There is an old saying ( in Polish ) that goes like this……
You can carry a pitcher of beer around, until the handle breaks.
In other words, the MAGANAZIs who are supporting or opposing all that you listed; why do they think that their own kind won’t turn on them?
One step out of line. One movement or speech that isn’t pure ( MAGANAZI ) enough and……poof! You’re done. You become an apostate, a heretic, an enemy of the state.
I don’t suppose they will realize this until ICE and DHS ( the American SS and Gestapo ) kick in their door at 2 am and stuff them in the back of a black van.
Completely agree The Nazi Republicans are in lock step with Project 2025 and are knee deep in voter suppressive tactics None of these bastards deserve public office for the next decades to come
What amazes me is the undying loyalty of a huge swath of Americans who aren’t getting ANYTHING from Trump but lay down for him anyway. Astounding stupidity.
It has become unbearable for me. I cannot hear the reports . I am so powerless. I was thinking about the people in Florida that support him . I ask myself how can they? One thing that came to mind was something I read about Russia and Putin awhile back. I read that the quality of life for the middle class in Russia stays the same and as long as that is the case they don't concern themselves with what Putin is doing. So I guess as long as these Republicans that support him continue to lead comfortable lives whatever Trump does will be fine. Of course all that you wrote about the cult Steve is true too.. I heard it form so many of them. It's always "they all do it " so whatever he does is just a ok with them. lost in america
Rhetoric like this is pointless. Steve throws around these terms like degeneracy , debauchery and criminality as if our country has collectively lost its mind and morality. The reality is that our country, as a collective, re elected Trump despite all the criminality and misconduct. By re electing him, “we” essentially absolved him of 1/6 and everything else- the convictions, the indictments. Everything. Did the country collectively lose its mind? Of course not. But the Dems mismanaged the 2024 election and played in to all our cynical doubts by covering up Biden’s infirmities. Until the country had this horrible “reveal party” on debate nite. And all the haters got their ah-ha moment Trump has always been hugely popular because he is dynamic and entertaining. So his voter appeal is vast. But he was turned out of office very narrowly in 2020 and would have been defeated again had the Dems not mismanaged 2024. Now that he’s in, forget it. We’re getting precisely what we deserve. Only a large component of the electorate is so understandably contemptuous of the Democratic Party that nothing that Trump does will ever matter to them.
"Only a large component of the electorate is so understandably contemptuous of the Democratic Party that nothing that Trump does will ever matter to them."
I am not sure what you mean by "large." Every day more Americans are becoming aware of the true motives behind secular and religious leaders of "Christian" nationalism. Trump's approval is extremely low and plummeting. Current Democratic leadership is weak; however, if progressives win in the primaries and manage to convey their plans to stop the growth of oligarchy and fight for the common man, we can stop and reverse the political cancer that is destroying us from within. Consider these quotes:
“We all do better when we work together. Our differences do matter, but our common humanity matters more.” —Bill Clinton, 42nd President of the United States
“As the wealthiest nation on Earth, I believe the United States has a moral obligation to lead the fight against hunger and malnutrition, and to partner with others.” —Barack Obama, 44th President of the United States
“The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have little.” —Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 32nd President of the United States
“The duty of great states is to serve and not to dominate the world.” —Harry Truman, 33rd President of the United States
“If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich.” —John F. Kennedy, 35th President of the United States"
“We know that a peaceful world cannot long exist one-third rich and two-thirds hungry.” —Jimmy Carter, 39th President of the United States
“Progress in the most impoverished parts of our world enriches us all.” —Barack Obama, 44th President of the United States
"The point is that you can't be too greedy." Trump
Well you can blame the Democratic establishment for sticking with Biden for too long and then making a bad decision (hindsight = 20/20, right?) but the fact is that Harris was competent for the job and would have been infinitely better for the country. Her mistake was being Black and being a woman. Biden was right about his having the best chance to beat Trump, he just ran out of time. Had he outlasted his physical condition , Harris would certainly be president now. And we wouldn’t be witnessing the full scale theft and corruption of this nation.
The Democratic establishment is behind the curve in spite of strong people near the top. Reluctance regarding woman and woman of color especially is shade cast culturally. Needs attention.
