lookin

Well, the folks at the Jacobin Foundation do.  Although they're proudly leftist, Socialist and bordering on Marxist, they sure know how to dig for data and reach defensible conclusions.
They say there's a subset of Trump voters - about 11% - who are economic populists and also hold socially moderate views.  Their social attitudes aren't progressive, but they aren't socially conservative either.
Can't say I picked through the data line-by-line but the folks who put together the report clearly did.  They say this 11% of Trump voters - 5% of the total electorate - are the easiest pickings for the Democrats and, even if Democrats could pick up half of them, it could be enough to swing a close election.
Now all we have to do is hope there is another election.  

I will not have my posts subjected to endless buffering!
 

 

Psst!  Somebody get me a Diet Coke ®

Psst!  Somebody get me a Diet Coke ®

"Netflix wasted no time ordering a documentary detailing the president’s humiliating summer escape in a catering container," reported The Daily Beast's Meera Navlakha on Tuesday. "The streaming service has fast-tracked a full documentary about the ruse. In July, Trump, 80, used an aircraft catering cart to escape an alleged Iranian assassination ploy while in Turkey. After hiding away in the cart, he was secretly placed onto a decoy plane, as revealed in a bombshell report from The Washington Post published August 10."
The Daily Beast added, "Just a few weeks later, the great escape will be memorialized in Instadocs: The Decoy Plane, hitting Netflix on September 4. A newly released trailer for the documentary shows members of the press who were left on the original plane unpacking the bizarre scenario."
The publication continued, "Associated Press photographer Alex Brandon describes photographing Trump’s departure from Ankara, saying it was strange to see catering carts surrounding Air Force One. 'I see those catering vehicles up against the side of Air Force One … I have never seen that before,' he says in the clip."

I could see him as an Attorney General that could enforce the rule of law.  Or on the Supreme Court.  Not in elected office though.  

Thanks, Folks, for all the thoughtful comments!
I guess what's behind my fantasy of a truthful president is a desire to show our kids, our allies and ourselves that lying is not the path to a healthy society.  For me, watching Jack Smith in action is a lesson that honesty and ability belong together.  Conversely, Trump and his cohorts have been spreading the message that dishonesty is the path to greatness and there's no downside to lying your ass off.
Replacing a dishonest president with an honest one seemed like a good start to me.  These days, a US president has a giant megaphone and I thought it would be the best way to get the point across that the country has not lost its ability to recognize truth.  In my opinion, Jack Smith could carry that message.
But, if we can't elect an honest president, I can think of others who might be able to get the message across.  Pope Leo has the ear of millions across the country and, while he has not yet been as visible as Pope Francis, he's still honing his communication skills.  Gandhi started out as a lawyer until civil inequities in South Africa led him into politics.  Martin Luther King, Junior, began as a Baptist minister before becoming a spokesman for the cause civil rights.  I'm sure others will emerge to speak in support of honesty.
In the meantime, I'm not quite done thinking about Jack Smith. 🤔
 

Intellectually, I completely agree with you.
Emotionally, it's a different story. 
I've had a bias about Jews pretty much my whole adult life.  They tend to be empathetic.  They tend to look out for underdogs.  They tend to be fierce advocates of social justice. 
As I like to repeat, in the same way that Fauci likes his touches with stardom, I consider my mentor to be Paul Wellstone, a Jew and a famous and beloved progressive US Senator.  I mostly knew him as a college professor, but one of my best friends ran his campaigns.  He talked about his family background a lot.  His grandparents fled anti-Semitism in Europe.  He had a heart of gold and great values.  And you could not understand his values without knowing about his family background.   In the Senate he was a strong supporter of Israel, and a two state solution.   That's typical for lots and lots of Jews I have been friends with and worked with as paid staff or volunteers on social justice causes.
So using the term "Genocide Jew" seems odd, and frankly almost anti-Semitic.  But I use it a lot these days.  When I talk about my life experience with Jews, I have sorted out now in my mind that I am mostly talking about liberal American Jews.  When I say "Genocide Jew", I refer to one specific individual.  That said, the Genocide Jew gets elected and gets away with genocide because a lot of Israeli Jews keep voting for him.
68 % of Democrats now say "Israel is committing genocide against Palestinian civilians."  That number blows my mind, even though I am one of the 68 %.  
45 % of Independents say Israel is committing genocide.  Perhaps more important, only 15 % of Independents say Israel is NOT committing genocide.  The rest are undecided.
This is just going to get uglier, and more awkward.  Most Jewish members of Congress are Democrats.  I think most Jews are Democrats.  So I think it is important for Democrats to have this debate.   Because on an emotional level it does have this feeling like it is being against Israel.  Or, on a more personal level, being against these people I respect and admire.
I have mixed feelings about what El-Sayed is saying.  Precisely because, as you say, I have had a way of thinking about this my whole life.  If El-Sayed wins the nomination, my guess is he will shift toward the center.  Democrats can not equivocate about Israel's right to exist OR Palestinian's right to be free from genocide.  On the face of it, these numbers about Democrats and Independents do not suggest El-Sayed is off on some extreme.  If anything, they suggest why he is beating Stevens.
Even 17 % of Republicans say Israel is committing genocide.  Exactly half say Israel is NOT committing genocide.  This is a problem for Republicans as well.  Which I'm pretty sure JD Vance is aware of.   Add the horrors in Iran.  The Republican leaders of the US have a lot of deep problems that won't go away.  Like Robert Pape says, thanks to Trump's stupidity I think there's a decent chance Iran will test a nuclear bomb while Trump is still President.
I worry that this could split the Democratic Party.  But I could build just as a strong a case that it will split the Republican Party.  In a way it already has.  Some Republicans do not want JD Vance to be their President.  And this is part of the reason why.
I think it's a plus that Democrats get to work this out now, in primaries and general elections.  And we have some of the best Jewish Congressional leaders on this issue.
It was catnip to me, as a liberal Democrat, when Warnock and Ossoff ran and won in Georgia.  Lots of people thought a fiery Black preacher might be a riskier candidate in Georgia than a moderate White - aka the kind of Democratic candidates who lost for decades.  The winning ticket was a Black and a Jew moving the South toward what I would call social justice.  And grace.  That is a very good part of America's DNA.  I would not mind a Warnock/Ossoff ticket in 2028.
But imagine an Ossoff/El-Sayed ticket.  I'm not suggesting it.  But it would be a very powerful thing to have a Jew and a Palestinian running together for President of the United States.  Yeah, identity politics is now passe.  But it would say something important about what Democrats stand for.  Which is what so many Democrats want.  And feel our party lacks right now.  And both Ossoff and El-Sayed are talking about schools and kids in their own states.
Then again, if El-Sayed wins the nomination and loses the election, and that means Democrats lose the Senate, the wrath of the Old Testament God will descend on democratic socialists.    Plagues?  Locusts?   Hopefully we'll never know.   😉
But if he wins, I think El-Sayed can thank Donald Trump and his stupid war.  Like I said above, the action is in the reaction.

