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President Biden won tonight, no matter what the Republicans say. He knows how to govern, he knows how to negotiate. He is not perfect (no one is!) but he’s a pretty darn good President. Especially now, in our current time.

Thank you, Dr. R for all your researched and thoughtful letters.

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I think Biden is in fact better than even a darn good president, considering what country he got with what funds, when he was elected, what opposing forces he faces as in China and Russia, and what kind of opposing party he has to deal with, considering how a majority of those Republicans has apparently, publicly gone awol. I am sure that a majority of Republicans, inwardly, wish Donald Trump to be sent to jail but will never publicly support that. Liz Cheney is right, their dishonor will stay with them...

But how lucky we are, indeed to have Joe Biden.

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I'll bet Biden is an amazing poker player. As a president, I've never seen a better negotiator.

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Mary That’s why I call him Cool Hand Joe. [Rewatch COOL HAND LUKE and you’ll see why.] He also reminds me of THE GAMBLER:

‘You gotta know when to hold them,

Know when to fold ‘‘em

Know when to walk away

And know when to run.

You never count your money

When you’re sitting at the table

There’ll be time enough for counting

When the dealing’s done.”

Long ago I would play pot limit poker in Congo on Sunday nights. McCarthy’s experience would keep me away from a Biden poker game.

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That song is perfect. As is your last sentence.

I keep saying: Biden's the best pres in my lifetime. Which began under Truman if you count in utero.

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Agree except Truman is the first pres that I remember...I was born under FDR!

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Shirley I was born the year FDR became president. He was my only president for 12 years. I do remember when ‘Pendergast’ Senator Truman made the cover of Time magazine for his remarkable efforts to cut out waste/sleaze in military expenditures.

Honest, hard working, and, at times, stubborn as a Missouri mule.

For a marvelous perspective into Harry, read the letters between former Truman Truman and ex-SecState Dean Acheson that David McCullough compiled.

For never being able to attend college, Truman was both erudite and insightful. He could write/think rings around Reagan, Bush W, and, of course, wormy book Donald, who never even read his ghost-written books.

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Love your ode to “the gambler”. I sang it as I was reading. 🎶

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Chris I enjoy playing Kenny Roger’s version while I’m driving.

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There is a great cartoon on twitter. The GOP sits naked. Biden has all the chips and all their clothes.

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Now perhaps they'll stop calling him senile and people won't think he doesn't deserve a second term. And they'll stop making "soft food" jokes.

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Do you think a man, who can barely get a sentence out of his mouth and has tape

laid out all over the press room so he know where to stand, has the mental wattage to play poker?

As for the claim he is the better negotiator ever? Based on what? Deals his family cut with the Russians, Chinese, Romanians?

You don't have to be a great negotiator to make it rain financially when you are the Vice President.

On the other hand maybe your right. Getting his son, a junkie, an $80,000 a month

job with Buresma may well be impressive work.

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Troll alert, folks. Goodbye, James.

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Idiot alert folks.

Another leftist who speaks only in cliches.

BTW do you ever have an original thought?

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I think we’ll look back on him as amazing!

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I wish more would appreciate how amazing he is right now!

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And quit damning him for his age....80 is the beginning of Life Begins at 80!

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You shir got it Shirl!

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I got about a month and a half and I will be there! You can't count we 80 year old out until we are dead!

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I don't see the constant dissing from the far left here locally that I was seeing before, but they are focused elsewhere. I doubt most of them have seen the light because I don't see any praise either.

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Who/what is the far left?

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True believers on the left. Progressives who do not understand that they can't have everything they want asap. Locally, they dissed Biden as an establishment D and failed to note any of his achievements starting with his choice of cabinet members. I think it is fine to articulate progressive ideals; however, voting for people like Jill not green Stein for example, only helps elect people like death star.

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Folks who think Ukraine should roll over for Vlad

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39% approval rate? 29% among independents. Darn good president?

All the current polls have Trump leading Biden. Washington Post poll on the most important question who would handle the economy better 51-36% Trump

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The polls have nothing to do with any of the people I know...their sampling method is clearly out of whack.

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Meredith President Truman’s poll numbers were in the sewer when he left office and today he is considered as great/near great American president.

Who responds to these ‘popular polls’ Have you ever been polled? Would you respond, if you were approached by a pollster?

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I don't reply to sampling! I mostly don't answer my phone unless I know who is calling!

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"Any of the people you know?" That's your metric?

You "know" their sampling is out of whack? How do you "know"?

There you have it folks! That's what passes for intelligence? I thought leftist believed in science?

A little advice, there is an adage that you might want to consider: "Tell the truth, the give your opinion".

You might now like the idea, but I promise it will make you look less like a fool.

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James, you are a provocateur. You apparently have little understanding of who is a great president and who is not. Unless, of course, you base all your opinions on polls.

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Great president? Joe Biden? A majority democrats don't want him to run for reelection. Not a single accomplishment.

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"A little advice" James, no personal attacks per your contract with Substack Inc or go to mediation at JAMS in SF. If you not like the contract why did you sign on the signature page? Contracts are enforceable. Why don't you post your contract for us 3rd party "Readers".

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Feel free to call my parents.

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Polls reflect popularity not whether Biden is a good president. It took 5 decades of constant strategic planning but conservatives have successfully created an oligarchy that prioritizes corporations and the very wealthy. They were brilliant in capturing the MSM and using religious infrastructure to divide the nation against itself. Before the majority understands that republicans are using the same playbook all authoritarians use it may be too late. Democrats were wrong in believing the majority couldn’t be fooled and didn’t fight hard enough.

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Are you delusional? Job approval poll is 100% a poll on the job you are doing.

Back on earth there are facts - Biden 39% approval, 29% approval among independents.

May I quote you to the entire site? This maybe the weirdest comment I've come across

"They (conservatives) were brilliant in capturing the MSM (Mainstream media) and using religious infrastructure to divide the nation against itself"

That probably comes as a surprise to NY Times, Wash PO, Huff Post, CNN, MSNBC, CBS, ABC, that they were captured by conservatives and the religious right.

That's just too stupid to believe.

As for the claim that it maybe too late to stop "Republican authoritarian playbook", what in the Hell are talking about?