I agree. But you read this crazy rhetoric that Steve posts and we lose sight of the fact that once again Trump’s (re) ascendency to the Presidency never should have happened at all. In which case this collective national illness that Steve is complaining of would not exist at all. That’s how thin the margins are in this country.
How long have you been following Steve here? Steve doesn’t need me cheerleading for him but you must know that he blames the Democrats and complacent Americans as well as the Republicans for what has become of our country right? He’s not spewing rhetoric he’s spewing the truth. If you have some inspiring and/or compelling solutions to this mess please do share with us.
I’ve been following Steve since the beginning. I don’t like the way he targets MAGA politicians behavior as if it has to be pointed out to Americans and awaken us from our collective slumber so we can recognize it and do something about it. I believe Steve’s focus should be on the American citizenry that condones, supports, elects and re elects MAGA. I’m familiar with the dynamic of being primaried - and we got several fresh lessons in that this week. But what I’m talking about is Steve’s lack of focus on what compels so many Americans to support MAGA. To tolerate what you and I plainly see as corruption, incompetence and mass narcissistic behavior. I /we don’t need to have the misbehavior called out, Steve. I see it. But why do so many of us tolerate and condone it in the voting booth? That’s what’s worth discussing.
I so agree with you but I just don’t know that it’s his or our responsibility or ability to determine what makes all the maga voters tick. I really wish sometimes that I was a psychologist so I could have some insight into what is in their brains that makes them follow a narcissistic megalomaniac the way they do. But understanding wouldn’t change it…unless we became honest and sincere politicians. The lack of empathy, honesty, and drive to be a good human is disappearing.
As time goes by, I find that I care less and less about WHY these folks follow Trump so slavishly but I suspect that it's because he reinforces what they have already decided to believe. He tells them what they want and badly need to hear, regardless of how much it flies in the face of facts or logic. When someone declares that, "Saying 'no' to Trump is like saying 'no' to God!", I think we can be certain that there's no point in talking further.
so why are they condoning and tolerating it? i have my own ideas in trying to understand the incessant support for this wannabe dictator but would be interested in your analysis.
I think it has been pointed out that at least 26% of the electorate is pro-Trump no matter what he intends to do or say. That proportion increases as one goes into more conservative regions. The Republicans always vote in all elections at all levels, federal, state, county and local elections. We other voters do not typically do that. You asked, "But why do so many of us tolerate and condone it in the voting booth?" Many of us in the "Blue" states do not tolerate or condone it for the most part. In the "Red" states they usually have more than enough votes in less urban areas to carry their tide. In the "Swing" states Democrats have usually not been able to field candidates at all levels to overcome the Republican advantage gained by Gerrymandering at all legislative levels, especially within each state legislature where it likely matters the most.
The illness is a distorted version of Christianity which views Trump as sent by god to lead the way to Armageddon and the rapture by helping Israel regain all of her biblical territory which these religious fanatics see as essential to their physical ascendancy into the realm of Jesus.
This sounds nuts to all of us; but, trust me, the cultists believe this and the ringmasters use their credulity to manipulate them.
Larry how do you feel about the Dems paying Hollywood to campaign for them when the electorate was focussed on inflation and cost of living? Could that also be a factor? The failure of Democratic leadership in not supporting progressive Dems? Is that a problem?
The fringe issues that comprised a litmus test for support of the candidate was indeed an issue. It drove centrist independents straight into the waiting arms of the Republican ideologues like lambs to a wolf in sheep’s clothing.
There’s a difference between disliking certain social policies and accepting any and all corruption and destruction. Trump is sucking up money, creating an unsustainable deficit while the people he is there to look after are paying the price.
He’s prepared to use the people to fight in insufficiently planned wars or to takeover other countries, or trade wars to destroy his allies.
He’s carried out explicit attempts in Greenland and Canada to break up countries dearly loved by their people.
He is also clearly trying to use the authoritative aspects of religion to lock in the voters.
This is beyond policy differences.
The Democrats didn’t do - or not do - anything to compare with chaos and damage he is accomplishing.
Look outside your country and understand the pain and grief he is generating. The impact goes way beyond the US.
