In deciding to take the immunity case today, with its sweeping, overly broad question and setting a very slow timetable, SCOTUS pretty much assured that Trump won’t go to trial before the election. During the months of delay, he’ll get to continue trying his case in the court of public opinion where he has the main stream media facilitating his doing that. SCOTUS has shown itself in even starker terms to be corrupt, in Trump’s pocket. They know what this delay means that they are effectively declaring Trump immune.
We need to fight back. What are the ways open to us? At the least, we should ALL be writing letters to the Court, our Congress people, the media. Flood them with letters. I would love to hear what others think and what else we can be doing.
It’s so hard to have another battle to fight when we have so many.
We know we have to win -- and win big – at the ballot box, but in the meantime, let’s flood SCOTUS etc with letters of outrage.
I agree Biden must win (the more overwhelming, the better but any win is a win) or we become a country most people will not want to live. Unfortunately, the SCOTUS doesn't pay attention to "we the people".
And with all that it isn't only Biden who must win, it's the Dem in every state and local election. A good place to begin would be the race to replace Mitch McConnell.
The replacement for Minority Leader McConnell lies with the minority party of the Senate. This group is not an ally of democracy, but align solely with trump. This group MUST stay in the minority of the population, and therefore the US Senate.
True... however those in the Senate are able to chastise and condemn... sanction, I believe is the word. When I wrote the comment I had not checked to see if the Wild Mitch was up for re-election or not, my mistake. It appears the US is going to continue to have the pleasure of his typically Republican selfishness until 2027. Sad.
Mitch McConnell is not leaving the senate. His term doesn't end until January 2027. We don't get to replace him and when he is replaced he will likely be replaced by a Republican. Kentucky is a very red state.
If Kentucky is such a red state, why did Governor Andy Beshear, a Democrat, get reelected by a good margin last fall? If there are enough dems to reelect a good dem for governor, surely there are enough dems to elect a good US Senator. Am I wrong? What am I missing?
You are not wrong. Many of us can send an overwhelming message in just a few days on Super Tuesday by making a huge turnout. Super Tuesday is this coming Tuesday, March 5. If you have a mail in ballot hanging around, fill it out and take it to an official mailbox or City Hall. Too late to mail it. There’s loads of local information at USvotefoundation.org.
Turnouts in states that have voted so far are only in the teens. That’s not how to keep our freedoms. 💙👍🏻💪🏻🇺🇸🙏🏼
Yes - VOTE! And ask at least 3 friends or family members to vote, while adding how important it is to let their voice be heard. Then ask them to ask 3 friends or family members to vote…that’s the best way to increase voter turnout. 🇺🇸💙🇺🇸
NH already had both parties' primaries on Jan 23. The DNC in their "infinite wisdom" (S/) decided to call our First in the Nation status not "legal" We've been FITN since about 1920 & it was passed by NH Law in 2023. (This was a Write In campaign due to the DNC's action) I did vote and Biden got 63.9% of the Dem votes. Phillips got 19.6%. (he's an ally of the CEO of the "No Labels" dark money group BTB.) Williamson got 4%. Other write ins totaled 8.3 %There were about 10 other Dem candidates; 2 of them had fake names, one of whom was "Vermin Supreme and the other was "Paperboy Prince (!)" Alll of those below Williamson got 2% or less of the votes.
Andy Beshear is the exception that proves the rule. He may have won reelection handily, but he 1) only got into office very narrowly 2) by beating likely the most unpopular governor in the country 3) in one of the best cycles for Dems ever 4) largely through virtue of family name recognition. Even he would be unlikely to win a federal election rather than a state one. The governor of Vermont is a Repub, but I don't think we are seriously considering the notion that the Land of Bernie will be a swing state soon.
Gerrymandering. We had an amazing rep in one district. Very popular. The legislators, knowing that, changed her district before the next election. They ran her against a black man campaigning with Dem points. She did win…..35 votes. It was a big victory.
By gamer do you mean obstructionist? He has blocked so much legislation that would help the underprivileged and much of the 99%. He is responsible for Gorsuch, Kavanaugh and Comey-Barrett becoming Associate Justices and for Merritt Garland becoming AG instead of an AJ.
He has cemented the rules so the minority party has power to control the fate of legislation.
Sure, they could pick a worse minority or majority leader in the Senate, but it's going to take someone like Trump's little Johnson to squeeze under it.
Allow me to add one name to the ‘he is responsible list..’ trump! Twice Mitch caved when he could have ended the career of the cancerous boil called trump! Two different impeachment trials and he cowered!
Gary, you have hit it on the head, so to speak, with "Trump's little Johnson!" That may be an even better appellation than "Howdy-Doody" which I fear doesn't speak to most anyone born after 1960.
Certainly Mitch’s obstruction skills stand out. But he has a knack for creative strategies that seldom have negative unforeseen consequences to himself or his party. He just knows how to manipulate the system better than everyone else. He knows the system and he knows the voters. And he’s also a master dissembler, promoting twisted rationalizations as obvious truth. His immediate about face after his initial J6 outrage was a big “of course.” It’s interesting that despite having been such a villain for so long, his party has careened into a course—with denying Ukraine the support it needs—he’s not willing to oversee. He’s still willing to conclude the permanent far right takeover of the government, he’s just not willing to promote allowing Russia to go unchecked. I didn’t know there was a line anywhere he wouldn’t cross.
Sadly, the reality is that my beloved and beautiful home state will likely produce a radical MAGA-aligned candidate to replace Mitch in November 2026. There seems to be an endless supply of Comers and Pauls to choose from. But hope springs eternal - we do have a very popular Democrat governor and he was re-elected this past cycle. Whoever his replacement is, though, will not automatically wield the power that Mitch spent decades amassing. That’s a good thing.
You need to make sure you vote for every Democrat that's running for state office. They can't can't gerrymander those races either. We Dems let Republicans take those seats every election cycle and it drives me to distraction.
