
Never having served myself, I'll leave the intra-military rankings and point-scoring about specific assignments to those who have.
I have no military experience and no one of my forebears ever served. But... Vance was a military journalist, wasn't he? I am sure he faced real risks. But despite what you say, it does not sound like he did much rifle shooting.
He would still have had rifle training in basic training, and some level of required annual training. As far as I know, he never shot a rifle in combat, but that doesn't mean he would have been incapable of doing so had a situation occurred where that was necessary.
All of his attacks on Wallz are still bullshit though.
From what I know of annual training, it is a trip to the range where you are issued an unzeroed M-16. All you have to do is vaguely aim at the target and pull the trigger a few times. Then you turn the rifle in for the next person. I am not even sure if these rifles are taken apart and cleaned regularly. And the training doesn't always occur annually, maybe only once in four years.
I like your emphasis on respect for the service. My former Marine friends call Vance a pog. They apparently have some hierarchy of respect for type of service in the ranks.
My daughter served in Public Affairs in the WI National Guard. She was deployed to Guantanamo Bay. She is currently married to an active duty marine. I am a Vietnam Era veteran who had a cushy four years in the service. I might not like JD Vance, but I will NEVER disparage anyone who served honorably regardless what they did, or did not do.
I don't see this current Walz military controversy as having much in the way of legs. It simply isn't a matter that resonates with the vast majority of Americans who tell us that they are worried about cost of living and the border. Sure, the political right will try to gin it up to the point that it becomes staggering drunk. But that's what people do when they are desperate. If they really want to have that discussion, then by all means let's be sure to bring up again DJT's fine military record of avoiding service altogether and why. That is far more relevant, in how it both reflects and defines character.
The GOP wants the high ground back, by any means possible. Walz and the campaign have addressed the issue. Now continue forward, on message. I see today that the Consumer Price Index has slowed below 3 percent for first time since March 2021. Let's discuss that instead and why it matters so much more to the average working family. (https://www.cnn.com/2024/08/14/economy/us-cpi-consumer-price-index-inflation-july/index.html) And while we're at it, that Project 2025 matter deserves a still deeper dive into its substance and what that stands to do to us all. Again, the question remains: the past versus the future. Let's keep having that talk. When in doubt, ask: is what matters more what Tim Walz did in his uniform or what J.D. Vance would do to you while wearing a suit?
JD Vance has much to answer for so let's focus on that. 1) His letter to the DOJ suggesting they reinstate the Comstock Act. 2) His sad and pathetic response about his wife - "She's not White, but I love Usha." He should have made crystal clear he loves his wife, is proud of her. Her skin color and her heritage do not matter to him. Nor should that be an issue for anyone else. 3) His consistent lying that can easily be fact checked and blown up must to be front and center. His lies should be debunked the instant he blurts them out. 4) He is a damaged individual. He grew up around violence, alcoholism, and a drug addicted parent. Those combined childhood traumas take a great toll. Nobody comes out of that unscathed. I grew up around relatives who were alcoholics. That was bad enough, without the added violence and drug addiction. It takes years long work with mental health professionals to help sort those traumas out. I continue to do that work today. Based on his remarks about cat ladies without children, making silly statements about Walz's military record, his austere views about abortion, and his weak defense of his wife, I would bet he has not made peace with his traumatic upbringing.
He is a deeply troubled guy. Which, even more troubling, does seem a totally logical VP pick for DJT. It is no child's fault that the parents and the home were a disaster. But as you say, it needs to be addressed , and made peace with, to function well as a healthy adult.
Vance has done the polar opposite. Doubled down on all that is small and basically rooted in meanness. Saying he loves his wife even though she isn't white? This is a despicable 'reveal' of who this man is. By I'll give him credit: he's in the right campaign. Fitness for duty not required. ♍️
You captured JD Vance very well. I agree that we don't choose our parents or the situations we have to tolerate when we are too young to make our own choices. It is our choice whether or not we seek help as adults to give ourselves the tools to overcome and live healthier lives.
The reason Swift Boat was sort of successful on Kerry is that Kerry came back from Vietnam and publicly opposed the presence of the US there and said that US military committed war crimes there. For some people that was unforgivable so they were quite willing to believe the Swift Boat allegations. The Walz situation has no similarity to that.
I see it as being different from the "Swift Boat Veterans for Truth" because 1) it's clearly a GOP political op rather than something deniable, and 2) Walz' guard service isn't as big an element of his political message as Kerry's Vietnam service was.
Also, GWOT veterans beefing about whether someone did or didn't avoid a deployment is small potatoes compared to how contentious Kerry's Vietnam service and his history with it (including being part of Vietnam Veterans Against the War) had been.
I believe both Ducey and Kemp are saying what they have to say to remain viable in the republican party. When MAGA is defeated once and for all (wishcasting I know) it will be figures like them who supported without going full on MAGA that will be instrumental in picking up the pieces and making peace with the anti-trumpers. IMHO
They are trying to remain viable in a party that no longer exists.
People who still vote "Republican" because they identify as Republican, haven't worked out that the MAGA cuckoo is firmly in the nest - and all the other little fledglings have been pushed out and are lying dead on the ground under the tree.
Meanwhile, David French is pout there saying he will vote for Harris because even though he disagrees with her liberal views, the other Republicans he votes for will keep her in check. I doubt his ability to analyze because lots of us recognized the danger Trump represented back in 2016, but According to French, he voted third party because he could not bring himself to vote3 for a Democrat. 2016 WAS the most important election of our lifetimes, and too many voters failed to nip Trumpism in the bud when they had the best chance. Now we have Groundhog Day every four years.
They can make their peace if they want to. I'm not going to forget how absolutely wrong and spineless they were, are, and continue to be about something so basic as DJT's basic fitness to be President.
