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Wondering how Rusty Bowers, Brad Raffensperger and Bill Barr can discuss tfg’s threats, stupid ideas, physical intimidation and such, and then say “Yeah, I’d vote for him again.”

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Mind numbing and controlling religion. And the bogeyman of "abortion". They support TFG because of his politically motivated, opportunistic and newly found "pro-life" position. Devilishly clever he is.

They conveniently forget that until recently, TFG was a pro-choice Democrat who hung out with Hillary, Chuck and Nancy. A chameleon, a con man, a constant liar with nothing but power and money as goals. He was created by his father - a monster still trying to prove he can be as tough and ruthless as his dead dad. But "religious" people worship him. Go figure.

And what is so bizarre to me is how "pro-life" only seems to apply to a fetus. Apparently the life of the young woman who was raped or coerced into sex has no value. The lives of hundreds of thousands lost to Covid because TFG didn't want to count the number of cases and deaths ("If we don't test, the numbers won't be there!") - they seem to have no meaning, no value in their single minded twisted religion.

That "old time religion" is the American Taliban. For twenty years we fought them in Afghanistan. We could have saved a lot of money and lives - and improved America - if we had put the energy into fighting them here. Instead we ignored the Federalist Society and the Oligarchs who funded it. We let them sneak up on us and then steam roll right over our freedom, common sense and democracy.

The answer to your question is that superstitious Americans were weaponized by the uber rich to stay rich and the rest of us are just "mudsills".

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I can imagine the angst that the Fat Man is kept awake at night by: oh those poor little babies suffering in their mom’s wombs. These men all are so full of shit!

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In one sense, if you can imagine that the rumor that trump is connected to the russian mob is true, and knowing Putin’s greatest victory is to implode the USA, you could not pick a better controversial figure than trump. And you could not pick a better pair of arguments to split and weaken the American voting public. They are “scissor arguments” I heard them once described. They perfectly split people, cut them apart. The adherence to either side of the gun rights / abortion arguments hold boatloads of hypocrisy, such that friendships, and families are strained to the breaking point, sh*t loads of money can be dependably made off the möbius strip arguments on social media & MSM. The citizenry are distracted at best, and unable at worst, to attend to nuanced policy needs to strengthen our institutions. And trump keeps the tweets coming, the headlines embroiled, the supporters cha-chinging, and the gop genuflecting, while the Ship of Democracy weathers these roiling seas, leaking and taking on water each day. And Putin laughs, and flips us the nuclear weapons threat, knowing only we have gone that route before. Only we have used weapons of mass destruction. We are being masterfully played.

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👍👍👍👍

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I am haunted by Bowers belief that the Constitution was divinely inspired. I was deeply troubled by the op-Ed NC Senator Burr wrote about the US being founded on Christian principles but divine inspiration? This religious fervor is frightening, and as a long time Sunday School teacher I don’t understand where these people get their ideas.

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That's part and parcel of the work of promoting the Constitution as an object of worship, an inscribed table of stone, rather than a guide to the spirit of the country's laws.

Why worship? With the people's faces to the ground and their posteriors raised, they won't notice what's happening when said Constitution is gutted and the country's returned to a variation on that which existed under the Articles of Confederation.

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Exactly! Worship the holy document, no need to read it with comprehension.

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The Mormon Guide to the Scriptures states that the Constitution "was divinely inspired in order to prepare the way for the restoration of the gospel." https://ldsblogs.com/9547/what-do-mormons-believe-about-the-constitution

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I agree that hearing Bowers assign divine inspiration to the Constitution is unsettling! In fact, I was struck by the professions of faith of other witnesses too. Greg Jacob made a point of it. As did Brad Raffensburger, and Marc Short.

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Jacob said he pulled out his bible when they were in the “secure area” (it was a loading dock), just how many people do you know that carry around a bible with them wherever they go? Those people inhabit a different world than the one I live in, and frankly I don’t want them anywhere near mine.

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I live in the south. People do carry them around and even keep them on their desks at work. I’m fine with that as long as they also follow Jesus’s message to love one another, not when they use it as a tool of judgment and righteousness.

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I wonder if the J6 Committee was happy to have those professions of faith in order to appeal to Rs or Independents or Evangelicals to take the witnesses seriously.

