Think about your hatred for Trump and Trump supporters over the last eight years. That's the hatred on my doorstep. That's what made hatred (and dehumanization) acceptable and even enjoyable for liberals everywhere.
Think about your hatred for Trump and Trump supporters over the last eight years. That's the hatred on my doorstep. That's what made hatred (and dehumanization) acceptable and even enjoyable for liberals everywhere.
I suspect, Mark R, that you mean "leftists" everywhere. Liberals largely died out when Trump announced in 2015 that he was running for President. Some leftists later re-converted to liberalism when they got mugged by the reality of wokeness. More will do so since the horror of October 7th. But it's a safe bet that both the pro-Hamas hordes currently overrunning American campuses and the understandably terrified Jewish students on those same campuses have more than their universities in common: they all supported the same Iran-appeasing candidate in 2020.
Donald Trump made antisemitism acceptable when he reacted to antisemitic chants "Jews will not replace us" with his infamous "there are good people on both sides". When he's confronted with hate from others he's only reaping the seeds he sowed. Hateful people like him are more likely to be hated by others than kind people and therefore I do not feel sorry for him.
Yours is a perfect illustration of people in glass houses shouldn't throw stones. Trump and Trump supporters dished out plenty of hate to liberals, progressives, Wokes, news media, non-MAGA Republicans and conservatives, Mexicans, Muslims, "Kung Flu" Chinese, and everyone else they despised. You dehumanized us as much as you claim we dehumanized you, and you loved it---I saw your MAGA rallies.
You don't want us to do it, fine, I agree. You go first and show us how it's done.
This anti-American, Anti-Western hatred started much earlier than Trump. We are seeing cult behavior. Global warming, pro-abortion, LGB, the over educated, open borders, dem socialist groups are supporting the Palestinian terrorists. Much of the left and a majority of the young act as a close-minded, tribal cult. This feels like 1930s Europe, except there is no USA waiting in the wings to save the world.
This right here. No one cares about the vitriol directed at a mostly working class, middle class fusion of people, not at ALL equating the two happenings. Just the motivations behind the happenings and how no one and I mean, no one stood up and said maybe laughing at and denigrating our fellow Americans is not a great idea. I am with Israel in this fight, no matter how others feel about me. Right is right all the time.
Bari - because I respect you so much and admire your writing so much, it was literally painful for me to watch you ignore what has happened in our country for the last year. You seem to be a truly good person, but when I see you complain about a "lie of omission" which you predict will come from the mainstream media - I can't help but wonder if the Free Press has not done the same over the last year. You guys had nothing to say when the government was weaponized against the American people - we got articles about whether cell phones were bad or comments on dating trends. I don't think the weaponized justice department mattered to you because it was happening to people you didn't care about. When our borders were open and social services were collapsing and fentanyl was killing 100,000 per year people you said little because it was happening in red states or to people who didn't matter. The Free Press didn't seem to care. But here's the thing - I have heard that between 7 - 10 million people have crossed the border in the last 2 years. If any of those (I'm sure mostly good and decent people) crossed the border were part of groups that meant us harm then what?
And most of us here have watched as the House committee hosted whistleblowers who risked everything - their futures, their families, possibly even their freedom - to tell the American people what was going on with the Biden selling influence to countries that don't like us - you squandered the opportunity to make it matter because it was not a narrative you wanted to report on. If a country has sold influence and received money through shell companies from countries that mean us harm, then can they not hold proof of that bribery over the head of the president of the Unite States? If the president is compromised then how does that affect his decision making - because honestly it does not seem that anything he has done since taking office has been in the interest of the American people. If it turns out next week or next month that his influence peddling included taking money from people connected to Iran or Quatar (I don't know if it did but I believe they have barely scratched the surface of what the Bidens have done) - will it matter to you if that has affected his policies in the Middle East? The truth stands on it's own - it does not lean left or right. And if the media cannot report on the truth then I just don't know how we can be a united people as everyone sees a different truth. I mean no disrespect - but this is just my small and unimportant view from someone who admires you greatly and thinks the Free Press can be a huge force for good in the world.
Yes. It pains me to say it, but yes. I have heard it said that elections have consequences. And it could get worse. A proxy war in Ukraine and billions in treasury spent there. A live war with an real ally in the mid-east. China pushing the Phillipines. We are being baited and contrary to what JBs promises nary an adult to be found.to handle matters.
This. Exactly. The PRO-crime democRAT left has, by and large, willfully ignored the antics of BLM/Auntieflo and the rest of the ill-mannered children who have had temper tantrums all over this country since Bad Orange Man. Throw in the incompetence of leftist politicians in the majority of metropolitan areas and what did you expect?
All these old parables have strong roots in truth; "when they came for me, there was no one left to speak up". Those words ring even more true today.
I think it's a little different. Trump is someone who earns hatred by how he acts. The people who love Trump are the same as the people on the left who hate him. They are unthinking people who think this man can solve all the world's ills. The Trump fringe AND the left are sadly two sides of the same coin. They are unthinking people led by ideology and devoid of reason or grasp of reality. Hatred of Jews is a thousand-year problem where hatred of Trump is easy to come by with how he is as a leader and a person. Conflating the two does not help the cause of defeating the woke.
I disagree. One of those sides hates "colonizers" aka The United States and Israel and Western government. The other side is very protective of all of the above. Being a huge fan FOR your country vs being for the destruction of your country and way of life are 2 ENTIRELY different things. They aren't even the same coin.
I think the people love Trump more than the country. It is equally dangerous when people love either an ideology or person. People think Trump can do everything and he can't. Plus he was an average President. He couldn't get much through Congress and fell into every trap laid for him. I voted for him twice but he is not fit for the troubles ahead of us
I think what you think is love towards the person is love for the voice. He says the things many people feel. Not all of it, of course. He's funny, though as you know, his jokes were reported as statements or lies. I prefer DeSantis and Ramaswamy, but I think the way I watched my grandparents be belittled got to me. They had no college degree, but they worked hard so their grandchildren would. I will vote for anyone but a Democrat. They won't open their eyes. That scares me.
He'd be a breath of fresh air somewhere in there, for sure. Yeah, feels like he's a bit obnoxious, but if he could just tone it down and grab a little experience, I think he'd be great. His 10 truths. I love them
Trump is bad but Democrats are far worse but Trump is a big spender and the economic storm is still coming and it's impossible for him to unite the country. That is why I am against him
Do you believe the country can be reunited? I do, but it will take strong government to say no, absolutely not, to the rot that has taken root in society, pitting us all as oppressed or oppressor and so on and so forth. Yes, too much money. Way too much. However, do you not feel that without the pandemic, that money would have been easily repaid? I'm not an expert on economics, so I don't know. Who do you believe can unite the country, truly? I'd love to see it.
I do believe it's possible, but I don't think that Trump is the band can do it. He's too much of a child to lead. He had his opportunity and he was the same big baby that he was before, and he's a bigger one now
I am sorry about that. Let me retry again. Trump can't as he does not have the personality to lead. I don't see anyone who can. DeSantis is too young. Haley does too many talking points. Time will tell. Do you have anyone you enjoy?
I really like Ramaswamy, but he is too inexperienced, maybe. I want to like Rfk, Jr. There are maybe 3 of his beliefs that make him a turn off. I like DeSantis, but he's not gonna bring anyone together, right? He will be as divisive as Trump. I'm not a fan of Haley because she was poor a few short years ago, got into the military complex and is very rich now. Christie? Nooooo. So, blech. Maybe I'll sit it out, maybe I'll write my own name. Nah, I'll vote. But, we don't have the best choices. We never do. It's always about who will do the least amount of damage, isn't it? Sad.
"Unthinking people..." my arse. This thinking person understands that no one can solve all the world's ills (much as I might wish for a white knight). As you have no idea why people like Trump I assume the same is true of your assessment of why people hate Trump. I am bone weary of those who see themselves as above the fray. All of them are deadweight waiting to sed which way the wind blows. Pick a lane.
EVERYONE loved Trump when he was just another Rich Guy and TV star; it wasn't until he took on "WithHer" that he became Public Enemy Number One to the leftist half of the country.
I was going to respond, "complete and utter bilgewater." Until your last sentence self-identified as such. Trump supporters and TDSers could not have more different worldviews.
You missed the vast difference between the тАЬTrump fringeтАЭ and the left. The politicized justice system punitively punishes the one for misdemeanors but letтАЩs off blame free the other for burning down cities. So in that sense Jew hatred and TDS can be conflated. They are both connected through being unfairly persecuted.
Hatred is a destructive force for the hater and the hated, implying someone тАЬearnsтАЭ it, implicitly excuses it. So do tell us what heinous deeds Trump carried out that he earned hatred?
I agree it is best not to conflate TDS with the shocking denial of basic facts and dismissiveness regarding the atrocities in Israel.
One common theme, however, is the unprecedented discarding of journalistic principles in the US since Trump's 2016 victory.
Your statements: "Trump is someone who earns hatred by how he acts. The people who love Trump are the same as the people on the left who hate him. They are unthinking people who think this man can solve all the world's ills."
Well, Trump certainly had Iran pegged more accurately than Biden's state department, who now appears to have been heavily influenced - if not infiltrated or even compromised - by Iran. Biden also has been naive, feckless, and incompetent more generally, including regarding China.
But the bigger story is the horrendous state of mainstream journalism in the US.
