Plain facts. Thank you Jay. It is wildly disturbing to see this kind of paralyzing dysfunction in our government...but even more worrisome that there are Americans who would shrug their shoulders about it. I get that people are busy folding their laundry and getting dinner on the table...but living in a free society is the foundation of everything that is American. Pericles quote: "Just because you do not take an interest in politics doesn't mean politics won't take an interest in you." ✌️💙
I've seen the democrats start to ramp up messaging, but the media's abdication of their responsibility to report the facts are an ongoing problem. They want to "both-sides" everything, and the reality of the situation is lost. Making everything seem normal is going to be the death of our democracy.
This whole "We need to tell both sides" or "Both sides deserve to be heard" is just idiotic...
If one side says "We should be friends with the people over there" and the other side says "We should kill all the people over there, burn down their homes, violate their women and sell their children into slavery" where do you find the agreement?
Do you kill only half of them? Do you sell the kids but leave the women alone? Do you burn only some houses, and then have a party with the survivors in the houses left standing?
If one side is clearly in the wrong, they deserve to be called out for it, not to be given an equal platform to spout their bull
As I've written about til I'm blue in the face (no pun intended), the New York Times is one of the worst offenders. Of all the outlets out there, they should know better. There are ways to put pressure on them, and we should be relentless in doing so.
The Guardian is pretty great, but of course, they're based in the UK. Post.news is good but it's a user-based news aggregator, luckily full of people like us who are mortified over the current situation. So far, it hasn't yet been infected by right wingers, or worse, 4channers.
“Less than 24 hours after we released the bill, my Republican colleagues changed their mind,” a visibly frustrated Sinema said Wednesday on the Senate floor. “Turns out they want all talk and no action. It turns out border security is not actually a risk to our national security. It is just a talking point for the election."
“After all of their cable news appearances, after all those campaign photo ops in the desert, after all those trips to the border, this crisis isn’t actually much of a crisis after all.”
Read the rest of the article. This could be a wake up call to the folks in Arizona that something is wrong with the Republican Party.
IMO the press "both sides" everything is in case Trump is re-elected and they don't want him to come down on them. Do they not realize what a "dictator" will do anyways?! They are cowards. Thank God for Jay and HCR and Joyce Vance and others who speak the truth and reality!
The media is an issue, but we have to keep the pressure on them, write to editors, fill up the comments, let everyone know the dissatisfaction.
Unfortunately the GOPs far greater reach thanks to their propaganda arms - at all media - radio, TV, social media, You Tube, podcasts -keeps the legacy media carrying their water so much of the time. And the maddening "both sides" and "here's why this is bad for Biden..." is one of the results.
The photo atop your article really says it all: Tweedle-dumb and Tweedle-dee. Honestly, actually feel a bit sorry for The Turtle, he looks like Death warmed over, with vanishing respect from his conference. But, truth be told, the damage he has wreaked upon our country is virtually irreparable in the near term.
As for Tweedle-dumb...the walking, talking embodiment of the Peter Principle.
Turtle-boy deserves EVERY bit of the disrespect and open mocking he can get. There's a very good reason he's been called "Moscow Mitch" for years. The scumwad is a corrupt traitor.
I’m glad you mentioned those two photos at the top of the article. Every time I see a photo of Moscow Mitch, I think the “stunning displays of Republican dysfunction in Congress” starts early each morning when Mitch can’t find his dentures.
It was delicious that Rep. Green (D-Houston), a strong Black lawyer from Texas, cast the deciding vote against the faux-impeachment of Sec. Mayorkas. Get that, Abbott and Paxton?!
Though I haven’t discussed “politics” with my conservative pro-Trump friends much (mostly a group of friends formed at our local dog park), having realized that I’d gotten nowhere with them and it was putting stress into the relationships, I really have to wonder what they’re thinking and what sort of “justification” (read “excuses”…) they could be making for voting for Trump again. Assuming they will.
The negatives are more overwhelming than any politician of my lifetime (and as someone who was in high school when Vietnam War protests and “Love It Or Leave It” bumper stickers were everywhere, I’ve been very politically “aware” for 55 years now), but given the dysfunction in the media and the splintering along political lines, we’re not working off the same facts any longer, with at least a quarter of this nation believing they have “alternative facts”.
