He sexually harassed and assaulted 27 women. He stuck his hand under their skirts in public places. He grabbed their breasts without even knowing who they were. He raped one woman in a public dressing room in a department store. He bragged about abusing women to a reporter for a national television show and the tape became public.
I recommend the book, Strongmen by Ruth Ben-Ghiat. Trump is step-by-step following the pattern for taking control of the country established by Mussolini, Hitler & Putin, among others. The scary part: they were all successful.
Indeed! But it took a tragically long time for them to meet their deserved ends. And look what they put their countries through before they were finally destroyed.
yeah, but Stalin, who was arguably WORSE (at least in terms of how many deaths he directly caused) did pretty well for himself and died in bed. I can't be TOO comforted by the idea that the evil always get the end they deserve; too many of them don't. just saying.
All you write is valid on its face but the hardest thing for a lot of us to accept is such a large percentage of our nation is willing to accept his debasement. So, why is that? IMHO it has to be because that cohort is not just willing to overlook these "sins" but because they consider the acceptable behavior. No , not for politicians but for the society as a whole. And, that is the shame. That such large percentage of the American pubic has become as debases as this man himself.
I think COVID has shown us how if we allow a deadly virus to run amok among us it will be fatal. In the same way Trump and his beliefs are a deadly virus which has become an active ingredient to those in our society who are not just willing but active participants in a campaign to overturn the morality and decency we would like to believe are integral to the American psyche and experience. Trump has made it more than OK for a lot of us to do what we probably have always wanted to do but were afraid to do lest we be seen as boorish. He unleashed a Kraaken and , voila , a lot of us discovered there were a lot like us out there willing to join his unholy crusade.
Donald Trump is not the problem, It is to one degree or another the 70+ million Americans who voted for him thinking they could walk away from the experience unsullied. They can't . Now they are the problem and the rest of us are still left to wonder why could so many of us have thrown in with this man and his values so easily and quickly.
That was my thought too. That 74 million actually ADMIRE this monster and voted for him is astounding. I always knew there was an "element" of society that chose to be deplorable (what a perfect word choice) and proudly so, but I had no idea it was so widespread. Attending public school, I was aware of the bullies and the unwashed among my classmates, but at the end of the day, we all went to our respective homes. I knew nothing of their home environments and at school, they were forced to conform to classroom standards. What they did outside of school I never knew. I never associated with them beyond school. In high school, they were the girls who fought in the locker room and tore each other's hair out. We "regular girls" avoided them and basically ignored them. And again, I just assumed they were fewer in number than the majority of us who tried to be decent human beings. I was wrong. They number 74 million now. And not all of them are "poor white trash" (our term during my youth) - they are the people who drive expensive SUVs and buy airline tickets to fly to rallies where they scream filth and froth at the mouth - like the animals they have always been - making no effort to show any morality. I guess because they basically have none. Sorry for the rant.
No need whatsoever to apologize! I am completely unapologetic in my hatred and utter contempt for these people. I think of them as some sort of intrinsically inferior offshoot of the white race that failed to develop properly. Because that's the one thing they have in common: they're WHITE. (As for the occasional, pathetic person of color who joins their ranks...wow... like hearing a Jew defend Hitler.)
We’ve heard from many pundits and historians about our state of affairs. Would like to hear more from the mental health field. 70 million fellow citizens approving all the bad and illegal behavior is beyond shocking. Fill in some blanks for us psychiatrists and psychologists. What’s going on and how bad is it?
So true, but I thought I heard it was a high percentage of the Republican party who believed in the big lie and of course nearly all support him but a relatively small percentage of the total population, That is why being a minority they are taking desperate measures to try to take over control of the voting process in so many states and also legislating so many restrictions to make it harder to vote.
Look back on some of the observations made about Americans in the past: PT Barnum's observation that a sucker is born every minute; Mencken's claim that you'll never go broke underestimating the stupidity of the American people; Minow's claim that television was /is a "vast wasteland," and yes, a lot of people watch the junk on tv, not the tiny percentage of excellent stuff, etc..... A frightening percentage of Americans are stupid, willfully ignorant, gullible, poorly educated, barely literate, mean-spirited, bigoted, cruel, selfish.... not everybody and not even a majority, but still, many millions. And t-Rump has inspired them to come right out and be their worst selves.
