Trump cannot leave the political scene soon enough. But we can't take anything for granted because he still has a large following. Thus, despite the latest polls, many of which show Harris in the lead, and despite the latest obvious evidence of his mental and cognitive decline, Democrats must turn out in a massive blue tsunami in November to put an end to the MAGA cesspool that has dragged our country into the muck. Right the ship of state, and sail forward with the policies that Joe Biden has started and that Kamala Harris will continue and expand on, policies that benefit the average American, not just the top 1%. And at the same time, as a longer term measure, fix the education system, bring back civics, and make sure Americans both young and old know the value and importance of the rule of law and that no person can be above the law.
I'm encouraged by the massive surge of voter registration among young people -- a surge that began immediately after Harris became the Dem nominee. Those young folk aren't getting involved because they plan to vote for Trump. Also encouraging is that David Hogg absolutely loves Walz, and says his friends of his age do as well. Good stuff.
Yes, this! There’s also one more – and to my mind the most important – reason we need that massive blue tsunami: only an irrefutably huge win for Harris/Walz will completely shut down the election denial treason that is being quietly put in place by Trump and his acolytes in county election operations across the country.
Great ideas, all! Particularly fixing the education system and bringing back civics. It's vital that our young people learn how our government works and understand the rule of law. Thanks for your wonderful comment!
Agreed that we need to really bring the vote in for Dems. I am still waiting for most of the television "journalists" to crack open Project 2025, and actually read what is in there and make some deductions for themselves. Absent that, we should all be reading it, and getting the word out, on how Trump and his cronies plan to turn the USA into a third world dictatorship, and tank our education system. I am about 1/3 of the way through Project 2025. My reading group is skipping around. I am currently reading The Department of Defense section. This is a video someone shared elsewhere, but we won't even have this system in place. The entire plan is to make education pay for Trump's Christian Nationalist homeschoolers, and perhaps charter schools, but public schools will be defunded. https://youtu.be/xgehQnJYYtk?si=PgwPMMEdkFwhgtbe
Expand the court and introduce term limits. I also think our Senators should be numbered proportionally to their states. Montana should not have the same say as California because that is unfair to the citizens of California if other states get the same number of representatives as they do.
Agree with all you say, Mr. Stotter, and I’m elated by the energy and joy uncorked by Team Harris-Walz, but something else much more difficult must also be fixed, as in “updated”: our Constitution. It’s an elegant document, a descendant of the Magna Carta and other noble attempts to delineate and codify the rules and limits of governance. But it’s 237 years old. The Founding Fathers (I’m never sure why we upper-case them) had no way of foreseeing the internet and other modern contrivances, and I don’t believe these intelligent, land-owning white men ever dreamed that a tawdry grifter like Trump could run for, and be elected to, the highest office in the land. They did inculcate impeachment and a senate trial for rogues, but Trump’s ignorance and traitorous behavior is in a class by itself. It depresses me that such a vain empty vessel, a true emotional baby, can even be considered, much less supported, by millions of voters. The world watches us with anxiety.
While your point is well taken the nation is in a different place than in 2016. The demographics are quite different. Trump is 8yrs older. Kamala is not Hillary.
Unlike 2016 the remodeled Harris campaign takes Trump both seriously and literally. They respond quickly, effectively, and with a sense of humor to Trump and Vance.
Do agree Trump's support in 2016 and 2020 was underestimated. Can happen again in 2024. In 2016 there wasn't an organized or organic stop Trump movement in the Republican Party or with R leaning Independents. While it did pick up in 2020, in 2024 they are going about their work with less emphasis on themselves and more focused on certain R demographics.
In 2016 and in 2020 niithah Hillary or Joe made any impact at the cultural level. That is an idicator younger voters were more likely to vote against Trump than for HRC or Joe. It was the Donald in both elections who made a mark in culture. That drives turnout.
The groundswell of organic cultural orgs supporting Kamala and Tim grows every day. It's not something polling can pick up. Even the fundraising numbers Lucian invoked don't tell the true story. Kamala has raised more money in one month than the Trump campaign raised in the entirety of the last quarter. That combined with the explosion of campaign volunteers means an organized GOTV push will happen across the nation.
I'd add that Trump is a known quantity. People know what they think of him and that's not going to change. The poll numbers already reflect the ceiling of his popularity and if they move at all have nowhere to go but down. Trump has certainly done nothing to expand his appeal to those who haven't already drank the Kool Aide.