To them:
Indiana Jones: "You stood up to be counted with the enemies of everything the Constitution stands for. Who gives a damn what you believe?"
Every time I'm disappointed by Trump-era GOP politicians and their me-first calculations, I'm reminded of the scene from Mad Men, when Don Draper tells Peggy in the hospital, "This [having a child out of wedlock in 1950s America] never happened. It will shock you how much this never happened."
I think about this topic a lot. It seems that some right wing figures who espouse "family" or "Christian" values and speak against abortion & "deviant" sex (which I have come to believe means anything other than married sex with little variety) do not truly want less divorce, more marriage, less abortions, more kids, and more Christians that actually follow the teachings of Jesus. Instead, they just want to define what is acceptable, then recreate a society where we shame each other (or maybe just women) for our lapses from the standard. It seems more about the judgement, and keeping people busy with it, so we don't question our leaders or religion, and so we don't explore other areas like science, philosophy, psychology, etc. And this leads me to love Kamala's slogan "we are not going back." Or, as Barbie said, I'm not getting back in the box.
Agreed. It's wielding arbitrary power that animates the GOP, not governing. "Rules for thee, but not for me" is their philosophy. And no matter how many times they are exposed as hypocrites, and in an extraordinary case, a felon, the GOP still won't clean its own house.
If I understand you correctly, what you are saying is that Ducey and Kemp are hoping someone else, such as Lynn Cheney or the Democrats, clean up the mess, so they can ascend to higher positions of power once the party becomes a normal political party. That may be a viable strategy, but I am left unimpressed with either man's character. Sometimes you have to take a stand regardless of the effect on your career.
The curse of the Republican party is they seem to have a large number of smart politicians who can carefully calculate the position that will maximize their long term benefits, but very few who are willing to sacrifice to realize that long term view.
I am old enough that I cannot foresee voting for a Republican ever again. I will have one question for every Republican on my ballot: What did you do when the crisis in your party threatened the country? "I kept my head down until the problem went away" will not be an acceptable answer to that question.
America is disgraced by the Republican Party. At least they are clear in what the stand for: divisiveness, greed, and racism. Are all of these people always so weak minded that they have quickly fallen in behind a person they know is a crazy, racist, liar. Are they are doing that with the hope that they will be on the corrupt gravy train if Trump wins? They are willing to give up any appearance of honesty, integrity, and democracy. Trump is being revealed as a tired and confused old man. I am amazed that even now, when there is a good chance that the MAGA movement will lose another election, they are willing to jump on the sinking ship. I’ve never seen so many rats running in the wrong direction.
The answer to your question is yes. No question that t***p is showing dementia, and of course he is a serial liar, but he is only racist because right now that is what is most expedient for him to be. t***p himself is an amoral sociopath with not true core convictions.
JD Vain obviously had no riposte to Walz' "kitchen table" put down, so he tried to go with the attack the attacker game plan. For someone who was an REMF (thanks to my Bulwark compatriot who first used the acronym) who is playing front-man/second-fiddle to the infamous Cadet Bone Spurs, attacking a 24 year veteran in the ranks, not un the arm chair, is absolutely detestable ... and right on par for that team.
Here's part of a comment from The Dispatch a couple days ago:
"Nick has identified the best single justification (I’ve heard) for not supporting Trump: he “cannot cope with reality when it becomes emotionally difficult.” Certainly, of the many matters a President must confront, some must become emotionally difficult, and it seems (to me) Trump’s ability to cope is diminished. Yes, something is wrong.
Yet, there’s an additional problem, Kamala Harris. Does she possess the ability to cope with any problem whether emotional or not? I can find no reason to believe she can. So, a vote for Kamala is impossible for me. Yes, something is very wrong!"
To a large degree, almost all support of Trump is based on fantasy. Probably the most absurd fantasy is that Trump is a Christian, but there are tons of other ones, he's a brilliant business man, he hires the best people, blah, blah, blah.
One of the most common fantasies employed is the "Yeah, Trump is bad, but Democrats are worse" fantasy, as noted in your post.
If I had to try and convince someone so obtuse as that though, I'd point out that Harris lost a primary contest and was able to suck it up, get on side, and serve the winner as VP. Now imagine Trump being able to do that.
To that person I'd say, "Go ahead and vote Mickey Mouse, it is apparently the best that can be hoped for from you when confronted with the need to cope with reality when it becomes emotionally difficult."
Not only am I not going to not vote for Kamala, I'm ecstatic to have the chance to do so. All I have to do is keep this 77-y-o carcass on the green side of the weeds until Nov. 5. So, LC, if you are keeping track of all the responses related to this post, I am in full agreement with Jeri. If you don't vote, you don't have any grounds to bitch about the election result.
They CAN vote for Kamala, no one gives a rat's patootie if they don't. I just wish they'd stop trying to convince us (with perfumey prose) that they have some sort of high-minded principles for not doing so.
I can't believe they get paid money for writing such caca.
It's so weird to make a critique that basically boils down to "I need the person I vote for to be someone capable of making hard choices in difficult situations"
...and then show yourself to be incapable of making a hard choice in a difficult situation. Ooookay.
I’d like someone to ask for evidence that Harris cannot cope vs what Trump has displayed. No doubt they will trot out a few bad interviews and laughing at weird moments. But there is a landslide of evidence Trump should not be given power. Even if you look at temperament alone he’s disqualified. It’s willful blindness.
Yeah, the guy's logic boils down to: "Person A in an axe murderer. Person B...I have no evidence that they are not an axe murderer. So I really can't choose who to trust."
So Kamala we just dont know .Fair . We didn't know with Romney or W or Reagan who acted in Army movies in WWII (and he DID serve honorably , I dont deny that ) We could make some decent guesses with Obama and Kerry . We know with all the combat vets (GHWB , Kerrey , McCain- may his name live forever Eisenhower , Kennedy , Dole . We knew with Hillary . We know with Kelly ,and with Biden , truly admirable men .
