It’s absolutely frightening that in a government set up as a “checks and balances” system, we have a Supreme Court that has run feral, without having to follow Codes of Ethics like all of the lower courts must do. Now this, - to have one INDIVIDUAL hold up multitudes of military promotions just seems implausible. At least MTG must obtain a vote to impeach Biden, - but Tuberville? How can this clown get away with it? Isn’t there any other recourse?
I’m a Georgian. I can sure you that idiots are in good supply, but not only in Georgia & Alabama. I’ve never voted for any of them and never will. Afraid I’m in the minority though. Somethings are just inexplicable, I guess.
Steve, your commentary is spot on. It is infuriating that most of the media simply normalize the GOP’s ridiculous, unpatriotic, and undemocratic behavior and refuse to call out the crazy and dangerous for what it is. That obfuscation--even aiding and abetting--feeds into Americans’ lack of understanding or caring and helps fuel the “oh both side are corrupt and the same.”
I do believe that the crazy will only intensify as we get closer to 11/24 and that enough voters will choose democracy and sanity. A lot can happen in a year, but it is imperative for us to remain positive and work hard to reach voters, educate them, and save our democracy and ourselves. We have no other choice.
Both sides believe they are the ones voting for democracy and sanity. That’s the trouble. All voters believe the other side is for fascism. They believe their side is for freedom.
There aren’t two parties acting in good faith with different ideas for addressing our needs and steering the nation’s future. There aren’t two parties calling for violence if an election doesn’t go their way. Their aren’t two parties encouraging censorship, book bans, and limits on individual freedoms and rights. There aren’t two parties spreading lies and disinformation and feeding it’s base a diet of hate and fear.
Only one party has embraced authoritarianism and has elevated its own power over the good of the nation. The GOP and it’s followers no longer stand up for American democracy; they openly embrace Putin and Orban.
The problem isn’t that both sides see themselves as defenders of freedom. The problem is one side has gone off the rails and the mainstream media refuses to acknowledge this and how dangerous it is.
Yes, perfectly explained, MAP. I’m going to send your reply to my devout, born again,Trump loving sister. She says Joe Biden and the people running our country are bad news. She said she watched RFK’s town hall and that she valued what he had to say. She said he is patriotic and a truth teller ! This was just a few hours ago. Besides my dismay at her beliefs, it makes me wonder if no labels will backfire.
I hope it helps. But if she listens to RW media or has friends who send her the crazy stuff on Facebook, it may be difficult to penetrate. The hardcore truly believe Dems are Satan worshipping pedophiles. They haven’t just gone round the bend or off the deep end; they are beyond reach and for a number of them there is no coming back. I hope your sister isn’t one of them.
The right is pushing RFK because he touts the same nutsy things they believe and they are swayed by the Kennedy name, and memories of his father, which give him a gravitas he doesn’t deserve.
We are in a very scary phase when the leaders and influencers of a party now claim slavery and the Holocaust had benefits for their victims. Thank goodness for the voices on the left and (former) right, including Steve, Rick Wilson, the Bulwark crowd, Tom Nichols, Mona Charon, and Jen Rubin to name a few who are consistently speaking out and aren’t afraid to call out the lies, insanity, cowardice, and complicity that now define the GOP. They are also calling out the calumny of No Labels and hopefully they will be so exposed by Election Day that they will make no difference—or at least a much smaller impact than Jill Stein had in 16.
The next year is going to feel like an eternity and at some point each of us will want to give up. But we can’t and we won’t. We must remember what is at stake and that we are all in this together. Keep fighting the good fight. This community is behind you! Good luck with your sister.
My sister is not a candidate for rehabilitation. She can’t entertain other viewpoints, either in her religion or in politics. We rarely speak and we stay civil.
Oh, absolutely! They have been brainwashed by years of RW vitriol. It’s why the big lie works. Not all of them love Trump, but they are united in their hatred and fear of the left and the Dems. The key (imho) is to reach those who are casual voters, first time voters, and those who haven’t gone down the rabbit hole.
What these people have done to so many lives. They pain they have caused. And the damage to the nation. All because of their unquenchable thirst for power and money--they are truly evil.