Do you believe in other conspiracies too? The moon landing was fake? Big Foot? Loochness Monster? Elvis is still alive?

Tooth Fairy? Ronald McDonald?

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Lol. The folks who believe in conspiracies are usually not progressive. But no, polls do NOT reflect whether a president is doing a good job. Republican voters do not typically read the legislation that their politicians are pushing - which is why they haven’t a clue that the policies they benefit from are from democrats. And yes, MSM news is now corporate news deregulated by conservatives. Which is why they all focus on a small number of salacious stories and supposedly progressive media outlets 2-sides everything while conservative media blatantly lies. As for the authoritarian handbook used by republicans-just look that up. Abundance of evidence.

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What are you smoking? What does a job approval POLL reflect? Whether they like Biden's neckties? You are delusional. IT 100% reflects how Americans feel about Biden's job performance.

I'll give you a little HINT. When the Poll says "JOB PERFORMANCE" its

about ................. You guessed it.......... "JOB PERFORMANCE"

Every post of yours is a treasure trove of the ridiculous. Lets do a little de-construction

1. "Polls do NOT reflect whether a president is doing a good job"

2. Republican voters do not typically read the legislation that politicians are pushing" which is why they don't have a CLUE that they are benefiting from DEMOCRATS

No I think they know. THEY SEE ALL THE BENEFIT from an open border. THEY SEE ALL THE BENEFIT the 4 Trillion inflation reduction act that skyrocketed INFLATION. They feel the pain of interest rates going up 500%. They see all the benefit of spending 120 Billion on an endless war in Ukraine. They see the benefit.

It takes a lot of chutzpah to claim the LEFT pushes a smaller number of salacous stories?

Who pedaled the TRump collusion story for 3 years? IT WAS A LIE

Who pedaled the endless COVID lies?

WHo pedaled the Hunter Biden story that the laptop was Russian Disinformation?

You are delusional

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You must be reading those nasty Steve Bannon polls. Here's a dose of reality.

Among registered voters, Biden led Trump, his predecessor as president, by six percentage points in a hypothetical match-up, 44% to 38%, holding an advantage that has opened up in recent few months. In a mid-March Reuters/Ipsos poll, Biden led Trump by five points after trailing him by three points in February.

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Did I miss something? When did Steve Bannon start running the Washington Post polls?

Washington Post - May 2023 Trump leading Biden by 7.

BTW Registered votes is THE LEAST accurate poll available. Likely VOTERS is the most accurate.

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I guess you missed something. That poll was considered an outlier which the Post loves to publish because it shows balance. That means it didn't agree with the other polls and it's almost a month old.

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It's also known to be intentionally bogus as no real poll samples "adults", only voters.

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"All the current polls have Trump leading Biden." Do they? Please provide data.

BTW, without meaning to bust any bubbles, you might want to consider that there could be a gap between a POTUS's actual accomplishments and the knowledge of them by much of the electorate. We live in an era of the disinformation and trivia firehose. This blog is, sadly, the exception that demonstrates the rule.

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This is impressive. An idiot contest to see who can say the dumbest thing possible.

Let me help you out here. I CITED a Washington Post Poll conducted in May 2023.

The poll had Biden's job approval at 39%, 29% for independents.

When you say "there could be a gap between a POTUS's actual accomplishments and the

knowledge of the electorate" what in the hell as you talking about?

Did that truth come to you on your secret decoder ring?

Maybe you can pray for Ronald McDonald to come back from the dead too.

As Christopher Hitchens said, "That which is asserted without evidence can be dismissed without evidence"

I don't know how to break the news to you but not only are a majority of Americans

unhappy with Biden, a majority of Democrats don't want him to run again.

This Blog is the definition of disinformation.

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If you can't understand a simple English sentence, there is little I can do to assist. That said, one look at your own blog indicates that it is not a matter of a lack of familiarity with the Mother Tongue so much as the inevitable result of the the intellectual paralysis which seems to result from the massive doses of orange Kool-Aide which seem to be a sine qua non for induction into the Cult of Trump.

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Which makes us ask how the voting public can be made aware of his accomplishments.

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Are you delusional?

They know. They go to the grocery store and see the price increases. They open the electric bill and they see the price increases. The look at their adjustable rate loans and see have gone up 2-3X. They see the layoffs. They see the disaster at the border. They see the Afghanistan meltdown. They see

Ukraine and see Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan all over again.

Yes they are DAMN aware what's going on.

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Can we really trust WaPo? I don't think so.

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I guess your opinion is BETTER than Washington Post scientific poll conducted by experts.

I guess that was my mistake.

Your feelings are more truthful than facts?

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It's not personal James

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Do.you not understand that the media live & die by fomenting fear & outrage in the consumers of their product, and to that end distort the reality to compel attention? The WaPo/ABC Poll was bogus (no real poll samples "adults", but only voters) & the plain fact of the matter is that Trump is irrelevant. He will be in prison, having been indicted 3 times this year. Further, regardless of "polls", his "base" is a fraction of the GOP, and has been losing elections all along. He has no chance; the.media knows this, and lie to you; politicians know this and are running against each other, trying to.simultaneously retain the base while not alienating the rest of GOP. And that's an obviously difficult circle to square.

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YOU HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA, what in the hell you are talking about.

Its really embarrassing to read stupid and uninformed posts.

1) I've attached the Real Clear Politics average of all the national polls.

https://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/other/president-biden-job-approval-7320.html

They have Biden's approval at an average 41.0% Disapproval 56% over the last two weeks.

I'm not sure how you are going to LIE your way out of the Washington Post outlier argument.

Even more stupid are your koolaid views on Trump's popularity. Trump leads by more than 30 points in all the national polls and his lead has been growing.

As for jail, I'd be a lot more concerned about the Biden's if I was you. The DOJ and IRS

have been investigating the family for bribery and tax evasion for more than three years.

Put down the bong, rolled down your window, leave the bubble, and join the real world.

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This kind of invective is ill-suited to this forum, and belies your self-proclaimed "intellectualism". Analogous to the "very stable genius", mental health intervention is clearly indicated, but that's not here. Good luck!

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Its embarassing to try and watch wiggle away from stupid comments.

