Vice President Kamala Harris has continued to rack up endorsements and delegates since President Biden’s surprise announcement yesterday that he would not accept the 2024 Democratic presidential nomination.
Heather ticks off all its abysmally key features, but the one constant we have now is Kamala's steady focus on the derangement, criminality, and sexual abuse in the psychopath heading their ticket. As Heather quotes her, "So hear me when I say I know Donald Trump's type.”
We all do. But the national press has normalized it. Thank God Kamala is doing the opposite.
After Biden's utter failure on June 27, I was an emotional mess. I couldn't sleep. After the attempt on the life of Donald Trump on July 13, my emotions flatlined and I slept through the night encased in peaceful indifference. At the tail end of this election season, we've experienced two unforeseen events, Biden's debate disaster... and the assassination attempt on Trump. In the aftermath of the Republican convention, we witnessed a party that peaked too soon, an embittered tribe that is obsessed with the past, with histrionic rage and with authoritarianism. On July 21, we witnessed a Democratic Party on the verge of embracing new leadership and a vibrant future. The unforeseen event can cause an election trajectory to do an instant one-eighty or veer off like errant fireworks. The unforeseen event can also spark the resurrection. I am already seeing the rebirth. Our sadness and frustration is morphing into enthusiasm. Biden is being portrayed as a patriot, acting selflessly for the good of the country. Trump is now the doddering old man with the addled mind. Now, if we can just keep from making a mess of it all.
Last sentence a keeper. Don’t screw it up Dems. Yes, the last month has been an emotional wringer like I haven’t experienced in my long life. A month that has seemed like half my life. It’s hard to not feel caution since I know of the long term effort that has gone into the Repubs sink to the bottom. They still have money, hate, the cult crazy, and Rupert. Also their golden calf and his extreme six. Hopefully some of their disciples will snap to but our silent majority is silent no more.
We risk entering modern dark ages. Many of us could lose our civil rights. The right to vote. Some of us could face physical; harm. Millions of unregistered folk trend heavily Democratic. FT6 has a database containing 9 million unregistered likely Democrats in swing states. FT6 uses every outreach method there is: email, text, phone, geofencing, direct mail, targeted ads, social media storms, postcards, and live voter drives. Register Democrats -- save the world.
We’ve been working tirelessly for what seems like forever with ft6 to register voters in two congressional districts in NC. This week, since the convention and now the change in the top of the ticket our ranks are swelling and people are excited to meet each other at the gatherings we are having two to three times a week.
Ilene, As a North Carolinian I thank you for your tireless work and am out here doing the same. NC will be blue this fall because we are sick of the red.
Mark Robinson may be the personification of Satan.
Obama won NC in 2008, and Biden only lost by 1.3% NC is saturated with veterans and military families, who can be flipped. We need to partner with Democrats Abroad and Vote Vets.
Ilene and Hoyt, I live in a small, very red community and county, and hope is on the horizon that these people who want Trump to be the president of our United States will wake up to the fact that he is unfit, unable, incapable, and unqualified by so many standards.
Whoever posted that Trump is a "fine and brilliant young man" is as delusional as Trump. I'm hoping that his followers will somehow see through these delusions.
And, I'm just wondering. What is so terrible about a candidacy of "Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion?" I thought that's what this country was founded on and promoted by those who recognized the importance and the need for these values.
I hear that Mike Johnson wants to sue the Democratic party for Biden"s withdrawal. What's THAT about?
Pam, I had this very DEI conversation with a MAGAt wife of one of my former coworkers. (It concerned Tractor Supply dropping the DEI commitments they had made). When I asked her about diversity, equity, and inclusion as specific examples of things she said she believed in, she replied resoundingly that she was in favor of them, I told her that was part and parcel of what DEI was and stood for, and asked why she was against it. Her answer: "Politics".
No clue about what Howdy Doody SotH means with that. Good grief!
Pam, I read the fine and brilliant remark as death star himself speaking. He is delusional and I love the name of Conway's new group. What is terrible about DEI is that, as I posted to Ally, being white is no longer enough to be viewed as somehow superior. As for little Johnson, he is just another clueless R who is grasping at straws.
Do you see any means of changing even some votes where you are. I’ve been surprised recently when talking to a few neighbors recently who I’ve been avoiding that they are not as entrenched as I thought. Definitely not Trumpers. There are a number of grassroots efforts going on in rural NC. Have you joined up with any? Do you want to? Those who have joined up to do one thing around here as they emerge from obscurity are so happy to be meeting more like minded individuals than they knew existed. Not sure where you are but you can private message me if you want to find some people in your area.
Pam, I think it's the whole "spaghetti party" mentality of the Republican Party. They will keep throwing ridiculous things up against the wall to see what will stick. They have learned that if one throws enough crap, something sticks and our courts are helping out as much as they can: Cannon dismissing what is actually a serious criminal case for which Trump should have been in jail; voting that Trump could have immunity for whatever he does/did in office if he claims it is official - they don't explain how planning an insurrection is official, but they don't think they have to; the SC deciding only the ignorant members of our courts can decide about drugs, food safety, pollution, and the rest of the things our agencies do. Johnson is a lawyer and should know better, but he will sue if he can and maybe the courts will rule for him, whatever that means, but too bad, Harris is our candidate and that's it! Republicans, stop acting like toddlers. It is fine for that behavior in tired 3-year-olds, not in middle-aged and old white men. Republicans, including Johnson, grow up!!
Maggot Mke, a gutteral lost Cult soul whose lips are superglued to the Orange Depends clad ass takes his orders from GOP billionairs funding 2025 and their fascist-nazi "propaganda"think tanks
Republicans under the tutelage of trump have gone sue happy. They seem to like to spend their campaign money on lawyers, so let them...as long as a Cannon type doesn't have the case and delays it until forever.
THIS. Definitely this. He carries all three of the "dark triad": narcissism, sadism and machiavellism.
And the MAGAts love him for it, because they want to be narcissistic, racist, misogynistic a**hole themselves, just like the sickening orange turd they revere as an idol.
You are correct, Dutch. They want Trump to crush the "undesirables," i.e., women's rights advocates, minorities, immigrants and gay rights advocates. Google "The Anger Games: Who Voted for Donald Trump in the 2016 Election, and Why?"
Yes...the Diaper-Clad Rapist is a poster "child" for Narcissistic Personality Disorder. The hoodwinked flocks of brainwashed sheep in MAGA attire are slaves..co-dependents...misinformed souls.
The Dems are likely going to do something a demographic pickup, the women in landslide numbers across suburban America and elsewhere, mega Blacks, even the youth are going to turn an ear in Dems direction... i do hope. My internet feed went apeshit for Kamala, pro Dem sites i've never heard of just showed up. FB fever i guess!
Is it just me, or have we just done the equivalent of successfully storming the beaches at Normandy? The war is still on, but we have done a fraught, but powerful thing. Emotional momentum seems to renew us for the fight ahead.
J.D., you are right about not becoming complacent. Republicans will never do that. They are so committed to a Hitleresque model of government with them in charge, they will fight to the very end to make it happen, then when it turns out to be as bad as we knew it would, they will blame Democrats for it. Republicans today need to be people who can't accept responsibility for anything, can't see reality even when it is shown to them with great evidence, and want to live in a fantasy with Trump as some kind of heroic figure. There is simply no reality in any of it, but it seems, to be a Republican, one must suspend thought, consideration, kindness, wisdom, and courage so they can follow a lie. It is astonishing! We Dems do need to celebrate though so we will have the energy for the really hard work ahead!
So true, they have been energized for decades. The election of Obama brought out so much hate that shocked me. As usual, racism and misogyny, soft or hard, fuels so much of it.
agreed that we have more than just Donald Trump to worry about. It’s a movement with a lot of very focused conservatives wanting to roll back our freedoms and our protections. They’ve got gerrymandered states gerrymandered Supreme Court gerrymandered lots of stuff, that we have to undo. When we take the Senate and the house, we will have to be hyper focus on undoing the damage they have caused.
Your post makes me think of a word I chew on a lot: revolution, which means both turning and overturning. With Kamala Harris, I believe we have both and in the best ways. Continuation of the mission, in the President’s words, and the reversal of our mindset from despair to hope, necessary to meet that mission.
We have a very firm foothold now.......let us all push forward, clear out the dug in Maga's... attain our freedom and obliterate and crush the Orange cult once and for all time.
I agree with everything you say, I would just like to add the phrase “by a registered Republican “ to your sentence itemizing recent events. I wonder why we don’t know any more about either the shooter, his motive for the shooting, or the extent and cause of T’s injury. With every other shooting, within days and sometimes hours, we know who the shooter was, their motivations, quotes from social media, friends, neighbors or teachers, as well as information on those injured. Most of this information in this high profile shooting is somehow missing.
I think the answer is really simple, but is necessarily complicated by agencies trying to justify their existence. Bright, massively bullied 20-year old, living with computer gets a bad idea and researches carrying it out. The first part is all he manages. It’s a sad story, repeated in a thousand lesser known and less lethal ways all over America. We have to go back to real education, real medicine, real food (if we can manage it with climate change), AND SOME COMMUNITY FUN!
There’s a lot more, but all of you reading this know various versions of what it is!
It seems to me that this lonely young man let himself be taken out by police or Secret Service. He was a victim of bullying, he wore camo to school, fell in with gun nuts, and unfortunately, decided to make a name for himself in infamy. I feel sorry for him and his family. Info has come in that he was casing both parties and their rallies for opportunities to make his move. It's hard to understand his mindset.
Mona, that's my take too. Among other things he didn't make his high school shooting team, so he wanted to do something spectacular. He was also obsessed with the Princess of Wales.
There is no significant "injury"; see the picture of him on the golf course yesterday...no bandage, no scar. Clearly it was a small shard of glass from the shattered telepromter that grazed him. It will come out publicly some day this year.
Penny. I think the same way. I can’t put it past the rebuts to stage this miss. Not thinking it through of who might end up in the cross fire. Was the shooter offered a purse??? He was young and maybe didn’t think that in the process he would be a victim 😬. ???
He was a terrible shot, but obsessed with guns and explosives. As more info has come out about him, I think it was probably not staged, but that was my first thought which tells us how low we think death star and aiders and abettors might go.
All it did was give Trump another reason to claim he was treated worse than any other President and wear a maxi-pad covering his ear which the cult could mimic and claimed that only by God’s intervention the bullet was diverted (but unfortunately into an unsuspecting attendee). If there was a political statement to be made it would have been uncovered and presented by this time.
The fight is just beginning. We have a huge surge of energy, but it will take grit, and persistence and courage to keep it up, full speed, until November 5th and perhaps even after. Easy to say, hard to do. So we all need to get to work (or continue to work).
I challenge proof there was an actual assassinat attempt on dumpty. No medical report, a staged giant bandage over his poor widdle ear, and on there for far longer than a supposed injury would require.
Stagecraft and poor dead bystander. And a dead crazy kid who was reputed to be a lousy shot.
We'd have way more information about his motive if the hyper-skilled Secret Service had just wounded him instead of intentionally blowing his head off!
I don't think the SS did this. Most are very "conservative" types.
Personally I think there are so many wicked men desperate to return him to the office he is so grossly unqualified for, and they have a background in espionage and media manipulation, that it was really easy. West Podunk PD was probably overmatched (how many cops are in butler, PA?). How hard would it be to find a local gun nut incel to take the fall? How many vantage points were there where a legit sniper could take up a post.
I have to agree. I think it was a staged event! I don’t sign on to conspiracy theories, but this just doesn’t add up. Tragic that a man is dead and 2 others injuries.
Welp.., like the assination of JFK.., "We" will never know all the details that could be attributed to that event. Some being true, some being concluded. Same with this "event". I do feel (believe..) that Ms Cheatle has all kinds of "details" and she damn sure shouldn't disclose them to the likes of Boebert & Empty Greene, nor to you and I. Why not? Simple.. "We" do not have the 'need to know'. These are the same 3 words which apply to information which is "classified" confidential, secret, top secret. And that's the way it is, and should be, in a legitimate form of government such as ours here in the USA.
Thanks Phil, regardless of main stream media, starting Labor Day the American Citizens will realize 'oh! this is an election year' After listening to a few of the blithering idiotic "speeches" from trump, and hate-filled blather from jd they'll be relieved to get behind Kamala.
Not yet, but she will. She endorsed Biden/Harris in 2020.
My bet is the big celebrities (Taylor, Beyonce, Olivia Rodrigo, Lady Gaga, etc) wait until people start tuning in (October) to announce. I’m 🤞🤞 that Taylor ties her in with a concert at some point.
Ears and eyes are going to get "tuned it" for sure! Sanity with excitement, and "social" policy America sorely needs, USA is such an outlier among the OECD, considering it is the world's largest economy and by far military superpower.
JD Vance is a one man Trump wrecking ball-- his hate speech is eclipsing CFDT's. He definitely got the HARRM memo (Hate, Anger, Resentment, Revenge and Misinformation).
The Senate MAGA Republicans are already painting Kamala as a far-right progressive liberal. I don't see an upside to responding to this BS. Instead attack the Republicans for hating women and the doctors that care for them, or that USED to care for them. I heard this morning that 1/3 of the counties in Tennessee have no OB/GYNs. They rank 3rd highest in infant mortality rate. This is the MAGA South that the Heritage Foundation wants to expand across the entire country.
Amazing how socio-economically backward states vote against their own best interests, and that's a big part of GOP heartland. You will find similar stats for eg Alabama, Mississippi and so on. We can in part thank a white Evangelical base for that, i suspect
It goes to show you how voter suppression works. A buddy of mine in Jackson, MS, who is a rare Democra in Jackson, MS, talks about the poor black tenement farmers along the Mississippi River bottomlands that are totally disenfranchised and unable to vote for multiple reasons. He also talks about how one could drive blindfolded from a rich county to a poor county and know the second you cross the county line.
Too many people in the red states earn way less than the living wage and the Republicans REFUSE to raise the minimum wage above $7.25/hour. They argue that few people actually only get paid $7.25 an hour. So, it's ok, I guess to pay $8.00 an hour because it's so much above the minimum wage.
JD adds zilch to tfg’s ticket. He will not attract a single voter tfg already has in his pocket. Harris on the other hand has already received the enforcement of the Nikki Haley PAC and going forward can garner more independents and never Trumpers. I will up my letter writing to voters. We cannot become complacent thinking Harris has this. We need to vote like she is 20 points in the polls behind tfg. And she needs to carry WI, AZ, PA, MI and the dream would be OH. We have work to do so let’s get it done. 104 days and counting.
Your description of "the MAGA South," Gary, eerily echoes what happened in Russia.
Same playbook, same 1, 2, 3 cast of characters.
From 1991 on in the former Soviet Union an alliance formed among 1) its former officials (nomenklatura) who would turn the working classes back into serfs (massive ill health, shortened life spans, and alcoholism there to match opioid crisis in U.S.); 2) U.S. bankers and Ivy League elites (J. D. Vance exactly) who invested in the new class of predator-oligarchs; and 3) religious proselytizers who piously intoned murderous nationalism.