Anyway, no drug, not even alcohol, causes the fundamental ills of society. If we're looking for the source of our troubles, we shouldn't test people for drugs, we should test them for stupidity, ignorance, greed and love of power.
MTG leads this confederacy of dunces but has plenty of company, not just Tupperware Brain. It is truly mind-boggling what has become of this "grand ole party."
The irony here is that over my many decades of watching the military senior officers have largely backed the Republican party in the delusion that it best supports national defense and our troops. Watch what they do, not what they say.
Sadly it does not matter that MTG has no evidence to impeach President Biden, it is the sound bite she needs for her base that is all.
And no one is addressing that Tommy Tooberville believes all forms of abortion are murder. He is entirely wrong but all I see are attacks against Tommy and no one discussing and addressing his point of view, as wrong as it may be. And also I have yet to hear someone explain how one Senator can alone block the promotion of military officers.
The news cycle is so frustrating to watch and learn nothing all day long and be left with more questions than answers. The news is constantly rebuilding The Ship of Theseus and not teaching us or allowing discussions to take place.
Thank you for sharing this article. So with Senator Sanders also placing a hold on President Biden's appointments, it seems the pot is calling the kettle black and we should be very careful here. I wish Senator Chuck Schumer would stand up and explain all of this to the American people and what his plan is to fix this since the article claims "holds" were eliminated in 2011 in the Senate. I think they are both wrong and this is not a good way for the country to operate. We are simply out of time for these games.
Both are grandstanding of course, but if I could bet I’d say that Bernie will relent; he does tend to be a logical thinker, well at least I hope he will. Tuberville not sure much. Schumer does need to explain this to the American people so that the grandstanding will be exposed and perhaps mitigated.
I'm not overly impressed with Schumer. As for Tuberville, there's plenty of thoughtful blogs out there suggesting that this is only the beginning of his antics. He is using the abortion issue as his vocal reason, but in reality, it could be that he's holding space for Trump to get elected so then they can decide who to promote that will be loyal to Trump only. I'm not much of a conspiracy theorist, but after what has become of the USA in the last seven years, I rule NOTHING out - not anymore.
I agree. The media is just a series of talking heads blabspeaking about both sides, normalizing the indefensible, lending credence to false equivalency, and not SAYING ANYTHING germane or critical.
And with Elon Musk destroying Twitter the need for honest reporting has never been more important. We cannot miss a single day to educate the American public that Republicans no longer want this country to be a Democracy. And we have known that since President Obama was in office but remained too docile for too long.
I grew up in the South, stretching from the 60’s to the 70’s. We thought then, that the Tuberville’s, and the MTG’s of our world were fast becomeing extinct. In tbose days, a reach for Civil Rights, a fight for Women’s rights, marches to end wars, and the recognition of human beings, now known as gay, as a natural phenomenon of our biology, who deserved respect and love, just like everyone else- were all a refresh on life. All represented learning, an advancement in civilization.
In those days, lights shown a little brighter, we could enjoy our neighbors we could begin to not worry about how our ministers felt we should live. We could ALL be free. Our brithers and sisters were beginning to be all colors. Our education was expanding.
Its a fascinating (and depressing) thing to watch how power corrupts, at the cost of all learned, all advanced, and all taken for granted, as Americans have scultpted their lives around freedoms those same folks we thought gone, have reappeared to remove from our unsuspecting grasps. Their personal, despicable vendettas, on display with every word . I believe someone important once accurately called them deplorable. Sadly it wasnt until their rise that most people could witness and gasp, this time not about the “name calling“, but at just how deplorable they really are-
WE MUST NOW FIGHT. We didnt want to. We didnt think we would have to, but it is proven to us that leaving our freedoms on the table, in a place we thought too advanced, too safe, to be exposed- to be stolen, by those too dense to join in our advancement, and too selfish to honor his or her fellow human being.
They are here amongst us-we tbought they were gone. They are fewer, but their venom so poisenous, with heads raised to take a deadly strike- we have to go back to the ways of our recent former tyranny bashing.