Is she emotionally perfect ?Probably not . Is she emotionally crippled ? Probably not . So take your choice
I would point out she was bussed to school . She was raised by an underpaid single immigrant mom . She was moved to Montreal in French speaking Quebec as a teen . She dealt with very bad people as a prosecutor and had to make many difficult decisions on justice vs punishment , correct use of public resources , supporting the police (who do go out and find and arrest the perps and face a lot of risk , TFG would call them suckers ) without condoning bad behavior whether occasional or systemic . She married later in life to a man from another culture and religion who had teenage kids , who are usually challenging even when you love them from birth . She listened to herself be denigrated in gross sexual terms (Wille Browns mattress I recall from a Republican candidate's you tube interview ) She worked at McDonald's for gosh sake - not traumatic , but she has had a normal life .
Trump -- I agree with you
Compare who they chose for VP if you wonder which one can cope with reality .
A citizen serves 24 years in the military. He doesn't have to apologize for anything.
"In Walz’s case, he deployed to Europe in support of Operation Enduring Freedom (the war in Afghanistan). Deployments are not always on the frontlines. During the height of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, service members routinely deployed to other spots inside the United States."
"Vance, who served as a combat correspondent for the Marines but never saw combat during his 2005 Iraq deployment."
Yep. My father's best friend got drafted around the same time he did. Luck of the draw sent him to Germany to guard against a Soviet invasion of Western Europe. My father saw combat, his friend didn't. With regards to service, so what? They both answered when called and served as directed.
I've known for a long time that Republicans have knees of an ostrich and spine of a jellyfish. It all started when Trump said Ted Cruz's dad was linked to the JFK assassination and his wife was ugly. Mitch McConnell kept pace when Trump made racist attacks on his wife. Now it is Brian Kemp and Doug Ducey keeping the ball rolling. Expect anything different?
Jesse Ventura, the former wrestler who is also a former Navy SEAL and former governor, was interviewed on CNN about the swiftboating attempt. He said it's a disgrace,; and that Donald Trump's draft dodging was a disgrace. I await Hulk Hogan's reasoned response on behalf of Team Trump.
The total nothing burger of a "scandal" over Walz' NG service hardly comes as a surprise.
What IS surprising with modern day politicians is that they can't find anything else in his past history to condemn him for. Oh, sorry, forgot about the tampons.
What a total monster. . . .and there's trump and Shady such little shining beacons of virtue. . .
You guys were dead wrong on the VP pick with it's over emphasis on Pennsylvania, so I guess I'm not surprised you are energetically patting yourselves on the back for advocating for what any competent campaign staff would decide. Kamala's campaign staff is more than competent. They have opted for campaign strategies that have her leading in Pennsylvania by 4+ points....without Josh Shapiro...and even seriously dinging Trump's lead in states like Texas, Florida, North Carolina, and Georgia. Oh, and somehow managed to consolidate the Democratic party and get all those cat ladies singing from the same hymnal.
The Harris campaign is not "without Josh Shapiro". Shapiro, Beshears, Kelly and I guarantee Cooper will all work their butts off to get Harris/Walz elected. I think Cooper wants a cabinet post and the other 3 are the future of the party. No Beshears cannot deliver KY but he can shoulder some of the Burden for out of state campaigning that Cooper cannot do because of his LT governor.
Come on, were you really shocked by the Trump campaign using Great Replacement Theory? I mean, really shocked? If so, you were the target, right?
I think we all know Trump is running on White Supremacy Theory by now. It's not 2014. The idea was to get you saying, that's so shocking and circulate the meme. Then all the "silent majority" would pretend to agree with you for internet clout while secretly thinking, "I can't say it, but they're right, I really do hate people who don't look like me." And voila, Trump wins.
It's dumb, but I'm pretty sure that's what they're counting on.
Ducey and Kemp - just two more spineless, cowardly Republicans. Hey, insult me, insult my wife, insult my family - no problem - I'll kiss your ass. Thank you sir, may I have another!! Useless pieces of shit.
Maybe there’s something innate about most people who are willing to go into politics that allows them to compartmentalize and ignore any pangs of conscience they may feel.
I cannot comprehend how anyone could simply accept and ignore insults directed at their loved ones and themselves. Personally, I couldn’t and wouldn’t do it.
Hmmm…..maybe that’s one more reason I’m not in politics….in addition to never being able to be completely honest and open with anyone, having to publicly support positions I really don’t agree with because it’s the “party’s position,” and constantly having to calculate how anything I say or do can be used against me.
I cherish the occasional politician who at least seems to be a caring, rational, principled, and decent person. Maybe they’ve always been rare creatures, but they’re almost extinct these days.
I am not quite that cynical. Ducey, my former Republican governor, has very elastic morals in the way you describe, imo. Mark Kelly, my Democratic senator, and Mesa, Arizona mayor Giles, a Republican who has endorsed Harris because his party is corrupt, have some moral fiber, I think.
Mary I'm also in AZ. In fact I live in Mesa . I'm proud of our mayor for standing up for his principles. Ducey, not so much. He expanded the school voucher grift, I mean program over the voters defeating it at the ballot box. The state now has a 900 million deficit because of that move Now he's announced he's throwing his support to Chump and Fake Lake. Another GOP hack.
Doesn't Ducey own a share of a private/charter school in AZ called Kind Hearts, or something like that? I know that Hugh Hewitt owns a stake and used to talk about the school on his horrible radio show, not disclosing his interest in it.
That wouldn't surprise me. Some GOP members have financial ties to Charter schools and have made millions. It's part of their plan to destroy public education.
Lake, once the supporter of Obama. Talk about elastic morals!
I agree…about Kelly, at least (I don’t know anything about your mayor, of course). There still exist (I think & hope) at least SOME politicians of moral & ethical fiber in this country, and hopefully more emerge as we (again, hopefully) work out way out of the stinking political morass that trump has engendered.