Other than CLEARLY voting for Biden again this year, I fear there’s little that can be done to “heal” this divide, particularly given that our nation is not alone in the world in terms of the rise of pseudo-populist authoritarian movements and the shift to the extreme right.
There are days when I just don’t know if it’s emotionally healthy to read the news….
Here is something I wrote on FB in relation to emotional health and the news:
We all know about “distress”—when our brains perceive the thing stressing us out as something we are not able to handle. Stress actually increases and we go into survival mode. This can be very damaging to the spirit and potentially the body, as well as to our relationships and those we care about.
But have you heard about “eustress”—when our brains see the thing causing us stress as something we really ARE mentally equipped to handle? That can lead to positive outcomes, like more motivation to act or excitement about our role.
One of the reasons I write my daily newsletter about our politics and our legal system is to bring more folks to a greater sense of mental capacity and understanding. This can lead to more “eustress” so that we are all more highly motivated and psyched to take action.
I don’t believe our problems are too great for us to handle as a country. We have the systems in place, and there really are good, competent people to lead us through. When we become more informed about the nature of the threats and how to overcome them collectively, we can lower distress and raise eustress. That makes us all happier, effective citizens.
I'm beyond curious why you'd even remotely be "friends" with those people. I've had to stop going to my great neighborhood dog park because of those kind of cretins. Not only are those men (& they're all men) repulsive but their dogs are all aggressive & poorly behaved. My poor female lab gets attacked every time they are there.
I have some hope that even your maga acquaintances are bummed about not getting all that promised 'winning'. Being on the Trump train now is more like being on the Lame Loser Mobile. Deep down, they know that. Enthusiasm in GOP and maga in November is gonna be hard to find. Meanwhile, women are pissed. Are they going vote? You're goddamned right they are.
I'm not seeing enough of this: "ecological disaster that we largely caused." Or the acknowledgement that much of the political disarray south of the border is caused by American policy, or the fact that Mexico is on the edge of becoming a narco state is OUR fault.
So this sentence was perfect:
"They have railed against them as if they were all drug traffickers, rapists and murderers, rather than families desperate to escape political persecution, gang violence and ecological disaster that we largely caused."
Democratic messaging needs to improve and even get a little tough-lovey on Americans by saying, "Hey, either stop doing drugs, or, if you must do them, legalize them, or this immigration mess will keep getting worse."
Honestly, I'll do everything I can to fight Trump's re-emergence, but if Americans really do make this a close enough election that he can win, I have nothing more to say to my fellow Americans than, "Glad I'm getting old. Because your time's about up."
I work hard on my end to combat racism because I'm an older white American male and racists can't make the excuse, "there they go again," when I speak out about it. I wish I could convince more older white male Americans to speak out more earnestly, too, but that's been tough sailing. And frankly, I'm not about trying to convert racists in my demographic. What concerns me is that its resurgence threatens to seep into the body politic on a broader scale and infect young people, most of whom resist it. But it's easy for it to scrape around the edges, especially on issues like immigration. Honestly, if it was up to me, I'd let every single person who wants to enter this country in. It's a big place, there's money galore, we can make it work. But I know I'm in a small minority with that view.
I couldn't agree more with you; about the actual all the underlying
reasons for the desperate migration of so many thousands of South American migrants, including children and pregnant women, trekking so many thousands of miles for the chance to have a better life. Likewise, the media has only in the past year or so started to utter the connection between climate change and the horrific weather disasters that are becoming so much more common, despite the knowledge of this outcome being KNOWN for decades.
Maybe the media can try to make an effort to redeem itself by clearly holding the R's and tfg responsible for all the chaos they are causing and how that has been impacting our country & the whole world. The Dem's need to be loud and clear about all this, too, so the next election will be a big win, and not the end of democracy.
So David Leonhardt, NY Times reporter who often pushes out "fair and balanced" articles that normalize Trump, is a rich person who doesn't want to pay taxes? Sorry, but I think that just gives cover to reporters who should know better and are abdicating their responsibilities in the name of "balanced reporting."
I hear you when you suggest that corporations own the media, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't call out individual reporters who are normalizing Trump. And, the truth is, everyone gets their money no matter what. Biden isn't turning the country into a communist paradise (or hell, depending on your view) anytime soon.