Thank you, Tracy. Down ticket races are so important. I plan to spend my time until election day working in the local Democratic Party headquarters doing whatever is needed to make certain that Democrats in my state maintain their majority in the legislature. Governors, state attorneys general, and sectetaries of state must be Democrats (although those races in many states may not be until 2026). I'll help register voters. I'll volunteer for the League of Women Voters. None of that is glamorous work but it iscessential.
Thank you, Marcia! I am in Blue California. I phone bank with the Bay Area Coaliton of over 30 activist groups (Swing Left, Indivisible, Sister District et al). I was on a couple of Zoom phone banks to New York (with 80 other phone bankers) to help elect Souzzi to Congressional District 3. He prevailed handily. The work may not be glamorous but it is absolutely essential, and absolutely rewarding!! I am an avid promoter of phone banking. It invariably lifts my spirit to work with like minded activist volunteers and to talk with people in elections that make a difference. There are endless opportunities to help, to have an impact. We all need to plug in where we feel useful wherever we are, and to do so as often as possible. This is not a fire drill. This is the real fire. Folks in blue states can help in the swing states. Onward!
It’s really still surprises me , as back in the day - I saw this coming . How to avoid the inevitable was a back-to-the-land hippie manifest ,an ideological movement labeled utopian by many , we threw up our hands and tuned out. Later some turned Yuppies and ‘fought’ for equality as the separation widened. The right . The left. The Right has methodically placed , planned and now persecutes . Pleasing and likely backed by Putinites , some actually admit this and push autocracy. The Left strives to keep equality alive, love our neighbor, fair balances-taxes/table manners/truth/time honored rights.
Correct?
So how did it get to here?
By NOT voting. By believing our vote didn’t count. By NOT showing up. By believing it didn’t matter.
We WERE #1 in the world ….the stats tell it , have for a decade or more …only 35-40% vote . Wake up started late the question is …too late? The factions controlling have be bought , if you don’t know by whom , that’s a clue ……cause they’re the ones wanting MORE….
The fact the battle is NOW and guaranteed to be long … wiggle room is NONE….and is from complacency
💙💙VOTE ALL THE COMPLICIT OUT💙💙
..the only alternative so far surpasses speculation it’s unthinkable
Mitch and the MAGAcultists like to think they have it in the bag.... but as long as YOU and YOU and YOU get out the vote, mark your ballot and get everyone you know to vote the Mitch and MAGAkind do not have it locked up. For the R's maybe, but the D's continue to be stronger and more of them.... if the D's would just get out and VOTE!
and that belief is true.... if YOU and YOU and YOU allow it! It is and as long as we have a democracy it always will be up to us. And you got it, I'm pointing my finger at YOU Linda!
Agreed! the voting to replace the MAGA and their cult leader must start at the very bottom. County or borough councils, Commissioners, parashes leaders, state legislators, governors... all the way from the bottom up the chain to the very top... get out the vote. And VOTE!
Elections at a local level determine who is in the Senate and House. At an even more local level are the people who institute abortion bans, dumbing of education, and discrimination. All levels must be addressed.
A Biden win would be empty without the Senate and House, especially. The Libertarian extremists there exalt in their destruction of our laws and democracy. Biden alone can’t overcome those forces, as we have witnessed. We have to boot them all out to such a degree that we can expand the Supremely biased Court in ‘24.
A Biden win would be [absolutely necessary and a joyous relief to the world, if not cause for the transformative change we crave] without the Senate and House, especially.
I totally agree with you. I misspoke that it would be empty. It’s essential!! And for the sake of world sanity, we urgently need a Dem Senate and House to complete the resurrection of our country before it’s too late. We can’t take another four years of inept GOP obstruction and lies.
Although I have zero faith in this SCOTUS to do the right thing, from what I've been reading and hearing, it's highly likely they'll not rule in trompy's favor. This charade is all about a thumbs-on-the-scale delay to avoid a trial this year, giving trompy a bit of an edge come election day, so that Thomas and Alito can retire in 2025. Trompy would get 2 more picks (at least.) How shamefully craven.
Our only saving course of action is to defeat Trump soundly, electing Biden. Otherwise, all hope for saving the USA from self-induced political and economic destruction is lost.
That was brought up last night on MSNBC. (One has to wonder if TFG or other U.S. oligarchs gave them some money to delay the hearing ...especially considering how much they've been given by other ultra rich friends.
I for one don't have to wonder if the SC is corrupt, I predicted just what happened. The details of the corruption is up for grabs, sure. Legal experts in general have felt a need to be less outspoken on their predictions if corruption, but everything I know I "read in the papers". We here can maybe afford more outspokenness. Will Rogers and the papers are now fond memories.
Have you also heard that with the courts in several states faced with immunity claims, there might be conflict between states and thus the SCOTUS decided to hear the case to set precedent for all states to follow?
Kathy, aren't you confusing the SC cases? Yesterday's decision to hear the immunity case is different than the CO insurrection case which is also before the Court. The latter one does have applicability, in my understanding, to Maine, Illinois etc. -- i.e., whether a State can declare that a candidate is disqualified from federal elective office. The former deals with post-presidential immunity.
Speaking of Libertarians, I never hear never trumpers talk about how they cozied up to Libertarians before trump. They apologize for trump but not for that move.
There was a time when a "conservative" and a "liberal" could walk into a bar and have a heated exchange about such things as tax policy and the size of government - whether our social safety nets were crutches or essentials. The voice volume could get loud. But then one of them would crack a joke and the other would order another round. The conversation could flow to family stuff and probably sports. They could be best friends and loyal neighbors.
And then the "movement" cons infiltrated. Newt and Rush rolled a snowball that became an avalanche of hate and fascism.
So there is no longer a SCOTUS, rather is there another Trump-created belligerent to beware of and certainly not to expect justice from. It can be restored, but that's going to take more time than is available.
Fortunately, SCOTUS doesn't control what is happening in New York.
New York and other states can still sue Trump in civil litigation as can private citizens like the Capitol police.
