So who is Donald Trump, as a manhattan broker for many decades I can offer this:
I met him on a couple of occasions when because he wouldn’t pay a client of mine he called the bond to blackmail him into agreeing to 20cts on the dollar and laughed in his face calling him a midget nyc guy (euphemism for Jew bastard) that was 30 years ago
He bankrupted not one but three casinos not once but in two cases twice. Ever hear of another casino going broke
Politics, because of 45 zinging him at a White House press dinner he went after the nomination
Read Romney book about his bullshit about where he was born and the beginning of his big lie strategy
He blackmailed Ukraine so as to damage Biden
He told 40,000 proven lies in 4 years.
He is surrounded by anti semites, racists and white supremacy fans. Just today his dinner partner along with Kanye west called for death of Jews and non Christians as part of the Christian nationalism belief system which so many in gop now embrace along with his hand picked speaker
He led an insurrection!
He stole and may have sold top secret classified eyes only docs. Didn’t the rosenbergs go to the chair with less proof than has been presented on him
I’m going to stop because I’m going to dinner. Electing him is the end of the American experiment for all of us forever
Think about it and vote as if your freedom depends on it because it does.
I’m glad to hear that you have redirected your efforts away from Dean Phillips’ campaign. As long as Biden is running, we need to do all we can to back him and get him re-elected. God knows, the Dems need “all hands on deck”. Thank you Steve.
Split votes will do nothing but help Trump get re-elected and then all hell will break out across America as Trump and his gang of thugs attempt to destroy America and American democracy AND Americans fight back!!!!! It will get real ugly real fast!!!!!! Dictators are NOT welcome!
I have always felt you, Mr. Schmidt have always loved our country and had our country’s best interest in your heart regardless of what others may post. That said, I am furious at the situation we find Our House in. I have called my Republican representative and both Senators but feel like it is a waste of time. I live in TX. Does anyone think if we start showing up at their local offices with signs expressing our outrage it would draw more attention to their fascist leaning behavior ? I donate what I can to Democratic candidates and vote. I also write letters and post cards in support of good candidates but it doesn’t seem like enough. I literally want to scream at all the willful ignorance surrounding me. I can’t believe Republicans are supporting Putin over Ukraine while Ukraine’s people fight and die for US.
I keep thinking a national march supporting democracy (Biden) like that of Jan 2017 Women's March might be an appropriate show of strength. It would be good for the rest of the world to see as well. After all, the racists lost the house and the Senate during Trump's unfunny joke of a presidency. Maybe if we could see how strong our side is, we instead of watching on TV the crowds of Trump fanatics and hearing crickets on our side, we might be more hopeful and less fearful. There is no evidence on TV that people can't stand Trump, who he is and what he and his represent.
More importantly people must vote in the primaries like it's election day not primary season - so the numbers reflect the will of the people now. If trumpsters turn out in large numbers Biden folks need to turn out in larger numbers. More meaningful than a march.
August isn't a good time to march in DC. Everyone is out of town, Congress is in recess, and it is really hot and humid. It will be iffy on the turnout. But thank you for giving me the heads up.
They do not care. They will not listen. They will not change. They are takers who give nothing in return. They non-recyclable waste.
We must be secure in the collective determination and perseverance to defeat a former president while simultaneously living with full presence in our daily lives.
Your essay tonight is gratifying and reassuring, but I take exception to your statement about "Biden’s inability to extinguish an ever-growing fascistic threat, which is hotter than ever, in the country." How is Biden supposed to accomplish this? How can anyone in this day and age? G-d help us we're in for some hard times, but President Biden isn't omnipotent--unfortunately, in this regard at least.
Really. The public and our representatives are not doing enough to back him up. I can't believe the things being excused now that would have gotten a strong response from leadership and the courts in my youth. We're all in this together.