Well, no, of course not, but our strategy in this election really needs to be, "attack on all fronts." Also, if Leonhardt got fired by the NY Times for not adhering to some kind of editorial standard put in place by someone, he'd be able to push out a substack and get thousands of paid subscribers in no time.
Charles, I mostly agree with what you’re saying, but we and the Democrats need to be careful how it’s messaged. Those drugs are coming across the border carried by American citizens and well organized Mexican crime cartels, not the illegals (not my favorite term) sneaking across the river or the desert under the cover of darkness. That part of the message needs to get across.
MAGA poor white folks have normalized drugs in every day life and conversation. I constantly overhear them in stores and restaurants talking about friends and relatives with drug addiction problems (opioids and others) like it’s nothing different than grabbing one beer after work. Just part of every day life.
Everything you are saying is spot on. I am now envisioning Trump rounding up people and having then shot. I envision news outlets shut down and journalists shot. Political opponents shot. Trump going after moderate Republicans. When I was in Berlin a few years ago there were posters everywhere talking about the people who were rounded up and eliminated by Hitler in the months after he took power. No trials. The German people did not imagine Hitler would do such a thing but he did. All the signs were there. Trump is out for revenge and he has built his apparatus of evil crazies. All the cowards will fall in line. Out of fear. Expect Nikki Haley to submit soon. This is real fascist stuff folks. History shows exactly where someone like Trump can take the world.
Thank you Jay for breaking it down so well! We shouldn't blame rump roast for the maga republicans in congress. He's too dumb to know his arse from his face. This is Stephen Miller and all the other rump roast flunkies, including moron muck (elon musk). They want the border fixed, they want yadda yadda and then when you give it to them, "oh...we only want it if we can get credit for it." It was never about governing or making laws. It has only ever been about serving themselves and lining their own pockets because they know they can make money off the base. The base has been happily handing over their money, money they couldn't afford to give because they are mostly retirees, and will continue to send in their pennies for just the remote outside chance those pennies will turn into nickels.
You write that MAGA's malign influence in foreign affairs "...significantly reduces our influence and therefore our options. It is a serious blow to our global standing"
I submit that it already has, and that no small part of Netanyahu's intransigence in the Hamas/Israel war is due to his assessment that he has nothing to fear from the US, which has become a paper tiger.
Thanks for this Jay. I've got my popcorn and am watching the SCOTUS arguments today. Roberts argues that if Trump is constitutionally barred from office, that he may incite unscrupulous Republicans to unlawfully bar Democrats from ballots without cause or evidence as retribution. By that logic, they should not have impeached the criminal while he was in office for fear that GOP extremists might launch an unlawful campaign to impeach the next Democrat president, and failing that, go after his cabinet, without cause or evidence. Like that could ever happen! But even if it did, you shouldn't give in to terrorism. It just encourages it.
There is a very easy way to fix all this—any repub with a brain that is either in the house or senate that is retiring (looking at you, Romney) and doesn’t need to be a repub should become independent or switch parties to kill their slim majority in the house and add to our numbers in the senate. THAT could solve this in a New York minute, I know I’m just a dreamer…however it did happen in 2001 when senator Jim Jeffords from Vermont (RIP) went from repub to indie to block duhbya’s awful agenda.
You made a great suggestion. I think those who can afford to defy the GOP can do so without changing their party affiliation - think of Joe Manchin.
The larger issue: “who can afford to defy”. Too many want to be reelected in order to maintain their paycheck, instead of a desire to serve the public.
Or maybe the problem is TFG. Does he have blackmail material on each one? Or has he made enough general or specific threats that each one fears for their safety and that of their family and staff?
Yeah, I wonder why they are so beholden too, could be they are just afraid of the magat crazies, but honestly a lot of that is self inflicted because they keep emboldening them! I keep waiting for the McCarthy “have you no decency” moment too, but I fear it will never come with this lot! Thanks for your reply!
When are we going to start calling tRump and his House and Senate cronies as what they are: TRAITORS! They care not one fig for the Constitution or the people (unless those people are Magadonians).
They are TRAITORS, the lot of them.
No on will save us except ourselves when we vote in November. And if they win, then God help us.
