So, I gotta disagree that beating Trumpism consistently in national elections is the way to showing its vacuous-ness. It has lost the last three national elections ('16, '18, '20) and only gained power in one of them because of the unique construction of our electoral framework. It's never had popular majority support, it disgusts more Americans than it activates, and in four years it cost the GQP the House, the Senate, and the WH....and that STILL wasn't enough to break its hold. So lets stop acting like him losing in a primary or in '24 will make it go away, it's not. This is going to be a decade plus fight and we need to all realize that now
We already know from Trump's former lawyer, John Dowd, that Trump can't be trusted to tell the truth, ever. According to Bob Woodward's book 'Fear', Dowd told Trump he's 'disabled; incapable of telling the truth.' So, of course, the RNC will go to any lengths to keep Trump off a debate stage with Liz Cheney.
But another delicious thing to ponder are the psy ops ads The Lincoln Project would produce accusing Trump of cowardice, being too afraid to face off with Liz, and how everybody is talking about his yellow streak behind his back.
And the real reason why the RNC will protect TFG at all costs is....because they know they have no one else who can unite the Grievance Oriented Party that the GOP has become.
Maybe I'm just a starry-eyed optimist, but I think if Cheney runs and they keep her off ballots and off debate stages and the like, that will actually hurt not just Donald, but all republicans.
"Senator, why is your party afraid of having Cheney on the ballot?" "Congressman, is Trump afraid to debate Cheney?" "Ma'am, doesn't your party believe in letting voters decide?"
I know the faithful won't care, but parties can be painted in this country. We've seen it time and again with both parties. One is strong on defense, one likes taxes, one hates deficits, one is woke, one lacks pigmentation, etc. Painting the Republicans as the anti-democracy party seems to me to both be important and likely made easier by being true.
A perfect phone call. I have to give it to Trump; sometimes, probably unintentionally, he can be pretty hilarious.
I think abortion has the potential to be a big problem for the GOP in Wisconsin, since my understanding is the only thing standing between availability of medical services and their draconian trigger law is the stance of the governor. Could really push a weak incumbent over the finish line, there, and perhaps help Barnes with Democratic coattails. I'm skeptical Barnes will be able to sustain his current polling, but it would be amazing to kick that daft dotard RonAnon out of the Senate. Might make up for some of my deep disappointment in the voters of Wyoming.
The Cheney kamikaze run for the GOP nomination would allow her to do one *extremely important* thing: embarrass the shit out of Trump by putting someone on the stage with him who doesn't cower to bullies the way the rest of her party does.
I cannot stress this enough, but when you embarrass a bully and make him look weak, you are cutting off his legs. Bullies *cannot* afford to look weak, and when they do, they lose everything. Cheney is the kind of woman who can stand up to Trump and make him look weak, stupid, callous, and unpatriotic. At a certain point, the cognitive dissonance is too much for people afraid or empowered by the bully, and the mental image of the "strong man" they hold breaks down. Cheney and Kinzinger alone seem to be the only ones capable of projecting that courage to Trump's own face and with the right attitude. *Some* dems might be able to project *moral* courage to Trump's face, but with a weak-sauce attitude that is non-aggressive.
Dems just don't know how to be aggressive to someone's face in front of a crowd because they've spent their whole lives calling that kind of thing wrong, but it's the *only* thing that works with bullies. If Dems can't bring themselves to do this sort of thing then Cheney and Kinzinger are our only hope. I could see someone like Fetterman standing up to Trump on a stage without bitch in his heart, but if the dems run someone like HRC against Trump or DeSantis with that "when they go low we go high" bullshit nonsense then Trump will take them to task just like he did in 2016. It ain't going to be Joey B putting Trump in his place on stage, that much I can tell you. Joey B is *not* an aggressive debater. He doesn't really have an angry bone in his body.
If Trump runs I'm not sure there's a Republican primary at all. There seems to be little chance that a guy who believes he can't lose an election would give anyone the chance to damage him, nor is the RNC is interested in further wrecking his public image. I think we're all going to be shocked by quickly Republicans further descend into authoritarianism.
I disagree with Liz Cheney on just about any issue that politics is supposed to address. (i am a gay woman and what she did to her sister to get elected is difficult to accept) but what she is doing to help save the Democracy is worth championing and defending. There will be no Democratic Republic left if Trump remains viable.
Losing elections will not change the trajectory the GoP is on, it will reinforce and accelerate that trajectory. Thinking that multiple losses will have a positive effect on the GoP indicates that the person thinking so fundamentally misunderstands what is going on.