The threat to me, from a practical perspective, is that the Democrats as pitcher can't pitch and the American public as catcher can't catch. The Democrats lack the killer instinct to demolish MAGA and the Republicans who are much better pitchers because that is all they do, keep making their pitch -their destructive messaging. That would be far less worrisome if Americans could catch but most of them don't even see the ball. They don't even know what's happening. They are obsessed with the price of gas. They are distracted by all the attention bad boy Trump gets and Trump is trying to beat the system. Many Americans like people who beat the system because the system, by and large, is beating them. The bully is dominating the schoolyard so what else is new? In this case the bullies have the power of the purse and the subpoena and the ratification of a presidential election and they are stark raving crazy. Their prime bully is a criminal who just wants to turn it all upside down with untold cost to every citizen yet he is right in the middle of the fray and could win UNLESS. Unless Americans start to see the ball, take note of what is happening with a do-nothing House bent on spreading THE LIE, shredding citizen rights and helping Trump back into the White House - ALL OF THEM! Every Republican voted to open an Impeachment enquiry into Biden, just so Trump can say, hey everybody's impeached. Not one Republican had the character or the guts to say, this is not right. Let's never forget. Biden is so clean he squeaks. We now have one of the two official governmental parties, every single one in the House, bent on destroying democracy and installing an autocratic government in its place already saying out loud that they will seize power and reshape the country in the image of dictatorships of yore. With the way Trump keeps playing the courts, it is going to take a massive, coordinated effort of every left, center-left, or center-right voter to push their way past the Proud Boys etc. who will be lurking at the polls, and vote as never before. The only weapon you have is the vote. Quit fooling around with Phillips or anyone else but one of the best presidents you have ever had. I am closer to 88 than 87 and I don't have the moves I once did, no cartwheels, but my mind is better than ever. 80 is the new 70. Your life span is low because of all the kids you are murdering and all the Black ladies dying in the Maternity Ward, your runaway poverty and your stupid health care system. None of that has anything to do with how long Biden is going to last. Put everything behind him and stop the madness.
My wife, Shelagh just made a very useful point. What is happening with VP Harris? Back in the 30s, yes back not forward, John Nance Garner was one of FDR’s VPs. He made things clear by saying, “The job isn’t worth a bucket of warm piss”. Well, nobody called him a poet but he did have a point. If Obama was VP, we wouldn’t have a problem backing Biden, but there are concerns about Harris, thus a sense of vulnerability and worry about Biden’s longevity, mine notwithstanding. Kamala Harris has had a distinguished career in both California and Washington. She is a no-nonsense tough guy and she has been making some good speeches lately, but the brain-dead Democratic communications overview needs to realize that selling Harris is the same as selling Biden because it reduces the worry-factor. I wish the Democratic Party would take a 30,000 foot view of their communications opportunities.
Harris is smart, tough, and experienced. The Biden/Harris administration is full of people with expertise and they are listened to. (Unlike in the previous administration where The Stable Genius knew it all). If the worst happens and Biden can’t finish out his second term, I will not lose one minute of sleep worrying that Harris is not up to the job. At this point she already has more relevant experience than Obama did when he first set foot in the Oval Office.
If Kamala Harris had to step into the shoes of POTUS, we'd then see what A BLACK WOMAN CAN DO! We'd be in a new and much needed era! (Thanks, Shelagh :-)
"Kamala Harris has had a distinguished career in both California and Washington. She is a no-nonsense tough guy and she has been making some good speeches lately, but the brain-dead Democratic communications overview needs to realize that selling Harris is the same as selling Biden because it reduces the worry-factor. I wish the Democratic Party would take a 30,000 foot view of their communications opportunities."
You're so right about Kamala Harris. She IS a tough woman, and could do a lot of good for Biden if they just let her run from her own position (like an outfielder - a lot of them are famous at what they do!!) e.g. Have her first travel to the states where the women are fighting hard to push back Dobbs and she's the woman who could lead them!! She has the ability to speak about many important things! It's like she's been shrink wrapped and kept shut up. I think Biden may have some very old-age views of women in power. I mean look how involved he was as Vice President to Barack Obama! LET HER LOOSE I SAY, and don't make her have to walk on her tiptoes and be so very careful of every word she speaks- I say p!ss on that!! Get her out there to represent the women who are being devastated by the abortion fiasco. The Dems need a paradigm shift, and Kamala Harris is one of their secret weapons! Don't put her out there to tipsy toe around everything; have her attack people who go after Biden's age. Like the 87 year old who wrote and said 80 is the new 70! That was kind of funny, yet so well said!! And make a point that Trump is just a year and a half behind Biden. That's pretty old, too, if you're going to go there. I could say more, but I'll stop here. My over all point is that there's gotta be some real Irish fight in everyone on Biden's team. GET AFTER IT, STARTING NOW!!!
Wow. Very feisty, Maddy. I love it! Keep in mind Biden promised an even split Boys/Girls in his cabinet and delivered. He chose the first woman VP and put the first Black woman on the SC, so go easy on him. He’s on our side. What you need to do is get every, EVERY woman to drop everything and vote for Joe to save, no, restore women’s rights and get the ERA passed. You are 51% of the population. Slam. Dunk.
Yes, of course your right about the breakthroughs Biden has made with women in his administration and the judiciary. I was still steaming when I wrote that post...lol. So, thanks for the 'heads up'. And, I do so believe in what you said about what every woman .should do (starting right away in my view). I respect your viewpoints and all that you say, Bob. Thanks for your posts - I look forward to them. Sincerely, Maddy
Hiya Bob, Once again I love reading your comments. I swear we think so much alike, it’s scary and fortunately you write so much better than me (gives me more time to keep reading - thx!) The baseball analogy is perfect. The democrats just need to take away that little league tee and hit a solid line drive through that pitcher and head to home.