As a DTS independent, I have to disagree with much of your premise. TFG is not popular, it is sinister, and that personality trait enthralls other wannabes who seek recognition for deeds never done. Then there is the absence of 5-7 million votes in 2024. Thousands of voter reg. challenges put into motion after 2020 by the R brand operatives culled out those votes, and they were not R votes. I have little use for the D brand of neoliberalism, other than to use it as a measure of apathy. The part I agree with you on is that apathy -- the public on its own usually seeks the low ground, beer, bullets, boobs, battles between elements of machismo, usually via sports or other competitions of totally useless value to the society at large. To blame Biden n his handlers is just as bad as to blame apathy. Who now covers for a completely absent minded, deranged, sickly and perverse half-man??? Our society is massively managed via the propaganda of each and every public Talking Head who benefits from avarice, pure greed or the vanity of notoriety. The nation is totally ID driven. Porn is the meal of the day, every day. What is its main attraction? Violence against females, usury of females, attacks against the threat to machismo by the feminine. This is not complex, it is just normalized by those who swin in the sea of hubris and prurient vanities. We are a society of Talking Heads, who necks are not bent downward via the addiction to smart phones that are more dangerous than fentanyl. A society of addicts bedazzled by a buffoon with loose bowels.
I follow history through the eyes of authors, not historians. Context is Everything, is it not? Most living beings, as far as my many years in the wild observing animals and plants has shown me, live two-layered lives - never separate, never quite united. As I now see it, after much contemplation of quantum mechanics, is that both are true, and both must bear the responsibility of the practioner. So Yes, in answer to your question, ALL must take Some responsibility for the 'failed state,' regardless of when it began to fail or where any being falls on that specrum, time determinate and knowledge/wisdom determinant. But, again, context. I have watched animals make crucial mistakes in the wild, that cost their lives and the lives of perhaps their entire family, myabe even those closely related in genetics or just living cirucmstances. Yes, responsible, causally only, the intention was never there. With humans, at least in ancient theory, we are capable of learning from our own ancestry's past mistakes, but that also is a matter of context. Could we learn, was/were the opportunity(ies) there? And if so, what is the measure of any being's capacity, at any given moment, to learn some keystone intelligence? Stochasim is a two way energy. Almost hit or miss, even with so-called order and discipline. Parents want their kids to do well, and teach them to avoid accidents, but how many times do we see kids go off the rails, or if the parent was off the rails, the kids find those rails and act differently. In our failed State, we have been given opportunities, often varied from person to person, to make wise decisions given a variety of 'ifs.' I know, in my heart of hearts, had I the Absolut Courage to do what I could see was needed, no matter othe odds (usually 1/100,000 or less), would I, could I, have made the difference? Frost's Road Not Traveled is relevant here. "I chose the road less taken, and that has made all the difference.' All are connected to all others. That is our failure, to understand and cultivate and embrace This Fundamental Truth. Descartes, so far, has won the day.
So it’s your prerogative to buy-in to Steve’s essential point that Trumps re election and what has followed is symptomatic of our national illlness. I prefer to look at how easily Trumps reelection and all that has followed could have and should have been avoided. Alas, both of our laments - your’s and mine- are losers laments.
Both in 2016 and particularly 2024 there were clear manipulative tactics to ensure a Nazi Republican win Specifically the vigilante challenge tactic was effective for them to get Cheeto into office a second time The Nazis are a diabolical and sinister group
But the second problem is for us WE the People to give up and say "what's the use, my vote won't count" The plan is to wear us down and for WE to give up
The therapy for depression is ACTION Join Indivisible or start a chapter Go to meetings to find like minded people who want to take our country back and stop this fascist takeover WE don't live in Nazi Germany in the 1920's
I don't agree that we deserve this. However we may have screwed up and mismanaged things, our party, especially compared to the current Republican party, doesn't hold a candle to what they have become
IMO, every time a Trump-endorsed MAGAT wins a primary, it is a victory for our side. Trump's approval is extremely low and falling. People are waking up to the insane and destructive lust for wealth and power that characterizes the religious and secular leaders of "Christian" nationalism and such candidates are far more likely to lose to a Democrat in the general election on 11/3.