If Kamala wins in Nov, I think we will, eventually, work our way out of the morass. That's what we in the pro-democracy coalition need to start working on in 225.
Anything like that from Trumpster and he would be swallowing some teeth.
No problem there. Surely he has another set in his bathroom cabinet. Wouldn't surprise me a bit to learn he has a set in gold...the pyrite kind, not the element.
Even John McCain supported Trump in 2016.
😫
They aren't cowardly. They are cunning. They know how bad the things they are going along with are, but they want more riches and power for themselves.
They are like pilot fish who swim with sharks.
I bet when the Snake in Chief tells his snake tale at rallies, he mentally superimposes any number of gutless GOP hotshots as the woman who took him in. Except some hot shots keep taking the Snake in or now they've decided it best to accept Hannibal's dinner invitation.
Ann Coulter says she’s voting or him this time because, if he loses, he’ll just run again 4 years from now and cost them 4 elections. Let him eat us now so he doesn’t eat us later. That is the kind of logic that makes the GOP great.
I have sincerely no idea why anyone would ever listen to her. She's for him, she's against him, she's for him because he's so bad...what?
That's what has caused their current predicament.
Where’s the Republicans Nancy Pelosi?
Liz Cheney is supporting the Democrats this year.
Is she though?
Cheney isn't close to what Pelosi accomplishes / achieves for her party.
Agree. Pelosi got the head of her party to step down, to save the party, and the country.
I have seen Liz Cheney's "Our Great Task" emails quite clearly saying Trump isn't fit to serve but I've not yet seen her explicitly support the D ticket for POTUS
The party has spent the last 8 years trying to find and expel anyone with a spine. They have been largely successful. I was surprised the Republican mayor of Mesa AZ endorsed Harris. I did not think there were any politicians with a moral compass left in the party.
98% successful
That's the whole point: they don't have one.
Nowhere to be found
Just as an experiment I would love to see Democrats automatically adopt the nicknames Trump creates for his fellow Republicans ie. Lyin’ Ted Cruz. The responses would be entertaining and educational.
Exactly what I was thinking. And what does Ducey have to lose? He’s termed out as gov and was adamant he didn’t want to run for senate. Of course, what does that even mean when a politician is “adamant” these days, particularly a Republican.
They are just saying they you for your service, Donald. :)
Ironic as they seem to live for servicing Donald.
C'mon, what do you REALLY think of them?
Talk about cucks! They should take a vacation to Cancun with Ted Cruz, another truly weak man.
RE: The Harris campaign should question how seriously Vance "actually treats service to the country..."
And their answer should be that Vance treats nothing seriously unless it's actually in service to himself.
This whole “Stolen Valor” nonsense is ironic. Vance disparaging Walz when his boss Trump had five deferments! Walz served honorably for 24 years, rising to the highest non-commissioned rank in the army. Walz could have retired four years before he did; deciding to run for Congress. If this is all they’ve got, good luck with it!….:)
If you crack open a thesaurus to the word "irony", you'll find "Republican" as the first synonym listed in most current editions. :-)
And after "Republican" you would have "hypocrite" as an alternate synonym.
So true…:)
Fast learner that hillbilly, copying OCF's Life's Motto that quickly.
Like this! Just like his boss.
Well there's that.
I know this is old news now, going all the way back to yesterday, but I find myself increasingly angry over one specific aspect of the DJT-Musk feelgood session. Somewhat lost in the shuffle is how DJT praised Musk for suppressing employees’ efforts to unionize and how they both had a good laugh over how much fun it is to fire people and keep them economically repressed, for their own personal gain. It has the look and feel of two adolescents enjoying picking the wings off of flies, just because they can.
Really, how hard it is to see that these guys have no interest whatsoever in the "little people" -- the average working person trying to make ends meet and establish some reasonable sense of financial security? They care only about their own power structure, wealth, and how to both use them and flash them for maximum impact. I easily could see these two sitting on a hill with beverages, watching someone's home float downriver in a flood and joke about it being a hillbilly houseboat. No working person with any respect for how hard it is to go through life on a basic budget and save for the future should ever want anything to do with either of these two self-absorbed turds. Boycott both with your purchases and your vote.
As a classical Democrat/leftie I've always supported and admired (and somewhat envied) the working class people who have skills and know how to make and fix things. In fact, since I have none of those skills I have to live at the mercy of tradesmen. That's why it feels like such a kind of betrayal that so many of them have embraced a person who has no real interest in making their lives better. In fact I'm convinced after a rally Trump walks off stage thinking, "God, I can't get away from these people fast enough."
What I sometimes ask people is: would DJT ever have Joe the Plumber over to his home for a cookout and some beverages? If not, you're looking at a purely transactional relationship.
Agreed, that should be made into a political ad immediately. Trump pretends to be pro-union, but I think he revealed what he really thinks of unions, and it wasn't pretty.
He has nothing but contempt for people who do actual work. His record of stiffing his contractors makes this plain.
Apparently the UAW is filing a case (or something) against them for worker intimidation over that comment. Can't imagine it goes anywhere, but who knows.
Stephanie Clifford has already spilled the beans about one of them, and impressed she was not. As for Musk, maybe some former paramour can spill.
Mayber Nicole Shanahan
Just 2 boys gabbing about the size of their...stuff.
DJT and Elon would sooner piss on any working/middle-class person than lift a pinkie finger to help them in any way. The Harris campaign--really any Dem running for office--should use clips from that disgusting X interview in their campaign ads to emphasize just how little the modern GOP cares about workers (or about anyone who's not in the top 0.1%). Keep emphasizing this until election day.
What do you mean? Gas prices were lower when DJT was president! As far as I can tell, that's good enough for most of middle America. [I'm only half kidding. Sadly.]