"Rep. Green, wearing a blue patient gown and sitting in a wheelchair, showed up anyway to support his friend, Secretary Mayorkas, and he cast the decisive no vote on the impeachment"
is one of the best things I've read politcally in a while. Literally nothing says F you to those trying to pass a sham impeachment better than a man who left the hospital just to shut down said sham impeachment.
The rest is just infuriating: The whole idea that our government is being held captive by a man who I feel has no chance of being president again. That almost 4 years later we haven't moved on from the nacassistic man child. Daily I find myself muttering "disgusting" while I read news of how the GOP is acting.
As usual you are on point and are loaded with facts. However this is mostly preaching to the choir here, even though all of this excellent information is great, the Democrats are doing a very poor job of getting this message out to the general public in a way that sinks in (or in any form whatsoever).
I haven’t lost my faith in democracy, but I’ve lost my faith in the ability of a significant portion of the electorate to make informed, intelligent decisions. I’ve lost my faith big time in journalism, which has become so warped. And I’m afraid that Trump’s handlers are even now planning widespread, violent insurrection when he loses in November. I hope law enforcement is paying attention.
The US is no longer a good faith actor on a global scale. We can no longer rely on statements of support, on promises of protection... we cannot trust anything a US president tells us any more, because there is no guarantee that some political grandstanding by a bunch of whiny little muppets with overinflated egos and a misplaced sense of self-importance won't nix everything that has been said, with no regard to what happens to anybody else.
Please stop calling POTUS the "Leader of the Free World" - no matter who they are, the rest of the world did not choose them, did not vote for them, and we can no longer trust them... even though as a person they might have integrity and be worthy of our trust, like Biden, we need to face the sad reality that "the Free World" needs to learn to stand on their own feet... without the US holding our hand... and potentially leading us somewhere we do not want to go...
The US hasn't been a good faith actor on a global scale for very long time. Support for Pinochet, for death squads in El Salvador, allowing United Fruit to control foreign policies to the point we called some countries Banana Republics, Bay of Pigs, Iraq War, Vietnam War,
Unfortunately you are right... all you need to do is to look at things like the School of the Americas. Then you have Iran-Contra, and so many others. In fact, it goes way back to the beginning of the 20th century, if not more... hell, the Spanish-American War was based on a lie, embellished by people like Hearst ("You furnish the pictures, and I'll furnish the war")
But at least until now they tried to appear somewhat reliable and dependable (You could always depend and rely on the US doing what benefitted the US, and fuck everybody else). Now they are no longer even that, because what they are doing now, is benefitting only one person: Trump
Well, Trump openly said that he would not only deny any NATO country that did not meet the spending goals any US protection, but that he would encourage Russia to do whatever the hell they want.
Fuck that guy, fuck anybody who votes for him, fuck the GOP for not having the balls to stand up to him, and fuck the US media for still not showing him for what he truly is
Plain facts. Thank you Jay. It is wildly disturbing to see this kind of paralyzing dysfunction in our government...but even more worrisome that there are Americans who would shrug their shoulders about it. I get that people are busy folding their laundry and getting dinner on the table...but living in a free society is the foundation of everything that is American. Pericles quote: "Just because you do not take an interest in politics doesn't mean politics won't take an interest in you." ✌️💙
I've seen the democrats start to ramp up messaging, but the media's abdication of their responsibility to report the facts are an ongoing problem. They want to "both-sides" everything, and the reality of the situation is lost. Making everything seem normal is going to be the death of our democracy.
It’s a real problem.
This whole "We need to tell both sides" or "Both sides deserve to be heard" is just idiotic...
If one side says "We should be friends with the people over there" and the other side says "We should kill all the people over there, burn down their homes, violate their women and sell their children into slavery" where do you find the agreement?
Do you kill only half of them? Do you sell the kids but leave the women alone? Do you burn only some houses, and then have a party with the survivors in the houses left standing?
If one side is clearly in the wrong, they deserve to be called out for it, not to be given an equal platform to spout their bull
Great analogy.
As I've written about til I'm blue in the face (no pun intended), the New York Times is one of the worst offenders. Of all the outlets out there, they should know better. There are ways to put pressure on them, and we should be relentless in doing so.
I couldn't agree more; I already cancelled my subscription, and I send them emails fairly often.