That's what gives me the most uncomfortable feeling - the 74,000,000 who wanted four more years of "it." Even though they lost, we're still in a lot of "it,: so maybe they actually partially won. There is a cultural disease that has manifested in mass MAGA madness, and I think our political antibodies are failing, and I can only hope that our cultural T-cells get their act together ASAP. Lucian - you laid it out transgression by outrage by crime, for all of us, Thank you for taking the time to digest all of this and serve it to us with such aplomb.....
I want the Democratic Party to grow some balls…BIG ONES! Their long drawn out rhetoric is boring and quite frankly, inept. Vocally, I want them to challenge these SOBs with all the might they have. Enough with the bullshit!
My view of the game plan is his speech is the opening of a call for civil war.
‘ 74 million stood by me in 2020; our congressional representatives have stood by us since. Now stand by those patriots who have been or will be unlawfully arrested; demonstrate your support by protesting when, where, and how you think it will help us defeat this crooked government.’
Wait a minute! Where did that figure come from? Aren't you assuming that ALL Covid deaths are of t-rumpsters? In the first year of the pandemic people of all political persuasions died; since then, the percentage of dead trumpsters has been steadily increasing, but the number is still insignificant in contrast to the 74 million morons who voted for him. Even if several million of his worshipers die between now and 2024, it won't make a noticeable dent in his support.
I was wondering if anyone had listed all of this man's crimes against society and now we have a list (at least a good portion of the ones we know about). But they continue as we speak like his recent calls for mass protests against those who are investigating him. He has also promised to pardon the insurrectionists and said Pence had the power to overturn the election. What a piece of work this guy is.... To paraphrase Robert Burns, God give him the gift to see himself as others see him. But what does this sayy about those who supported him and still even now support him?
So good, Lucian. Such a scathing indictment of our poor America that 74 million of us are so preternaturally demented. Who among us, as we made deservedly savage fun of him for decades, could have even imagined his transformation from local buffoon to global menace? Here’s my fantasy: upon hearing himself sentenced to 20 years in prison, he suffers a stroke so severe it leaves him in a condition that makes Stephen Hawking seem acrobatic. Then every day they come into his cell, strap him down with his eyes pried open like Alex’s in A Clockwork Orange, and force him to watch videos that we all send in making fun of him the way he mocked that handicapped reporter (in a moment which not only should have ended his campaign on the spot but should have made him a lifelong pariah shunned unto eternity). He has no phone, and playing in his cell 24/7 — except, of course, for when he’s watching those humiliating videos — are, on an endless loop, the audiobooks of Barack and Michelle Obama. Oh, and he’s served nothing to eat but salad.
And then Seth Meyers twisted the knife. Don’t just stop with Obama, Seth was actually even more vicious. Here’s the link for anyone who missed it: https://youtu.be/7YGITlxfT6s
Trump’s agony at being forced to sit there and JUST FUCKING TAKE IT was so obvious that I’ve replayed those clips dozens of times over the years. The greater his pain, the greater my joy. That’s his gift — bringing out the very worst in everybody. He is without doubt the most thoroughly despicable creature this country has ever vomited up.
It would be extra devious to make him think he was getting a hamberder,but instead the patty is the worst sort of veggie mash up (not one of the good ones) with lot's of veggies and anything else he hates that resembles healthy eating. Then stuff it in his gob and watch the horror of realizing it's not what he so desired. Or a rare steak with no ketchup. I could go on, but I digress.
In many states our votes already don’t count. TN has just gerrymandered the Congressional district I live in to take away a Democratic seat. Basically they have taken away our ability to choose our representative. The Republican Party is rotten to the core, but it’s support is increasing ( if one believes the polls). Why? People are frustrated at the government’s performance. They don’t feel the government listens to them. This is true. Big money reinforces this every day and there does not seem to a way to stop it. The SC says money is free speech. That means rich people have more speech than poor or middle class people. People vote their frustrations, and the Republican Party and it’s media voices reinforces it. This can lead to wins at the ballot box, and, if not, cry fraud, which leads to more frustration and lack of trust in our government. Soon the big money autocratic power brokers take over the country. In order to stop the beast that the Republican Party has become you must cut off the head(t-rump). That means trials and convictions. Even that may not work, but it’s the only path I can see at this time.