The press have great power - including the power to make large segments of the population believe lies.
Mainstream media consumed by a vast swath of the public, have done their best to silence Trump and substitute a caricature. The public at large consumes a curated caricature created by the mainstream press. A standard technique has been to selectively edit video, the most obvious example being the editing out of Trump's condemnation of Nazis and white supremacists at Charlottesville. There are still a large percent of voters who believe he never condemned those extremists. And in one of the debates in 2020, the moderator asked him why he never condemned the nazis and white supremacists - a supposedly neutral moderator asking a question containing a long debunked defamatory lie as a premise of the question. If I believed that lie, I would be just as upset at Trump as those who do believe it.
Another technique is to play video of Trump - but not audio - while pundits put words in his mouth.
The unfairness to Trump isn't the point, but rather the sorry state of journalism in the US.
You would expect this kind of filth in campaign ads, and partisan commentary, but in many mainstream sources, straight reporting is almost nonexistent. The whole concept of printing only provable facts and avoiding editorializing seems alien to present day so-called journalists.
Without Twitter under Elon, Substack, and Rumble, it would be much, much worse - with no one holding the mainstream press and US government to account. I fear that without the pressure brought by these three entities, the censorship of opposing views and inconvenient facts would be much worse by now - and the current high levels of incompetence and corruption, makes an adversarial (and professional) press more important than ever.
In the aftermath of the 2016 presidential election, some people would ask me how I voted. I replied that I reviewed the candidates' policy platforms and agendas and voted for the policies I most agreed with.
I'm a thinking person. I'm also a perceiving person. What you just wrote strongly implies you lack the ability to see. You are describing processes in your head, and of course proportional geometry has an esthetic appeal. But it rarely if ever comes close to describing human realities.
I don't think Trump can solve all the world's ills. I simply think he states clearly obvious truths in a world which denies them, and took common sense measures in support of the well being of the nation he was chosen to lead. And it turns out just trying is enough for prosperity and peace. Joe Biden is not trying. He is allowing to be done whatever the people running and funding him want done, which certainly seems to include the very profitable business of war.
Joe Biden could literally take a dump on the White House lawn and people would figure out how to rationalize it. No: he's a doddering corrupt fool, and this undeniable truth needs to be stated without equivocation.
Calling Trump supporters "unthinking" twice in the same post still doesn't a) make it true or b) make you a superordinate thinker. They are people who lived thru a tenure that put America first, energy independence, border security, law enforcement, tax relief, jobs, support for agriculture, fair trade deals, military strengthening and peace with hostile nations at the forefront of his agenda. This country did a 180 in record time and much of the world has responded accordingly.
All you did was repeat talking points. I don't see any thinking in your post. Trump as an average president who did things that any average GOP president could have done. Your hero worship is noted.
Exactly. My talking points are just that- but in the true sense of the phrase. Not the new, hijacked nomenclature where itтАЩs just political rhetoric with no sincerity. We LIVED and EXPERIENCED all those things. But boo-hoo, heтАЩs boorish and petulant.
I voted for him so I wasn't calling myself unthinking, my comments are toward the people who love the man and think he can solve all the problems of the world. And yes, I am calling them unthinking.
No, Thinking is telling me why Trump is going to solve everything. I need reasons not Trump is going solve everthing when he didn't do much in the four years he had.
Pretty high bar, that. If I knew how I'd be in a far, far higher pay grade. What I do know is why. I also know that no one on the left and few of those of the TDS right so much as acknowledge a problem.
He did a lot in four years. I will always wonder what he could have accomplished with a Republican Congress that supported him in those first two years. Instead that Congress clutched its pearls and tightened its spincter in opposition. The only reason the GOP exists today is because of those people you demean as unthinking.
I would disagree. The left wants to own your life and the right wants government out of their lives. Difference in a lot of ways is funding from world order types like Soros and the really avid Trump supporters are not financially supported from outside like the left. The left can afford to play the game better based on money and a distorted sense of what is criminal anymore, as they get to use violence.
My point with Trump is that he is the only person who can lose to Biden. You need a person who has to keep the focus on Biden and his failures, and Trump always has to be the center of attention. He was an average President who did nothing to solve the long-term fiscal problems and failed miserably during the Pandemic. He started this inflation with reckless spending, and let us not forget how he lost those two GA seats being a crybaby that led to 2 years of democratic spending. He isn't a man for the times. Have a good day.
Failed miserably during the pandemic? He closed the borders at the onset and was accused of being a xenophobe when drunk Nancy was telling people to go out and there wasn't anything to worry about. He offered aid to cities from Seattle to NY that thought they knew better and refused it. Trump definitely could have done better, in retrospect, his biggest oversight was allowing Fauci to continue, but more people died from the China Virus during Joetato's administration than the Bad Orange Man. You can have your own opinion, but you can't have your own facts.
How about the Trillions he printed and spent? And his awful communication skills? And letting Fauci run the show wasn't a trifiling thing. But thanks for proving my point about the unthinking love for the man.
No deflecting. The inflation we have now is due to his policies during it. And you are so right, I am not in your league in loving Trump. We all need something to aspire towards and working at gaining your intelligence is a worthwhile goal.
Put a hundred monkeys in front of a keyboard and eventually you'll get War and Peace. Put a keyboard in front of one monkey and you only get Strabo's Newsletter...
Your thesis is flawed because you, too, are in the grip of Trump derangement. Trump has many flaws and the notion that his supporters are in the throes of some sort of Mussolini complex is childish nonsense. The vast majority of us wish he wasn't as petulant and churlish but have the wit to distinguish policy from personality. You seem to forget the hatred and similar calumnies that the left fomented against President Reagan and, to a lesser extent, Bush Jr. It's in their playbook. The left always demonizes its opponents, accuses them of stupidity and war mongering and, more lately "racism." It's just what they do and you've fallen victim to their trap.
I can agree that the Left has demonized Trump, but so has a sizeable segment of the GOP itself. 'Never Trumpers' in numbers pale against the MAGA millions of his base, but they make enough noise to be derided as Republicans in Name Only.
I am one of the few people who do not either love the guy or hate the guy. I think he is a terrible manager who did what any average GOP President would do. The only reason he was any good was because Obama was really bad. He passed tax reform and removed regulations that the Obama team put on. The rest was the soap opera that surrounded him. I will give that the Russia hoax was a joke, and the media was as bad as ever. But the point is that Trump the person is an ego maniac who wants people around him to kiss his ass. He's a big crybaby. We will need a great leader to unite the country as we deal with foreign problems and the coming economic calamity. He isn't the man for the job. Finally, he is the only person who can lose to Biden. If he runs, the election is about him, not Biden.
I voted for Trump. What I saw was a fighter. Sure he had many faults but he loved America. He loved this country. Sure he used it to his advantage. But he was a businessman not a politician. The problem was the corruption in our government had become so bad anyone was better that the status quo. But he was a fighter too! Like IтАЩve said, the deep state was DEEP. One thing is true, he knows the enemy now. Can he be elected now? DonтАЩt know but a lot of people will vote for him. This country has gone down a rabbit hole and has been since Obummer. Can we recover ? I hope so but itтАЩs a tossup. I just want to win!
It wasn't only that he was the antidote to Obama. His immigration policy and his opposition to China on trade was spot on, as well. Trump is an egomaniac and chaotic manager - no argument there. But his policies are correct and the chaos that Biden has unleashed is the result of him undoing everything Trump did. So unless we can get a GOP candidate who is more temperate but follows Trump's policies, Trump remains the only option. And the notion that he would lose to Biden is either laughable or America has completely lost its mind and is beyond redemption.
Do you mean the tariffs he put on without an act of Congress? And I agree that Desantis or Haley have yet to punch through. This election will be a Trump vs. Biden vs. a third choice. My problem with Trump is that he can't forge a consensus. He is so repellant to so many that that becomes the issue, not China, the debt ( which I saw was missing in your praise of him; he spends like a drunken sailor), and cultural rot. Will I vote for him? Yes. But is he the man for the moment? Hell no. He is the only option to prove your point that we as a nation are beyond redemption.
I believe that if you take out of the equation the trillions he had to spend to counteract the idiotic lockdowns of the mostly Democrat governors (our Constitution does require compensation for takings), his spending was not out of control. And, moreover, I have a nostrum for the damage wrought by the Red Chinese fiends. Cancel our debt to them as reparations for the lives lost and trillions of damage caused.
Of course the there are extremists on all sides. There always are. The important question is numbers and proclivity to violence. Those on Jan 6 who were violent deserve to be criminally punished. But how many committed acts of violence. And how many Trump voters called for those who broke the law to be punished. Compare that with all the urban riots and the hatred we have seen the past two weeks. And the use of the mega maga extremist label to smear MILLIONS of Americans ( such smearing coming from Biden, his press secretary, members of congress, the media etc and directed at among others parents who dare to challenge the divisiveness that is the hallmark of the DEI agenda found in thousands of schools). If Trump disappeared tomorrow the vitriol towards DeSantis and Haley etc would be on full display. And the DOJ would continue to exercise its "prosecutorial discreton" to go after its enemies on a purely political basis. This is about way more than Trump.
Taibbi posts today that the Censorship Industrial Complex is alive and well, being funded by the government. So we donтАЩt just have gulags, we have thought police.
