stevenkesslar

As you note, it is the unitary executive theory. Not the unitary government theory. That said, my Sister In Cock is right that it is a de facto unitary government now. For the most part, the legislative branch and SCOTUS are willing to go along with whatever Trump wants. The caveat is that right now the House and Senate are Republican run. Check back with me in 2027. So the biggest check right now is constant articles about some judge somewhere who actually puts some limit on Trump. At least until SCOTUS says, "Oh, no. Do whatever you want." And it's worse than you think. John Mearsheimer is one example of a smart person saying on foreign policy Trump can do anything he wants. He is systematically destroying alliances that took a century or more to build. On Ukraine at least he is surrounded by Republicans who mostly despise Putin and want to sanction him. So that part of the GOP is still breathing. Then there is the GENOCIDE JEW!!!!!!!! show. The United States and Israel are increasingly associated with genocide. As in, "Want food? Okay. But let me kill you instead." It's happening every day. Mearsheimer argued Trump can pretty much do anything he wants. Bombs away, if Bibi and Trump agree. Which they seem to. And, yes, I know. That's Israeli Jews, not American Jews. Then we get into the Israel Lobby in the US, which Mearsheimer wrote a book about and is all too happy to talk about. So right now there is only one proudly Jewish nation in the world, and it is having a genocide spree. And the US is paying for much of it. Oh, and did I mention Trump has his finger on the nuclear button? The solace in this is that the reaction is clearly growing, just like it did in 2017 and 2018. Can Trump cancel the midterms? Hope not. The polls show even Republicans say they don't want Trump to be King. Mostly they feel democracy is alive and well, though. Trump won fair and square, and they like what he's doing. Although even with that there are more and more Republicans saying they DO NOT like tariffs, or his cruel immigration policy. My conservative Romney-ite nephew who basically supports Trump's policies is a really good read for me on this. A month or so ago I said I'm not even sure if people care about democracy anymore. I don't believe that, but I was curious what he would say. "I think they care about democracy. They just want change." he replied. I agree with him. That is what Trump acolytes said loud and clear, and correctly, in that Frontline video. So the question on the table now is, "is this the change you wanted?" The verdict is out. I will say this about the unitary executive theory and executive orders. Bipartisanship and "meeting in the middle", which I know is what my conservative nephew and I deeply agree on and favor, has been dying for a long time. Obama increasingly used executive orders because it was the only way he could get shit done. As that video shows, Trump took out a lot of Biden's executive orders on Day One. So Trump is taking out all the guard rails, for sure. But he is symptom, not cause. What happens is that every election since 2016 people vote for change. Then they don't like it. And then they vote for change again. My money is on them doing it again in 2026 and 2028. But I do miss the 80's and 90's which were a great time for meeting in the middle and getting big shit done. Win the Cold War, perhaps? Budget surplus, anyone? 😀 Ain't gonna happen with this hot mess. So it's on Democrats, next time they get a shot, to see if they can deliver the kind of change people actually want. At least something like 51 % of them in at least enough states to get a majority of US Senators.

As that PBS documentary @lookin posted argued, we have been here before. Nixon dug his own grave. The coverup is worse than the crime. You and I keep talking about two different audiences. The MAGA folks are basically a lost cause to me. Including my own niece, who I love. The only question is how many of them will actually go vote to defend their hero. This will not help Republicans in the midterms. Which is why Mike Johnson is speaking up. He knows if these people lose faith in the cause he will be Minority leader. Or MAGA will toss him, even. I'm most interested in swing voters. And your point is right. They never should have voted for Trump. But I would rather they vote for my team in 2026 and 2028. My premise is that most Americans care about the rule of law. I think that is true. That PBS documentary spelled it out, in the words of some of Trump's own most ardent media supporters. They considered him dead meat in 2021 and 2022. The lawfare narrative was able to fill the void in part because Garland did pretty much nothing. And Fanny had an affair. I don't think the fact that Trump is a felon helped him. At least not on balance. I do think it was the prices, stupid, in a close race. Had Trump gone to trial and been convicted by a jury, I think it would have hurt him. In a 49.8 % race, probably enough to tip the race. We'll never know.