This article ranks the US in 27th place on the corruption scale, 1 being the least corrupt. It certainly explains why Trump has gotten away with all he has over his entire lifetime.
well gee, I couldn't have said it better myself. and hardly for want of trying. seriously, though: this new information (continuously changing new information that only implicates him more deeply every day) really is shocking. which is to say that I am shocked, despite the fact that I thought I was immune to TFF shocking me more than he already had. I am prepared to be shocked tomorrow, which ought to be some sort of inoculation, but it's not. he's the gift that keeps on giving, if your idea of a gift is to be shocked on a daily basis.
How did this happen? How could so many think that he is an acceptable leader? He is not even an acceptable human. He’ll never fade away if he keeps being lauded by the big basket of deplorables. Thank you for this. I shall put it on a daily desk calendar where each day will be an affirmation of WHY THE NAME WE WILL NOT UTTER can never be elected to any future office.
What he has done is only part of the point. This is the rest of it:
"It didn’t hurt his support even a little bit."
"It didn’t affect the support of his political party at all . . . "
"Support among his base went up, not down."
"It didn’t affect his poll numbers at all."
"Evidence of his guilt was laughed at by his supporters in the Senate."
Etc. And apparently rational pundits talk as if Republicans taking back one or both houses of Congress is not only likely but possibly inevitable. In what universe is this even possible?
Hey, if that does it for you, great. It doesn't do it for me. What I'm suggesting is that focusing too much on TFG isn't going to make his support go away, and that for his supporters facts and logic aren't especially persuasive. It's the emotional appeal that resonates and motivates -- and on the whole, I'd say that this isn't unique to Trump supporters.
Here in MA we've got several outstanding Democratic candidates running for each of several statewide offices (three for governor, *five* for lieutenant governor, two for auditor, and two [so far] for attorney general). By the time we get to the state Democratic convention in early June (as the chair of my town's Democratic town committee I'll be a delegate), I will have read up on all of them and heard most of them speak, in several cases more than once. There's no way I can make my choices based entirely on facts and logic. Gut feeling, i.e., emotion, is going to play a big part in it.
The short version is that I don't expect Trump supporters to be primarily motivated by facts and logic either.
Thank you yet again. You pretty well define what investigative reporting can provide for us who intimately know the details of everything you brought up , but are entirely incapable of putting it all is such succinct context.
I read this to someone and stopped now and then to fill about things like just how rotten Manifort is and his resume, and and the extent of the "acting" administration.
"Never held accountable" seems to have opened the door to a feeling of total imperviousness, which has led to carelessness, which hopefully brings the entire Republican house of cards to its knees.
Thanks for giving it your very best because without it the right and honest and democracy saving path wouldn't be quite so clear.
I asked a FL Repub 20+ son of a friend to send me a link to something that helps define his path.
He sent me Rogan's Malone podcast which is so full of lies and bullshit that the first hour took me no time, but considerable time to poke dozens and dozens of holes through with actual facts.
He listened to is driving and in bed before dozing off. Never checked one shred of it, but it was his best example of where his head is at.
He's a UF grad and hawking real estate in the boom. Contrary to all facts he believe Repubs are good for the economy., even though 10 of the last 11 recessions happened under Republican administrations, employment has always been higher under Dems and tax cutting has never, never paid for itself.
Still and regardless, he is obviously unswayable in his belief that Repubs are the path and he loves DeSantis. He's not stupid and back in the day was an adorable happy sweet kid with a great smile. His parents totally disagree with his views, but don't want to mar their relationship, so they let it be. They are Dems in heart, but typical of Florida they couldn't find NPR on the dial. So they have no back up or experience with even that so so version of balanced reporting.
Even with the horridly ignorant clown costumed rallies Trump thrives on, he won't be swayed.
Even with the obvious totally despicable fools representing him in gov't, he won't be swayed.
Florida born and raised, he's stuck knee deep in the muck and along with most of the folks around me in this small FL town, he could never be convinced that Biden isn't feeble, that Dems will ruin the country and his opportunities, and that even Trump is better than the alternative.