I disagree. Listen to the democrat Indian billionaire Bari cited a day or two ago. On his podcast, All In, he said that he was changing his mind, leaning right. He said it was wrong to hate the messenger, so kill the message. He said Trump go a lot of things right. America shot inself in the foot over Orange Man Bad. Now look at the situation we are in. I have heard similar versions of this grudging admission from others on the left. I donтАЩt think Trump supporters like him because of his tweets and brash demeanor. They overlook them because what he was accomplishing was more important.
Now we have hair sniffing bumbling fool snoozing us into WWIII. Bring back the tweets!
When it comes to foreign policy Trump administration was much better than previous administrations. No new wars, at the very least a plan to leave Afghanistan, Abraham Accord.
I agree. And, I don't think that everyone who voted for Trump "loved" him as Albert said. Personally, I have never been in love with a politician. Many people voted for Trump because his policies were more sane - not because they wanted him over to dinner. But, remember how he was called Anti-semitic? That made no sense. I liked that he spoke against Santucary cities in 2016 and against transing children - although he became a little too silent about GI in 2020. Biden celebrated it.
At this point, DeSantis is the man for the job IMO. I don't think TheFP has even mentioned his Navy Jag background or how he has flown Americans out of Israel. If I've missed it I apologize as the info has been coming fast and furious. And, look what a great job he has done as Governor of Florida. Haley doesn't care about what is happening with the culture. She wants to focus on reading and never mind if the kids are groomed in the process. I also don't see that she did anything impressive as UN ambassador. The UN is a little sus.
Truth! You can be sure that I voted for him because of his policies not because I loved him! We all knew his personality and reputation way before he ran for President...everyone did! My husband has worked in corporate banking for over 25 years. He used to say that the way Trump spoke and handled things was exactly the way he heard things handled in meetings, on conference calls etc. in corporate America. The DemтАЩs and media knew it...they were just out to destroy him bc his policies were working. I tell you this....my husband and I surely miss the extra money we had when he was President.
I had been familiar with his personality and reputation for decades, which is why I couldn't vote for him (or for Hillary) in 2016.
But between the success of his policies and the fact that Democrats had abundantly demonstrated that they were too bat shit crazy to be trusted with *any* position of responsibility, I had to hold my nose and vote for him in 2020.
I probably won't this time. After seeing what the Left did last time Trump was elected, I don't want to see a repeat.
I will probably vote third-party, which is what I had done in every election from 2004 to 2016. It is past time that we had a new party emerge to represent the rapidly growing group of centrists who have been left behind in the rush to extremism.
I understand and that is a dilemma for me. If he is the nominee, IтАЩll be tempted to vote third party because it exhausts me to think of what the Left will do to him the second time around. Ugh! The hatred was palpable. One of the issues that is very important to me is to have a President that is strong on national security so I would only consider voting third party if that is an integral part of their platform.
I think many people shared your sentiment. Honestly, for the past few years, I started tiring of him. This time around, I prefer DeSantis...I think we need someone younger. I actually like some of RFK JrтАЩs positions, too.
But you still want the government programs that are running up the debt to astronomical levels? I don't know what you are talking about with selling sovereignty? But I do know we need to change how we spend money and Trump failed miserably on that arena.
But the cost of them, is a drop in the bucket compared to the social spending on social security Medicare and Medicaid, and in the huge growing cost of the interest on the debt. We're in big trouble. And I hear nothing coming from Trump on how to solve it
yup and widespread outburst of violence and death were openly supported by the democratic party and the media but now the beast is lose and none of no what to do
The Davos overlay of a worldwide CCP style surveillance system is well underway. All perps and totalitarians attempt to silence free speech and opinion. What good is a victim who will not be victimized? Again!! This is A-Bomb 20th Century retro. We've entered a new age and it requires a new vision. The criminals have to subvert it to maintain their grift. The leap in tech/AI and communications made the central banking/D.C. numbered account whorehouse transparent to reality. Reality? Simple. The American citizen is tired of being battered and looted, the perp's don't want to stop, so the citizen, free speech, thought and the American national dialogue must be criminalized. Do we still not understand that Julian Assange is an object lesson?
You are only defeated if you allow yourself to be convinced you are. There is a psyop in place to do that very thing. Why the leap in horror? It's election time!! The kangaroo court Trump persecution continues apace. Now saber rattling and the classic Orwellian silence the citizen with threats of danger and war. Add the focused corporate/bureaucratic surveillance state suppression of free speech and the well oiled DEI/MSM cancellation machine. Voila!! The perfect witches brew for Halloween!! --- Don't think your dangerous to the perps? Then, what part of the Judeo-Christian ethos and the Bill of Rights don't you understand?
The American Republic, the Constitution and the CITIZEN are the only engine's of survival!
What gulags? J6'ers were arrested, tried, and either convicted or exonerated. It took too long to bring them to trial in some cases, but that's a problem with the entire criminal justice system . . . non J6 defendants wait years in county lockups to get before a judge. There is no "American gulag."
Gulag was obvious hyperbole, hence deserving no reply from NC. But ur comment to her reveals complete ignorance of the treatment of the J6 defendants. Mark Jackson, charged with second degree murder in the shooting death of David Dorn during the BLM riots, got a 15 year prison sentence in his plea deal. Justice served again.
To the contrary: I am quite familiar with the sentences handed out in J6. Some were appropriate, some were ridiculous over-sentencing. As for "American Gulag," it was not "obvious hyperbole." Many commenters on this forum believe this nation a political hellhole filled with the jackbooted thugs of the Deep State, and so gulag fits right in with that mindset. I don't remotely believe America is a gulag.
And how long were J 6 defendants kept in prison, uncharged ? Justice delayed is justice denied. We have a system of unequal justice under the law now in this country. I stand by my use of тАЬgulagтАЭ
Glad to hear you are aware of the blatant abuse. It's not as clear cut as your original statement of "either convicted or exonerated". Quite the opposite.
We agree, TPR. If I'd gone on at length, I would have made it clear that while those arrested were either convicted or exonerated--because it's true--too many were abused by a system that routinely abuses the accused. The J6 gang got a taste of what life is every day for millions locked into dangerous county jails for years without trial, with lousy public defense lawyers, and overcharged for minor offenses. It's not right for the J6ers, it's not right for others.
But I kept it short, so had to leave all that out. We agree on the abuse. Even on the arrest side, too many were charged with "trespassing" when they didn't go into the House at all. That's equally wrong.
With the FBI mincing about, arresting with massive SWAT teams of bellowing buffoons innocent old men and Catholics in a pathetic reenactment of the DDR's Stasi.
I sure hope so. IтАЩm missing an economy that was growing at 6.3%, an inflation rate of 1.4%, $2.39 a gallon gasolineтАжthe absence of land wars in eastern Europe and the Middle East, the happy voices of 500,000 Ukrainians and over a thousand Israelis that have since lost their lives because of feckless Biden/Obama policiesтАж and a time when our president cared more about the sanctity of our borders than those of foreign countries.
Trump unleashed will be a scary thing. Think January 6th without sensible, cool-headed individuals. I do not think another Trump presidency will be a good thing.
I recall hearing the same chicken little hysteria when he ran against Hillary and throughout his entire presidency, yet his accomplishments belie the histrionics. Meanwhile, after less than 3 years of the peace and prosperity he gave us people can't afford to buy food and we're on the verge of WWIII. If that doesn't give you nightmares I'm sure another Trump presidency won't affect your sleep.
Yes. It always circles back to something. And, in our era, it all circles back to Trump and Hillary and the undeclared war between them. Trump called bullshit on everything, loud, clear and in your face. Hillary Clinton, in my opinion, has done more damage covertly and behind the scenes than any figure in history, and I think time will bear that out.
I agree. Trump derangement syndrome works on both sides. One is those with so much hate they can't see how everything the democrats do is blamed on him and he is innocent of much of what he is accused of. The other side are the Trump lovers that can't see beyond wanting to have another rematch with Trump vs Biden. They see Trump as our savior and no one else can do it.
Here is an article I wrote with my view of the subject.
It is hardly that simple and to portray it that way is just more elitism - a representation that you in your selfless and infinite wisdom can assess what is wrong with 170,000,000 of your peers. Ugh.
Before he was elected, there were many possibilities. Now it is clear that what I claim is true. Did you read my article?
Your response was typical for a propaganda believer. You rejected it with an insult (elitism) and claimed that a lot of other people believe the same is reason enough to prove your point. You didn't prove anything though, just name calling and 'I am not the only one' comments.
You are self censoring because what you currently 'know' can not be challenged.
Elitism - "The belief that certain persons or members of certain groups deserve favored treatment by virtue of their superiority, as in intelligence, social standing, or wealth."
I never claimed one people to be better than another. I explained an error in thinking that listening to 'the other side' would solve. You have been programmed to ignore other thoughts that might challenge what you currently believe and apparently feel righteous about it. That makes you the Elitist.
No. This madness has existed for decades. TDS is a symptom of the madness. It is not the cause. Nor is Trump the solution. The madness will continue after Trump is gone so long as universities are run by people who do not value Knowledge, Reason and Fairness. Leftists believe that the ends justify the means. This is why the justice system has been politicized.