Only an idiot could challenge the legitimacy of a poll, having NO IDEA that 10 other national polls SAID virtually the same thing.

Its not surprising when you go daily to a blog whose only job is to heighten your confirmation bias with the dumbest propaganda available.

Of course we can disagree on the direction of the country, but to get such basic facts wrong is NOT an accident. Its on purpose to drive a dishonest narrative.

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Delusional poll takers!

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I’ve been binge watching The West Wing. Interestingly, the issues are the same then as now. Without the far right fascists, the same none the less.

I agree with you on Biden, Suzette.

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That’s interesting, we were saying the same thing yesterday while watching The West Wing. But the fascists are there. Bartlett is running against Ritchie, who sounds not so different from DeSantis.

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May 31, 2023·edited May 31, 2023

Back then they were caricatures, now they're flesh and bone(heads).

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Ok, you’ve got me hooked! I’m going to start watching The West Wing today! 😊. And Biden is mature and insightful-less talk, more walk which is what is the true test of a person.

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I bought the whole Seven Season set of The West Wing on dvd. I've already watched all 7 seasons twice. It doesn't get old.

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The only thing that has changed are the phones and cars!

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Robert-we recently rewatched Newsroom and found the same to be true! You could take some headlines from today and run them with a date of 2012 and it would fit right in. When do you think we’re gonna get off this merry-go-round??

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Another Aaron Sorkin show. I just finished watching this series.Loved it. Jeff Daniels is one underrated actor.

I didn't want it to end and was disappointed the show only had 3 seasons.

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Same! Loved the show and Jeff Daniels was brilliant.

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Yep, that’s true.

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It’s interesting that many republican voters love shows like The West Wing and Star Trek. They don’t understand that the policies they vote for are the opposite of the West Wing administration or that Star Trek is the embodiment of DEI.

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Republicans are using the same central casting agencies, you think, for script readers and sometime actors?

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Finding Professor Richardson's letters allowed me the same insight, only i saw the analogy since our civil war!

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Bill, 2 things. First, agree with your assessment that the issues are the same then as now. Second, where are you able to access the old seasons and episodes of The West Wing? I've looked once or twice and I couldn't find it? Thanks in advance!

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You can watch it on MAX formerly HBO Max

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Thanks Bonnie!

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Kent Dills - "Second, where are you able to access the old seasons and episodes of The West Wing?"

Try this:

https://www.justwatch.com/us/tv-show/the-west-wing

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Thanks Ron!

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Have you noticed that the two best presidents of the past 30 years have the same initials: JB?

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Who besides Joe Biden?

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Jed Bartlet! (I love my "Bartlet for America" t-shirt)

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AH. :)

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Biden, as I've said before, has done a masterful job dealing with fools to save the country and world from terrible economic consequences. That said, he had help from Wall Street and big business, which no doubt let McCarthy and other Republicans know they must vote to lift the debt ceiling. In a way it's a sad and ironic twist but this time influence buying paid off for the greater good.

Now the Crazy Caucus will continue to rant and rave as it always has because it's easy and governing is hard.

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Michael Bales, thank you....Biden's experience participating in the governance of this nation is on display as well as his leadership and character. Once more, I also thank the many men and women who support this country and the values that garner respect and trust from other nations, allies and enemies.

Unfortunately, it is the loud, armed, angry, self-centered, inexperienced yet...elected.....who threaten to harm our nation. This lack of leadership in the Republican party is causing its destruction and harming our nation and the world. Money can only go so far.....then there is the need for some stability....some wisdom.....some real responsibility to be demonstrated to restore the foundations of our institutions.......even Wall Street and big business have their limitations....

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They also have their minions locally who are doing great harm where they can....banning books, threatening stores who have Pride merchandise, walking out of the Oregon senate to prevent certain bills on guns, abortion and trans people from passing, etc. On the news the week was a story from southern Oregon where a guy walked up to a house flying the pride flag and berated the occupants for displaying it. They filmed him, so I think he has been identified although they got the usual nasty trolls when they put it on social media.

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I agree Emily.

This situation reminds me of letting 14 year old bullies run the school yard.

America has been dominated by 14 year old bullies... they are boring, undisciplined, ugly examples of what a “man/woman can become without the guidance of grown ups!! Where are the “grown ups”?

Hopefully Americans will be shown examples of true grown up thinking adults.... are they your children??? If so thank you for all the hard work.

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My money is on Joe...quiet, unassuming, plays the end game without bravado...what a guy! Lucky us, vote blue in 24, up and down the ticket!

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I’ve said this before I think the mantra for Biden needs to be, savvy, seasoned, and sane!

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Savvy, seasoned and sane!

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A true, rare statesman

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Now that Michael rings more plausibly to me as "the way the 'rest of the story' actually happened; influence peddling, creating "the rest, rest of the story." As we and others have said, "follow the money." Thank you as always for your contributions here.

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Thanks, D4N.

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Thank you Suzette. One of the pundits said it was wise the Dems did not gloat.

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Yes, gloating has a negative effect. But what the Dems need to get better at is messaging in a way that makes clear to the entire country the good that has been done and continues to be done in every state because of the bills that have been passed under Biden's tenure. We know where the billions are being spent, but do those whose lives are better because of those investments also realize what they owe to Biden? That's a message that must be made clear every day, without gloating, to be sure, but with constant repetition. Since it is true that a budget expresses our values, we need to make sure that everyone understands how the differences between the proposals of the Dems and the HFC folks reflect our values.

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Messaging, yes.

But after the bill passes. I think the messaging that it is a bipartisan compromise is intended to get at least some Repugs to vote for it.

Then once it passes, I want to see clear, concise, honest, understandable messaging over and over and over for the next 17 months. There is a lot of material to be utilized from the budget bill to demonstrate how the Dems are working to make things better and what more they could do with increased numbers in the House and Senate. Couple this with statements from Trump or DeSantis whoever is the opponent. Trumps CNN rally is a gold mine for negative ads. And the vitriol and outrageous lies of many Repugs in Congress are also a a gold mine. I’m taking about you Chip Roy, among so many others.

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Sky 777- you are so right about messaging. I think the DNC should hire the team that put together the J6 hearings to put together their 2024 campaign.