He's not alone and it bodes no good that I would never be able to reach him with facts from what he is assured comes from fake news.
He's impervious and it sucks for this country that he is.
Are we to believe the Federal government is going to allow the Great March to its destruction? Are we going to see Democrats step aside and allow Republicans to support insurrection in January 2023 if they keep the congress? Are we going to watch corporate America do nothing while Trump tramples the republic and sets up a grifters tyranny? Really? Mr. Trump is edging closer to the day when a very rude slap will come and he can’t get bail. His legions of followers will melt away as they lose access to their bank accounts and face eviction. Serious money will not allow Trump to cause harm. This is not Germany 1933 it’s America 2022. Tolerance of Trumps carnival is wearing thin.
Republican legislatures in red states are going to throw out elections where Democrats win in 2022 and declare Republicans as the victors. This is what Arizona has already decided to do . If their voter suppression laws don’t result in a Republican victory, they will throw out the win for the Democrats.
And when a state voids obvious Democrat wins the federal government will do nothing? Are you aware that in 1948 the Dixiecrats threatened to cancel the November Election and US AG Tom Clark threatened to send federal marshals into those states? Did the south rise up in 1957 or 1963? No AG in the country wants to face down federal marshals or federal troops.
The answer to your first three questions is YES to each one. If the GOP wins control of Congress and the Presidency they will destroy every piece of Dem legislation of the last 100 years and the SC will uphold all of their moves. T-Rump's legions of followers will not "melt away." They are literally willing to give up their own lives for him-- they would rather remain unvaccinated and die of Covid than help end the pandemic and make Biden "look good." I don't understand what makes you think people will lose access to their bank accounts, and face eviction. Why??? Serious money is GOP billionaires who are perfectly happy to see t-Rump destroy everything except their gilded lives. I sure do wish I understood the sources of your optimism.
Wearing thin? I wish! As Lucian writes, whatever t-Rump does, no matter how vile, it only increases the ardor and blind devotion of his worshipers. We didn't believe it could happen, but YES, they are-- quite literally-- willing to die for him, as we've seen: people refusing to get vaccinated because, if the Covid epidemic ends, it will "make Biden look good."
Excuse me, in their fantasy's they die a glorious death. In real life the Fed cuts access to their bank accounts, their cellphone is cut off, they get fired from their job, the car company takes back their car. Their children are expelled from school. And frightened neighbors who fear losing America come after them. Remember most of the idiots on Jan 6th were rather passive. The idiots did not torch the capitol or trash the Senate. Real violence, that ends any hope of returning to family and job is incredibly difficult. There are violent crazies, but they are a small mob and furious Federal Marshals will slaughter them.
You really think the "Feds" will do all those things listed in your second through fourth sentences? I doubt it! The biggest mistake "the Feds" made was not to shoot the people who invaded the Capitol. ONE invader was shot and killed. ONE! Maybe the Feds learned from that pathetically weak response, and "furious Federal Marshalls" will mow down any such mobs in the future. I hope you're right about that.
HE is the epitome of corruption , the Hitler of the Century—and the criminal syndicate called the GOP protects his vile existence.
I recommend the book, Strongmen by Ruth Ben-Ghiat. Trump is step-by-step following the pattern for taking control of the country established by Mussolini, Hitler & Putin, among others. The scary part: they were all successful.
I just read it. The one bright spot is looking at how Mussolini, Gaddafi, Hussein, Hitler, et al ended up.
Indeed! But it took a tragically long time for them to meet their deserved ends. And look what they put their countries through before they were finally destroyed.
Something like 30 million people died in Hitler's and Mussolini's wars.
6 million Jews and others were gypsies, the disabled, and LGBTQ. My grandparents were gassed.
My father at The Bulge.
That was rough too.
😢
Halfway there...he is brain dead.
His favorite leaders, add Pyonyang.
Well, the first two were successful for a while.... but as I recall their reigns didn't end well for them.
yeah, but Stalin, who was arguably WORSE (at least in terms of how many deaths he directly caused) did pretty well for himself and died in bed. I can't be TOO comforted by the idea that the evil always get the end they deserve; too many of them don't. just saying.