DO NOT LET TRUMP TURN YOU INTO TRUMP STEAKS. YEAH YOU'RE A DUMB DOG BUT I LIKE DOGS. DO NOT LET TRUMP TURN YOU INTO TRUMP STEAKS. HE WILL DROP YOU IN A HEARTBEAT. POOR THING! HERE IS A TREAT NOW BE GOOD BUT BE CAREFUL.

There was a nice Politico article today gaming out what might really be going on here. I think the simplest explanation is that Trump and Kash Patel and Co. started a fire they knew was fueled by bullshit to gain power. And they are now learning that bullshit is more combustible and durable than they thought. What a shocker! But I'm beginning to wonder whether the even darker scenario is true: the piece of shit rapist felon is all over whatever they got. And so Trump has to cover it up to avoid an even bigger scandal. As you note, authoritarian leaders are always more than willing to throw their authoritarian followers under the bus to preserve their own authoritarians asses. Has anybody seen Mike Johnson's decapitated head on a stick, hung outside the US Capitol? Or maybe Mike Pence hanging from a noose? Point is, I said using satire above that Johnson should be deported. If this were Hitler, or even a wannabe like Putin, that would be way too nice. Johnson would be dead outside the Reichstag in a pool of blood. The fact that we are seeing Republican leaders break with Trump in real time probably does tell us something about the limits of his power. There is no evidence that they are willing to go down with the ship. But we'll see. I do think my Sister In Cock is correct. Trump is deranged, and only getting worse. We should not underestimate how bad he can get. And how much shit he may try to break. That documentary you referenced looks great @lookin. I only watched about 15 minutes to get the jist of it, and will watch the rest later. But it just confirms one thing I know, and several posters here have discussed. There is a bad guy in this picture who fucked up badly and every Democrat in America should despise as the worthless incompetent piece of shit that he is. His name is not Donald Trump. It is Merrick Garland. Garland had four fucking years to prosecute Trump. That poll is from 2023. For four years there were endless polls that said the same thing. It's not that the rule of law failed. It is that it wasn't really tried. In the end, I think a lot of voters basically said, "You ain't got shit. You are all talk. Don't keep preaching about democracy and the rule of law. You clutched." That said, my own opinion is that Trump, an idiot and felon, is now doing a reverse Biden. Biden and Democrats overplayed the democracy card. In the end a lot of people voted for Trump because of prices, not noble ideas. And his promises on prices. So maybe Trump thinks as long as he is breaking shit, his authoritarian followers will be happy. And as you know, @lookin, many of them will be happy. But we are seeing his coalition fall apart in real time. Some of it is whackos who are more interested in conspiracy theories, anyway. But the price of electricity is up 9 % so far this year, homes are unaffordable. And health care and food will soon be for lots of Trump voters. Sorry. But that shit just ain't gonna fly. Biden was no AMLO. But neither is Trump. It worked for AMLO because he actually knew that working class people are not stupid, and they know when they are better or worse off. Trump didn't get that memo. Like in 2018 and 2020, I think he will reap the consequences of his greed, narcissism, and stupidity. Trump may think he can be King. He actually could be that dangerous, as my Sister In Cock says. So we'll see. But mostly what I see is a very fragile coalition that could not get 50 % of the vote in even one election slowly dying by sinking into its own bullshit.