But the best news is that TFFG is obviously getting more and more demented by the day. Won't a debate be fun when they ask him to recall an event and he has absolutely no idea who the people involved in the event are. And even if he does, will be get their name right.
As Biden quipped to Seth Meyers the other night - "At least I know my wife's first name."
In such a debate, Biden could smile a lot and roll his eyes as Donald Word Salad embarrasses himself. But those shows are not really debates. They are ranting performances with zero control by the moderators. If they had any plans to keep the event civil and balanced, the mute button would be a simple timer.
Best to skip the whole idea of a "debate". They are more like a cage match and just feed the stupid horse race approach to our election processes. JMO.
Reminds me of the sneering comment by Reagan, ‘cheerleader in chief’, during the debate with the real saint President Carter!…’there you go again!’ Chided grade B actor Ronnie!
Bill- You are right. Savannah Guthrie did the best job of controlling TFFG and make him appear to be an ignorant stalker. Otherwise, TFFG will wander around the stage like a wrestler in a cage match. The mute button would help but TFFG would be ready for it.
You're right. Last time is fresh in memory. Biden, rolling eyes, snort of laughter, "Oh, come ON, man!" And then of course the on-stage stalking of Hillary, as she spoke confidently and brilliantly.
But the media will report such happenings as "Biden walked slowly to the podium, his voice weak, although his responses to questions posed by Kristian Welker were carefully, if slowly, phrased. Trump's presence loomed large on the stage as his voice bellowed his grievances..."
I hate to say it, because I like Biden, but his leadership in the Senate's Judiciary Committee has responsibility for allowing Thomas to sit on SCOTUS. How naïve were they to let the pubic hair on the coke can slide?? Why in the HELL did the Senate allow drunk sexual abuser Kavanaugh wear the robe? What were they thinking when the Senate took his and Coney Barrett's word that they would respect precedence? Are they all secret concerned Senator Collinses?
Keeping Bork from the seat on SCOTUS was the most important consideration, as I remember. As for Kavanaugh, don’t we look at Republicans and the Heritage Foundation? That’s another institution that must be brought to heel. How do we fight Leo and all that money? How do we get fair taxation? Time for a blue Congress to undo Putin/Trump.
Let’s start this Tuesday if you live in a Super Tuesday state. You will get the media’s attention with a huge turnout instead of the usual 10% Usvotefoundation.org
or your local town official website has tons of info. Turn in your mail in ballot today. Think of your children and grandchildren.
The bigger the win, the better. We already know Trump and his minions will claim they actually won the election, but a huge win -- HUGE -- makes that harder for "the silent majority" to believe their lies. Don't forget that 70% of All Republicans believe Biden won in a not-quite-kosher election. 70% of All Republicans.
We are fast becoming a country who reneges on their pledges. We assured Ukraine assistance if attacked. Now what is happening? I would not want to have the republican party as a partner in war. When the tough gets going, they would leave me hanging. They do not have my back.
I am astonished that my fellow peeps in the reality-based community keep falling into this trap. Remember how Superman of Integrity Robert Mueller was going to vanquish the monster for us? (Didn't happen. Wasn't gonna happen.) The legal system and rule of law not going to save us. We are going to save the rule of law. Remember, the saying is: "A republic, if you can keep it." Not: "A Republic, if you can keep it, unless you don't trust your fellow citizens enough and would like an easy Hollywood way out, in which case Jack Smith and his crack team of Super Lawyers will save it for you through sheer smarts!"
The current Supreme Court should always be counted on to do the wrong thing. Every single time. Any exceptions are a red herring. If you actually thought they weren't gonna mess this one up because it was so obvious, I dunno what to tell y'all.
Will, Contrary to your view, my understanding is that the Founders sought to establish structures of government and to balance their powers in a way meant to protect the country from the misdeeds and machinations of any one branch. It is of note that they understood the need for constant checks and balances against the excesses of any one power center and enacted such. Regrettably, one thing they didn’t anticipate was a Congress and judiciary subsumed under the dictates of a presumptive presidential nominee eager to consolidate power, wherein the rule of law could be subjugated to an individual.
Admittedly, given said fatal weakening of American civic institutions, despite our founders best efforts to enlist guardrails, we’re all we have left to try and protect the remnants of democracy we’ve managed to preserve.
All true. No one anticipated an Impeachment Trail so crooked that the Articles Impeachment did not stand a chance of an open and fair hearing. Not once but twice. A DOJ afraid of its own shadow. Then a Supreme Court packed with Right Winged Justices. In the meanwhile, Republican Congressional Leaders saying the Judicial System will sort the Trump mess out. Guess not. Too much for one branch of government to untangle.
We got fat, dumb and happy and now our way of life, the shining citadel on the hill, may live in darkness until we vote democracy back in power. They say we are sleepwalking into Fascism. For many it’s a nightmare unfolding before our very eyes. Congress members washing their hands of the mess they dodged and now blaming others.
Handwashing and blame shifting has only but begun. This is only going to get uglier and uglier until MAGA draws its last breath and vacates their offices of political power.
Joe, Your synopsis of how we got here, however painful, also could be instructive, amplifying that no one any longer can just sit and wait and watch. Instead, we must train ourselves, acquire enough knowledge and strength to resist falling prey to the adage There’s nothing to be done because nothing can be done.
Agreed & Thank You. So much is at stake and the ticking clock of the electoral calendar favors another go at a federal general election. Here is hoping democracy wins over fascism once again. 🙏🙏🙏
Joe, As for hope, I take heart from the presence of virtually every participant in this forum. I am grateful for the daily reminder that none of us is alone in this fight.
CONservatives have always reacted very badly when the justice department comes after them. The DOJ was founded to combat the KKK. When it has gone after congressional members, it has always been vilified. Read PREQUEL, where seditionists in congress walked.
