(Before that, I’d say. Reagan pulled out the stops for the party’s rolling steeply downhill in morality. It’s just reached “perfect storm corruption” level with trump.)
I was thinking about Nixon, but they got him out of office so the system worked in that case. (A descendent of Eisenhower's told me, "If my grandfather were still alive, he would be a Democrat.")
The system did work (though he resigned instead of being ousted). Did that person mean Nixon would be a democrat, or Eisenhower would be? Nixon did a lot for the environment, which is my passion, so he's never been on my complete shit list (my family loathed him). Reagan, he was simply not fit and his policies all but destroyed the middle class. And talk about dementia.
Reagan really got the ball rolling in dividing this nation into haves and have-nots.
Nixon had to, the pollution in the 60's was off the charts. the Cuyahoga River had caught fire again: "the Cuyahoga River fire typically refers to an incident that took place in Cleveland on June 22, 1969, when sparks from a train landed on oil-soaked debris floating on the river’s surface, igniting it. Flames reached five stories in height as the river burned for about 30 minutes.
While it was, inarguably, a terrifying incident, the Cuyahoga River had caught fire at least a dozen other times between the late 19th and mid-20th centuries. In fact, the Time magazine photo of the fire that captured so much public attention in 1969 was actually taken during a previous incident in 1952. And many other American rivers were sufficiently polluted to go up in flames around the same period. The Clean Water Act was not there to protect them..."
"Let’s not forget what America looked like before we had the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Our rivers caught on fire, our air was full of smog, and it stank (literally)."...
Richard Nixon’s role in the creation of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is complicated. It wasn’t his idea, and some believe he founded the EPA with the hope that he could control its administrators. But there can be little doubt that even Nixon—a Republican to his very bones—understood the need for stiffer environmental regulations. Almost all Republicans of his generation did.
And how about: Citizens United? and ending the FCC's law about news shows being required to be balanced and report on both sides of an issue? and lowering the tax rate from 70% for millionaires (very rich, back in those days) to around 30%?
For those who don’t know, Tramp cares nothing about the lives lost in Israel on either side. He is a “friend” of Israel because the Evangelicals need Israel in the hands of the Jews so Jesus can come back to the Mt of Olives and he needs their support. He also wants to feed his ego by taking credit for ending the war and get the Nobel Peace Prize. EVERYTHING is about himself. He is a narcissist among his other despicable traits. And, don’t hold your breath about the end of the war. The hostages have been released but Netanyahu needs to stay in power so he doesn’t get tried. He will find a reason to continue it.
Since nothing has been resolved between Israel & Palestinians, the only thing accomplished is a ceasefire that may or may not last, and of course the release of the remaining hostages. Biden negotiated the release of most of the hostages.
How long will it take before those in the military, secret service, CIA and others who have risked their lives to defend the Constitution and seen their friends and comrades die for doing the same had enough of the cowards running our country and trying to destroy it?
Unscrupulous person: This definition refers to a person who compromises their integrity or principles for personal or financial gain AS IN THE WHORES OF THE GOP!
Re: "choose between American citizens and federal bureaucrats."--whenever this comes up, I would love to hear how "magically" federal employees are not citizens? 🤔
Good for George Stephanopoulos! At least he kept holding vances feet to the fire. Unlike the white house press Corp who tip toes around trump and Vance and let them get away with spewing crap.
Yes, Trump gets away with his lies because he has an established persona to fall back on and he can always say he was "joking". Vance has no persona and could not tell a joke if his life deepened on it. As a person, he is a dud.
Vance stated, regarding the shooter at an ICE facility, "he did kill some other innocent people in the process." I would have followed up with, "If they were innocent people, why were they being detained by ICE?
I posted this on Facebook in response to a friend's comment on Vance:
Vance not only lies, he somehow manages to insult our intelligence because he conveys the fact that he thinks we believe him--that that's how stupid we are and how dashing and clever he is. Trump at least conveys that he doesn't care if we don't believe him--he's a bullshitter, not a calculating liar. Johnson signals a sort of pseudo-apologetic dishonesty. It's not HIS fault that he's forced to lie. Maybe he tells himself that to square his moral degeneracy with what he still believes is his Christian piety.
think you're observations about the differences between the style of lying between the two is spot on. I hope you were replying to a friend who already loathes Vance as opposed to someone defending him, just for your sanity's sake.