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Sky 777 So well said about the messaging. I have been so frustrated about the Democratic Party messaging, but I've focused on the Congressional voting/messaging situation. You have shifted the focus properly: it is messaging to let everyone know where the benefits are taking place---in the states and locally.

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...and that even the great things accomplished come at the price of our tolerance for the costs & inconveniences!

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And all we have to do is find a way to get the media to cover things without falling back into the horse race mode. There does seem to be a growing awareness among MSM that they messed up, and making efforts to cover news in a more nuanced way. Our job is to keep reminding them of that.

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Couldn’t agree with you more!

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So true! One of Obama's greatest faults was failing to tout the things he did to break the grip of the recession. While the Recovery Act raised the debt initially it was a sound investment to stabilize the economy. Failure to tout that success is one of the reasons the Dems were trounced in the 2010 midterms.

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Fox ran the biggest propaganda campaign against Obama since Goebbels remade German politics. Sadly, our MSM only followed the money

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Plus, Obama was between a rock and a hard place, being our first Black president.

He couldn't afford to get angry and let the media portray him as a stereotype. I'm sure he would have liked to have been more intense, but he just couldn't risk it.

He was a great president, imho.

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Once again for President Obama the Republicans passed a baton that left him adrift in economic chaos. We should never forget he stepped up. Thank you Mr. Obama.

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I saw President Obama trying very hard to get the children to play well with others. It's what responsible adults do. McConnell and Boehner weren't having it. The metaphorical gloves finally came off in the last two years of his presidency but most of the damage was already done.

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From my limited perspective it seemed to me that the MSM only followed the polls. And not just any polls but the negatives. I get so sick of it that I stop watching or listening. It's happening again. We don't hear about all the great things President Biden has done and is doing only about how bad his polls are! Really good way to turn people off from participating in the electoral process and skewing the results of the actual election.

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Especially true if you live in badly gerrymandered state like Ohio and some others.

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The best message is effective, compassionate governance. That said, the Democratic Party is hamstrung by an inept media that can't seem to objectively observe national politics.

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Agreed ! Gloating is counter productive in a culture that demands ‘what are YOU going to do for ME’ next!

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Thank you Louis for your observation of the "Me, Me, Mine" Culture zero sum gamesters.

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The messaging that needs to improve is the stuff that criticizes the GOP. Negotiations should always stay close to the vest.

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YES Betsy, however, I fear that as one presses home that message of infrastructure rebuilding under Biden, there will be further complaint about how all that re-construction of roads and bridges has snarled traffic and inconvenienced us all! 🙄

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Gloating turns governing into a 'horse race' to the bottom. GOP holds the House where Appropriations must originate as per Constitution. Anyone who thinks Biden should get whatever he wants is mistaking America for Turkey.

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What Joe Biden wants is for the most part what a majority of the country wants.

God knows what the Republicans want -- outside of five minutes nightly on Fox News.

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We know what they want: the end of republican democracy and the establishment of a pseudo-Christian version of the Islamic Republic. They repeatedly say as much. Take a look at what is said at the endless CPAC fund raisers and where they take place these days.

When someone tells you who they are, you should consider believing it.

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I'm expecting the 2024 CPAC to be held in Uganda. The new Bastion of the Christian Right!

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While nothing would surprise me, they seem to have a friendly dictator in Orban.

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"Anyone who thinks Biden should get whatever he wants is mistaking America for Turkey." Anyone who thinks that has ever been the issue has clearly not been paying attention.

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Re: gloating

Pride goeth before a fall.

Looking forward to Fall elections, 2024

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Suzette If President Biden weren’t such a cool dude, he might send a note to the Republican House: ‘You shouldn’t send a raw rookie to play hard ball in the Major Leagues.’

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Nobody won. Nobody. And make no mistake, we are an indebted country with a President and Congress who have no idea how to steer our country into safer less indebted waters. Our President’s enablers cheer on his command economy spending and regulation spree as growth collapses, inflation rages and the flames of war crackle. They believe we are a rich country. They denigrate all that have come before preferring to live in a new world where the facts check in but don’t check out. Virtue signaling outweighs common sense and blaming the other guy has been turned into an art form. Wake up folks before our Greek like record debt, structural debt problems and inflation turn into a Greek tragedy of global proportions. Our present leadership is delusional about our financial situation and flying us blind into an economic storm of deficits and debt that no amount of blaming the other guy will lift us.

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The solution has always been there. Tax wealth. For example. Bezos owns 5 super yachts. These yachts have tenders that cost $200million. The value of one yacht should have been collected as taxes. Clinton left office with a balanced budget. Bush gave huge tax cuts to the wealthy, converting Clintons balanced budget to debt. Bush then started 2 unnecessary wars and financed them with debt. 30 years ago wealth would offshore to avoid taxes. As globalization shrinks and authoritarian govts replace democracies there are fewer safe havens offshore. The safety guaranteed by America should be well worth a fair tax on wealth.

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Indeed Christophee; great intent you state here. The underlying problem goes just a bit deeper, as I'm sure our good Dr. will address at a time of her choosing. Here's a hint though; property. Cheers Chris

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If I can guess at the hint, are you referring to seizing/accepting/levying property as a way of taxing wealth? Great idea, at least in theory, although attaching a dollar value to most these properties is very difficult, especially since the very seizure of the property can affect the fair market value of that property. It may be a bit easier with financial instruments (stocks, bonds, etc.), but still would be a very delicate exercise.

Even more amusing, to convert that property into cash to pay for government expenditures, they'd have to sell the seized property to the very people they seized it from. I'd pay for a ticket to see that auction!

That said, I think it would be well worth the effort, even if the government had to set up a permanent independent corporation like the Ports Authority to evaluate property-to-tax conversions. Each form of property, be it financial instruments or real estate, would likely require its own special treatment.

Did I guess right as to your hint?

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FAIR !! ALL Mammonites SHOULD PAY Their FAIR SHARE !! .... GET on !, with IT !

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Whose growth collapses? The 1%? With their price gauging false inflationary prices? Biden just threw a little cold water on the flames they've been fanning. The Warlocks of the oilygarchy are their own worst enemy.

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Here's the funnier aspect of your truth Susan; 'they' think they are right, and that 'they' have the cure for all that ails the rest of us (except anything that's materially 'theirs' ).