I canceled my subscription a while ago and next on the chopping block is WaPo. The Guardian and Post.news suffice for me.
The Guardian is pretty great, but of course, they're based in the UK. Post.news is good but it's a user-based news aggregator, luckily full of people like us who are mortified over the current situation. So far, it hasn't yet been infected by right wingers, or worse, 4channers.
Yes, I’ve been pretty satisfied with Post. If I wanted RWNJ’s I would have stayed on Xitter.
Democratic message:
Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ)
“Less than 24 hours after we released the bill, my Republican colleagues changed their mind,” a visibly frustrated Sinema said Wednesday on the Senate floor. “Turns out they want all talk and no action. It turns out border security is not actually a risk to our national security. It is just a talking point for the election."
“After all of their cable news appearances, after all those campaign photo ops in the desert, after all those trips to the border, this crisis isn’t actually much of a crisis after all.”
Read the rest of the article. This could be a wake up call to the folks in Arizona that something is wrong with the Republican Party.
https://www.azcentral.com/story/opinion/op-ed/laurieroberts/2024/02/07/kyrsten-sinema-border-bill-impact-arizona-election/72509061007/
I listened to Sinema's interview on NPR this past Tuesday. It's not often I agree with what she says, but this time I did.
Kind of surprising since she is one of the culprits on the Democratic side. Thanks for sharing!
That Sinema delivered as strong or stronger message than any other Dem says a lot. Come on.
IMO the press "both sides" everything is in case Trump is re-elected and they don't want him to come down on them. Do they not realize what a "dictator" will do anyways?! They are cowards. Thank God for Jay and HCR and Joyce Vance and others who speak the truth and reality!
He's going to come down anyway.
He won't be rejected, but MAGA will continue to control their narratives, regardless.
MSM calls the House maggats 'congress'. Shamefully spineless.
They need to KEEP doing it.
Just to be clear, the problem is NOT Congress. It is the Republicans in Congress. The Dems voted for the compromise.
MSM is as spineless as the maggats and GOP.
I understood your meaning.
The media is an issue, but we have to keep the pressure on them, write to editors, fill up the comments, let everyone know the dissatisfaction.
Unfortunately the GOPs far greater reach thanks to their propaganda arms - at all media - radio, TV, social media, You Tube, podcasts -keeps the legacy media carrying their water so much of the time. And the maddening "both sides" and "here's why this is bad for Biden..." is one of the results.
I agree - it is a huge obstacle to getting any truth out there.
The photo atop your article really says it all: Tweedle-dumb and Tweedle-dee. Honestly, actually feel a bit sorry for The Turtle, he looks like Death warmed over, with vanishing respect from his conference. But, truth be told, the damage he has wreaked upon our country is virtually irreparable in the near term.
As for Tweedle-dumb...the walking, talking embodiment of the Peter Principle.
McConnell is a snake with a reservation in hell. F him.
Turtle-boy deserves EVERY bit of the disrespect and open mocking he can get. There's a very good reason he's been called "Moscow Mitch" for years. The scumwad is a corrupt traitor.
I’m glad you mentioned those two photos at the top of the article. Every time I see a photo of Moscow Mitch, I think the “stunning displays of Republican dysfunction in Congress” starts early each morning when Mitch can’t find his dentures.
My only comment today: thank you Al Green!
It was delicious that Rep. Green (D-Houston), a strong Black lawyer from Texas, cast the deciding vote against the faux-impeachment of Sec. Mayorkas. Get that, Abbott and Paxton?!
Though I haven’t discussed “politics” with my conservative pro-Trump friends much (mostly a group of friends formed at our local dog park), having realized that I’d gotten nowhere with them and it was putting stress into the relationships, I really have to wonder what they’re thinking and what sort of “justification” (read “excuses”…) they could be making for voting for Trump again. Assuming they will.
The negatives are more overwhelming than any politician of my lifetime (and as someone who was in high school when Vietnam War protests and “Love It Or Leave It” bumper stickers were everywhere, I’ve been very politically “aware” for 55 years now), but given the dysfunction in the media and the splintering along political lines, we’re not working off the same facts any longer, with at least a quarter of this nation believing they have “alternative facts”.