While I agree with you BJK in terms of the ideals of the framers of the structure of government in the Constitution, that structure, and Democracy itself (which the actually did not want, btw), has always been dependent on (as Blanche Dubois said) "the kindness of strangers." What I mean by that is that the judiciary has been coopted by the Forces of Evil numerous times in the 250 or so years of the USA--Dred Scott? Silence or agreement with the Indian Removal Acts? The entire era of Andrew Jackson? Virtually all the antebellum laws governing enslaved people? The anti-humanist, anti-egalitarian, anti-female, anti-democracy systems were embedded in our country from its inception by people who really preferred an oligarchy to a true democracy, and used everyone's reverence for the Roman Republic (which was an oligarchy, make no mistake about that) as a way of introducing antidemocratic systems into the mix. And the life-term judiciary is an excellent example of that. The only way those systems get dragged, kicking and screaming, into modernity is through the action of citizens, who vote out the totalitarians, the bigots, the misogynists, and replace them with others, DESPITE a rampantly reactionary judiciary. We have been unfortunate in that our electorate is now significantly less well educated (TFG "loves the poorly educated") and far less savvy about what is actually going on, than at any other time in our history. Despite the lower access to public education in the past, the educational systems in place 50 years ago and farther back actually taught stuff. That changed under Shrubby Bush. So now we are dependent on the actions of people we hope desperately will figure it out and show these [4 syllable expletive] the door. But we also know that many of them will remain in place to do their dirty work.
There is a good reason why the "Cato Institute" calls itself that, although claiming to be "Libertarian" is an oxymoron, as Cato was anything but a libertarian. He was the model for 20th-century Italian fascism. Rome was not a "democracy" of any kind. The word "democracy" comes from the Greek demos=people and cratos=rule. Republic comes from Latin: res=stuff (literally: things, stuff, business), publica=out in the open, public. So it doesn't refer to an actual political structure you can hang your hat on. It means the stuff people (read: men of a certain elite social class) do in public. That can be anything. So that is where we are.
Linda, great synopsis. Thank you for that assessment of how we got where we are, and acknowledging that our foundation is based in oligarchy, not democracy. We've tried like heck to make it democratic, but the oligarchs are winning.
Sigh. Alas, yes. And there was no Cornelia (mother of the Gracchi and daughter of Scipio Africanus) to smack people upside the head for being dumbasses, although Abigail Adams did try. There was a very good reason why Cato hated her (and her sons).
Linda, While I don’t dispute your knowledgeable and well-reasoned commentary, overall, we do hold different views of a then-revolutionary promise of a Republic convened in 1787. My understanding is that its founders, generally speaking, desperately desired representative government by popular consent, albeit initially white male property owners. As for its evolution, as with virtually all of America’s historical movements that have met with repeated frustration and failure, one idea wherein our roots have remained fundamentally grounded is that we can be better.
Hence, however bad things are at any given moment, I bank on our galvanizing a critical mass to work as well as we can to shape a more generous common future.
Thomas should recuse himself from any discussion based on his conflict of interest with his low-life wife. And why hasn't Thomas been indicted for tax evasion? He should have declared the written off loan with Crowe as income.
Gary, While holding Thomas accountable is necessary, because we’re so far down the rabbit hole, said remedies are not nearly sufficient. Accordingly, I’m beyond expecting anyone but ourselves to resuscitate the roots of our democracy.
Barbara, I typically appreciate and often agree with Will's opinions, but today's rang with a cynicism that I believe *was* unfounded (at least until yesterday's decision to grant cert.). You are correct, in that we were right to have faith in the system that has served us for so long.
Sadly, we can no longer depend on the institutions, as they are crumbling. It's up to us to buttress them by our votes -- both you and Will are right in that regard.
Will, you are correct. Democracy is not a spectator governing system. Those of us that have faith in the rule of law have been confident that would always be the case, while the conservatives and libertarians have been plotting the Lewis Powell Memo implementation. Just look at how the conservatives have been assaulting the law through the courts. They are working to strike down the administrative state that keeps order in the country and prevents exploitive actions.
In deciding to take the immunity case today, with its sweeping, overly broad question and setting a very slow timetable, SCOTUS pretty much assured that Trump won’t go to trial before the election. During the months of delay, he’ll get to continue trying his case in the court of public opinion where he has the main stream media facilitating his doing that. SCOTUS has shown itself in even starker terms to be corrupt, in Trump’s pocket. They know what this delay means that they are effectively declaring Trump immune.
We need to fight back. What are the ways open to us? At the least, we should ALL be writing letters to the Court, our Congress people, the media. Flood them with letters. I would love to hear what others think and what else we can be doing.
It’s so hard to have another battle to fight when we have so many.
We know we have to win -- and win big – at the ballot box, but in the meantime, let’s flood SCOTUS etc with letters of outrage.
I agree Biden must win (the more overwhelming, the better but any win is a win) or we become a country most people will not want to live. Unfortunately, the SCOTUS doesn't pay attention to "we the people".
And with all that it isn't only Biden who must win, it's the Dem in every state and local election. A good place to begin would be the race to replace Mitch McConnell.
The replacement for Minority Leader McConnell lies with the minority party of the Senate. This group is not an ally of democracy, but align solely with trump. This group MUST stay in the minority of the population, and therefore the US Senate.
True... however those in the Senate are able to chastise and condemn... sanction, I believe is the word. When I wrote the comment I had not checked to see if the Wild Mitch was up for re-election or not, my mistake. It appears the US is going to continue to have the pleasure of his typically Republican selfishness until 2027. Sad.
Mitch McConnell is not leaving the senate. His term doesn't end until January 2027. We don't get to replace him and when he is replaced he will likely be replaced by a Republican. Kentucky is a very red state.
If Kentucky is such a red state, why did Governor Andy Beshear, a Democrat, get reelected by a good margin last fall? If there are enough dems to reelect a good dem for governor, surely there are enough dems to elect a good US Senator. Am I wrong? What am I missing?
You are not wrong. Many of us can send an overwhelming message in just a few days on Super Tuesday by making a huge turnout. Super Tuesday is this coming Tuesday, March 5. If you have a mail in ballot hanging around, fill it out and take it to an official mailbox or City Hall. Too late to mail it. There’s loads of local information at USvotefoundation.org.