Yes, according to those yokels, we are only another pandemic away from greater purchasing power across the board. At least until people start hoarding and reselling toilet paper again.
Yes! I used to have a bumpersticker that said "The Labor Movement - The Folks Who Brought You The Weekend."
I might send for another one.
That's very good!!! Few Americans know their history and even fewer know anything about the Labor Movement and what it accomplished.
In his first campaign, Trump said "Our wages are too high" and it made U.S. companies uncompetitive. Asked about it afterward, he repeated the claim.
Evidently someone told him it wasn't a great vote-getter, because he dropped the idea. But when a Trump apologist later asserted that Trump "promised to raise wages," I wondered: When did he say that? How did he promise to do it?
No response.
But there are a whole lot of people who could be unionized that are against unions. I'm not sure why.
Propaganda.
ding ding ding!
In fairness to the propaganda-pilled, some critiques of some unions have merit. There are definitely unions out there whose leadership is in it for themselves and not their members, and I could see how a person who had experience in that type of situation might sour on unions in general (though they'd be wrong).
Because unions can be as heavy-handed and even unlawful in their behavior as management, an not just in the dim past either. I remember in the 1990s group proposing a charter school for the county held a community forum at the library to answer the public's questions. The teacher's union represented by a couple of burly football coaches blocked entry. The union rep had called the organizer the night before and told her to cancel the forum because the union would see to it that no one came.
No argument here. "two adolescents enjoying picking the wings off of flies, just because they can" indeed.
Well, Sean O’Brien (the idiot who spoke at the RNC) noticed - called it 'economic terrorism'. Perhaps that will give him some credibility with his Trump-leaning members, because you can be sure every Teamster is going to know what Trump said.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/economic-terrorism-teamsters-president-finally-144732214.html
iirc, one of the union leaders is talking about suing Musk for illegal union suppression.
Vance military career was in PR. His boss “losers and suckers” is a spineless draft dodger. WTF are we even talking about here?
Dave, please note most members of the military are eligible for forward deployment and stray rockets can hit even REMF (rear echelon ...). But Vance is a former Marine and "all Marines are riflemen." There are no chaplains or medical staff in the Marines (these roles are performed by the Navy) because all Marines are combatants. He signed up, he served, and I would ask all our Bulwark community to choose another line of attack on him, of which there are many.
I respect Vance's service. I do not respect his attacking another's service. But Vance is the prime example of a right wing "sorter" - just like Trump does not prefer losers and suckers, Vance does not prefer nonparents, divorcees, left wing Christians, Muslims/Hindis/etc, recovered drug addicts, or women who have had life-saving abortions, to name just a few.
I had an acquaintance from college who died in Iraq on a rear base from a mortar attack. I am sure there were a few truly safe spaces, but nothing is ever certain. That being said I honor Walz's service, I can easily put myself in his place. He had already put his 20 in, re-upped after 9/11, was gone over a year with a young family, and I am sure knew at some point he would be called up again. At some point it is okay to say I have done my service and it is time to retire. It isn't as if he skipped out right before deployment it was a full 10 months.
Exactly. Voluntary service isn't indentured service. He is free to go. One could just as easily ask why Vance didn't see fit to stay in voluntary service.
I think we can hold these separate thoughts in our heads at the same time. Walz and Vance both honor us with their military service. Vance is acting like an ass. Walz is acting like an adult. That's where the line is there.
As Adam Kinzinger suggested, the services basically will say after 20 years, go. You'll be replaced.
He can be told his military service is respected and appreciated but that he doesn't get a pass for being a civilian asshole just because he wore a uniform.
I might push back a bit on the "all Marines are combatants" line, but it's certainly the case that being stationed at Al Asad airbase in 2005-06 involved danger, even if you were just baking bread or fixing trucks, and some light Googling indicates that Vance made trips outside the wire to write news stories on USMC operations, which is more dangerous still.
More generally, the US military is a big, complicated bureaucracy in addition to being a fighting force and its effectiveness is due to expertise in logistics, communication and other unexciting tasks alongside the performance of the combat arms. Generally my attitude is that if someone served, in any capacity, they are due the thanks and esteem of the citizens of the Republic they served, no matter where they were or what they were doing.
Never having served myself, I'll leave the intra-military rankings and point-scoring about specific assignments to those who have.
I have no military experience and no one of my forebears ever served. But... Vance was a military journalist, wasn't he? I am sure he faced real risks. But despite what you say, it does not sound like he did much rifle shooting.
I could maybe tolerate his claims of stolen valor if he had a "more alpha" role than Wallz.
He would still have had rifle training in basic training, and some level of required annual training. As far as I know, he never shot a rifle in combat, but that doesn't mean he would have been incapable of doing so had a situation occurred where that was necessary.
All of his attacks on Wallz are still bullshit though.
From what I know of annual training, it is a trip to the range where you are issued an unzeroed M-16. All you have to do is vaguely aim at the target and pull the trigger a few times. Then you turn the rifle in for the next person. I am not even sure if these rifles are taken apart and cleaned regularly. And the training doesn't always occur annually, maybe only once in four years.
I like your emphasis on respect for the service. My former Marine friends call Vance a pog. They apparently have some hierarchy of respect for type of service in the ranks.
My daughter served in Public Affairs in the WI National Guard. She was deployed to Guantanamo Bay. She is currently married to an active duty marine. I am a Vietnam Era veteran who had a cushy four years in the service. I might not like JD Vance, but I will NEVER disparage anyone who served honorably regardless what they did, or did not do.
My dad was in Marines for 21 years. He was in payroll, desk job for the duration. Retired a Major.
Still had a flag on his coffin and a 7-volley rifle salute at his funeral.
Careful how you characterize someone's service. You can denigrate Vance's character pretty easily without a shot at this military record.
