I am so grateful that Steve Schmidt publishes for the world to see the exact same sentiment I had when I first read Murkowski’s comments. Fear? She’s not getting deported. She’s not worried about her retirement savings. She’s not worried about her children getting shot at school. She’s only “fearful” of losing her gilded office and underground parking and 24/7 security and insider stock information and the genuflecting Alaska business community….and self importance.
That same insurance that is govt -taxpayer funded and financed. This is the same insurance they tell the " grey and unwashed “ aka us, is bad and is socialism.
OK, for a U.S. senator. But, bad for the rank and file working class. I may have been born at night but, it wasn’t last night.
We have a protest on Saturday. Nonviolent. Take deep breaths, but be loud. Remember President Eisenhower was a patriot and demonstrably supported the Supreme Court’s order Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, 347 U.S. 483 (May 17, 1954). I covered what he did in Little Rock, AR, in my post below. Eisenhower ordered the elite 101st Airborne to restore order. The picture of those troop driving from Fort Campbell in the dark of night sticks in my mind. Regular Army troops activated to restore order is a rare occurrence. We should not forget why: the cause of anti-racism. The racism that prevailed in my youth is disgusting to me, and has been not only unleashed, but also promoted by a lawless administration. https://hotbuttons.substack.com/p/forking-roads?r=3m1bs
It makes me sick to think of my grandfather, who fought at Normandy and came back shell shocked and depressed, drank himself to death at the age of 30. Fuck everyone that doesn’t stand up for America because they’re PUSSIES. Fuck them ALL.
Your grandfather was a hero. He did not land on that beach for this. My father was a hero. He did not fly a B26 at the age of 19 for this. We resist for them. ❤️
And it makes me sick to think of my Dad, who volunteered and fought at the Battle of the Bulge, and was never the same after. He died when I was 24 - a long time ago - and never talked about it. He didn't fight for the shit show we have now. These politicians ought to be ashamed of themselves for bowing down to the carnival barker of a president. You can do something and you won't. Go find something else to do if this job is too hard for you
Yes yes yes...fuck them all...Dad and Uncles served in WWII. One was involved in campaigns in North Africa and Italy. Most of his unit didn't come home. The VILENESS of these...monsters....is making my physically ill.
My father was a Marine in the South Pacific. He was certainly no pussy and he stood tall for America every day of his life. He was a staunch Republican who voted for Harry Truman in `48 and Walter Mondale when he was on his deathbed in `84. He thought Ronny Raygun was a poser. He is the guy I have always held as the very definition of a patriot.
As for all these current day pussies I agree: Fuck `em all.
Mike, my father in law was a 19 year old Marine Pfc radioman on Iwo Jima. He also died young, but he would have been 100 this summer. He saw so many give that ultimate sacrifice. He told me he was sure he would have died as part of the first wave of Marines to invade the mainland of Japan. I am so, so sick of Trump and all his perverse lackeys who are inflicting this hell on our country, along with the pathetic “leaders” Murkowski, Graham and the rest, who are afraid and gutless. I am still in shock of the complete moral debasement of our people. We have committed national suicide by voting for that deranged, vile, cruel and traitorous pile of excrement. What is wrong with our people? I truly believe there is a mass national delusion fueled by Fox News and others. People have been brainwashed despite the utter insanity and evil that is plain as day to any sane person. I am still trying to see a path forward with such an alternate reality. We really are in 1984 where up is down, evils is good, and wrong is right….. I am heartsick and frightened.
Likewise, my father was a radioman on Guadalcanal and ended up a sergeant. He always said that radio was a real target. Dad was also sure he was going to go to a Japanese invasion and that was one thing he talked about; I suppose because it never happened. He always said he appreciated the 2 atomic bombs because he believed they saved his life and the lives of a million or more other people. I think it was a little more complicated than that. The Japanese didn't really know what those bombs were at that time and they were used to high casualties in their cities from our constant firebombing. But the Russians invaded Manchuria at the same time and that along with the atomic bombings probably was the reason for the timely Japanese surrender.