Turnouts in states that have voted so far are only in the teens. That’s not how to keep our freedoms. 💙👍🏻💪🏻🇺🇸🙏🏼
Participating states in 2024: Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Massachusetts, Maine, Minnesota, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Vermont, Virginia
Thank you for the link, Gigi.
Yes - VOTE! And ask at least 3 friends or family members to vote, while adding how important it is to let their voice be heard. Then ask them to ask 3 friends or family members to vote…that’s the best way to increase voter turnout. 🇺🇸💙🇺🇸
NH already had both parties' primaries on Jan 23. The DNC in their "infinite wisdom" (S/) decided to call our First in the Nation status not "legal" We've been FITN since about 1920 & it was passed by NH Law in 2023. (This was a Write In campaign due to the DNC's action) I did vote and Biden got 63.9% of the Dem votes. Phillips got 19.6%. (he's an ally of the CEO of the "No Labels" dark money group BTB.) Williamson got 4%. Other write ins totaled 8.3 %There were about 10 other Dem candidates; 2 of them had fake names, one of whom was "Vermin Supreme and the other was "Paperboy Prince (!)" Alll of those below Williamson got 2% or less of the votes.
I’ve already mailed mine in. All blue. From California.
You are indeed right. I stand corrected. Thank you, Shelia! We will have a chance in Kentucky in 2026 if Democrats are still allowed to vote in 2026.
Andy Beshear is the exception that proves the rule. He may have won reelection handily, but he 1) only got into office very narrowly 2) by beating likely the most unpopular governor in the country 3) in one of the best cycles for Dems ever 4) largely through virtue of family name recognition. Even he would be unlikely to win a federal election rather than a state one. The governor of Vermont is a Repub, but I don't think we are seriously considering the notion that the Land of Bernie will be a swing state soon.
Gerrymandering. We had an amazing rep in one district. Very popular. The legislators, knowing that, changed her district before the next election. They ran her against a black man campaigning with Dem points. She did win…..35 votes. It was a big victory.
Praying you’re correct
And very likely a Republican who is even farther right than Mitch is. Fortunately, it probably won't be someone who is as good a gamer.
By gamer do you mean obstructionist? He has blocked so much legislation that would help the underprivileged and much of the 99%. He is responsible for Gorsuch, Kavanaugh and Comey-Barrett becoming Associate Justices and for Merritt Garland becoming AG instead of an AJ.
He has cemented the rules so the minority party has power to control the fate of legislation.
Sure, they could pick a worse minority or majority leader in the Senate, but it's going to take someone like Trump's little Johnson to squeeze under it.
Allow me to add one name to the ‘he is responsible list..’ trump! Twice Mitch caved when he could have ended the career of the cancerous boil called trump! Two different impeachment trials and he cowered!
Gary, you have hit it on the head, so to speak, with "Trump's little Johnson!" That may be an even better appellation than "Howdy-Doody" which I fear doesn't speak to most anyone born after 1960.
Gary, that's the best moniker I've seen in a long, long time...
"Trump's little Johnson" is rich in imagery!
Certainly Mitch’s obstruction skills stand out. But he has a knack for creative strategies that seldom have negative unforeseen consequences to himself or his party. He just knows how to manipulate the system better than everyone else. He knows the system and he knows the voters. And he’s also a master dissembler, promoting twisted rationalizations as obvious truth. His immediate about face after his initial J6 outrage was a big “of course.” It’s interesting that despite having been such a villain for so long, his party has careened into a course—with denying Ukraine the support it needs—he’s not willing to oversee. He’s still willing to conclude the permanent far right takeover of the government, he’s just not willing to promote allowing Russia to go unchecked. I didn’t know there was a line anywhere he wouldn’t cross.
Gary, nicely put. I have been looking for a name for the Speaker.
Cornyn is TX. Reminds me of the Republican in the next car when Kennedy was shot. It’s only appearance, so waiting for reality.
Maybe not. Look at Georgia, and Tennessee
I think people are fed up,
A very red state with a Democrat as Governor.
Very good point, Steve. I stand corrected. Red state, but not quite spilled blood red.
KY's governor is a Democrat.
Sadly, the reality is that my beloved and beautiful home state will likely produce a radical MAGA-aligned candidate to replace Mitch in November 2026. There seems to be an endless supply of Comers and Pauls to choose from. But hope springs eternal - we do have a very popular Democrat governor and he was re-elected this past cycle. Whoever his replacement is, though, will not automatically wield the power that Mitch spent decades amassing. That’s a good thing.
You need to make sure you vote for every Democrat that's running for state office. They can't can't gerrymander those races either. We Dems let Republicans take those seats every election cycle and it drives me to distraction.
Thank you, Tracy. Down ticket races are so important. I plan to spend my time until election day working in the local Democratic Party headquarters doing whatever is needed to make certain that Democrats in my state maintain their majority in the legislature. Governors, state attorneys general, and sectetaries of state must be Democrats (although those races in many states may not be until 2026). I'll help register voters. I'll volunteer for the League of Women Voters. None of that is glamorous work but it iscessential.
Thank you, Marcia! I am in Blue California. I phone bank with the Bay Area Coaliton of over 30 activist groups (Swing Left, Indivisible, Sister District et al). I was on a couple of Zoom phone banks to New York (with 80 other phone bankers) to help elect Souzzi to Congressional District 3. He prevailed handily. The work may not be glamorous but it is absolutely essential, and absolutely rewarding!! I am an avid promoter of phone banking. It invariably lifts my spirit to work with like minded activist volunteers and to talk with people in elections that make a difference. There are endless opportunities to help, to have an impact. We all need to plug in where we feel useful wherever we are, and to do so as often as possible. This is not a fire drill. This is the real fire. Folks in blue states can help in the swing states. Onward!