What? The lesson from that primary was that the Repugs are more dangerous than ever. Read the room. Why is Trump paying the Jan. 6 crowd? Is it a thank you, or a down payment? Every break stop has been overwhelmed. How long ago were you and others thinking that the saviour would be the militaries refusal to obey illegal orders. That didn’t happen. Quit waiting for something to intervene. Figure out what you can do? Then work on multiplying that by getting others to join. You can wait for the midterms and hope for a different result … or
Paul, I believe MAGAT candidates are more likely to lose in a general election, even in red states. My question to you, is or what? In another comment today I expressed my belief that we will have lost our country if Trump and his partners in crime and scandal manage to rig the elections so that MAGATS continue to control the House and Senate. Then, we would have to confront and answer the question as to what to do in that situation.
President Trump’s decision Tuesday to snub Sen. John Cornyn and endorse state Attorney General Ken Paxton in the Texas Senate Republican primary was met with frustration, anger and even sadness by Senate Republicans. The move likely sinks Cornyn’s hopes of winning another Senate term, and Republicans warned it could make it tougher to defeat Democratic candidate James Talarico in November.
"He revealed it, he didn't hijack it" is the line worth debating, because it carries a real implication: that the Republican Party was always heading here, and the pre-Trump era was the aberration rather than the norm. If that's true, the diagnosis changes significantly. Is the problem one man — or was the institution always structurally vulnerable to exactly this kind of capture?
Republicans have clearly shown do whatever it takes to destroy America. It’s well past time for all democrats to do whatever it takes to defend our country from tyranny.
I'm glad we are hearing and seeing the word "cult" more often when describing Trump's supporters. It's the perfect word to explain MAGA. It's pointless to try and reason with cult members; they are too far gone to see reason, but fortunately for our country 70% of us are not members of Trump's cult.
Steve, Claire McCaskill got it right last night. Massie didn't have a chance. He was able to connect with the voters in the state but she went on to state that those aren't the voters at the polls for a primary. Only the most engaged go out for those elections and on the republican side it's just MAGA faithful. The flip side of that is an open seat that is now in play. I am looking at the same outcome if the MAGA faithful vote out Cornyn in Texas for Paxton. Talarico polls much better against Paxton than the incumbent Cornyn, and look at what voting Cassidy out did. There was the flipped vote that may put Trump in his place with the Iran war.
Perhaps this ballroom - which is apparently now being sold as a secure military facility capable of fending off drones and apparently protecting all of Washington by firing off its own drones - is actually Trump’s bunker so that he can continue to rule after he steals another election.
I don’t think that motivation is to laugh at. Beside the separation of church is the separation of political from military. Trumpists are a step ahead as usual. Whose plans for our future are these? Venial Trump is, a good planner he is not.
This brilliant article certainly depicts what is happening to those who have independent thought and/or who do not blindly obey every DJT dictate. It breaks my heart and my spirit when I see that
Trump is not the problem.
The Republicans are the problem.
They are not intimidated by nor afraid of Trump.
They could have stopped all of this in 2015 or at any moment since then.
They want all of this.
They all voted for their horrible BBB.
They want all of this.
They all voted against their own border bill.
They want all of this.
They support Project 2025 and like damaging policies.
They want all of this.
At any time they could have crossed the aisle to work with Democrats and removed Trump.
They had two impeachment opportunities to remove him.
They want all of this.
None of them raised a word against any of his seemingly endless criminal, unethical, and immoral actions.
They want all of it.
It is intentional, not done out of fear.
There is an old saying ( in Polish ) that goes like this……
You can carry a pitcher of beer around, until the handle breaks.
In other words, the MAGANAZIs who are supporting or opposing all that you listed; why do they think that their own kind won’t turn on them?
One step out of line. One movement or speech that isn’t pure ( MAGANAZI ) enough and……poof! You’re done. You become an apostate, a heretic, an enemy of the state.
I don’t suppose they will realize this until ICE and DHS ( the American SS and Gestapo ) kick in their door at 2 am and stuff them in the back of a black van.
For whom does the bell toll? It tolls for thee.
Agreed. It is a moral test to be a member of a democracy.
Too true - unbelievable - he gets my money as a personal donation..
$1,778,000,000.00 he's not my president.
And his millions of Republican supporters ar NOT Americans...