It's so hard to second-guess the effects of a primary challenge to Biden. But in the best of possible scenarios, it will deepen his resolve, sharpen his rhetoric, and bring out the Irish brawler. In any case, Phillips is not running as an independent, and if the Dems get unequivocally behind Biden, and he comes out swinging, I'm confident that both Dean Phillips and Steve Schmidt will be fervent and effective surrogates when it matters most.
That’s not how challenging incumbents in primaries works. The challengers open up avenues of attack that are then utilized by opposition parties. That’s why historically incumbents usually have an unopposed primary. Steve is doing nothing to help Biden, the challenge by his neophyte candidate will only hurt Biden and help Trump. Steve knows this full well but he is a mercenary and has no party.
Yes, the 'challenger' Phillips has already stated his opposition that "Biden is bad for Democracy". This is pathetic. There is nothing to attack about Biden except his age!
Biden is also just getting the job done ( he is THE master of legislation and diplomacy, domestically and internationally!) instead of brawling like pigs in a pen. Unite behind Biden 2024!
Biden’s presidency is the most accomplished of my lifetime (perhaps save LBJ’s, which began when I was a 6-year-old). In both cases, these legislators turned executives knew how both branches of our government combined to actually accomplish actionable legislation. LBJ had JFK’s functioning administration to run with. Biden had nothing of the sort -- but his connections, his time as VP and his knowledge of how our government comes together led to tremendous, immediate accomplishments in a short period of time while taking over from literal chaos. His strategy of growing the economy from the middle out seems to be right on track and the impossible soft landing may actually happen. Afghanistan was always going to be a band-aid ripper and he said so for years and then did it. I do wish he had used some of his elective capital to solidify voting rights legislation. That would come in handy now, both on the ground and on the stump. All that said, this is an efficient, effective administration that -- no matter his age -- will have a better second term than any Dean Phillips/Gavin Newsome/Gretchen Whitmer/Josh Shapiro first term could. Think of all the first-term missteps by Presidents that turned out to be pretty good once they got their Presidential legs under them, but oh my goodness those first years -- Carter, Clinton, Obama, W, Trump. They all arrived with stars and headlights in their eyes. Not Biden. And he had to settle the country and the world (and he still has to) and he’s done that with grace and quiet and business-as-usual professionalism. That may well be the benefit of his years. Could his age be (in practice, not in politicking) a feature and not a bug? My opinion is absolutely. I wish on us the wisdom to recognize competence at the top and to really stop and ask, who could have done better and how? As a country, we have fallen victim to the president as performer with little regard for the performance of the president. We need to grow up and evaluate our candidates as public servants not as self-servant poseurs.
"Could his age be (in practice, not in politicking) a feature and not a bug? My opinion is absolutely." I 100% Agree, Robbie! Grace, yes! Biden's accomplishments during his first two years in office are astounding, given the challenges he was up against. He's just getting started, and will turn this country around if he is supported enough. I hope you'll take what you've written to me here, and keep writing it and posting it far and wide! Thanks.
When Eugene McCarthy raised his hand and announced his decision to contest Lyndon Johnson in the presidential primary, Johnson decided not to run for re-election. That could happen again if Phillips raises his hand against Biden. If Biden then drops out of the race we will see Trump facing an opponent who is both unknown and inexperienced.
Thanks Steve. Reading various social media post and articles the last couple of days, women are mad. We must, must get women to vote. They need to join with the younger generation and vote in huge numbers. Somehow women must understand they cannot vote Republican. It has to stop.
I am so angry right now. Biden and the Democrat party must come to the fight. I listened to some of their speeches today during this mess on impeaching Biden and to be honest, I didn’t think they were very good. Maybe it is because I am so mad. I just wanted someone to stand up and say “are you out of your F^^king minds”?
Biden is the right person, I believe. But things must change fast. Someone has to step up and get him to fight, it is a fight to death of this country. I’m worried.
I was thinking last night that we need to start realizing that we, the American public, all of us in some way are the victims of an abusive relationship in regards to Trump. He has bullied, manipulated and threatened both his so called allies and foes alike. His promises and lies have blinded his believers and most republicans into doing his bidding and remain pawns in his evil cult. The republicans don’t really believe his lies they follow him because of the threat he poses. Someday all who have paid dearly for their slavish allegiance will cease and regard their blindness as a huge mistake. At least those who value any sort of democracy. Look up the definition of abuse and it should be easy to imagine the citizens of this great country as a victim and react as victims in his enterprise of being a king.
Yes, MAGA-CULT. Abuse. Nobody is 'winning'. Children with no voice and no choice are hurt the most by this abuse. I was raised in a cult. Darkness. Violence. Insanity. Thanks.