Trump did scrape 50%+ in a couple of major polls for one or two date ranges (3-4 day period). That was the final straw for Ds who understand the ramifications over breaking 50% would likely result in loss of WH, Senate and lose seats in the House and down-ballot in the states. Seems as if Trump is still walking around with them in his jacket pocket while ignoring what has happened since.
And for those who think luck plays a role, since the RConvention nothing has gone Trump's way including having a mechanical issue w/his metal bird tonite in MT. While I don't see luck as a factor wouldn't mind if Trump suffered a diaper malfunction during the 10 Sept debate. Chalk that up to chit luck, no?
Quite agree, Shadowcloud. It would be fun to speculate on what Kamala would do if the big liar invades her debate stage space—something more impactful than what Hillary did, i'd guess. I got bent out of shape over JDminiMe trying to Swiftboat Tim Walz before I read Ed Kilgore, who pointed out how then that was. https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/why-the-swiftboating-of-tim-walz-wont-work.html
More than in most elections, these waters are uncharted. With the no-boundaries internet, worldwide wealth inequality, global health threats, etc etc, nothing's like ever before. And voters get to choose what they want around the house for the next few years, scowling American carnage or "laffin' " Kamala and grinnin' Tim. (So trumpy, that djt thought that calling attention to her laugh was disparaging.)
And today took a different approach, made her position on Gaza, a ceasefire, and the return of the hostages crystal clear. That quieted the outburst w/o a cross word being spoken. So, she brought them into the fold rather than expelling them. Kamala is always learning and can think in heels.
As of now Kamala is way under Trump's skin simply by being her authentic self yet to Trump's surprise he can't get a rise out of her. I do expect Kamala to use her laff as weapon against Trump to the point he acts childish. Plus Kamala has a spine of steel, Trump doesn't.
Agree. people will have to decide if they want broken promises and 4 years of doom and gloom or watch the evening news with a smile on their face.
On another note: the two things that bothered me this week aboyt Vance were falsely the USG asked him to go to Iraq and he said yes to the request. Sure pal. Orders are requests with a RSVP. The other is the remark he made to the press on the tarmac claiming I came to see MY plane. Sure dude. That aircraft belongs to the USG, not to any office holder. If it did, then the person could take it home with them when they left office.
So, with all the nonsense about Gov Walz poor choice of words regarding war, and the same with what rank he retired at rather the last rank he served at, will take Gov Walz's mispoken words over Vance carefully chosen words.
No matter wat his wonderful wife claims, the dude sure appears if he is wearing eyeliner. And it ain't lost on many his best Yale buddy is 2spirit. And is not shy sharing emails and texts regarding politics and society from their days at Yale.
And who in this world says childless cat ladies? Wicked weird.
A Slate writer was interested enough in the eyelashes to go to the sort of place that specializes in eye makeup to try to duplicate the effect on her own eyes. Too complicated to condense but two factoids: She came away convinced his are natural, and there's a genetic thing, people born with a double set of eyelashes that may or may not apply in his case. https://slate.com/life/2024/07/jd-vance-eyeliner-lashes-trump-campaign.html —HEATHER SCHWEDEL, 31 July 2024
When they just say whatever they think will play best at any moment, who's going to check the droplets that form the rapids? Nobody I follow bothered w/ the Yale $ thing.
Agree that we are in some uncharted waters in this election. No excuses to fight an iota less, especially since not all that’s new is helpful, but this is not just another election.
We cannot take our feet off the gas or eyes off the prize (that's the formula for Hillary '16), but I think Trump's support is overestimated. I think more than a few Republican politicians and leaders are voicing support because abandoning it is a career ender. I think more than a few Republican voters are saying they are all in for Trump because they have no choice, no other Republican has stepped up (see last sentence), and they will stay home or leave the top of the ticket blank. Trump is in the Fat Elvis stage. He plays the hits. His core group loves it. The rest of us are just sick of it and want him to go away.
I watched what I could tolerate on YouTube so it had all the Trumpers commenting. As we all know, they are never gong to abandon him. Just like on the Black Journalists appearance, they thought he was wonderful and mistreated by those rude people asking him those horrible questions. You know, he could finally stroke out or something terrible for them and die. What on earth are they golng to do when their clown isn't there anymore?
With the stress the Bloated Yam has been experiencing since Ms. Harris & Mr. Walz have taken center stage I'm even more encouraged that a fatal stroke probably isn't too far away. Wouldn't it be great to hear the good news on election night?
Forgive me, I can't help but wonder why somebody as smart as you, MV, wastes a second on the Trump-drunk (to revive Stuart Stevens's years-old descriptor). If not djt it would be some other weird Republican. They've always been there, always will be. They won't change. The ones who must concern us are the fence-sitters, especially double-haters who might still leave the presidential line of their ballots blank.