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Inflation is falling.

If we had an excess profits tax, it would be miniscule.

If you really want us to bring down the debt, repeal trump's tax giveaway and restore $20B to the IRS for modernization.

Republicans like to complain about the debt when what they're really trying to do is bring back the worst of the Gilded Age.

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Totally agree. I think we need to go further given the fiscal cliff of entitlement payments and push out and means test SS and Medicaid. We could call it shared success but it would go a long way towards bringing our debt and fixed obligations down and give real flexibility to the coming younger generation in our budget and strengthen our real security immeasurably.

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Once you start means testing Social Security and Medicare (not Medicaid which is only for the poor), you lose support from the middle class.

So once again, conservatives would prefer to punish the bulk of Americans rather than make Elon Musk or Jeff Bezos give up a dime.

Tax political contributions over a million dollars and let the IRS enforce the 501c regs.

By the way, if boomers are worried about social security, we won't retire.

While large corporations might force us out, smaller companies will still be controlled by us.

Social Security and child labor laws weren't passed during the Great Depression just because they were nice things -- they were passed to reduce the pool of workers and to reduce unemployment.

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Agree Bridget. Means testing Social Security and Medicare is breaking the contract with the American people. Remove the cap on SS and make Medicare progressive yes, but don't take away an earned benefit. Why do businesses hate SS and Medicare, because they consider it an expense, and not something they should owe their employees. Provide for your employees don't exploit them.

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Like it or not SS and Medicare need to be reformed. Nobody likes that. You could tax the 1% 100% and it would help little. Our population is both older and grows slower than 80 years ago. We now spend 6X more on our old people than our young. If someone else has a better idea I am all ears. The leader who can explain, amend and fix will go down in history as a great person. Maybe it can’t be done. Alternatively we are all in trouble. Sad but true.

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Well we could raise the cap on the social security wage basis from $160k to $300k or $500k.

Republicans continually try to underfund social security and then complain it's underfunded.

For Medicare, we could go after the grifters like Rick Scott who stole roughly a billion dollars through deceptive billings.

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This would be a good time for someone to interject some numbers with citation sources, because I think you're very right, that SS and Medicare will need reforming as our society changes. The aging demographic is indeed a hard fact to deal with.

Perhaps we can expand the options a bit if we see the SS and Medicare problems as part of the greater issue of healthcare delivery and financing. For instance, the byzantine pseudo-system we have for private healthcare is, I assert, incredibly wasteful and mainly a way for massive insurance companies to use medical providers as tools to extract wealth from sick people. In support of that assertion, I offer the following ProPublica article on how the one of the largest insurance companies meters, controls, and profits from healthcare:

https://www.propublica.org/article/unitedhealth-healthcare-insurance-denial-ulcerative-colitis

An overall reform of the entire system may provide the savings you want for SS and Medicare. Perhaps, Mr. Carroll?

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Come on, David. This isn't the time to crank up the obsession about the debt. As long as the full faith and credit of the biggest economy in the world is maintained, the debt is not a pressing issue. Rinse, repeat; Stay away from Pete Petersonism

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My oldest daughter and significant other just today returned from 2 weeks plus in Ecuador. Their currency is based fully upon the U.S. dollar. Lot's more revelations as well. Perhaps our good Dr. might have a chat about the status of Ecuador.

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What would you want her to say about it? How is life in Ecuador? I've not been paying attention to that.

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The people seem generally happy, despite the general unrest presently. Their democracy is under assault like all other democracies today, by enemies of democracy, foreign (Russia, China, international capitalists, etc.) and domestic, with some of the domestic unrest stirred up by foreign bad actors. While my daughter was there, the President, Lasso, dismissed the National Assembly (legislature) (?!); it would seem he did that because they were going to impeach him. [*Yes, that gave me great 'pause'. A different democracy.] Their monetary system is based entirely on the U.S. dollar; in practice a mix of our dollars, and whatever their currency was, at another time. For more on Ecuador see > https://www.britannica.com/place/Ecuador/Trade > https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecuador > https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2023_Ecuadorian_political_crisis > https://www.forbes.com/sites/nathanielparishflannery/2023/05/25/what-are-the-biggest-problems-affecting-ecuador-in-2023/?sh=401ff6971796 > Cheers Dirk !

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It all began with Reagan. In 1982 the national debt was less than $1 trillion. Reagan's term saw it triple while Reagan started the war on the Middle Class and gave huge income tax breaks to the well-to-do. The Republicans learned how to "feed at the federal trough" and have siphoned off another $30 trillion, leaving our children and grandchildren the task of what to do with it. Is there a solution? There is, but it will be very, very long and painful. However, if we don't learn how to "fight fire with fire," this nation could implode and then the world will be thrown into political chaos.

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Richard,

If it all began with Reagan, this is actually what happened. Our D/GDP was 23% in 1981 and interest rates were heading into the teens. Debt was prohibitively expensive. Reagan cut taxes, eliminated tax loopholes and streamlined regulations to get our economy moving. Volcker raised rates to 20%+ to kill off inflation. After a very tough first year and a half the economy boomed and inflation crashed. GDP grew on average 3.6% during the Reagan years and debt did increase but debt burden did not because interest rates had declined. Debt to GDP ended at 40% and was declining at the end of Reagans term because our economy had grown so much. D/GDP is 3X higher at 124% today. The Reagan expansion years marked a period of economic progress for middle class Americans. Middle class income increased 11 percent after adjustment for inflation, while nearly 20 million new jobs were created. Unemployment declined to 5% while labor participation was over 70%. It is 62.6% today. I lived it having just gotten out of college. I went from poor and jobless to gainfully employed. If this was a "war on the middle class" so be it.

Also, many forget, Reagan actually raised taxes 4 times between 1983-1987 when deficits grew too much. Dislike Reagan all you want, but after the malaise of the 70's he was a breath of fresh air and his economic record is actually one to be admired.

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Very good reply, Mr. Carroll! You've given me much to think about. Could you recommend some reading sources, preferably of the "center-right" perspective, on the economic and political effects of the Reagan years? That was a very pivotal time in all our lives.

Would anyone else like to offer other reading sources, preferably "center-left" in perspective, in rebut?