Thanks. Yes, it was the former. I doubt I'd engage with someone defending him. "You should never argue with a crazy ma-ma-ma--ma-man/You oughta know by now."
The reason that if the orange pedo felon is “ no longer in charge” , that the gop/maga will immediately shatter.
JV pants is no leader. Not liked by maga followers and tlhe ultimate sin, he has a “brown” wife and “ brown “ children, which does not fit into the white Christian nationalist ideology or agenda.
He would have to divorce Usha, disown his children and marry Charlie Kirk's widow. (which as she's a millionaire now, will be some disgusting MAGA slime's goal.
It does not matter how blatant, how preposterous, the lies are, so long as they provide fodder for the followers. The real news of the day, of every day, is that the true believers are still believing. What? Only some 30% remain among the faithful? Considering the absurdity of the situation, that is an enormous number.
I do think it matters to the persuadable swing voters who tend to decide elections, and for the future of the MAGA movement who need a leader they believe speaks for them. Vance ain’t it.
For sure, Vance ain’t it. And we have to hope there are some persuadable voters out there. But again, considering the present circumstances, that these voters are not already on board is a little hard to fathom. But not impossible. A few times a week I flip over to Fox to see what’s happening there, and it looks like some other world. For people subsisting on a daily news diet of that sort, or its more extreme variants, much of what we see as an ongoing outrage passes by unnoticed for them. And if that is correct, there may be little opportunity for persuasion. And that is a story in itself. Much of what’s happening here is happening thanks to a right-wing business model. Well, that’s my conspiracy theory…
Our jumped-up talentless little hillbilly will get chopped to pieces should Dear Leader decide to make America truly great again by departing before 2028.
Why does anyone still watch corporate media-I personally wouldn’t waste my time watching that crap -Americans are definitely the dumbest people on the planet-
Kristen Welker has been a huge disappointment. These people don't deserve any respect, nor have they earned it. I wish she'd stop pandering to them. At least George S. held vance's feet to the fire.
The only news out of America I watch is Seth Meyers and Stephen Colbert at this point. They're the only ones I trust to tell the truth. And isn't that a terrifying state of affairs!
Robert, that was an amazingly sweeping comment. I, for one, am not dumb. All of us here, reading Jay, HCR, Robert Hubbell, watching Stephen Colbert and Jimmy Kimmel, are certainly not dumb. The fact that Disney was forced to bring Kimmel back because of how much money they were losing is pretty good proof that many, many Americans are NOT stupid.
Vance is a charisma vacuum, and has no hope in hell of keeping the MAGA cult together when Trump dies. It's just a matter of who turns on him first, the public or the party.
The GOP has become a brothel filled with whores and cowards. The Republican Party died with John McCain.
(Before that, I’d say. Reagan pulled out the stops for the party’s rolling steeply downhill in morality. It’s just reached “perfect storm corruption” level with trump.)
ronnie r. sure did pull the plug on all decency in what used to be called the Republican party (now the repugnant party).
Well put! Nixon is arguably the beginning of the end, but Reagan really made the problems indelible to the party.
I was thinking about Nixon, but they got him out of office so the system worked in that case. (A descendent of Eisenhower's told me, "If my grandfather were still alive, he would be a Democrat.")
The system did work (though he resigned instead of being ousted). Did that person mean Nixon would be a democrat, or Eisenhower would be? Nixon did a lot for the environment, which is my passion, so he's never been on my complete shit list (my family loathed him). Reagan, he was simply not fit and his policies all but destroyed the middle class. And talk about dementia.
Reagan really got the ball rolling in dividing this nation into haves and have-nots.
Nixon had to, the pollution in the 60's was off the charts. the Cuyahoga River had caught fire again: "the Cuyahoga River fire typically refers to an incident that took place in Cleveland on June 22, 1969, when sparks from a train landed on oil-soaked debris floating on the river’s surface, igniting it. Flames reached five stories in height as the river burned for about 30 minutes.