There is another type to be concerned about. Although amidst the palpable relief and almost enthusiasm of the moment, I did not expect to encounter it just yet. It's already spoken up. The type who helped elect Trump before. The type who - even now - insists on voting as an individual exercise in personal expression and puts their purity tests above all else. Who says 'if your candidate does not meet my demand then you deserve Trump.'
Republicans have demonstrated that if you unite then you can elect anyone. And this leftish type would rather let them than acknowledge voting as a joint exercise to take power.
These people indeed exist (not only in America!) but were neutralised in 2020. They can be neutralised again. That’s why reaching out to sensible people from the across the political spectrum is important. That’s why a campaign can contain and optimise both the George Conways and the AOCs. At their best, Democrats are big tent, and that will expose the shrinking tent of the Trump Republican Party. Harris has experience with big tent politics and has the positive energy to embody them.
Let's step back and acknowledge we have an unethical political system that resembles a fake WWE wrestling tournament rather than a regulated sporting event.
Ethics has 2 competing objectives:
Utilitarian- A normative ethical theory that encourages actions that maximize happiness and well-being for the greatest number of people.
Just rights- focuses on human dignity and holds that it's morally wrong to interfere with someone's rights, even if it would benefit a larger group of people.
So,lLet's make it simpler and select our candidates on which delivers most on the 6 aspirations written in the Preamble.
1- form a more perfect Union
2- establish Justice
3- insure domestic tranquility
4- provide for the national defense
5- promote the general welfare
6- secure the blessings of liberty for ourselves and our posterity
Kamala Harris checks more boxes than Donald Trump, beyond a reasonable doubt.
"That, whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles, and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness."
Will Vice President Harris and the Democrats along with all of us, convince enough voters that Project 2025 and the democracy killing Republican Party needs to be abolished and quashed?
It's not good enough for Harris to win if the MAGAs control the House and/or the Senate.
Yes, a full purge on the National level. But PLEASE!!, don't overlook the critical importance of removing the MAGAts from our state governments! My state, the MOST corrupt state of Ohio, needs a 'house cleaning' like never before. And the list of states trying to overtake Ohio's lead in the 'Most Corrupt' race is a long one. The MAGAt purge has to be all-inclusive.
Hear hear Daniel. Even the bluest state governments are being targeted by the Republicans for takeover. In PA north of Philly, the Republicans drew district lines to include specific households on one side of the street and then switch to the other side. All of the information is out there, and the Dems need to prevent this extreme form of gerrymandering.
Im confident that Harris will make it clear that project 2025 Project's objective is to give the President the power to destroy the government and make himself dictator, which is not and never was why our government was founded disqualifying any government official that supports that notion and is sufficient grounds for impeachment and discharge. Bye bye Heritage foundation.
Aaron, you got me thinking about ethics, so what follows is your fault. ;o)
I would say ethics has 2 "conflicting" objectives, and that the conflict is a dilemma, and not a problem.
Translation: "Unethical" is treating the inevitable conflicts between the utilitarian objective and just rights as a problem with a one-step solution. "Ethical" is treating the conflict as a dilemma with a multi-step resolution.
For example, the three dissenting justices expressed legitimate concerns about the presidential immunity ruling, and Roberts treated those concerns the way I treat a mosquito when it lands on my arm. If he had been ethical, then there would have been evidence that he had applied time, energy, and attention to understanding those concerns. But he couldn't do that because if he had, then he would have forced to recognize the insanity of that ruling.
It seems to me "unethical" is a symptom that won't be addressed until you understand its cause, and its cause is a manifestation of cognitive dissonance. Roberts knew he was doing something bad, AND he had to convince himself he was doing something good.
It comes back to what Viktor Frankl said about changing ourselves when we are no longer able to challenge a situation. It is unethical for me to ask another person to consider the possibility that they might be suffering from cognitive dissonance if I'm unwilling to do that myself.
James R. Carey, I am so grateful for your sage post today. I have never read such a succinct explanation of "Unethical" vs "Ethical", and I find it very helpful personally, as I try to make sense of the nonsensical that defines our modern-day info-sphere. "Conflict is a dilemma, and not a problem." calls to my mind Fred Rogers, delightfully. He always had sage explanations for us. And this highlights my agreement with you and Victor Frankl that ultimately it is WE that need to change ourselves, and be the democracy we need. Thank You again for your post today.
Your welcome, and thank you. To be more complete, a conflict between people is a dilemma and not a problem. The conflict between me and the mosquito is a problem.
"Let's step back and acknowledge we have an unethical political system that resembles a fake WWE wrestling tournament rather than a regulated sporting event." I respectfully disagree. What we have is an imperfect union. Democracy is most certainly messy. I am grateful for that messiness. Authoritarian governments are not messy.
As to the wresting reference. Can we please not lump the Democrats into that category. This is false equivalency. The Democrats have, erroneously, been deemed the feckless Party when in fact that appearance represents how it works.
Unethical? According to which system? According to who?
I took graduate ethics. It is a vast and complex and hard to put into a neat sentence or two science. The greater good is a wide-open term with so many iterations as to boggle the mind.
Life and politics cannot be put into a check marked list. There are aspirations and then there are feasible realizations. A checklist discards the suppleness of situational leadership, shifting global politics and an anti-democracy opposition.
The DNC have created a solid platform. I am going with that.
"More than 44,000 people logged onto a Zoom call to support Harris and raised more than $1.5 million for her campaign in three hours, according to Win With Black Women founder Jotaka Eaddy."
All Kamala All the Time in WaPo breaking news. Mostly positive. (Except MAGA shills George Will, Jason Willick et al spouting the MAGA chaos tactic of an open convention.)
There are some media figures I will never look at again as I did before the Biden withdrawal. It was quite a pile on. Nicole Wallace and others were a profound disappointment. It was graceless and base.
I read Catherine Rampell religiously and Dana Milibank is married to a Congresswoman's daughter. But Jennifer Rubin is so prolific writing 4 or more columns every day.
Yes, Sophie, "At their best, Democrats are big tent."
But is this tent big enough to include Bernie's concerns for the U.S. working poor?
He's called Kamala absolutely fine, but is holding off endorsing her till they have more conversation about priorities for America's working classes. He's afraid an insufficiently strong position against the larcenous rich will just let them continue robbing most of the people to further float, privilege, comfort the mega rich.
Our Dem tent big enough to allay Bernie's concerns?
I thought I hear Elizabeth Warren endorsing Kamala? That is almost like Bernie endorsing Kamala.
I can't imagine anyone in the US knowing more about our bankruptcy laws and how health care costs have ruined families with one single emergency hospital visit.
This is so wrong. No family or person should be forced into bankruptcy by hospital or doctor bills. My mother-in-law has avoided bankruptcy many many times thanks to Medicare and supplemental insurance. At 86 years old she is incapable of filing claims or even shopping for insurance. My sister-in-law has been her caregiver for years and manages the labyrinth we call our health care system.
Thanks to Reagan's policies on government retirement benefits she receives the bare minimum SS benefit while her ex-husband receives a government pension of over $5,000 a month. They were married for 27 years and she raised the kids while he worked for Uncle Sam.
My sister-in-law is unable to work since my mother-in-law needs someone to be with her 24/7.
My mother-in-law is only one of millions of people who require a full time caregiver. I'm sure many of those commenting here are in similar situations where you are the primary caregivers. You are all Saints, for doing what you do.
Bernie did a rant on legit social concerns , admitted to having that phone call, but I thought Kamala yesterday at her campaign speech i think, put in a significant chunk of progressive meat to attract progressives, a laundry list of wishful thinking which only gets turned into real policy if the Dems break through some of that gridlock in Washington. The only think she left discreetly out was an overhaul of the Supreme Court.
Sophie, they need to be more than nuetralized. They need to be deeply buried by a landslide that shows that the citizens of the US do not like their vision of retreat to the good old days and will never accept that vision.
If the Dems can surface more of the underground non-voters than MAGA, gridlock might get dissolved enough for real advance. Likely means wiping out the filibuster. Overdue! Look how Mitch managed to get the ultra-conservative Supreme Court in place.
I'm counting on the youth vote coming through like they did in 2016 and 2018, 2020 and 2022. And with Harris heading the ticket, I think they will support the Dems.
I agree they need to be overwhelmed by a Dem landslide victory. And if that good fortune happens, we need next to remember that the hateful animus of maga, is an American dilemma, a many-headed hydra, a zombie that never really is dead. Never, never, never stop being vigilant.
the Dems are the only broad based social coalition in America today, fighting in a lopsidedly conservative electoral system. "big tent" indeed. Agreed on Kamala!
Good and bad things about the big tent. Slime seeps in by flaps you didn’t know were left open. Still, attractive to some who hadn’t considered it before
agree - I have a relative in Michigan who just couldn't hold his nose and vote for Hillary - so he didn't cast a vote for the top of the ticket -- in a SWING state -- I thought that was so dumb and so arrogant.
I don’t think Joe was concerned about covering himself in glory. Unlike Mr Trump, whose sole purpose in life is to bath in accolades and fawning minions. Joe has taken a big one for the team, Team America! Thank you Joe . Your selfless move should be remembered and memorialized as the Great American Experiment has been given a renewed hope for success. And Mr Trump’s sheep can choke on all their Brandon crap!! And as usual, other people will suffer the financial loss… same old song. Booo hooooo😥
I don't get what many Democrats have against Bernie. Bernie supported Clinton once she was the Nominee, and also supported Biden. I have no doubt he will support Harris. I was a Sanders alternate delegate, but supported Clinton once Bernie was out, as did others I know. I knew some narrow issue folks who would not vote for Humphrey (and I too was pissed at the heavy handedness of the DNC) but then the alternative was Nixon, and I knew that that would not go well. I know that there are always people who obsess on winning a narrow battle, while oblivious to winning the war. You can't save a branch if you don't protect the tree.
I think that some Democratic leaders have been too dependent on corporate largess. Joe Biden has not been one of them, nor, so far as I currently can tell, has Harris. In any case, Trump and the Greedy Old Plutocrats are the clear and present danger, so for sure, first things first.
Until "Citizens United" is legislated into the dustbin of history, it would be a foolish politician who turned away big bucks from big donors. It's like trying to fight an someone with an AR-15 (and a bump stock) - with a pocket knife.
This isn't any different than WWII where we aligned with Russia to save the world from Hitler.
If by any chance we get a Blue Trifecta on November 5th, we should push for campaign reform laws and quash the impact of PACs...and expand the Supreme Court to ensure our democracy isn't the instrument of the oligarchs. Oh, and tax them mercilessly.
I agree, Bill, but am cynical enough to believe that an all-Blue Congress would shrug at the notion of legislating the end of Citizens United. They, too, are suckled by the corporate teat.
Yes. But as we move forward to a better democracy, we can begin to use the source of election funding as a litmus test for our candidates.
You are absolutely correct. But I have faith that younger generations which have been traumatized by Trumpism will move us in the direction of a "cleaner" democracy - eschew the influence of the oligarchs.
They might also embrace another one of my favorite premises:
Automatic voter registration. You get a voter ID issued along with your Social Security card - it's effective the day you turn 18. It's available on a national voter database to print out or to have on your phone if you lose it. Just like a boarding pass.
Oh, and pardon my caffeinated imagination this AM. Voting will be mandatory. You will be able to vote easily from wherever you are completing your National Service.
Money is a form of power, and any form of social power can be abused. Political power, in my view, is the process by which we decide whose will prevails, which is why there is politics in families, businesses, voluntary associations, etc. Critically, it can be collaborative or coercive. It can be compassionate or psychopathic;, and money can buy outcomes, whether it is applied to obtain a cup of coffee or murder for hire.
Historically abuse of the power of money has been the enemy of human rights and justice, so a civilized society bans its use to corrupt. Alas, after decades of notable even if uneven progress toward social justice in our society, we have been beguiled into legalizing stealth corruption though tolerance of plutocratic capture of our social information systems, and passivity toward the increasing influence of de facto bribery on our ostensibly democratic process. We treat "war chests" a legitimate major determinant of "electability" or legislative outcomes as if the Constitution meant this to be so. In fact, "bribery" and "treason" are the two serious crimes that the Constitution spells out as a deal-breaker for presidents and all other civil officers of the US. And if it stinks like bribe, and corrupts like a bribe, it should escape attention. Outcomes are more important that nomenclature.
It's the money, and I won't say "stupid", because who among us cannot be a fool? But foolishness fan be tragic, even deadly. History is brimming with examples of that.
I am so grateful for your wisdom garnered from past experiences. Thank you for your participation within Heather's "family of subscribers".
You have given a brief but very informative view of our political past as our nation faces an unknown future.
I am grateful for the person of President Joe Biden. He is a hero....a man whose character stands way above most. He is a shining light....an example of patriotism. He is proof that one can serve this country and remain true to its better qualities.
President Joe Biden and Jill will finish well....we are blessed by being served and led by a couple who have given their lives to the people of this nation and to the ideals that represent "freedom for all". They have been and will continue to be an example to the world of goodness and greatness.
Thanks again JL, for inspiring us with your experiences from the past .
I don't know why you can't abide me and why you think that I will be the death of you. I was a Bernie delegate in 2016. I canvassed for Hillary. Then I canvassed for Biden. I'm surprised, Marla, at your ugly stereotyping of me and Bernie's supporters.
There is a big difference between Bernie supporters who like Bernie are responsible and reasonable and Bernie Bros who are neither. Too bad these provocateurs appropriated 'Bernie' for their own antidemocratic antics.
Marla, Bernie’s message is still a very important one. If we revert back to the corporate mindset of economic inequality and wage slavery we will get another demagogue like Trump. Quit screwing the little guy. It doesn’t seem like you get that.
Bernie is a good man, and his supporters as well. To me it was one word which took him out.. "socialism". Not what it is. Heck no. It's the SOUND of the word.., it rhymes with 'communism' or gets misconstrued by jerks (who can't spell or read) to mean something like what they think is communism.., or fascistism (whatever). If you tell those "jerks" that 'subsidies' or 'social security' is actually "socialism.., they look at you cross-eyed. Socialism! That's what took Bernie out. So bizarre. Because now we have the (R)ss-holes (MAGAtts) siding with Putin & Orban. Strangely we rarely hear the word 'communist'.. do we? Socialism has made this country great.. communism is where we'll end up with a replay of #45. C'mon Kamala.., shake it up!
All our donations to the DNC went through Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders, most often as Independents by whatever name each state chose for true independents (not the American Independent Party).
Elizabeth Warren left the Republican party as I did in 1996. The only time I was registered as a Democrat was when we needed to be to vote for delegates to the convention in 2016. Because we found so many new voters along with dissatisfied Democrats and Republicans, I found it easier to discuss issues with them as an Independent, especially when it came to getting them to vote across party lines or at least register as No Party Preference in California so they could vote in Democratic primaries (by requesting a crossover ballot).
We are not the Bernie Bro types you seem to think are so numerous, having supported and always voted for the Democratic nominees in the end. I do hope you appreciate the ones we were able to keep voting more rationally, for their own good and that of the country, no matter what party label they chose. No one can get all of them, but we got a lot of them.
