Politics

A lot of hay has been made about the viability of Democratic presidential hopefuls deciding to or to not go on a Fox News town hall-style event. One of the fundamental issues with doing...

Republicans continue to fret that Donald Trump is in trouble in the Rust Belt states that gave him the razor-thin margins to take the Electoral College in 2016. Trump is racking up the Air...

Remember those two dreaded words? after the intense backlash to Trump’s presidency with the Women’s march, in the months that followed, as atrocity after atrocity piled up, and daily life seemed to devolve into one long, endless episode of “One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest,” many people feared that the constant, daily wear and tear of life under an insane president would numb the outrage and protest, that people would just give up and tune out. Well, it didn’t work out that way. Instead of being beaten down by the daily nonsense and insanity, the resistance used it as a motivating tool to stoke the fires. Each new outrage became the next cause celebre, one more voter to register, one more e-mail to send, one more phone call to make, one more district office to take over, always one more thing to do. And it turned the tide in 2018, giving the democrats the power to not only tp keep those offenses front and center, but to expose the underpinnings of greed and corruption behind them. And those successes have only served to embolden the masses, Democratic intensity is at this point as strong going into 2020 as it was going into 2018. But what about on the other side, what about morale among Trump supporters? I’m not talking about the hard core Trump base, nothing is going to shake their misbegotten faith in Glorious Bleater. But don’t forget, it wasn’t Trump’s racist hardcore base that delivered the presidency to Trump, it was a swath of turnover voters, angry and disillusioned Democrats, people who felt abandoned by politicians of all stripes, people who had nothing to lose by taking a chance. Trump tapped into that anger and frustration, and he found the words to speak directly to them. How are they enjoying their no-expenses-paid vacation in Trumpmenistan? Donald Trump likes to consider himself as the “master communicator,” with Twitter as his vehicle of choice. Yet, time after time, when a Trump supporter is interviewed, what is their first and most frequent complaint? “I think he;s doing an OK job, but I really wish he’d knock it off with all of that Twitter bullshit!” The non Trombie voter didn’t buy a season ticket to this dog-and-pony-show for the tweets, they anted up for results, which so far are sadly lacking. Trump’s greatest selling point is the economy, but the average Trump voter isn’t feeling the love. Trump touts the soaring stock market, yet more than 50% of the population isn’t invested in the stock market, they’re not getting the benefit. And while a healthy 401k may be great down the road, it ain’t making the mortgage payment next month. Trump’s vaunted tax cuts didn’t buy the average family dinner for 4 at McDonalds once a week, and many suffered sticker shock when they got IOU’s from the IRS this year. Health insurance is still sky high, manufacturing and coal ain’t roaring back, and farmers are facing monetary crisis, and even foreclosure over Trump’s tariff war. Just wait until the price hikes go up at Walmart on things most people buy starting in the middle of next month from Trump’s latest tariff gaffe. Every good sports fan has occasionally had to suffer through a down year, it’s part of life. But when that losing bleeds from year to year, […]

Republican Rep. Justin Amash of Michigan said over the weekend that Donald Trump “has engaged in impeachable conduct,” but don’t expect other Republicans to join Amash’s act of conscience. In fact, Republicans are working to shut...

The envy is strong with this one. Apparently, Fox News is moving a little too far away from the Dark Side for Trump’s taste, because they actually invited Pete Buttigieg to do a town hall Sunday. Buttigieg was well received, standing ovation no less,  and Trump just can’t stand the out of town team scoring points on his home court. So of course he went to Twitter to sulk. ….who got them there. Chris Wallace said, “I actually think, whether you like his opinions or not, that Mayor Pete has a lot of substance…fascinating biography.” Gee, he never speaks well of me – I like Mike Wallace better…and Alfred E. Newman will never be President! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 19, 2019 Chris Wallace probably likes Fred Trump better, too. At least Fred actually knew how to make a buck, Donald, all you know is how to lose one. And watch what you say about who “will never be president.” Those were the exact same words applied to you, they will come back to haunt you. Trust us, we know. But we understand how it must feel to listen to an intelligent, articulate man, who actually did attend the best schools, Harvard and Oxford, and who does know all the best words — in seven foreign languages — and you have a 200 word vocabulary in your native tongue. Moreover, Pete Buttigieg actually served his country in the military, while your daddy paid some quack in the building to write up a fraudulent medical report about your non existent bone spurs, because you’re a coward. We get it, that Mayor Pete is a real Christian and you mocked communion, calling it, “my little wine and my little wafer” — which makes sense since you handled them with your little hands and little brain. You are a Christian in no sense of the word, merely a figurehead for corrupt tent revival televangelists, who sell snake oil and rob people blind just like you. Yeah, we get it. We get that you saw an actual statesman instead of a shyster on Fox TV and him looking so good made you look so bad. He actually talks about issues which he understands, and can communicate with people, while you do soundbites to gin up the base. Whole different prospect. Get used to it, Donald. This is the way it’s going to be up until election day, when you lose bigly and fade into total irrelevance and obscurity. Watch Sean Hannity play Brutus to your Caesar then. That’s in your future, while Buttigieg, or some Democrat, cleans up your horrific mess. Yep, we get that you’re freaked, because a standing ovation for a Democrat on Fox News means that you might not be running the show over there any more — and without your propaganda arm, megaphoning your bullshit, you’re just an inarticulate little carnival barker in the weeds. No more Ringling Brothers sized crowds, you’ll do well to get an audience the size of the midnight showing of “Spinal Tap.” When you lose Fox, you lose it all, Donald, and Bernie’s successful appearance, and now Mayor Pete’s, are the foreshadowings of that event. The Trump train is going off the rails — starting with your mind, Donald, starting with your mind. Just […]

Groupthink is just as dangerous as hubris. A few days ago, the stock market took a tumble. It was clear that a deal on Chinese tariffs was not forthcoming. After a steady focus on the Mueller Report and...