This is the bottom line. Thank you Tracy. Whether Dems show up and VOTE at his party , in 24> and hold their feet to the fire is the ONLY way. 💙VOTE💙
It’s really still surprises me , as back in the day - I saw this coming . How to avoid the inevitable was a back-to-the-land hippie manifest ,an ideological movement labeled utopian by many , we threw up our hands and tuned out. Later some turned Yuppies and ‘fought’ for equality as the separation widened. The right . The left. The Right has methodically placed , planned and now persecutes . Pleasing and likely backed by Putinites , some actually admit this and push autocracy. The Left strives to keep equality alive, love our neighbor, fair balances-taxes/table manners/truth/time honored rights.
Correct?
So how did it get to here?
By NOT voting. By believing our vote didn’t count. By NOT showing up. By believing it didn’t matter.
We WERE #1 in the world ….the stats tell it , have for a decade or more …only 35-40% vote . Wake up started late the question is …too late? The factions controlling have be bought , if you don’t know by whom , that’s a clue ……cause they’re the ones wanting MORE….
The fact the battle is NOW and guaranteed to be long … wiggle room is NONE….and is from complacency
💙💙VOTE ALL THE COMPLICIT OUT💙💙
..the only alternative so far surpasses speculation it’s unthinkable
Yes, emphasis on the yes. There are no exceptions, every vote counts, every race matters. Red state? Let's see about changing that.
Mitch has already rigged that. As it now stands, only a R can replace him. If the Democrats would fight the Koch money (The Bluegrass Institute)
What do you mean? A statewide election is not legitimately riggable, is it?
Mitch and the MAGAcultists like to think they have it in the bag.... but as long as YOU and YOU and YOU get out the vote, mark your ballot and get everyone you know to vote the Mitch and MAGAkind do not have it locked up. For the R's maybe, but the D's continue to be stronger and more of them.... if the D's would just get out and VOTE!
Bill, it isn't up to us. It will be one that the Trump Party, formally GOP, will chose.
and that belief is true.... if YOU and YOU and YOU allow it! It is and as long as we have a democracy it always will be up to us. And you got it, I'm pointing my finger at YOU Linda!
Agreed! the voting to replace the MAGA and their cult leader must start at the very bottom. County or borough councils, Commissioners, parashes leaders, state legislators, governors... all the way from the bottom up the chain to the very top... get out the vote. And VOTE!
Elections at a local level determine who is in the Senate and House. At an even more local level are the people who institute abortion bans, dumbing of education, and discrimination. All levels must be addressed.
A Biden win would be empty without the Senate and House, especially. The Libertarian extremists there exalt in their destruction of our laws and democracy. Biden alone can’t overcome those forces, as we have witnessed. We have to boot them all out to such a degree that we can expand the Supremely biased Court in ‘24.
A Biden win would be [absolutely necessary and a joyous relief to the world, if not cause for the transformative change we crave] without the Senate and House, especially.
FIFY. (but agree with the rest).
I totally agree with you. I misspoke that it would be empty. It’s essential!! And for the sake of world sanity, we urgently need a Dem Senate and House to complete the resurrection of our country before it’s too late. We can’t take another four years of inept GOP obstruction and lies.
If the SCOTUS gives a POTUS immunity, Biden could just go all autocrat. He would not, but he could.
Although I have zero faith in this SCOTUS to do the right thing, from what I've been reading and hearing, it's highly likely they'll not rule in trompy's favor. This charade is all about a thumbs-on-the-scale delay to avoid a trial this year, giving trompy a bit of an edge come election day, so that Thomas and Alito can retire in 2025. Trompy would get 2 more picks (at least.) How shamefully craven.
Our only saving course of action is to defeat Trump soundly, electing Biden. Otherwise, all hope for saving the USA from self-induced political and economic destruction is lost.
That was brought up last night on MSNBC. (One has to wonder if TFG or other U.S. oligarchs gave them some money to delay the hearing ...especially considering how much they've been given by other ultra rich friends.
I for one don't have to wonder if the SC is corrupt, I predicted just what happened. The details of the corruption is up for grabs, sure. Legal experts in general have felt a need to be less outspoken on their predictions if corruption, but everything I know I "read in the papers". We here can maybe afford more outspokenness. Will Rogers and the papers are now fond memories.
Have you also heard that with the courts in several states faced with immunity claims, there might be conflict between states and thus the SCOTUS decided to hear the case to set precedent for all states to follow?
Kathy, aren't you confusing the SC cases? Yesterday's decision to hear the immunity case is different than the CO insurrection case which is also before the Court. The latter one does have applicability, in my understanding, to Maine, Illinois etc. -- i.e., whether a State can declare that a candidate is disqualified from federal elective office. The former deals with post-presidential immunity.
It's hard to keep up with all his court cases.
Excellent point! He could order the imprisonment of the amoral orange creature! Perhaps send trump to Guantanamo!
I like him in a cage prominently displayed in front of the Capitol Building. Preferably gagged and bound so his tongue and tweets are silenced.
I agree and refuse to leave office...like tfg would do! Only then we would be an autocrat democracy! Do unto others as they would do unto you! Right!
Speaking of Libertarians, I never hear never trumpers talk about how they cozied up to Libertarians before trump. They apologize for trump but not for that move.
I should add as I always say, is never, never, never vote for a republican!
CONservative. Conservatism today IS NOT the conservatism of the past.
There was a time when a "conservative" and a "liberal" could walk into a bar and have a heated exchange about such things as tax policy and the size of government - whether our social safety nets were crutches or essentials. The voice volume could get loud. But then one of them would crack a joke and the other would order another round. The conversation could flow to family stuff and probably sports. They could be best friends and loyal neighbors.
And then the "movement" cons infiltrated. Newt and Rush rolled a snowball that became an avalanche of hate and fascism.
We finally know what they want to ‘conserve’…white supremacy and white nationalism!
Don't forget the so called religious Hypocrites
I really like the moniker one of the earlier commenters came up with for the Speaker, (who is one of that ilk): Trump's little Johnson!)