WE MUST FIGHT- With words, and chants, and defiance. With leaders who inspire, who dont lie to get on courts, who TELL THE TRUTH. Who care first about those they dare to try to represent-
We must rid ourselves of theae deplorables- their grip loosened and pushed away. With a vote, yes. With involvement, yes, with law, yes.... WE MUST FIGhT.
As frustrating as it is listening to people who are excruciatingly stupid...fact of the matter is, they're elected. That means more Americans intentionally cast a vote for these cave dwellers. I can't imagine choosing representation like Cro-Maga-Marge but plenty of people did.
I know. I think about what a mensch Jones is, and what a clueless jag-off Tuberville is all the time. Tubes was surrounded by people who were afraid to tell him he had no clothes on. Tommy you are nekked!
MTG, T Toooooberville, McCarthy and the rest of the right wing clowns are all about the show. Clearly rethugs are in a world of hurt with their ‘leader’ facing at least two more indictments in the near future. So they must change the narrative, divert, shout loudly about nothing. Witness the uproar about Hunter Biden this morning. What incredible hypocrisy! Hunter might have done unlawful things, but he has never had a job in the West Wing, he is a private citizen. What about TFG’s children? Ivanka and Jared made about a half a billion bucks from foreign sources while working in the last admin. Where are the rethugs on that? Crickets...
Yes, because per usual the Dems in power sit on their hands and don’t say squat. That is infuriating too. The only one with any cajones was Rep Ted Lieu when he read into the Congressional Record that Trump is a convicted RAPIST.
Hi Steve, it’s been 6/7 long years that a top of this heap of rancid people, I won’t call them politicians as they are too dim witted, we have watched the decay of protocols by those elected. They serve only to dumb us down.
Should the dump truck called trump continue his ruinous run on our country & government, it will only get more putrid. If we the people can not contain this poison, we will become an autocratic country, no more USA, but a corrupt dictatorship, by a cabal of ill suited ignoramuses.
How can we stop this run away mess of the worst group to ever ascend our government?
Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote in the 1940s about Nazis and how stupidity was at the forefront of the Nazi madness. He talks about evil and stupidity. It is worth looking into as it really does show how stupidity (not in the intellectual sense) is at the forefront of the MAGA crew today as it was in Germany.
MTG is the audible version of The National Enquirer. You remember, that rag of newsprint that one would pick-up while waiting on supermarket lines? Stories with why to put aluminum foil on our heads and windows? She is that person who believed those stories. An absolute ignoramus. Too many steroids from body building.
With brilliant malevolence, the Republican Party is using the levers of democracy to destroy democracy. The Democrats could counter this by relentlessly attaching every Republican misdeed to every elected Republican everywhere. I.e., put them and keep them on the defensive, 24/7.
MTG is trouble. She gets press by opening her mouth to shout about some crazy conspiracy theory or another but notice, no laws. She's worse than useless, yet the voters in her district thought she would make a terrific representative. Why? I have no idea. She's terrible. Tuberville. Now there is a complete waste of a senate seat. Holding up promotions because he doesn't like military women getting paid travel to go to a state that allows abortion. The state of Alabama thought one of their college football coaches would make a great senator. This guy never even brought his team to one national award. Not one. GO ALABAMA!
Her district is deep red and a MAGAt stronghold. No other party has a shot at winning there. They love her vitriol. As long as she wants to run, they'll continue to vote for her. Hopefully she'll be unmasked as the DNC bomb planter and she can get thrown behind bars sooner rather than later.
It’s absolutely frightening that in a government set up as a “checks and balances” system, we have a Supreme Court that has run feral, without having to follow Codes of Ethics like all of the lower courts must do. Now this, - to have one INDIVIDUAL hold up multitudes of military promotions just seems implausible. At least MTG must obtain a vote to impeach Biden, - but Tuberville? How can this clown get away with it? Isn’t there any other recourse?
What does it say about voters in Georgia and Alabama that they sent these two clowns to Congress?
I’m a Georgian. I can sure you that idiots are in good supply, but not only in Georgia & Alabama. I’ve never voted for any of them and never will. Afraid I’m in the minority though. Somethings are just inexplicable, I guess.
