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Donald Trump 2020


Francisco 2.0

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21 minutes ago, Beau Vine said:

 

Damn, indeed:

 

STEVENS: Look, in July, Trump was already talking about suspending the elections. What do you think he’s going to do in October? Tell me what’s wrong with this scenario: It’s November 1, he’s losing, there are reports of voter irregularities in Florida, like there always are, and he sends those guys in camouflage into Miami-Dade County to seize the ballot boxes. Who’s going to stop him? The county security guards? They’re not going to phone ahead. What are the courts going to do? Order another election? Throw out Dade County? I don’t know. Who would object? [Attorney General William] Barr would go right along with it. The inability to imagine Trump has always been his greatest advantage. Normal people expect people who are acting abnormally to revert to normality. Trump understands that and he’s not a normal person. With the United States government, you’ve given Tony Soprano the paving contract and you’re acting shocked that he doesn’t seem interested in getting the road paved.

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28 minutes ago, Francisco 2.0 said:

 

Damn, indeed:

 

STEVENS: Look, in July, Trump was already talking about suspending the elections. What do you think he’s going to do in October? Tell me what’s wrong with this scenario: It’s November 1, he’s losing, there are reports of voter irregularities in Florida, like there always are, and he sends those guys in camouflage into Miami-Dade County to seize the ballot boxes. Who’s going to stop him? The county security guards? They’re not going to phone ahead. What are the courts going to do? Order another election? Throw out Dade County? I don’t know. Who would object? [Attorney General William] Barr would go right along with it. The inability to imagine Trump has always been his greatest advantage. Normal people expect people who are acting abnormally to revert to normality. Trump understands that and he’s not a normal person. With the United States government, you’ve given Tony Soprano the paving contract and you’re acting shocked that he doesn’t seem interested in getting the road paved.

if he can throw out miami dade votes, he wins florida 

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9 minutes ago, Mapache said:

I will gladly tell them to go fuck themselves if they try to shake me down for my I.D. Although I'm sure it's just more of his lying nonsense.

 

"We're gonna have everything!  With Chicks and Guns and Fire Trucks and Hookers and Drugs and Booze!"  

Seriously, somebody in Austin please remember to post where/when you see some federal LEO at a polling place so we can all go by there and fuck with 'em during early voting. 

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Yeah, his strategy seems to have been "You can do a big bump and be chill and nobody will notice anything because everybody goes to the bathroom once at an event.  You do much more than that and people will start to take notice.  You get paranoid and people notice you're pissing every 30 minutes and the eyes and the talking and then the talking and then the eyes.  Or...you can do such a comical amount that people have nothing left to think but 'It seems like Don has done three grams tonight...but....that can't be right because he'd be dead.'  And just blow through the bullshit and the stereotypes!"   

These brothers seem fun.

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4 hours ago, Beau Vine said:

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I know that this is yet another "thing" that the Orangutan in Chief likes to focus on, but perhaps someone should encourage him to not have cheese be a huge part of his diet?

Especially if he's serious about wanting the chance to shit on America for four more years... If you're all clogged up, there's simply no opportunity to wipe your ass with the Bill of Rights.

(oh, but he'll still do it anyways...)

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13 hours ago, Beau Vine said:

Some interesting quotes.  I'm not sure I completely agree, but they're food for thought:

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There’s a parlor game among those of us who worked for Bush and loved Bush about what kind of president he would’ve been like without 9/11. I think you could make the case that he would’ve transformed the party. Likewise, if Mitt Romney had won in 2012, I think he would’ve taken the party in a very different direction. So one conclusion I’ve reached is that leaders really matter. In the 1930s, why didn’t we become fascist? Probably because Roosevelt was president and not Lindbergh. Why was the civil rights movement defined by nonviolence? Probably because of Martin Luther King. If Stokely Carmichael had a similar role, it would’ve been different.

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Why does the Republican Party exist today? It exists to beat Democrats. That’s not a political party. That’s a cartel.

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Look, part of this is just race.

Actually, almost all of it is race.

 

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Most public policy disasters have some fundamental flawed conceit at their root. And this Republican idea that you can magically cut taxes and grow your way out of the deficit, it’s no different than trying to argue that gravity is a regional phenomenon.