I may be giving too much credit to Fetterman here.  But I see his thing as different than Sinema/Manchin.
With Sinema/Manchin I would say 100 % of it pointed to them being money whores,  Sinema in particular.  Manchin can say he is not and never was  in no way, shape, or form a liberal.  😱  But Sinema was.  😍  They both can say we just want to be centrists and meet in the middle.  And there is truth to that.  But the middle also happened to be where there was tremendous amounts of special interest and corporate money waiting for them.  
I was a small money Sinema donor when she first ran.  For months I sent her borderline sexist emails complaining she was a money whore and "pocket sucker" who just lunged at the money of special interest lobbyists with money in their pockets.  I bet she got enormous amounts of nasty emails from donors and Arizona voters complaining she was a gutless wonder.  She got the memo.  And now we have a fighter in Gallego.  Hope he doesn't turn out to be the next Eric Swalwell.  But I digress.
As you said, Manchin and Sinema knee capped Biden on higher taxes on the rich and things like the expanded child tax credit.
I don't see Fetterman as a sell out money whore.    Nor does he.
 
Now THAT is Democrats being irrational.  We desperately want a Democratic Senate.  And yet we want Fetterman to leave?  Huh?
It confirms what seems to be part of Fetterman's bitch.  Which is that the Democratic Party has too many purity tests.  And fundamentally does not want to be a big tent party.  By all accounts, Jon Tester feels the same way.  But he didn't whine about it publicly.  Tester said some Democratic Party positions made it too toxic for a Democrat to win in Montana.  
My standard is very simple.  And I think indisputably mathematically correct on this.  If we want a 60 seat filibuster proof Senate majority we have to win in Iowa, and Montana, and Indiana, and North Dakota.  And certainly Pennsylvania.  Those are the last Senate seats Democrats had in what could be called "Trump" states that we lost.  A Heitkamp or a McCaskill would have been much more loyal than a Manchin and a Sinema.  That's the difference between money whore and not money whore to me.  But we can't have a McCaskill and Heitkamp and Tester if we want purity tests.
Fetterman says the right needs to stop bullying trans kids.  So, again, I may be wrong.  But he seems like a decent, if weird, guy.  I had the same feeling when he spoke at the Fauci Lynching Trial.  He talked about being Lt. Guv while there is chaos and death due to COVID.  And how he wonders in retrospect what he could have done differently, and better.  If the hearing had been about THAT, it might have been a good bipartisan hearing.
Some of this is he feels Democrats want to be the "anti-Israel" Party.  For reasons I spelled out at length, I disagree.  I would argue the Genocide Jew is "anti-Israel" and I am "anti-genocide."  And I have the polls on my side.  But Fetterman is not a big AIPAC money whore - yet.  If he is smart, he won't take a penny from AIPAC if he runs again.  He'll just say, "Sorry.  I am with Israel.  I see Hamas as a bully.  I feel the same way about Republican attacks on trans kids.  Period."  
Bottom line:  I like to win.  So does Chuck Schumer.  I'm betting Chuck Schumer is trying to figure out how to work with him.  Not to get rid of him.
I've read that Fetterman may be more likely to just not run again.  He is a small donor guy.  And he still has a decent approval rating in his state.  His problem is probably more a Democratic primary than a general election.  If he just steps aside and lets someone else run and win, I will respect his decision.  If he runs and wins the primary, I am with him 100 %.  I hope he means what he says and is with us 100 %.

