stevenkesslar

I think we are talking about two different types of voters. As you say, you are talking about Trump voters. And within that, I would distinguish between people who voted for Trump, and people who identify as MAGA (about 3 in 4 Republicans or so). You are absolutely right that there are Trump voters who simply obey. @lookin has made a bunch of really thoughtful posts for years about authoritarian followers, citing various sources. So that is a good concept for the kinds of voters who you are talking about. They are loyal and true and obedient and cruel. Just like our good loyal MAGA pup. Don't forget to give him a treat. He'll be extra cruel just to spite you, Sis. Of course, they don't think they are cruel. They think they are loyal and true and obedient and good. That was my point about citing these Republicans leaders in Valadao's district. Of course they are not going to make people sick or hungry! Of course Donald Trump would never do that! Riddle me this, Batman. I have a Trump voting relative who is literally on the board of a food bank. He is a very smart and compassionate guy, who is very proud of what the food bank he serves on does. Best guess is that food banks would literally have to double their output to make up for the SNAP cuts. Which is basically impossible. So what is the point? Do good by serving on a food bank board, and then support someone who wipes out all the good you did, and makes hunger a lot worse? Now, what would happen if Donald Trump personally decided our good and loyal and true pup had to be turned into Trump Steaks to feed hungry Trump voters when Trump takes their Medicaid and food away? Would the loyal pup suddenly be less obedient? That's a tough one. You'll have to ask the dumb dog yourself. If you can get him to stop barking. I'm talking about different voters. We know that Trump lost in 2020 and won in 2024. We know Valadao lost in 2018 and won in 2020. We know there are swing voters. I think it is clear that Trump won a lot of votes in 2024, especially among people who are working class or young or poor, because they were pissed about inflation or rent or gas prices or whatever. Trump promised not to fuck with them, or their Medicaid. He promised to lower their prices. Tillis was right. They are being betrayed. My point is they are not stupid. The polls say they have already figured it out. 2 in 3 voters don't like this bill. Independents abhor it. When they find out more about the cruel details in the bill, I think they may be even more pissed. But Trump voters, of course, love it. Especially ones who say they are MAGA. Aka The Cult. You're talking about the cultists or authoritarian followers. I totally agree with you. I am talking about swing voters or independents.

This is going to be an interesting one, regarding MAGA programming versus reality. Republicans in Washington are nervous about Medicaid. Not in Valadao’s California district There's a handful of swing House districts in SoCal that have flipped around since Trump first appeared. Valadao is the Republican who has probably done the best job of keeping his district red. He was first elected in 2012. And in several cycles he has been in one of the closest House races in the country. He did lose the seat one time, in 2018, by a whisker, and then won it back by a whisker in 2020. So that article is interesting because it quotes local Republican leaders in his district basically saying, "Oh, no. These Medicaid cuts won't hurt him at all. People won't believe it." It is an interesting example of your point. When you are inside the cult, why would you even consider any other possibility? Valadao is seemingly in the cult, but not quite of the cult. He did vote to impeach Trump. And is one of only two Republicans who did so that is left standing. The article states Republicans know that if they primary Valadao, they probably lose the district. But of course Team MAGA now feels that Valadao is back in the cult's good graces, since he voted loyally. The one time he did lose his race in 2018 was after he voted to kill Obamacare. In these super close races anything can make a difference. But while the cult may have loved the idea of slaying Obamacare, seems like voters in his district didn't. So next year we'll get to see how they feel about Valadao voting to slay Medicaid in a district heavily reliant on it. There is this notion that it won't matter because the pain doesn't start until after the midterms. Except the Republicans may be a bit too clever. The same was true in 2010. Obamacare was law, but not implemented. Didn't matter. Democrats got their ass kicked. Republicans did not kill Obamacare in 2018. Regardless, it was the fact that Valadao voted to do so that seemed to kill him. So I don't buy the notion that voters actually have to feel the knife in their back to know they have been lied to and betrayed.

It's the cruelty, stupid. Or wait. Is it just the stupidity? 🤔 Anyhoo, as long as he is a good and loyal and true and cruel MAGA pup, he won't be hungry or sick or deported. He'll get his treats. Here boy! Good boy! What a good loyal puppy you are!