While it was, inarguably, a terrifying incident, the Cuyahoga River had caught fire at least a dozen other times between the late 19th and mid-20th centuries. In fact, the Time magazine photo of the fire that captured so much public attention in 1969 was actually taken during a previous incident in 1952. And many other American rivers were sufficiently polluted to go up in flames around the same period. The Clean Water Act was not there to protect them..."
"Let’s not forget what America looked like before we had the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Our rivers caught on fire, our air was full of smog, and it stank (literally)."...
Richard Nixon’s role in the creation of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is complicated. It wasn’t his idea, and some believe he founded the EPA with the hope that he could control its administrators. But there can be little doubt that even Nixon—a Republican to his very bones—understood the need for stiffer environmental regulations. Almost all Republicans of his generation did.
https://www.nrdc.org/stories/why-we-need-epa
Oh, sorry! She is a descendent of Ike. tricky dick? -- no way!!
Remember David stockman trying to defend trickle down economics I blame Reagan for so many things including the homeless.
And how about: Citizens United? and ending the FCC's law about news shows being required to be balanced and report on both sides of an issue? and lowering the tax rate from 70% for millionaires (very rich, back in those days) to around 30%?
Yes all that too. Step by step.
For those who don’t know, Tramp cares nothing about the lives lost in Israel on either side. He is a “friend” of Israel because the Evangelicals need Israel in the hands of the Jews so Jesus can come back to the Mt of Olives and he needs their support. He also wants to feed his ego by taking credit for ending the war and get the Nobel Peace Prize. EVERYTHING is about himself. He is a narcissist among his other despicable traits. And, don’t hold your breath about the end of the war. The hostages have been released but Netanyahu needs to stay in power so he doesn’t get tried. He will find a reason to continue it.
Since nothing has been resolved between Israel & Palestinians, the only thing accomplished is a ceasefire that may or may not last, and of course the release of the remaining hostages. Biden negotiated the release of most of the hostages.
How long will it take before those in the military, secret service, CIA and others who have risked their lives to defend the Constitution and seen their friends and comrades die for doing the same had enough of the cowards running our country and trying to destroy it?
I’d like an answer to this.
You should apologize to whores and cowards everywhere!
I didn’t mean to disparage whores and cowards.
Unscrupulous person: This definition refers to a person who compromises their integrity or principles for personal or financial gain AS IN THE WHORES OF THE GOP!
Didn’t mean to disparage whores and cowards, Republicans don’t come close to having that much integrity.
Dads, guard your sofa cushions zealously!
Now now... Let's not be disrespectful to brothels. Even whores have better standards.
Absolutely right. Too bad the GOP doesn’t.
Don't insult brothels or whores with the comparison.
Re: "choose between American citizens and federal bureaucrats."--whenever this comes up, I would love to hear how "magically" federal employees are not citizens? 🤔
And who is going to make sure that citizens get those benefits if not for the "bureaucrats?"
Right?!
Great point!
Good for George Stephanopoulos! At least he kept holding vances feet to the fire. Unlike the white house press Corp who tip toes around trump and Vance and let them get away with spewing crap.
The WH press corps is Breitbart, OAN, Fox and a bunch of otter right wing rags. WP is probably still allowed because they’ve caved. Pretty useless.
Yes it's so pathetic.
This is such a poetic and fitting way to describe Vance’s lie spewing: “they poured out of him like shadows from a cursed box”.
Thank you for the great essay, as usual, Jay.
Yes, Trump gets away with his lies because he has an established persona to fall back on and he can always say he was "joking". Vance has no persona and could not tell a joke if his life deepened on it. As a person, he is a dud.
Personally, I think Vance has found his milieu--crooks, liars and thieves--and is reveling in the utter corruption.
Vance stated, regarding the shooter at an ICE facility, "he did kill some other innocent people in the process." I would have followed up with, "If they were innocent people, why were they being detained by ICE?
Oooh, excellent question!
That was my immediate thought! I thought ICE was supposed to only be targeting criminals, “the worst of the worst”, to detain.
I posted this on Facebook in response to a friend's comment on Vance:
Vance not only lies, he somehow manages to insult our intelligence because he conveys the fact that he thinks we believe him--that that's how stupid we are and how dashing and clever he is. Trump at least conveys that he doesn't care if we don't believe him--he's a bullshitter, not a calculating liar. Johnson signals a sort of pseudo-apologetic dishonesty. It's not HIS fault that he's forced to lie. Maybe he tells himself that to square his moral degeneracy with what he still believes is his Christian piety.
think you're observations about the differences between the style of lying between the two is spot on. I hope you were replying to a friend who already loathes Vance as opposed to someone defending him, just for your sanity's sake.