Rogan is a sad case. I'll say two things that are completely contradictory. I'm a pragmatist. There has been this debate about whether the left needs its own Joe Rogan. I like what Charlemagne The God, who is also a pragmatist, said. "No, we need to go talk to Joe Rogan." Rogan obviously has a broad audience, although I am not part of it. He did back Sanders in 2020. It was a mistake for Harris NOT to make him and White guys like him a priority. White guys like him cost Harris the election. So we should talk to Joe Rogan. That said, and here's the flip flop, I have no idea what Rogan believes in or stands for, if anything. The fact that he could flip from Sanders to Trump says it all. And he of course is not alone. There are millions like him. And this Epstein thing is the kind of thing he seems to feed on. I have never watched his full podcast, for the same reason I'm not a Tik Tok fan. So I am not the best one to judge. But I have watched lots of snippets. He was an Elon fan boy earlier this year. And he had a hard on for how Elon was trying to open the coffins at all these government agencies so we could finally see all the vampires inside. Meanwhile, back in reality, Elon was cutting AIDS funding in Africa. So this is exactly the kind of thing I would expect Rogan would lose faith over. Personally, I would rather believe in the America of Allan Lichtman. His whole keys theory is built on the premise that voters are mostly smart. And they make reasonable judgments based on issues like war and peace and the economy, stupid. I still believe that. Lichtman has been mostly right. In 2024 I think his big mistake is he misjudged the impact of inflation on the economy, stupid. They threw the bums out all over the world. Mexico was a huge exception to the global trend, because AMLO specifically governed FOR the working class. This is from 2020, when Sanders got pushback because Rogan praised him and Sanders touted that: So if Rogan likes the working class it seems like he should be pushing someone like AMLO. Which Bernie kind of is, but too old and too lefty for America. Rogan seems to have no idea what he stands for or what he believes in. What it all boils down to to me is that we need someone like AMLO who can win. And that ain't easy. Sanders came close. But it seemed clear his democratic socialism was a bridge too far. It's not clear yet that Mandani will be able to get elected in a blue city like NYC. The best we can probably hope for is someone more palatable than Sanders emerges in 2028 so that Rogan and guys like him can say, "Yeah, that guys real. That guy stands for something. That's a guy I like." That may sound sexist or racist or homophobic or whatever. But I am with Charlemagne on this, who was a Harris fanboy. In part because she talked to him. Do we want to win, or not?

House Speaker Johnson joins growing number of Republicans pressing Trump administration for more transparency on Epstein case And now the Louisiana pedophile has revealed himself as the Judas that he is. I knew it all along. I looked at that sweet innocent face and thought this is an evil man with something to hide. Pedophile! Judas! Johnson is obviously trying to distract attention from his own pedophilia and evil by parading around as some kind of Christian do gooder. President Trump is trying to restore SAFETY and THE SPIRIT OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST to public life. And now this betrayal? This disloyal worm does not belong in GOD FEARING Louisiana. Not even a shit hole like California. Deport him to a real shit hole like Brussels of El Salvador!

A Political Influencer Could Seriously Win a Seat in Congress The next trend on TikTok: heading to Capitol Hill. Can a dog be elected to Congress? I am thinking this might be a solution to our "barking dog" problem. My Sister In Cock is completely correct that these hard core MAGA people are insane and dangerous. They should be taken as seriously as ............ well .................... raping a child. As the current Epstein MAGA-rhea spell shows. The only point I would add is that the action is always in the reaction, to quote Alinsky. People look at the MAGA-rhea on Epstein and go, Ugh. Americans are now more solidly united around immigration being a GOOD thing than ever. Precisely because Trump is shitting all over the Statue of Liberty. He is shitting all over our trading partners and allies. And survey says this month inflation rose thanks to that. Another broken promise from the cruel rapist liar felon piece of shit. And even Republicans don't like that. So much shit. So many lies. I had another nightmare last night that Donald Trump killed our barking dog - shot him right in the head - to turn him into Trump Steaks to feed hungry Trump voters in red states once the SNAP cuts come down. Would Donald Trump actually do that? He is TACO Don, after all. But why take the risk? I would miss our own special barks either way. But at least if the dog is in Congress, he is probably protected from being turned into Trump Steaks. And we at least get to hear his barking. Perhaps we need to start a campaign.

I agree with your general point. And you are right, there is never much daylight between us. I'm not sure if Trump's leaders are more accepting of losing benefits. I understand your point about these kind of followers as a personality type. Maybe they are more willing. But I know Trump's lowest approval ratings in his first term coincided with his effort to kill Obamacare. And there was no shortage of Trump supporters in 2016 saying Trump would never try to take my Obamacare away, except if he has an even better deal. The polls suggested those people were pissed. The midterms did not go well for Trump in 2018. And the polls say the same now about the cruel Medicaid cuts. The difference may be between between "Trump voters" and "MAGA voters". My Sister In Cock makes an excellent point: these swing voters who voted for Trump are why he is President. That said, I'd rather they vote for Democrats next time. Even if they are "authoritarian followers." My guess is that the voters who would most likely be passive if their Medicaid or Obamacare were cut would be the MAGA diehards. Not swing voters who supported Trump based on promises about lowering prices. And my guess is that those authoritarian followers are heavily concentrated in the core of the MAGA base. As you said, it is Trump's specialty.