Whatever Steve. If everything you claim about your desires to help any democrat because Biden can’t win, why did you choose a neophyte who doesn’t stand a chance either? Better still, why not attempt to mobilize republican opposition where your heart really belongs?
Well Steve, scramble backwards as much as you are able....However, your record as a political operative prior to this election is exclusively republican. Now you support someone running against a democrat incumbent; your track is as a republican. That’s simple to see. Your party has led to Trump now you backtrack and are indignant if someone points out where your work has brought us.
Stuart Stevens has apologized profusely for his decades of PR work for the Repubs. Looking back, he can see that their track was veering toward danger, which he couldn't see when he was in the fight. Steve has not quite met that mark (unless I missed it, which is possible), but I am willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. Besides, a person's "heart " can change over time, and in most cases this change is some sort of growth. We can only hope that our changes are in a positive direction.
Stuart Stevens has apologized profusely for his decades of PR work for the Repubs. Looking back, he can see that their track was veering toward danger, which he couldn't see when he was in the fight. Steve has not quite met that mark (unless I missed it, which is possible), but I am willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. Besides, a person's "heart " can change over time, and in most cases this change is some sort of growth. We can only hope that our changes are in a positive direction.
Well Steve ought to admit that as a republican operative until just recently he paved the way for Trump. He probably even voted for him in 2016. I agree that he has come a long way...but the republicans have been the same party since Newt Gingrich took them over in the early nineties. It was obvious to many of us who were republicans before Newt that the party had been swallowed whole by people who then made presidents like W and Trump possible. So baling on the party in 2019, like Steve did is a bit like closing the barn door after all the animals get out. But it’s definitely better late than never and I enjoy reading Steve’s essays...I just hope he stays on the side he’s now on.
Hi Steve, Your passion poured off the page today. I don't doubt your commitment to saving American Democracy. My parents moved us from Canada to So. Cal. in 1957. I was 2. I watched the beating and firehosing of black people during the Watts riots on T.V. It left an indelible mark on my young mind. I marched for civil rights, abortion rights, and voting rights. I marched against the Vietnam war and the Iraq war. I helped organize protests against nuclear power (oops. I did get non-violence training though). I manned phone banks (not recommended) and distributed petitions. For 60 years I watched America bounce from curb to curb but largely stay on course. With all my involvement (all legal BTW) voting seemed unnecessary. Shit has hit the fan. I and my Dutch wife have applied for American citizenship. We hope it's finalized by Nov. 2024. See you at the polls!
Polls are often wrong when taken so far in advance from election day. Furthermore, the people who take the Polls usually will not answer truthfully when talking on the phone.
Even since The Great Polling Debacle of 2016, I have come to realize that the current polling methodology is outdated and seriously flawed. And so the data that arise from the polls are also seriously flawed and thus so are the conclusions. Then the crappy conclusions get magnified by pundits in print and video and effect behavior. Example: in 2016 the polls said Clinton would win by a comfortable margin. People felt empowered to not vote for her (stayed home, voted for Stein or the other guy, What’s His Name) expecting Trump didn’t have a chance of winning. And we all know how that turned out.
There are lies, damn lies, statistics, and then there are polls.
Not a doubt in my mind HRC would have won had the election taken place two weeks before it did. The polls weren't wrong so much as the worst possible trifecta of Russian interference, protest votes, and the Comey surprise conspired to give us Donald Trump and this spiral into mass insanity.
All anti-Trump political families should join together on one stage and address the nation on a prime time TV special warning the country of the dangers of Trump. The Biden's, Bushes, Cheney's, McCain's, Obama's, and Romney's, are a few that come to mind. It would be very powerful if families from both parties united with the same message.
T H I S is a great idea!!! 💡 @steve what network would carry an anti-debate showing of political families who are anti Trump, on stage, together, no policy chat? Only, historical attributes to the danger of our democracy. What a vote influencer?
When a man tells you who he is, believe him.
So who is Donald Trump, as a manhattan broker for many decades I can offer this:
I met him on a couple of occasions when because he wouldn’t pay a client of mine he called the bond to blackmail him into agreeing to 20cts on the dollar and laughed in his face calling him a midget nyc guy (euphemism for Jew bastard) that was 30 years ago
He bankrupted not one but three casinos not once but in two cases twice. Ever hear of another casino going broke
Politics, because of 45 zinging him at a White House press dinner he went after the nomination
Read Romney book about his bullshit about where he was born and the beginning of his big lie strategy
He blackmailed Ukraine so as to damage Biden
He told 40,000 proven lies in 4 years.
He is surrounded by anti semites, racists and white supremacy fans. Just today his dinner partner along with Kanye west called for death of Jews and non Christians as part of the Christian nationalism belief system which so many in gop now embrace along with his hand picked speaker
He led an insurrection!