A lot of those silent Trump voters are switching to the Republican Voters Against Trump (RVAT) group. Also, I am living abroad and after our local paper publicized Democrats Abroad we got some Americans attending a monthly dinner who had never voted in the US election before because they were born and raised in Germany to US parents. Now they are taking their US passports and registering to vote because they feel this election is so important. Germans are largely supportive of Harris/Walz as president according to a poll I read yesterday. We also have had Republicans and people who normally just don't vote come attend our sessions and learn how to vote from Abroad. The idea of Trump pulling us out of NATO is upsetting enough that people want to vote who live Abroad. That is 9 to 11 million Americans. Not all are democrats, but the ones who are, are getting more interested in voting. The party should be reaching out to them. That is what we are trying to do. My region has several events set up to recruit and inform Americans abroad on how they can vote.
Disagree. Current climate and numbers don't support your contention.
We Dems are the silent, strong-willed, motivated majority when combined with Independents and disaffected R's. We have been waiting for Kamala and Tim for a looooong time.
Word is that when Trump was in 3rd grade he laughed when the other bully pushed the fat kid into the mud puddle. He has not laughed since. As for Melanoma, escorts don't laugh, it make the clients upset, especially those with tiny little mushrooms.
Laugh? How about a genuine smile? Actually, the Orange Blob did, once that I saw and remember. 2016 primaries, rally, Nevada, when he had just gotten the demographic results of Southern primary or primaries, which showed he had a huge lead among voters who had a high school diploma, or less. He broke into a real, gen-u-wine smile as he said, "I love the undereducated," mister con man's favorite sucker. The crowd roared.
Melanie hasn’t been the same since someone dropped a house on her sister. Trump can’t laugh because his face looks like it will explode. He’s nasty 🤢 and smelly. I think he will die soon, that’s why he’s losing it. He doesn’t have a regular doctor or none at all. Ronny lost his medical license and he cannot practice medicine anymore. A real doctor needs to step in and declare him mentally and physically disabled for campaigning. Since he’s in Florida, they can Baker act him. His children care nothing for him but they can have him put away.
I recommend Tony Fauci's excellent autobiography, "On Call," read by Him in the audio version. In the final part he deals with Covid, revealing that whatshisname was as foul-mouthed and narcissistic as Tricky Dick, but even more stupid. Fauci really spills the beans on many sordid details of the Covid response hidden from us mortals. And true to his oath, he's committed to being America's Doctor, despite the disgusting threats to him and his family. What a guy!
I have no idea when Trump lost it because I don't think he ever had it. His purpose all along, if indeed there's ever been one, has been to show us all the deep malaise in the U.S. electorate. We now know, or should know, far more than we did in 2016. What this means is that we don't go home after Harris-Walz wins in November. We all, every one of us, have work to do.
That's his purpose from his point of view, that and feeding his ego. I'm talking about his purpose in the larger scheme of things. Another way to put it: What did his rise and trajectory show us? What can we learn from it?
Apri 4, 2020. In hindsight, you are right on. That man, person, being, whatever, has never centered. He’s lived and acted on the fringe for his entire life, incapable of empathy. Incapable. You are right, Lucian, he is unwinding, perhaps already unwound. Now it’s only a matter of time. The end is coming.
He is so scared of it being found out that he is just not smart - he's stupid. And he is always trying to act the part of the smartest guy in the room.
There is an on going question that has existed since 2016, it's about press coverage. In 2016, no matter how important Hillary's agreed to televised speech was, if the tangerine turd's leased plane's wheels touched the tar mack? All of the Fourth Estate would immediately turn its full focus to the taxiing plane. And they waited.....and waited....and waited until the turd appeared - And Hillary's speech? Huh?
The press is doing it again. The candidate of the MAGA/Republican party, a convicted felon, an adjudicated rapist and twice loser of the popular vote summoned the Fourth Estate to his lair (invitation only) for a press conference. Every knee bowed and it was carried, without any sort of fact checking or rebuttal allowed. At the same time, VP Harris and Gov Walz were speaking. Not that we would know that because the major news stations carried the ramblings and lies of doddering, losing it, old fool. But he got the press, sans any reliable commentary and Harris and Walz got ignored. Just like 2016. How do we make it known that this is not acceptable? How do we stop it?
Weren't they just? And he has enough of a following so he can do it with impunity. But how do we somehow influence the powers that be that this is not 2016 and the undying devotion to the felon won't play well this time?