This madness has existed for thousands of years, but I suggest this level of madness has not existed before. Social media carries thoughts on the wind with the speed of light and with no filter. The phenomena of Trump and social media woke up a large segment of working class society quietly going about their day-to-day following the rules, working hard for a living and caring for their families under the thumb of corporations and governments. The creep by those corporations and governments taking more and more and more for themselves insipidly brewed under the surface. Trump awakened that beast (later termed the bag of deplorables), and the powers that be became afraid of their veracity. In turn, they used their powers to wake up and mobilize the beast underneath, those at the very bottom and on the fringes (known as the oppressed and marginalized), to turn against their neighbors in righteous indignation of their oppression, so they can overlook the real monster (the elites, whoever they are and become). This is the Game. And, it goes on and on. So, that is the question. How do we stop this Game?
These hard-working people--like you, I use that term with respect, not as derision--need ta better spokesman for their ills. Trump's mouth and demeanor get in the way of his message all the time.
I tend to agree, plus I think all of this is starting to wear on him..My hope is that he drops out and Pompeo steps in. But I cannot support Haley, Pence or Christie. I like both Scott and Ramaswamy but do not think they are ready yet.
Kamala? Pence? Newsom? Gag. There's a critical lack of bench depth in both parties, isn't there? This is why we're suffering Round 2: Old Guy Boogaloo. Neither party has a varsity that can step in when the quarterback has lost it.
Exactly right. He is the Huey P. Long of our time. If you aren't familiar, Huey P. Long was a politician from 1930's Louisiana whose Gubernatorial campaign was going nowhere until he decided to start talking to the voters that worked the fields and oil rigs for subsistence wages. Voters that the machine politicians ignored completely. He spoke to them in the same way they spoke to each other and addressed directly the problems they endured. He was elected handily to Governor and later US Senator. FDR once said he was the only politician he was ever afraid of. He ran against FDR in the 1936 election and was assassinated. The assassin was conveniently shot and killed at the scene. The current assassination attempt is bloodless but with the same objective. The more things change, the more they stay the same.
I think that may be true about the 2016 election. I always found Comey's HRC announcement puzzling. Now I think they called her in for a come to Jesus and she refused their demands so they made the
announcement. She still thinks the election was stolen from her. The problem was they overestimated their ability to control Trump. The real constitutional crisis, and it is a huge one, is the control of government by the career bureaucrats in the executive branch. They no longer are loyal to, much less allegiant to, a duly elected president. Any president, but the one now is exceedingly malleable. But that is I think why the get Trump gloves are off. He has their number and must be stopped at all costs and by any means. The republic teeters.
Yes, the MAGA "Trump can do no wrong" cultists are as batshit crazy as the TDS Never-Trumpers. Trump was a good president, better than I thought he would be. He was unfairly treated by the media from the git-go. He was also ridiculously petty and often behaved with the unrestrained ego of a toddler. All those things can be true.
If Trump wins-- I'll be moving out of this country. With his unfiltered anger, his arrogance, his insanity, AND his wanting revenge, he will create such chaos and possibly violence.
Can't blame him for wanting revenge. He has been attacked relentlessly by the left since before he even took office. You and Cher can move in together lol.
I agree he was attacked unreasonably when he was in office. But-- he is the type to take down the country in order to seek revenge. I'm not terribly fond of Biden either.
Rather than the root cause, I would say TDS is the tool power hungry Democrat elites used to gain much power and turn America into a madhouse (where anti-Semitism is acceptable).
Alas, what is one to do if one sees Trump for the abomination that he is while deploring the Democrats too? Poor me, I have TDS and BDS (Biden Derangement Syndrome) at the same time :-(
When no solutions to problems-many of which were of their own making-were offered, fearing Trump or any other Republican in line to be anointed the newest Hitler became their strategy for winning the minds of voters. Hoping that Americans would prefer the party led by a corrupt senile puppet infested with neocon insiders who have a history of repeated foreign policy failures, regime changing, and flattening the economy and reputation of the US and other western nations, over the party of тАЬdomestic terrorismтАЭ.
With all the talk of, Russia, China, Iran etc. being existential threats no one seems to be paying attention to the biggest threat to Americans, our government.
That is true but it was tampeddown pretty well. I think it is naive to not see the connection, both here and abroad, with the get Trump at any cost and by any means crowd, with get Israel, or perhaps more accurately, get Jews.
Whoa - the Nazis were NOT on the left. Socialism in the early 20th century was NOT comparable to the socialist mentality we encounter on college campuses in the US - the German Communists were rooted out of German politics by the Nazis and were special targets of the SA.
Joseph Kennedy and loads of British aristocrats, along with Henry Ford, weтАЩre ardent admirers of HitlerтАЩs тАЬsocialismтАЭ, and they were hardly on the leftтАж
Bruce is correct, Timothy. What we call the Nazi party was founded by socialist Anton Drexler, who chaired that party until Hitler took over. He even wrote a book extolling socialism and communism. Hitler first came into contact with the party following a lecture on how to get rid of capitalism. The Nazi Party's program included a variety of socialism demands, and they even addressed each other as "comrade" initially. At a certain point they distanced themselves from their Marxist allies because they wanted to focus strictly on the German people rather than a global struggle. So, yes, Fascism's roots are compellingly left, not right. Liberal Americans worry incessantly about the "Far Right", but it's historically the Far Left that takes your freedoms, punishes disbelievers and murders millions, including their gullible supporters, while amassing wealth and power for an elite few.
Who cares how a party started out? The US Democratic Party supported slavery, until it didn't. Democrats favored free speech, until they didn't. The Nazis were a perfect example of fascism in their partnership with industry.
Yup, false flags work almost every time. The woke 'left' is in fact the tool of the globalist plutocratic elite who seek to divide and rule by fragmenting the working class. Real commies see this, just as they saw Nazism as the exact opposite of what they were trying to do in the USSR.
A real commie is someone who still adheres to the teachings of Marx and Lenin. But we often hear righties say that the woke/progressives are commies whereas the former see the latter as the spoiled children of the rich and the bourgeoisie. One tells the difference by listening to what they say and observing what they do.
Everybody who believes in the Constitution is liberal. We are a liberal nation. Trump was and is a populist. Populism.has long cropped up to course correct. Trump's correction was just derailed by members of both parties and the career bureaucrats in the executive agencies who no longer make an pretense of allegiance to a duly elected president. The correction needs to be made, whether by Trump or another populist.
Think about your hatred for Trump and Trump supporters over the last eight years. That's the hatred on my doorstep. That's what made hatred (and dehumanization) acceptable and even enjoyable for liberals everywhere.
MAGAphobia is by far, the dominant phobia in America.
when your own ox is gored. this happens
I suspect, Mark R, that you mean "leftists" everywhere. Liberals largely died out when Trump announced in 2015 that he was running for President. Some leftists later re-converted to liberalism when they got mugged by the reality of wokeness. More will do so since the horror of October 7th. But it's a safe bet that both the pro-Hamas hordes currently overrunning American campuses and the understandably terrified Jewish students on those same campuses have more than their universities in common: they all supported the same Iran-appeasing candidate in 2020.
Donald Trump made antisemitism acceptable when he reacted to antisemitic chants "Jews will not replace us" with his infamous "there are good people on both sides". When he's confronted with hate from others he's only reaping the seeds he sowed. Hateful people like him are more likely to be hated by others than kind people and therefore I do not feel sorry for him.
Yours is a perfect illustration of people in glass houses shouldn't throw stones. Trump and Trump supporters dished out plenty of hate to liberals, progressives, Wokes, news media, non-MAGA Republicans and conservatives, Mexicans, Muslims, "Kung Flu" Chinese, and everyone else they despised. You dehumanized us as much as you claim we dehumanized you, and you loved it---I saw your MAGA rallies.
You don't want us to do it, fine, I agree. You go first and show us how it's done.
This anti-American, Anti-Western hatred started much earlier than Trump. We are seeing cult behavior. Global warming, pro-abortion, LGB, the over educated, open borders, dem socialist groups are supporting the Palestinian terrorists. Much of the left and a majority of the young act as a close-minded, tribal cult. This feels like 1930s Europe, except there is no USA waiting in the wings to save the world.
This right here. No one cares about the vitriol directed at a mostly working class, middle class fusion of people, not at ALL equating the two happenings. Just the motivations behind the happenings and how no one and I mean, no one stood up and said maybe laughing at and denigrating our fellow Americans is not a great idea. I am with Israel in this fight, no matter how others feel about me. Right is right all the time.
Bari - because I respect you so much and admire your writing so much, it was literally painful for me to watch you ignore what has happened in our country for the last year. You seem to be a truly good person, but when I see you complain about a "lie of omission" which you predict will come from the mainstream media - I can't help but wonder if the Free Press has not done the same over the last year. You guys had nothing to say when the government was weaponized against the American people - we got articles about whether cell phones were bad or comments on dating trends. I don't think the weaponized justice department mattered to you because it was happening to people you didn't care about. When our borders were open and social services were collapsing and fentanyl was killing 100,000 per year people you said little because it was happening in red states or to people who didn't matter. The Free Press didn't seem to care. But here's the thing - I have heard that between 7 - 10 million people have crossed the border in the last 2 years. If any of those (I'm sure mostly good and decent people) crossed the border were part of groups that meant us harm then what?