He stole and may have sold top secret classified eyes only docs. Didn’t the rosenbergs go to the chair with less proof than has been presented on him
I’m going to stop because I’m going to dinner. Electing him is the end of the American experiment for all of us forever
Think about it and vote as if your freedom depends on it because it does.
“If anything in this life is certain, if history has taught us anything, it is that you can kill anyone”
~Michael Corleone
The Godfather Part II, art imitating life..
Philips should come out strong for Biden. Period.
I totally agree!
I’m glad to hear that you have redirected your efforts away from Dean Phillips’ campaign. As long as Biden is running, we need to do all we can to back him and get him re-elected. God knows, the Dems need “all hands on deck”. Thank you Steve.
Split votes will do nothing but help Trump get re-elected and then all hell will break out across America as Trump and his gang of thugs attempt to destroy America and American democracy AND Americans fight back!!!!! It will get real ugly real fast!!!!!! Dictators are NOT welcome!
I agree, Philips should come out strong for Biden”..., but AFTER the primary, so all ideas can be expressed and vented.
Split the votes? We're talking Primaries.
I have always felt you, Mr. Schmidt have always loved our country and had our country’s best interest in your heart regardless of what others may post. That said, I am furious at the situation we find Our House in. I have called my Republican representative and both Senators but feel like it is a waste of time. I live in TX. Does anyone think if we start showing up at their local offices with signs expressing our outrage it would draw more attention to their fascist leaning behavior ? I donate what I can to Democratic candidates and vote. I also write letters and post cards in support of good candidates but it doesn’t seem like enough. I literally want to scream at all the willful ignorance surrounding me. I can’t believe Republicans are supporting Putin over Ukraine while Ukraine’s people fight and die for US.
I keep thinking a national march supporting democracy (Biden) like that of Jan 2017 Women's March might be an appropriate show of strength. It would be good for the rest of the world to see as well. After all, the racists lost the house and the Senate during Trump's unfunny joke of a presidency. Maybe if we could see how strong our side is, we instead of watching on TV the crowds of Trump fanatics and hearing crickets on our side, we might be more hopeful and less fearful. There is no evidence on TV that people can't stand Trump, who he is and what he and his represent.
I know a March is planned in August in DC. I hope they plan them all over the US at the same time. There is strength in numbers.
More importantly people must vote in the primaries like it's election day not primary season - so the numbers reflect the will of the people now. If trumpsters turn out in large numbers Biden folks need to turn out in larger numbers. More meaningful than a march.
August isn't a good time to march in DC. Everyone is out of town, Congress is in recess, and it is really hot and humid. It will be iffy on the turnout. But thank you for giving me the heads up.
They do not care. They will not listen. They will not change. They are takers who give nothing in return. They non-recyclable waste.
We must be secure in the collective determination and perseverance to defeat a former president while simultaneously living with full presence in our daily lives.
Your essay tonight is gratifying and reassuring, but I take exception to your statement about "Biden’s inability to extinguish an ever-growing fascistic threat, which is hotter than ever, in the country." How is Biden supposed to accomplish this? How can anyone in this day and age? G-d help us we're in for some hard times, but President Biden isn't omnipotent--unfortunately, in this regard at least.
Really. The public and our representatives are not doing enough to back him up. I can't believe the things being excused now that would have gotten a strong response from leadership and the courts in my youth. We're all in this together.
Agreed. And, as if Dean Phillips could do it. Sheeesh.
How? Simply by speaking on it. Stop the milk toast pproach.
The threat to me, from a practical perspective, is that the Democrats as pitcher can't pitch and the American public as catcher can't catch. The Democrats lack the killer instinct to demolish MAGA and the Republicans who are much better pitchers because that is all they do, keep making their pitch -their destructive messaging. That would be far less worrisome if Americans could catch but most of them don't even see the ball. They don't even know what's happening. They are obsessed with the price of gas. They are distracted by all the attention bad boy Trump gets and Trump is trying to beat the system. Many Americans like people who beat the system because the system, by and large, is beating them. The bully is dominating the schoolyard so what else is new? In this case the bullies have the power of the purse and the subpoena and the ratification of a presidential election and they are stark raving crazy. Their prime bully is a criminal who just wants to turn it all upside down with untold cost to every citizen yet he is right in the middle of the fray and could win UNLESS. Unless Americans start to see the ball, take note of what is happening with a do-nothing House bent on spreading THE LIE, shredding citizen rights and helping Trump back into the White House - ALL OF THEM! Every Republican voted to open an Impeachment enquiry into Biden, just so Trump can say, hey everybody's impeached. Not one Republican had the character or the guts to say, this is not right. Let's never forget. Biden is so clean he squeaks. We now have one of the two official governmental parties, every single one in the House, bent on destroying democracy and installing an autocratic government in its place already saying out loud that they will seize power and reshape the country in the image of dictatorships of yore. With the way Trump keeps playing the courts, it is going to take a massive, coordinated effort of every left, center-left, or center-right voter to push their way past the Proud Boys etc. who will be lurking at the polls, and vote as never before. The only weapon you have is the vote. Quit fooling around with Phillips or anyone else but one of the best presidents you have ever had. I am closer to 88 than 87 and I don't have the moves I once did, no cartwheels, but my mind is better than ever. 80 is the new 70. Your life span is low because of all the kids you are murdering and all the Black ladies dying in the Maternity Ward, your runaway poverty and your stupid health care system. None of that has anything to do with how long Biden is going to last. Put everything behind him and stop the madness.