I don't see this current Walz military controversy as having much in the way of legs. It simply isn't a matter that resonates with the vast majority of Americans who tell us that they are worried about cost of living and the border. Sure, the political right will try to gin it up to the point that it becomes staggering drunk. But that's what people do when they are desperate. If they really want to have that discussion, then by all means let's be sure to bring up again DJT's fine military record of avoiding service altogether and why. That is far more relevant, in how it both reflects and defines character.
The GOP wants the high ground back, by any means possible. Walz and the campaign have addressed the issue. Now continue forward, on message. I see today that the Consumer Price Index has slowed below 3 percent for first time since March 2021. Let's discuss that instead and why it matters so much more to the average working family. (https://www.cnn.com/2024/08/14/economy/us-cpi-consumer-price-index-inflation-july/index.html) And while we're at it, that Project 2025 matter deserves a still deeper dive into its substance and what that stands to do to us all. Again, the question remains: the past versus the future. Let's keep having that talk. When in doubt, ask: is what matters more what Tim Walz did in his uniform or what J.D. Vance would do to you while wearing a suit?
Don't forget that DJT sees himself as the moral equivalent of a veteran because he dodged STDs.
Given his current mental state, he may not have dodged a couple.
slow-acting syphillis?
C'mon Mike, don't forget he got to lead the parades at his military academy.
Sounds like we know who our General Scheisskopf is.
Is there a mechanism for citizens to start the ball rolling for a Medal of Honor commendation? Clearly long overdue in this case!
His Vietnam
JD Vance has much to answer for so let's focus on that. 1) His letter to the DOJ suggesting they reinstate the Comstock Act. 2) His sad and pathetic response about his wife - "She's not White, but I love Usha." He should have made crystal clear he loves his wife, is proud of her. Her skin color and her heritage do not matter to him. Nor should that be an issue for anyone else. 3) His consistent lying that can easily be fact checked and blown up must to be front and center. His lies should be debunked the instant he blurts them out. 4) He is a damaged individual. He grew up around violence, alcoholism, and a drug addicted parent. Those combined childhood traumas take a great toll. Nobody comes out of that unscathed. I grew up around relatives who were alcoholics. That was bad enough, without the added violence and drug addiction. It takes years long work with mental health professionals to help sort those traumas out. I continue to do that work today. Based on his remarks about cat ladies without children, making silly statements about Walz's military record, his austere views about abortion, and his weak defense of his wife, I would bet he has not made peace with his traumatic upbringing.
He is a deeply troubled guy. Which, even more troubling, does seem a totally logical VP pick for DJT. It is no child's fault that the parents and the home were a disaster. But as you say, it needs to be addressed , and made peace with, to function well as a healthy adult.
Vance has done the polar opposite. Doubled down on all that is small and basically rooted in meanness. Saying he loves his wife even though she isn't white? This is a despicable 'reveal' of who this man is. By I'll give him credit: he's in the right campaign. Fitness for duty not required. ♍️
You captured JD Vance very well. I agree that we don't choose our parents or the situations we have to tolerate when we are too young to make our own choices. It is our choice whether or not we seek help as adults to give ourselves the tools to overcome and live healthier lives.
On #2, I didn't know he said this, so I looked it up. You left out the context in which he said it, and you didn't quote it correctly either: “'Look, I love my wife so much. I love her because she’s who she is... Obviously, she’s not a white person, and we've been accused — attacked — by some white supremacists over that,' he said in an interview with Megyn Kelly on her SiriusXM show" [https://www.business-standard.com/world-news/us-elections-veteran-author-to-trump-s-bold-vp-choice-who-is-jd-vance-124080700717_1.html].
And Agenda 47. Although Trump is trying to distance himself from Project 2025, it’s mirrored by his own Agenda 47 - right there on his website.
The reason Swift Boat was sort of successful on Kerry is that Kerry came back from Vietnam and publicly opposed the presence of the US there and said that US military committed war crimes there. For some people that was unforgivable so they were quite willing to believe the Swift Boat allegations. The Walz situation has no similarity to that.
Plus Kerry's campaign made a big deal out of his military service as central to his qualifications for office
I see it as being different from the "Swift Boat Veterans for Truth" because 1) it's clearly a GOP political op rather than something deniable, and 2) Walz' guard service isn't as big an element of his political message as Kerry's Vietnam service was.
Also, GWOT veterans beefing about whether someone did or didn't avoid a deployment is small potatoes compared to how contentious Kerry's Vietnam service and his history with it (including being part of Vietnam Veterans Against the War) had been.
"gin it up to the point that it becomes staggering drunk" - love your prose, professor!
And yet here we have 3 articles about it at the Bulwark ffs
How on earth were they able to successfully denigrate Kerry?
Nothing says "Alpha male" like rolling over and showing your stomach to a guy that attacks you, your wife and your family.
I believe both Ducey and Kemp are saying what they have to say to remain viable in the republican party. When MAGA is defeated once and for all (wishcasting I know) it will be figures like them who supported without going full on MAGA that will be instrumental in picking up the pieces and making peace with the anti-trumpers. IMHO
They are trying to remain viable in a party that no longer exists.
People who still vote "Republican" because they identify as Republican, haven't worked out that the MAGA cuckoo is firmly in the nest - and all the other little fledglings have been pushed out and are lying dead on the ground under the tree.
What an eloquent way to put it.
Meanwhile, David French is pout there saying he will vote for Harris because even though he disagrees with her liberal views, the other Republicans he votes for will keep her in check. I doubt his ability to analyze because lots of us recognized the danger Trump represented back in 2016, but According to French, he voted third party because he could not bring himself to vote3 for a Democrat. 2016 WAS the most important election of our lifetimes, and too many voters failed to nip Trumpism in the bud when they had the best chance. Now we have Groundhog Day every four years.