And most of us here have watched as the House committee hosted whistleblowers who risked everything - their futures, their families, possibly even their freedom - to tell the American people what was going on with the Biden selling influence to countries that don't like us - you squandered the opportunity to make it matter because it was not a narrative you wanted to report on. If a country has sold influence and received money through shell companies from countries that mean us harm, then can they not hold proof of that bribery over the head of the president of the Unite States? If the president is compromised then how does that affect his decision making - because honestly it does not seem that anything he has done since taking office has been in the interest of the American people. If it turns out next week or next month that his influence peddling included taking money from people connected to Iran or Quatar (I don't know if it did but I believe they have barely scratched the surface of what the Bidens have done) - will it matter to you if that has affected his policies in the Middle East? The truth stands on it's own - it does not lean left or right. And if the media cannot report on the truth then I just don't know how we can be a united people as everyone sees a different truth. I mean no disrespect - but this is just my small and unimportant view from someone who admires you greatly and thinks the Free Press can be a huge force for good in the world.
Well said T..
Everybody who cast a ballot for Biden bears responsibility for this.
All 81 million ? !
Yes. It pains me to say it, but yes. I have heard it said that elections have consequences. And it could get worse. A proxy war in Ukraine and billions in treasury spent there. A live war with an real ally in the mid-east. China pushing the Phillipines. We are being baited and contrary to what JBs promises nary an adult to be found.to handle matters.
This. Exactly. The PRO-crime democRAT left has, by and large, willfully ignored the antics of BLM/Auntieflo and the rest of the ill-mannered children who have had temper tantrums all over this country since Bad Orange Man. Throw in the incompetence of leftist politicians in the majority of metropolitan areas and what did you expect?
All these old parables have strong roots in truth; "when they came for me, there was no one left to speak up". Those words ring even more true today.
"First they came for the sane, rational people, and I did not speak out, because I was not a sane, rational person."
"Then they came for the left-wing Jews, and I flipped the freak out, because that was me!"
I guess we all have hate at our doorstep in different ways... but it is in no way limited to liberals.
I think it's a little different. Trump is someone who earns hatred by how he acts. The people who love Trump are the same as the people on the left who hate him. They are unthinking people who think this man can solve all the world's ills. The Trump fringe AND the left are sadly two sides of the same coin. They are unthinking people led by ideology and devoid of reason or grasp of reality. Hatred of Jews is a thousand-year problem where hatred of Trump is easy to come by with how he is as a leader and a person. Conflating the two does not help the cause of defeating the woke.
trump got 71 million votes
I disagree. One of those sides hates "colonizers" aka The United States and Israel and Western government. The other side is very protective of all of the above. Being a huge fan FOR your country vs being for the destruction of your country and way of life are 2 ENTIRELY different things. They aren't even the same coin.
I think the people love Trump more than the country. It is equally dangerous when people love either an ideology or person. People think Trump can do everything and he can't. Plus he was an average President. He couldn't get much through Congress and fell into every trap laid for him. I voted for him twice but he is not fit for the troubles ahead of us
I think what you think is love towards the person is love for the voice. He says the things many people feel. Not all of it, of course. He's funny, though as you know, his jokes were reported as statements or lies. I prefer DeSantis and Ramaswamy, but I think the way I watched my grandparents be belittled got to me. They had no college degree, but they worked hard so their grandchildren would. I will vote for anyone but a Democrat. They won't open their eyes. That scares me.
I like Ramaswamy too but I do not think he is ready to be president. My hope is if there is a Republican victory he gets a post.
He'd be a breath of fresh air somewhere in there, for sure. Yeah, feels like he's a bit obnoxious, but if he could just tone it down and grab a little experience, I think he'd be great. His 10 truths. I love them
I think he has good values. The obnoxiousness doesn't bother me.
Trump is bad but Democrats are far worse but Trump is a big spender and the economic storm is still coming and it's impossible for him to unite the country. That is why I am against him
Do you believe the country can be reunited? I do, but it will take strong government to say no, absolutely not, to the rot that has taken root in society, pitting us all as oppressed or oppressor and so on and so forth. Yes, too much money. Way too much. However, do you not feel that without the pandemic, that money would have been easily repaid? I'm not an expert on economics, so I don't know. Who do you believe can unite the country, truly? I'd love to see it.
I do believe it's possible, but I don't think that Trump is the band can do it. He's too much of a child to lead. He had his opportunity and he was the same big baby that he was before, and he's a bigger one now
I just asked who you thought could do it. I don't respond well to name-calling in a discussion, not towards voters or candidates. It's childish.
I am sorry about that. Let me retry again. Trump can't as he does not have the personality to lead. I don't see anyone who can. DeSantis is too young. Haley does too many talking points. Time will tell. Do you have anyone you enjoy?
I really like Ramaswamy, but he is too inexperienced, maybe. I want to like Rfk, Jr. There are maybe 3 of his beliefs that make him a turn off. I like DeSantis, but he's not gonna bring anyone together, right? He will be as divisive as Trump. I'm not a fan of Haley because she was poor a few short years ago, got into the military complex and is very rich now. Christie? Nooooo. So, blech. Maybe I'll sit it out, maybe I'll write my own name. Nah, I'll vote. But, we don't have the best choices. We never do. It's always about who will do the least amount of damage, isn't it? Sad.
"Unthinking people..." my arse. This thinking person understands that no one can solve all the world's ills (much as I might wish for a white knight). As you have no idea why people like Trump I assume the same is true of your assessment of why people hate Trump. I am bone weary of those who see themselves as above the fray. All of them are deadweight waiting to sed which way the wind blows. Pick a lane.
EVERYONE loved Trump when he was just another Rich Guy and TV star; it wasn't until he took on "WithHer" that he became Public Enemy Number One to the leftist half of the country.
I was going to respond, "complete and utter bilgewater." Until your last sentence self-identified as such. Trump supporters and TDSers could not have more different worldviews.
You missed the vast difference between the тАЬTrump fringeтАЭ and the left. The politicized justice system punitively punishes the one for misdemeanors but letтАЩs off blame free the other for burning down cities. So in that sense Jew hatred and TDS can be conflated. They are both connected through being unfairly persecuted.
Hatred is a destructive force for the hater and the hated, implying someone тАЬearnsтАЭ it, implicitly excuses it. So do tell us what heinous deeds Trump carried out that he earned hatred?
I also disagree. In my life I have never seen hatred for one individual, man or woman, equal to the left's hatred for Trump.
All because he pierced the veil of their private, Washington holier-than-thou club.
I agree it is best not to conflate TDS with the shocking denial of basic facts and dismissiveness regarding the atrocities in Israel.
One common theme, however, is the unprecedented discarding of journalistic principles in the US since Trump's 2016 victory.
Your statements: "Trump is someone who earns hatred by how he acts. The people who love Trump are the same as the people on the left who hate him. They are unthinking people who think this man can solve all the world's ills."
Well, Trump certainly had Iran pegged more accurately than Biden's state department, who now appears to have been heavily influenced - if not infiltrated or even compromised - by Iran. Biden also has been naive, feckless, and incompetent more generally, including regarding China.
But the bigger story is the horrendous state of mainstream journalism in the US.
The press have great power - including the power to make large segments of the population believe lies.
Mainstream media consumed by a vast swath of the public, have done their best to silence Trump and substitute a caricature. The public at large consumes a curated caricature created by the mainstream press. A standard technique has been to selectively edit video, the most obvious example being the editing out of Trump's condemnation of Nazis and white supremacists at Charlottesville. There are still a large percent of voters who believe he never condemned those extremists. And in one of the debates in 2020, the moderator asked him why he never condemned the nazis and white supremacists - a supposedly neutral moderator asking a question containing a long debunked defamatory lie as a premise of the question. If I believed that lie, I would be just as upset at Trump as those who do believe it.
Another technique is to play video of Trump - but not audio - while pundits put words in his mouth.
The unfairness to Trump isn't the point, but rather the sorry state of journalism in the US.
You would expect this kind of filth in campaign ads, and partisan commentary, but in many mainstream sources, straight reporting is almost nonexistent. The whole concept of printing only provable facts and avoiding editorializing seems alien to present day so-called journalists.
Without Twitter under Elon, Substack, and Rumble, it would be much, much worse - with no one holding the mainstream press and US government to account. I fear that without the pressure brought by these three entities, the censorship of opposing views and inconvenient facts would be much worse by now - and the current high levels of incompetence and corruption, makes an adversarial (and professional) press more important than ever.
Matt Taibbi has an article today you should take a look at.
In the aftermath of the 2016 presidential election, some people would ask me how I voted. I replied that I reviewed the candidates' policy platforms and agendas and voted for the policies I most agreed with.
Everyone just assumed that meant Hillary.
I'm a thinking person. I'm also a perceiving person. What you just wrote strongly implies you lack the ability to see. You are describing processes in your head, and of course proportional geometry has an esthetic appeal. But it rarely if ever comes close to describing human realities.
I don't think Trump can solve all the world's ills. I simply think he states clearly obvious truths in a world which denies them, and took common sense measures in support of the well being of the nation he was chosen to lead. And it turns out just trying is enough for prosperity and peace. Joe Biden is not trying. He is allowing to be done whatever the people running and funding him want done, which certainly seems to include the very profitable business of war.
Joe Biden could literally take a dump on the White House lawn and people would figure out how to rationalize it. No: he's a doddering corrupt fool, and this undeniable truth needs to be stated without equivocation.
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Calling Trump supporters "unthinking" twice in the same post still doesn't a) make it true or b) make you a superordinate thinker. They are people who lived thru a tenure that put America first, energy independence, border security, law enforcement, tax relief, jobs, support for agriculture, fair trade deals, military strengthening and peace with hostile nations at the forefront of his agenda. This country did a 180 in record time and much of the world has responded accordingly.