Do we deport them too?
Good idea! :)
Completely agree The Nazi Republicans are in lock step with Project 2025 and are knee deep in voter suppressive tactics None of these bastards deserve public office for the next decades to come
Yes, I do think they want all of it.
White supremacy and the whole package.
What amazes me is the undying loyalty of a huge swath of Americans who aren’t getting ANYTHING from Trump but lay down for him anyway. Astounding stupidity.
Worse than the cultists are the enablers who know better, the Repugnicans.
The orange pig might be running on satanic energy. He is far too stupid and lazy and venal to accomplish anything serious on his own.
Please don't insult pigs. Unlike tRump, pigs are sweet, intelligent and inquisitive. He is just another human POS.
Point taken.
Thank you :)
YES! Totally agree! Humans should stop demonizing animals when talking about evil humans!
It has become unbearable for me. I cannot hear the reports . I am so powerless. I was thinking about the people in Florida that support him . I ask myself how can they? One thing that came to mind was something I read about Russia and Putin awhile back. I read that the quality of life for the middle class in Russia stays the same and as long as that is the case they don't concern themselves with what Putin is doing. So I guess as long as these Republicans that support him continue to lead comfortable lives whatever Trump does will be fine. Of course all that you wrote about the cult Steve is true too.. I heard it form so many of them. It's always "they all do it " so whatever he does is just a ok with them. lost in america
Yes.
I think that Trumplicans here are going to have to suffer, and suffer terribly, before they can learn anything at all.
Rhetoric like this is pointless. Steve throws around these terms like degeneracy , debauchery and criminality as if our country has collectively lost its mind and morality. The reality is that our country, as a collective, re elected Trump despite all the criminality and misconduct. By re electing him, “we” essentially absolved him of 1/6 and everything else- the convictions, the indictments. Everything. Did the country collectively lose its mind? Of course not. But the Dems mismanaged the 2024 election and played in to all our cynical doubts by covering up Biden’s infirmities. Until the country had this horrible “reveal party” on debate nite. And all the haters got their ah-ha moment Trump has always been hugely popular because he is dynamic and entertaining. So his voter appeal is vast. But he was turned out of office very narrowly in 2020 and would have been defeated again had the Dems not mismanaged 2024. Now that he’s in, forget it. We’re getting precisely what we deserve. Only a large component of the electorate is so understandably contemptuous of the Democratic Party that nothing that Trump does will ever matter to them.
"Only a large component of the electorate is so understandably contemptuous of the Democratic Party that nothing that Trump does will ever matter to them."
I am not sure what you mean by "large." Every day more Americans are becoming aware of the true motives behind secular and religious leaders of "Christian" nationalism. Trump's approval is extremely low and plummeting. Current Democratic leadership is weak; however, if progressives win in the primaries and manage to convey their plans to stop the growth of oligarchy and fight for the common man, we can stop and reverse the political cancer that is destroying us from within. Consider these quotes:
“We all do better when we work together. Our differences do matter, but our common humanity matters more.” —Bill Clinton, 42nd President of the United States
“As the wealthiest nation on Earth, I believe the United States has a moral obligation to lead the fight against hunger and malnutrition, and to partner with others.” —Barack Obama, 44th President of the United States
“The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have little.” —Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 32nd President of the United States
“The duty of great states is to serve and not to dominate the world.” —Harry Truman, 33rd President of the United States
“If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich.” —John F. Kennedy, 35th President of the United States"
“We know that a peaceful world cannot long exist one-third rich and two-thirds hungry.” —Jimmy Carter, 39th President of the United States
“Progress in the most impoverished parts of our world enriches us all.” —Barack Obama, 44th President of the United States
"The point is that you can't be too greedy." Trump
Thanks for resurfacing these quotes. Besides making them freshly available, they remind of times when politicians spoke in sentences. Oh nostalgia.
That was great Anthony.
Thank You for that Anthony ...It was an a wonderful tonic this a.m. I love my party .
Well you can blame the Democratic establishment for sticking with Biden for too long and then making a bad decision (hindsight = 20/20, right?) but the fact is that Harris was competent for the job and would have been infinitely better for the country. Her mistake was being Black and being a woman. Biden was right about his having the best chance to beat Trump, he just ran out of time. Had he outlasted his physical condition , Harris would certainly be president now. And we wouldn’t be witnessing the full scale theft and corruption of this nation.