I have one word for this post: BRILLIANT! Well, and an abbreviation: ROTFL 😝

There is a slew of articles out there debating whether looming cuts to Medicaid or increasing hunger among working class Trump voters or a 9 % spike in electric bills since January will actually help Democrats in the midterms. Lots of Republicans say their voters won't notice or believe a word Democrats say. If there is a particularly bad sign for Trump in the midterms, it is this, I think: Trump faces a MAGA rebellion over Epstein outcry Huh? What the fuck? Over 10 million people will be thrown off Medicaid. Food banks can not possibly make up for the spike in hunger that is going to put stress on working class budgets. The deficit will skyrocket. Even liberal perma-scold Ruy Teixeira is excited that Democrats are for once embracing something like an "all of the above" energy strategy, and plan to blame Trump for a 9 % spike in electric bills this year. Since he is killing off everything Biden did to support solar and wind - which is popular with voters, just like natural gas and oil. All this is going on, and MAGA is having a crisis over Epstein? Hate to say it. But I almost feel sorry for Trump. Isn't he the MAGA master? Isn't he supposed to be able to control these people? Can't he give them a treat or something? I am laughing my ass off. I agree with my Sister In Cock that Trump is insane and dangerous. But this makes him and Pam Bondi look more like the wardens in a fucking lunatic asylum. My point about the midterms is this. I think we know for a fact that when Obama was King, Democrats did better when he was on the ballot - 2008, 2012 - than when he was not in 2010 and 2014. Same is true with Trump. 2018 and 2022 did not go well for Republicans. So that is baked into the cake, anyway. But now we have working class Trump voters who will be hearing true things about hospitals closing and Medicaid cuts and spikes in their food and energy bills. And meanwhile MAGA is going nuts about Epstein. A lot of these whack jobs are not going to vote. They didn't in 2018 and 2022. This likely presages that they are off in some alternative brain rot universe called Tik Tok. They won't believe a thing Democrats say, or vote for them. But they won't bother to support their local Republicans either. They'll post some wild shit on Tik Tok. The delicious irony for me is that at some point if you want to be POTUS you actually do have to be The Establishment. Which is what a lot of MAGA diehards rebel against. So Trump is now The Establishment. Makes sense to me. 9 out of 10 lawyers surveyed, Republican or Democrat, would probably say that is the right thing to do. But not in MAGA Brain Rot Land. They want an inquisition of Bill Clinton! But not their felon rapist Master who apparently can't control their barking. What the fuck? This is how Republicans survive 2026? Good luck guys! I'm tempted to say those who live by the sword die by the sword. It's more like those who get elected by brain rot will fail thanks to brain rot, just like in 2020. There are a lot of working class people and poor people who did vote for Trump in 2024 precisely because they didn't like the price of food or gas or electricity or a home. Those are the people Democrats have to win back. Not these fucking lunatics.

I really don't think there is any right or wrong on this. It's a matter of temperament, values, tolerance. I keep saying one of my best friends is tormented by this. He has a lovely sister I have met several times who is full on MAGA. And she is tormented, too. She wants to love and be close to her Gay brother, and embrace Trump. It's a slippery slope. I think everyone does have to make their own decisions about what they can do, and what works right for them. I spent a few years as a volunteer leading outreach teams going door to door in swing districts of the Bay Area trying to persuade people to support same sex marriage. As I have said repeatedly, I look back at that as the most satisfying campaign of my life. The idea at the time was that we'd win this at the ballot box. Some of THE GAYS think it was a legal victory, that ultimately went to SCOTUS. That is true. But members of SCOTUS have literally said that they followed the polls and the public. Had we not spent decades changing hearts and minds, the legal answer could have and probably would have been NO. And I do think someone like Clarence Thomas would roll it back, if he could. But he can't. And part of the reason why is even Trump and my MAGA niece would not want to go there. I don't think. But maybe I am wrong. One way or the other, my bias is that it is better to talk with them than not. But that is completely based on pragmatism. That talking with them is more likely to work than not. It did on same sex marriage. For me, at least, that is a fact. Not a theory. One of my friends and people I respect the most is a Straight woman who was one of a handful of people who cracked the code and figured out based on a lot of polling and focus groups how to persuade people in the center, especially religious people like my niece, to support same sex marriage. She then literally was paid to go to Ireland and design a campaign to win same sex marriage at the ballot, which she did. It was a huge fucking victory in one of the most Catholic countries in the world. And it all came down to talking to and persuading these soft people in the middle. And that all came down to opening hearts more than minds. To paraphrase Julia Roberts, "I'm just a boy in love with a boy. I just want to be able to fall in love and get married like you do." Hell, even Tik Tok is good for something. So, again, I am a pragmatist. Bottom line: it worked. We won. Wash, rinse, repeat.