The GoP has created and reinforced a couple of mutually supporting narratives:
They represent a majority of Americans (because, by definition, not supporting them is unAmerican, it is nifty how that works). This is reinforced in popular understanding any time you look at a red/blue electoral map and it is essentially all red. The nuance of population distribution is ignored or lost. It is further reinforced because our system gives power to a minority far in excess of how representative they are.
(Note: There is a whole lot of stuff entrained in the above, but this is the TLDR version).
God is on their side. Deus vult! Do I need to really explain this?
(Same note as above).
Given the two above, the only way that they can lose an election is if the other side is cheating somehow (or is in league with the Devil). Democrat victories only showcase how corrupt and evil the system is and (given that) it is both good and necessary to use any available means to get Democrats out of power and GoP into power.
It is important to remember that it is NOT the GoP "leadership" that is driving this whole mess. Yes, they started it--but it has risen from the slab after the lightening bolt brought it to life and that "leadership" now cowers in fear before the monster and will do whatever they must and say whatever they must to make sure the monster doesn't kill them.
The mob (and the worst and loudest part of the mob, egged on by their media whose eyes are filled with $ and the lure of influence/power), is in charge. It is going to require violence to deal with it in the end... because they are approaching the point where violence is pretty attractive to them in pursuit of their ends.
The majority of the party does not need to feel that way... only enough of them to wreak havoc. There weren't a lot of Bolsheviks in 1918. Just enough with the will and mission focus to get what they wanted.
There are enough rich/powerful/influential people who are willing to support this (so they can get what THEY want--which is basically the emasculation of the government and the removal of government interference in their actions) to provide funding and PR and push-back in the political elite community.
Those not-tweets from Trump are rich. Still harping on his perfect phone call. This is like see a band from the 1960's doing another tour based on their one or two hit songs.
As a left-of-center Undeclared voter in NH, I'm one of those who disagrees with Liz Chaney 99.9% of the time, except for the 100% of the time I support her fealty to the Constitution and Country. I do hope to see her whittle #45 down to his next favorite number (#5t, but in my estimation having ANY Republican win in 2024 is a crap shoot. Other than Liz and a couple other holdouts that you can count on one hand, do we want an Invertibrate in control of the White House (or the House or the Senate)? I personally think all those who foreswore their oaths before/on/after January 6th have no place in determining our future.
On a separate vein, one phrase really resonated in Charlie's podcast with Tom Nichols yesterday, where Tom mentioned the feeling of relief he got after some trips overseas and he stepped foot back on American soil. Over the decades of traveling and living overseas, that memory of the return home always lingered. If I am bitter over anything from the past 6-7 years, it is the knowledge that my fellow Americans have robbed me of that security blanket. We are now living in the chaos and fog which I was always to thankful to escape, and it's a cold and dark place.
Thinking that defeating Trump will right the Republican ship is just dead wrong. The now-former party "establishment" and their pals in the wealthy donor club aren't in charge and won't return to the fore. Just like the one-time Republican party of civil rights gave way to the Reaganite conservatism, the latter has given way to the MAGA resentment revolution. Those who reflect the fears and paranoia of the Archie Bunker base will succeed, those who don't will be retired. Being a minority party won't change any minds, but it will reinforce the perceived existential necessity of seizing and holding power. 35ish years of fear-mongering and indoctrination can't be overcome in a single election cycle. And there are several people willing to take the helm, should the Orange Menace falter - DeSantis, Vance, etc., who are dangerous in a more sinister manner.
I, for one, would love to see the ads that Cheney and/or the Lincoln Project would throw at Trump in 2024 if he actually pulled strings to keep her off debate states and/or primary ballots. “What’s the matter, Donald? Afraid to be hit by a girl?” They could come up with all sorts of petty nicknames like “Chicken Donald” or “Chicken a la King” that would totally get under his skin and be fodder for anyone actually on the stage to slyly drop on him. If anyone else is actually trying to win (like DeSantis), I can’t imagine them not keeping a set of those knuckle dusters in their pocket. Nothing hurts a bully more than being shown up as not being willing to pick on anyone anywhere near their own size, and Trump himself is just sexist enough that the suggestion he’s afraid of a woman would really get under his skin in ways that might well make him self destruct… some more.