Their brains are in chaos, too! Lots of emptiness! Duh ville?
Don't forget Louisiana; we're no better!!!
Nebraska reps suck too!!!
Steve, your commentary is spot on. It is infuriating that most of the media simply normalize the GOP’s ridiculous, unpatriotic, and undemocratic behavior and refuse to call out the crazy and dangerous for what it is. That obfuscation--even aiding and abetting--feeds into Americans’ lack of understanding or caring and helps fuel the “oh both side are corrupt and the same.”
I do believe that the crazy will only intensify as we get closer to 11/24 and that enough voters will choose democracy and sanity. A lot can happen in a year, but it is imperative for us to remain positive and work hard to reach voters, educate them, and save our democracy and ourselves. We have no other choice.
Both sides believe they are the ones voting for democracy and sanity. That’s the trouble. All voters believe the other side is for fascism. They believe their side is for freedom.
There aren’t two parties acting in good faith with different ideas for addressing our needs and steering the nation’s future. There aren’t two parties calling for violence if an election doesn’t go their way. Their aren’t two parties encouraging censorship, book bans, and limits on individual freedoms and rights. There aren’t two parties spreading lies and disinformation and feeding it’s base a diet of hate and fear.
Only one party has embraced authoritarianism and has elevated its own power over the good of the nation. The GOP and it’s followers no longer stand up for American democracy; they openly embrace Putin and Orban.
The problem isn’t that both sides see themselves as defenders of freedom. The problem is one side has gone off the rails and the mainstream media refuses to acknowledge this and how dangerous it is.
KUDOS ✅wow keep
Responding your comments are spot on perfection ty
Thank you!
Yes, perfectly explained, MAP. I’m going to send your reply to my devout, born again,Trump loving sister. She says Joe Biden and the people running our country are bad news. She said she watched RFK’s town hall and that she valued what he had to say. She said he is patriotic and a truth teller ! This was just a few hours ago. Besides my dismay at her beliefs, it makes me wonder if no labels will backfire.
I hope it helps. But if she listens to RW media or has friends who send her the crazy stuff on Facebook, it may be difficult to penetrate. The hardcore truly believe Dems are Satan worshipping pedophiles. They haven’t just gone round the bend or off the deep end; they are beyond reach and for a number of them there is no coming back. I hope your sister isn’t one of them.
The right is pushing RFK because he touts the same nutsy things they believe and they are swayed by the Kennedy name, and memories of his father, which give him a gravitas he doesn’t deserve.
We are in a very scary phase when the leaders and influencers of a party now claim slavery and the Holocaust had benefits for their victims. Thank goodness for the voices on the left and (former) right, including Steve, Rick Wilson, the Bulwark crowd, Tom Nichols, Mona Charon, and Jen Rubin to name a few who are consistently speaking out and aren’t afraid to call out the lies, insanity, cowardice, and complicity that now define the GOP. They are also calling out the calumny of No Labels and hopefully they will be so exposed by Election Day that they will make no difference—or at least a much smaller impact than Jill Stein had in 16.
The next year is going to feel like an eternity and at some point each of us will want to give up. But we can’t and we won’t. We must remember what is at stake and that we are all in this together. Keep fighting the good fight. This community is behind you! Good luck with your sister.
My sister is not a candidate for rehabilitation. She can’t entertain other viewpoints, either in her religion or in politics. We rarely speak and we stay civil.
So sorry to hear this:-(
And MAP. Please don’t ignore the idea that many, like my sister believe they are good and we are evil.
Oh, absolutely! They have been brainwashed by years of RW vitriol. It’s why the big lie works. Not all of them love Trump, but they are united in their hatred and fear of the left and the Dems. The key (imho) is to reach those who are casual voters, first time voters, and those who haven’t gone down the rabbit hole.
Yes. You speak well and clearly. Please keep it up. I read the people you mentioned above.
I am so sorry but glad you haven’t broken with each other completely.
What these people have done to so many lives. They pain they have caused. And the damage to the nation. All because of their unquenchable thirst for power and money--they are truly evil.
