113 Comments

McConnell needs to be held to account, every single day. The Republicans still fail to deliver on health care, COVID relief, eviction relief, and at this point McConnell needs to be blamed.

Expand full comment

“The Democrats took the word GOD out of the Pledge of Allegiance”. I wish that they had. It’s a clear violation of the 1st Amendment. For everyone who might disagree, imagine that it said “one nation, under Allah”, or “under Shiva”, or (fill in the blank with your favorite god). The sooner we get gods out of politics, the better.

Expand full comment

"Never interrupt an enemy who is defeating himself." -- Napoleon Bonaparte, 1805

"I never said the conservatives are stupid. I said most stupid people are conservative. It is a fact so obvious, no gentleman may disagree." -- John Stuart Mill, 1866

"The only 'good Republicans' are pushing up daisies." -- Harry S. Truman, 1948

Expand full comment

For all that Trump's support seems limited to his bloc of incorrigible loyalists, we can't underestimate the size of that bloc. For instance, I was in a hair salon last week that had upward of 10 people in it; the owner had erected a temporary barrier between the first chair, her own, and the back 3/4 of the shop where the rest of the inhabitants were working/being worked on in unadvisedly close proximity . She and I are pretty much "on the same page" regarding U.S. politics, but she had to lower her voice and whisper to discuss it. The rest of the shop was infested with Trump supporters. She is from Jamaica, while several of the other stylists are from Ukraine and other Eastern Bloc countries.

I'd love to get some feedback from other readers on the attitudes of immigrants toward the President. I haven't seen any formal studies, but I've had the impression many times that immigrants from Eastern European countries tend to be unwaveringly right wing, as if their experiences have led them to conclude that any governmental action is both socialist and corrupt. In addition, immigrants from Latin American countries that have traditionally had "strong man" governments, where it's routine for the ruling party to favor supporters and use governmental powers to punish critics, also tend to favor populist, "undemocratic" leaders. Both groups seem to support Trump in large measure. Has anyone observed or read anything confirming, denying, or explaining this maybe-phenomenon?

Expand full comment

Donald Trump knows that shortly after he becomes a private citizen, he is headed for prison thanks to the AG of New York State and the AG of NYC. While he might resign on January 19 so that Pence can pardon him for all federal crimes, his vulnerability to criminal prosecution leaves him no options other than flight to an extradition-free domicile somewhere or...as we are witnessing...the sabotage of our election to somehow, somehow, somehow remain in office for four more years. If I were him, I guess I'd be doing the same thing. But thank God I am not him...a fate worse than death.

Expand full comment

Evil Mitch McConnell has to go! Either by losing to Amy McGrath or losing his Senate leadership role. I’m tuning in to the Evil Trump’s RNC Extravaganza this week - determined to stick it out. Thank you for your insightful review today, and kudos to Twitter! ❤️🤍💙

Expand full comment

As I have mentioned in previous posts, Trump is desperate to win not because he enjoys being president--I suspect that he does not enjoy it and it interrupts his golf game--but because he is terrified of all the indictments that will rain down once he is out of office. Moreover, he is so deep into his narcissism (and his meds are not working for him as stress has a tendency to wreak havoc with the combo he is allegedly taking) that he cannot emerge from the morass of lies, lies, and damn lies in which he is wallowing.

Expand full comment

I think that the upcoming Trump televisual extravaganza for his confirmation is going to be extremely embarassing. Not only will it appear cheap and nasty in comparison to the Dems last week but it is just going to be a narcissistic fantasy glorifying the king and his hapless, cloned princelings. Does the "royal family" possess a dog who'll bark in tune to "God save our gracious Trump, God save the Trump!" while they raise the confederate flag and the audience bows down on all fours to "salute the saviour". Nothing will be base enough! This is the stuff of childish vengenge tantrums.

The most worrying aspects for McConnell etc however are the plea for journalists to be " kind" and to leave them their illusions...or just not report their inanities..., their perceived need to silence their own party members and the total absence of any external heavy hitting supporters. After all their is at least one living past-President on the GOP side who seems to have gone of into the "bush" on safari like Teddy Roosevelt so as not to see, hear or speak and ...as i don't know if Zombies can be killed... Reagan might be still with us other than in spirit! It would seem that the "smell" is getting to the point of being unbearable and possibly dangerous for the health of those near Trump.

From this, downword is the only way you can go. He'll do it with flashing lights and fake explosions...just like the "baddy" in 007 James Bond movie finales.