And NEITHER are welcome to stay at my house. So there! 😉

I do blame Taco Don. I have said that repeatedly. He is playing divide and conquer. And it comes at a price. The interesting question for historians will be: did it have to be this way? Is this the only way Republicans can win 49.8 % of the vote? And what were the long term consequences? In 2008 and 2020, in different times and different ways, Obama and Biden said they wanted to unite America. And they won more than 50 % of the vote. So why did it have to be Trump, and why did it have to be this way? That is why I loved Game Change. In both subtle and obvious ways it demonstrated how this has been growing for a long time. Trump is more symptom than cause. But he sure added fuel to the fire. More than anything, I think Trump showed the GOP that if they got nasty and fought and lied they could win, barely. McCain in 2008 and Romney in 2012, who were nicer guys with more principles, could not. And the victory is tax cuts for Trump donors, and Medicaid and SNAP cuts for the unworthy working class Trump voters. This is not a sustainable strategy to win. Not to be a gossiping bitch, but. My niece is not welcome in my home. She is, in her own words, OCD. So we do Air BnB's. As far as restaurants go, I won't clock her for her politics. But I did clock her for being a snob. She has a reputation in my family for being the one who will choose the restaurant and then make a show out of bitching about how the food is not right. Or the service sucks, or it is too noisy, or whatever. So I recently had to clock her for that. To her credit, she got the memo. And I'd like to think it is only Republicans that are snobs. But as a former escort in California I have met plenty of Democratic snobs, too. The deeper issue is you sound like a Gay man who is one of my best friends. I have always been a political whore. He has incrementally become more political as he ages. Mostly about LGBTQ politics. So we have talked about this a lot. And we are different. It is agonizing for him. But, more than me, he can't overlook the fact that siblings who say they love him vote for people who appoint Pete Hegseth to tear down Gays in the military. I simply draw the line at family. I learned that from my Dad, who was a Reagan Republican. I think we could talk about almost anything with love and respect. Me being Gay was probably the hardest thing for him. But that is a whole different story. Which is, by the way, a very sound basis for The Gays to feel good. I was recently in a nephew's home surrounded by extended family who was 90 % MAGA. We were talking politics. And I did literally joke, "I'm Gay, I'm liberal, and I'm a Democrat. And I am even from California. I am truly fucked!" Everyone laughed. I could not have done that 30 or 40 years ago. And it is the Gay part that would most likely be the deal breaker. Still is, in some cases. To me it speaks to the tremendous victory we won, changing hearts and changing laws. Hegseth would probably roll it all back if he could. Scott Bessent would not. That's thanks to us, Sis. And our broad community. We changed America - and the world - for the good. And they can't take that back. So maybe there is hope for America yet.

And I have Portugal. And a patriotic American niece. Seriously. She just got back from a two week romp in Portugal with a gal pal. Since her husband is not quite as rich and has less time off from his top tax bracket corporate job. And, as is her way, she is texting me photos of lovely places she goes to from the Delta lounge as she awaits her final leg home. So good to be back in the USA! She is for sure one of the MAGA folk who loves the Big Beautiful Bill. Especially the tax cuts. And is more proud of Trump's America than the Sleepy Joe version. So in a sense it is thanks to her, because she is full on MAGA, that I may get deported. But, shit, I can just go on a trip to Portugal or Mexico with her. A very long one. Besides, Trump loves The Gays. Right? Doesn't he? I love the film version of Game Change. There is a scene toward the end where Julianne More as Sarah Palin is in some banquet room, talking about how we are the real Americans. Everyone in the room is White. And presumably Straight and rich. (Maybe Scott Bessent popped in?) Happily, the room is now a bit less segregated than in 2008. I can't find a clip of that scene. But here is what Julianne as Sarah says: Point is this has been building for a long time. And for some reason it helps me to put some members of my family in that fictional room. They are those people, who do feel we are the true America. God bless them. Maybe it helps humanize something that is, to me, essentially sad. And cruel. But I have nothing to worry about. Trump is just as likely to hurt me as he is to hurt his own voters, who need Medicaid or food. He promised never to do that. And as our dog barks incessantly, Trump is a man of his word.

Agree. But this is where it gets interesting. This is not anti-American. This is America. At least, it is the America THEY want. And they in this case is a pretty big chunk of people. Not anywhere near the 49.8 % that elected Trump, for sure. But a substantial part of it. I look at it the way Donna Brazile does. It has to kind of suck for her. First, right or wrong, I associate her with losing campaigns. Mondale. Dukakis. Gore. Harris. The campaigns she has played the largest role in were for candidates who all lost, I think. To sound a bit racisty, maybe she is another DEI hire? 🙄 Second, with Harris I'm not sure she played any official campaign role. I see her more as a behind the scenes strategist. But at the risk of sounding like an anti-American deranged communist identity politics whacko myself, it had to hurt for a Black woman who has spent her life in Democratic politics to see this choice of electing a Black woman to lead America come so close, and then go down. That is the America she, and I, wanted. At the time, she said something like, "We chose a felon over a prosecutor. Let's just sit with this for a while." Like four years, perhaps? Part of it, which other Blacks like Eddie Glaude, Jr. expressed at the time, was this: "Oh, like I am supposed to be surprised? Oh, like as a Black man in America I had no clue whatsoever that this might be what America really is?" But there I go being all identity politics whacko again. I better be quiet. They may deport me.