Anyway, no drug, not even alcohol, causes the fundamental ills of society. If we're looking for the source of our troubles, we shouldn't test people for drugs, we should test them for stupidity, ignorance, greed and love of power.
P. J. O'Rourke
MTG leads this confederacy of dunces but has plenty of company, not just Tupperware Brain. It is truly mind-boggling what has become of this "grand ole party."
The irony here is that over my many decades of watching the military senior officers have largely backed the Republican party in the delusion that it best supports national defense and our troops. Watch what they do, not what they say.
Thank you, Steve.
Sadly it does not matter that MTG has no evidence to impeach President Biden, it is the sound bite she needs for her base that is all.
And no one is addressing that Tommy Tooberville believes all forms of abortion are murder. He is entirely wrong but all I see are attacks against Tommy and no one discussing and addressing his point of view, as wrong as it may be. And also I have yet to hear someone explain how one Senator can alone block the promotion of military officers.
The news cycle is so frustrating to watch and learn nothing all day long and be left with more questions than answers. The news is constantly rebuilding The Ship of Theseus and not teaching us or allowing discussions to take place.
Here is a really excellent explanation about how one US Senator can block Senate appointments.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/mollybohannon/2023/07/13/how-can-just-one-senator-like-tuberville-or-sanders-hold-up-a-nomination-process-because-of-this-senate-rule/
Thank you for sharing this article. So with Senator Sanders also placing a hold on President Biden's appointments, it seems the pot is calling the kettle black and we should be very careful here. I wish Senator Chuck Schumer would stand up and explain all of this to the American people and what his plan is to fix this since the article claims "holds" were eliminated in 2011 in the Senate. I think they are both wrong and this is not a good way for the country to operate. We are simply out of time for these games.
Both are grandstanding of course, but if I could bet I’d say that Bernie will relent; he does tend to be a logical thinker, well at least I hope he will. Tuberville not sure much. Schumer does need to explain this to the American people so that the grandstanding will be exposed and perhaps mitigated.
I'm not overly impressed with Schumer. As for Tuberville, there's plenty of thoughtful blogs out there suggesting that this is only the beginning of his antics. He is using the abortion issue as his vocal reason, but in reality, it could be that he's holding space for Trump to get elected so then they can decide who to promote that will be loyal to Trump only. I'm not much of a conspiracy theorist, but after what has become of the USA in the last seven years, I rule NOTHING out - not anymore.
I thought the same thing.
Bernie has always had the people on the ground floor of society as his reasons for doing what he does. Tubes is about his religion.
I agree. The media is just a series of talking heads blabspeaking about both sides, normalizing the indefensible, lending credence to false equivalency, and not SAYING ANYTHING germane or critical.
And with Elon Musk destroying Twitter the need for honest reporting has never been more important. We cannot miss a single day to educate the American public that Republicans no longer want this country to be a Democracy. And we have known that since President Obama was in office but remained too docile for too long.
One hundred percent.
I grew up in the South, stretching from the 60’s to the 70’s. We thought then, that the Tuberville’s, and the MTG’s of our world were fast becomeing extinct. In tbose days, a reach for Civil Rights, a fight for Women’s rights, marches to end wars, and the recognition of human beings, now known as gay, as a natural phenomenon of our biology, who deserved respect and love, just like everyone else- were all a refresh on life. All represented learning, an advancement in civilization.
In those days, lights shown a little brighter, we could enjoy our neighbors we could begin to not worry about how our ministers felt we should live. We could ALL be free. Our brithers and sisters were beginning to be all colors. Our education was expanding.
Its a fascinating (and depressing) thing to watch how power corrupts, at the cost of all learned, all advanced, and all taken for granted, as Americans have scultpted their lives around freedoms those same folks we thought gone, have reappeared to remove from our unsuspecting grasps. Their personal, despicable vendettas, on display with every word . I believe someone important once accurately called them deplorable. Sadly it wasnt until their rise that most people could witness and gasp, this time not about the “name calling“, but at just how deplorable they really are-
WE MUST NOW FIGHT. We didnt want to. We didnt think we would have to, but it is proven to us that leaving our freedoms on the table, in a place we thought too advanced, too safe, to be exposed- to be stolen, by those too dense to join in our advancement, and too selfish to honor his or her fellow human being.