How often do you drink the Orange kook aid? Thanks for proving my point.
Another shortcut to thinking.
All you did was repeat talking points. I don't see any thinking in your post. Trump as an average president who did things that any average GOP president could have done. Your hero worship is noted.
Cheney would be more to your liking? Haley? Pence? Christie?
Kind of like your average DNC president? Tell why they are so much better now?
Is your life better today than it was under Trump?
Is the world a safer place today than under Trump?
Exactly. My talking points are just that- but in the true sense of the phrase. Not the new, hijacked nomenclature where itтАЩs just political rhetoric with no sincerity. We LIVED and EXPERIENCED all those things. But boo-hoo, heтАЩs boorish and petulant.
Few people are going to reply to you seriously after you categorically label sixty million people as "unthinking". I call that projection.
I voted for him so I wasn't calling myself unthinking, my comments are toward the people who love the man and think he can solve all the problems of the world. And yes, I am calling them unthinking.
Gotcha. Unthinking = disagreeing with Mr Loveland.
Bless your heart.
No, Thinking is telling me why Trump is going to solve everything. I need reasons not Trump is going solve everthing when he didn't do much in the four years he had.
Pretty high bar, that. If I knew how I'd be in a far, far higher pay grade. What I do know is why. I also know that no one on the left and few of those of the TDS right so much as acknowledge a problem.
He did a lot in four years. I will always wonder what he could have accomplished with a Republican Congress that supported him in those first two years. Instead that Congress clutched its pearls and tightened its spincter in opposition. The only reason the GOP exists today is because of those people you demean as unthinking.
Could have done, *but. And you spelled America wrong.
Spell check must have missed it, thanks for pointing it out.
I would disagree. The left wants to own your life and the right wants government out of their lives. Difference in a lot of ways is funding from world order types like Soros and the really avid Trump supporters are not financially supported from outside like the left. The left can afford to play the game better based on money and a distorted sense of what is criminal anymore, as they get to use violence.
My point with Trump is that he is the only person who can lose to Biden. You need a person who has to keep the focus on Biden and his failures, and Trump always has to be the center of attention. He was an average President who did nothing to solve the long-term fiscal problems and failed miserably during the Pandemic. He started this inflation with reckless spending, and let us not forget how he lost those two GA seats being a crybaby that led to 2 years of democratic spending. He isn't a man for the times. Have a good day.
Failed miserably during the pandemic? He closed the borders at the onset and was accused of being a xenophobe when drunk Nancy was telling people to go out and there wasn't anything to worry about. He offered aid to cities from Seattle to NY that thought they knew better and refused it. Trump definitely could have done better, in retrospect, his biggest oversight was allowing Fauci to continue, but more people died from the China Virus during Joetato's administration than the Bad Orange Man. You can have your own opinion, but you can't have your own facts.
How about the Trillions he printed and spent? And his awful communication skills? And letting Fauci run the show wasn't a trifiling thing. But thanks for proving my point about the unthinking love for the man.
Deflect much? I specifically replied to your comment about the China Virus failure.
You aren't anywhere near as smart or witty as you think you are, but thanks for putting it in writing for everyone to see.
No deflecting. The inflation we have now is due to his policies during it. And you are so right, I am not in your league in loving Trump. We all need something to aspire towards and working at gaining your intelligence is a worthwhile goal.
Put a hundred monkeys in front of a keyboard and eventually you'll get War and Peace. Put a keyboard in front of one monkey and you only get Strabo's Newsletter...
Totally agree. I wish more people would get behind Nikki Haley. Head to head against Biden she beats him by 5 points in most polls.
Your thesis is flawed because you, too, are in the grip of Trump derangement. Trump has many flaws and the notion that his supporters are in the throes of some sort of Mussolini complex is childish nonsense. The vast majority of us wish he wasn't as petulant and churlish but have the wit to distinguish policy from personality. You seem to forget the hatred and similar calumnies that the left fomented against President Reagan and, to a lesser extent, Bush Jr. It's in their playbook. The left always demonizes its opponents, accuses them of stupidity and war mongering and, more lately "racism." It's just what they do and you've fallen victim to their trap.
I can agree that the Left has demonized Trump, but so has a sizeable segment of the GOP itself. 'Never Trumpers' in numbers pale against the MAGA millions of his base, but they make enough noise to be derided as Republicans in Name Only.
I am one of the few people who do not either love the guy or hate the guy. I think he is a terrible manager who did what any average GOP President would do. The only reason he was any good was because Obama was really bad. He passed tax reform and removed regulations that the Obama team put on. The rest was the soap opera that surrounded him. I will give that the Russia hoax was a joke, and the media was as bad as ever. But the point is that Trump the person is an ego maniac who wants people around him to kiss his ass. He's a big crybaby. We will need a great leader to unite the country as we deal with foreign problems and the coming economic calamity. He isn't the man for the job. Finally, he is the only person who can lose to Biden. If he runs, the election is about him, not Biden.
It's the nature of the job. Only extreme narcissists believe they are qualified to be the "leader of the free world."
All of them are self-aggrandizing fools and terrible "managers."
I voted for Trump. What I saw was a fighter. Sure he had many faults but he loved America. He loved this country. Sure he used it to his advantage. But he was a businessman not a politician. The problem was the corruption in our government had become so bad anyone was better that the status quo. But he was a fighter too! Like IтАЩve said, the deep state was DEEP. One thing is true, he knows the enemy now. Can he be elected now? DonтАЩt know but a lot of people will vote for him. This country has gone down a rabbit hole and has been since Obummer. Can we recover ? I hope so but itтАЩs a tossup. I just want to win!
I think it was before Obama though.
It wasn't only that he was the antidote to Obama. His immigration policy and his opposition to China on trade was spot on, as well. Trump is an egomaniac and chaotic manager - no argument there. But his policies are correct and the chaos that Biden has unleashed is the result of him undoing everything Trump did. So unless we can get a GOP candidate who is more temperate but follows Trump's policies, Trump remains the only option. And the notion that he would lose to Biden is either laughable or America has completely lost its mind and is beyond redemption.
Do you mean the tariffs he put on without an act of Congress? And I agree that Desantis or Haley have yet to punch through. This election will be a Trump vs. Biden vs. a third choice. My problem with Trump is that he can't forge a consensus. He is so repellant to so many that that becomes the issue, not China, the debt ( which I saw was missing in your praise of him; he spends like a drunken sailor), and cultural rot. Will I vote for him? Yes. But is he the man for the moment? Hell no. He is the only option to prove your point that we as a nation are beyond redemption.
I believe that if you take out of the equation the trillions he had to spend to counteract the idiotic lockdowns of the mostly Democrat governors (our Constitution does require compensation for takings), his spending was not out of control. And, moreover, I have a nostrum for the damage wrought by the Red Chinese fiends. Cancel our debt to them as reparations for the lives lost and trillions of damage caused.
The President can enact tariffs up to 50% without congressional approval. It is in a law passed in 1934.
Of course the there are extremists on all sides. There always are. The important question is numbers and proclivity to violence. Those on Jan 6 who were violent deserve to be criminally punished. But how many committed acts of violence. And how many Trump voters called for those who broke the law to be punished. Compare that with all the urban riots and the hatred we have seen the past two weeks. And the use of the mega maga extremist label to smear MILLIONS of Americans ( such smearing coming from Biden, his press secretary, members of congress, the media etc and directed at among others parents who dare to challenge the divisiveness that is the hallmark of the DEI agenda found in thousands of schools). If Trump disappeared tomorrow the vitriol towards DeSantis and Haley etc would be on full display. And the DOJ would continue to exercise its "prosecutorial discreton" to go after its enemies on a purely political basis. This is about way more than Trump.
I agree except about Haley. Haley, Pence or Christie would play fine with the career bureaucrats in the executive branch who are calling the shots.
95% of everyone I know voted for Trump and I would not call any of them MAGA's.
Never have I encountered any of them smearing anyone on the left.
You've been watching too much MSNBC.
You missed the point. The MSM likes to call everyone maga because it fits their narrative.
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Taibbi posts today that the Censorship Industrial Complex is alive and well, being funded by the government. So we donтАЩt just have gulags, we have thought police.
I saw that. Good article.
I disagree. Listen to the democrat Indian billionaire Bari cited a day or two ago. On his podcast, All In, he said that he was changing his mind, leaning right. He said it was wrong to hate the messenger, so kill the message. He said Trump go a lot of things right. America shot inself in the foot over Orange Man Bad. Now look at the situation we are in. I have heard similar versions of this grudging admission from others on the left. I donтАЩt think Trump supporters like him because of his tweets and brash demeanor. They overlook them because what he was accomplishing was more important.
Now we have hair sniffing bumbling fool snoozing us into WWIII. Bring back the tweets!
When it comes to foreign policy Trump administration was much better than previous administrations. No new wars, at the very least a plan to leave Afghanistan, Abraham Accord.