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Looking at the source I just cited, it's amazingly stark that the D/GDP ratio went insane with the 2008 mortgage meltdown and we haven't recovered yet. Worse, it's as a friend said back at the time, all the inflated, corrupt, ponzi-style money that all those rich people got during the pre-2008 bubble looks to have been turned into public debt, in what has to be a very strange alchemy. D'ya think those rich people could give some of that back?

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Troll boy says what?

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What country do you live on?

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You can thank Reagan and all radical Republicans who have use government to favor the very very wealthy and dismantle good governance. Follow the money. The middle class bought into 401K without even thinking our money is going to the same filthy hands behind financial empires undermining democracy. Food for thought.

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Where your facts get a bit messier Zelita, is that it wasn't all radical repulsicans that did all that which you state. The messy truth is that they had small 'd' democrats aiding and abetting all that 'gifting' and undermining our democracy. Hopefully, as I continue to wish and hope, a day of her choosing will come and she (HCR) will reveal the entire messy 'truth' in her style which I've seen to be truth as revealed by facts in evidence.

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Facts are facts. Messiness comes from those who object to facts, with critiques without credible facts or sources, relying on baseless opinions.

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Isn't it curious that Business has done to all of us what the Right is afraid that Government would do? From from "death panels," now called "utilization review panels" by insurers, to intrusive surveillance (Alexa!), large corporations have done it all, and there's nothing democratic about Business, no sirree.

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Oh? Nobody??

Plutocrats preserved all of their wealth and their control over a government. Plutocrats won big.

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Sad truth Ed. For right now, the score certainly looks that way. I've heard journalists say the same thing - that money won and continues to 'win'.

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Independent investigative journalists at least. Mainstream medias' journalists, not so much. The latter seem to have an agenda to maintain partisan polarization rather than to inform as accurately and honestly as possible.

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A masterful display of projection and falsehoods. Congratulations. Also impressed by your ability to howl about deficits while ignoring the degree to which they are the result of massive, economically unproductive tax cuts for the wealthy. Like, say, the ones the "Republican" party and TFG pushed through Congress.

Four decades of "supply side" fantasies have resulted in a massive upward wealth transfer. But, by all means, let's ignore that and pollute the air with far right dog whistles like "virtue signaling."

Speaking of which, I'm old enough to remember when alleged conservatives like Bill Bennet thought "virtue" was, well, a virtue and not a sign of weakness. Now behaving like a decent human being is portrayed by you on the right as some kind of serious weakness and a threat to our National Manhood. This is what happens when arrested emotional development becomes the foundation of an entire political party.

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Factual Stephen. If you find fault in the data let me know.

Also we have not had four decades of "supply side" fantasies. We did under Reagan, it then faded.

Your detestation for "conservatives" is noted. We have a pretty progressive Federal tax system What would you suggest we do in terms of "unproductive tax cuts". What would you suggest? Now let me point out, if you do not already know, the bottom 40% of Americans pay zero federal tax. Zero. The top 50% pay over 97%. The Top 10% pay 74%. What does Stephen propose that keep incentives in place that might grow our economy? Or maybe that does not matter. Command economy? Marxist? What would make Stephen happy? :)

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I wonder if you even know what the world "Marxist" actually means. I'm guessing not.

Supply-side fantasies, based as they are on an evidence-free belief (the Laffer curve was never anything more than a statement of belief masquerading as data), have, in reality, proved remarkable resilient, as your own comment demonstrated. Viz. a little something from those notorious Marxist commie socialists at Investopedia: https://www.investopedia.com/supply-side-economics-6755346

Also of interest:

https://www.factcheck.org/2014/04/rand-pauls-supply-side-distortion/

https://www.npr.org/sections/itsallpolitics/2015/10/30/452905475/fact-check-do-tax-cuts-grow-the-economy

Non-productive tax cuts are tax cuts which fail to increase revenue. If the RO of a policy is negative, only a fool would continue to maintain it. Unless, of course, the purpose was not to increase revenue or economic growth but simply to make the rich richer. This was clearly the result of the massive, budget-busting tax cuts pushed by Trump and the "Republican" party.

BTW, while I understand the following quote is routinely given the old cut and paste by the far right it is, at best, disingenuous: "the bottom 40% of Americans pay zero federal tax. Zero. The top 50% pay over 97%. The Top 10% pay 74%"

Here's the reality. From a source you will no doubt label as Marxist. Or maybe socialist, Communist, Stalinist, work, or whatever the currently fashionable phrase is amongst the proponents of feudalism: https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/fact-check-richest-1-dont-pay-40-of-the-taxes.html This old wheeze of pretending that the income tax is the only tax Americans pay has proven sadly resilient to extinction.

Also a bit of insight from those Marxists at Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/howardgleckman/2019/08/06/remember-the-47-percent-who-pay-no-income-taxes-they-are-not-who-you-think/?sh=70622d3d47d7

As for economic growth, maybe you should take a look at who was in charge of what during periods of positive economic growth. Granted, correlation is not necessarily causation, since many factors affecting growth are beyond the control of the government, but it's at least worth a gander: https://www.macrotrends.net/countries/USA/united-states/gdp-growth-rate#:~:text=U.S.%20gdp%20growth%20rate%20for,a%200.7%25%20increase%20from%202017. Try playing with the time frame and ask yourself whether or not it supports your agenda.

Yes, I despise "conservatives" (vs. actual conservatives) because their self-assumed label has nothing to do with their actual positions, which are doggedly pro-plutocrat, anti-republican, anti-democratic, and openly authoritarian and theocratic. There is nothing "conservative" about that.

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Going backwards, picking the years including the recovery from the pandemic is funny. Interestingly inflation out ran GDP growth. We went backwards. Incredible no? Address the Reagan 8 years Stephen. It worked. All boats increased. Is that bad? Also, thanks for enlightening me on Marxism. It worked pretty well where again?

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The repeated factual accounting-thanks for trying.

The second coming looms -sounds like the old boss.

The drum beats on.

History ...