Maybe they're doing exactly what they should be doing by broadcasting every disgusting utterance from Trump.
Repub voters don't want to hear anything from a Dem candidate, so live broadcasts from Harris/Walz has no impact.
Dem voters certainly don't need any more proof that their ticket is the only one with real human beings on it.
The thumb sucking trumpian element is a total lost cause.
That leave the extremely strange demographic of disengaged fence sitters that might actually vote and Fox victims convinced that Dems will hurt their 401k.
For the Fox victims, their finances are doing ok as per their bank accounts and regardless of the Fox lies they're addicted to.
Voting for a certifiable lunatic though rocks that financial boat which is never an attractive option, no matter how convinced they are that imaginary immigrants are getting a free ride.
Betting your finances on a nutcase is bad business.
The more they hear Trump incoherently bloviate, the better.
Harris/Walz, the DNC, all the Delegates and every registered Democrat should be unbelievably relived that hisself is "....letting their convention go through."
To repeat what I said in the comments of your previous post, weird doesn't even begin to cover it.
That Amanda Marcotte piece is really great. I've posted links to it and sent it to everyone I regularly discuss politics with and it's been met with universal praise and laughter.
The Maga cultists go well beyond weird, they're misfits. As John Cleese described the the origin of the Nazi takeover, "they're a bunch of layabouts with nothing better to do than to cause trouble." Even the "panels" on the Fox News shows are strangely deranged, guys in shorts with long beards, scary blonde women, washed up minor celebrities. Where do they find such misfits? And notice how Trump has no support from former party leaders, not to mention his family.
I despise him with ferocity. He will never be miserable enough, sick enough or sad enough to get one ounce of sympathy from me. Ever. And I've despised him since the late '70s.
When you write, “I think it represents the early-onset stage of what we saw yesterday at Trump’s Mar a Lago press conference” I think he’s long past the early.”
He’s been a pathological liar for decades, and has demonstrated himself to be nuttier than West African peanut stew for at least ten years. Truth doesn’t matter to him; forget honor and character. His children don’t matter to him - except the one with the restructured face and big boobs that he’s said “he’d like to date.” His only interests are money and approval. Both are now in short supply, and when he realizes game over his dementia will be full blown
Yes the election is a big deal and a ton of commentators talk about it every day, but what the heck is going on in Ukraine? With the Ukrainians now attacking into Russia, the Russians said to be losing 1.0 to 1.5 k troops a day, their tanks and APCs getting decimated?The Russian offensive will culminate in 6-8 weeks. Where is this going? There is so little useful commentary. Your judgment would be enlightening. Jesse Lovejoy
Since there are no uniformed US personnel doing the fighting, the US media isn't going to cover it or embed the number of journos needed to cover such a widespread front.
Meanwhile, Wolf Blitzer is in Israel rooting for some type of massive 3+prong retaliatory attack against Israel for assassinating... 3people in two countries. While it remains a possibility, it's not something that is as likely as the media makes it out to be.
I was going to ‘heart’ your comment but then it occurred to me that even the most intelligent, kind and moral among us *doesn’t know what he doesn’t know*
Maybe I should a have said "The most dangerous man is the man who thinks he knows everything." Donald Trump thinks he knows more about war than the generals and more about medicine than physicians.
Trump cannot leave the political scene soon enough. But we can't take anything for granted because he still has a large following. Thus, despite the latest polls, many of which show Harris in the lead, and despite the latest obvious evidence of his mental and cognitive decline, Democrats must turn out in a massive blue tsunami in November to put an end to the MAGA cesspool that has dragged our country into the muck. Right the ship of state, and sail forward with the policies that Joe Biden has started and that Kamala Harris will continue and expand on, policies that benefit the average American, not just the top 1%. And at the same time, as a longer term measure, fix the education system, bring back civics, and make sure Americans both young and old know the value and importance of the rule of law and that no person can be above the law.
I'm encouraged by the massive surge of voter registration among young people -- a surge that began immediately after Harris became the Dem nominee. Those young folk aren't getting involved because they plan to vote for Trump. Also encouraging is that David Hogg absolutely loves Walz, and says his friends of his age do as well. Good stuff.
Yes, this! There’s also one more – and to my mind the most important – reason we need that massive blue tsunami: only an irrefutably huge win for Harris/Walz will completely shut down the election denial treason that is being quietly put in place by Trump and his acolytes in county election operations across the country.
Great ideas, all! Particularly fixing the education system and bringing back civics. It's vital that our young people learn how our government works and understand the rule of law. Thanks for your wonderful comment!