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This was done deliberately to reach the Evangelical base.

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He’s a Mormon, plain and simple, I have known people of all manner of religious stripes, Buddhists,Hindus, Jews, all manner of Protestants, as well as Catholics, (I was raised a Catholic), the Mormons inhabit a unique space, they are not part of the above community, they are insular, only do business with each other if at all possible, and have a rigidity that was clearly evident in Rusty Bowers demeanor at the committee hearing and was manifest by his acknowledgement that he would vote for that insipid imbecile all over again in spite of what he personally had experienced, it was like he had a steel rod up his ass that made it impossible to bend in the slightest, you could see it in his pained answers. They are lunatics with power.

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Mormonism is an American invention. It is a revealed faith tradition from writing found, literally, on American soil. They believe whatever their leadership tells them and leadership can change what they believe whenever they want. When Mormons were refused admission as a State due to polygamy, a divine revelation revealed polygamy was to be ended as a faith tradition. Blacks could be Mormons, but not Bishops or in leadership, which essentially declared Blacks to be lesser human beings than whites. Then another divine revelation came forth....

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Kind of like where Qanon is heading: to become a religion.

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Says the guy with insider information and profited from it…

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The Constitution being divinely inspired is a tenant of the Mormon faith tradition. And it is wholly ironic that Mormons ignore a piece of The Bill of Rights. The First Amendment the rest of us read states quite clearly that the State shall make no law abridging or forbidding one to practice their religion--or no religion. The Mormons don't agree with the "no religion" aspect of the First Amendment while loving the first part of that sentence.

The Constitution is definitely not "divinely inspired" if one reads the minutes of the Constitutional Convention, the Federalist Papers and letters/biographies of the men who wrote it.

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Simple.

Trump, or a sycophant, promises a future ruled by straight, white, male, Christians.

That’s his prime attraction.

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Then, I am becoming a fan of lesbian black women.

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Yep!

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Sounds like Germany c 1930s

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BINGO!

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Because they are really saying they will vote for the candidate put forward. And the plan is not Trump. Their plan has always been Pence. Who is the best bet to keep the evangelical base. They are scrambling and creating theater regarding DeSantis to figure out how he fits.

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Pull back the lens to wide angle and you will see Putin embracing the Orthodox Patriarch and all around the frame murder in Ukraine and again, again!, Stalin-style, hate driven theft of their food as millions there starve to death. In a dark corner you see Trump and Putin huddling in a long private, unrecorded conversation.

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❤️

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🤮 is all I can say to this, Christine. DeathSantis is just that....death. Pence, too.

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Christine, good morning.

I agree, DeSantis is their hero of choice.

I overheard 2 older ladies in the produce section say that DeSantis reminds them of Kennedy. Handsome and honest. All I can say is Kennedy was a good looking man. Other than that, I do think that is how they market DeSantis. Family man, nice smile and puts him in envious backdrops for photo ops. Let's face it, it was what the Democrats did with Kennedy. They fabricated Camelot.

I am also seeing more DeSantis flags.

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Hi Linda, I keep returning to those earlier DeSantis ads trying to ride the Trump wave Any couple willing to exploit their infant child--( used the baby as a prop, really,--by covering the child with the tfg's name) is suspect in my mind. Their ambition blinds them both. He has grown fat and sweaty as he climbs the ladder of his hubris- not to mention more bizarre in his actions. Whatever shred of public service is left in politics is being suffocated by the need to win. "Image" (constructed along certain lines) has become a huge part of that in our society. Fabrication, indeed.

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Admirably expressed, Carol.

But DeSantis is a perfect product of the Big Bad Wolf party that ate Grandma then dressed up in her nightcap and gown.

Those big smiling teeth, All The Better To Eat You With, my dears...

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Exactly... the wolf in sheep's clothing.

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Carol, I completely agree.

I feel there is very little public service left in today's Political climate.

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Yes. Let’s get it back.

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I hoping people will be more aware of what happens in the backrooms now. I thought it was interesting to hear that overturning Roe v Wade was a complete surprise to some people.

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I feel there is none!

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My Democrat husband keeps telling me that DeSantis is far less dangerous than Trump. I disagree.

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Tell your husband that your are right as rain.