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And no matter what some Democrats say. I don't understand why all 218 Congressional Democrats haven't come out in favor of the deal while reserving the right to introduce separate legislation on the issues that they aren't happy with. Democrats are supposed to be the party that knows how to govern and does so but 4 of them voted with the Nut Job Caucus contingent on the Rules Committe not to approve the bill that Mr. Biden and Mr. McCarthy had agreed on.

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I will just be happy if it passes the House and Senate! The wait is killing me!

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What did he win? A mythical trophy? This is whole speculation is silly.

No one wins when you take in $4.8 Trillion and spend $6.25 Trillion. That's a 1.5 Trillion deficit.

We are on a short road to Greece.

Especially given our inflationary environment? This is going to cause the FED to raise

rates again in June.

Our deficits are crushing our currency, to the point where China, Russia, Brasil are moving to replace the dollar. The dollar has lost 25% of its value in the last 1 1/2 years. This is financial suicide.

Yet you want to take a victory lap?

This the classic example of "While Nero fiddled Rome burned."

BTW a sober reminder Biden's approval rate is at 39% and the majority of his own party don't want him to run again.

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This may come as a surprise to you, but a surprising amount of the debt came from the massive permanent tax cuts enacted by the far right during the previous administration. I'll give them this much: they cleverly combined the plutocrat tax cuts with more moderate cuts for the majority of the population. The latter, however, were given an expiration date in 2025: https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/11/republicans-slap-an-expiration-date-on-middle-class-tax-cuts/545996/

One might ask why, if tax cuts are a Great and Holy Thing, they are less great and holy for the majority of the population.

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Are you really trying to BS me here are on tax cuts?

Did you think you wouldn't get caught?

Joe Biden 2021-present 34Trillion Total Debt - New Debt $8Trillion

Donald J. Trump 2017-2021 $28.4 Trillion - New Debt 8Trillion

Barack Obama 2009–201 $20 Trillion Total Debt - $9Trillion New Debt

George W. Bush 2001–2009 $11.9Trillion Total Debt - $6.1Trillion New Debt

William J. Clinton 1993–2001 $5.8 Trillion Total Debt - $1.4 Trillion New Debt

Its a LIE to say that REPUBLICANS accrued most of the debt. BOTH parties have run up the debt and its destroying America. Its crushing our currency and exploding our deficits.

Our debt is 800% of GDP

China 279% of GDP

Russia 13% of GDP

As for tax CUTS, the Democrats controlled Congress for the first 2 years of Biden's presidency.

WHY DIDN'T THEY PROPOSE a single initiative to RE- WRITE THE TAX CODE?

Of course not. Their wealthy donors LOVE tax loop holes.

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President Biden is a masterful negotiator. I grow weary of listening to the ageist dismissals of his competency to govern. He is knowledgeable, intelligent, wise and full of integrity. Right there are four characteristics that were nonexistent in #45. Thank you, Mr. President.

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I agree 200%!

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+ another 200%. They haven't the wit to understand what he's been telling them.

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All that Bart, plus I feel he has the other main ingredient - honor.

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And !! TRUE INTEGRITY ( Praise GOD !)

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Biden is repairing the government and the economy and grooming Harris to put all the traitors behind bars after he is gone, one way or another...

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Thanks for the many ...2 cents. I’ll keep trying too.

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Joe Biden may be getting old, and he may not be a dynamic speaker, but he's smart and wily as they come. He's exactly what the country needed after four nightmarish years of the Great Vulgarian.

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I tend to agree. A steady hand.

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And that's actually why he was elected.

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Oh good one! Good first laugh today!

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I appreciate how well HCR puts together the news and happenings. It’s great to get a letter almost every day from an American historian. Civics in action!

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Jan -- I totally agree with you and look forward everyday of HCR's explanations and analyses.

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Yes, she's an unstoppable force, and what a bargain at a few pennies a day.

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..but banned in Florida, Texass...?

Right 🤦‍♀️

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PATRICIA ! .... And WE all * Wonder Why !!* Huhmm !

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I always tried to teach my children that the world was complex, things were rarely good vs evil except in superhero movies.

But now, there are many members of the current Republican Party who are as close to evil as people can get. They are in either in government to get on TV and cause chaos, or they are only there to serve the interests of their very powerful donors. They have no concern for the suffering they cause millions of people, in fact, they seem to thrive on it.

Old Joe Biden raised his hand and said “this will not happen” and the wicked witches melted away. But they are still out there and they have billions of dollars to spend to bribe judges, buy media, and convince people that helping people who can use help, even by offering them an education, should not happen in this country. The power and wealth should belong to only a few. This is as close to evil as it gets, only one rung below Putin

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My wife and I also tried to teach our daughter that people are complicated and sometimes inconsistent, myself included. Yet, at least in terms of outcomes, some people can be pretty toxic, and who swaths of humanity can support some pretty evil things, though I think most of us can change. It seems to me is would be wise to apply more focus on the psychology and extended. observable consequences of untempered selfishness and also of empathy.

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May I suggest Warlocks: male witches.

(The most commonly accepted etymology derives warlock from the Old English wǣrloga, which meant "breaker of oaths" or "deceiver"[2] and was given special application to the devil around 1000.[3] In early modern Scots, the word came to be used as the male equivalent of witch (which can be male or female, but has historically been used predominantly for females).[4][5][6] The term may have become associated in Scotland with MALE WITCHES due to the idea that they had made pacts with Auld Hornie (my note: remember the pussy grabber and that horney old devil - Epstein ?) and thus had betrayed the Christian faith and broke their baptismal vows or oaths.[7] From this use, the word passed into Romantic  literature and ultimately 20th-century popular culture. A derivation from the Old Norse varð-lokkur, "caller of spirits", has also been suggested,[8][9][10] but the Oxford English Dictionary considers this implausible due to the extreme rarity of the Norse word and because forms without hard -k, which are consistent with the Old English etymology ("traitor"), are attested earlier than forms with a -k.[11] - witch hunt" - wikipedia)

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Same rung as Putin

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Nailed it

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It is utterly frustrating to know all that Biden has accomplished when top guys in his administration aren't going out around the country telling people about Biden's successes. Who's out there talking about Biden? Only the Republicans who are trying to bring him down, or the Democrats who are bloviating about his age and possible unfitness for re-election! How can this can possibly be remedied before it's too late?