I wish all those guys from my dad's generation were still around to help guide us. I am pretty sure they wouldn't put up with this $hit.
I agree 💯. A good deal of the protestors in our group of 3200 were probably over 60 y.o. If they still have the guts, no one should complain or be to fearful to push back.
Beautifully written! But, I don't agree with this statement, "A terrible thing was done to the American people in 2024." I cannot understand why you believe that something was done to the American People. I can't fathom why you don't believe that it was the American people who did this to themselves. We are not lemmings. Each of us has the capacity to think for ourselves, educated or not. The true tragedy is that so many Americans do not. And they abandon that ability willingly. That is on each and every person who voted for the obscene nightmare that we're living every day under this Regime. They are the people to blame.
Respectfully I disagree. Either each of us has agency or we do not. The willfully ignorant are free to not believe their lying eyes, but that's on them. You can tell me that day is night and night is day. But, if I go to the office at midnight, the door is locked and no one is there, that's on me.
I'm not an Einstein but I do have a pretty good intellect and intuition. Im very politically involved. And I can tell you I had no idea Biden was as addled brained as he is until the debate. It was concealed from the public. This is the bad thing that was done. People who wanted Biden for president were misled. This is too, one of the bad things.
Any US Senator that says, “ she is afraid of retaliation “ is not fit to hold the office and should resign immediately. What a stunning act of cowardice.
Cary, if she had added to “I am afraid of retaliation…”, “but I will honor my oath and stand up to Trump” it would show good faith. What she misses is that we are all scared but she was elected to represent us which means fighting for our rights in a larger, more public arena with effect than can constituents. That is her job. I wonder what she thinks she is supposed to do if not that.
Once one caves into fear, "they" have you right where they want you. You no longer are a free person, even in the meekest of circumstances. Cowardice is shameful and disgraceful. You have become their puppet. No longer are you your own person. You are an owned person. You are complicit in each of their deeds, good or bad..
Too little too late Lisa Murkowski. Had you done the right thing and shown courage at the beginning of this nightmare you wouldn’t be feeling or saying this. You made a choice , now live with it. Good luck getting over that guilt and shame.
Fear when your life is in jeopardy is understandable. And yet, our service members and first responders deal with it and persevere - every day. Fear when all that is at risk is your seat in the Congress, or your profit margin, or the number of clicks - versus standing up for the country - is true cowardice. These people are worthy only of our contempt.
Steve, in my book this is the clear best of your many fine works of writing. I forwarded it to 40 people and urge all readers to outdo that number. In a small way, the simple act of sharing this piece acknowledges and ameliorates the shame we should all be feeling for betraying those Americans who gave all to give us the life we have enjoyed for the past 80 years. Every American, from eight years old to 80, should read this. It captures the roots of this perilous juncture with absolute precision.
Thank you. You express the deep and agonizing collective shame millions of Americans feel. Most are still in shock, disbelief and denial. I am an old soldier. I do not want this fight in these the waining years of my life but I also do not want to go to my grave with this crushing shame without the knowledge I did all I could to stop it.
Travel to the United States is dropping like a lead balloon. The tourist industry will be crashing along with the agricultural industry. Who would want to come here anyway?
No one who is concerned with the Gestapo state that TFG is creating. Visit the U.S., end up in El Salvador.
As for Ag, these guys mostly believe TFG will bail them all out and they are probably right. Big Ag is absolutely certain TFG will come through for them and they are likewise probably right. It is why TFG has such a lock on flyover country out here. I was raised on a farm and I keep close ties to my rural heritage and I can say with confidence that this is solid red territory. Can't swing a dead cat around here without knocking a MAGA hat off someone's head.
I think I am on the way out with the thinking around me. There is a Congressman in North Carolina who was elected last year after telling voters gay marriage was destroying this country and wives must submit to their husbands. He won with 60 percent.