My wife, Shelagh just made a very useful point. What is happening with VP Harris? Back in the 30s, yes back not forward, John Nance Garner was one of FDR’s VPs. He made things clear by saying, “The job isn’t worth a bucket of warm piss”. Well, nobody called him a poet but he did have a point. If Obama was VP, we wouldn’t have a problem backing Biden, but there are concerns about Harris, thus a sense of vulnerability and worry about Biden’s longevity, mine notwithstanding. Kamala Harris has had a distinguished career in both California and Washington. She is a no-nonsense tough guy and she has been making some good speeches lately, but the brain-dead Democratic communications overview needs to realize that selling Harris is the same as selling Biden because it reduces the worry-factor. I wish the Democratic Party would take a 30,000 foot view of their communications opportunities.
Harris is smart, tough, and experienced. The Biden/Harris administration is full of people with expertise and they are listened to. (Unlike in the previous administration where The Stable Genius knew it all). If the worst happens and Biden can’t finish out his second term, I will not lose one minute of sleep worrying that Harris is not up to the job. At this point she already has more relevant experience than Obama did when he first set foot in the Oval Office.
Yes, and VP Harris is light years ahead of Phillips, too! Biden/Harris or Bust!
Your typing fingers to God’s inbox.
🙏🤞
If Kamala Harris had to step into the shoes of POTUS, we'd then see what A BLACK WOMAN CAN DO! We'd be in a new and much needed era! (Thanks, Shelagh :-)
Hi Lisa. Black women are my heroes. Too often left to their own devices they face an uphill climb and do better than anyone has a right to expect.
"Kamala Harris has had a distinguished career in both California and Washington. She is a no-nonsense tough guy and she has been making some good speeches lately, but the brain-dead Democratic communications overview needs to realize that selling Harris is the same as selling Biden because it reduces the worry-factor. I wish the Democratic Party would take a 30,000 foot view of their communications opportunities."
You're so right about Kamala Harris. She IS a tough woman, and could do a lot of good for Biden if they just let her run from her own position (like an outfielder - a lot of them are famous at what they do!!) e.g. Have her first travel to the states where the women are fighting hard to push back Dobbs and she's the woman who could lead them!! She has the ability to speak about many important things! It's like she's been shrink wrapped and kept shut up. I think Biden may have some very old-age views of women in power. I mean look how involved he was as Vice President to Barack Obama! LET HER LOOSE I SAY, and don't make her have to walk on her tiptoes and be so very careful of every word she speaks- I say p!ss on that!! Get her out there to represent the women who are being devastated by the abortion fiasco. The Dems need a paradigm shift, and Kamala Harris is one of their secret weapons! Don't put her out there to tipsy toe around everything; have her attack people who go after Biden's age. Like the 87 year old who wrote and said 80 is the new 70! That was kind of funny, yet so well said!! And make a point that Trump is just a year and a half behind Biden. That's pretty old, too, if you're going to go there. I could say more, but I'll stop here. My over all point is that there's gotta be some real Irish fight in everyone on Biden's team. GET AFTER IT, STARTING NOW!!!
Wow. Very feisty, Maddy. I love it! Keep in mind Biden promised an even split Boys/Girls in his cabinet and delivered. He chose the first woman VP and put the first Black woman on the SC, so go easy on him. He’s on our side. What you need to do is get every, EVERY woman to drop everything and vote for Joe to save, no, restore women’s rights and get the ERA passed. You are 51% of the population. Slam. Dunk.
Yes, of course your right about the breakthroughs Biden has made with women in his administration and the judiciary. I was still steaming when I wrote that post...lol. So, thanks for the 'heads up'. And, I do so believe in what you said about what every woman .should do (starting right away in my view). I respect your viewpoints and all that you say, Bob. Thanks for your posts - I look forward to them. Sincerely, Maddy
Hiya Bob, Once again I love reading your comments. I swear we think so much alike, it’s scary and fortunately you write so much better than me (gives me more time to keep reading - thx!) The baseball analogy is perfect. The democrats just need to take away that little league tee and hit a solid line drive through that pitcher and head to home.