Exactly. And I must confess I made an almost unforgivable fashion faux pas. I cited Zsa Zsa above. It was actually Eva Gabor that starred in Green Acres. Out of curiosity I Googled Eddie Albert, her co-star. He lived to be almost 100. Same as my Dad. And he was very involved in humanitarian, environmental, and lefty sounding causes. His wife was a Mexican American who had a reputation as a progressive. She was blacklisted for opposing Franco's fascism. So it's best that Trump stays in Manhattan while his lazy useless working class voters go to Green Acres to work. Because Trump and Eddie would not get along. Albert lived in Pacific Palisades. So that would be a sore spot right there. Albert was the kind of delusional environmentalist who might believe the Palisades fires had something to do with drought or climate change. Ugh! I hate these climate change communists almost as much as I hate lazy unworthy Trump voters on Medicaid. Can't we just deport them to Mexico, along with Albert's whacko communist wife? She died of cancer long ago. But she was obviously not really an American. The plus to sending all Trump's Medicaid voters to Green Acres is, as lazy and dumb as they are, they might be able to educate radicals like Albert. Like we all know the Palisades fires were really caused by DEI. 🙄 In fairness, I'll end by letting the communists have a word or two. Even though they are evil and wrong. It is a free country, after all. God bless America.

Ag secretary says able-bodied Medicaid recipients should replace immigrant farm workforce This makes so much sense. Granted, there could be a few transition issues. If you a worthless, lazy piece of shit who voted for Trump in a MAGA dump like Mississippi, maybe you can't just pick up and move to Iowa. Trump is a genius. He'll figure that part out. And his lazy dumb ass supporters on Medicaid should love it. God how I hate how lazy they are. It is so unpatriotic! Being a Gay lib from California, I will be a bitch and suggest a few innovations. With efficiency in mind, of course. We don't want to waste precious government resources that could be going to Elon Musk. First, I think this Medicaid proposal should be targeted to Trump voters only. They should reap the benefit of their vote for government efficiency. Lazy liberals in California who didn't support this cruelty should be exempt. What good are they, anyway? Second, unlike Zsa Zsa, Trump himself should get to stay in Manhattan. Or Mar A Lago. Or Saudi Arabia at whatever new Trump hotel they will build to curry his favor. Now that he doesn't have to run again, no reason for Trump to have to consort with the worthless lazy low lifes who voted for him. They should just get to work.

That is both encouraging, in the context of a very sad story, and actually a little surprising Meaning that there were actually countries with open doors for them to go to. Certainly not the US right now. But it shows you what one person with a heart and a mission can do. And where the passion that helped fell Biden and Harris is coming from.

Good luck with that, Sis. I read some anecdote about how Jeffries had some meeting with rich Silicon Valley donors. He basically was inquiring about how we can kiss and make up. So he definitely does not speak for the Mamdani generation, in New York or anywhere. It's unfair. But I'll just say he speaks for the donor class. As does Schumer. Any idea that either of those guys were going to lead us to salvation was always a non-starter. We know that when Reagan was King Democrats spent 12 years figuring out, "Who's next?" It took an enterprising and slick Guv from Arkansas to begin to solve the problem. And he got his ass kicked as too liberal in 1994. But Reagan won in two landslides, pulled off the rare trick of handing power to HW for a third Reagan term, and did genuinely popular stuff. Trump won 49.8 % of the vote in a close election in which Democrats picked up one House seat. He just got a wildly unpopular bill barely passed that will piss off and hurt many of his own voters. So I think Democrats have way better prospects now. I did post that back in 2017, arguing that what Democrats needed was someone in the crowd to show up and lead. I think the same is true today. We know in 2020 we got Biden. It is all woulda coulda shoulda. To me, it was mainly the global inflation, stupid. But I think it could have worked if Biden really did have a strategy to be a transitional figure. it was definitely vain and a fatal error on Biden's part to think history had set him up as the perpetual Trump slayer, in a wheelchair. And maybe it was vain of Democrats in general to think it could work that way. Although, thanks to Biden, we never really got a choice. Like I said above, Reagan in effect pulled off anointing his successor in 1988. But even Clinton could not do it, in 2000 or 2016. One of the few things I genuinely admire about Trump is he did do this in the Republican Party. He showed up and led. It is a narrow and negative divide and conquer strategy that is based on the whims of a narcissistic and cruel guy. So I don't admire THAT. But Trump did something like Clinton did. Only worse. This will have to be fought out, no matter how long it takes. Clinton and his wise men are not democratic socialists. But I agree with Doug Sosnik, one of the Clinton era wise guys. He says whatever Democrats do will have to lean into this Bernie economic populism stuff. As you said, we are seeing that play out in NYC. Meanwhile, we have Ryan and Emma to be pretty, and entertain us. And Dancing With The Stars! Things could be worse.