I have always liked New York State. When I lived in New Jersey, I would visit often. I am thinking about a move to New Mexico next year, if we have a next year.
I used to admire Mitt Romney. But like so many in D.C. he too grew fat from lobbies and Utah interests and Mormon politics. That golden calf is what Donald Trump represents. Unfortunately, money is no protection against tyranny. And it will be a hard reckoning for him and his tribe and all the others who have embraced or run away from this challenge.
OMG Steve! You nailed it perfectly. The thing we have to do is shun the cowards that voted for this obscenity and then stand with the courageous. I am a podcaster on issues of Health & Wellness (www.ocbn.online) and am seeing firsthand the destruction of our health safety net and the damage it is doing to all people (even the red hats). I will soon be interviewing Rep Jason Crow, a combat veteran, who is fighting to save the VA from cuts so combat veterans can continue to access the full mental health services they need and deserve. He has also pledged to lead the fight to save Medicaid from the deep cuts the House is voting on. I have interviews with Colorado elected officials and health advocates that are standing tall on this as well. Welcome to the 2nd American revolution!
I am so grateful that Steve Schmidt publishes for the world to see the exact same sentiment I had when I first read Murkowski’s comments. Fear? She’s not getting deported. She’s not worried about her retirement savings. She’s not worried about her children getting shot at school. She’s only “fearful” of losing her gilded office and underground parking and 24/7 security and insider stock information and the genuflecting Alaska business community….and self importance.
...and free healthcare. And - most probably - a fat "portfolio" ... grown fatter because she's involved in enacting laws affecting corporations...
And of course her healthcare insurance.
That same insurance that is govt -taxpayer funded and financed. This is the same insurance they tell the " grey and unwashed “ aka us, is bad and is socialism.
OK, for a U.S. senator. But, bad for the rank and file working class. I may have been born at night but, it wasn’t last night.
My grandmother used that same phrase😏
29 years of disconnect has not helped.
Or holding her breath each month to see if her SS check was deposited. It’s getting more and more stressful, waiting for the other shoe to drop.
We have a protest on Saturday. Nonviolent. Take deep breaths, but be loud. Remember President Eisenhower was a patriot and demonstrably supported the Supreme Court’s order Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, 347 U.S. 483 (May 17, 1954). I covered what he did in Little Rock, AR, in my post below. Eisenhower ordered the elite 101st Airborne to restore order. The picture of those troop driving from Fort Campbell in the dark of night sticks in my mind. Regular Army troops activated to restore order is a rare occurrence. We should not forget why: the cause of anti-racism. The racism that prevailed in my youth is disgusting to me, and has been not only unleashed, but also promoted by a lawless administration. https://hotbuttons.substack.com/p/forking-roads?r=3m1bs
It makes me sick to think of my grandfather, who fought at Normandy and came back shell shocked and depressed, drank himself to death at the age of 30. Fuck everyone that doesn’t stand up for America because they’re PUSSIES. Fuck them ALL.
Your grandfather was a hero. He did not land on that beach for this. My father was a hero. He did not fly a B26 at the age of 19 for this. We resist for them. ❤️
And it makes me sick to think of my Dad, who volunteered and fought at the Battle of the Bulge, and was never the same after. He died when I was 24 - a long time ago - and never talked about it. He didn't fight for the shit show we have now. These politicians ought to be ashamed of themselves for bowing down to the carnival barker of a president. You can do something and you won't. Go find something else to do if this job is too hard for you
10-4!
Yes yes yes...fuck them all...Dad and Uncles served in WWII. One was involved in campaigns in North Africa and Italy. Most of his unit didn't come home. The VILENESS of these...monsters....is making my physically ill.
My father was a Marine in the South Pacific. He was certainly no pussy and he stood tall for America every day of his life. He was a staunch Republican who voted for Harry Truman in `48 and Walter Mondale when he was on his deathbed in `84. He thought Ronny Raygun was a poser. He is the guy I have always held as the very definition of a patriot.
As for all these current day pussies I agree: Fuck `em all.