All you write is valid on its face but the hardest thing for a lot of us to accept is such a large percentage of our nation is willing to accept his debasement. So, why is that? IMHO it has to be because that cohort is not just willing to overlook these "sins" but because they consider the acceptable behavior. No , not for politicians but for the society as a whole. And, that is the shame. That such large percentage of the American pubic has become as debases as this man himself.
I think COVID has shown us how if we allow a deadly virus to run amok among us it will be fatal. In the same way Trump and his beliefs are a deadly virus which has become an active ingredient to those in our society who are not just willing but active participants in a campaign to overturn the morality and decency we would like to believe are integral to the American psyche and experience. Trump has made it more than OK for a lot of us to do what we probably have always wanted to do but were afraid to do lest we be seen as boorish. He unleashed a Kraaken and , voila , a lot of us discovered there were a lot like us out there willing to join his unholy crusade.
Donald Trump is not the problem, It is to one degree or another the 70+ million Americans who voted for him thinking they could walk away from the experience unsullied. They can't . Now they are the problem and the rest of us are still left to wonder why could so many of us have thrown in with this man and his values so easily and quickly.
That was my thought too. That 74 million actually ADMIRE this monster and voted for him is astounding. I always knew there was an "element" of society that chose to be deplorable (what a perfect word choice) and proudly so, but I had no idea it was so widespread. Attending public school, I was aware of the bullies and the unwashed among my classmates, but at the end of the day, we all went to our respective homes. I knew nothing of their home environments and at school, they were forced to conform to classroom standards. What they did outside of school I never knew. I never associated with them beyond school. In high school, they were the girls who fought in the locker room and tore each other's hair out. We "regular girls" avoided them and basically ignored them. And again, I just assumed they were fewer in number than the majority of us who tried to be decent human beings. I was wrong. They number 74 million now. And not all of them are "poor white trash" (our term during my youth) - they are the people who drive expensive SUVs and buy airline tickets to fly to rallies where they scream filth and froth at the mouth - like the animals they have always been - making no effort to show any morality. I guess because they basically have none. Sorry for the rant.
No need whatsoever to apologize! I am completely unapologetic in my hatred and utter contempt for these people. I think of them as some sort of intrinsically inferior offshoot of the white race that failed to develop properly. Because that's the one thing they have in common: they're WHITE. (As for the occasional, pathetic person of color who joins their ranks...wow... like hearing a Jew defend Hitler.)
We’ve heard from many pundits and historians about our state of affairs. Would like to hear more from the mental health field. 70 million fellow citizens approving all the bad and illegal behavior is beyond shocking. Fill in some blanks for us psychiatrists and psychologists. What’s going on and how bad is it?
So true, but I thought I heard it was a high percentage of the Republican party who believed in the big lie and of course nearly all support him but a relatively small percentage of the total population, That is why being a minority they are taking desperate measures to try to take over control of the voting process in so many states and also legislating so many restrictions to make it harder to vote.
Look back on some of the observations made about Americans in the past: PT Barnum's observation that a sucker is born every minute; Mencken's claim that you'll never go broke underestimating the stupidity of the American people; Minow's claim that television was /is a "vast wasteland," and yes, a lot of people watch the junk on tv, not the tiny percentage of excellent stuff, etc..... A frightening percentage of Americans are stupid, willfully ignorant, gullible, poorly educated, barely literate, mean-spirited, bigoted, cruel, selfish.... not everybody and not even a majority, but still, many millions. And t-Rump has inspired them to come right out and be their worst selves.
That's what gives me the most uncomfortable feeling - the 74,000,000 who wanted four more years of "it." Even though they lost, we're still in a lot of "it,: so maybe they actually partially won. There is a cultural disease that has manifested in mass MAGA madness, and I think our political antibodies are failing, and I can only hope that our cultural T-cells get their act together ASAP. Lucian - you laid it out transgression by outrage by crime, for all of us, Thank you for taking the time to digest all of this and serve it to us with such aplomb.....
I want the Democratic Party to grow some balls…BIG ONES! Their long drawn out rhetoric is boring and quite frankly, inept. Vocally, I want them to challenge these SOBs with all the might they have. Enough with the bullshit!