You got two replies. So I am taking two, as well. It's funny. You literally just described an email exchange I had with my MAGA niece yesterday. And what you said is literally true. Hee hair is always perfect. And she does genuinely love her Gay uncle. But she is hands down the most MAGA relative I have. The other ones are basically people who would rather have Romney, but will accept Trump. She would rather have Trump. She thinks these people like Romney are useless RINOs. Yet, at the same time, she wants to feel like she's a moderate who can accept that whole GAY THING. So part of her MO is that she'll suggest we go to a Gay bar or do something Gay so she can check the box and say she's not one of those haters. Whatever her motivation, which is at core that she loves her uncle, it is all fine with me. I would rather have her try than just be a hater. So she sent me an email yesterday saying I should check out this series called Fellow Travelers. I debated how to respond. But I decided I will go there. So I informed her that I watched the whole series in 2023. It was outstanding, but also relentlessly depressing. And it is interesting that you mention THAT series. Because it is all about how THE GAYS were persecuted and crushed in the 1950's. And many Gay men feel the exact same thing is happening under Trump. including close friends of mine, who are tormented by the fact that their siblings love their Gay brother, but support Trump. She knows I don't have that issue with my family, because she is one of THEM. I'm sure she had no clue that she was exposing a certain type of ignorance, like Trump does when he praises the Black leader of an English speaking country for speaking English well. I'm sure my response annoyed her. I could have left it at saying it is just more fun to watch Jonathan Bailey dance and be pretty in Wicked than it is to watch him be persecuted and die of AIDS in Fellow Travelers. I gave her a small piece of information that she does not want to know, probably. And will almost certainly ignore. @lookin mentioned a friend who keeps trying to convince these true and loyal MAGA folks that they are wrong. She is an example of that in my life. And why @lookin is right. It make no sense to try to change their mind. Our dumb cruel loyal dog is a much more extreme example. As least my niece and I are smart enough to mostly avoid the topic. But she does want to be LOVED by the GAYS. So go figure. Again, I take this as an indicator of just how incredible the victory our community won is. We changed hearts and minds all over the world. So while the persecution is real, as you keep saying, it could be a hell of a lot worse.

Doesn't everyone? I mean, even under Trump with MAGA folk, it is STILL the fashionable thing to do. We do have a minor disagreement about Scott Bessent. I don't disagree with your analysis that he can be viewed as a traitor. As can RFK Jr. and Tulsi Gabbard. In my mind, the latter two are simply whack jobs with no real principles. RFK in particular is short on facts and long on conspiracies. I would not call Bessent a whack job. I think Trump likes having him around because he makes things, including Trump, at least look dignified. And for Trump it is like an acting job, anyway. Not leadership. So having the Gay guy with glasses around gives Trump honor, and dignity. I can't get in Trump's head. That is a toxic place to be. But I think that is probably how Trump views it. Certainly, Bessent makes someone like Rudy Ghouliani look tacky by comparison. I mean, the hair! And I realize I have no fashion sense compared to you, Sis. So cut me some slack on saying Bessent is at least somewhat fashionable. At least to someone like Trump, who likes glitter and gold. So, in a sense, Trump still wants to be loved by THE GAYS, even as he attacks us. Go figure. Just another reason why he is dangerous.