Expand full comment

"This raises legal questions..." The implied and sometimes actual sub-headline to nearly every move Republican-elected trump makes.

"Democrats have raised concerns..." That, alongside "find this concerning," speaks volumes to the relatively milquetoast public response by the left to All Things Trump. Where are the raging Howard Beales, Steve Schmidt notwithstanding?

To my immediate point. I had another in a long chain of AHA moments earlier this morning. This one hit home harder than most.

A progressive, politically active, and relatively fearless friend PM'd me the promo to Michael Cohen's book "Disloyal." Very scary stuff. That it came to me via a PM caught my attention. Apparently my friend was reluctant to post the promo on FB. So, I sat here, looking at it and thinking, "Well, I'm not afraid to do that." Turns out I am.

Turns out that even though I'm a mini-micro-dot on trump's radar, I'm afraid to risk anything that could possibly turn the POTUS equivalent of Eye of Sauron in my direction. Much of trump's ranting and raving has been categorized as sound and fury, signifying nothing. A device to scare the, umm, dickens out of lesser beings (that would be all the rest of us). That particular take served me/us reasonably well until we began to see/read evidence that POTUS is most truly demented man who has surrounded himself with violent, unprincipled hitmen. (Is there any other kind?) That, and his mentor who poisons people who cross him.

Mary Trump, Maryanne Trump, Michael Cohen and a passel of other apparent truth-tellers know the full, dangerous and desperate, Mob-like mentality of trump. The take-away from people who dare to speak out is that: (1) trump has no boundaries; (2) the destruction of trump's moral compass began early in his life; (3) trump's love of self supersedes everything, including his late-breaking, carney-barking proclamations that he's all in for God; (4) that he holds and magnifies slights and grudges forever and generally can be counted on to make the lives of those who do not worship his derriere a living hell. Likely he has made that manifest to Republican senators, reps, loyalists--a few of whom seem to get their jollies participating in this deadly game.

It is what it is.

Expand full comment

UNBELIEVABLE

That tRump and his enablers can illegally destroy the USPS with impunity. It shows our government has flaws when the original checks & balances of power between the 3 branches can be so easily negated and an unqualified madman can take control. IT DID HAPPEN HERE!

UNBELIEVABLE

That Fake Christians (Like tRump standing in front of a church holding a Buybull for a foto op) can usurp the Constitution and make a Religious Test as part of qualification. The only comfort I get out of a lifetime of fighting against religious Paulists posing as Christians, is that they plagued Thomas Jefferson as well for not declaring himself a Christian. It is very upsetting to see these religious fanatics trying to make a theocracy out of our secular nation and the Repugnant Party is complicit. (Marco Rubio has taken to Buybull quotes in his tweets now).

I have had incredulous District Attorney’s actually question me for striking out the “so help me god” while taking an oath in deposition. I have quit serving on juries as soon as I aged out because of that same oath ending in “so help me god” which was given to us en masse and I couldn’t omit it. To presume that everyone in a supposed secular nation be required to acknowledge “under god” in a pledge or be added as a “we” “in god we trust,” is a most divisive insult.

You may have guessed this is personal with me. :) If anyone thinks I come from Demon Seed, know that I was raised and Baptized a Southern Baptist. It was the Hypocrisy that I saw even as a child that made me an Anti-Theist Agnostic by my teen years. I had an uncle, Deacon of his Southern Baptist Church in Mississippi who was also in the KKK. And he was likely not as fake as Donald tRump holding up a Buybull.

Expand full comment

Telling that the last resolution in the Republican Platform Resolution is that any attempt to amend the 2016 platform or to introduce a new platform will be ruled out of order. The Republican Party seems incredibly brittle right now. Trump and his ego remind me so much of Captain Ahab, who cried “I’d strike the sun if it insulted me!” Where can they possibly go from here with such hubris and inflexibility?

Expand full comment

Maybe we should start a GoFundMe page for the USPS.

Expand full comment

I had no idea Trump's Kellyanne Conway and Lincoln Project's George Conway were in any way connected. How on earth is one to keep up with it all?

Expand full comment

In the news today: TN, already with the most restrictive VBM procedures among the states (no drop boxes, ballot only for stated purposes (but not Covid), no ability to take your ballot to a polling place or the election commission offices, has announced “camping” in front of the Capitol is now a FELONY. So, loss of voting right.

Expand full comment

Wow! Reality keeps getting more bizarre. Does tRump really think he’s swaying other than his bloc? When you, Professor Richardson, put this down In black and white it is almost unbelievable. Almost.

Expand full comment