A very apt metaphor.

 

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And there aren’t any Republican senators like Bill Weld would’ve been. They don’t exist. The people who normally would be like that, someone like [Missouri Senator] Josh Hawley, very smart guy, went to Stanford, Yale Law, taught at St. George’s in London, wrote a very good biography of Teddy Roosevelt. Perfect example of a guy who could’ve been a positive influence in the party, like [former Missouri Senator] John Danforth. Instead, he’s running against the elites. Really, Josh? Really?

He's right.  John Danforth came to know my mother when she was an undergrad at Wash U.  She became a "Danny Grad", which was a program founded by John's grandfather William Danforth in which young -women who were recent college graduates spread out across the country at various college campuses to do Christian work.  John became a lifelong friend of our family, and while there were political differences between him and my parents, there were no substantial philosophical differences.  He is a good man.  Josh Hawley, on the other hand, is a fucking evil shitbag who has squandered all of his mighty intellectual talent.

 

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I never would’ve believed that John Cornyn, serious Texas Supreme Court jurist, reluctant politician, would be tweeting complaints about how nine out of 10 new Texans are Hispanic. I don’t understand it. I don’t understand how we could have the worst economy in the history of America, more Americans have died from a disease in the last four months than have ever died of anything in America, and John Cornyn is in a hearing asking questions about Hillary Clinton’s emails. I don’t get it.

I think this shows how disconnected Stevens is from the party he helped gain power.  They used him and he bought the lies.

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49 minutes ago, jimmyjazz said:

She became a "Danny Grad", which was a program founded by John's grandfather William Danforth in which young -women who were recent college graduates spread out across the country at various college campuses to do Christian work.

Yes, yes. And proud we are of all of them.

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1 hour ago, 4th&Five said:

“We have vaccines...you’ll be reading about them very soon.” So, 2 weeks?

my theory is that he has a whole "leadup plan" the week before the election, much like the comey news in 2016.

part vaccine news, part obamagate investigation update, part fancy new healthcare plan (lol), tax cuts, whatever - he knows he needs a hail mary, and thinks he can thread the needle just like in '16.

this is why he doesn't want mail in ballots.  he realizes those are often cast well before his leadup plan would have effect.  he wants day-of in-person voting, because he thinks his last minute high-jinks and shenanigans will put him over the top.

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1 hour ago, Jive Turkey said:

 

he's absolutely right.

but you have to see this the way he sees it.  he doesn't have the attention span to watch anything for more than a couple minutes unless it's about him.  so he only really pays attention when it's about him.  and everything about him was an attack, and his performance has made this period of time for the country dark and angry and gloomy, and he is racist and horrible and therefore, we need redemption.

this tracks.

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1 hour ago, 4th&Five said:

“We have vaccines...you’ll be reading about them very soon.” So, 2 weeks?

It would be so on brand for this shit ass to know we have an approved vaccine but wait until the most politically beneficial time possible to release it.  How many more thousands of lives will that cost?

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1 minute ago, Fudge Nuggets said:

It would be so on brand for this shit ass to know we have an approved vaccine but wait until the most politically beneficial time possible to release it.  How many more thousands of lives will that cost?

Sir, you are NOT thinking about the ratings.

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1 hour ago, F250 said:

I never noticed it before but every picture Trump and Melanie take in a church does look ominous.

 

 

Of course the party that was led by evangelicals to support Reagan over Carter will support Trump over Biden, and say that it's about matters of faith.

(faith in their own hunger for power and control, of course)

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54 minutes ago, jimmyjazz said:

Some interesting quotes.  I'm not sure I completely agree, but they're food for thought:

Actually, almost all of it is race.

 

A very apt metaphor.

 

He's right.  John Danforth came to know my mother when she was an undergrad at Wash U.  She became a "Danny Grad", which was a program founded by John's grandfather William Danforth in which young -women who were recent college graduates spread out across the country at various college campuses to do Christian work.  John became a lifelong friend of our family, and while there were political differences between him and my parents, there were no substantial philosophical differences.  He is a good man.  Josh Hawley, on the other hand, is a fucking evil shitbag who has squandered all of his mighty intellectual talent.