Au contraire, Sis. We definitely agree Trump is dangerous. And this is serious. This is as serious as death, literally. This is as serious as sickness, literally. This is as serious as hunger, literally. I'm of course referring to Trump's big legislative win, which is wildly unpopular with 2 in 3 Americans. And will stay that way. I am paying attention every day. As far as the cruel stupid barking dog goes, he's just your average everyday authoritarian follower. His momma liked Joe Biden. What happened to the cruel dog to make him so cruel? Who knows. I could care less. I'm not a dog psychologist. And to @lookin's great points, this sick puppy is so off the deep end, as he proves every day, that I'd say let's just leave him to the red team. I would not want to be in a room, or a political party, with him. Of course he doesn't see it that way. His incessant barking and applause for cruelty and lies and stupidity makes him proud to be an American, probably. Because he is a loyal authoritarian follower, being good and loyal and true. Even though most people here look at it and think, "What a complete asshole." I suppose there are other solutions. Where is Kristi Noem when you need her?

Agreed. He was always interesting to listen to. RIP.

Well, I have one somewhat subtle three word answer: Que sera sera. Que sera sera does roll off the lips better than "working class economic populism", doesn't it? 😉 I think we had a version of this discussion years ago on Bill's website. I talked about left-wing economic populism. I got the sense you were not enthralled, perhaps incorrectly. As you note, it does involve embracing authoritarian followers, and many of their sensibilities. But everything that has played out suggests economic populism is where the dial is at, for now. Canada a bit less so, since they just elected an Establishment globalist type. I guess there is no explaining what Canadians do, is there? 😝 Part of my point with que sera sera is that it does have to just play out. We already know these things can potentially end badly. Because it did, here, in 2020. Trump got his ass kicked. But not as much as he could have, or should have. And some of that was because of working class sensibilities around things like Defund The Police. And whether or not America is this awful racist place. And even (ugh!) "Latinx". If I recall correctly I did advocate "left-wing" economic populism. So it was partly my bad. Just like you keep talking about authoritarian followers, Ruy Teixeira keeps reminding us that "working class voter" generally does not mean left-wing. To oversimply, they are mostly culturally moderate. Polls show that when it comes to raising taxes on the rich, the working class are for it. When it comes to culture war, the working class thinks Trump is a bit closer to their values than Democrats like Harris. Sanders, as you noted, ran great campaigns twice and failed. America revolted when it looked like Bernie might win in 2020 and lined up behind Working Class Joe instead. So we'll see how it plays out. Trump says, correctly, he won thanks to high prices and the border. Had there been no COVIDflation, and had Old Joe gotten out of the way and let Harris or some other Democrat win a primary and run, I don't think Trump would have gotten 49.8 % of the vote. But what do I know? Some asshole named Steven Kesslar just posted something about how 78% of Americans are unpatriotic because they want to give undocumented immigrants a path to citizenship. So when you come down to it only 1 in 5 Americans or so like this Kesslar prick embrace far-right views. And even lots of Republicans don't like Trump's tariffs policies because they threaten to raise prices eventually. Did I mention how Independents deplore Trump's new "victory" and how it will screw Trump voters on Medicaid? And make working class people in Kentucky hungry? So, as my Sister In Cock says, they voted for this shit. Que sera sera. Let them live with it. Seems like the more they live with it, the less they like it. As you and I know, this topic is very complex. But the basic formula is what AMLO did in Mexico. First, the poor and the working class. How do we make life better for them? Second, embrace their sensibilities, too. A lot of college-educated elites in Mexico don't like AMLO for embracing Hecho En Mexico fossil fuels and the like. And the globalist elite types decry AMLO's authoritarian tendencies. My view is that right now it would help Democrats to embrace a very simple view. The working class is smart. And college graduates suck. Especially if they are White. Did I mention I am a White college-educated liberal? But Teixeira is right. As Democrats become less working class and more attuned to the priorities of college-educated liberals, they have not become more popular. This happened under Obama. In 2008 Democrats could win Iowa, Montana, and Missouri. Now we can mostly win places where there are more college students than cows. Do the math. Again, it's complicated. But one of my favorite phrases in politics right now is what Ruben Gallego said. Every Mexican American man wants a big ass truck, and cheap gas to fill it with. Hell, in addition to making cheap gas right here in the gold ole USA maybe we could even import it from Mexico. 90 % of Mexicans view Trump's America unfavorably. That is more than any other nation in the world. Surely, Mexico has their fair share of authoritarian followers. To your excellent point, I think it is because they had a somewhat authoritarian leader in AMLO who focused on their priorities. Pensions for seniors. He literally put money and food in the hands of the poor. He helped working class people who aspire to work hard so they can buy a home and a big ass truck. Is Trump doing these things? The one thing that is the opposite of "que sera sera" is what AMLO and Trump had to do to win power. AMLO fought like hell for decades and lost several times along the way. But when he won, he had a vision and the talent to make that vision work. Trump has neither. Other than to have a big ego and help rich people and autocrats like himself. AMLO handed his successor a landslide victory. And she is a female environmentalist Jew, for Christ's sake. JD Vance is a hillbilly. But the way this is going, he ain't gonna win in 2028 if he runs. Not in a landslide, and not at all. But importing what worked in Mexico will help. I think Harris did a great job under the circumstances. She will likely run to be my Guv, and I will happily vote for her. But she was no AMLO. She sounded like AMLO during one debate she prepared well for, when she kicked Trump's ass. We need someone who can exude the working class passion AMLO did, and have the plan he can talk about without needing to prepare. The huge question to me is can Democrats embrace someone like AMLO. If we even have one here. If not, maybe we can import one from Mexico. 😉 If it's meant to be, it will happen. Que sera sera.