History doesn’t repeat itself, but it rhymes.   Mark Twain Those of you who are veterans of my columns know that I “made my bones” wallowing around in the mosh pit of the 2016 Republican party primary fight. Ah, the good old days, when Donald Trump was a joke that wasn’t going to get us all killed! Back in July of 2015, there were 17 candidates for the GOP nomination. Today, depending on which count you use, there are anywhere from 22-25 Democratic candidates vying for the nomination. In both cases, there was a “top tier” of immediate front runners, a “2nd tier” of candidates who hoped to catch fire somewhere, and a couple of people who wanted the words “Presidential candidate” to use when they pimped their latest book. All the way back in October of 2015, I earned polite criticism as well as jocular humor on Daily Kos when I predicted that the nomination was Trump’s to lose, 3 months before the first primary vote was cast. This wasn’t clairvoyance, it was simple math. Trump was consistently leading most major polls, even in early primary states, with 28-32% of the vote, with a rotating cast of characters, but never more than two at a time, in low double digits. In the GOP primaries, almost all of the early primary states were “winner take all” states as far as delegates were concerned. As long as Trump could crawl across the finish line with that 28-32%, he could build the kind of delegate lead that would be almost impossible to overcome once the field winnowed down. That’s exactly what happened. This year, Biden is starting off in an even stronger position. Since announcing, he has consistently polled at between 36-43%, with only Bernie Sanders in double digits in the mid teens, but consistently 20+ points behind Biden. Even with the DNC changes to the “super delegate” rules, and even with apportionment in some primaries, if Biden can pound home with 40% of the delegates in each race, especially early, with nobody else topping 12%, even if he doesn’t get the requisite number of delegates in the primary, he makes it easy to pick up enough “unbound” delegates after the first ballot to get across the finish line. In 2016, Trump benefited greatly by the fact that he was able to separate himself immediately from the pack. Republicans were fed up and disgusted in 2016, after 8 years of President Obama, and they were pissed off that Obama accomplished what he did, Every other candidate in the race was the same old recycled Republican kitty litter, former Senators, Governors, and congress critters. Donald Trump was the anti Christ to all of that. He was a rank outsider, with no political history or ties. Plus, Trump was willing to say things that no other candidate could say, or likely get away with, but it turned out to be exactly what a lot of Republican voters wanted to hear. Joe Biden is Donald Trump through Alice’s looking glass. In 2020, there is a much wider diversity of candidates, with more current and topical views and experience. The looking glass part is while Trump was a rank outsider, Biden is the consummate insider. Everybody knows Joe, and we’ve known him for 40+ years. And while Republicans were disgusted […]

Well, that was interesting. I get such a kick out of politicians these days, officially announcing their candidacy for something, making a bunch of speeches, and rally appearances, and then officially ”kicking off” their campaign a month later somewhere. It reminds me of high school, when the “homecoming” game was like the third home game of the season. If I understood MSNBC correctly, Biden’s speech clocked in at almost exactly 20 minutes. But what an action packed 20 minutes it was. Before he came out, his wife, Dr Jill Biden came out to introduce him and was well received, She spent most of her short talk touting her strong Philly connections. A sound move, you always wanna pander to the refs But it was clearly Joe Biden’s show, and he carried the day. For starters, Biden came out tieless, with his collar open, a clear contrast to Trump, who once reportedly slapped Diaper Donnie in the face for wanting to wear a Yankees jersey to the game, and when he came on, he vaulted up the stairs to the stage like a sprinter leaving the blocks, again a clear contrast to Trump, who only walks out on ramps, due ti his hatred of stairs.He came on wearing his signature sunglasses, and his first act in public today was to ditch the coat, and roll up the sleeves, ala Obama, I look forward to hearing what y’all think in the comments, but to my mind, Biden laid his campaign bare today, He paid lip service to healthcare, quite a bit in fact, touting Obama’s ability to pass it without Republican support. He paid lip service to education, differing from Sanders by touting free community college as opposed to 4 year state universities. He paid lip service to infrastructure, pointing out the massive reclamation project that is required. And he paid lip service to the “Green New Deal” by name, and challenging the United States to lead in every aspect of saving the planet, instead of sticking our heads in the sand like an overstuffed, orange topped ostrich. But all of that was nothing more than the soup, appetizer, and salad. The main course at this feast was roast Trump. Biden hammered at Trump repeatedly, to boisterous applause. And he “kept it classy.” He hammered Trump on specifics, dividing instead of uniting, on his love affair with neo Nazi’s and Klansmen after Charlottesville, his pandering to dictators he clearly admires, his separation of families at the southern border, and his anti immigrant and anti Muslim bias. When Biden was heckled early in his speech by a supporter of another candidate, he immediately and forcefully told the crowd to back off, saying “We don’t do things like that in this campaign! Some other campaigns may, but we don’t. You’ll never hear me speak ill of another Democrat.” Biden announced his campaign agenda today. Oh, he’ll put out position papers and announce specific plans on things like energy, education, healthcare (where he announced today for a Medicare option buy in plan), and infrastructure, But Biden is running specifically to beat Donald Trump. This is a sound strategy for Biden for a couple of reasons. First, Biden is the clear front runner, so it’s easier for him to pick his battles. Also, Biden has obviously seen the poll where a clear […]

And then there were 23: New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has announced he is entering the Democratic presidential primary. (At this point, can you even say that all 23 candidates are genuinely...

It is possible to argue that post-Mueller report investigations must continue for the foreseeable future without respect to the electoral timetable, allowing the need to impeach to loom, but also wait for some critical...