They can make their peace if they want to. I'm not going to forget how absolutely wrong and spineless they were, are, and continue to be about something so basic as DJT's basic fitness to be President.
To them:
Indiana Jones: "You stood up to be counted with the enemies of everything the Constitution stands for. Who gives a damn what you believe?"
This would be a GREAT Harris_Walz or anti-pscho PAC or Lincoln Project ad
I don't see it. I don't see anyone being able to trust people with so few visible principles.
I didn't say anything about trusting.
Every time I'm disappointed by Trump-era GOP politicians and their me-first calculations, I'm reminded of the scene from Mad Men, when Don Draper tells Peggy in the hospital, "This [having a child out of wedlock in 1950s America] never happened. It will shock you how much this never happened."
I think about this topic a lot. It seems that some right wing figures who espouse "family" or "Christian" values and speak against abortion & "deviant" sex (which I have come to believe means anything other than married sex with little variety) do not truly want less divorce, more marriage, less abortions, more kids, and more Christians that actually follow the teachings of Jesus. Instead, they just want to define what is acceptable, then recreate a society where we shame each other (or maybe just women) for our lapses from the standard. It seems more about the judgement, and keeping people busy with it, so we don't question our leaders or religion, and so we don't explore other areas like science, philosophy, psychology, etc. And this leads me to love Kamala's slogan "we are not going back." Or, as Barbie said, I'm not getting back in the box.
Agreed. It's wielding arbitrary power that animates the GOP, not governing. "Rules for thee, but not for me" is their philosophy. And no matter how many times they are exposed as hypocrites, and in an extraordinary case, a felon, the GOP still won't clean its own house.
If I understand you correctly, what you are saying is that Ducey and Kemp are hoping someone else, such as Lynn Cheney or the Democrats, clean up the mess, so they can ascend to higher positions of power once the party becomes a normal political party. That may be a viable strategy, but I am left unimpressed with either man's character. Sometimes you have to take a stand regardless of the effect on your career.
If I can add to my previous comment -
The curse of the Republican party is they seem to have a large number of smart politicians who can carefully calculate the position that will maximize their long term benefits, but very few who are willing to sacrifice to realize that long term view.
I am old enough that I cannot foresee voting for a Republican ever again. I will have one question for every Republican on my ballot: What did you do when the crisis in your party threatened the country? "I kept my head down until the problem went away" will not be an acceptable answer to that question.
This is exactly why Kemp is popular here.
Bravo to Walz for responding so graciously!....something neither the felon nor his odious running mate ever display.
And that in a nutshell is the 21st century difference between Republicans and Democrats.
America is disgraced by the Republican Party. At least they are clear in what the stand for: divisiveness, greed, and racism. Are all of these people always so weak minded that they have quickly fallen in behind a person they know is a crazy, racist, liar. Are they are doing that with the hope that they will be on the corrupt gravy train if Trump wins? They are willing to give up any appearance of honesty, integrity, and democracy. Trump is being revealed as a tired and confused old man. I am amazed that even now, when there is a good chance that the MAGA movement will lose another election, they are willing to jump on the sinking ship. I’ve never seen so many rats running in the wrong direction.
The answer to your question is yes. No question that t***p is showing dementia, and of course he is a serial liar, but he is only racist because right now that is what is most expedient for him to be. t***p himself is an amoral sociopath with not true core convictions.
He's always been a racist.
Only people that have been watching him for the last 40 years would say that.
JD Vain obviously had no riposte to Walz' "kitchen table" put down, so he tried to go with the attack the attacker game plan. For someone who was an REMF (thanks to my Bulwark compatriot who first used the acronym) who is playing front-man/second-fiddle to the infamous Cadet Bone Spurs, attacking a 24 year veteran in the ranks, not un the arm chair, is absolutely detestable ... and right on par for that team.
Yep. He was given a golden opportunity to eject from the narrative and regain some grace. He just couldn’t drop the shovel tho…
Sorry, REMF means what?
Rear Echelon Motherfucker.
Vance would have to be a RECF then.
My brain was like Christian? Child? Oh! Couch!
OK, he is not (yet) a Convicted Felon, to my knowledge, so....?
Swing and a miss. David's just kink shaming. ;)
That sounds like the military equivalent of a hospital nurse calling someone a real GOMER: Get Out of My Emergency Room.
Here's part of a comment from The Dispatch a couple days ago:
"Nick has identified the best single justification (I’ve heard) for not supporting Trump: he “cannot cope with reality when it becomes emotionally difficult.” Certainly, of the many matters a President must confront, some must become emotionally difficult, and it seems (to me) Trump’s ability to cope is diminished. Yes, something is wrong.
Yet, there’s an additional problem, Kamala Harris. Does she possess the ability to cope with any problem whether emotional or not? I can find no reason to believe she can. So, a vote for Kamala is impossible for me. Yes, something is very wrong!"
I just can't with some of these people.
To a large degree, almost all support of Trump is based on fantasy. Probably the most absurd fantasy is that Trump is a Christian, but there are tons of other ones, he's a brilliant business man, he hires the best people, blah, blah, blah.
One of the most common fantasies employed is the "Yeah, Trump is bad, but Democrats are worse" fantasy, as noted in your post.
Agreed.
If I had to try and convince someone so obtuse as that though, I'd point out that Harris lost a primary contest and was able to suck it up, get on side, and serve the winner as VP. Now imagine Trump being able to do that.
To that person I'd say, "Go ahead and vote Mickey Mouse, it is apparently the best that can be hoped for from you when confronted with the need to cope with reality when it becomes emotionally difficult."
Well now that was an over-worded, yet pretty way to say "Ima vote for trump. Look at what you're making me do!"
*wailing*
Not only am I not going to not vote for Kamala, I'm ecstatic to have the chance to do so. All I have to do is keep this 77-y-o carcass on the green side of the weeds until Nov. 5. So, LC, if you are keeping track of all the responses related to this post, I am in full agreement with Jeri. If you don't vote, you don't have any grounds to bitch about the election result.