Still Independent, doing my best to earn the trust of those who don't like either major party demands for blind following, and will lean far heavier towards the current Democrats (or far away from the current miss-leaders in Elizabeth Warren's and my old party).
Democrats 35.13%, Unaffiliated 32.27%, Republicans 28.33% (or 39.07% behind Dems and Unaffiliated combined). Third party and others make up 4,27%
This is a state that most consistently of any state voted for Republicans as President:
26 times out of 27 between 1856 when the first Republican ran and 1960,
The only exception being 1912 when:
Wilson got 39.43% of the popular vote
Teddy Roosevelt got 37.41% as a Progressive
Taft got 20.48% as the Republican
(Roosevelt and Taft together got 57.89%, splitting what would have been Republican votes that would have easily beat Wilson).
Our 2nd District is most rural and seems to lean about 2/3rds Republicans. That’s not as scary to me since I believe they are not a solid block at all behind Trump/Vance though they might hopefully have second thoughts about down ballot Republicans who too strongly support the top of the ticket, too. I want as many as we can get to put country over party when it comes to things like fighting against the twisted Project 2025 that would destroy our Democracy, especially if the worst parts were actually enabled.
Jim, I think we have to assume the worst parts of Project 2025 would be implemented if the voters remain apathetic and uninformed. That is why we are at this point.
Bernie has been about the only guy advocating social policy much of the OECD has put in place years ago, if imperfectly. That's a big plus for the Dems to have in their progressive wing. You do have to fight the communist socialist hate rhetoric of the Maga/GOP however, likely the biggest reason USA remains an outlier among developed nations despite having by far the world's largest economy and military. Bit of a repeat here of earlier comment.
I was volunteering in Operation Breadbasket the year that those idiots rejected Humphrey, who had been on the right side of the important issues for decades, wasn't radical enough for them. I photographed all of the Dem candidates when they spoke to Jesse's Breadbasket rallies. I have no use for folks like that.
I feel sorry for Bernie that these Bros have attached their name to his. They are a group voicing their grievances. I don't begrudge them that. But I stopped associating them with Bernie Sanders, himself, long ago. I admire Bernie, and don't attach any nefarious reasons for his delay in announcing his position or concerns.
The Trojan horses have become easier to spot. The group of Bernie supporters I started working with passed my first test when a young enthusiast suggested we fight as dirty as the Republicans (not knowing that I quit the party when a well placed fund raiser asked some of us to fight dirtier than Democrats). I held my tongue as the group took a few breaths then informed him that we would have none of that in our group, firmly setting the concept that he and his friends humbly accepted as the proper way to go. I'm glad all the ones we encountered were just too unaware of how much we wanted to take the higher roads, but decided to go the same way in the end.
Remind them that under Harris there is a chance to be heard....under Trump none? I know some will pursue chaos no matter the situation....some will be intractable.
For example....Lloyd Doggett from Texas said Biden should step down, he did, and Doggett still cannot get on board with Harris. I do not believe, those who react this way care that 'Democracy is at stake', it's a me, me, me approach to politics.
Perhaps, lin. But the frame for the future just changed with Kamala's step-up. Now the younger people feel that the future is theirs for the taking. They are realizing they are no longer sitting at the "kids-table" of politics. And contrasting THAT future against "you-deserve-trump", may not hold..- he's an old, dumpy, hate filled, word-salad-spewing narcissist They may be inspired by the energy of the zeitgeist. Or at least some of them will shake their nihilism, and apathy. It's hard no to be lifted and changed when the people around you are energized and different - and hopeful. It takes energy to be apathetic, and resistant in the face of hope. Some will double-down on their familiar position. Others will not. Add the "others-that-will-not" to the newly, relieved and energized voters, and I believe we have a better chance of winning.
Biden won by 7 million votes in 2020. The Democrats have been winning election since 2028, sometimes by as much as 50-52% of the vote. The significant donor migration to Harris, and the smooth and quick migration of delegates to Harris belies any reluctant "leftish type."
Can we please admit the Democrats are going into this contest very strong?
I think some hidden shy Democratic voter is a myth.
Attacking Harris’s ascent as a product of Diversity Equity and Inclusion speaks volumes. The inference is that Harris is woefully unqualified and is taking the position away from a white, straight, man.
They are right about one thing, she will be taking one job away from a white, straight, man.
Questioning the qualifications of the highest ranking in our nation’s history means that the GOP thinks no accomplishment outweighs the “drawback” of being a woman.
THIS is a laser on Truth and what has been the divisive virus of denial splitting our country: “The failure to treat Trump’s behavior as pathological has led the media and the country, perversely, to treat it as normal,” Conway told The Independent, and said that Project 2025 should be seen as an extension of Trump’s malignant narcissism “because basically he wants to turn the government into a mechanism for retribution.”
You and 99% of Americans!! which is why the money is pouring in and volunteers signing up. We've all be sitting in our living rooms just waiting for someone to call this man out!! the first words out of anyone's mouth should be "convicted rapist".
National Press is no longer held to the creed of citing sources, accuracy in reporting or even SEEKING the truth.
I honestly think that after 25+ years of unregulated internet, we now have a great example of the need, practicality and ability to present accurate "news".
If sources are not cited in online news, that particular cite is labeled as "entertainment" and not to be relied upon as a verifiable news source.
Disclaimers (the views on this broadcast do not necessarily reflect those of the company"
Phil, you are so right and I do hope Kamala Harris will keep the focus on Trump's "bad behavior" and that of his team and ask people how they think that goes with Christianity since so many of the Trumpers and Trumpettes claim to be christian but are OK with Trump's lying, cheating, adultery, skipping church, swearing, and having his gods of money and power over God. The media can't seem to ask the Trump Klan any of the tough questions they drilled Biden with on a regular basis, so it is truly a normalization of bad actions as well as the toddler whining, insulting, name-calling, and blaming. It will be refreshing for Harris to call Trump out on all his "weaknesses" and he can't whine any more about age since Harris is 19 years younger than Trump.
1) The Biden insiders and leftist media lied about Biden's condition for 3 1/2 years. Biden hadn't meet with Democratic Congressional leaders in 3 years and his cabinet in a year? Who was running the country?
2) Is this a Democratic coup? Who's idea was the debate? They knew it would be a trainwreck to get him out the of the race. Where is Biden now? No interview? Just a tweet?
How did Harris get all the delegates in 2 days?
3) Why did the Secret Service director resign? A 20 year shows up on a bike with a back pack
a range finder, and a bicycle climbs a building with a easy shot? Cheatle refused to answer any
questions at a Congressional hearing? What is she hiding? Another incompetent Biden hire.
Where they trying to get Trump killed?
Add mis-management of the economy, Ukraine, Iran, Israel. The Border, Crime and you see
You are proof that leftists are idiots. You can't cite one example of what you disagree with? That's too taxing for your brain. Everything I said was TRUE.
BTW - The Democratic leadership and Donor Class threw Biden under the bus and you have nothing to say? He was forced out. That doesn't sound like democracy.
How did Kamala get all the delegate votes in two days?
Vance who? HA! Just a glorious day, wasn’t it? We haven’t been happy for a while so I think we should bathe in the beauty of knowing Democrats and maybe new converts are feeling the unity, the love too. We deserve it because so many people have been writing letters and postcards, making phone calls, and knocking on doors for Biden. But now, we have a smooth transition made by Joe to Kamala. It’s truly amazing what Joe has given to all of us…so selfless. Everything and everyone is still intact, an unbelievable amount of money has been donated, and I want to say that I am one of those 888,000 small donors! Guess where Kamala goes tomorrow for her first campaign speech? Milwaukee!! Haha
Glorious indeed! The past 48 hrs has been incredible, with the groundswell of support for Kamala Harris, and the expressions of gratitude to Joe Biden for all he has accomplished in his term thus far.
Ah yes, but of course! Not sure how I missed that. It’s not like it’s the first time I’ve seen the name of your Substack (and have read it a few times). Perhaps a little too tired today to connect the dots….
Butler County, Ohio's own JD Vance. My daughter graduated from Miami of Ohio, a very fine university in Butler County. Butler County is NOT Appalachia.
But if it were, there would still be good people there, smart people there who know better than to support the Republicans ticket. That ticket is a ticket to nowhere. Appalachia is ‘somewhere.’ and it’s worthy of affirming that.
Thank you, Diedra and JennSH. In my opinion, J.D.Vance is an odious opportunist with no redeeming qualities. Elizabeth Catte's What You Are Getting Wrong About Appalachia is a repudiation of Vance's Hillbilly Elegy, and vastly superior to his "memoir". It's well worth reading.
I’m a European ally. For the first time in months I’ve felt energised by the sheer va-va-voom quality of Harris and her nascent campaign. I’ve long been an admirer, and believe that she will now unleash her full positive energy. This is a woman with chops, charm and at the top of her powers (and yes, in politics, charm matters). There couldn’t be a greater contrast with an ageing, paranoid confidence trickster and his Handmaid’s Tale wingman.
In addition, I want to salute President Biden, not only for his selfless act and inspiring legacy, but for the smart choice of timing in his announcement - just after the RNC convention, just after he had given an example of unity and humanity following Trump’s assassination attempt, just after Trump picked an extremist Christian Nationalist as his wingman, just after the world saw a bunch of crazies with sanitary pads on their ears at the RNC convention - thus upsetting the Republican applecart and exposing its rottenness.
Heather, your live cast was inspiring and gave many much hope for the future. I would love to see you expound on the ways we can hold the media accountable going forward. I am a US citizen but work overseas, so I believe that is one way to do my part.
Your notes from Vice-President Harris' speech are so important.:
"But we believe in a brighter future that makes room for all Americans.” She promised to continue the work of building the middle class, protect abortion rights, enact commonsense gun safety legislation, and protect voting rights."
We cannot simply campaign on who we are not. It is vital to provide a realistic vision of our path forward as a nation. Most everyone who reads the LFAA's knew Trump as a horribly corrupt lying narcissist conman long before his felony indictments and conviction. We know he was a horrible President, and we know Project 2025/Agenda 47 are plans (I suppose since they have been made public, they are not a conspiracy to destroy the system?) to exacerbate wealth inequality and concentration while intensifying the polarization, hate, and fear of an all-too-easily divided United States.
There must be a comprehensive plan, legislation, and policy ready to sign on day one of a President Harris' first term as President. And in order to implement the plan it will require a Senate and House Majority that will address the corruption of the Supreme Court and the clear bias of so-called Judges like Cannon and Kacsmaryk. Our failure to provide a favorable legislative and judicial pathway for a Harris Administration will simply continue to erode our institutions and our ability to provide a stable nation for our children, grandchildren, and generations yet to come.
George, you nailed the extreme importance of the down ballot vote in your comment… “provide a favorable legislative and judicial pathway for a Harris Administration…”
Two of my congress critters are self-described election deniers. Scary when I think we are one of the “swing” states.
Seems like a good day for a little optimism. Here’s some:
Harris will enable a huge turnout of black voters in Georgia, maybe bigger than the Obama turnout, and Georgia is only 56% white, so Trump needs both a big turnout of white voters and about 90% of their votes. He may well fall short on either count, putting Georgia in the Harris column. Her VP choice could bring in Pensylvania or Arizona and a strong turnout could deliver the other one. We already know from the Wisconsin Supreme Court election that abortion rights can deliver a big turnout and a solid majority in Wisconsin. That’s four crucial states that Harris has a good chance of delivering.
Seems to me that Harris will get 100% of the votes of white people like you. The question is whether white people like you comprise more than 10% of white Georgians. We have some evidence that they do. Warnock won, for example. But Georgia rethugs have upped their voter suppression game, so there’s that problem, too. Still, your boots-on-the-ground optimism is delighted to hear.
I live in GA, and have 2 family members who have never voted before that are millennials that are excited to vote for Harris. Most of our family is mixed / black so this is pretty exciting, they really are happy that a younger person is running that aligns with their values. Anecdotal evidence of course, but Warnock won recently and there have been some demographic changes in GA over the last few years since Covid. I think with Kamala, NC and GA are definitely in play. It'll be an uphill fight but I think both states are in play.
The three GenZs of voting age in my family are fired up, too. NC might be harder to pull off than Georgia. It’s 70% white, so the Orange Jesus only needs about 70% of the white vote there. However, a much higher fraction of the white population of NC (vs GA) are decent human beings, probably because the Research Triangle and other sophisticated employment opportunities bring in residents without a white Southern “heritage” (as they like to call it).
Thanks for the strategic state points, Rex, and i suspect by the time the Dems Convention arrives, it's going to be a BLOWOUT event, then straight into Sept on overcharge.
I have two pieces of advice for VP Harris and her campaign. The first is to focus on Trump, as I’ve described before. Prosecute that bastard everyday. The second is to not prosecute his base. Talk to the disaffected that form the ranks of the populist movement propping Trump up. Speak with understanding to their feeling abandoned by the elites and the Progressives, that the American dream had passed them by, that other groups seemingly have been given preference over them, that while they had been the bedrock of America’s economic greatness their future was stagnating, that they were losing ground while those other groups were advancing at their expense, that federal agencies have been corrupted against them. Convey to them that you understand and will bring them back into the mainstream, that the American dream and exceptionalism will be part of their future, not a part of their past. Knock the legs off Trump’s pedestal. Convince them you will work to make our systems and our institutions work for them, not against them, that you understand that our democracy and our Republic needs them now more than ever. In short, build unity.
Thank you. This is exactly the demographic concern that I have been struggling to put into words. I am heartened by the political support being gifted to Harris by many of the worker’s Unions, but the winning of the hearts and minds of the millions of families whose lives have been marred by the consequences of 40 years of neo liberal corporate corruption is key to the winning any US presidential election 💙
Emil, unfortunately I have a sister in the Trump camp. She and her circle are in a “culture war.” They are not listening to talk of understanding and inclusiveness. They won’t listen to a single thing that Harris says. The Dems should reach out only to Dems to get out the vote and to swing voters, but the remaining 30-40% are untouchable — not worth the effort in this campaign.
Cathy Wampler, yes the effects of a decades long indoctrination and pseudo-religious campaign have affected some to the point that they will not listen, and cannot change. But that does not change Emil's excellent point not to attack them. Kamala needs to model what she preaches--that America is for all, not just those with whom we agree.
Cathy, Some 77 million Americans voted for him in 2020. They (the vast majority anyway) are not our enemy, they are fellow Americans. If we exclude them, what does that say about us?
Emil L. Posey, I think the middle ground between you and Cathy Wampler is in your initial statement: Attack Trump and his policies but not his followers. Do not exclude them from the message, simply offer them the clear choice, and let them decide whether or not to come into a better tent.
and maybe highlighting the ways the Biden administration has already helped them . And that their legislators voted against each and every one, but claim credit afterwards. Don't say this with malice. But offer how better it would have been to have their own legislators agree that the help was worth voting for to make the lives of their constituents better and more secure.
And, how much more could have been done (e.g., the secure border bill) if their legislators had been consistent in their votes in DC with what they told their constituents at home.
It might not help, but say to them it was working people like them that heard the evidence and returned the indictments and convicted him. Just regular ole working people.