Agreed that we need to really bring the vote in for Dems. I am still waiting for most of the television "journalists" to crack open Project 2025, and actually read what is in there and make some deductions for themselves. Absent that, we should all be reading it, and getting the word out, on how Trump and his cronies plan to turn the USA into a third world dictatorship, and tank our education system. I am about 1/3 of the way through Project 2025. My reading group is skipping around. I am currently reading The Department of Defense section. This is a video someone shared elsewhere, but we won't even have this system in place. The entire plan is to make education pay for Trump's Christian Nationalist homeschoolers, and perhaps charter schools, but public schools will be defunded. https://youtu.be/xgehQnJYYtk?si=PgwPMMEdkFwhgtbe
I also think we need to tweak our democracy. Expand the House of Representatives, Danielle Allen makes a case for this here, https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/02/28/danielle-allen-democracy-reform-congress-house-expansion/
Expand the court and introduce term limits. I also think our Senators should be numbered proportionally to their states. Montana should not have the same say as California because that is unfair to the citizens of California if other states get the same number of representatives as they do.
Propublica just released an article summing up 14 hours of Project 2025 training videos with clips woven into the article and a link to the 14 hours at the end. https://www.propublica.org/article/inside-project-2025-secret-training-videos-trump-election?utm_source=sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=majorinvestigations&utm_content=feature
Please spread this to everyone you know so that they get a taste of what is planned.
Agree with all you say, Mr. Stotter, and I’m elated by the energy and joy uncorked by Team Harris-Walz, but something else much more difficult must also be fixed, as in “updated”: our Constitution. It’s an elegant document, a descendant of the Magna Carta and other noble attempts to delineate and codify the rules and limits of governance. But it’s 237 years old. The Founding Fathers (I’m never sure why we upper-case them) had no way of foreseeing the internet and other modern contrivances, and I don’t believe these intelligent, land-owning white men ever dreamed that a tawdry grifter like Trump could run for, and be elected to, the highest office in the land. They did inculcate impeachment and a senate trial for rogues, but Trump’s ignorance and traitorous behavior is in a class by itself. It depresses me that such a vain empty vessel, a true emotional baby, can even be considered, much less supported, by millions of voters. The world watches us with anxiety.
80,000,000 silent trump supporters (as long as he has a pulse) waiting quietly to vote for him. Forget this and it's Hilary all over again.
While your point is well taken the nation is in a different place than in 2016. The demographics are quite different. Trump is 8yrs older. Kamala is not Hillary.
Unlike 2016 the remodeled Harris campaign takes Trump both seriously and literally. They respond quickly, effectively, and with a sense of humor to Trump and Vance.
Do agree Trump's support in 2016 and 2020 was underestimated. Can happen again in 2024. In 2016 there wasn't an organized or organic stop Trump movement in the Republican Party or with R leaning Independents. While it did pick up in 2020, in 2024 they are going about their work with less emphasis on themselves and more focused on certain R demographics.
In 2016 and in 2020 niithah Hillary or Joe made any impact at the cultural level. That is an idicator younger voters were more likely to vote against Trump than for HRC or Joe. It was the Donald in both elections who made a mark in culture. That drives turnout.
The groundswell of organic cultural orgs supporting Kamala and Tim grows every day. It's not something polling can pick up. Even the fundraising numbers Lucian invoked don't tell the true story. Kamala has raised more money in one month than the Trump campaign raised in the entirety of the last quarter. That combined with the explosion of campaign volunteers means an organized GOTV push will happen across the nation.
I'd add that Trump is a known quantity. People know what they think of him and that's not going to change. The poll numbers already reflect the ceiling of his popularity and if they move at all have nowhere to go but down. Trump has certainly done nothing to expand his appeal to those who haven't already drank the Kool Aide.
Agree.
Trump did scrape 50%+ in a couple of major polls for one or two date ranges (3-4 day period). That was the final straw for Ds who understand the ramifications over breaking 50% would likely result in loss of WH, Senate and lose seats in the House and down-ballot in the states. Seems as if Trump is still walking around with them in his jacket pocket while ignoring what has happened since.
And for those who think luck plays a role, since the RConvention nothing has gone Trump's way including having a mechanical issue w/his metal bird tonite in MT. While I don't see luck as a factor wouldn't mind if Trump suffered a diaper malfunction during the 10 Sept debate. Chalk that up to chit luck, no?
New NY Times/Sienna polls seem to be proving us right.