The Democratic establishment is behind the curve in spite of strong people near the top. Reluctance regarding woman and woman of color especially is shade cast culturally. Needs attention.
I agree. But you read this crazy rhetoric that Steve posts and we lose sight of the fact that once again Trump’s (re) ascendency to the Presidency never should have happened at all. In which case this collective national illness that Steve is complaining of would not exist at all. That’s how thin the margins are in this country.
How long have you been following Steve here? Steve doesn’t need me cheerleading for him but you must know that he blames the Democrats and complacent Americans as well as the Republicans for what has become of our country right? He’s not spewing rhetoric he’s spewing the truth. If you have some inspiring and/or compelling solutions to this mess please do share with us.
I’ve been following Steve since the beginning. I don’t like the way he targets MAGA politicians behavior as if it has to be pointed out to Americans and awaken us from our collective slumber so we can recognize it and do something about it. I believe Steve’s focus should be on the American citizenry that condones, supports, elects and re elects MAGA. I’m familiar with the dynamic of being primaried - and we got several fresh lessons in that this week. But what I’m talking about is Steve’s lack of focus on what compels so many Americans to support MAGA. To tolerate what you and I plainly see as corruption, incompetence and mass narcissistic behavior. I /we don’t need to have the misbehavior called out, Steve. I see it. But why do so many of us tolerate and condone it in the voting booth? That’s what’s worth discussing.
I so agree with you but I just don’t know that it’s his or our responsibility or ability to determine what makes all the maga voters tick. I really wish sometimes that I was a psychologist so I could have some insight into what is in their brains that makes them follow a narcissistic megalomaniac the way they do. But understanding wouldn’t change it…unless we became honest and sincere politicians. The lack of empathy, honesty, and drive to be a good human is disappearing.
As time goes by, I find that I care less and less about WHY these folks follow Trump so slavishly but I suspect that it's because he reinforces what they have already decided to believe. He tells them what they want and badly need to hear, regardless of how much it flies in the face of facts or logic. When someone declares that, "Saying 'no' to Trump is like saying 'no' to God!", I think we can be certain that there's no point in talking further.
so why are they condoning and tolerating it? i have my own ideas in trying to understand the incessant support for this wannabe dictator but would be interested in your analysis.
I think it has been pointed out that at least 26% of the electorate is pro-Trump no matter what he intends to do or say. That proportion increases as one goes into more conservative regions. The Republicans always vote in all elections at all levels, federal, state, county and local elections. We other voters do not typically do that. You asked, "But why do so many of us tolerate and condone it in the voting booth?" Many of us in the "Blue" states do not tolerate or condone it for the most part. In the "Red" states they usually have more than enough votes in less urban areas to carry their tide. In the "Swing" states Democrats have usually not been able to field candidates at all levels to overcome the Republican advantage gained by Gerrymandering at all legislative levels, especially within each state legislature where it likely matters the most.
The illness is a distorted version of Christianity which views Trump as sent by god to lead the way to Armageddon and the rapture by helping Israel regain all of her biblical territory which these religious fanatics see as essential to their physical ascendancy into the realm of Jesus.
This sounds nuts to all of us; but, trust me, the cultists believe this and the ringmasters use their credulity to manipulate them.
It is an existential tragedy.
Pointing out FACTS is NOT complaining - it is something you should read and take necessary actions to change it.
Larry how do you feel about the Dems paying Hollywood to campaign for them when the electorate was focussed on inflation and cost of living? Could that also be a factor? The failure of Democratic leadership in not supporting progressive Dems? Is that a problem?
The fringe issues that comprised a litmus test for support of the candidate was indeed an issue. It drove centrist independents straight into the waiting arms of the Republican ideologues like lambs to a wolf in sheep’s clothing.
Water under the bridge The past is history the future is mystery the present is all WE have That's why they call it a gift
There’s a difference between disliking certain social policies and accepting any and all corruption and destruction. Trump is sucking up money, creating an unsustainable deficit while the people he is there to look after are paying the price.