My view of the game plan is his speech is the opening of a call for civil war.
‘ 74 million stood by me in 2020; our congressional representatives have stood by us since. Now stand by those patriots who have been or will be unlawfully arrested; demonstrate your support by protesting when, where, and how you think it will help us defeat this crooked government.’
The only thing is that almost 900,000 of his base has died due to Covid. That alone, should be shouted from the rooftops!!
Wait a minute! Where did that figure come from? Aren't you assuming that ALL Covid deaths are of t-rumpsters? In the first year of the pandemic people of all political persuasions died; since then, the percentage of dead trumpsters has been steadily increasing, but the number is still insignificant in contrast to the 74 million morons who voted for him. Even if several million of his worshipers die between now and 2024, it won't make a noticeable dent in his support.
That’s true, Judith. I just wanted to make a statement that because of him, the nearly 900,000 lost their lives. I messed up!
Not so.
And they will be armed.
In the case of the Gravy Seals, armed, fat and stupid!
If he ADMITS 74,000,000, he admits losing.
Except that the 7 million or so votes between 74 million and 81 million were all fraudulently cast, remember? So he won with 74 million.
I guess...
I was wondering if anyone had listed all of this man's crimes against society and now we have a list (at least a good portion of the ones we know about). But they continue as we speak like his recent calls for mass protests against those who are investigating him. He has also promised to pardon the insurrectionists and said Pence had the power to overturn the election. What a piece of work this guy is.... To paraphrase Robert Burns, God give him the gift to see himself as others see him. But what does this sayy about those who supported him and still even now support him?
Fox fed brain dead racist birthers.
What it says is that his followers are far worse than merely ignorant and stupid. They are pure EVIL. Every. Last. One. Of. Them!
So good, Lucian. Such a scathing indictment of our poor America that 74 million of us are so preternaturally demented. Who among us, as we made deservedly savage fun of him for decades, could have even imagined his transformation from local buffoon to global menace? Here’s my fantasy: upon hearing himself sentenced to 20 years in prison, he suffers a stroke so severe it leaves him in a condition that makes Stephen Hawking seem acrobatic. Then every day they come into his cell, strap him down with his eyes pried open like Alex’s in A Clockwork Orange, and force him to watch videos that we all send in making fun of him the way he mocked that handicapped reporter (in a moment which not only should have ended his campaign on the spot but should have made him a lifelong pariah shunned unto eternity). He has no phone, and playing in his cell 24/7 — except, of course, for when he’s watching those humiliating videos — are, on an endless loop, the audiobooks of Barack and Michelle Obama. Oh, and he’s served nothing to eat but salad.
And he is made to watch Obama's assault on him at the White House Correspondents Dinner where he plotted revenge during humiliation.
Watch it someday, explains our recent national nightmare.
I like the way you think. I have seen it and TFG was consumed with anger and revenge.
And then Seth Meyers twisted the knife. Don’t just stop with Obama, Seth was actually even more vicious. Here’s the link for anyone who missed it: https://youtu.be/7YGITlxfT6s
Trump’s agony at being forced to sit there and JUST FUCKING TAKE IT was so obvious that I’ve replayed those clips dozens of times over the years. The greater his pain, the greater my joy. That’s his gift — bringing out the very worst in everybody. He is without doubt the most thoroughly despicable creature this country has ever vomited up.
Gosh, I like your line of thinking!
It’s a fantasy I’ve been refining for years.
😁
No hamberders?
It would be extra devious to make him think he was getting a hamberder,but instead the patty is the worst sort of veggie mash up (not one of the good ones) with lot's of veggies and anything else he hates that resembles healthy eating. Then stuff it in his gob and watch the horror of realizing it's not what he so desired. Or a rare steak with no ketchup. I could go on, but I digress.
In many states our votes already don’t count. TN has just gerrymandered the Congressional district I live in to take away a Democratic seat. Basically they have taken away our ability to choose our representative. The Republican Party is rotten to the core, but it’s support is increasing ( if one believes the polls). Why? People are frustrated at the government’s performance. They don’t feel the government listens to them. This is true. Big money reinforces this every day and there does not seem to a way to stop it. The SC says money is free speech. That means rich people have more speech than poor or middle class people. People vote their frustrations, and the Republican Party and it’s media voices reinforces it. This can lead to wins at the ballot box, and, if not, cry fraud, which leads to more frustration and lack of trust in our government. Soon the big money autocratic power brokers take over the country. In order to stop the beast that the Republican Party has become you must cut off the head(t-rump). That means trials and convictions. Even that may not work, but it’s the only path I can see at this time.