Quite agree, Shadowcloud. It would be fun to speculate on what Kamala would do if the big liar invades her debate stage space—something more impactful than what Hillary did, i'd guess. I got bent out of shape over JDminiMe trying to Swiftboat Tim Walz before I read Ed Kilgore, who pointed out how then that was. https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/why-the-swiftboating-of-tim-walz-wont-work.html
More than in most elections, these waters are uncharted. With the no-boundaries internet, worldwide wealth inequality, global health threats, etc etc, nothing's like ever before. And voters get to choose what they want around the house for the next few years, scowling American carnage or "laffin' " Kamala and grinnin' Tim. (So trumpy, that djt thought that calling attention to her laugh was disparaging.)
“I’m speaking.”
And today took a different approach, made her position on Gaza, a ceasefire, and the return of the hostages crystal clear. That quieted the outburst w/o a cross word being spoken. So, she brought them into the fold rather than expelling them. Kamala is always learning and can think in heels.
And dance backwards!
☝️🫶🩵
As of now Kamala is way under Trump's skin simply by being her authentic self yet to Trump's surprise he can't get a rise out of her. I do expect Kamala to use her laff as weapon against Trump to the point he acts childish. Plus Kamala has a spine of steel, Trump doesn't.
Agree. people will have to decide if they want broken promises and 4 years of doom and gloom or watch the evening news with a smile on their face.
On another note: the two things that bothered me this week aboyt Vance were falsely the USG asked him to go to Iraq and he said yes to the request. Sure pal. Orders are requests with a RSVP. The other is the remark he made to the press on the tarmac claiming I came to see MY plane. Sure dude. That aircraft belongs to the USG, not to any office holder. If it did, then the person could take it home with them when they left office.
So, with all the nonsense about Gov Walz poor choice of words regarding war, and the same with what rank he retired at rather the last rank he served at, will take Gov Walz's mispoken words over Vance carefully chosen words.
miniMe's words describing how he was able to afford Yale were particularly carefully chosen. He claimed "Mamaw" paid. Fact: G.I. bill paid.
g8 get
No matter wat his wonderful wife claims, the dude sure appears if he is wearing eyeliner. And it ain't lost on many his best Yale buddy is 2spirit. And is not shy sharing emails and texts regarding politics and society from their days at Yale.
And who in this world says childless cat ladies? Wicked weird.
A Slate writer was interested enough in the eyelashes to go to the sort of place that specializes in eye makeup to try to duplicate the effect on her own eyes. Too complicated to condense but two factoids: She came away convinced his are natural, and there's a genetic thing, people born with a double set of eyelashes that may or may not apply in his case. https://slate.com/life/2024/07/jd-vance-eyeliner-lashes-trump-campaign.html —HEATHER SCHWEDEL, 31 July 2024
Why would JD lie about something trivial like who paid for his Yale Law School education? It's public info that he used the G.I. Bill.
When they just say whatever they think will play best at any moment, who's going to check the droplets that form the rapids? Nobody I follow bothered w/ the Yale $ thing.
Agree that we are in some uncharted waters in this election. No excuses to fight an iota less, especially since not all that’s new is helpful, but this is not just another election.
We cannot take our feet off the gas or eyes off the prize (that's the formula for Hillary '16), but I think Trump's support is overestimated. I think more than a few Republican politicians and leaders are voicing support because abandoning it is a career ender. I think more than a few Republican voters are saying they are all in for Trump because they have no choice, no other Republican has stepped up (see last sentence), and they will stay home or leave the top of the ticket blank. Trump is in the Fat Elvis stage. He plays the hits. His core group loves it. The rest of us are just sick of it and want him to go away.
Fat Elvis stage. Nailed it!
VP Harris is running a very different campaign. Don't underestimate her!
I wish they were silent.
I watched what I could tolerate on YouTube so it had all the Trumpers commenting. As we all know, they are never gong to abandon him. Just like on the Black Journalists appearance, they thought he was wonderful and mistreated by those rude people asking him those horrible questions. You know, he could finally stroke out or something terrible for them and die. What on earth are they golng to do when their clown isn't there anymore?
With the stress the Bloated Yam has been experiencing since Ms. Harris & Mr. Walz have taken center stage I'm even more encouraged that a fatal stroke probably isn't too far away. Wouldn't it be great to hear the good news on election night?
Only the good die young
Forgive me, I can't help but wonder why somebody as smart as you, MV, wastes a second on the Trump-drunk (to revive Stuart Stevens's years-old descriptor). If not djt it would be some other weird Republican. They've always been there, always will be. They won't change. The ones who must concern us are the fence-sitters, especially double-haters who might still leave the presidential line of their ballots blank.