Yeah, I have the same problem. I asked my 2 MAGA sisters to explain why they think tfg is so wonderful and how he will make America great again and I get crickets. I asked them to read Project 2025, then get back to me and share how that plan will make America great, and again, crickets. In other words, they got nothing!
If you watch "God and Country" you realize that part of the indoctrination is that they should NOT read or listen. It's better to drop nuggets from our own reading into conversations in small doses.
Please don't forget the many Independents that often out number Republicans as here in Maine. Even among registered Republicans there are from 20% to 30 % that I feel would at least reject the top of the ticket and in many places tip the balance in down ballot races.
They may be critical allies, much like the Opposition Coalition or anti Nebraska Act mix of parties joined with the as yet unnamed new party that broke the Pro Slavery party hold on control of the House back in the 1854 election.
Far too many of those still in my circle think it sounds just fine; they go no farther than establishing evangelical Christian dogma as the national religion, however. They don't read "the fine print"...
"Convey to them that you understand and will bring them back into the mainstream". That sentence bugs me for some reason.( You do don't bug me that you articulated your advice this way. I am just noticing that I'm caught emotionally on that sentence. This is my personal "stuck position".) The Dems have offered ways back to the mainstream for decades. They have chosen to believe charlatans. And vote against their saving. They have flailed in the river while life preservers floated past. I understand the wisdom of NOT framing it to them this way. But no one can bring them back into the mainstream, without their own willingness to grab the life preservers we've been tossing to them. And for Kamala to convey to them anything, they first must be willing to listen. Because to my memory, Biden-Harris has done nothing but evoke the "We are All in this Together" since they ran in 2020. Their actions have helped red-state America the most, and without thank you.
I sympathize with your position and others here that have the same concern. Many on the Right are lost souls, so to speak, and are quite bellicose about it. They are not persuadable. I have many friends and relatives that are staunch conservatives and support Trump because *they* see no alternative among the Dems. One, for example, was a (retired) project manager of a key NASA human-rated space flight hardware program. I worked with him for over ten years. He is one of those that is convinced that the Dem Party is out to change America for the worst. I have had an ongoing discussion with him since Trump came down his elevator and have yet to mellow him out. But I still like and respect him, and I won't give up on him. I believe the Dems must reach out to these folks. Some are dissuadable, but not all are. The Dems must accept the challenge to reach out to them. The most serious threat facing our Republic today is the bitterly antagonistic partisan divide. VP and presumptive nominee Kamala Harris really should step up to that challenge. Trump never will. He has the leadership of a troll. Harris can do better. (Okay, I'll get off my rant. Thanks for you response.)
I’m sure Trump promised RFK Jr. the position as head of the CDC. If you were apoplectic about Covid when Trump was President just think what would happen in a second term.
RFK jr folding into MAGA, have to laugh at that. I did notice in the 538 polls, he's run at a nominal 9 % or so through the entire campaign. Double-desperation?
Tfg was super bummed (technical term) when he lost to HIM (Joe) in 2020. Can you imagine if he loses to HER in 2024? A woman! Of color! Her candidacy and public self have energized me.
Thanks wow has kamala and team pulled it all together in lightening speed and may the sense of hope and excitement ride through the election 🗳️ Did biden know this could would happen?
Dr Bob….Biden quietly plays three dimensional chess whilst others dither over tic tac toe. He may be old, but he is also wise and a true statesman/public servant. I was always ridin’ w/ Biden, but must admit a surge of electric enthusiasm when he threw all in for Kamala—the respect and affection they hold for each other is clear & he has been an excellent mentor for an already talented woman. I dare say he will remain a trusted advisor once she is POTUS.
I agree. Joe has always been able to read the room. And be flexible, which is why his bipartisan efforts have been so superior. The repubs are running out of gas, and desperately searching for a fill-up; but their car, alas is electric. Thanks, Joe, for your excellent service. May your elder-statesmanship last us well into your hundreds.
We're used to the deranged old man. The choice of a candidate two decades younger allows the Democrats to attack the derangement even more strongly. And the choice of Vance aids their case. Vance is devoid of any principle other than ambition. He had to pose as a RWNJ and suck up to Trump in order to get the nomination. Now they're stuck with each other.
Jennifer Rubin echoed HCR's 'expert at timing' insight yesterday. I recall Ms Rubin referred to.. it was something like, Biden's 'canny' judgement and 'self awareness'.
Whatever. President Biden auctioned a brilliant tour de force whilst 'letting go'.
I commented on here before about my centenarian republican employer who was in the Eisenhower administration who told me republicans hated Joe Biden (in 2008 no less) but he went on to say many democrats hated him too. He said they agreed he was an "a$$h0le" which I now take it to mean he was full of surprises. Which is exactly why I always loved him. Thank you Joe for always being an unpredictable & totally refreshing choice. He said you never know where he stands & that infuriated them & made them not trust him. Thank you Obama for choosing this unpredictable man for your vice president. He was a brilliant choice. And "laughing Kamala" was brilliant Joe's equally brilliant choice. Finally thank you Kamala. I always loved you too.
I agree Sharon with the brilliant Biden assessment. As for Kamala Harris' laugh I have noticed 'it/she' makes me smile, makes me feel more relaxed and open to hear her. Such it is :- )
Already, my MAGAt Facebook "friends" are trundling out the nasty references to her laugh. I have to remember that with them, the meanness is the point. Mean and nasty.
I think it was a two way street. She was making phone calls while endorsements, delegations and money were pouring in without waiting to be asked. That tells you how solidly the party has coalesced, and how ready people are to get to work. And to give credit where credit is due, a lot of people have been doing the work all along. What has changed for them is how they feel about how the fight is going. All of the emotional feedback loops have swung to the positive.
I wouldn't be surprised, and Joe is deliberately being a pro-Kamala voice, already "barged in" on one of her public message moments - campaign HQ i believe.
Whenever an angel appears, the first words spoken are "Fear Not." I am grateful Professor Heather is the brilliant angel who clearly and diligently brings forth reality out of chaos every day so that we have nothing to fear but fear itself.
This came into my in box this morning from a friend in England who sends me quirky items about animals. I can't send the photo, alas, but it's big and clear. Anyone got a frog emoji?
"A magnificent tree frog which is usually a bright green colour has been found in Western Australia, and it is blue. Why? Apparently, it is a rare genetic mutation."
Funny that a green tree frog should turn BLUE just now.... It obviously disagrees with the Australian press.
Huge mistake by trump in appointing an extremist like himself as vice president, and such a phony person too. The republicans have been completely blindsided by this move by Biden, simply masterful. Go Kamala! We can win this and we shall!
I haven’t experienced such a change in mood since Hitler invaded the Soviet Union on June 22, 1941. Previously England had been alone, fearing invasion from a Nazi-occupied Europe. Suddenly, the mood changed dramatically for England and for my family (my mother was British and I had relatives in the British army and navy).
Despair turned to hope as a path to victory suddenly appeared.
I feel tremendously indebted to President Biden, a noble warrior who has restored our country’s greatness after four years of Trumpmania. I applaud him for handing over his democratic crusade to a younger team that will carry the Biden banner through the November election and beyond.
I feel a massive mood change in America. The Project 2025 [aka Mein Kampf] blimp of Titanic Trump is now sharply in the sights of my freedom fighters. Trump is naked against assaults that he is a frightening, incoherent old man who seeks to take America backward rather than forward.
Trump sought to steal the American flag for his cult. I shall seize a Reagan slogan, after the stagflation of the early 1980s had been conquered: IT’S MORNING AGAIN IN AMERICA.
But please, do we have to have Reagan who is in part responsible for the mess we’re in with the loss of the middle class.
Have you got a better one? If it weren’t that Trump’s “boys” may be on a rampage (party leaders promising revolution) we could do “Happy Days are Here Again.” I still have my father’s shot glass with the donkey and the slogan.
The shot glass came to me with the donkey, so I assumed FDR ‘32. Now I have to look up what year prohibition ended. In my neighborhood there were both a bootlegger and still busters (the local name for government men who found stills and destroyed them). I recently tasted corn vodka from Wisconsin. Best I’ve ever drunk. It made me laugh thinking of “corn likker, a product of the stills.
I hope the non-billionaire Reaganites will prefer Harris to Trump, but not certain.
It's a train wreck, the Republicans' campaign.
Heather ticks off all its abysmally key features, but the one constant we have now is Kamala's steady focus on the derangement, criminality, and sexual abuse in the psychopath heading their ticket. As Heather quotes her, "So hear me when I say I know Donald Trump's type.”
We all do. But the national press has normalized it. Thank God Kamala is doing the opposite.
After Biden's utter failure on June 27, I was an emotional mess. I couldn't sleep. After the attempt on the life of Donald Trump on July 13, my emotions flatlined and I slept through the night encased in peaceful indifference. At the tail end of this election season, we've experienced two unforeseen events, Biden's debate disaster... and the assassination attempt on Trump. In the aftermath of the Republican convention, we witnessed a party that peaked too soon, an embittered tribe that is obsessed with the past, with histrionic rage and with authoritarianism. On July 21, we witnessed a Democratic Party on the verge of embracing new leadership and a vibrant future. The unforeseen event can cause an election trajectory to do an instant one-eighty or veer off like errant fireworks. The unforeseen event can also spark the resurrection. I am already seeing the rebirth. Our sadness and frustration is morphing into enthusiasm. Biden is being portrayed as a patriot, acting selflessly for the good of the country. Trump is now the doddering old man with the addled mind. Now, if we can just keep from making a mess of it all.
Last sentence a keeper. Don’t screw it up Dems. Yes, the last month has been an emotional wringer like I haven’t experienced in my long life. A month that has seemed like half my life. It’s hard to not feel caution since I know of the long term effort that has gone into the Repubs sink to the bottom. They still have money, hate, the cult crazy, and Rupert. Also their golden calf and his extreme six. Hopefully some of their disciples will snap to but our silent majority is silent no more.
We risk entering modern dark ages. Many of us could lose our civil rights. The right to vote. Some of us could face physical; harm. Millions of unregistered folk trend heavily Democratic. FT6 has a database containing 9 million unregistered likely Democrats in swing states. FT6 uses every outreach method there is: email, text, phone, geofencing, direct mail, targeted ads, social media storms, postcards, and live voter drives. Register Democrats -- save the world.
https://www.mobilize.us/ft6/event/643086/
https://www.fieldteam6.org/
We’ve been working tirelessly for what seems like forever with ft6 to register voters in two congressional districts in NC. This week, since the convention and now the change in the top of the ticket our ranks are swelling and people are excited to meet each other at the gatherings we are having two to three times a week.
Ilene, As a North Carolinian I thank you for your tireless work and am out here doing the same. NC will be blue this fall because we are sick of the red.
This is the sort of news we need more of. Focus on Congressional races. Plan for success. Give the new President the majorities she will need.
Go for it, Hoyt!
I hope so!!
Mark Robinson may be the personification of Satan.
Obama won NC in 2008, and Biden only lost by 1.3% NC is saturated with veterans and military families, who can be flipped. We need to partner with Democrats Abroad and Vote Vets.
Must have NC Gov Roy Cooper as VP! He won twice in the maga controlled state!
Ilene and Hoyt, I live in a small, very red community and county, and hope is on the horizon that these people who want Trump to be the president of our United States will wake up to the fact that he is unfit, unable, incapable, and unqualified by so many standards.
Whoever posted that Trump is a "fine and brilliant young man" is as delusional as Trump. I'm hoping that his followers will somehow see through these delusions.
And, I'm just wondering. What is so terrible about a candidacy of "Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion?" I thought that's what this country was founded on and promoted by those who recognized the importance and the need for these values.
I hear that Mike Johnson wants to sue the Democratic party for Biden"s withdrawal. What's THAT about?
Pam, I had this very DEI conversation with a MAGAt wife of one of my former coworkers. (It concerned Tractor Supply dropping the DEI commitments they had made). When I asked her about diversity, equity, and inclusion as specific examples of things she said she believed in, she replied resoundingly that she was in favor of them, I told her that was part and parcel of what DEI was and stood for, and asked why she was against it. Her answer: "Politics".
No clue about what Howdy Doody SotH means with that. Good grief!
Pam, I read the fine and brilliant remark as death star himself speaking. He is delusional and I love the name of Conway's new group. What is terrible about DEI is that, as I posted to Ally, being white is no longer enough to be viewed as somehow superior. As for little Johnson, he is just another clueless R who is grasping at straws.
Do you see any means of changing even some votes where you are. I’ve been surprised recently when talking to a few neighbors recently who I’ve been avoiding that they are not as entrenched as I thought. Definitely not Trumpers. There are a number of grassroots efforts going on in rural NC. Have you joined up with any? Do you want to? Those who have joined up to do one thing around here as they emerge from obscurity are so happy to be meeting more like minded individuals than they knew existed. Not sure where you are but you can private message me if you want to find some people in your area.
Pam, I think it's the whole "spaghetti party" mentality of the Republican Party. They will keep throwing ridiculous things up against the wall to see what will stick. They have learned that if one throws enough crap, something sticks and our courts are helping out as much as they can: Cannon dismissing what is actually a serious criminal case for which Trump should have been in jail; voting that Trump could have immunity for whatever he does/did in office if he claims it is official - they don't explain how planning an insurrection is official, but they don't think they have to; the SC deciding only the ignorant members of our courts can decide about drugs, food safety, pollution, and the rest of the things our agencies do. Johnson is a lawyer and should know better, but he will sue if he can and maybe the courts will rule for him, whatever that means, but too bad, Harris is our candidate and that's it! Republicans, stop acting like toddlers. It is fine for that behavior in tired 3-year-olds, not in middle-aged and old white men. Republicans, including Johnson, grow up!!
That is a desperate effort to stop what Johnson knows will be a shitshow for them. He is grasping.
Maggot Mke, a gutteral lost Cult soul whose lips are superglued to the Orange Depends clad ass takes his orders from GOP billionairs funding 2025 and their fascist-nazi "propaganda"think tanks
Republicans under the tutelage of trump have gone sue happy. They seem to like to spend their campaign money on lawyers, so let them...as long as a Cannon type doesn't have the case and delays it until forever.
Breach of contract to marry, maybe ?
Well done! Thank you and everyone for your hard work.
Ilene, thank you and your fellow patriots for all your hard work. I’m so glad that the new enthusiasm is getting you some much needed help.
They will likely get any donations I can make
JD, they do have money, true, but we also have George Conway. I love him and have just made a donation to his super pac: https://www.psychopac.org/
I do believe that George is correct, Trump is psychotic.
Trump is a psychopath. He is a malignant narcissist, a dangerous psychiatric diagnosis.
THIS. Definitely this. He carries all three of the "dark triad": narcissism, sadism and machiavellism.
And the MAGAts love him for it, because they want to be narcissistic, racist, misogynistic a**hole themselves, just like the sickening orange turd they revere as an idol.
You are correct, Dutch. They want Trump to crush the "undesirables," i.e., women's rights advocates, minorities, immigrants and gay rights advocates. Google "The Anger Games: Who Voted for Donald Trump in the 2016 Election, and Why?"
Yes...the Diaper-Clad Rapist is a poster "child" for Narcissistic Personality Disorder. The hoodwinked flocks of brainwashed sheep in MAGA attire are slaves..co-dependents...misinformed souls.