Thanks for your kind comment. I agree, Home sounds good.
Democrats PITCH! Americans CATCH! (Bob, thank you for this excellent analysis.)
It's so hard to second-guess the effects of a primary challenge to Biden. But in the best of possible scenarios, it will deepen his resolve, sharpen his rhetoric, and bring out the Irish brawler. In any case, Phillips is not running as an independent, and if the Dems get unequivocally behind Biden, and he comes out swinging, I'm confident that both Dean Phillips and Steve Schmidt will be fervent and effective surrogates when it matters most.
That’s not how challenging incumbents in primaries works. The challengers open up avenues of attack that are then utilized by opposition parties. That’s why historically incumbents usually have an unopposed primary. Steve is doing nothing to help Biden, the challenge by his neophyte candidate will only hurt Biden and help Trump. Steve knows this full well but he is a mercenary and has no party.
Yes, the 'challenger' Phillips has already stated his opposition that "Biden is bad for Democracy". This is pathetic. There is nothing to attack about Biden except his age!
Biden is also just getting the job done ( he is THE master of legislation and diplomacy, domestically and internationally!) instead of brawling like pigs in a pen. Unite behind Biden 2024!
Steve can "brawl for Biden." We all need to do that 24/7. Wake up America!
Biden’s presidency is the most accomplished of my lifetime (perhaps save LBJ’s, which began when I was a 6-year-old). In both cases, these legislators turned executives knew how both branches of our government combined to actually accomplish actionable legislation. LBJ had JFK’s functioning administration to run with. Biden had nothing of the sort -- but his connections, his time as VP and his knowledge of how our government comes together led to tremendous, immediate accomplishments in a short period of time while taking over from literal chaos. His strategy of growing the economy from the middle out seems to be right on track and the impossible soft landing may actually happen. Afghanistan was always going to be a band-aid ripper and he said so for years and then did it. I do wish he had used some of his elective capital to solidify voting rights legislation. That would come in handy now, both on the ground and on the stump. All that said, this is an efficient, effective administration that -- no matter his age -- will have a better second term than any Dean Phillips/Gavin Newsome/Gretchen Whitmer/Josh Shapiro first term could. Think of all the first-term missteps by Presidents that turned out to be pretty good once they got their Presidential legs under them, but oh my goodness those first years -- Carter, Clinton, Obama, W, Trump. They all arrived with stars and headlights in their eyes. Not Biden. And he had to settle the country and the world (and he still has to) and he’s done that with grace and quiet and business-as-usual professionalism. That may well be the benefit of his years. Could his age be (in practice, not in politicking) a feature and not a bug? My opinion is absolutely. I wish on us the wisdom to recognize competence at the top and to really stop and ask, who could have done better and how? As a country, we have fallen victim to the president as performer with little regard for the performance of the president. We need to grow up and evaluate our candidates as public servants not as self-servant poseurs.
"Could his age be (in practice, not in politicking) a feature and not a bug? My opinion is absolutely." I 100% Agree, Robbie! Grace, yes! Biden's accomplishments during his first two years in office are astounding, given the challenges he was up against. He's just getting started, and will turn this country around if he is supported enough. I hope you'll take what you've written to me here, and keep writing it and posting it far and wide! Thanks.
You brought tears to my eyes.
When Eugene McCarthy raised his hand and announced his decision to contest Lyndon Johnson in the presidential primary, Johnson decided not to run for re-election. That could happen again if Phillips raises his hand against Biden. If Biden then drops out of the race we will see Trump facing an opponent who is both unknown and inexperienced.
Thanks Steve. Reading various social media post and articles the last couple of days, women are mad. We must, must get women to vote. They need to join with the younger generation and vote in huge numbers. Somehow women must understand they cannot vote Republican. It has to stop.
I am so angry right now. Biden and the Democrat party must come to the fight. I listened to some of their speeches today during this mess on impeaching Biden and to be honest, I didn’t think they were very good. Maybe it is because I am so mad. I just wanted someone to stand up and say “are you out of your F^^king minds”?
Biden is the right person, I believe. But things must change fast. Someone has to step up and get him to fight, it is a fight to death of this country. I’m worried.
Unless we want Trump to win, we must unify our efforts and work together! Quit the squabbling & get to work to save our democracy!
I was thinking last night that we need to start realizing that we, the American public, all of us in some way are the victims of an abusive relationship in regards to Trump. He has bullied, manipulated and threatened both his so called allies and foes alike. His promises and lies have blinded his believers and most republicans into doing his bidding and remain pawns in his evil cult. The republicans don’t really believe his lies they follow him because of the threat he poses. Someday all who have paid dearly for their slavish allegiance will cease and regard their blindness as a huge mistake. At least those who value any sort of democracy. Look up the definition of abuse and it should be easy to imagine the citizens of this great country as a victim and react as victims in his enterprise of being a king.