Yes. The people who they are killing in Gaza take them seriously. A few very sad thoughts on this. Just a few days ago I watched an interview between John Mearsheimer and Judge Napolitano which is worth 30 minutes of anyone's time. They are kindred spirits on most of these issues. Mearsheimer, who is firmly in the camp that Trump just incented Iran to build a nuclear bomb so we can't fuck with them in the future, laid out a theory about Bibi and Don, the mad bombers. He said Trump has gotten himself into a new forever war with Iran, even though he probably doesn't know it yet. He framed his thoughts by noting that he is trying to get into Trump's head, which is never an easy or safe thing to do. But he thinks Trump thinks he's the top dog, and has it all sorted out. Bibi will show up to discuss a "cease fire" and slather praise on Trump. He'll tell him how badly Israel needs the US and how we thank you for your wisdom and blah blah blah. And in the end Bibi, who Mearsheimer basically said is a much cannier politician than Trump, will break the ceasefire and bomb Iran more and drag Trump into that. A new forever war! And Bibi did it himself. It does seem like we now have a Trump/Arab autocrat/Genocide Jew axis of evil forming in the Middle East. How many real estate deals are Trump's family working on with those Arab autocrat states, by the way? How many luxury planes are they gifting him? So that is a serious matter. Although, Mearsheimer would argue, nothing we can really do anything about. We're just the most powerful democracy in the world, after all. 😨 There was an article in The New York Times by some likely suspect professor saying Democrats don't really understand how wide and deep the split between Democrats and Israel is becoming. It was behind a paywall so I didn't bother to try to learn the details. Because I think it is true and I have it figured out already. I do look at polls all the time. And this one you can track slowly developing over the course of years. But escalating once Bibi really got his genocide going in Gaza. And I do think, at the margin, it was another nail in the coffin of Biden and Harris, not to mention tens of thousands of Palestinians. So this is something to take seriously. I am of an age where I know 25 years ago I revered Clinton and Barak as the peacemakers. I knew Barak was the embodiment of the IDF as well as the Israel Labor Party. But I thought, and think, they wanted to make peace. I did, and always will, hope Arafat burns in hell forever for rejecting a deal that could have prevented all this. But it is what it is. And now young Democrats who weren't alive when all that happened look at Bibi and think, "Genocide Jew." And I agree with them. He is a Genocide Jew. But I have no idea what Democrats will or can do about it.

No problem, Sis. In truth, when it come to true charity, you have always been the more generous one. And we have enough work to do already. Not least of which is feeding all the people the SNAP cuts will leave hungry. One rule of thumb being tossed around is that every food bank in America has to double their capacity. That ain't gonna happen. This is like subprime, without the mortgages. A time bomb rigged to gradually explode. Truth be told, I have an ulterior motive. I am a calculating bitch. As you well know, but graciously refrain from saying. I think Thom Tillis is right. He does know a lot about politics. And the coverup is worse than the crime. He did not say that, literally. He said when you say you can keep your doctor, and it turns out you can't, people get pissed. They feel that you lied. So as bad as the legislation itself is, the fact that Trump and good MAGA folk are trying to cover up what it really does adds insult to injury. I hope Trump and all these cruel MAGA barking dogs bark up a storm about how we should all love this bill. And ain't it great. And won't it be good. They already have 2 in 3 voters who don't believe it. So let them try to cover it up. Let them bark as loud as they fucking can. It will only make it worse for them as this unfolds and the truth is obvious. Sorry. I am such a bitch.

It's funny. I took a few paragraphs of my post out. Now given what you wrote I wish I'd left them in. What I said is that for most of my life one political model prevailed. There was Team Republican and Team Democrat. And there could be fierce political battles. But often enough, especially on big things like winning the Cold War or creating a budget surplus, the two teams compromised and got big things done. And this had an impact. There are two Presidents who left office having restored trust in government to about 50 % of the public: Reagan, then Clinton. I'd argued that is because of what I said. People noticed that the Cold War ended. People noticed we had a budget surplus. Since 2000, no POTUS has cracked something like 20-25 % of people who actually trust the government most of the time. Now the model is that we have Team Red and Team Blue. There is much less respect for government, or politicians. And, partly as result, more Independents who say a pox on both your houses. But they have not been effective in building a third party. And, with all due respect to Elon Musk, there is no reason to think they ever will succeed. Parties can change, which Trump has proven. But in the US that is how parties evolve. It is very rare for them to die. So then the game becomes trying to convince Independents, who are turned off in general anyway, that the other team is bat shit crazy. And we have now had a bunch of close elections where it substantially comes down to which way Independents go. So that is what I took out of the post. My point is that in a way what Democrats or Republicans think is irrelevant. All that matters now is Independents. So from that perspective, we don't have to wonder how to convince Independents that this bill sucks, and is cruel. The poll says they are there already. They think the bill sucks. And it is cruel. That is the most important political fact. This is why conservatives like Molly Ball are saying loud and clear in the Wall Street Journal that this is definitely bad news for Republicans. Who were likely to face headwinds in 2026 anyway. What is also particularly toxic is that this poll shows that among Republicans who are NOT MAGA supporters, which is of course a minority of Republicans, they think this bill sucks and is cruel, too. So for at least some slice of Republicans, Democrats are reinforcing what Republicans already believe. For Republicans who are MAGA supporters, the poll confirms you are correct. And our cruel barking dog is proof of concept. He deserves his treat. Because he is conditioned to bark like mad. Especially now. The sick and cruel dog brain is conditioned to think this is loyalty. Not cruelty. In fact, if the sick and cruel dog brain could understand polls rather than Tik Tok, the barking dog might realize he is making an ass of himself. And I am getting joy out of seeing him do it. Which I suppose means I am not Mother Theresa. I never pretended to be. But the sick and cruel dog is helpless, and proves it with each new post. So I will just goad him and laugh at him. It neither helps not hurts the most important reality: Independents think this bill is a cruel piece of shit.