 

I think this shows how disconnected Stevens is from the party he helped gain power.  They used him and he bought the lies.

So the whole Laura Loomer thing started this thought in my brain, but this just brings it back to the fore--

I think that in a few decades, I think it's going to be a hot topic in modern history whether Republicans (1) were always this racist and batshit crazy (and by "always," I mean in modern history probably going back to 1980 or so) and were just a whole lot better at hiding it, or (2) the election of a black man caused them to have an en masse psychotic break.

I don't think those two are entirely mutually exclusive.  There are certainly some who were always racist and batshit crazy.   But was it 96% of them (i.e., Trump's current approval rating among Republicans according to Rasmussen (I know))?  And that giant mass of crazy was just contained and stifled by party elites, many of whom are now Never Trumpers and Democrats?

Or is it that the racist and crazy was a reasonably small number that was easy to contain and stifle.  And the election of Obama caused their racism and crazy to spread to other Republicans who previously had not been so?

I honestly don't know.  I will tell you that, on an individual level, I know some people who I thought were normal people who happened to be Republicans.  I don't even recognize them anymore.  Were they always like that, and I was just too obtuse to see it?  I mean, maybe--I am pretty fucking obtuse sometimes.  But I don't think that's it entirely.  

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15 minutes ago, Ghost of LL said:

So the whole Laura Loomer thing started this thought in my brain, but this just brings it back to the fore--

I think that in a few decades, I think it's going to be a hot topic in modern history whether Republicans (1) were always this racist and batshit crazy (and by "always," I mean in modern history probably going back to 1980 or so) and were just a whole lot better at hiding it, or (2) the election of a black man caused them to have an en masse psychotic break.

I don't think those two are entirely mutually exclusive.  There are certainly some who were always racist and batshit crazy.   But was it 96% of them (i.e., Trump's current approval rating among Republicans according to Rasmussen (I know))?  And that giant mass of crazy was just contained and stifled by party elites, many of whom are now Never Trumpers and Democrats?

Or is it that the racist and crazy was a reasonably small number that was easy to contain and stifle.  And the election of Obama caused their racism and crazy to spread to other Republicans who previously had not been so?

I honestly don't know.  I will tell you that, on an individual level, I know some people who I thought were normal people who happened to be Republicans.  I don't even recognize them anymore.  Were they always like that, and I was just too obtuse to see it?  I mean, maybe--I am pretty fucking obtuse sometimes.  But I don't think that's it entirely.  

Republicans got more radicalized with racism over time as their power dwindled and the leadership exploited race as political weapon.  

GOP Primary debate: Bush vs Reagan 

Bush sounds like Bernie Sanders

Reagan sounds like Julian Castro 

 

GOP leadership knew they had racists in their faction but didn’t pander to it as much overtly, there were subtle dog whistles but nothing like today.  9/11 cranked up the xenophobia to 11 and made it exponentially easier to demonize any non-white Christian (othering). Add in social media, foreign influence operations, eight years of a Black President, and you have the Party of Trumpism.

Edited by Hugo Stiglitz
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9 minutes ago, Ghost of LL said:

So the whole Laura Loomer thing started this thought in my brain, but this just brings it back to the fore--

I think that in a few decades, I think it's going to be a hot topic in modern history whether Republicans (1) were always this racist and batshit crazy (and by "always," I mean in modern history probably going back to 1980 or so) and were just a whole lot better at hiding it, or (2) the election of a black man caused them to have an en masse psychotic break.

I don't think those two are entirely mutually exclusive.  There are certainly some who were always racist and batshit crazy.   But was it 96% of them (i.e., Trump's current approval rating among Republicans according to Rasmussen (I know))?  And that giant mass of crazy was just contained and stifled by party elites, many of whom are now Never Trumpers and Democrats?

Or is it that the racist and crazy was a reasonably small number that was easy to contain and stifle.  And the election of Obama caused their racism and crazy to spread to other Republicans who previously had not been so?

I honestly don't know.  I will tell you that, on an individual level, I know some people who I thought were normal people who happened to be Republicans.  I don't even recognize them anymore.  Were they always like that, and I was just too obtuse to see it?  I mean, maybe--I am pretty fucking obtuse sometimes.  But I don't think that's it entirely.  