This administration: I donтАЩt Biden has
Sent too early:
I donтАЩt think Biden has ever sat back and said тАЬyou know maybe we shouldnтАЩt send troopsтАЭ
HeтАЩs a neocon. If he gets a second term we will be in a new conflict somewhere. All one can hope is it will not be WWIII
I agree. And, I don't think that everyone who voted for Trump "loved" him as Albert said. Personally, I have never been in love with a politician. Many people voted for Trump because his policies were more sane - not because they wanted him over to dinner. But, remember how he was called Anti-semitic? That made no sense. I liked that he spoke against Santucary cities in 2016 and against transing children - although he became a little too silent about GI in 2020. Biden celebrated it.
At this point, DeSantis is the man for the job IMO. I don't think TheFP has even mentioned his Navy Jag background or how he has flown Americans out of Israel. If I've missed it I apologize as the info has been coming fast and furious. And, look what a great job he has done as Governor of Florida. Haley doesn't care about what is happening with the culture. She wants to focus on reading and never mind if the kids are groomed in the process. I also don't see that she did anything impressive as UN ambassador. The UN is a little sus.
Truth! You can be sure that I voted for him because of his policies not because I loved him! We all knew his personality and reputation way before he ran for President...everyone did! My husband has worked in corporate banking for over 25 years. He used to say that the way Trump spoke and handled things was exactly the way he heard things handled in meetings, on conference calls etc. in corporate America. The DemтАЩs and media knew it...they were just out to destroy him bc his policies were working. I tell you this....my husband and I surely miss the extra money we had when he was President.
I had been familiar with his personality and reputation for decades, which is why I couldn't vote for him (or for Hillary) in 2016.
But between the success of his policies and the fact that Democrats had abundantly demonstrated that they were too bat shit crazy to be trusted with *any* position of responsibility, I had to hold my nose and vote for him in 2020.
But, I should clarify that if Trump is the candidate then IтАЩll hold my nose and vote for him.
I probably won't this time. After seeing what the Left did last time Trump was elected, I don't want to see a repeat.
I will probably vote third-party, which is what I had done in every election from 2004 to 2016. It is past time that we had a new party emerge to represent the rapidly growing group of centrists who have been left behind in the rush to extremism.
I understand and that is a dilemma for me. If he is the nominee, IтАЩll be tempted to vote third party because it exhausts me to think of what the Left will do to him the second time around. Ugh! The hatred was palpable. One of the issues that is very important to me is to have a President that is strong on national security so I would only consider voting third party if that is an integral part of their platform.
I think many people shared your sentiment. Honestly, for the past few years, I started tiring of him. This time around, I prefer DeSantis...I think we need someone younger. I actually like some of RFK JrтАЩs positions, too.
All that behavior was OKтАжwhen he was a NYC democrat doling out campaign contributions to democrats
But you still want the government programs that are running up the debt to astronomical levels? I don't know what you are talking about with selling sovereignty? But I do know we need to change how we spend money and Trump failed miserably on that arena.
But the cost of them, is a drop in the bucket compared to the social spending on social security Medicare and Medicaid, and in the huge growing cost of the interest on the debt. We're in big trouble. And I hear nothing coming from Trump on how to solve it
The vast, hypocritical difference in the treatment of the J6 vs BLM crowds by our own government can not be overstated.
yup and widespread outburst of violence and death were openly supported by the democratic party and the media but now the beast is lose and none of no what to do
Right. Because no non-J6 were arrested/adjudicated.
Zero.
dont you have a demonstration ( peaceful protest) to go to
If you had 9,487 apples
And 485 were rotten
Would you have "mostly good" apples?
The Davos overlay of a worldwide CCP style surveillance system is well underway. All perps and totalitarians attempt to silence free speech and opinion. What good is a victim who will not be victimized? Again!! This is A-Bomb 20th Century retro. We've entered a new age and it requires a new vision. The criminals have to subvert it to maintain their grift. The leap in tech/AI and communications made the central banking/D.C. numbered account whorehouse transparent to reality. Reality? Simple. The American citizen is tired of being battered and looted, the perp's don't want to stop, so the citizen, free speech, thought and the American national dialogue must be criminalized. Do we still not understand that Julian Assange is an object lesson?
You are only defeated if you allow yourself to be convinced you are. There is a psyop in place to do that very thing. Why the leap in horror? It's election time!! The kangaroo court Trump persecution continues apace. Now saber rattling and the classic Orwellian silence the citizen with threats of danger and war. Add the focused corporate/bureaucratic surveillance state suppression of free speech and the well oiled DEI/MSM cancellation machine. Voila!! The perfect witches brew for Halloween!! --- Don't think your dangerous to the perps? Then, what part of the Judeo-Christian ethos and the Bill of Rights don't you understand?
The American Republic, the Constitution and the CITIZEN are the only engine's of survival!
---pardon the typo--should be "you're dangerous"---
This! American gulags.
What gulags? J6'ers were arrested, tried, and either convicted or exonerated. It took too long to bring them to trial in some cases, but that's a problem with the entire criminal justice system . . . non J6 defendants wait years in county lockups to get before a judge. There is no "American gulag."
So u believe that a sentence of 14 years in prison for AIMING, not even shooting, pepper spray at police is blind justice? Ha.
Since I did not say that, I will take your comment for the irrelevancy it is.
Gulag was obvious hyperbole, hence deserving no reply from NC. But ur comment to her reveals complete ignorance of the treatment of the J6 defendants. Mark Jackson, charged with second degree murder in the shooting death of David Dorn during the BLM riots, got a 15 year prison sentence in his plea deal. Justice served again.
To the contrary: I am quite familiar with the sentences handed out in J6. Some were appropriate, some were ridiculous over-sentencing. As for "American Gulag," it was not "obvious hyperbole." Many commenters on this forum believe this nation a political hellhole filled with the jackbooted thugs of the Deep State, and so gulag fits right in with that mindset. I don't remotely believe America is a gulag.
And how long were J 6 defendants kept in prison, uncharged ? Justice delayed is justice denied. We have a system of unequal justice under the law now in this country. I stand by my use of тАЬgulagтАЭ
Glad to hear you are aware of the blatant abuse. It's not as clear cut as your original statement of "either convicted or exonerated". Quite the opposite.
We agree, TPR. If I'd gone on at length, I would have made it clear that while those arrested were either convicted or exonerated--because it's true--too many were abused by a system that routinely abuses the accused. The J6 gang got a taste of what life is every day for millions locked into dangerous county jails for years without trial, with lousy public defense lawyers, and overcharged for minor offenses. It's not right for the J6ers, it's not right for others.
But I kept it short, so had to leave all that out. We agree on the abuse. Even on the arrest side, too many were charged with "trespassing" when they didn't go into the House at all. That's equally wrong.
American gulags....wow....telling on yourself, NCMaureen
Right. No non J6 people were arrested/adjudicated.
Zero.
With the FBI mincing about, arresting with massive SWAT teams of bellowing buffoons innocent old men and Catholics in a pathetic reenactment of the DDR's Stasi.
Odd they haven't released more footage, don't you think?
the most popular tv journalist of all time was summarily fired as soon as he started showing any of that
The phone videos I've seen of their arrests of unresisting people in front of their children are damning enough.
The guards opening the doors and leading organized tours thru the Capitol is exactly what I expect a breach to look like.
True. Trump Derangement Syndrome is the root cause of all this madness.
Does everything have to circle back to Trump?!
"Does everything have to circle back to Trump?!"
I sure hope so. IтАЩm missing an economy that was growing at 6.3%, an inflation rate of 1.4%, $2.39 a gallon gasolineтАжthe absence of land wars in eastern Europe and the Middle East, the happy voices of 500,000 Ukrainians and over a thousand Israelis that have since lost their lives because of feckless Biden/Obama policiesтАж and a time when our president cared more about the sanctity of our borders than those of foreign countries.
Trump unleashed will be a scary thing. Think January 6th without sensible, cool-headed individuals. I do not think another Trump presidency will be a good thing.
"Trump unleashed will be a scary thing"
I recall hearing the same chicken little hysteria when he ran against Hillary and throughout his entire presidency, yet his accomplishments belie the histrionics. Meanwhile, after less than 3 years of the peace and prosperity he gave us people can't afford to buy food and we're on the verge of WWIII. If that doesn't give you nightmares I'm sure another Trump presidency won't affect your sleep.
Yes. It always circles back to something. And, in our era, it all circles back to Trump and Hillary and the undeclared war between them. Trump called bullshit on everything, loud, clear and in your face. Hillary Clinton, in my opinion, has done more damage covertly and behind the scenes than any figure in history, and I think time will bear that out.
Not the root cause, because the Left was what it is before Trump. Trump support was the backlash against that.
I agree. Trump derangement syndrome works on both sides. One is those with so much hate they can't see how everything the democrats do is blamed on him and he is innocent of much of what he is accused of. The other side are the Trump lovers that can't see beyond wanting to have another rematch with Trump vs Biden. They see Trump as our savior and no one else can do it.
Here is an article I wrote with my view of the subject.
https://mikemyhre.substack.com/p/coming-soon?utm_source=profile&utm_medium=reader2
It is hardly that simple and to portray it that way is just more elitism - a representation that you in your selfless and infinite wisdom can assess what is wrong with 170,000,000 of your peers. Ugh.
Before he was elected, there were many possibilities. Now it is clear that what I claim is true. Did you read my article?
Your response was typical for a propaganda believer. You rejected it with an insult (elitism) and claimed that a lot of other people believe the same is reason enough to prove your point. You didn't prove anything though, just name calling and 'I am not the only one' comments.