I mentioned in a different post that Molly Ball just wrote in the Wall Street Journal that some analyst said that the Big Beautiful Bomb is the least popular piece of legislation in 35 years. She actually did not cite a name. And it sounded like it was not a poll so much as some analyst somewhere. Harvard maybe? Some ignorant DEI hire? Then again, it is Molly Ball and the Wall Street Journal. Not exactly democratic socialists. So I was curious. So you can see for yourself above. According to KFF, which I think is as independent as it gets, it looks very bad. This is the one big beautiful bill that will define Trump and the GOP Congress. And for Independents it stinks like a piece of shit. It's kind of amazing that even one third of Republicans think it's bad. Will they go vote in 2026 or 2028, as this plays out? Basically the only supporters are like our cruel MAGA barking dog, who have been conditioned to be loyal and cruel. And truthful, of course. So when they bark the truth on Tik Tok about all the great things this bill really does, that will change things. Right? Well, no. It actually gets much worse, when you get to the Cruelty Questions. Every one of these questions could be paraphrased this way. What if you found out that Trump and Republicans did all kinds of unnecessarily cruel things so that his fat cat donors could pay less taxes and rich special interests could have special laws with special favors? Where we start out is that 64 % of all voters view the bill unfavorably. But then as they are told what it actually does to Medicaid and hospitals, it gets worse. So I doubt Andy Beshear will be booed off the stage when he says this is going to be an absolute fucking disaster for rural hospitals and the rural working class in Kentucky. Yes, they really are that stupid. And that cruel.

Here, good MAGA puppy. Here you go. Here's your treat for the day. Good boy. We know in his own words our cruel sick puppy had a Mom who admired Joe Biden, and sounds kind. So who knows what happened? Some kind of trauma? But now it's as if he has flashbacks like please don't bring back Joe Biden or that nonsense. He can bark loud and strong and loyally and even go bite Thom Tillis. And everyone will think he is a good and loyal and true cruel MAGA puppy. Good boy! Good boy! Even those of you who like me who are Democrats and think this effort to make women and kids sicker and hungrier is cruel, please feed the puppy. It is only going to get worse as this plays out. Trump probably objectively has had the best few weeks of his Presidency. At least if you mean a bill got passed, or SCOTUS ruled in his favor. But that is exactly the problem. If the bill that passed is wildly unpopular, which it is, that's actually not a victory. So I feel for our stupid pup. Even as he takes my bait and I laugh at him. He is trying so very hard to be loyal, and true, and stupid, and cruel Just like Trump. Please be kind. Give the puppy a treat.

Frankly, the whole thing seems poorly planned. The Genocide Jew seems to be killing dozens of Muslim women and children a day, With SNAP cuts, couldn't we just sent them to rural areas of America instead? Surely they are more nutritious than dogs. 😨🤢 Where is Jonathon Swift when you need him? AMERICA IS GREAT! DOWN WITH DEMOCRAT HATERS! THIS IS OUR GOLDEN AGE!

Millions more Americans could turn to food banks soon. Food banks are simply not ready. Why is Trump so cruel? Why is he planning to make his own working class voters hungry? Why is Trump so cruel? Why is he planning to make his own working class voters hungry? Why is Trump so cruel? Why is he planning to make his own working class voters hungry? Why is Trump so cruel? Why is he planning to make his own working class voters hungry?