So, I gotta disagree that beating Trumpism consistently in national elections is the way to showing its vacuous-ness. It has lost the last three national elections ('16, '18, '20) and only gained power in one of them because of the unique construction of our electoral framework. It's never had popular majority support, it disgusts more Americans than it activates, and in four years it cost the GQP the House, the Senate, and the WH....and that STILL wasn't enough to break its hold. So lets stop acting like him losing in a primary or in '24 will make it go away, it's not. This is going to be a decade plus fight and we need to all realize that now
We already know from Trump's former lawyer, John Dowd, that Trump can't be trusted to tell the truth, ever. According to Bob Woodward's book 'Fear', Dowd told Trump he's 'disabled; incapable of telling the truth.' So, of course, the RNC will go to any lengths to keep Trump off a debate stage with Liz Cheney.
But another delicious thing to ponder are the psy ops ads The Lincoln Project would produce accusing Trump of cowardice, being too afraid to face off with Liz, and how everybody is talking about his yellow streak behind his back.
Bring out the popcorn!
And the real reason why the RNC will protect TFG at all costs is....because they know they have no one else who can unite the Grievance Oriented Party that the GOP has become.
Maybe I'm just a starry-eyed optimist, but I think if Cheney runs and they keep her off ballots and off debate stages and the like, that will actually hurt not just Donald, but all republicans.
"Senator, why is your party afraid of having Cheney on the ballot?" "Congressman, is Trump afraid to debate Cheney?" "Ma'am, doesn't your party believe in letting voters decide?"
I know the faithful won't care, but parties can be painted in this country. We've seen it time and again with both parties. One is strong on defense, one likes taxes, one hates deficits, one is woke, one lacks pigmentation, etc. Painting the Republicans as the anti-democracy party seems to me to both be important and likely made easier by being true.
A perfect phone call. I have to give it to Trump; sometimes, probably unintentionally, he can be pretty hilarious.
I think abortion has the potential to be a big problem for the GOP in Wisconsin, since my understanding is the only thing standing between availability of medical services and their draconian trigger law is the stance of the governor. Could really push a weak incumbent over the finish line, there, and perhaps help Barnes with Democratic coattails. I'm skeptical Barnes will be able to sustain his current polling, but it would be amazing to kick that daft dotard RonAnon out of the Senate. Might make up for some of my deep disappointment in the voters of Wyoming.
The Cheney kamikaze run for the GOP nomination would allow her to do one *extremely important* thing: embarrass the shit out of Trump by putting someone on the stage with him who doesn't cower to bullies the way the rest of her party does.
I cannot stress this enough, but when you embarrass a bully and make him look weak, you are cutting off his legs. Bullies *cannot* afford to look weak, and when they do, they lose everything. Cheney is the kind of woman who can stand up to Trump and make him look weak, stupid, callous, and unpatriotic. At a certain point, the cognitive dissonance is too much for people afraid or empowered by the bully, and the mental image of the "strong man" they hold breaks down. Cheney and Kinzinger alone seem to be the only ones capable of projecting that courage to Trump's own face and with the right attitude. *Some* dems might be able to project *moral* courage to Trump's face, but with a weak-sauce attitude that is non-aggressive.
Dems just don't know how to be aggressive to someone's face in front of a crowd because they've spent their whole lives calling that kind of thing wrong, but it's the *only* thing that works with bullies. If Dems can't bring themselves to do this sort of thing then Cheney and Kinzinger are our only hope. I could see someone like Fetterman standing up to Trump on a stage without bitch in his heart, but if the dems run someone like HRC against Trump or DeSantis with that "when they go low we go high" bullshit nonsense then Trump will take them to task just like he did in 2016. It ain't going to be Joey B putting Trump in his place on stage, that much I can tell you. Joey B is *not* an aggressive debater. He doesn't really have an angry bone in his body.
If Trump runs I'm not sure there's a Republican primary at all. There seems to be little chance that a guy who believes he can't lose an election would give anyone the chance to damage him, nor is the RNC is interested in further wrecking his public image. I think we're all going to be shocked by quickly Republicans further descend into authoritarianism.
I disagree with Liz Cheney on just about any issue that politics is supposed to address. (i am a gay woman and what she did to her sister to get elected is difficult to accept) but what she is doing to help save the Democracy is worth championing and defending. There will be no Democratic Republic left if Trump remains viable.
Go get him Liz!!
Losing elections will not change the trajectory the GoP is on, it will reinforce and accelerate that trajectory. Thinking that multiple losses will have a positive effect on the GoP indicates that the person thinking so fundamentally misunderstands what is going on.