I've been reading Nixonland by Rick Perlstein and it's amazing how much of the current GOP we can trace back to the roots of Nixon, Goldwater, and others. Maybe the GOP weren't always like this, but even back then the book talks about the GOP being anti-Dem more than anything else. With a large chunk of racism thrown in that was thinly veiled by abstract policy goals. 

Obama's presidency definitely broke a lot of them, and they turned it up a notch once the neocons were gone. However, the roots were always there. 

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4 minutes ago, Skyline said:

I've been reading Nixonland by Rick Perlstein and it's amazing how much of the current GOP we can trace back to the roots of Nixon, Goldwater, and others. Maybe the GOP weren't always like this, but even back then the book talks about the GOP being anti-Dem more than anything else. With a large chunk of racism thrown in that was thinly veiled by abstract policy goals. 

Obama's presidency definitely broke a lot of them, and they turned it up a notch once the neocons were gone. However, the roots were always there. 

And that's true of the racism.  But none of that explains the Qanon and other batshit craziness that is now common among Republicans.

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The catalyst was the Civil Rights movement.  Political change happens at such a glacial pace that it is difficult for those without to see what is going on inside.  (aTm).  I've posted before about abortion -- the right wing move towards a stated "pro-life" stance had nowhere near as much to do with the sanctity of life as it did with race, because abortion was seized upon as a useful cudgel to justify private, religious (read:  all-white) schools.  It took hold and the racism slowly edged closer to the surface.  Throw in widespread social media, and voila!  here we are, 4 decades later.

They were always racists.  There aren't MORE racists now, percentage wise -- there just aren't any fewer racists, either.

Edited by jimmyjazz
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so much of this is the cause and effect as well.

when you're young, you think ok, here's what i personally believe about these 10-15 core issues.  so does that make me a moderate, a conservative, a liberal, a progressive, where do i fit in?  almost like taking a stupid quiz on the internet about which friends character you are (i'm chandler).

then later you realize that people align themselves out of self-benefit, and then align their beliefs afterwards, not before.  there are no-doubt pro-choice republicans, but they know they must keep silent on it, depending on how they're positioned and platformed, and how it'll play when their next election is coming up.

trumpism just took this to the extreme.  meaning you can't hide if you don't fully bend the knee and support the bullshit.  he will try to destroy you if you stray at all (though his endorsements certainly aren't what they once were), and he will embrace you if you kiss his ass and support him (on tv).  the biggest problem with this, is that trump isn't about issues and policy.  every single thing has become us vs them, right down to mask-wearing, miracle cures, and voting.

but he doesn't care about any of that.  there is one issue - him.  he doesn't care about where you stand on issues, just where you stand on him.  personally, i choose his windpipe.

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I was reading an article by someone like Peggy Noonan (may have been Peggy Noonan), that said that Republicans started to fall apart once the Soviet Union fell apart.  They united and galvanized over the threat of communism and once that was gone, everything kind of went to shit.

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11 minutes ago, Hugo Stiglitz said:

Republicans got more radicalized with racism over time as their power dwindled and the leadership exploited race as political weapon.  

GOP Primary debate: Bush vs Reagan 

Bush sounds like Bernie Sanders

Reagan sounds like Julian Castro 

 

GOP leadership knew they had racists in their faction but didn’t pander to it as much overtly, there were subtle dog whistles but nothing like today.  9/11 cranked up the xenophobia to 11 and made it exponentially easier to demonize any non-white Christian (othering). Add in social media, foreign influence operations, eight years of a Black President, and you have the Party of Trumpism.

more than what they said... the audience applauded both of them. absolutely unfathomable today.

republican party leaders today are a reflection of their members. 

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6 minutes ago, TwiceHorn said:

I was reading an article by someone like Peggy Noonan (may have been Peggy Noonan), that said that Republicans started to fall apart once the Soviet Union fell apart.  They united and galvanized over the threat of communism and once that was gone, everything kind of went to shit.

Kritzinger's Dilemma.  

Of course, the neo-cons were widely comprised of Democrat Party Hawks as well.  It was a complicated time.  Hence, all the drugs.

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