Other than CLEARLY voting for Biden again this year, I fear there’s little that can be done to “heal” this divide, particularly given that our nation is not alone in the world in terms of the rise of pseudo-populist authoritarian movements and the shift to the extreme right.
There are days when I just don’t know if it’s emotionally healthy to read the news….
Here is something I wrote on FB in relation to emotional health and the news:
We all know about “distress”—when our brains perceive the thing stressing us out as something we are not able to handle. Stress actually increases and we go into survival mode. This can be very damaging to the spirit and potentially the body, as well as to our relationships and those we care about.
But have you heard about “eustress”—when our brains see the thing causing us stress as something we really ARE mentally equipped to handle? That can lead to positive outcomes, like more motivation to act or excitement about our role.
One of the reasons I write my daily newsletter about our politics and our legal system is to bring more folks to a greater sense of mental capacity and understanding. This can lead to more “eustress” so that we are all more highly motivated and psyched to take action.
I don’t believe our problems are too great for us to handle as a country. We have the systems in place, and there really are good, competent people to lead us through. When we become more informed about the nature of the threats and how to overcome them collectively, we can lower distress and raise eustress. That makes us all happier, effective citizens.
Thanks for the “pep talk”, Jay! I’ll try to take “eustress” to heart!
Thank you for adding this. We need this message so we don't ever lose hope.
Thank you! Your efforts are very important to many of us. The vibrant community you have built is proof that your work is important and effective.
I'm beyond curious why you'd even remotely be "friends" with those people. I've had to stop going to my great neighborhood dog park because of those kind of cretins. Not only are those men (& they're all men) repulsive but their dogs are all aggressive & poorly behaved. My poor female lab gets attacked every time they are there.
And they almost never pick up their dog poop.
Thanks for that reminder.
I have some hope that even your maga acquaintances are bummed about not getting all that promised 'winning'. Being on the Trump train now is more like being on the Lame Loser Mobile. Deep down, they know that. Enthusiasm in GOP and maga in November is gonna be hard to find. Meanwhile, women are pissed. Are they going vote? You're goddamned right they are.
As I find myself saying more often now, “From your lips to god’s ears!”
Lame Loser Mobile for the win!
(deep bow)
I'm not seeing enough of this: "ecological disaster that we largely caused." Or the acknowledgement that much of the political disarray south of the border is caused by American policy, or the fact that Mexico is on the edge of becoming a narco state is OUR fault.
So this sentence was perfect:
"They have railed against them as if they were all drug traffickers, rapists and murderers, rather than families desperate to escape political persecution, gang violence and ecological disaster that we largely caused."
Democratic messaging needs to improve and even get a little tough-lovey on Americans by saying, "Hey, either stop doing drugs, or, if you must do them, legalize them, or this immigration mess will keep getting worse."
Honestly, I'll do everything I can to fight Trump's re-emergence, but if Americans really do make this a close enough election that he can win, I have nothing more to say to my fellow Americans than, "Glad I'm getting old. Because your time's about up."
It’s hard to message that when racism underlies a lot of the fear. But yes, we should try.
I work hard on my end to combat racism because I'm an older white American male and racists can't make the excuse, "there they go again," when I speak out about it. I wish I could convince more older white male Americans to speak out more earnestly, too, but that's been tough sailing. And frankly, I'm not about trying to convert racists in my demographic. What concerns me is that its resurgence threatens to seep into the body politic on a broader scale and infect young people, most of whom resist it. But it's easy for it to scrape around the edges, especially on issues like immigration. Honestly, if it was up to me, I'd let every single person who wants to enter this country in. It's a big place, there's money galore, we can make it work. But I know I'm in a small minority with that view.
I'd only add that Americans should actually do what Jesus would do. Which is not shooting kids with backpacks or denying water in a desert. FFS
I couldn't agree more with you; about the actual all the underlying
reasons for the desperate migration of so many thousands of South American migrants, including children and pregnant women, trekking so many thousands of miles for the chance to have a better life. Likewise, the media has only in the past year or so started to utter the connection between climate change and the horrific weather disasters that are becoming so much more common, despite the knowledge of this outcome being KNOWN for decades.