Thanks. Yes, it was the former. I doubt I'd engage with someone defending him. "You should never argue with a crazy ma-ma-ma--ma-man/You oughta know by now."
Don't forget that Peter Thiel is the true power behind JD Vance and has a lot of influence on the current politics.
Yup. I’ve known and dealt with Thiel since college
I'm so sorry for your pain.
I hate to “like” that you’ve had to deal w Thiel since college because that can’t have been fun…
Thiel and his well documented "anti-Christ" homilies. Talk about a human pox upon us.
There are amoebas with more backbone than JD Vance.
I'm sure JD has been paid $50,000 for his services in the past - but - did they come in a paper bag? And if so - why?
Exactly. How often is anyone paid for legitimate services using wads of cash in a paper bag?
... in a paper take-out bag...
Nice summary, thank you for this articulate piece today. Much appreciated.
The reason that if the orange pedo felon is “ no longer in charge” , that the gop/maga will immediately shatter.
JV pants is no leader. Not liked by maga followers and tlhe ultimate sin, he has a “brown” wife and “ brown “ children, which does not fit into the white Christian nationalist ideology or agenda.
Plus he is a total tool. To put it mildly!
8647 regime
Still, Vance will defend Project 2025.
true but he doesn't have the loyalty of the GOP
I hope.
He would have to divorce Usha, disown his children and marry Charlie Kirk's widow. (which as she's a millionaire now, will be some disgusting MAGA slime's goal.
It does not matter how blatant, how preposterous, the lies are, so long as they provide fodder for the followers. The real news of the day, of every day, is that the true believers are still believing. What? Only some 30% remain among the faithful? Considering the absurdity of the situation, that is an enormous number.
I do think it matters to the persuadable swing voters who tend to decide elections, and for the future of the MAGA movement who need a leader they believe speaks for them. Vance ain’t it.
For sure, Vance ain’t it. And we have to hope there are some persuadable voters out there. But again, considering the present circumstances, that these voters are not already on board is a little hard to fathom. But not impossible. A few times a week I flip over to Fox to see what’s happening there, and it looks like some other world. For people subsisting on a daily news diet of that sort, or its more extreme variants, much of what we see as an ongoing outrage passes by unnoticed for them. And if that is correct, there may be little opportunity for persuasion. And that is a story in itself. Much of what’s happening here is happening thanks to a right-wing business model. Well, that’s my conspiracy theory…
The last line of Ron Filipkowski's remarks about vance lying isn't complete. I should read:
But Vance tells preposterous lies with a tone of indignancy if you dare suggest that he might be full of shit.....which he is.
Our jumped-up talentless little hillbilly will get chopped to pieces should Dear Leader decide to make America truly great again by departing before 2028.
Why does anyone still watch corporate media-I personally wouldn’t waste my time watching that crap -Americans are definitely the dumbest people on the planet-
Kristen Welker has been a huge disappointment. These people don't deserve any respect, nor have they earned it. I wish she'd stop pandering to them. At least George S. held vance's feet to the fire.
The only news out of America I watch is Seth Meyers and Stephen Colbert at this point. They're the only ones I trust to tell the truth. And isn't that a terrifying state of affairs!
And don’t forget Jon Stewart and John Oliver.
It's important for folks like Jay to watch it for us so that they can report on what the American public is being exposed to.
I can only stand watching the highlights TBH
You are still a hero.
That still earns you a medal of some kind. But not gold plated. It'll remind you too much of agent orange.
Robert, that was an amazingly sweeping comment. I, for one, am not dumb. All of us here, reading Jay, HCR, Robert Hubbell, watching Stephen Colbert and Jimmy Kimmel, are certainly not dumb. The fact that Disney was forced to bring Kimmel back because of how much money they were losing is pretty good proof that many, many Americans are NOT stupid.
Vance is a charisma vacuum, and has no hope in hell of keeping the MAGA cult together when Trump dies. It's just a matter of who turns on him first, the public or the party.