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If Biden wanted people in his administration to go out and rally, I’m sure they would go. With his excellent and long time understanding of the media, President Biden may believe the message would be diluted. Take Mayor Pete for example. But I do agree with you that it would be nice to hear from people with brains rather than the republicant alternative who are lying, as Liz Cheney pointed out today.

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We have 17 months to go...plenty of time!

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Enough time. No panic, hard work and constancy.

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OK, but I still need to see some signs of action. I may not be as sanguine as you.

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Please go to www.turnup.us/ and make a contribution to start the ball rolling! Thank you Mina

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Timing is paramount.

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So... what are YOU doing to get the word out? Try writing letters to local news pointing out the successes. When people distort Biden's record, point out how they are wrong with examples of things they will benefit from. Quit expecting other people to do it for you, and become part of the solution.

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The president and his advisors are too busy to compose their ads. Ads cost. Hard to do more than the quick news conference or the paid for national speech when you need every dollar you can get to fight the billions out against you. We have 40 plus years of destructive Republican propaganda, paid for by corporate America, plus SCOTUS rulings to fight.

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"Only the..." or "...the..."

Here's Reuters showing with data what "only" really means. https://www.reuters.com/graphics/USA-BIDEN/POLL/nmopagnqapa/

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Wise Mina,

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May 31, 2023·edited May 31, 2023

‘Children remain the poorest age group in America, with children of color, children under five, children of single mothers, and children in the South suffering from the highest poverty rates. Two years since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, child poverty remains a paralyzing problem that both causes and exacerbates significant disturbances in the lives of all children in our country. Although the number of children living in poverty has fallen from 11.6 million to 11.1 million between 2020 and 2021 In the final tally, the pandemic managed to push more than one million children over the threshold into poverty.’ (Children’s Defense Fund) See link below.

‘In today’s Letter, HCR wrote, ‘The fight over the debt ceiling is both an example of the different approaches to negotiation on the part of Biden and Republicans like House speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), and part of the larger question about the direction of the country.’

‘Systemic racism ingrained into our American institutions has been a historical roadblock perpetuating child poverty. Current statistics indicate the ongoing effectiveness of the roadblocks in pushing the American Dream of economic mobility further out of reach, especially for Black and Brown children.’

• ‘Among the 74 million children living in the United States, 11 million live in poverty.’

• ‘One in six children under 5 (3 million children) were poor, the highest rate of any age group.’

• ‘The South, home to 47% of children in our country who live in poverty, experiences the highest

child poverty rates with 1 in 5 children living in poverty.’

• ‘9 million children faced hunger and food insecurity.’

• ‘4 million children lived without health insurance. (Children’s Defense Fund)

‘Writing in Foreign Policy, Howard W. French sees a more sweeping problem with the debt ceiling fight: it “highlights America’s warped priorities.” “[W]hen a rich and powerful country finds it easier to cut back on the way that it invests in its people, in education, in science, and in making sure that the weakest among them are not completely left behind than to curtail useless and profligate weapons spending,” he said, “there are reasons to worry about the foundations of its power.” (Letter)

https://www.childrensdefense.org/the-state-of-americas-children/soac-2023-child-poverty/#:~:text=Current%20statistics%20indicate%20the%20ongoing,11%20million%20live%20in%20poverty.

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Thank you Fern for this detailed analysis. When you reveal those horrendous stats of millions of hungry children it should startle all of us to intensify our efforts over the next 17 months to register and turnout multi millions of young voters and women 18 to 44! We all have a responsibility to play our part in this critically important electoral process. As we have discussed on multiple occasions please go to www.turnup.us/ to fulfill our collective and individual responsibilities. Thank you; ten million hungry children depend on us!

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And those ten million children will soon be voters.

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'People with low incomes who are eligible to vote are much less likely to do so in national elections than those with higher incomes, and are more often constrained from casting ballots by transportation issues, illness or other problems out of their control, according to a study released Tuesday by the Poor People’s Campaign.'

'The study, by a Columbia University researcher, found that only 46 percent of potential voters with family incomes less than twice the federal poverty line voted in the 2016 presidential election, compared with 68 percent of those with family incomes above twice the poverty line.' (NYTimes, Aug. 11, 2020)

Voting access has become more restricted in Red States since this article was printed, so participation in our elections by the poor may fall to a lower level.

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These statistics are so depressing. Seeing how the South has 47% of children in poverty is the utmost reason for getting the debt ceiling passed. Also, Heather revealed that most Republican led states, under Biden’s infrastructure act, will be getting much needed jobs for their residents. These residents will realize that their lives have changed because a Democratic President of the US cared about them and their future. Biden may not be around to see everything but there will be a trickle-down effect when those states will no longer be run by the cheaters of the opposing party. That’s how I see it, Fern.

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Have not seen it in Texas, the Foxers abound and the terrible trio rule the fools, including the poor ones

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Jeri have you noticed they loved spending that federal $$$ and then pointing at the accomplishments and referring to it as what they have accomplished and not what Biden/Democrats have done for all of us........ I've seen quite a few take that response.

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Marlene Lerner-Bigley (CA): RE: "These residents will realize that their lives have changed because a Democratic President of the US cared about them and their future." Wish this were true, but I don't see it happening. The Acultamuricans will come up with an alternative mythology to explain their good fortune. And, "trickle-down" is not an effective economic process.

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Thanks, again, Fern, for your detailed, documented, and insightful posts.

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And the poorest cannot now access abortions so we can expect the numbers to grow thanks to the fascist MAGATS

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And my aging brain has problems remembering which stupid member of the GOP said what outrageous thing--because there are just so many!!--but which one was it a few months back who wanted to cut school food programs, said something along the lines of he ate a granola bar and might be hungry?

I do believe in hell, and I do hope there is an especially horrible spot for those who harm children, elderly and any human incapable for defending themselves.

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From Twitter: Minnesota Republican state Sen. Steve Drazkowski on bill providing free school breakfast and lunch: "I have yet to meet a person in Minnesota that is hungry. Yet today. I have yet to meet a person in Minnesota that says they don't have access to enough food to eat.

"Now, I should say that hunger is a relative term," added Drazkowski, 58. "I had a cereal bar for breakfast. I guess I'm hungry now."

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