The amazing failure of the Biden Administration, and the DOJ and Garland in particular, is the failure to prosecute Trump. It is mind boggling ineptitude to me. There were endless polls all through Biden's term showing a clear majority of America wanted Trump to go to trial. And at least my interpretation of those polls is that there was and still is a fairly sizable moderate slice of the US that neither hates and condemns Trump, nor adores and supports him. So I always assumed the reason it was a clear majority is a lot of those voters were neutral and just thought, "Okay, put the man on trial. Tell me what a jury says." Then you have to make assumptions about what a jury might have decided. But I think the verdicts that were made about sexual harassment and his New York grift hurt him. Trump is a master at unrelenting attack. The legal move against him should have been the same. It was not. I'm not a lawyer. And I know good lawyers can delay things for a long time. But the fact that American voters wanted a trial on the federal charges and did not get it helped Trump in the end, I think. I felt Biden and his DOJ were inept. It was one more reason to think these people are old and not up to the job, while Trump was being a bad ass. And I think it was fair for voters to feel, "Okay. So you want me to think this guy is a Nazi and a fascist. Well you had four years, Joe. And Merrick. If this guy is such a criminal, why didn't YOU do something?" An argument can be made that all the legal moves against Trump backfired in the end. But I don't buy that. I think it was the half measures and ineptitude that backfired. Add to that list Georgia, where Trump was on tape with a conservative Republican state official saying things that made him look very bad. And somehow that morphed into another example of Democratic incompetence and some scandalous love affair. It was a mess. As far as Putin goes, I think that case has been closed for a long time. We know, thanks to Mueller, that Russia interfered with our elections. Putin has done so all over the world. I think we know, or can reasonably conclude, his interest isn't so much that one side or the other wins. But that he fuels internal conflict and paralyzes his opponents. He has to be delighted. Even if all he did is add fuel to the fire. Trump has run in Russian mob and oligarch money in perfectly legal, or legal enough, ways for a long time. On real estate, and his social media investments, and God knows what else. And the idea that he was an asset in the sense that the KGB cultivated him as the kind of successful person they would like to see in power has existed since the 1980's. That has all been documented, as you note, by journalists and writers. And, again, nothing illegal about that. It was always a stretch to think someone like Putin - or the KGB in general - would leave a paper trail behind if anything clearly illegal or conspiratorial were happening. For that matter, as much as Trump has left a trail behind and has been convicted by a jury and has gone bankrupt, I think he'd at least be smart enough to not be Putin's law breaking whore. And certainly to not leave some trail behind that he was Putin's whore. One way or the other, I think Mueller put that idea to bed for good. Even as Mueller documented how Trump obstructed him and how Putin interfered in our elections. That case is closed. The Trump/Putin relationship is probably similar to the Trump/Musk relationship. Two men with huge egos who, at least in some situations, are perfectly happy to help each other along because they get something out of it. Or at least think they will. Poor Elon! The only interesting piece left is how Trump will ultimately react now that the predictable has happened. And Putin has held his ground and basically told Trump to go get fucked. How predictable was that? Obviously Putin is not particularly afraid of the wrath of Trump. For all we know, this could have been in Putin's calculations all along. Meaning that he would just wear fickle democracies down. And if Trump were to come back to power, it would just make it easier for Putin. Trump is back in power. And he has made it easier for Putin. Vlad is the winner of this game, so far, I'd say. I still think, like lots of futurists, that the Russian Federation is the country that is most likely collapse in the next 10 or 20 years. But Putin has definitely demonstrated why he moved up through the ranks of Russia's spy agencies and then government. He is good at what he does.

It's one of the many things I love about you, Sis. You are always willing to look me in the eyes and be honest with me. Even when it hurts. You know how I loved and trusted the man. Such anguish!

Why does Donald Trump hate rural America? Why is he stabbing rural people and rural hospitals in the back? Gov. Andy Beshear: BBB Is An Attack On Rural America, "Single Worst Piece Of Legislation In My Lifetime" Does Donald Trump really think rural people are stupid? Why is he such a cruel snob and liar?

Okay, on this I will disagree. I think the most objective way to put it is this way: this is a test. Trump, in his own words, won because of prices and the border. Meaning people were pissed. So he made promises to these people. And some of them for sure were just fulfilled, for a few years at least. No tax on tips, for example. He also promised not to fuck with their health care. So if Thom Tillis is right, Trump actually just betrayed that promise. And people are going to be super pissed for being betrayed. In fact, they already are. Some article I just read in the Wall Street Journal by Molly Ball said this is the most unpopular piece of legislation in 35 years. So we'll see. I think you can say that the working class did vote against their own interests, and did worship billionaires like Musk. But "the working class" is a huge generalization. And if they did so, that was the effect of what they did, not the intention. I wouldn't say that, anyway. It makes me sound like a smug college-educated liberal looking down at them. I'd rather empathize with them because they were betrayed with lies and false promises. And will soon go hungry or lose their health care. I'd argue even young working class men who worshipped Musk did so more out of the aspirational sense that they would like to be rich like him. I have polls to prove this. It scared me that six months ago Musk seemed to be particularly popular with young men. Now he's not. Poor thing. What changed?