They CAN vote for Kamala, no one gives a rat's patootie if they don't. I just wish they'd stop trying to convince us (with perfumey prose) that they have some sort of high-minded principles for not doing so.
I can't believe they get paid money for writing such caca.
It's so weird to make a critique that basically boils down to "I need the person I vote for to be someone capable of making hard choices in difficult situations"
...and then show yourself to be incapable of making a hard choice in a difficult situation. Ooookay.
I’d like someone to ask for evidence that Harris cannot cope vs what Trump has displayed. No doubt they will trot out a few bad interviews and laughing at weird moments. But there is a landslide of evidence Trump should not be given power. Even if you look at temperament alone he’s disqualified. It’s willful blindness.
Yeah, the guy's logic boils down to: "Person A in an axe murderer. Person B...I have no evidence that they are not an axe murderer. So I really can't choose who to trust."
perfectly and succinctly said
Wait is this real? That is really absurd logic. According to this logic, you could never vote for someone that wasn’t a president before right
It was a real comment on Nick's column Monday.
I keep getting parts of Dispatch pieces in my inbox and requests to resubscribe. So far, I am not tempted.
So Kamala we just dont know .Fair . We didn't know with Romney or W or Reagan who acted in Army movies in WWII (and he DID serve honorably , I dont deny that ) We could make some decent guesses with Obama and Kerry . We know with all the combat vets (GHWB , Kerrey , McCain- may his name live forever Eisenhower , Kennedy , Dole . We knew with Hillary . We know with Kelly ,and with Biden , truly admirable men .
Is she emotionally perfect ?Probably not . Is she emotionally crippled ? Probably not . So take your choice
I would point out she was bussed to school . She was raised by an underpaid single immigrant mom . She was moved to Montreal in French speaking Quebec as a teen . She dealt with very bad people as a prosecutor and had to make many difficult decisions on justice vs punishment , correct use of public resources , supporting the police (who do go out and find and arrest the perps and face a lot of risk , TFG would call them suckers ) without condoning bad behavior whether occasional or systemic . She married later in life to a man from another culture and religion who had teenage kids , who are usually challenging even when you love them from birth . She listened to herself be denigrated in gross sexual terms (Wille Browns mattress I recall from a Republican candidate's you tube interview ) She worked at McDonald's for gosh sake - not traumatic , but she has had a normal life .
Trump -- I agree with you
Compare who they chose for VP if you wonder which one can cope with reality .
A citizen serves 24 years in the military. He doesn't have to apologize for anything.
"In Walz’s case, he deployed to Europe in support of Operation Enduring Freedom (the war in Afghanistan). Deployments are not always on the frontlines. During the height of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, service members routinely deployed to other spots inside the United States."
"Vance, who served as a combat correspondent for the Marines but never saw combat during his 2005 Iraq deployment."
enough said.
Yep. My father's best friend got drafted around the same time he did. Luck of the draw sent him to Germany to guard against a Soviet invasion of Western Europe. My father saw combat, his friend didn't. With regards to service, so what? They both answered when called and served as directed.
I've known for a long time that Republicans have knees of an ostrich and spine of a jellyfish. It all started when Trump said Ted Cruz's dad was linked to the JFK assassination and his wife was ugly. Mitch McConnell kept pace when Trump made racist attacks on his wife. Now it is Brian Kemp and Doug Ducey keeping the ball rolling. Expect anything different?
Cucks, all of them.
And that is why Trump has more contempt for Republicans than Democrats.
Jesse Ventura, the former wrestler who is also a former Navy SEAL and former governor, was interviewed on CNN about the swiftboating attempt. He said it's a disgrace,; and that Donald Trump's draft dodging was a disgrace. I await Hulk Hogan's reasoned response on behalf of Team Trump.
Saw that, it was great. His palpable disgust as a veteran was authentic. He did a great job explaining his disgust for the attempt against Walz.
I think Hulk might tag out on that one.
The total nothing burger of a "scandal" over Walz' NG service hardly comes as a surprise.
What IS surprising with modern day politicians is that they can't find anything else in his past history to condemn him for. Oh, sorry, forgot about the tampons.
What a total monster. . . .and there's trump and Shady such little shining beacons of virtue. . .
You guys were dead wrong on the VP pick with it's over emphasis on Pennsylvania, so I guess I'm not surprised you are energetically patting yourselves on the back for advocating for what any competent campaign staff would decide. Kamala's campaign staff is more than competent. They have opted for campaign strategies that have her leading in Pennsylvania by 4+ points....without Josh Shapiro...and even seriously dinging Trump's lead in states like Texas, Florida, North Carolina, and Georgia. Oh, and somehow managed to consolidate the Democratic party and get all those cat ladies singing from the same hymnal.
The Harris campaign is not "without Josh Shapiro". Shapiro, Beshears, Kelly and I guarantee Cooper will all work their butts off to get Harris/Walz elected. I think Cooper wants a cabinet post and the other 3 are the future of the party. No Beshears cannot deliver KY but he can shoulder some of the Burden for out of state campaigning that Cooper cannot do because of his LT governor.
I'm not saying Shapiro isn't important, only that it wasn't necessary to put him on the ticket to have a real shot at winning Pennsylvania.
Come on, were you really shocked by the Trump campaign using Great Replacement Theory? I mean, really shocked? If so, you were the target, right?
I think we all know Trump is running on White Supremacy Theory by now. It's not 2014. The idea was to get you saying, that's so shocking and circulate the meme. Then all the "silent majority" would pretend to agree with you for internet clout while secretly thinking, "I can't say it, but they're right, I really do hate people who don't look like me." And voila, Trump wins.
It's dumb, but I'm pretty sure that's what they're counting on.