Glad we have him and chump has his ex…
The Dems are likely going to do something a demographic pickup, the women in landslide numbers across suburban America and elsewhere, mega Blacks, even the youth are going to turn an ear in Dems direction... i do hope. My internet feed went apeshit for Kamala, pro Dem sites i've never heard of just showed up. FB fever i guess!
Is it just me, or have we just done the equivalent of successfully storming the beaches at Normandy? The war is still on, but we have done a fraught, but powerful thing. Emotional momentum seems to renew us for the fight ahead.
Maybe not just you, MLR, i think a wholesome tzunami just came into the harbour.
Don’t get complacent. As bizarre as this month has been, I’m sort of scared what is around the corner. What evil lurks. Celebrate but keep watch…
J.D., you are right about not becoming complacent. Republicans will never do that. They are so committed to a Hitleresque model of government with them in charge, they will fight to the very end to make it happen, then when it turns out to be as bad as we knew it would, they will blame Democrats for it. Republicans today need to be people who can't accept responsibility for anything, can't see reality even when it is shown to them with great evidence, and want to live in a fantasy with Trump as some kind of heroic figure. There is simply no reality in any of it, but it seems, to be a Republican, one must suspend thought, consideration, kindness, wisdom, and courage so they can follow a lie. It is astonishing! We Dems do need to celebrate though so we will have the energy for the really hard work ahead!
So true, they have been energized for decades. The election of Obama brought out so much hate that shocked me. As usual, racism and misogyny, soft or hard, fuels so much of it.
Thank you everyone. 👏🫶
Ilene , sister Harris , et al everywhere…go ahead punk (rhymes with _ _ _ _ _) make my day!
We have come to fruition.
Let’s get this done.
💙🇺🇸VOTE ALL THE COMPLICIT OUT🇺🇸💙
Energy begets energy
agreed that we have more than just Donald Trump to worry about. It’s a movement with a lot of very focused conservatives wanting to roll back our freedoms and our protections. They’ve got gerrymandered states gerrymandered Supreme Court gerrymandered lots of stuff, that we have to undo. When we take the Senate and the house, we will have to be hyper focus on undoing the damage they have caused.
Joe did a great job last time, still half an Everest to climb.
Your post makes me think of a word I chew on a lot: revolution, which means both turning and overturning. With Kamala Harris, I believe we have both and in the best ways. Continuation of the mission, in the President’s words, and the reversal of our mindset from despair to hope, necessary to meet that mission.
Biden stepping aside is our D-Day.
We have a very firm foothold now.......let us all push forward, clear out the dug in Maga's... attain our freedom and obliterate and crush the Orange cult once and for all time.
My enduring hope is to live to see maga turn on trump.
When dealing with Narcissistic Personality Disorder cases....often times for your own personal protection and sanity.......you must go no-contact.
If you cannot take care of yourself first.......there is no way you can take care of others whom you truly love and care for.
I agree with everything you say, I would just like to add the phrase “by a registered Republican “ to your sentence itemizing recent events. I wonder why we don’t know any more about either the shooter, his motive for the shooting, or the extent and cause of T’s injury. With every other shooting, within days and sometimes hours, we know who the shooter was, their motivations, quotes from social media, friends, neighbors or teachers, as well as information on those injured. Most of this information in this high profile shooting is somehow missing.
Penny, perhaps the erasure of all Secret Service phone, text and email communication after J6 may help explain the current information brown out
I think the answer is really simple, but is necessarily complicated by agencies trying to justify their existence. Bright, massively bullied 20-year old, living with computer gets a bad idea and researches carrying it out. The first part is all he manages. It’s a sad story, repeated in a thousand lesser known and less lethal ways all over America. We have to go back to real education, real medicine, real food (if we can manage it with climate change), AND SOME COMMUNITY FUN!
There’s a lot more, but all of you reading this know various versions of what it is!
It seems to me that this lonely young man let himself be taken out by police or Secret Service. He was a victim of bullying, he wore camo to school, fell in with gun nuts, and unfortunately, decided to make a name for himself in infamy. I feel sorry for him and his family. Info has come in that he was casing both parties and their rallies for opportunities to make his move. It's hard to understand his mindset.
Mona, that's my take too. Among other things he didn't make his high school shooting team, so he wanted to do something spectacular. He was also obsessed with the Princess of Wales.
Agree which makes me wonder and I’m not one for conspiracy theory’s but this smells fishy to me.
When Putin needs a bump in the polls, he is known to release a bogus claim of assassination attempt but there is never any evidence for details.
There is no significant "injury"; see the picture of him on the golf course yesterday...no bandage, no scar. Clearly it was a small shard of glass from the shattered telepromter that grazed him. It will come out publicly some day this year.
Penny. I think the same way. I can’t put it past the rebuts to stage this miss. Not thinking it through of who might end up in the cross fire. Was the shooter offered a purse??? He was young and maybe didn’t think that in the process he would be a victim 😬. ???
He was a terrible shot, but obsessed with guns and explosives. As more info has come out about him, I think it was probably not staged, but that was my first thought which tells us how low we think death star and aiders and abettors might go.
He was paid to act, I believe.
All it did was give Trump another reason to claim he was treated worse than any other President and wear a maxi-pad covering his ear which the cult could mimic and claimed that only by God’s intervention the bullet was diverted (but unfortunately into an unsuspecting attendee). If there was a political statement to be made it would have been uncovered and presented by this time.
We do know a lot about the shooter. Classmates and neighbors talked about him and his parents.
yes, please let's keep from making a mess of it all.
The fight is just beginning. We have a huge surge of energy, but it will take grit, and persistence and courage to keep it up, full speed, until November 5th and perhaps even after. Easy to say, hard to do. So we all need to get to work (or continue to work).
As the words of a great song “We shall overcome”
We shall overcome
We shall overcome
We shall overcome, someday
Oh, deep in my heart
I know that I do believe
We shall overcome, someday
We shall be alright
We shall be alright
We shall be alright, someday
Oh, deep in my heart
I know that I do believe
We shall overcome, someday
We shall live in peace
We shall live in peace
We shall live in peace, someday
Oh, deep in my heart
I know that I do believe
We shall overcome, someday
We are not afraid (oh Lord)
We are not afraid (oh Lord)
We are not afraid, today
Oh, deep in my heart
I know that I do believe
We shall overcome, someday
We shall overcome (oh Lord)
We shall overcome (oh Lord)
We shall overcome, someday
Oh, deep in my heart
I know that I do believe
We shall overcome, someday
Song by even greater person Joan Baez
Songwriters: Pete Seeger / Frank Hamilton / Zilphin Horton / Guy Carawan / Julie Anne Evans
I challenge proof there was an actual assassinat attempt on dumpty. No medical report, a staged giant bandage over his poor widdle ear, and on there for far longer than a supposed injury would require.
Stagecraft and poor dead bystander. And a dead crazy kid who was reputed to be a lousy shot.
We'd have way more information about his motive if the hyper-skilled Secret Service had just wounded him instead of intentionally blowing his head off!
I don't think the SS did this. Most are very "conservative" types.
Personally I think there are so many wicked men desperate to return him to the office he is so grossly unqualified for, and they have a background in espionage and media manipulation, that it was really easy. West Podunk PD was probably overmatched (how many cops are in butler, PA?). How hard would it be to find a local gun nut incel to take the fall? How many vantage points were there where a legit sniper could take up a post.
Could it be...Satan?
Jen Andrews, with trump every crazy idea seems plausible. where is that medical report?
I have to agree. I think it was a staged event! I don’t sign on to conspiracy theories, but this just doesn’t add up. Tragic that a man is dead and 2 others injuries.
Welp.., like the assination of JFK.., "We" will never know all the details that could be attributed to that event. Some being true, some being concluded. Same with this "event". I do feel (believe..) that Ms Cheatle has all kinds of "details" and she damn sure shouldn't disclose them to the likes of Boebert & Empty Greene, nor to you and I. Why not? Simple.. "We" do not have the 'need to know'. These are the same 3 words which apply to information which is "classified" confidential, secret, top secret. And that's the way it is, and should be, in a legitimate form of government such as ours here in the USA.
Yes...."now if we can just keep from making a mess of it"
Yes.., it does appear that we have found a way out of the bag. She's the ticket!
"At your highest moment … be careful. That’s when the DEVIL comes for you!" —Denzel Washington.
I too am boomeranging back from despair and the cohesiveness that's quickly emerged is delicious!
"as Biden’s decision to step away from power contrasts powerfully with Trump’s desperate attempts to cling to power with the Big Lie"
trump loses, the trials begin, and prison awaits! And then I can start writing my children's book (not just for kids) on why you shouldn't lie....
Well said, Greg. You described the emotional roller coaster 🎢 perfectly.
And yes, we must ride this new high until 11/5 (and beyond).
I’m optimistic. Once we shift from being nauseated by the roller coaster to enjoying the ride, we win. 🏆
Exactly what I have been experiencing and feeling!
TFFG has been addled for several years now! Plus he has no doubt been evil all his life!
You are delusional.
You are cheering on the assassination attempt? Harris is a terrible candidate.
There is a tsunami coming in November and its going to flattened the Democratic party.
Ditto
Thanks Phil, regardless of main stream media, starting Labor Day the American Citizens will realize 'oh! this is an election year' After listening to a few of the blithering idiotic "speeches" from trump, and hate-filled blather from jd they'll be relieved to get behind Kamala.
My hope is, the momentum will result in a democratic take over of the House and Senate.
Yes…what SUSAN SAYS 😘👏👏👏👏
Only if we channel Taylor Swift and outregister the barbarians.
Who knew Taylor Swift was waiting for Harris' eventual candidacy before announcing endorsement!
Come on, Swifties, GOTV!!
did she endorse Kamala?
Not yet, but I feel it's coming!
timing is everything.......as we have seen.
Not yet, but she will. She endorsed Biden/Harris in 2020.
My bet is the big celebrities (Taylor, Beyonce, Olivia Rodrigo, Lady Gaga, etc) wait until people start tuning in (October) to announce. I’m 🤞🤞 that Taylor ties her in with a concert at some point.
Beyoncé has endorsed Kamala
And Beyonce is allowing Kamala to use her song "Freedom" during her campaign.
I dream
Ears and eyes are going to get "tuned it" for sure! Sanity with excitement, and "social" policy America sorely needs, USA is such an outlier among the OECD, considering it is the world's largest economy and by far military superpower.
OPPORTUNITY... (has knocked on the door). It's been eight years in the coming!
JD Vance is a one man Trump wrecking ball-- his hate speech is eclipsing CFDT's. He definitely got the HARRM memo (Hate, Anger, Resentment, Revenge and Misinformation).
The Senate MAGA Republicans are already painting Kamala as a far-right progressive liberal. I don't see an upside to responding to this BS. Instead attack the Republicans for hating women and the doctors that care for them, or that USED to care for them. I heard this morning that 1/3 of the counties in Tennessee have no OB/GYNs. They rank 3rd highest in infant mortality rate. This is the MAGA South that the Heritage Foundation wants to expand across the entire country.
Amazing how socio-economically backward states vote against their own best interests, and that's a big part of GOP heartland. You will find similar stats for eg Alabama, Mississippi and so on. We can in part thank a white Evangelical base for that, i suspect
It goes to show you how voter suppression works. A buddy of mine in Jackson, MS, who is a rare Democra in Jackson, MS, talks about the poor black tenement farmers along the Mississippi River bottomlands that are totally disenfranchised and unable to vote for multiple reasons. He also talks about how one could drive blindfolded from a rich county to a poor county and know the second you cross the county line.
Too many people in the red states earn way less than the living wage and the Republicans REFUSE to raise the minimum wage above $7.25/hour. They argue that few people actually only get paid $7.25 an hour. So, it's ok, I guess to pay $8.00 an hour because it's so much above the minimum wage.
Gary, I have a friend who lives in Yazoo City, MS. He describes it as "Third-world America."
JD adds zilch to tfg’s ticket. He will not attract a single voter tfg already has in his pocket. Harris on the other hand has already received the enforcement of the Nikki Haley PAC and going forward can garner more independents and never Trumpers. I will up my letter writing to voters. We cannot become complacent thinking Harris has this. We need to vote like she is 20 points in the polls behind tfg. And she needs to carry WI, AZ, PA, MI and the dream would be OH. We have work to do so let’s get it done. 104 days and counting.
Your description of "the MAGA South," Gary, eerily echoes what happened in Russia.
Same playbook, same 1, 2, 3 cast of characters.
From 1991 on in the former Soviet Union an alliance formed among 1) its former officials (nomenklatura) who would turn the working classes back into serfs (massive ill health, shortened life spans, and alcoholism there to match opioid crisis in U.S.); 2) U.S. bankers and Ivy League elites (J. D. Vance exactly) who invested in the new class of predator-oligarchs; and 3) religious proselytizers who piously intoned murderous nationalism.
Thanks , Phil. Good points. There’s a coming of age here feeling in the air. Applause anticipated , appreciated, and accepted.
Super perspective … spot on … Большое спасибо‼️
I'm completely fascinated by the concept of a far-right progressive liberal. I may have to spend some time thinking about what that means.
HARRAM‼️YES‼️Thank you for this brilliant ACCRONYM‼️
There is another type to be concerned about. Although amidst the palpable relief and almost enthusiasm of the moment, I did not expect to encounter it just yet. It's already spoken up. The type who helped elect Trump before. The type who - even now - insists on voting as an individual exercise in personal expression and puts their purity tests above all else. Who says 'if your candidate does not meet my demand then you deserve Trump.'
Republicans have demonstrated that if you unite then you can elect anyone. And this leftish type would rather let them than acknowledge voting as a joint exercise to take power.
These people indeed exist (not only in America!) but were neutralised in 2020. They can be neutralised again. That’s why reaching out to sensible people from the across the political spectrum is important. That’s why a campaign can contain and optimise both the George Conways and the AOCs. At their best, Democrats are big tent, and that will expose the shrinking tent of the Trump Republican Party. Harris has experience with big tent politics and has the positive energy to embody them.
Let's step back and acknowledge we have an unethical political system that resembles a fake WWE wrestling tournament rather than a regulated sporting event.
Ethics has 2 competing objectives:
Utilitarian- A normative ethical theory that encourages actions that maximize happiness and well-being for the greatest number of people.
Just rights- focuses on human dignity and holds that it's morally wrong to interfere with someone's rights, even if it would benefit a larger group of people.
So,lLet's make it simpler and select our candidates on which delivers most on the 6 aspirations written in the Preamble.
1- form a more perfect Union
2- establish Justice
3- insure domestic tranquility
4- provide for the national defense
5- promote the general welfare
6- secure the blessings of liberty for ourselves and our posterity
Kamala Harris checks more boxes than Donald Trump, beyond a reasonable doubt.
Excellent advice
Nicely put Aaron.
"That, whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles, and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness."
Will Vice President Harris and the Democrats along with all of us, convince enough voters that Project 2025 and the democracy killing Republican Party needs to be abolished and quashed?
It's not good enough for Harris to win if the MAGAs control the House and/or the Senate.