He’s prepared to use the people to fight in insufficiently planned wars or to takeover other countries, or trade wars to destroy his allies.
He’s carried out explicit attempts in Greenland and Canada to break up countries dearly loved by their people.
He is also clearly trying to use the authoritative aspects of religion to lock in the voters.
This is beyond policy differences.
The Democrats didn’t do - or not do - anything to compare with chaos and damage he is accomplishing.
Look outside your country and understand the pain and grief he is generating. The impact goes way beyond the US.
As a DTS independent, I have to disagree with much of your premise. TFG is not popular, it is sinister, and that personality trait enthralls other wannabes who seek recognition for deeds never done. Then there is the absence of 5-7 million votes in 2024. Thousands of voter reg. challenges put into motion after 2020 by the R brand operatives culled out those votes, and they were not R votes. I have little use for the D brand of neoliberalism, other than to use it as a measure of apathy. The part I agree with you on is that apathy -- the public on its own usually seeks the low ground, beer, bullets, boobs, battles between elements of machismo, usually via sports or other competitions of totally useless value to the society at large. To blame Biden n his handlers is just as bad as to blame apathy. Who now covers for a completely absent minded, deranged, sickly and perverse half-man??? Our society is massively managed via the propaganda of each and every public Talking Head who benefits from avarice, pure greed or the vanity of notoriety. The nation is totally ID driven. Porn is the meal of the day, every day. What is its main attraction? Violence against females, usury of females, attacks against the threat to machismo by the feminine. This is not complex, it is just normalized by those who swin in the sea of hubris and prurient vanities. We are a society of Talking Heads, who necks are not bent downward via the addiction to smart phones that are more dangerous than fentanyl. A society of addicts bedazzled by a buffoon with loose bowels.
It is a failed State that we ALL must take responsibility for? Is that your drift? Am. I reading what you are laying down?
I follow history through the eyes of authors, not historians. Context is Everything, is it not? Most living beings, as far as my many years in the wild observing animals and plants has shown me, live two-layered lives - never separate, never quite united. As I now see it, after much contemplation of quantum mechanics, is that both are true, and both must bear the responsibility of the practioner. So Yes, in answer to your question, ALL must take Some responsibility for the 'failed state,' regardless of when it began to fail or where any being falls on that specrum, time determinate and knowledge/wisdom determinant. But, again, context. I have watched animals make crucial mistakes in the wild, that cost their lives and the lives of perhaps their entire family, myabe even those closely related in genetics or just living cirucmstances. Yes, responsible, causally only, the intention was never there. With humans, at least in ancient theory, we are capable of learning from our own ancestry's past mistakes, but that also is a matter of context. Could we learn, was/were the opportunity(ies) there? And if so, what is the measure of any being's capacity, at any given moment, to learn some keystone intelligence? Stochasim is a two way energy. Almost hit or miss, even with so-called order and discipline. Parents want their kids to do well, and teach them to avoid accidents, but how many times do we see kids go off the rails, or if the parent was off the rails, the kids find those rails and act differently. In our failed State, we have been given opportunities, often varied from person to person, to make wise decisions given a variety of 'ifs.' I know, in my heart of hearts, had I the Absolut Courage to do what I could see was needed, no matter othe odds (usually 1/100,000 or less), would I, could I, have made the difference? Frost's Road Not Traveled is relevant here. "I chose the road less taken, and that has made all the difference.' All are connected to all others. That is our failure, to understand and cultivate and embrace This Fundamental Truth. Descartes, so far, has won the day.
So it’s your prerogative to buy-in to Steve’s essential point that Trumps re election and what has followed is symptomatic of our national illlness. I prefer to look at how easily Trumps reelection and all that has followed could have and should have been avoided. Alas, both of our laments - your’s and mine- are losers laments.
Both in 2016 and particularly 2024 there were clear manipulative tactics to ensure a Nazi Republican win Specifically the vigilante challenge tactic was effective for them to get Cheeto into office a second time The Nazis are a diabolical and sinister group
But the second problem is for us WE the People to give up and say "what's the use, my vote won't count" The plan is to wear us down and for WE to give up
The therapy for depression is ACTION Join Indivisible or start a chapter Go to meetings to find like minded people who want to take our country back and stop this fascist takeover WE don't live in Nazi Germany in the 1920's
I don't agree that we deserve this. However we may have screwed up and mismanaged things, our party, especially compared to the current Republican party, doesn't hold a candle to what they have become
He fixed the 2020 and 2024 elections - via the counting machines.