Yes, MAGA-CULT. Abuse. Nobody is 'winning'. Children with no voice and no choice are hurt the most by this abuse. I was raised in a cult. Darkness. Violence. Insanity. Thanks.
While useless Republicans in the house are wasting time and bringing shame on our republic, https://youtu.be/QKlkg75VIOs?si=le-pMDpUuT1CBT4S
EU is actively working to bolster Zelensky https://youtu.be/1j4DJOatw5o?si=WWLiPAWWSSdNvxkj
Whatever Steve. If everything you claim about your desires to help any democrat because Biden can’t win, why did you choose a neophyte who doesn’t stand a chance either? Better still, why not attempt to mobilize republican opposition where your heart really belongs?
Please don't tell me where my heart really belongs.
Well Steve, scramble backwards as much as you are able....However, your record as a political operative prior to this election is exclusively republican. Now you support someone running against a democrat incumbent; your track is as a republican. That’s simple to see. Your party has led to Trump now you backtrack and are indignant if someone points out where your work has brought us.
Stuart Stevens has apologized profusely for his decades of PR work for the Repubs. Looking back, he can see that their track was veering toward danger, which he couldn't see when he was in the fight. Steve has not quite met that mark (unless I missed it, which is possible), but I am willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. Besides, a person's "heart " can change over time, and in most cases this change is some sort of growth. We can only hope that our changes are in a positive direction.
Stuart Stevens has apologized profusely for his decades of PR work for the Repubs. Looking back, he can see that their track was veering toward danger, which he couldn't see when he was in the fight. Steve has not quite met that mark (unless I missed it, which is possible), but I am willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. Besides, a person's "heart " can change over time, and in most cases this change is some sort of growth. We can only hope that our changes are in a positive direction.
Well Steve ought to admit that as a republican operative until just recently he paved the way for Trump. He probably even voted for him in 2016. I agree that he has come a long way...but the republicans have been the same party since Newt Gingrich took them over in the early nineties. It was obvious to many of us who were republicans before Newt that the party had been swallowed whole by people who then made presidents like W and Trump possible. So baling on the party in 2019, like Steve did is a bit like closing the barn door after all the animals get out. But it’s definitely better late than never and I enjoy reading Steve’s essays...I just hope he stays on the side he’s now on.
Hi Steve, Your passion poured off the page today. I don't doubt your commitment to saving American Democracy. My parents moved us from Canada to So. Cal. in 1957. I was 2. I watched the beating and firehosing of black people during the Watts riots on T.V. It left an indelible mark on my young mind. I marched for civil rights, abortion rights, and voting rights. I marched against the Vietnam war and the Iraq war. I helped organize protests against nuclear power (oops. I did get non-violence training though). I manned phone banks (not recommended) and distributed petitions. For 60 years I watched America bounce from curb to curb but largely stay on course. With all my involvement (all legal BTW) voting seemed unnecessary. Shit has hit the fan. I and my Dutch wife have applied for American citizenship. We hope it's finalized by Nov. 2024. See you at the polls!
Thank you for the work you've done for our country and we'll see you at the polls in 2024!
Polls are often wrong when taken so far in advance from election day. Furthermore, the people who take the Polls usually will not answer truthfully when talking on the phone.
Even since The Great Polling Debacle of 2016, I have come to realize that the current polling methodology is outdated and seriously flawed. And so the data that arise from the polls are also seriously flawed and thus so are the conclusions. Then the crappy conclusions get magnified by pundits in print and video and effect behavior. Example: in 2016 the polls said Clinton would win by a comfortable margin. People felt empowered to not vote for her (stayed home, voted for Stein or the other guy, What’s His Name) expecting Trump didn’t have a chance of winning. And we all know how that turned out.
There are lies, damn lies, statistics, and then there are polls.
Apologies to Samuel Clemens.
Not a doubt in my mind HRC would have won had the election taken place two weeks before it did. The polls weren't wrong so much as the worst possible trifecta of Russian interference, protest votes, and the Comey surprise conspired to give us Donald Trump and this spiral into mass insanity.
Yes, Patrick, please keep speaking out on this!
All anti-Trump political families should join together on one stage and address the nation on a prime time TV special warning the country of the dangers of Trump. The Biden's, Bushes, Cheney's, McCain's, Obama's, and Romney's, are a few that come to mind. It would be very powerful if families from both parties united with the same message.
HOW can we make this happen?
T H I S is a great idea!!! 💡 @steve what network would carry an anti-debate showing of political families who are anti Trump, on stage, together, no policy chat? Only, historical attributes to the danger of our democracy. What a vote influencer?