Any sentence that strings "Trump" and "chaos" together seems inevitable, and by design. It's The Great Incompetent's shtick. Chaos is the means of avoiding taking any responsibility for his actions. 
The Democrats need to flip five Senate seats in November or they'll potentially have Fetterman as the new Sinema/Machin. Those two knee capped Biden with their obstructionism for the first two years of his term. 

Yes, the Court has ordered The Great Incompetent to hand over detailed financial records:
Judge says Trump must hand over financial records to BBC - POLITICO
He's the one who started this stupid law suit and now it's come back to bite him.  
What's lesson here?  Call him on his bullshit and watch him squirm.  

Had to scroll through a lot of emotional support Tik Tok clips to get to the end of this thread.  I guess pointing out the corruption and the incompetence struck a chord.
The Incompetent's libel suit against the BBC is sure backfiring.  For discovery the BBC is demanding all the financial information from The Incompetent, with the reasonable expectation that he be made to justify the $10 billion dollar in damages.
The Court is likely to agree.  

In spite of all the bullshit distraction this regime throws at the wall to hide their incompetence (.a no bid contract for the Reflecting Pool to a company that's never done pool work before) and the systemic corruption, that are still good things happening in the USA. You just have to look hard.
Salt Lake City has rolled out a new bus rapid transit line.
Cincinnati has rolled out a climate migration readiness plan, the first in the nation. 
If you look close, there are parts of America that are getting on with the job of governing for citizens, and not creating chaos to distract from incompetence and corruption. 
 

Fans who can express a nationalism of love and inclusion, unlike the current Washington regime. 
 

It's great seeing other nations being able to show join and celebration in support of their teams.  Other countries seem to be able to celebrate. The current Washington regime prefers to promote fear and hatred. 
 
 

The Obama government had already signed a nuclear non-proliferation agreement with Iran 10 years ago. The current "crisis" was settled 10 years ago.  But then there was a regime change, and the USA suddenly had The Great Incompetent in the White House and he shit the bed on Iran. Ripped up the agreement.
An agreement that was better than anything The Incompetent-in-Chief has come up with so far, and likely will ever managed.  If The Incompetent-in-Chief was interested in nuclear non-proliferation with Iran he would have just honored the existing agreement in place, 10 years ago. But who knows, The Great Incompetent probably just enjoys blowing up schools for girls. 
Why call it the Iran war?  It was the Great Incompetent who started it, under orders from Netanyahu, to create a distraction of his and Melania's presence throughout the Epstein Files. There is little chance of coming to an agreement with The Great Incompetent. Agreements require negotiations, and compromises, and balancing of interests, none of which The Great Incompetent is capable of doing. 
The Great Incompetent can only wage war.  He is very very limited in his abilities.  The Great Incompetent = War. The Great Incompetent = Americans service men and women will die. 
This current war started by The Great Incompetent as a distraction.  Remember that every time you are at the pump.  

Will the Incompetent-in-Chief's chosen war's effect on gas prices accelerate the increase in bankruptcies under this regime?  One metaphor that works to describe this regime is an oil tanker crash, and we're going to be cleaning up after him and MAGA for decades. 

Thanks for attending and for noting the turnout.  I hear 3.5% is the number at which social movements don't turn back.  We had over 5% in our small community, better than we usually do, and I think it's because we just formed a local Indivisible chapter that did some tabling and more signage than usual.
I also noticed some high school kids who haven't shown up in the past.
It was a good place to feel connected and the determination felt stronger than at prior events.  With Trump's approval ratings hitting a new low, it feels like the momentum is building.
I came away from the weekend feeling we're heading in the right direction. 🤞

So we're sending a son-in-law who manages $6 billion in Arab assets, a real estate developer and a self-proclaimed "hillbilly" with zero experience with negotiations, while the Secretary of State and the diplomatic corps set in the dugout.    What could go wrong?

That could be the MAGA bumper sticker and ball cap slogan going forward 

I'm thinking how this is going to look in one of those illustrated kids history books in 50 years time:
'In Jan' 2021 an insurrectionist mob attacked the Capitol building in an attempt to overthrow the government. By 2026 the government had pardoned them, and then  paid out huge amounts of compensation despite them never being exonerated of their crimes. We call this period the 'lunatic period' when the country lost its mind'.

Probably between an 8 to 10 point boost for Talarico.
Thanks Donny!

Trump endorses Paxton in Texas Senate primary over incumbent Cornyn
The president faced pressure from his base to endorse the state’s attorney general, Ken Paxton. Advisers had urged him to support Sen. John Cornyn, arguing that Paxton has too much baggage.