Mike, my father in law was a 19 year old Marine Pfc radioman on Iwo Jima. He also died young, but he would have been 100 this summer. He saw so many give that ultimate sacrifice. He told me he was sure he would have died as part of the first wave of Marines to invade the mainland of Japan. I am so, so sick of Trump and all his perverse lackeys who are inflicting this hell on our country, along with the pathetic “leaders” Murkowski, Graham and the rest, who are afraid and gutless. I am still in shock of the complete moral debasement of our people. We have committed national suicide by voting for that deranged, vile, cruel and traitorous pile of excrement. What is wrong with our people? I truly believe there is a mass national delusion fueled by Fox News and others. People have been brainwashed despite the utter insanity and evil that is plain as day to any sane person. I am still trying to see a path forward with such an alternate reality. We really are in 1984 where up is down, evils is good, and wrong is right….. I am heartsick and frightened.
Likewise, my father was a radioman on Guadalcanal and ended up a sergeant. He always said that radio was a real target. Dad was also sure he was going to go to a Japanese invasion and that was one thing he talked about; I suppose because it never happened. He always said he appreciated the 2 atomic bombs because he believed they saved his life and the lives of a million or more other people. I think it was a little more complicated than that. The Japanese didn't really know what those bombs were at that time and they were used to high casualties in their cities from our constant firebombing. But the Russians invaded Manchuria at the same time and that along with the atomic bombings probably was the reason for the timely Japanese surrender.
I wish all those guys from my dad's generation were still around to help guide us. I am pretty sure they wouldn't put up with this $hit.
I agree 💯. A good deal of the protestors in our group of 3200 were probably over 60 y.o. If they still have the guts, no one should complain or be to fearful to push back.
Beautifully written! But, I don't agree with this statement, "A terrible thing was done to the American people in 2024." I cannot understand why you believe that something was done to the American People. I can't fathom why you don't believe that it was the American people who did this to themselves. We are not lemmings. Each of us has the capacity to think for ourselves, educated or not. The true tragedy is that so many Americans do not. And they abandon that ability willingly. That is on each and every person who voted for the obscene nightmare that we're living every day under this Regime. They are the people to blame.
OK, "a terrible thing was done to the American people in 2024 by half the American people who did not use the brains God gave them."
Well done!
Both can be true at the same time.
Respectfully I disagree. Either each of us has agency or we do not. The willfully ignorant are free to not believe their lying eyes, but that's on them. You can tell me that day is night and night is day. But, if I go to the office at midnight, the door is locked and no one is there, that's on me.
And MOST of them still stand by "their man" [sic]....because if anything "bad," evil happens, it WON'T AFFECT THEM. Why? They're special! 🤮
Still they don’t believe he is doing anything to them. Too ignorant!
I'm not an Einstein but I do have a pretty good intellect and intuition. Im very politically involved. And I can tell you I had no idea Biden was as addled brained as he is until the debate. It was concealed from the public. This is the bad thing that was done. People who wanted Biden for president were misled. This is too, one of the bad things.
Biden wasn't on the ballot. It was fish or chicken on November 5th. Nothing about Biden mattered when people cast their ballot.
Bullshit! Was Hillary on the ballot? I would have voted for a fucking chair over trump. You can’t fix stupid and anyone who voted for him is STUPID!
Fantastic piece!!! I will share widely. So many very strong, meaningful points!!!
Any US Senator that says, “ she is afraid of retaliation “ is not fit to hold the office and should resign immediately. What a stunning act of cowardice.
Cary, if she had added to “I am afraid of retaliation…”, “but I will honor my oath and stand up to Trump” it would show good faith. What she misses is that we are all scared but she was elected to represent us which means fighting for our rights in a larger, more public arena with effect than can constituents. That is her job. I wonder what she thinks she is supposed to do if not that.
Once one caves into fear, "they" have you right where they want you. You no longer are a free person, even in the meekest of circumstances. Cowardice is shameful and disgraceful. You have become their puppet. No longer are you your own person. You are an owned person. You are complicit in each of their deeds, good or bad..