Yes, a full purge on the National level. But PLEASE!!, don't overlook the critical importance of removing the MAGAts from our state governments! My state, the MOST corrupt state of Ohio, needs a 'house cleaning' like never before. And the list of states trying to overtake Ohio's lead in the 'Most Corrupt' race is a long one. The MAGAt purge has to be all-inclusive.
Hear hear Daniel. Even the bluest state governments are being targeted by the Republicans for takeover. In PA north of Philly, the Republicans drew district lines to include specific households on one side of the street and then switch to the other side. All of the information is out there, and the Dems need to prevent this extreme form of gerrymandering.
Agreed! Up and Down the Ticket. Not only in 2024, but in 2026, 2028......
Im confident that Harris will make it clear that project 2025 Project's objective is to give the President the power to destroy the government and make himself dictator, which is not and never was why our government was founded disqualifying any government official that supports that notion and is sufficient grounds for impeachment and discharge. Bye bye Heritage foundation.
Sh certainly did that today in Wisconsin.
Aaron, you got me thinking about ethics, so what follows is your fault. ;o)
I would say ethics has 2 "conflicting" objectives, and that the conflict is a dilemma, and not a problem.
Translation: "Unethical" is treating the inevitable conflicts between the utilitarian objective and just rights as a problem with a one-step solution. "Ethical" is treating the conflict as a dilemma with a multi-step resolution.
For example, the three dissenting justices expressed legitimate concerns about the presidential immunity ruling, and Roberts treated those concerns the way I treat a mosquito when it lands on my arm. If he had been ethical, then there would have been evidence that he had applied time, energy, and attention to understanding those concerns. But he couldn't do that because if he had, then he would have forced to recognize the insanity of that ruling.
It seems to me "unethical" is a symptom that won't be addressed until you understand its cause, and its cause is a manifestation of cognitive dissonance. Roberts knew he was doing something bad, AND he had to convince himself he was doing something good.
It comes back to what Viktor Frankl said about changing ourselves when we are no longer able to challenge a situation. It is unethical for me to ask another person to consider the possibility that they might be suffering from cognitive dissonance if I'm unwilling to do that myself.
James R. Carey, I am so grateful for your sage post today. I have never read such a succinct explanation of "Unethical" vs "Ethical", and I find it very helpful personally, as I try to make sense of the nonsensical that defines our modern-day info-sphere. "Conflict is a dilemma, and not a problem." calls to my mind Fred Rogers, delightfully. He always had sage explanations for us. And this highlights my agreement with you and Victor Frankl that ultimately it is WE that need to change ourselves, and be the democracy we need. Thank You again for your post today.
I neglected to give credit where credit is due. I learned about the problem-dilemma dichotomy from Mark Jaben's book. Link: www.freethebrain.com
Your welcome, and thank you. To be more complete, a conflict between people is a dilemma and not a problem. The conflict between me and the mosquito is a problem.
'more boxes'... now that's an understatement.
"Let's step back and acknowledge we have an unethical political system that resembles a fake WWE wrestling tournament rather than a regulated sporting event." I respectfully disagree. What we have is an imperfect union. Democracy is most certainly messy. I am grateful for that messiness. Authoritarian governments are not messy.
As to the wresting reference. Can we please not lump the Democrats into that category. This is false equivalency. The Democrats have, erroneously, been deemed the feckless Party when in fact that appearance represents how it works.
Unethical? According to which system? According to who?
I took graduate ethics. It is a vast and complex and hard to put into a neat sentence or two science. The greater good is a wide-open term with so many iterations as to boggle the mind.
Life and politics cannot be put into a check marked list. There are aspirations and then there are feasible realizations. A checklist discards the suppleness of situational leadership, shifting global politics and an anti-democracy opposition.
The DNC have created a solid platform. I am going with that.
I like that, Aaron.
Delightfully on target!
Great post today, Aaron Davis!
Yes!
"More than 44,000 people logged onto a Zoom call to support Harris and raised more than $1.5 million for her campaign in three hours, according to Win With Black Women founder Jotaka Eaddy."
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/07/22/kamala-harris-black-women-zoom/
WaPo is suddenly ringing joy bells marked Harris. I'm glad, for Jennifer Rubin's sake - she's never faltered.
All Kamala All the Time in WaPo breaking news. Mostly positive. (Except MAGA shills George Will, Jason Willick et al spouting the MAGA chaos tactic of an open convention.)
Yes, well it was their both-sides-ism and the level of their reader comments that made me get sick of them (and cancel my subscription).
Republicans are so fked up that people like Will think they are supposed to give us advice. To hell with Will and his comrades in hate.
She never faltered. Why I didn’t kill WaPo
There are some media figures I will never look at again as I did before the Biden withdrawal. It was quite a pile on. Nicole Wallace and others were a profound disappointment. It was graceless and base.
I read Catherine Rampell religiously and Dana Milibank is married to a Congresswoman's daughter. But Jennifer Rubin is so prolific writing 4 or more columns every day.
Indeed she stayed strong.
Damn. I may have to resubscribe.
Like x 1,000 ♥️
Yes, Sophie, "At their best, Democrats are big tent."
But is this tent big enough to include Bernie's concerns for the U.S. working poor?
He's called Kamala absolutely fine, but is holding off endorsing her till they have more conversation about priorities for America's working classes. He's afraid an insufficiently strong position against the larcenous rich will just let them continue robbing most of the people to further float, privilege, comfort the mega rich.
Our Dem tent big enough to allay Bernie's concerns?
I thought I hear Elizabeth Warren endorsing Kamala? That is almost like Bernie endorsing Kamala.
I can't imagine anyone in the US knowing more about our bankruptcy laws and how health care costs have ruined families with one single emergency hospital visit.
This is so wrong. No family or person should be forced into bankruptcy by hospital or doctor bills. My mother-in-law has avoided bankruptcy many many times thanks to Medicare and supplemental insurance. At 86 years old she is incapable of filing claims or even shopping for insurance. My sister-in-law has been her caregiver for years and manages the labyrinth we call our health care system.
Thanks to Reagan's policies on government retirement benefits she receives the bare minimum SS benefit while her ex-husband receives a government pension of over $5,000 a month. They were married for 27 years and she raised the kids while he worked for Uncle Sam.
My sister-in-law is unable to work since my mother-in-law needs someone to be with her 24/7.
My mother-in-law is only one of millions of people who require a full time caregiver. I'm sure many of those commenting here are in similar situations where you are the primary caregivers. You are all Saints, for doing what you do.
Bernie did a rant on legit social concerns , admitted to having that phone call, but I thought Kamala yesterday at her campaign speech i think, put in a significant chunk of progressive meat to attract progressives, a laundry list of wishful thinking which only gets turned into real policy if the Dems break through some of that gridlock in Washington. The only think she left discreetly out was an overhaul of the Supreme Court.
If that is what Sanders is doing, no wonder people marginalize him...holding off for what..to save his endorsement for another candidate?
Americans need to take in the big picture. You don't want to drive into a bridge abutment while fiddling with your phone.
Sophie, they need to be more than nuetralized. They need to be deeply buried by a landslide that shows that the citizens of the US do not like their vision of retreat to the good old days and will never accept that vision.
If the Dems can surface more of the underground non-voters than MAGA, gridlock might get dissolved enough for real advance. Likely means wiping out the filibuster. Overdue! Look how Mitch managed to get the ultra-conservative Supreme Court in place.
I'm counting on the youth vote coming through like they did in 2016 and 2018, 2020 and 2022. And with Harris heading the ticket, I think they will support the Dems.
I agree they need to be overwhelmed by a Dem landslide victory. And if that good fortune happens, we need next to remember that the hateful animus of maga, is an American dilemma, a many-headed hydra, a zombie that never really is dead. Never, never, never stop being vigilant.
the Dems are the only broad based social coalition in America today, fighting in a lopsidedly conservative electoral system. "big tent" indeed. Agreed on Kamala!
Good and bad things about the big tent. Slime seeps in by flaps you didn’t know were left open. Still, attractive to some who hadn’t considered it before
agree - I have a relative in Michigan who just couldn't hold his nose and vote for Hillary - so he didn't cast a vote for the top of the ticket -- in a SWING state -- I thought that was so dumb and so arrogant.
I don’t think Joe was concerned about covering himself in glory. Unlike Mr Trump, whose sole purpose in life is to bath in accolades and fawning minions. Joe has taken a big one for the team, Team America! Thank you Joe . Your selfless move should be remembered and memorialized as the Great American Experiment has been given a renewed hope for success. And Mr Trump’s sheep can choke on all their Brandon crap!! And as usual, other people will suffer the financial loss… same old song. Booo hooooo😥
I’d be interested in knowing whether he regrets that position?
My son did the same thing and definitely regrets it.
Ahhhhhhh, back in the days when voters thought they could "protest vote" because the others of us would do the right thing and save democracy.
I've come across some. Bleating about Harris being a 'corporate Democrat' or some other garbage.
Apparently the Bernie Bros still exist.
I don't get what many Democrats have against Bernie. Bernie supported Clinton once she was the Nominee, and also supported Biden. I have no doubt he will support Harris. I was a Sanders alternate delegate, but supported Clinton once Bernie was out, as did others I know. I knew some narrow issue folks who would not vote for Humphrey (and I too was pissed at the heavy handedness of the DNC) but then the alternative was Nixon, and I knew that that would not go well. I know that there are always people who obsess on winning a narrow battle, while oblivious to winning the war. You can't save a branch if you don't protect the tree.
I think that some Democratic leaders have been too dependent on corporate largess. Joe Biden has not been one of them, nor, so far as I currently can tell, has Harris. In any case, Trump and the Greedy Old Plutocrats are the clear and present danger, so for sure, first things first.
Until "Citizens United" is legislated into the dustbin of history, it would be a foolish politician who turned away big bucks from big donors. It's like trying to fight an someone with an AR-15 (and a bump stock) - with a pocket knife.
This isn't any different than WWII where we aligned with Russia to save the world from Hitler.
If by any chance we get a Blue Trifecta on November 5th, we should push for campaign reform laws and quash the impact of PACs...and expand the Supreme Court to ensure our democracy isn't the instrument of the oligarchs. Oh, and tax them mercilessly.
I agree, Bill, but am cynical enough to believe that an all-Blue Congress would shrug at the notion of legislating the end of Citizens United. They, too, are suckled by the corporate teat.
Yes. But as we move forward to a better democracy, we can begin to use the source of election funding as a litmus test for our candidates.
You are absolutely correct. But I have faith that younger generations which have been traumatized by Trumpism will move us in the direction of a "cleaner" democracy - eschew the influence of the oligarchs.
They might also embrace another one of my favorite premises:
Automatic voter registration. You get a voter ID issued along with your Social Security card - it's effective the day you turn 18. It's available on a national voter database to print out or to have on your phone if you lose it. Just like a boarding pass.
Oh, and pardon my caffeinated imagination this AM. Voting will be mandatory. You will be able to vote easily from wherever you are completing your National Service.
Money is a form of power, and any form of social power can be abused. Political power, in my view, is the process by which we decide whose will prevails, which is why there is politics in families, businesses, voluntary associations, etc. Critically, it can be collaborative or coercive. It can be compassionate or psychopathic;, and money can buy outcomes, whether it is applied to obtain a cup of coffee or murder for hire.
Historically abuse of the power of money has been the enemy of human rights and justice, so a civilized society bans its use to corrupt. Alas, after decades of notable even if uneven progress toward social justice in our society, we have been beguiled into legalizing stealth corruption though tolerance of plutocratic capture of our social information systems, and passivity toward the increasing influence of de facto bribery on our ostensibly democratic process. We treat "war chests" a legitimate major determinant of "electability" or legislative outcomes as if the Constitution meant this to be so. In fact, "bribery" and "treason" are the two serious crimes that the Constitution spells out as a deal-breaker for presidents and all other civil officers of the US. And if it stinks like bribe, and corrupts like a bribe, it should escape attention. Outcomes are more important that nomenclature.
It's the money, and I won't say "stupid", because who among us cannot be a fool? But foolishness fan be tragic, even deadly. History is brimming with examples of that.
JL Graham,
I am so grateful for your wisdom garnered from past experiences. Thank you for your participation within Heather's "family of subscribers".
You have given a brief but very informative view of our political past as our nation faces an unknown future.
I am grateful for the person of President Joe Biden. He is a hero....a man whose character stands way above most. He is a shining light....an example of patriotism. He is proof that one can serve this country and remain true to its better qualities.
President Joe Biden and Jill will finish well....we are blessed by being served and led by a couple who have given their lives to the people of this nation and to the ideals that represent "freedom for all". They have been and will continue to be an example to the world of goodness and greatness.
Thanks again JL, for inspiring us with your experiences from the past .
The DNC will never see a dime of my money. It all goes to the individual campaigns.
I have nothing against Bernie. He's an old coot from Brooklyn, like I am. It's his damn supporters I can't abide. They will be the death of us.
I don't know why you can't abide me and why you think that I will be the death of you. I was a Bernie delegate in 2016. I canvassed for Hillary. Then I canvassed for Biden. I'm surprised, Marla, at your ugly stereotyping of me and Bernie's supporters.
Yes.
There is a big difference between Bernie supporters who like Bernie are responsible and reasonable and Bernie Bros who are neither. Too bad these provocateurs appropriated 'Bernie' for their own antidemocratic antics.
I felt that they had the third party vibes of Nader, who I have never forgiven.
Marla, Bernie’s message is still a very important one. If we revert back to the corporate mindset of economic inequality and wage slavery we will get another demagogue like Trump. Quit screwing the little guy. It doesn’t seem like you get that.
Bernie is a good man, and his supporters as well. To me it was one word which took him out.. "socialism". Not what it is. Heck no. It's the SOUND of the word.., it rhymes with 'communism' or gets misconstrued by jerks (who can't spell or read) to mean something like what they think is communism.., or fascistism (whatever). If you tell those "jerks" that 'subsidies' or 'social security' is actually "socialism.., they look at you cross-eyed. Socialism! That's what took Bernie out. So bizarre. Because now we have the (R)ss-holes (MAGAtts) siding with Putin & Orban. Strangely we rarely hear the word 'communist'.. do we? Socialism has made this country great.. communism is where we'll end up with a replay of #45. C'mon Kamala.., shake it up!
All our donations to the DNC went through Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders, most often as Independents by whatever name each state chose for true independents (not the American Independent Party).
Elizabeth Warren left the Republican party as I did in 1996. The only time I was registered as a Democrat was when we needed to be to vote for delegates to the convention in 2016. Because we found so many new voters along with dissatisfied Democrats and Republicans, I found it easier to discuss issues with them as an Independent, especially when it came to getting them to vote across party lines or at least register as No Party Preference in California so they could vote in Democratic primaries (by requesting a crossover ballot).
We are not the Bernie Bro types you seem to think are so numerous, having supported and always voted for the Democratic nominees in the end. I do hope you appreciate the ones we were able to keep voting more rationally, for their own good and that of the country, no matter what party label they chose. No one can get all of them, but we got a lot of them.
Still Independent, doing my best to earn the trust of those who don't like either major party demands for blind following, and will lean far heavier towards the current Democrats (or far away from the current miss-leaders in Elizabeth Warren's and my old party).