Maybe the media can try to make an effort to redeem itself by clearly holding the R's and tfg responsible for all the chaos they are causing and how that has been impacting our country & the whole world. The Dem's need to be loud and clear about all this, too, so the next election will be a big win, and not the end of democracy.
Media is owned by rich people who don't want to pay taxes. Their messaging won't change.
I realize and worry about that, too. 😧
So David Leonhardt, NY Times reporter who often pushes out "fair and balanced" articles that normalize Trump, is a rich person who doesn't want to pay taxes? Sorry, but I think that just gives cover to reporters who should know better and are abdicating their responsibilities in the name of "balanced reporting."
I hear you when you suggest that corporations own the media, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't call out individual reporters who are normalizing Trump. And, the truth is, everyone gets their money no matter what. Biden isn't turning the country into a communist paradise (or hell, depending on your view) anytime soon.
I agree but will point out that reporters are just hired help with a mortgage. And kids. I wouldn't count on them to save us.
Well, no, of course not, but our strategy in this election really needs to be, "attack on all fronts." Also, if Leonhardt got fired by the NY Times for not adhering to some kind of editorial standard put in place by someone, he'd be able to push out a substack and get thousands of paid subscribers in no time.
I agree, call him out but substacks are no substitute for a fancy job with benefits. He probably couldn't afford the pay cut. IMHO.
Charles, I mostly agree with what you’re saying, but we and the Democrats need to be careful how it’s messaged. Those drugs are coming across the border carried by American citizens and well organized Mexican crime cartels, not the illegals (not my favorite term) sneaking across the river or the desert under the cover of darkness. That part of the message needs to get across.
MAGA poor white folks have normalized drugs in every day life and conversation. I constantly overhear them in stores and restaurants talking about friends and relatives with drug addiction problems (opioids and others) like it’s nothing different than grabbing one beer after work. Just part of every day life.
Yep, the illegals as mules is an insane fiction.
We all know it's Clint Eastwood!
Everything you are saying is spot on. I am now envisioning Trump rounding up people and having then shot. I envision news outlets shut down and journalists shot. Political opponents shot. Trump going after moderate Republicans. When I was in Berlin a few years ago there were posters everywhere talking about the people who were rounded up and eliminated by Hitler in the months after he took power. No trials. The German people did not imagine Hitler would do such a thing but he did. All the signs were there. Trump is out for revenge and he has built his apparatus of evil crazies. All the cowards will fall in line. Out of fear. Expect Nikki Haley to submit soon. This is real fascist stuff folks. History shows exactly where someone like Trump can take the world.
" I am now envisioning Trump rounding up people and having them shot."
So is he - he's actually said so. And was thoroughly miffed when he was told he couldn't. Day 1 dictator will definitely fix that...
Thank you Jay for breaking it down so well! We shouldn't blame rump roast for the maga republicans in congress. He's too dumb to know his arse from his face. This is Stephen Miller and all the other rump roast flunkies, including moron muck (elon musk). They want the border fixed, they want yadda yadda and then when you give it to them, "oh...we only want it if we can get credit for it." It was never about governing or making laws. It has only ever been about serving themselves and lining their own pockets because they know they can make money off the base. The base has been happily handing over their money, money they couldn't afford to give because they are mostly retirees, and will continue to send in their pennies for just the remote outside chance those pennies will turn into nickels.
You write that MAGA's malign influence in foreign affairs "...significantly reduces our influence and therefore our options. It is a serious blow to our global standing"
I submit that it already has, and that no small part of Netanyahu's intransigence in the Hamas/Israel war is due to his assessment that he has nothing to fear from the US, which has become a paper tiger.
Exactly so!
Thanks for this Jay. I've got my popcorn and am watching the SCOTUS arguments today. Roberts argues that if Trump is constitutionally barred from office, that he may incite unscrupulous Republicans to unlawfully bar Democrats from ballots without cause or evidence as retribution. By that logic, they should not have impeached the criminal while he was in office for fear that GOP extremists might launch an unlawful campaign to impeach the next Democrat president, and failing that, go after his cabinet, without cause or evidence. Like that could ever happen! But even if it did, you shouldn't give in to terrorism. It just encourages it.