💯
👍
Too little too late Lisa Murkowski. Had you done the right thing and shown courage at the beginning of this nightmare you wouldn’t be feeling or saying this. You made a choice , now live with it. Good luck getting over that guilt and shame.
Don't write her off while she's still a U.S. senator.
Shame her into action and resistance, not further retreat.
She can still leave the Rs, become independent, and caucus with Ds.
She is still in a position of considerable power
and could make. a meaningful difference.
(4 years until her next election I think.)
Susan Collins too.
Imperfect people for sure, but resistance needs what they *could* do.
Fear when your life is in jeopardy is understandable. And yet, our service members and first responders deal with it and persevere - every day. Fear when all that is at risk is your seat in the Congress, or your profit margin, or the number of clicks - versus standing up for the country - is true cowardice. These people are worthy only of our contempt.
Stay angry
Be loud
Show up on April 19th
Thank you for your heartfelt and honorable comments Steve. I am grateful for them, for your strong convictions, and for your sharing.
I wholeheartedly agree!
We must stand up and be committed to Justice Truth Honesty Integrity Empowering Compassion and Empathy. ❤️🩹🙏🏻🙌❤️💔🙌🙏🏻
Steve, in my book this is the clear best of your many fine works of writing. I forwarded it to 40 people and urge all readers to outdo that number. In a small way, the simple act of sharing this piece acknowledges and ameliorates the shame we should all be feeling for betraying those Americans who gave all to give us the life we have enjoyed for the past 80 years. Every American, from eight years old to 80, should read this. It captures the roots of this perilous juncture with absolute precision.
Thank you. You express the deep and agonizing collective shame millions of Americans feel. Most are still in shock, disbelief and denial. I am an old soldier. I do not want this fight in these the waining years of my life but I also do not want to go to my grave with this crushing shame without the knowledge I did all I could to stop it.
Travel to the United States is dropping like a lead balloon. The tourist industry will be crashing along with the agricultural industry. Who would want to come here anyway?
"Who would want to come here anyway?"
No one who is concerned with the Gestapo state that TFG is creating. Visit the U.S., end up in El Salvador.
As for Ag, these guys mostly believe TFG will bail them all out and they are probably right. Big Ag is absolutely certain TFG will come through for them and they are likewise probably right. It is why TFG has such a lock on flyover country out here. I was raised on a farm and I keep close ties to my rural heritage and I can say with confidence that this is solid red territory. Can't swing a dead cat around here without knocking a MAGA hat off someone's head.
I think I am on the way out with the thinking around me. There is a Congressman in North Carolina who was elected last year after telling voters gay marriage was destroying this country and wives must submit to their husbands. He won with 60 percent.
Come on up to the Hudson Valley! It’s a great place to live and we are feeling our patriotic oats!
I have always liked New York State. When I lived in New Jersey, I would visit often. I am thinking about a move to New Mexico next year, if we have a next year.
I used to admire Mitt Romney. But like so many in D.C. he too grew fat from lobbies and Utah interests and Mormon politics. That golden calf is what Donald Trump represents. Unfortunately, money is no protection against tyranny. And it will be a hard reckoning for him and his tribe and all the others who have embraced or run away from this challenge.
OMG Steve! You nailed it perfectly. The thing we have to do is shun the cowards that voted for this obscenity and then stand with the courageous. I am a podcaster on issues of Health & Wellness (www.ocbn.online) and am seeing firsthand the destruction of our health safety net and the damage it is doing to all people (even the red hats). I will soon be interviewing Rep Jason Crow, a combat veteran, who is fighting to save the VA from cuts so combat veterans can continue to access the full mental health services they need and deserve. He has also pledged to lead the fight to save Medicaid from the deep cuts the House is voting on. I have interviews with Colorado elected officials and health advocates that are standing tall on this as well. Welcome to the 2nd American revolution!