Jesus is making a second appearance, don’t you know.
A lot of those silent Trump voters are switching to the Republican Voters Against Trump (RVAT) group. Also, I am living abroad and after our local paper publicized Democrats Abroad we got some Americans attending a monthly dinner who had never voted in the US election before because they were born and raised in Germany to US parents. Now they are taking their US passports and registering to vote because they feel this election is so important. Germans are largely supportive of Harris/Walz as president according to a poll I read yesterday. We also have had Republicans and people who normally just don't vote come attend our sessions and learn how to vote from Abroad. The idea of Trump pulling us out of NATO is upsetting enough that people want to vote who live Abroad. That is 9 to 11 million Americans. Not all are democrats, but the ones who are, are getting more interested in voting. The party should be reaching out to them. That is what we are trying to do. My region has several events set up to recruit and inform Americans abroad on how they can vote.
Disagree. Current climate and numbers don't support your contention.
We Dems are the silent, strong-willed, motivated majority when combined with Independents and disaffected R's. We have been waiting for Kamala and Tim for a looooong time.
I'll buy anybody a new hat who has ever seen Trump or Melania laugh.
Word is that when Trump was in 3rd grade he laughed when the other bully pushed the fat kid into the mud puddle. He has not laughed since. As for Melanoma, escorts don't laugh, it make the clients upset, especially those with tiny little mushrooms.
Can they sneer?
Some have elevated that skill to an art form....
The Mug Shot!
Laugh? How about a genuine smile? Actually, the Orange Blob did, once that I saw and remember. 2016 primaries, rally, Nevada, when he had just gotten the demographic results of Southern primary or primaries, which showed he had a huge lead among voters who had a high school diploma, or less. He broke into a real, gen-u-wine smile as he said, "I love the undereducated," mister con man's favorite sucker. The crowd roared.
I guess I owe you a new lid. Camo?
Melanie hasn’t been the same since someone dropped a house on her sister. Trump can’t laugh because his face looks like it will explode. He’s nasty 🤢 and smelly. I think he will die soon, that’s why he’s losing it. He doesn’t have a regular doctor or none at all. Ronny lost his medical license and he cannot practice medicine anymore. A real doctor needs to step in and declare him mentally and physically disabled for campaigning. Since he’s in Florida, they can Baker act him. His children care nothing for him but they can have him put away.
I recommend Tony Fauci's excellent autobiography, "On Call," read by Him in the audio version. In the final part he deals with Covid, revealing that whatshisname was as foul-mouthed and narcissistic as Tricky Dick, but even more stupid. Fauci really spills the beans on many sordid details of the Covid response hidden from us mortals. And true to his oath, he's committed to being America's Doctor, despite the disgusting threats to him and his family. What a guy!
I have no idea when Trump lost it because I don't think he ever had it. His purpose all along, if indeed there's ever been one, has been to show us all the deep malaise in the U.S. electorate. We now know, or should know, far more than we did in 2016. What this means is that we don't go home after Harris-Walz wins in November. We all, every one of us, have work to do.
I always thought his purpose was to grift the American public.
That's his purpose from his point of view, that and feeding his ego. I'm talking about his purpose in the larger scheme of things. Another way to put it: What did his rise and trajectory show us? What can we learn from it?
What did his rise show us? That it’s possible we could lose our democracy if he wins another term.
Apri 4, 2020. In hindsight, you are right on. That man, person, being, whatever, has never centered. He’s lived and acted on the fringe for his entire life, incapable of empathy. Incapable. You are right, Lucian, he is unwinding, perhaps already unwound. Now it’s only a matter of time. The end is coming.
He is so scared of it being found out that he is just not smart - he's stupid. And he is always trying to act the part of the smartest guy in the room.
Good column, Lucien! Thank you.
There is an on going question that has existed since 2016, it's about press coverage. In 2016, no matter how important Hillary's agreed to televised speech was, if the tangerine turd's leased plane's wheels touched the tar mack? All of the Fourth Estate would immediately turn its full focus to the taxiing plane. And they waited.....and waited....and waited until the turd appeared - And Hillary's speech? Huh?
The press is doing it again. The candidate of the MAGA/Republican party, a convicted felon, an adjudicated rapist and twice loser of the popular vote summoned the Fourth Estate to his lair (invitation only) for a press conference. Every knee bowed and it was carried, without any sort of fact checking or rebuttal allowed. At the same time, VP Harris and Gov Walz were speaking. Not that we would know that because the major news stations carried the ramblings and lies of doddering, losing it, old fool. But he got the press, sans any reliable commentary and Harris and Walz got ignored. Just like 2016. How do we make it known that this is not acceptable? How do we stop it?