Oh my God! We have smart Blacks now! When did we get smart Blacks? Can you believe it? We have smart Black people now. WTF? It must be thanks to Donald Trump. We used to have dumb ignorant Blacks. But maybe Democrats pushed dumb ignorant Blacks so far off the plantation that a precious few got a chance to go to Trump U, and get smart. Maybe that's it! 🤔 Again, thank you. I am just laughing my ass off. I love black comedy, no pun intended. This would be awesome black comedy, if it weren't so ignorant or cruel. Or both. And, to be clear, this Black dude is not cruel. Or Gay. He's just ignorant. But anyone who thinks that we suddenly have "conservative Gays" because trannies just pushed us over the edge kind of needs to study LGBTQ history. Oh, that's right. Like Black history and Toni Morrison, maybe it's illegal now. Shouldn't we just burn those books instead? Of course, it's the opposite. Being part of a massive and global and successful liberation movement actually kind of shifted the whole LGBTQ thing to the left. There have always been conservative Gays, like our Treasury Secretary. Maybe you could stop barking for a minute and do a kindness and educate our ignorant Black Straight Tik Tok wannabe. But you won't. Because your video is like instantaneous proof of concept. I say you are ignorant and don't have a clue. And you post a video within a minute confirming you are ignorant and don't have a clue. That's assuming you are Gay, and get around. Because anyone who is Gay and gets around would know this is bullshit. We've had conservative Gays for a long time. Like you. Do you not even know what you are, poor thing? Is it really that bad?

You really seem to enjoy cruelty. Am I wrong? I can only go by your barking. Which I assume was not what you did with your Biden-respecting mother. Do you not revel in cruelty? Because you seem to. You also revel in the lies and the bullshit and the bragging. And maybe the trick here is that cruelty is the price somebody else pays. So we won't make a big deal out of it like Thom Tillis did. Why talk about how Trump is betraying his promises? We'll just try to sweep it under the rug with a Tik Tok video. Hopefully voters are stupid and won't notice. America is great! Patriotism rocks! Why are Democrats such losers! Maybe some Black dude saying Trump is a man of his word. Even though he just betrayed his promises to the working class people who will go hungry and be kicked off their health care. So I am all for patriotism and airplanes and the troops. Trump's big military rally was a pretty easy show to pull off, given the money he had to spend. Woo hoo! I'm happy for the people that enjoyed it. Moral and political leadership is a whole different matter. You, like Trump, have no interest in it. You could care less. Sorry, but in complete fairness to you, you may not even have a clue as to what it means. If you do, you don't demonstrate it when you bark and lie and bullshit here. You're more like a mad, barking, clueless dog. When I watched your video I immediately thought of this video. Granted, the planes and tricks in your Tik Tok are cooler. But what is portrayed in my YouTube video is way cooler. It depicts one of the great acts of moral and political leadership of the 20th century. And you and Trump could care less. Like I said, you probably don't even get it. I'll say a few things about why my video is way cooler than your moral rot. Nelson Mandela was a real person, who did lead and unify South Africa. He did use sports, which he loved, as a metaphor for unity and civility. Matt Damon may be some Hollywood lib to own. But he portrayed a real White South African who was a great leader in his own way. Who helped move a nation, in addition to winning a trophy. Everything in this video, down to the plane flying over the stadium, is absolutely true. It's not just that you are incapable of leadership like this. Most people, including me, are not. It's that you probably don't even understand it. You just bark. Why I particularly like this scene from this movie, as a movie, is this was the very best of Clint Eastwood. A Republican who got up on a stage and spoke out for Mitt Romney in 2012. Granted, IMHO he kind of flubbed that schtick. But the fact that Eastwood would do this scene in this movie also speaks to the very best of America. Republican or Democrat, we all recognize and aspire to these great leaders, and these great aspirations, and unity, and trying to be a nation that is good. E Pluribus Unum. That is not what Trump is. It is not what Trump is trying to be. It is moral rot. It is cruelty. It is tax cuts to big donors and special laws for special interests. You seem to revel in. I'm happy for you. Enjoy your planes. And your barking. It fits right into this picture that the South African we are all talking about now is not Nelson Mandela, but Elon Musk. It is not about the best of us. It is about the worst of us. It is not about moral leadership. It is about moral rot. And thanks to you and him, I really am laughing my ass off. Thank you. It is kind to say this is Pavlov's dog. Pavlov's dog was actually smarter, even if it was all conditioning. Musk and Trump are a fucking train wreck. And it really would just be a very good black comedy, if there were not so much cruelty being hatched by their inane antics. At least with Trump I can say he has some idea what he is doing. You don't. And Musk for sure doesn't. He is a cruel if brilliant asshole just spinning out of control. But have fun barking. And your planes are cool. God bless the troops!