They are here amongst us-we tbought they were gone. They are fewer, but their venom so poisenous, with heads raised to take a deadly strike- we have to go back to the ways of our recent former tyranny bashing.
WE MUST FIGHT- With words, and chants, and defiance. With leaders who inspire, who dont lie to get on courts, who TELL THE TRUTH. Who care first about those they dare to try to represent-
We must rid ourselves of theae deplorables- their grip loosened and pushed away. With a vote, yes. With involvement, yes, with law, yes.... WE MUST FIGhT.
🎯🎯🎯👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
As frustrating as it is listening to people who are excruciatingly stupid...fact of the matter is, they're elected. That means more Americans intentionally cast a vote for these cave dwellers. I can't imagine choosing representation like Cro-Maga-Marge but plenty of people did.
For Doug Jones to lose to Tuberville is deplorable! UNREAL!
I know. I think about what a mensch Jones is, and what a clueless jag-off Tuberville is all the time. Tubes was surrounded by people who were afraid to tell him he had no clothes on. Tommy you are nekked!
MTG, T Toooooberville, McCarthy and the rest of the right wing clowns are all about the show. Clearly rethugs are in a world of hurt with their ‘leader’ facing at least two more indictments in the near future. So they must change the narrative, divert, shout loudly about nothing. Witness the uproar about Hunter Biden this morning. What incredible hypocrisy! Hunter might have done unlawful things, but he has never had a job in the West Wing, he is a private citizen. What about TFG’s children? Ivanka and Jared made about a half a billion bucks from foreign sources while working in the last admin. Where are the rethugs on that? Crickets...
Yes, because per usual the Dems in power sit on their hands and don’t say squat. That is infuriating too. The only one with any cajones was Rep Ted Lieu when he read into the Congressional Record that Trump is a convicted RAPIST.
Hi Steve, it’s been 6/7 long years that a top of this heap of rancid people, I won’t call them politicians as they are too dim witted, we have watched the decay of protocols by those elected. They serve only to dumb us down.
Should the dump truck called trump continue his ruinous run on our country & government, it will only get more putrid. If we the people can not contain this poison, we will become an autocratic country, no more USA, but a corrupt dictatorship, by a cabal of ill suited ignoramuses.
How can we stop this run away mess of the worst group to ever ascend our government?
Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote in the 1940s about Nazis and how stupidity was at the forefront of the Nazi madness. He talks about evil and stupidity. It is worth looking into as it really does show how stupidity (not in the intellectual sense) is at the forefront of the MAGA crew today as it was in Germany.
MTG is the audible version of The National Enquirer. You remember, that rag of newsprint that one would pick-up while waiting on supermarket lines? Stories with why to put aluminum foil on our heads and windows? She is that person who believed those stories. An absolute ignoramus. Too many steroids from body building.
With brilliant malevolence, the Republican Party is using the levers of democracy to destroy democracy. The Democrats could counter this by relentlessly attaching every Republican misdeed to every elected Republican everywhere. I.e., put them and keep them on the defensive, 24/7.
MTG is trouble. She gets press by opening her mouth to shout about some crazy conspiracy theory or another but notice, no laws. She's worse than useless, yet the voters in her district thought she would make a terrific representative. Why? I have no idea. She's terrible. Tuberville. Now there is a complete waste of a senate seat. Holding up promotions because he doesn't like military women getting paid travel to go to a state that allows abortion. The state of Alabama thought one of their college football coaches would make a great senator. This guy never even brought his team to one national award. Not one. GO ALABAMA!
Her district is deep red and a MAGAt stronghold. No other party has a shot at winning there. They love her vitriol. As long as she wants to run, they'll continue to vote for her. Hopefully she'll be unmasked as the DNC bomb planter and she can get thrown behind bars sooner rather than later.
To refer to either of them as “reprehensible” understates the boundless dimensions of their ignobility.