As McConnell said, white faces like the Republican Party, or was it the other way around?
Except for Republican Governor Phil Scott in Vermont. He continues to try to prevent the General Assembly from driving Vermonters to the poorhouse.
So there is no longer a SCOTUS, rather is there another Trump-created belligerent to beware of and certainly not to expect justice from. It can be restored, but that's going to take more time than is available.
Fortunately, SCOTUS doesn't control what is happening in New York.
New York and other states can still sue Trump in civil litigation as can private citizens like the Capitol police.
But the best news is that TFFG is obviously getting more and more demented by the day. Won't a debate be fun when they ask him to recall an event and he has absolutely no idea who the people involved in the event are. And even if he does, will be get their name right.
As Biden quipped to Seth Meyers the other night - "At least I know my wife's first name."
In such a debate, Biden could smile a lot and roll his eyes as Donald Word Salad embarrasses himself. But those shows are not really debates. They are ranting performances with zero control by the moderators. If they had any plans to keep the event civil and balanced, the mute button would be a simple timer.
Best to skip the whole idea of a "debate". They are more like a cage match and just feed the stupid horse race approach to our election processes. JMO.
Reminds me of the sneering comment by Reagan, ‘cheerleader in chief’, during the debate with the real saint President Carter!…’there you go again!’ Chided grade B actor Ronnie!
Bill- You are right. Savannah Guthrie did the best job of controlling TFFG and make him appear to be an ignorant stalker. Otherwise, TFFG will wander around the stage like a wrestler in a cage match. The mute button would help but TFFG would be ready for it.
Mute button and sudden outage would help even more.
You're right. Last time is fresh in memory. Biden, rolling eyes, snort of laughter, "Oh, come ON, man!" And then of course the on-stage stalking of Hillary, as she spoke confidently and brilliantly.
But the media will report such happenings as "Biden walked slowly to the podium, his voice weak, although his responses to questions posed by Kristian Welker were carefully, if slowly, phrased. Trump's presence loomed large on the stage as his voice bellowed his grievances..."
Sadly you are 100% accurate, Doug.
Well, we see that all the time. Pre-prepared set of adjectives and qualifiers. We're about to get a spectacle in Texas.
Does Trump have to debate Biden? He wasn't involved with his party's debate.
Rethugs don't have to do anything. And you can bet drumpf will weasel out. Rembrandt the stand back and stand by exhortation?
He would show how insane he is. Biden is wise and skilled and would have drumpf foaming at the mouth in minutes. More popcorn.
Which neither party understood - they neither stood back nor by. He'd already promised them, "Be there. Will be wild." Now, that's a leader.
TFFG will weasel out of any and all debates.
If there were still any rules, he wouldn't have to. And let's remember that according to the Big Lie, he's already on his second presidency .
(And which wife - when it gets up to three a little confusion is understandable in an elderly man)
🤣🤣🤣
I would be shocked out of my toe socks if there is a “debate.” Please don’t hold your breath!
I hate to say it, because I like Biden, but his leadership in the Senate's Judiciary Committee has responsibility for allowing Thomas to sit on SCOTUS. How naïve were they to let the pubic hair on the coke can slide?? Why in the HELL did the Senate allow drunk sexual abuser Kavanaugh wear the robe? What were they thinking when the Senate took his and Coney Barrett's word that they would respect precedence? Are they all secret concerned Senator Collinses?
Keeping Bork from the seat on SCOTUS was the most important consideration, as I remember. As for Kavanaugh, don’t we look at Republicans and the Heritage Foundation? That’s another institution that must be brought to heel. How do we fight Leo and all that money? How do we get fair taxation? Time for a blue Congress to undo Putin/Trump.
My suspicion, but I need to keep it to myself for now.
Why do you need to stay mum? Does Susan Collins read your blog? None of my business, just curious.
I don't want to say anything, here or anywhere, that might lead to a Dem vote being lost, that's all.
Let’s start this Tuesday if you live in a Super Tuesday state. You will get the media’s attention with a huge turnout instead of the usual 10% Usvotefoundation.org
or your local town official website has tons of info. Turn in your mail in ballot today. Think of your children and grandchildren.
The bigger the win, the better. We already know Trump and his minions will claim they actually won the election, but a huge win -- HUGE -- makes that harder for "the silent majority" to believe their lies. Don't forget that 70% of All Republicans believe Biden won in a not-quite-kosher election. 70% of All Republicans.
Biden needs a blow-out.
Biden has to win big. Remember, Hilary won 3 million more popular votes than Trump, but he still won.
Nor the Constitution.
We are fast becoming a country who reneges on their pledges. We assured Ukraine assistance if attacked. Now what is happening? I would not want to have the republican party as a partner in war. When the tough gets going, they would leave me hanging. They do not have my back.
I am astonished that my fellow peeps in the reality-based community keep falling into this trap. Remember how Superman of Integrity Robert Mueller was going to vanquish the monster for us? (Didn't happen. Wasn't gonna happen.) The legal system and rule of law not going to save us. We are going to save the rule of law. Remember, the saying is: "A republic, if you can keep it." Not: "A Republic, if you can keep it, unless you don't trust your fellow citizens enough and would like an easy Hollywood way out, in which case Jack Smith and his crack team of Super Lawyers will save it for you through sheer smarts!"
The current Supreme Court should always be counted on to do the wrong thing. Every single time. Any exceptions are a red herring. If you actually thought they weren't gonna mess this one up because it was so obvious, I dunno what to tell y'all.
Will, Contrary to your view, my understanding is that the Founders sought to establish structures of government and to balance their powers in a way meant to protect the country from the misdeeds and machinations of any one branch. It is of note that they understood the need for constant checks and balances against the excesses of any one power center and enacted such. Regrettably, one thing they didn’t anticipate was a Congress and judiciary subsumed under the dictates of a presumptive presidential nominee eager to consolidate power, wherein the rule of law could be subjugated to an individual.