Here in Maine, Unaffiliated/(independents) now outnumber Republicans according to https://independentvoterproject.org/voter-stats/me
Democrats 35.13%, Unaffiliated 32.27%, Republicans 28.33% (or 39.07% behind Dems and Unaffiliated combined). Third party and others make up 4,27%
This is a state that most consistently of any state voted for Republicans as President:
26 times out of 27 between 1856 when the first Republican ran and 1960,
The only exception being 1912 when:
Wilson got 39.43% of the popular vote
Teddy Roosevelt got 37.41% as a Progressive
Taft got 20.48% as the Republican
(Roosevelt and Taft together got 57.89%, splitting what would have been Republican votes that would have easily beat Wilson).
Our 2nd District is most rural and seems to lean about 2/3rds Republicans. That’s not as scary to me since I believe they are not a solid block at all behind Trump/Vance though they might hopefully have second thoughts about down ballot Republicans who too strongly support the top of the ticket, too. I want as many as we can get to put country over party when it comes to things like fighting against the twisted Project 2025 that would destroy our Democracy, especially if the worst parts were actually enabled.
Jim, I think we have to assume the worst parts of Project 2025 would be implemented if the voters remain apathetic and uninformed. That is why we are at this point.
Bernie has been about the only guy advocating social policy much of the OECD has put in place years ago, if imperfectly. That's a big plus for the Dems to have in their progressive wing. You do have to fight the communist socialist hate rhetoric of the Maga/GOP however, likely the biggest reason USA remains an outlier among developed nations despite having by far the world's largest economy and military. Bit of a repeat here of earlier comment.
I was volunteering in Operation Breadbasket the year that those idiots rejected Humphrey, who had been on the right side of the important issues for decades, wasn't radical enough for them. I photographed all of the Dem candidates when they spoke to Jesse's Breadbasket rallies. I have no use for folks like that.
Both Dems and GOP are beholden to big $$$ given the Supreme Court's previous rulings. Bleating is the right word, Marla
I feel sorry for Bernie that these Bros have attached their name to his. They are a group voicing their grievances. I don't begrudge them that. But I stopped associating them with Bernie Sanders, himself, long ago. I admire Bernie, and don't attach any nefarious reasons for his delay in announcing his position or concerns.
The big tent can let in Trojan horses. Beware
The Trojan horses have become easier to spot. The group of Bernie supporters I started working with passed my first test when a young enthusiast suggested we fight as dirty as the Republicans (not knowing that I quit the party when a well placed fund raiser asked some of us to fight dirtier than Democrats). I held my tongue as the group took a few breaths then informed him that we would have none of that in our group, firmly setting the concept that he and his friends humbly accepted as the proper way to go. I'm glad all the ones we encountered were just too unaware of how much we wanted to take the higher roads, but decided to go the same way in the end.
lin•, those are what I have called the "unicorn voters" or the "I want my pony" voters. They do exist. Your definition of a "purity voter" is spot on.
Remind them that under Harris there is a chance to be heard....under Trump none? I know some will pursue chaos no matter the situation....some will be intractable.
For example....Lloyd Doggett from Texas said Biden should step down, he did, and Doggett still cannot get on board with Harris. I do not believe, those who react this way care that 'Democracy is at stake', it's a me, me, me approach to politics.
Well said. I'm less polite.
Perhaps, lin. But the frame for the future just changed with Kamala's step-up. Now the younger people feel that the future is theirs for the taking. They are realizing they are no longer sitting at the "kids-table" of politics. And contrasting THAT future against "you-deserve-trump", may not hold..- he's an old, dumpy, hate filled, word-salad-spewing narcissist They may be inspired by the energy of the zeitgeist. Or at least some of them will shake their nihilism, and apathy. It's hard no to be lifted and changed when the people around you are energized and different - and hopeful. It takes energy to be apathetic, and resistant in the face of hope. Some will double-down on their familiar position. Others will not. Add the "others-that-will-not" to the newly, relieved and energized voters, and I believe we have a better chance of winning.
..."leftish type" What is this?
Biden won by 7 million votes in 2020. The Democrats have been winning election since 2028, sometimes by as much as 50-52% of the vote. The significant donor migration to Harris, and the smooth and quick migration of delegates to Harris belies any reluctant "leftish type."
Can we please admit the Democrats are going into this contest very strong?
I think some hidden shy Democratic voter is a myth.
Attacking Harris’s ascent as a product of Diversity Equity and Inclusion speaks volumes. The inference is that Harris is woefully unqualified and is taking the position away from a white, straight, man.
They are right about one thing, she will be taking one job away from a white, straight, man.
Questioning the qualifications of the highest ranking in our nation’s history means that the GOP thinks no accomplishment outweighs the “drawback” of being a woman.
I’m with her.
Totally agree with you Shawn!!
". . . straight," Shawn?
More of a shriveled mushroom shape.
THIS is a laser on Truth and what has been the divisive virus of denial splitting our country: “The failure to treat Trump’s behavior as pathological has led the media and the country, perversely, to treat it as normal,” Conway told The Independent, and said that Project 2025 should be seen as an extension of Trump’s malignant narcissism “because basically he wants to turn the government into a mechanism for retribution.”
One writer says the contest will be "prosecutor versus felon". Love it!
You and 99% of Americans!! which is why the money is pouring in and volunteers signing up. We've all be sitting in our living rooms just waiting for someone to call this man out!! the first words out of anyone's mouth should be "convicted rapist".
And an entire Republican party just fine with rape, Brewmaster.
Copacetic with Clarence court ruling immunity for billionaire predator monarchy.
National Press is no longer held to the creed of citing sources, accuracy in reporting or even SEEKING the truth.
I honestly think that after 25+ years of unregulated internet, we now have a great example of the need, practicality and ability to present accurate "news".
If sources are not cited in online news, that particular cite is labeled as "entertainment" and not to be relied upon as a verifiable news source.
Disclaimers (the views on this broadcast do not necessarily reflect those of the company"
Phil, you are so right and I do hope Kamala Harris will keep the focus on Trump's "bad behavior" and that of his team and ask people how they think that goes with Christianity since so many of the Trumpers and Trumpettes claim to be christian but are OK with Trump's lying, cheating, adultery, skipping church, swearing, and having his gods of money and power over God. The media can't seem to ask the Trump Klan any of the tough questions they drilled Biden with on a regular basis, so it is truly a normalization of bad actions as well as the toddler whining, insulting, name-calling, and blaming. It will be refreshing for Harris to call Trump out on all his "weaknesses" and he can't whine any more about age since Harris is 19 years younger than Trump.
Train Wreck? That's why the Trump is up between 4-7 points and ahead in all the battleground states. YOU ARE DELUSIONAL.
Big thanks for your perspective ‼️
Train Wreck? Are you kidding?
1) The Biden insiders and leftist media lied about Biden's condition for 3 1/2 years. Biden hadn't meet with Democratic Congressional leaders in 3 years and his cabinet in a year? Who was running the country?
2) Is this a Democratic coup? Who's idea was the debate? They knew it would be a trainwreck to get him out the of the race. Where is Biden now? No interview? Just a tweet?
How did Harris get all the delegates in 2 days?
3) Why did the Secret Service director resign? A 20 year shows up on a bike with a back pack
a range finder, and a bicycle climbs a building with a easy shot? Cheatle refused to answer any
questions at a Congressional hearing? What is she hiding? Another incompetent Biden hire.
Where they trying to get Trump killed?
Add mis-management of the economy, Ukraine, Iran, Israel. The Border, Crime and you see
if the incompetence OVER and OVER.
You are delusional
That last sentence describes you perfectly, Mr No it all!
You are proof that leftists are idiots. You can't cite one example of what you disagree with? That's too taxing for your brain. Everything I said was TRUE.
BTW - The Democratic leadership and Donor Class threw Biden under the bus and you have nothing to say? He was forced out. That doesn't sound like democracy.
How did Kamala get all the delegate votes in two days?
Vance who? HA! Just a glorious day, wasn’t it? We haven’t been happy for a while so I think we should bathe in the beauty of knowing Democrats and maybe new converts are feeling the unity, the love too. We deserve it because so many people have been writing letters and postcards, making phone calls, and knocking on doors for Biden. But now, we have a smooth transition made by Joe to Kamala. It’s truly amazing what Joe has given to all of us…so selfless. Everything and everyone is still intact, an unbelievable amount of money has been donated, and I want to say that I am one of those 888,000 small donors! Guess where Kamala goes tomorrow for her first campaign speech? Milwaukee!! Haha
Glorious indeed! The past 48 hrs has been incredible, with the groundswell of support for Kamala Harris, and the expressions of gratitude to Joe Biden for all he has accomplished in his term thus far.
She hit the ground running!
And in heels!
Over at TAFM, Widdle Jimmy No Chin is now known as The Little Shillbilly.
I loved that, along with "Captain Befuddlepants". Thank you.
I like a commenter’s adjective “furface.”
To hide the No Chin.
Shouldn't that be "Shrillbilly"?
A "shill" is a conscienceless person who pretends to be otherwise to support someone you don't want to be involved with.
Then I bow to your succinct word choice TC in LA.
What’s TAFM?
Not that it should or would be confused with the Tibetan American Foundation of Minnesota (TAFM), but that is what popped up when I searched for TAFM
That's Another Fine Mess - my Substack.
Ah yes, but of course! Not sure how I missed that. It’s not like it’s the first time I’ve seen the name of your Substack (and have read it a few times). Perhaps a little too tired today to connect the dots….
Butler County, Ohio's own JD Vance. My daughter graduated from Miami of Ohio, a very fine university in Butler County. Butler County is NOT Appalachia.
But if it were, there would still be good people there, smart people there who know better than to support the Republicans ticket. That ticket is a ticket to nowhere. Appalachia is ‘somewhere.’ and it’s worthy of affirming that.
Vance is lying about his origins.
Thank you, Diedra and JennSH. In my opinion, J.D.Vance is an odious opportunist with no redeeming qualities. Elizabeth Catte's What You Are Getting Wrong About Appalachia is a repudiation of Vance's Hillbilly Elegy, and vastly superior to his "memoir". It's well worth reading.
A brief interview with Catte about her book:
https://www.npr.org/2018/01/31/582240482/historian-makes-case-for-what-you-are-getting-wrong-about-appalachia-in-new-book
Thank you, George T. The like button no longer works for me, otherwise I would have liked your post.
Thank You. I hated Vance'ss book, because I loved the 3 years I sent in the big heart of West Virginia. Good, resilient, family focused people.
That’s what Andy Beshear said too, Jenn.
Refreshing to see Trumplicans squirm.
Milwaukee? Wow! Yess!
I’m a European ally. For the first time in months I’ve felt energised by the sheer va-va-voom quality of Harris and her nascent campaign. I’ve long been an admirer, and believe that she will now unleash her full positive energy. This is a woman with chops, charm and at the top of her powers (and yes, in politics, charm matters). There couldn’t be a greater contrast with an ageing, paranoid confidence trickster and his Handmaid’s Tale wingman.
In addition, I want to salute President Biden, not only for his selfless act and inspiring legacy, but for the smart choice of timing in his announcement - just after the RNC convention, just after he had given an example of unity and humanity following Trump’s assassination attempt, just after Trump picked an extremist Christian Nationalist as his wingman, just after the world saw a bunch of crazies with sanitary pads on their ears at the RNC convention - thus upsetting the Republican applecart and exposing its rottenness.
"the world saw a bunch of crazies with sanitary pads on their ears at the RNC convention "
Epiphany.
Why isn't the media demanding an independent medical report on dumptys supposed ear wig?
Yes you aren’t the only one wondering. Also we need to know more about the shooter.
Terribly silent for the SS director quitting and not a single piece of evidence that anything dumpty said was true.
He's an actor he's desperate. He's a sociopath with a special friendship with Putin. Duh
Nice thumbnail sketch!
Happy recap
Heather, your live cast was inspiring and gave many much hope for the future. I would love to see you expound on the ways we can hold the media accountable going forward. I am a US citizen but work overseas, so I believe that is one way to do my part.
Yes Heather please expand on how we can write a very precise letter and send it to national and local stations.
Thank you Professor Richardson.
Your notes from Vice-President Harris' speech are so important.:
"But we believe in a brighter future that makes room for all Americans.” She promised to continue the work of building the middle class, protect abortion rights, enact commonsense gun safety legislation, and protect voting rights."
We cannot simply campaign on who we are not. It is vital to provide a realistic vision of our path forward as a nation. Most everyone who reads the LFAA's knew Trump as a horribly corrupt lying narcissist conman long before his felony indictments and conviction. We know he was a horrible President, and we know Project 2025/Agenda 47 are plans (I suppose since they have been made public, they are not a conspiracy to destroy the system?) to exacerbate wealth inequality and concentration while intensifying the polarization, hate, and fear of an all-too-easily divided United States.
There must be a comprehensive plan, legislation, and policy ready to sign on day one of a President Harris' first term as President. And in order to implement the plan it will require a Senate and House Majority that will address the corruption of the Supreme Court and the clear bias of so-called Judges like Cannon and Kacsmaryk. Our failure to provide a favorable legislative and judicial pathway for a Harris Administration will simply continue to erode our institutions and our ability to provide a stable nation for our children, grandchildren, and generations yet to come.
Just the purloined secret documents thing alone is huge, weird and creepy. It gets lost in the GOP tsunami of crimes.
And yes, Democrats need to offer a brighter alternative vision as well as an exit ramp off the highway to hell.
George, you nailed the extreme importance of the down ballot vote in your comment… “provide a favorable legislative and judicial pathway for a Harris Administration…”
Two of my congress critters are self-described election deniers. Scary when I think we are one of the “swing” states.
Grateful to you Christine and all who work behind anti-democracy gerrymandered district lines to put us back on the rails.
You DID listen to Kamala's campaign headquarters speech, George?
Yes Frank. I included the quote from her speech (excepted in Heather’s LFAA).
Seems like a good day for a little optimism. Here’s some:
Harris will enable a huge turnout of black voters in Georgia, maybe bigger than the Obama turnout, and Georgia is only 56% white, so Trump needs both a big turnout of white voters and about 90% of their votes. He may well fall short on either count, putting Georgia in the Harris column. Her VP choice could bring in Pensylvania or Arizona and a strong turnout could deliver the other one. We already know from the Wisconsin Supreme Court election that abortion rights can deliver a big turnout and a solid majority in Wisconsin. That’s four crucial states that Harris has a good chance of delivering.
I live in GA and there is no way that the orange turd is going to get 90% of white people like me to vote for him, you can take that to the bank.
Seems to me that Harris will get 100% of the votes of white people like you. The question is whether white people like you comprise more than 10% of white Georgians. We have some evidence that they do. Warnock won, for example. But Georgia rethugs have upped their voter suppression game, so there’s that problem, too. Still, your boots-on-the-ground optimism is delighted to hear.
I live in GA, and have 2 family members who have never voted before that are millennials that are excited to vote for Harris. Most of our family is mixed / black so this is pretty exciting, they really are happy that a younger person is running that aligns with their values. Anecdotal evidence of course, but Warnock won recently and there have been some demographic changes in GA over the last few years since Covid. I think with Kamala, NC and GA are definitely in play. It'll be an uphill fight but I think both states are in play.