You left out so many other things he did:
— called anyone who fought in WWII a “loser” and a “sucker.”
— mimicked physically disabled people
— defended neo-Nazis and white supremacists
— etc etc… ad infinaseum
This article ranks the US in 27th place on the corruption scale, 1 being the least corrupt. It certainly explains why Trump has gotten away with all he has over his entire lifetime.
https://www.axios.com/most-corrupt-countries-424c32f4-60a0-48a3-81b7-2732f490b76c.html
well gee, I couldn't have said it better myself. and hardly for want of trying. seriously, though: this new information (continuously changing new information that only implicates him more deeply every day) really is shocking. which is to say that I am shocked, despite the fact that I thought I was immune to TFF shocking me more than he already had. I am prepared to be shocked tomorrow, which ought to be some sort of inoculation, but it's not. he's the gift that keeps on giving, if your idea of a gift is to be shocked on a daily basis.
How did this happen? How could so many think that he is an acceptable leader? He is not even an acceptable human. He’ll never fade away if he keeps being lauded by the big basket of deplorables. Thank you for this. I shall put it on a daily desk calendar where each day will be an affirmation of WHY THE NAME WE WILL NOT UTTER can never be elected to any future office.
You forget, he enrolled every racist in the USA during Obama's terms.
I do remember. I’ve never lived “among” them. And was totally unprepared that their numbers would be so vast. They are terrifying.
What he has done is only part of the point. This is the rest of it:
"It didn’t hurt his support even a little bit."
"It didn’t affect the support of his political party at all . . . "
"Support among his base went up, not down."
"It didn’t affect his poll numbers at all."
"Evidence of his guilt was laughed at by his supporters in the Senate."
Etc. And apparently rational pundits talk as if Republicans taking back one or both houses of Congress is not only likely but possibly inevitable. In what universe is this even possible?
A universe where not one supporter ever heard the Access Hollywood tape...need any more?
Hey, if that does it for you, great. It doesn't do it for me. What I'm suggesting is that focusing too much on TFG isn't going to make his support go away, and that for his supporters facts and logic aren't especially persuasive. It's the emotional appeal that resonates and motivates -- and on the whole, I'd say that this isn't unique to Trump supporters.
Here in MA we've got several outstanding Democratic candidates running for each of several statewide offices (three for governor, *five* for lieutenant governor, two for auditor, and two [so far] for attorney general). By the time we get to the state Democratic convention in early June (as the chair of my town's Democratic town committee I'll be a delegate), I will have read up on all of them and heard most of them speak, in several cases more than once. There's no way I can make my choices based entirely on facts and logic. Gut feeling, i.e., emotion, is going to play a big part in it.
The short version is that I don't expect Trump supporters to be primarily motivated by facts and logic either.
Well said.
Thank you yet again. You pretty well define what investigative reporting can provide for us who intimately know the details of everything you brought up , but are entirely incapable of putting it all is such succinct context.
I read this to someone and stopped now and then to fill about things like just how rotten Manifort is and his resume, and and the extent of the "acting" administration.
"Never held accountable" seems to have opened the door to a feeling of total imperviousness, which has led to carelessness, which hopefully brings the entire Republican house of cards to its knees.
Thanks for giving it your very best because without it the right and honest and democracy saving path wouldn't be quite so clear.
I asked a FL Repub 20+ son of a friend to send me a link to something that helps define his path.
He sent me Rogan's Malone podcast which is so full of lies and bullshit that the first hour took me no time, but considerable time to poke dozens and dozens of holes through with actual facts.
He listened to is driving and in bed before dozing off. Never checked one shred of it, but it was his best example of where his head is at.
He's a UF grad and hawking real estate in the boom. Contrary to all facts he believe Repubs are good for the economy., even though 10 of the last 11 recessions happened under Republican administrations, employment has always been higher under Dems and tax cutting has never, never paid for itself.