The GoP has created and reinforced a couple of mutually supporting narratives:
They represent a majority of Americans (because, by definition, not supporting them is unAmerican, it is nifty how that works). This is reinforced in popular understanding any time you look at a red/blue electoral map and it is essentially all red. The nuance of population distribution is ignored or lost. It is further reinforced because our system gives power to a minority far in excess of how representative they are.
(Note: There is a whole lot of stuff entrained in the above, but this is the TLDR version).
God is on their side. Deus vult! Do I need to really explain this?
(Same note as above).
Given the two above, the only way that they can lose an election is if the other side is cheating somehow (or is in league with the Devil). Democrat victories only showcase how corrupt and evil the system is and (given that) it is both good and necessary to use any available means to get Democrats out of power and GoP into power.
It is important to remember that it is NOT the GoP "leadership" that is driving this whole mess. Yes, they started it--but it has risen from the slab after the lightening bolt brought it to life and that "leadership" now cowers in fear before the monster and will do whatever they must and say whatever they must to make sure the monster doesn't kill them.
The mob (and the worst and loudest part of the mob, egged on by their media whose eyes are filled with $ and the lure of influence/power), is in charge. It is going to require violence to deal with it in the end... because they are approaching the point where violence is pretty attractive to them in pursuit of their ends.
The majority of the party does not need to feel that way... only enough of them to wreak havoc. There weren't a lot of Bolsheviks in 1918. Just enough with the will and mission focus to get what they wanted.
There are enough rich/powerful/influential people who are willing to support this (so they can get what THEY want--which is basically the emasculation of the government and the removal of government interference in their actions) to provide funding and PR and push-back in the political elite community.
Dangerous times are coming.
Those not-tweets from Trump are rich. Still harping on his perfect phone call. This is like see a band from the 1960's doing another tour based on their one or two hit songs.
As a left-of-center Undeclared voter in NH, I'm one of those who disagrees with Liz Chaney 99.9% of the time, except for the 100% of the time I support her fealty to the Constitution and Country. I do hope to see her whittle #45 down to his next favorite number (#5t, but in my estimation having ANY Republican win in 2024 is a crap shoot. Other than Liz and a couple other holdouts that you can count on one hand, do we want an Invertibrate in control of the White House (or the House or the Senate)? I personally think all those who foreswore their oaths before/on/after January 6th have no place in determining our future.
On a separate vein, one phrase really resonated in Charlie's podcast with Tom Nichols yesterday, where Tom mentioned the feeling of relief he got after some trips overseas and he stepped foot back on American soil. Over the decades of traveling and living overseas, that memory of the return home always lingered. If I am bitter over anything from the past 6-7 years, it is the knowledge that my fellow Americans have robbed me of that security blanket. We are now living in the chaos and fog which I was always to thankful to escape, and it's a cold and dark place.
Thinking that defeating Trump will right the Republican ship is just dead wrong. The now-former party "establishment" and their pals in the wealthy donor club aren't in charge and won't return to the fore. Just like the one-time Republican party of civil rights gave way to the Reaganite conservatism, the latter has given way to the MAGA resentment revolution. Those who reflect the fears and paranoia of the Archie Bunker base will succeed, those who don't will be retired. Being a minority party won't change any minds, but it will reinforce the perceived existential necessity of seizing and holding power. 35ish years of fear-mongering and indoctrination can't be overcome in a single election cycle. And there are several people willing to take the helm, should the Orange Menace falter - DeSantis, Vance, etc., who are dangerous in a more sinister manner.
There will be no GOP debates in 2024. There won't even be GOP primaries.
Pin this post.
Happier note: Weisselberg has pled guilty. Bet he's been spilling his guts on Donald.
I, for one, would love to see the ads that Cheney and/or the Lincoln Project would throw at Trump in 2024 if he actually pulled strings to keep her off debate states and/or primary ballots. “What’s the matter, Donald? Afraid to be hit by a girl?” They could come up with all sorts of petty nicknames like “Chicken Donald” or “Chicken a la King” that would totally get under his skin and be fodder for anyone actually on the stage to slyly drop on him. If anyone else is actually trying to win (like DeSantis), I can’t imagine them not keeping a set of those knuckle dusters in their pocket. Nothing hurts a bully more than being shown up as not being willing to pick on anyone anywhere near their own size, and Trump himself is just sexist enough that the suggestion he’s afraid of a woman would really get under his skin in ways that might well make him self destruct… some more.
I'm worried that a Cheney run in 2024 will pull more votes from the Democrat nominee than from Trump. Nothing is certain!