The three GenZs of voting age in my family are fired up, too. NC might be harder to pull off than Georgia. It’s 70% white, so the Orange Jesus only needs about 70% of the white vote there. However, a much higher fraction of the white population of NC (vs GA) are decent human beings, probably because the Research Triangle and other sophisticated employment opportunities bring in residents without a white Southern “heritage” (as they like to call it).
Thanks for the strategic state points, Rex, and i suspect by the time the Dems Convention arrives, it's going to be a BLOWOUT event, then straight into Sept on overcharge.
I love your work, Professor Richardson.
Particularly today.
I have two pieces of advice for VP Harris and her campaign. The first is to focus on Trump, as I’ve described before. Prosecute that bastard everyday. The second is to not prosecute his base. Talk to the disaffected that form the ranks of the populist movement propping Trump up. Speak with understanding to their feeling abandoned by the elites and the Progressives, that the American dream had passed them by, that other groups seemingly have been given preference over them, that while they had been the bedrock of America’s economic greatness their future was stagnating, that they were losing ground while those other groups were advancing at their expense, that federal agencies have been corrupted against them. Convey to them that you understand and will bring them back into the mainstream, that the American dream and exceptionalism will be part of their future, not a part of their past. Knock the legs off Trump’s pedestal. Convince them you will work to make our systems and our institutions work for them, not against them, that you understand that our democracy and our Republic needs them now more than ever. In short, build unity.
Thank you. This is exactly the demographic concern that I have been struggling to put into words. I am heartened by the political support being gifted to Harris by many of the worker’s Unions, but the winning of the hearts and minds of the millions of families whose lives have been marred by the consequences of 40 years of neo liberal corporate corruption is key to the winning any US presidential election 💙
If it only takes 40 years to undo, it will be a miracle.
Wholeheartedly agree 🐈⬛
Hope somebody has been keeping tabs. The evil has been busy
Keeping tabs since June 1978. Truth twisters abound.
About same for me.
Then no time to waste! 😉
Evil actions travel so much faster and farther than the caring actions. Time to ratchet up the effort
Emil, unfortunately I have a sister in the Trump camp. She and her circle are in a “culture war.” They are not listening to talk of understanding and inclusiveness. They won’t listen to a single thing that Harris says. The Dems should reach out only to Dems to get out the vote and to swing voters, but the remaining 30-40% are untouchable — not worth the effort in this campaign.
Cathy Wampler, yes the effects of a decades long indoctrination and pseudo-religious campaign have affected some to the point that they will not listen, and cannot change. But that does not change Emil's excellent point not to attack them. Kamala needs to model what she preaches--that America is for all, not just those with whom we agree.
She and her Boss have been doing that since 2020.
Cathy, Some 77 million Americans voted for him in 2020. They (the vast majority anyway) are not our enemy, they are fellow Americans. If we exclude them, what does that say about us?
Emil L. Posey, I think the middle ground between you and Cathy Wampler is in your initial statement: Attack Trump and his policies but not his followers. Do not exclude them from the message, simply offer them the clear choice, and let them decide whether or not to come into a better tent.
and maybe highlighting the ways the Biden administration has already helped them . And that their legislators voted against each and every one, but claim credit afterwards. Don't say this with malice. But offer how better it would have been to have their own legislators agree that the help was worth voting for to make the lives of their constituents better and more secure.
And, how much more could have been done (e.g., the secure border bill) if their legislators had been consistent in their votes in DC with what they told their constituents at home.
Indeed!
They are my family in some instances, does not make them sane. They are cult nuts, deprogramming is not an option. I love and accept, I do not excuse.
No 74 M.
It might not help, but say to them it was working people like them that heard the evidence and returned the indictments and convicted him. Just regular ole working people.
Yeah, I have the same problem. I asked my 2 MAGA sisters to explain why they think tfg is so wonderful and how he will make America great again and I get crickets. I asked them to read Project 2025, then get back to me and share how that plan will make America great, and again, crickets. In other words, they got nothing!
If you watch "God and Country" you realize that part of the indoctrination is that they should NOT read or listen. It's better to drop nuggets from our own reading into conversations in small doses.
Please don't forget the many Independents that often out number Republicans as here in Maine. Even among registered Republicans there are from 20% to 30 % that I feel would at least reject the top of the ticket and in many places tip the balance in down ballot races.
They may be critical allies, much like the Opposition Coalition or anti Nebraska Act mix of parties joined with the as yet unnamed new party that broke the Pro Slavery party hold on control of the House back in the 1854 election.
She must be an unhappy person through and through.
good advice!
Widen the lens to include ALL repubs. Why? None of them have come out against P25. None of them.
Far too many of those still in my circle think it sounds just fine; they go no farther than establishing evangelical Christian dogma as the national religion, however. They don't read "the fine print"...
"Convey to them that you understand and will bring them back into the mainstream". That sentence bugs me for some reason.( You do don't bug me that you articulated your advice this way. I am just noticing that I'm caught emotionally on that sentence. This is my personal "stuck position".) The Dems have offered ways back to the mainstream for decades. They have chosen to believe charlatans. And vote against their saving. They have flailed in the river while life preservers floated past. I understand the wisdom of NOT framing it to them this way. But no one can bring them back into the mainstream, without their own willingness to grab the life preservers we've been tossing to them. And for Kamala to convey to them anything, they first must be willing to listen. Because to my memory, Biden-Harris has done nothing but evoke the "We are All in this Together" since they ran in 2020. Their actions have helped red-state America the most, and without thank you.
I sympathize with your position and others here that have the same concern. Many on the Right are lost souls, so to speak, and are quite bellicose about it. They are not persuadable. I have many friends and relatives that are staunch conservatives and support Trump because *they* see no alternative among the Dems. One, for example, was a (retired) project manager of a key NASA human-rated space flight hardware program. I worked with him for over ten years. He is one of those that is convinced that the Dem Party is out to change America for the worst. I have had an ongoing discussion with him since Trump came down his elevator and have yet to mellow him out. But I still like and respect him, and I won't give up on him. I believe the Dems must reach out to these folks. Some are dissuadable, but not all are. The Dems must accept the challenge to reach out to them. The most serious threat facing our Republic today is the bitterly antagonistic partisan divide. VP and presumptive nominee Kamala Harris really should step up to that challenge. Trump never will. He has the leadership of a troll. Harris can do better. (Okay, I'll get off my rant. Thanks for you response.)
I’m sure Trump promised RFK Jr. the position as head of the CDC. If you were apoplectic about Covid when Trump was President just think what would happen in a second term.
"I’m sure Trump promised RFK Jr. the position as head of the CDC."
Brrrr. After seeing his cabinet appointments it would not surprise me.
Oh Lord, has been my nightmare since he reenergized the cult.
RFK jr folding into MAGA, have to laugh at that. I did notice in the 538 polls, he's run at a nominal 9 % or so through the entire campaign. Double-desperation?
RFK Jr. has completely lost his mind.
I’ve noticed Daigle seems to have disappeared.
Nope. He was here yesterday. Not beating the RFK drum, but something that I personally found about as meaningful.
I hunted for your comment just so I could like it!
😂❤️👏
A must-watch clip: Kamala Harris Annihilating Donald Trump Rhetorically and Articulating Her Vision for America (Tim Miller from the Bulwark) https://jimbuie.substack.com/p/kamala-harris-annihilates-trump
I think I am signing up to canvass door-to-door this weekend. NC is in play among swing states!
I
Donald's nicknames -
"I call her 'laughing Kamala'," he has broadcast. Repeatedly... (there are clips of the rallies)
Clearly being a woman AND laughing is disparaging enough for him. 😅
Now that the whole Internet is alive and electrified with memes of Kamala laughing and dancing - I see he has changed it to " lying Kamala"
So... game really is "on" 😂 😂 😂
Laughing to Victory 🥂
She smiles
She laughs
She is affectionate
Things trump knows NOTHING about
Trump, liar, lair, his pants are on fire! This time he's gonna get laughed down, again and again.
Remember that only those with a good heart can laugh freely and with others.
not quite my gist, but true indeed
Make NC sane again
Tfg was super bummed (technical term) when he lost to HIM (Joe) in 2020. Can you imagine if he loses to HER in 2024? A woman! Of color! Her candidacy and public self have energized me.
Karma is a *itch who serves you EXACTLY what you deserve and she has just served tfg.
The best day ever, can’t wait
Remember, though, the magates are well armed. Wr still need to prepare for an actual civil war in Janusry.
I fear you are right.
Thanks wow has kamala and team pulled it all together in lightening speed and may the sense of hope and excitement ride through the election 🗳️ Did biden know this could would happen?
I'm guessing it was in the "back of his mind." As Dr. Richardson has said: He's an expert at timing.
The timing was perfect 😍
The Republicans were set up to choose a deranged old man and a right wing radical, JD Vance.
If Biden had dropped out earlier, the Republicans would be much better prepared than they are presently 🤔
Dr Bob….Biden quietly plays three dimensional chess whilst others dither over tic tac toe. He may be old, but he is also wise and a true statesman/public servant. I was always ridin’ w/ Biden, but must admit a surge of electric enthusiasm when he threw all in for Kamala—the respect and affection they hold for each other is clear & he has been an excellent mentor for an already talented woman. I dare say he will remain a trusted advisor once she is POTUS.
I think you’re right. Explains why he got so much done in a single term. He’ll go down in history as one of America’s great presidents.
I agree. Joe has always been able to read the room. And be flexible, which is why his bipartisan efforts have been so superior. The repubs are running out of gas, and desperately searching for a fill-up; but their car, alas is electric. Thanks, Joe, for your excellent service. May your elder-statesmanship last us well into your hundreds.
Fabulous middle sentence, Dan.
Love this. Boredom with the same old, same old, dark schtick.
I agree. He’ll share his wisdom and experience with her.
We're used to the deranged old man. The choice of a candidate two decades younger allows the Democrats to attack the derangement even more strongly. And the choice of Vance aids their case. Vance is devoid of any principle other than ambition. He had to pose as a RWNJ and suck up to Trump in order to get the nomination. Now they're stuck with each other.
Did President Biden know Susan ?
Jennifer Rubin echoed HCR's 'expert at timing' insight yesterday. I recall Ms Rubin referred to.. it was something like, Biden's 'canny' judgement and 'self awareness'.
Whatever. President Biden auctioned a brilliant tour de force whilst 'letting go'.
Thank you Joe.
I commented on here before about my centenarian republican employer who was in the Eisenhower administration who told me republicans hated Joe Biden (in 2008 no less) but he went on to say many democrats hated him too. He said they agreed he was an "a$$h0le" which I now take it to mean he was full of surprises. Which is exactly why I always loved him. Thank you Joe for always being an unpredictable & totally refreshing choice. He said you never know where he stands & that infuriated them & made them not trust him. Thank you Obama for choosing this unpredictable man for your vice president. He was a brilliant choice. And "laughing Kamala" was brilliant Joe's equally brilliant choice. Finally thank you Kamala. I always loved you too.
Laughing is so much more energizing than infectious fear, gloom and doom. Tfg is happy only when he’s unhappy.
I agree Sharon with the brilliant Biden assessment. As for Kamala Harris' laugh I have noticed 'it/she' makes me smile, makes me feel more relaxed and open to hear her. Such it is :- )
Already, my MAGAt Facebook "friends" are trundling out the nasty references to her laugh. I have to remember that with them, the meanness is the point. Mean and nasty.
If that's all they got, that needs to be brought to their attention. ;)
I think it was a two way street. She was making phone calls while endorsements, delegations and money were pouring in without waiting to be asked. That tells you how solidly the party has coalesced, and how ready people are to get to work. And to give credit where credit is due, a lot of people have been doing the work all along. What has changed for them is how they feel about how the fight is going. All of the emotional feedback loops have swung to the positive.
I wouldn't be surprised, and Joe is deliberately being a pro-Kamala voice, already "barged in" on one of her public message moments - campaign HQ i believe.
Whenever an angel appears, the first words spoken are "Fear Not." I am grateful Professor Heather is the brilliant angel who clearly and diligently brings forth reality out of chaos every day so that we have nothing to fear but fear itself.
I am energized and exhilarated with the selflessness of those who truly put democracy first and by the people first
This came into my in box this morning from a friend in England who sends me quirky items about animals. I can't send the photo, alas, but it's big and clear. Anyone got a frog emoji?
"A magnificent tree frog which is usually a bright green colour has been found in Western Australia, and it is blue. Why? Apparently, it is a rare genetic mutation."
Funny that a green tree frog should turn BLUE just now.... It obviously disagrees with the Australian press.
First Dog on the Moon would know.
I reckon you're right, there.
Huge mistake by trump in appointing an extremist like himself as vice president, and such a phony person too. The republicans have been completely blindsided by this move by Biden, simply masterful. Go Kamala! We can win this and we shall!
That's what he gets for listening to Jr.
I haven’t experienced such a change in mood since Hitler invaded the Soviet Union on June 22, 1941. Previously England had been alone, fearing invasion from a Nazi-occupied Europe. Suddenly, the mood changed dramatically for England and for my family (my mother was British and I had relatives in the British army and navy).
Despair turned to hope as a path to victory suddenly appeared.
I feel tremendously indebted to President Biden, a noble warrior who has restored our country’s greatness after four years of Trumpmania. I applaud him for handing over his democratic crusade to a younger team that will carry the Biden banner through the November election and beyond.
I feel a massive mood change in America. The Project 2025 [aka Mein Kampf] blimp of Titanic Trump is now sharply in the sights of my freedom fighters. Trump is naked against assaults that he is a frightening, incoherent old man who seeks to take America backward rather than forward.
Trump sought to steal the American flag for his cult. I shall seize a Reagan slogan, after the stagflation of the early 1980s had been conquered: IT’S MORNING AGAIN IN AMERICA.
But please, do we have to have Reagan who is in part responsible for the mess we’re in with the loss of the middle class.
Have you got a better one? If it weren’t that Trump’s “boys” may be on a rampage (party leaders promising revolution) we could do “Happy Days are Here Again.” I still have my father’s shot glass with the donkey and the slogan.
Virginia As President Biden said ‘let’s be bipartisan.’ Also, Reaganite conservatives should prefer Harris over Trump.
I believe that “Happy Days Are Here Again” was most loudly sung to celebrate the end of Prohibition.
The shot glass came to me with the donkey, so I assumed FDR ‘32. Now I have to look up what year prohibition ended. In my neighborhood there were both a bootlegger and still busters (the local name for government men who found stills and destroyed them). I recently tasted corn vodka from Wisconsin. Best I’ve ever drunk. It made me laugh thinking of “corn likker, a product of the stills.
I hope the non-billionaire Reaganites will prefer Harris to Trump, but not certain.
Joe Kennedy’s bootlegging helped finance JFK’s presidential campaign and Chicago mobsters were involved in getting critical Chicago votes for JFk.
The best moonshine I’ve drunk was in Mason jars in Asheville.
Mason jar in West Virginia...sipped