There is a very easy way to fix all this—any repub with a brain that is either in the house or senate that is retiring (looking at you, Romney) and doesn’t need to be a repub should become independent or switch parties to kill their slim majority in the house and add to our numbers in the senate. THAT could solve this in a New York minute, I know I’m just a dreamer…however it did happen in 2001 when senator Jim Jeffords from Vermont (RIP) went from repub to indie to block duhbya’s awful agenda.
You made a great suggestion. I think those who can afford to defy the GOP can do so without changing their party affiliation - think of Joe Manchin.
The larger issue: “who can afford to defy”. Too many want to be reelected in order to maintain their paycheck, instead of a desire to serve the public.
Or maybe the problem is TFG. Does he have blackmail material on each one? Or has he made enough general or specific threats that each one fears for their safety and that of their family and staff?
Yeah, I wonder why they are so beholden too, could be they are just afraid of the magat crazies, but honestly a lot of that is self inflicted because they keep emboldening them! I keep waiting for the McCarthy “have you no decency” moment too, but I fear it will never come with this lot! Thanks for your reply!
There have been a few reports of threats against the lives or safety of their families.
When are we going to start calling tRump and his House and Senate cronies as what they are: TRAITORS! They care not one fig for the Constitution or the people (unless those people are Magadonians).
They are TRAITORS, the lot of them.
No on will save us except ourselves when we vote in November. And if they win, then God help us.
Can I just say that this:
"Rep. Green, wearing a blue patient gown and sitting in a wheelchair, showed up anyway to support his friend, Secretary Mayorkas, and he cast the decisive no vote on the impeachment"
is one of the best things I've read politcally in a while. Literally nothing says F you to those trying to pass a sham impeachment better than a man who left the hospital just to shut down said sham impeachment.
The rest is just infuriating: The whole idea that our government is being held captive by a man who I feel has no chance of being president again. That almost 4 years later we haven't moved on from the nacassistic man child. Daily I find myself muttering "disgusting" while I read news of how the GOP is acting.
As usual you are on point and are loaded with facts. However this is mostly preaching to the choir here, even though all of this excellent information is great, the Democrats are doing a very poor job of getting this message out to the general public in a way that sinks in (or in any form whatsoever).
We need much more people to recognize this con.
I haven’t lost my faith in democracy, but I’ve lost my faith in the ability of a significant portion of the electorate to make informed, intelligent decisions. I’ve lost my faith big time in journalism, which has become so warped. And I’m afraid that Trump’s handlers are even now planning widespread, violent insurrection when he loses in November. I hope law enforcement is paying attention.
The US is no longer a good faith actor on a global scale. We can no longer rely on statements of support, on promises of protection... we cannot trust anything a US president tells us any more, because there is no guarantee that some political grandstanding by a bunch of whiny little muppets with overinflated egos and a misplaced sense of self-importance won't nix everything that has been said, with no regard to what happens to anybody else.
Please stop calling POTUS the "Leader of the Free World" - no matter who they are, the rest of the world did not choose them, did not vote for them, and we can no longer trust them... even though as a person they might have integrity and be worthy of our trust, like Biden, we need to face the sad reality that "the Free World" needs to learn to stand on their own feet... without the US holding our hand... and potentially leading us somewhere we do not want to go...
The US hasn't been a good faith actor on a global scale for very long time. Support for Pinochet, for death squads in El Salvador, allowing United Fruit to control foreign policies to the point we called some countries Banana Republics, Bay of Pigs, Iraq War, Vietnam War,
Unfortunately you are right... all you need to do is to look at things like the School of the Americas. Then you have Iran-Contra, and so many others. In fact, it goes way back to the beginning of the 20th century, if not more... hell, the Spanish-American War was based on a lie, embellished by people like Hearst ("You furnish the pictures, and I'll furnish the war")
But at least until now they tried to appear somewhat reliable and dependable (You could always depend and rely on the US doing what benefitted the US, and fuck everybody else). Now they are no longer even that, because what they are doing now, is benefitting only one person: Trump
Even worse. That one person is Putin. Trump is just a useful idiot, as another poster phrased it.
Well, Trump openly said that he would not only deny any NATO country that did not meet the spending goals any US protection, but that he would encourage Russia to do whatever the hell they want.
Fuck that guy, fuck anybody who votes for him, fuck the GOP for not having the balls to stand up to him, and fuck the US media for still not showing him for what he truly is