Admittedly, given said fatal weakening of American civic institutions, despite our founders best efforts to enlist guardrails, we’re all we have left to try and protect the remnants of democracy we’ve managed to preserve.
All true. No one anticipated an Impeachment Trail so crooked that the Articles Impeachment did not stand a chance of an open and fair hearing. Not once but twice. A DOJ afraid of its own shadow. Then a Supreme Court packed with Right Winged Justices. In the meanwhile, Republican Congressional Leaders saying the Judicial System will sort the Trump mess out. Guess not. Too much for one branch of government to untangle.
We got fat, dumb and happy and now our way of life, the shining citadel on the hill, may live in darkness until we vote democracy back in power. They say we are sleepwalking into Fascism. For many it’s a nightmare unfolding before our very eyes. Congress members washing their hands of the mess they dodged and now blaming others.
Handwashing and blame shifting has only but begun. This is only going to get uglier and uglier until MAGA draws its last breath and vacates their offices of political power.
Joe, Your synopsis of how we got here, however painful, also could be instructive, amplifying that no one any longer can just sit and wait and watch. Instead, we must train ourselves, acquire enough knowledge and strength to resist falling prey to the adage There’s nothing to be done because nothing can be done.
Agreed & Thank You. So much is at stake and the ticking clock of the electoral calendar favors another go at a federal general election. Here is hoping democracy wins over fascism once again. 🙏🙏🙏
Joe, As for hope, I take heart from the presence of virtually every participant in this forum. I am grateful for the daily reminder that none of us is alone in this fight.
CONservatives have always reacted very badly when the justice department comes after them. The DOJ was founded to combat the KKK. When it has gone after congressional members, it has always been vilified. Read PREQUEL, where seditionists in congress walked.
"For many it is a nightmare unfolding before our very eyes."
While I agree with you BJK in terms of the ideals of the framers of the structure of government in the Constitution, that structure, and Democracy itself (which the actually did not want, btw), has always been dependent on (as Blanche Dubois said) "the kindness of strangers." What I mean by that is that the judiciary has been coopted by the Forces of Evil numerous times in the 250 or so years of the USA--Dred Scott? Silence or agreement with the Indian Removal Acts? The entire era of Andrew Jackson? Virtually all the antebellum laws governing enslaved people? The anti-humanist, anti-egalitarian, anti-female, anti-democracy systems were embedded in our country from its inception by people who really preferred an oligarchy to a true democracy, and used everyone's reverence for the Roman Republic (which was an oligarchy, make no mistake about that) as a way of introducing antidemocratic systems into the mix. And the life-term judiciary is an excellent example of that. The only way those systems get dragged, kicking and screaming, into modernity is through the action of citizens, who vote out the totalitarians, the bigots, the misogynists, and replace them with others, DESPITE a rampantly reactionary judiciary. We have been unfortunate in that our electorate is now significantly less well educated (TFG "loves the poorly educated") and far less savvy about what is actually going on, than at any other time in our history. Despite the lower access to public education in the past, the educational systems in place 50 years ago and farther back actually taught stuff. That changed under Shrubby Bush. So now we are dependent on the actions of people we hope desperately will figure it out and show these [4 syllable expletive] the door. But we also know that many of them will remain in place to do their dirty work.
There is a good reason why the "Cato Institute" calls itself that, although claiming to be "Libertarian" is an oxymoron, as Cato was anything but a libertarian. He was the model for 20th-century Italian fascism. Rome was not a "democracy" of any kind. The word "democracy" comes from the Greek demos=people and cratos=rule. Republic comes from Latin: res=stuff (literally: things, stuff, business), publica=out in the open, public. So it doesn't refer to an actual political structure you can hang your hat on. It means the stuff people (read: men of a certain elite social class) do in public. That can be anything. So that is where we are.
Linda, I learn so much from your comments. Thank you.
Linda, great synopsis. Thank you for that assessment of how we got where we are, and acknowledging that our foundation is based in oligarchy, not democracy. We've tried like heck to make it democratic, but the oligarchs are winning.
Sigh. Alas, yes. And there was no Cornelia (mother of the Gracchi and daughter of Scipio Africanus) to smack people upside the head for being dumbasses, although Abigail Adams did try. There was a very good reason why Cato hated her (and her sons).
Linda, While I don’t dispute your knowledgeable and well-reasoned commentary, overall, we do hold different views of a then-revolutionary promise of a Republic convened in 1787. My understanding is that its founders, generally speaking, desperately desired representative government by popular consent, albeit initially white male property owners. As for its evolution, as with virtually all of America’s historical movements that have met with repeated frustration and failure, one idea wherein our roots have remained fundamentally grounded is that we can be better.
Hence, however bad things are at any given moment, I bank on our galvanizing a critical mass to work as well as we can to shape a more generous common future.
Thomas should recuse himself from any discussion based on his conflict of interest with his low-life wife. And why hasn't Thomas been indicted for tax evasion? He should have declared the written off loan with Crowe as income.
Gary, While holding Thomas accountable is necessary, because we’re so far down the rabbit hole, said remedies are not nearly sufficient. Accordingly, I’m beyond expecting anyone but ourselves to resuscitate the roots of our democracy.
he will never recuse. NEVER.
Where's my laugh emoji? Thomas recusing would be an admission his wife is a criminal since he is too, he'll keep up the con.
Barbara, I typically appreciate and often agree with Will's opinions, but today's rang with a cynicism that I believe *was* unfounded (at least until yesterday's decision to grant cert.). You are correct, in that we were right to have faith in the system that has served us for so long.
Sadly, we can no longer depend on the institutions, as they are crumbling. It's up to us to buttress them by our votes -- both you and Will are right in that regard.
Will, you are correct. Democracy is not a spectator governing system. Those of us that have faith in the rule of law have been confident that would always be the case, while the conservatives and libertarians have been plotting the Lewis Powell Memo implementation. Just look at how the conservatives have been assaulting the law through the courts. They are working to strike down the administrative state that keeps order in the country and prevents exploitive actions.