That would not be untypical. That's the history of America, to me. I don't think there is any specific social justice gene that Black people get that White people don't. But based on the specific history of the US, it is no surprise that many of our shared buzzwords and moral understandings and icons come from some movement against slavery or for civil rights. MLK. The arc of the moral universe is long. I have a dream. "Woke" fits right into the pattern. So let me give anyone reading this a trigger warning. I am about to be savage to woke college students. Because I was once one myself. Even though it was not called "woke" at the time. And let me propose this as an appropriate 2025 definition of woke. In 2025, a "woke" person is one who votes for Black Republican Byron Donalds, a Trump ally, to replace DeSantis. Poll shows Byron Donalds starts with 6-point lead over David Jolly in 2026 Governor’s race So why is it "woke" to vote for Donalds? I'll answer that from the perspective of a Black Democrat who I saw ask Donalds a question on Mark Halperin's Two Way channel. The guy, who identified himself as a Black Democrat, basically said how will the Republican Party help Black people like me? Donalds talked about lower energy costs due to drill, baby, drill. He talked about more affordable housing due to cutting regulations and NIMBY zoning in Florida. Everything he said had NOTHING specifically to do with Black people. He did not even mention assistance to historically black colleges. Which would be a no brainer standard answer most White Republicans would give. His point was clear: lower gas prices and more affordable housing helps us all, regardless of the color of our skin. Which is of course true. So one definition of "woke" today could be that if you want cheap gas and affordable rent and are Black, vote for some Black Republican leader who is aware of working class challenges. So this is one of the interesting things about today's GOP. I credit Kevin McCarthy more than any other single person, although former Black RNC head Michael Steele would be #2 on my list, for actually integrating the modern Republican Party. One way I think of it is that Jim Clyburn is a Democratic leader because when he was a kid Strom Thurmond left the Democratic Party because we Democrats were too welcoming to Blacks. Now Tim Scott is the Black US Senator from the same state. And a Republican. And I basically buy what Scott says explains it: "a change in the Southern heart". I can see that in the Southern Republican wing of my own family. Meanwhile, some Black activist said that when America elected Donald Trump in 2016, we did not realize we were voting for a restoration of 1980's New York racism. I think that is true as well. in a big diverse nation, many contradictory things can be true at once. So under Trump and Hegseth, who are way behind the curve, you have these almost comical and constant stupid fucking things to remove the name of Jackie Robinson from something or go out of their way to make it seem like Black people and especially DEI are just not welcome in our White Party. My own opinion, until proven wrong, is that a lot of the movement by Blacks and Latinos to the GOP, especially in the last four years, was all about inflation and prices and rent. And part of a global "throw the bums out" reaction. In our case, the bum was named Joe Biden. So when the Republicans fuck with Medicaid and go out of their way to trash efforts to help Blacks, even when they are put forward by Black Republicans like Tim Scott, I think they are just driving Blacks away. We'll see. But for sure running a Black guy like Byron Donalds for Governor does the exact opposite. It says, "We welcome Blacks to thrive and lead in our party." So now let us throw in the clueless and mostly White "woke" college students. Who I am quite sure all have their hearts in the right place. The best single example to me is "Latinx", which thankfully never got off the ground and never will. I choose that in part because it is a great example of the kind of thing that would likely come out of academia. Some poll done showed something like 95 % of Spanish speaking Americans do not like the idea. And without doing anything that actually impacts the price of gas or rent or giving you a child tax credit or no tax on tips, it makes some weird cultural statement about something. Thankfully, it is not as toxic as "defund the police" politically. But this is how Democrats are going to win the Latino vote? Give me a fucking break. I am quite sure this is how Ruy Teixeira feels. He articulates all these arguments way better than I do. When Republicans ran everything from 2000 to 2008 or so, and fucked it up good with the Iraq War and subprime lending and losing about 6 million factory jobs so capitalists could get rich building factories in China, Teixeira and his democratic socialist pal John Judis delivered a road map to how you actually can have a Democratic majority. As I said in an earlier post, to me it seemed like a fucking joke. And then it happened under Obama. Fast forward. Teixeira gradually grew to feel utter contempt for mostly White college educated woke people who push these agendas that are just deeply unpopular with working class voters. And while some of it is almost comical, like "LatinX", some of it is very complex. Like "woke" people tend to be associated with purist "climate change" ideas. But most working class people like the idea of cheap fossil fuels. Ruben Gallego has a great line right now, because he wants to be a Latino Democratic POTUS. He says every Latino man wants a big ass truck and cheap gas to fill it with. La verdad! And people who work in the industry hate the woke bullshit. Did I mention Democrats lost Pennsylvania in the last election? Do we want to win the Presidency? Do we want 51 or 60 US Senate seats? So now I am going to sound cruel. Especially for Trump, it is open season on these people. He is going after Harvard, and all these liberal educational institutions. And DEI, and all these groups that were the ones that advanced arguments like "defund the police" and America is this horrible racist place. I hope he scares the living shit out of all of them. Because maybe that will help Democrats. They pushed some of this shit too far and too hard. And while I know their intentions were good, it contributed to this idea that Democrats are out of touch. And it is one of the easiest things in the world to lampoon on Tik Tok. And now we have a massive backlash, led by Donald Trump, who I actually do believe embodies 1980's NYC racism. So what the fuck did they get by being so "woke"? We all learn from our failures. Hopefully the "woke" folks will. And they will moderate and instead try to figure out, like Teixeira and Judis did, how we can end this cruelty and trickle down "America is for the rich" bullshit by building a left-of-center majority? That, again is what AMLO did in Mexico. Pan comido!