I did not read your article as I found your tone in the comment off-putting. I disdain elitism and I stand by my comment.
You are self censoring because what you currently 'know' can not be challenged.
Elitism - "The belief that certain persons or members of certain groups deserve favored treatment by virtue of their superiority, as in intelligence, social standing, or wealth."
I never claimed one people to be better than another. I explained an error in thinking that listening to 'the other side' would solve. You have been programmed to ignore other thoughts that might challenge what you currently believe and apparently feel righteous about it. That makes you the Elitist.
Since it is not obvious to you I find your premises faulty, in all of your commentary including this one, so I am not interested in your conclusions.
You are embarrassing yourself.
Hardly.
RMac
No. This madness has existed for decades. TDS is a symptom of the madness. It is not the cause. Nor is Trump the solution. The madness will continue after Trump is gone so long as universities are run by people who do not value Knowledge, Reason and Fairness. Leftists believe that the ends justify the means. This is why the justice system has been politicized.
This madness has existed for thousands of years, but I suggest this level of madness has not existed before. Social media carries thoughts on the wind with the speed of light and with no filter. The phenomena of Trump and social media woke up a large segment of working class society quietly going about their day-to-day following the rules, working hard for a living and caring for their families under the thumb of corporations and governments. The creep by those corporations and governments taking more and more and more for themselves insipidly brewed under the surface. Trump awakened that beast (later termed the bag of deplorables), and the powers that be became afraid of their veracity. In turn, they used their powers to wake up and mobilize the beast underneath, those at the very bottom and on the fringes (known as the oppressed and marginalized), to turn against their neighbors in righteous indignation of their oppression, so they can overlook the real monster (the elites, whoever they are and become). This is the Game. And, it goes on and on. So, that is the question. How do we stop this Game?
I think those hard-working people just recognized in Trump someone willing to speak for them. An anti-elite if you will.
These hard-working people--like you, I use that term with respect, not as derision--need ta better spokesman for their ills. Trump's mouth and demeanor get in the way of his message all the time.
I tend to agree, plus I think all of this is starting to wear on him..My hope is that he drops out and Pompeo steps in. But I cannot support Haley, Pence or Christie. I like both Scott and Ramaswamy but do not think they are ready yet.
Kamala? Pence? Newsom? Gag. There's a critical lack of bench depth in both parties, isn't there? This is why we're suffering Round 2: Old Guy Boogaloo. Neither party has a varsity that can step in when the quarterback has lost it.
True.
Exactly right. He is the Huey P. Long of our time. If you aren't familiar, Huey P. Long was a politician from 1930's Louisiana whose Gubernatorial campaign was going nowhere until he decided to start talking to the voters that worked the fields and oil rigs for subsistence wages. Voters that the machine politicians ignored completely. He spoke to them in the same way they spoke to each other and addressed directly the problems they endured. He was elected handily to Governor and later US Senator. FDR once said he was the only politician he was ever afraid of. He ran against FDR in the 1936 election and was assassinated. The assassin was conveniently shot and killed at the scene. The current assassination attempt is bloodless but with the same objective. The more things change, the more they stay the same.
I am from.down South. I know who Huey P. Long was. I sometimes wish Louisiana's Senator Kennedy would run now.
I would vote for him in a heartbeat. He is a true statesman. Let's start a "Draft Kennedy (the right one)" movement.
Insidiously? rather than insipidly? Good post.
Oy, my bad, lol. Both?
Inspid: lacking qualities that excite, stimulate, or interest; dull. Not exciting or interesting; dull; lifeless.
Insidious: proceeding in a gradual, subtle way, but with harmful effects.
Insidiousness masquerading as insipidness maybe.
I believe that Trump was installed by the forces behind the Democratic party to make it easy for a Democratic win no matter who the candidate is.
https://mikemyhre.substack.com/p/coming-soon?utm_source=profile&utm_medium=reader2
I think that may be true about the 2016 election. I always found Comey's HRC announcement puzzling. Now I think they called her in for a come to Jesus and she refused their demands so they made the
announcement. She still thinks the election was stolen from her. The problem was they overestimated their ability to control Trump. The real constitutional crisis, and it is a huge one, is the control of government by the career bureaucrats in the executive branch. They no longer are loyal to, much less allegiant to, a duly elected president. Any president, but the one now is exceedingly malleable. But that is I think why the get Trump gloves are off. He has their number and must be stopped at all costs and by any means. The republic teeters.
Again, baseless claims. You are claiming what you think someone else thinks as evidence.
I think you are proving the other side of TDS (trust in Trump as the savior) in a 'Good cop/bad cop' theater.
Yes, the MAGA "Trump can do no wrong" cultists are as batshit crazy as the TDS Never-Trumpers. Trump was a good president, better than I thought he would be. He was unfairly treated by the media from the git-go. He was also ridiculously petty and often behaved with the unrestrained ego of a toddler. All those things can be true.
Agreed
That is incomprehensible.
Yes. If Trump gets back in, round 2 is gonna be a bare knuckles brawl.
If Trump wins-- I'll be moving out of this country. With his unfiltered anger, his arrogance, his insanity, AND his wanting revenge, he will create such chaos and possibly violence.
Can't blame him for wanting revenge. He has been attacked relentlessly by the left since before he even took office. You and Cher can move in together lol.
I have issues with her, as well. :-)
I agree he was attacked unreasonably when he was in office. But-- he is the type to take down the country in order to seek revenge. I'm not terribly fond of Biden either.
Looks like we will have a horrible choice again doesnтАЩt it?
Yes. Ugh!
As opposed to the chaos and violence now?
We all know Trump's temperament. Without guardrails, the guy will be inciting civil war here.
1) that is non-responsive. 2) sounds like you are doing the inciting to me.
Trump has some good points but surely you do understand his arrogance and recklessness. Even people who like him can see that.
Double secret probation chaos and violence!
Rather than the root cause, I would say TDS is the tool power hungry Democrat elites used to gain much power and turn America into a madhouse (where anti-Semitism is acceptable).
Alas, what is one to do if one sees Trump for the abomination that he is while deploring the Democrats too? Poor me, I have TDS and BDS (Biden Derangement Syndrome) at the same time :-(
When no solutions to problems-many of which were of their own making-were offered, fearing Trump or any other Republican in line to be anointed the newest Hitler became their strategy for winning the minds of voters. Hoping that Americans would prefer the party led by a corrupt senile puppet infested with neocon insiders who have a history of repeated foreign policy failures, regime changing, and flattening the economy and reputation of the US and other western nations, over the party of тАЬdomestic terrorismтАЭ.
With all the talk of, Russia, China, Iran etc. being existential threats no one seems to be paying attention to the biggest threat to Americans, our government.
Mark R...I totally agree with all your comments here ...TDS opened the progressive's Pandora Box & they've been milking ever since
If you think left wing anti semitism is a recent phenomenon, you haven't been paying attention.
That is true but it was tampeddown pretty well. I think it is naive to not see the connection, both here and abroad, with the get Trump at any cost and by any means crowd, with get Israel, or perhaps more accurately, get Jews.
Especially given that the Nazis were demonstrably of the left - hence National Socialist German Workers Party.
Whoa - the Nazis were NOT on the left. Socialism in the early 20th century was NOT comparable to the socialist mentality we encounter on college campuses in the US - the German Communists were rooted out of German politics by the Nazis and were special targets of the SA.
Joseph Kennedy and loads of British aristocrats, along with Henry Ford, weтАЩre ardent admirers of HitlerтАЩs тАЬsocialismтАЭ, and they were hardly on the leftтАж
Bruce is correct, Timothy. What we call the Nazi party was founded by socialist Anton Drexler, who chaired that party until Hitler took over. He even wrote a book extolling socialism and communism. Hitler first came into contact with the party following a lecture on how to get rid of capitalism. The Nazi Party's program included a variety of socialism demands, and they even addressed each other as "comrade" initially. At a certain point they distanced themselves from their Marxist allies because they wanted to focus strictly on the German people rather than a global struggle. So, yes, Fascism's roots are compellingly left, not right. Liberal Americans worry incessantly about the "Far Right", but it's historically the Far Left that takes your freedoms, punishes disbelievers and murders millions, including their gullible supporters, while amassing wealth and power for an elite few.
Who cares how a party started out? The US Democratic Party supported slavery, until it didn't. Democrats favored free speech, until they didn't. The Nazis were a perfect example of fascism in their partnership with industry.
Yup, false flags work almost every time. The woke 'left' is in fact the tool of the globalist plutocratic elite who seek to divide and rule by fragmenting the working class. Real commies see this, just as they saw Nazism as the exact opposite of what they were trying to do in the USSR.
Just curious - what's a "real commie" and what other kinds of "commies" exist? How does one tell the difference?
A real commie is someone who still adheres to the teachings of Marx and Lenin. But we often hear righties say that the woke/progressives are commies whereas the former see the latter as the spoiled children of the rich and the bourgeoisie. One tells the difference by listening to what they say and observing what they do.
Apologies. I left out Hillary Revenge Syndrome.
Correct itтАЩs an indicator not the root cause.
Everybody who believes in the Constitution is liberal. We are a liberal nation. Trump was and is a populist. Populism.has long cropped up to course correct. Trump's correction was just derailed by members of both parties and the career bureaucrats in the executive agencies who no longer make an pretense of allegiance to a duly elected president. The correction needs to be made, whether by Trump or another populist.