The major networks were sternly admonished by Lawrence O’Donnell last night.
Terrific Lawrence as usual. He was steamed!!
Weren't they just? And he has enough of a following so he can do it with impunity. But how do we somehow influence the powers that be that this is not 2016 and the undying devotion to the felon won't play well this time?
Maybe they're doing exactly what they should be doing by broadcasting every disgusting utterance from Trump.
Repub voters don't want to hear anything from a Dem candidate, so live broadcasts from Harris/Walz has no impact.
Dem voters certainly don't need any more proof that their ticket is the only one with real human beings on it.
The thumb sucking trumpian element is a total lost cause.
That leave the extremely strange demographic of disengaged fence sitters that might actually vote and Fox victims convinced that Dems will hurt their 401k.
For the Fox victims, their finances are doing ok as per their bank accounts and regardless of the Fox lies they're addicted to.
Voting for a certifiable lunatic though rocks that financial boat which is never an attractive option, no matter how convinced they are that imaginary immigrants are getting a free ride.
Betting your finances on a nutcase is bad business.
The more they hear Trump incoherently bloviate, the better.
Harris/Walz, the DNC, all the Delegates and every registered Democrat should be unbelievably relived that hisself is "....letting their convention go through."
Whew! That was a close one! Thank you, Mr Trump! 🤭
Hahaha! Hahaha! Oh yeah, such a gentleman for letting our convention go through! 😂
As if he was able to make it not happen. What a pathetic excuse for a human being. What a joke.
To repeat what I said in the comments of your previous post, weird doesn't even begin to cover it.
That Amanda Marcotte piece is really great. I've posted links to it and sent it to everyone I regularly discuss politics with and it's been met with universal praise and laughter.
The Maga cultists go well beyond weird, they're misfits. As John Cleese described the the origin of the Nazi takeover, "they're a bunch of layabouts with nothing better to do than to cause trouble." Even the "panels" on the Fox News shows are strangely deranged, guys in shorts with long beards, scary blonde women, washed up minor celebrities. Where do they find such misfits? And notice how Trump has no support from former party leaders, not to mention his family.
Usually I like the weird and the misfits: my people! But...
There is an important distinction Don Quixote while quite insane as well was of moral fiber. Donnieboy has no morals whatsoever. Just bone spurs.
She is a treasure! I love reading her in SALON and "Standing Room Only"😁
I despise him with ferocity. He will never be miserable enough, sick enough or sad enough to get one ounce of sympathy from me. Ever. And I've despised him since the late '70s.
My sentiments exactly!
When you write, “I think it represents the early-onset stage of what we saw yesterday at Trump’s Mar a Lago press conference” I think he’s long past the early.”
He’s been a pathological liar for decades, and has demonstrated himself to be nuttier than West African peanut stew for at least ten years. Truth doesn’t matter to him; forget honor and character. His children don’t matter to him - except the one with the restructured face and big boobs that he’s said “he’d like to date.” His only interests are money and approval. Both are now in short supply, and when he realizes game over his dementia will be full blown
“Glowering loners staring at the two women under 40 like cats watching birds out a window.”
Line of the day, maybe the month…
Glorious schadenfreude on display here! Love every sentence, mostly yours, but the quotes as well.
That last graf...
Yes the election is a big deal and a ton of commentators talk about it every day, but what the heck is going on in Ukraine? With the Ukrainians now attacking into Russia, the Russians said to be losing 1.0 to 1.5 k troops a day, their tanks and APCs getting decimated?The Russian offensive will culminate in 6-8 weeks. Where is this going? There is so little useful commentary. Your judgment would be enlightening. Jesse Lovejoy
Since there are no uniformed US personnel doing the fighting, the US media isn't going to cover it or embed the number of journos needed to cover such a widespread front.
Meanwhile, Wolf Blitzer is in Israel rooting for some type of massive 3+prong retaliatory attack against Israel for assassinating... 3people in two countries. While it remains a possibility, it's not something that is as likely as the media makes it out to be.
The most dangerous man is a man who doesn't know what he doesn't know
I was going to ‘heart’ your comment but then it occurred to me that even the most intelligent, kind and moral among us *doesn’t know what he doesn’t know*
Maybe I should a have said "The most dangerous man is the man who thinks he knows everything." Donald Trump thinks he knows more about war than the generals and more about medicine than physicians.