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He’s really very inexperienced politics wise. Plus he keeps getting sweatier and more doughy. He is smart but gets irritated easily. Some dummy will think to have him as Pence’s running mate.

If things go the way of democracy in Nov 2022, then Cheney will be on the ticket somewhere in 2024. I think it would be very creative to see her run with a Dem or Independent.

If we do the work now correctly, focused, with correct intent, we stand a good chance of really mixing it up to get back on track in an inclusive fashion.

Salud my friend, Linda! Love chatting with you!!!!

Where’s Daria? Did I miss her over weekend?

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The hardcore Trump base would never accept Pence. Not long ago they were ready to hang him.

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The core base of the Republican Party loves him. Make no mistake. And if the hard cores are told to love him, they will.

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Good point.

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They must know Pence will never win the presidency. Beware of Kristi Norm and Nikki Haley.

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Michael

To the GOP, Pence is a traitor who "didn't do his job" to overturn the election.

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And DeSantis. He is ruthless and sly.

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Maybe I'm kidding myself, but unless DeSantis develops a softer broader appeal, he will be seen by independents as Trump 2.0.

Of course prognosticating in this charged environment is a fool's errand.

But this "polite" coup can be stopped — if women turn out like never before and the Democrats finally get across the message to everyone that Social Security, Medicare, and legally established rights (gay marriage and ubiquitous access to birth control, for example) are under dire threat.

Also, we can't underestimate what Republicans will do to disrupt voting in Blue metro strongholds. They will use intimidation and chaos.

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I tend to agree with you about DeSantis and Independents. He also lacks charisma and has a short fuse.

It’s all out there now thanks bigly to SCOTUS. Scott’s Rescue( NOT!) Plan is the real deal. He who controls the $$$$ flow. A new t-shirt slogan..🤔

Trying to prognosticate positively in Florida. The struggle is real !!

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DeSantis: Mussolini without charisma.

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Like followers of Jim Jones. A cult. Hypocrisy. Fooling themselves.

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Money.

That's where the money is.

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I was also aghast at Bowers statement about the “wonderful things tfg had done for the country”. Does anyone know what he was talking about? I for one was traumatized daily by tfg - maybe bcuz I’m CDN and find the 24/7 political coverage overwhelming. ?

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He was talking about the decisions handed down this past week - he likes them.

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Giant tax cuts for the wealthy and corporations. Massive deregulation on industry. Extraction of oil and timber on federal/national park land.

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I know! So crass! How is that wonderful? I was having nightmares for four years!

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Wonderful for Bowers--he said he thought Trump had done a good job before the pandemic, and these are some of the items why he'll vote for him again. Responding to someone's comment asking what Trump "accomplished."

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Because they agree with this shit. This is why they voted for him.

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IMHO. While the Republicans testifying (and on the J6 Committee?) will act out of conscience and patriotism (don't cheat to win, don't do an obvious coup), they are not abandoning the Movement Conservative plan to return (or make up losses) in the states in this nation to a Christian nation under God's Dominion. Until the 1960s evangelical Christians really thought they were on the way to making the Bible, apple pie, fourth of July, lassiz faire capitalism, and the war between good and the lesser (read here poor, lazy, black) clearly controlled from their pulpits.

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I believe they’re afraid to say they won’t vote for him, afraid for their lives! That’s the country we live in now.

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I for one will never vote for the insipid imbecilic insufferable slime bag asshole that once was our president, and who we voted out of office and lost the election big time.

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Bowers rescinded that comment, saying he is looking for alternatives (paraphrase). Guess we witnessed a conversion right there on t.v.

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They believe in white male supremacy and want to be in the party that tells others what they can and can't do (referencing the twitter thread by Ethan Grey)

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😳😱😳

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🤑🤑🤑

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2 are running for office. BB is just a bitter old slime ball like Trump. Desperate for relevance like Rudy. He stays firmly in the Republican camp or he will have no social standing and might actually have to confront his own decisions to help keep Trump in office for two more years was wrong. BB and Trump are never wrong.

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Mussolini ha sempre ragione!

Fascist slogan:

Mussolini is always right!

And, as we have seen with Our Orangepeel Lord and with bossman in the Kremlin, the leader is never more right than when he's wrong.

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I am thinking they are covering their butts on this one, trying to sideline the haters and in some cases keep their voters happy.

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