He is still doing it - we need to audit even yesterdays's primary elections...
IMO, every time a Trump-endorsed MAGAT wins a primary, it is a victory for our side. Trump's approval is extremely low and falling. People are waking up to the insane and destructive lust for wealth and power that characterizes the religious and secular leaders of "Christian" nationalism and such candidates are far more likely to lose to a Democrat in the general election on 11/3.
What? The lesson from that primary was that the Repugs are more dangerous than ever. Read the room. Why is Trump paying the Jan. 6 crowd? Is it a thank you, or a down payment? Every break stop has been overwhelmed. How long ago were you and others thinking that the saviour would be the militaries refusal to obey illegal orders. That didn’t happen. Quit waiting for something to intervene. Figure out what you can do? Then work on multiplying that by getting others to join. You can wait for the midterms and hope for a different result … or
Paul, I believe MAGAT candidates are more likely to lose in a general election, even in red states. My question to you, is or what? In another comment today I expressed my belief that we will have lost our country if Trump and his partners in crime and scandal manage to rig the elections so that MAGATS continue to control the House and Senate. Then, we would have to confront and answer the question as to what to do in that situation.
President Trump’s decision Tuesday to snub Sen. John Cornyn and endorse state Attorney General Ken Paxton in the Texas Senate Republican primary was met with frustration, anger and even sadness by Senate Republicans. The move likely sinks Cornyn’s hopes of winning another Senate term, and Republicans warned it could make it tougher to defeat Democratic candidate James Talarico in November.
https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/5886014-cornyn-snubbed-trump-paxton-support/
"He revealed it, he didn't hijack it" is the line worth debating, because it carries a real implication: that the Republican Party was always heading here, and the pre-Trump era was the aberration rather than the norm. If that's true, the diagnosis changes significantly. Is the problem one man — or was the institution always structurally vulnerable to exactly this kind of capture?
It also clearly demonstrates Trump’s obsessive fear of the opening of the Epstein files….
There seems to be an animal awareness in Trump of how dangerous the Epstein files are to him.
“ Imagine any other political figure surviving even one fraction of what Trump has done. “
For those of us old enough to remember………….Gary Hart.
One trip ( that he was seen ) on the Monkey Business boat with a woman who was not his wife and……..poof! POTUS campaign explodes to smithereens.
Oh, how far we have fallen as a nation.
So damn true! This is the immorality!
Republicans have clearly shown do whatever it takes to destroy America. It’s well past time for all democrats to do whatever it takes to defend our country from tyranny.
I'm glad we are hearing and seeing the word "cult" more often when describing Trump's supporters. It's the perfect word to explain MAGA. It's pointless to try and reason with cult members; they are too far gone to see reason, but fortunately for our country 70% of us are not members of Trump's cult.
Steve, Claire McCaskill got it right last night. Massie didn't have a chance. He was able to connect with the voters in the state but she went on to state that those aren't the voters at the polls for a primary. Only the most engaged go out for those elections and on the republican side it's just MAGA faithful. The flip side of that is an open seat that is now in play. I am looking at the same outcome if the MAGA faithful vote out Cornyn in Texas for Paxton. Talarico polls much better against Paxton than the incumbent Cornyn, and look at what voting Cassidy out did. There was the flipped vote that may put Trump in his place with the Iran war.
Perhaps this ballroom - which is apparently now being sold as a secure military facility capable of fending off drones and apparently protecting all of Washington by firing off its own drones - is actually Trump’s bunker so that he can continue to rule after he steals another election.
Just joking - I think. I hope.
I don’t think that motivation is to laugh at. Beside the separation of church is the separation of political from military. Trumpists are a step ahead as usual. Whose plans for our future are these? Venial Trump is, a good planner he is not.
Johanna. I completely agree.
This brilliant article certainly depicts what is happening to those who have independent thought and/or who do not blindly obey every DJT dictate. It breaks my heart and my spirit when I see that
Americans have so little recourse.