Still and regardless, he is obviously unswayable in his belief that Repubs are the path and he loves DeSantis. He's not stupid and back in the day was an adorable happy sweet kid with a great smile. His parents totally disagree with his views, but don't want to mar their relationship, so they let it be. They are Dems in heart, but typical of Florida they couldn't find NPR on the dial. So they have no back up or experience with even that so so version of balanced reporting.
Even with the horridly ignorant clown costumed rallies Trump thrives on, he won't be swayed.
Even with the obvious totally despicable fools representing him in gov't, he won't be swayed.
Florida born and raised, he's stuck knee deep in the muck and along with most of the folks around me in this small FL town, he could never be convinced that Biden isn't feeble, that Dems will ruin the country and his opportunities, and that even Trump is better than the alternative.
He's not alone and it bodes no good that I would never be able to reach him with facts from what he is assured comes from fake news.
He's impervious and it sucks for this country that he is.
Yep, living in DeSantistan is well described.
In my little chunk of paradise, I have noticed an increase of mask wearing in my nearby Walmart over the past month.
Are we to believe the Federal government is going to allow the Great March to its destruction? Are we going to see Democrats step aside and allow Republicans to support insurrection in January 2023 if they keep the congress? Are we going to watch corporate America do nothing while Trump tramples the republic and sets up a grifters tyranny? Really? Mr. Trump is edging closer to the day when a very rude slap will come and he can’t get bail. His legions of followers will melt away as they lose access to their bank accounts and face eviction. Serious money will not allow Trump to cause harm. This is not Germany 1933 it’s America 2022. Tolerance of Trumps carnival is wearing thin.
Republican legislatures in red states are going to throw out elections where Democrats win in 2022 and declare Republicans as the victors. This is what Arizona has already decided to do . If their voter suppression laws don’t result in a Republican victory, they will throw out the win for the Democrats.
And when a state voids obvious Democrat wins the federal government will do nothing? Are you aware that in 1948 the Dixiecrats threatened to cancel the November Election and US AG Tom Clark threatened to send federal marshals into those states? Did the south rise up in 1957 or 1963? No AG in the country wants to face down federal marshals or federal troops.
That was Tom Clark and that was 1948. Do you really think Merrick Garland will do anything remotely similar today?
The answer to your first three questions is YES to each one. If the GOP wins control of Congress and the Presidency they will destroy every piece of Dem legislation of the last 100 years and the SC will uphold all of their moves. T-Rump's legions of followers will not "melt away." They are literally willing to give up their own lives for him-- they would rather remain unvaccinated and die of Covid than help end the pandemic and make Biden "look good." I don't understand what makes you think people will lose access to their bank accounts, and face eviction. Why??? Serious money is GOP billionaires who are perfectly happy to see t-Rump destroy everything except their gilded lives. I sure do wish I understood the sources of your optimism.
Wearing thin? I wish! As Lucian writes, whatever t-Rump does, no matter how vile, it only increases the ardor and blind devotion of his worshipers. We didn't believe it could happen, but YES, they are-- quite literally-- willing to die for him, as we've seen: people refusing to get vaccinated because, if the Covid epidemic ends, it will "make Biden look good."
The guys in cop t-shirts behind him in Texas were NOT sold!
Excuse me, in their fantasy's they die a glorious death. In real life the Fed cuts access to their bank accounts, their cellphone is cut off, they get fired from their job, the car company takes back their car. Their children are expelled from school. And frightened neighbors who fear losing America come after them. Remember most of the idiots on Jan 6th were rather passive. The idiots did not torch the capitol or trash the Senate. Real violence, that ends any hope of returning to family and job is incredibly difficult. There are violent crazies, but they are a small mob and furious Federal Marshals will slaughter them.
The Texas crowd was not exactly fervent.
You really think the "Feds" will do all those things listed in your second through fourth sentences? I doubt it! The biggest mistake "the Feds" made was not to shoot the people who invaded the Capitol. ONE invader was shot and killed. ONE! Maybe the Feds learned from that pathetically weak response, and "furious Federal Marshalls" will mow down any such mobs in the future. I hope you're right about that.
The subtle bailouts are starting...