Lets start out with the one thing YOU can do that may help. Because I am nearly in a panic. Feed our barking dog. Give him his treats. He is going to need every bit of energy he can get. Record High Say Immigration Benefits Nation I literally want to throw up. Of course, all the evil socialist lying Fake Media like Politico are seizing on this to tell lies like this: Such lies! They hate America! Obviously they want to keep the rapists and lazy and unworthy in. So that they vote Democratic and suck up valuable government resources for Medicaid and food and shit. Trump needs to double down quickly. It is like a cancer that is speaking. Vermin! At least we have Elon Musk and Grok to tell us the truth. This shows why Trump is right on birthright citizenship. It is not just illegals. Many US citizens are unworthy. They came here decades ago, and their kids got to stay. And they teach those kids unpatriotic values. We're going to have to deport a bunch of them, too, to straighten this out. They may claim they are Americans. But they are not. And can we just be honest for once and admit that you can almost tell that by the color of their skin? And don't go whining on me that I am racist and shit. You are a DEI America hater if you do! it is only going to get worse, if it is not too late already. 78 % of so-called "Americans" say that the illegals should get a chance to be citizens if they meet certain requirements over a period of time. Yeah, right. We tried that when we ended slavery and look what happened. Obama and shit. DEI Harris. This is what happens when you let people in and they say "Oh we love America." Yeah, the America of deadbeats and losers like the shit holes they came from. And if they have their way America will be a shit hole too. Which is what Barack Hussein Obama and Senile Joe and that DEI loser Harris were fast turning us into. We need to end birthright citizenship NOW and kick out a lot of the unpatriotic losers that only claim to be American because of this nonsense. Hopefully SCOTUS will go along since we have a patriotic majority other than the African and Jew. And no I am not racist there are good articulate Blacks like Justice Thomas. Please feed our barking dog now. I had a nightmare last night that there were protests about "hunger" and "hospitals closing" and rural deadbeats even spreading lies. So Trump decided he had to turn @Barknaway into Trump Steaks to feed his own working class lazy ass voters. Since all the SNAP money went to Musk and the donors. And they sure as hell ain't giving it back. We need more barking! And louder! And yeah you smartasses I read that article about how TikTok is full of shit that rots your brain. I admit it is almost like the more our cruel pup pushes Tik Tok and barks incessantly, the more it alienates people. And the less popular Trump and his so-called "cruel" policies become. But that is just what the Fake media wants you to think. We need more barking! Incessantly! Come on, puppy. Be a good puppy, loyal and true! Bark! Bark! Bark! Trump is on a roll. And if you think he is becoming more unpopular because of all these so-called "cruel" things he is winning, you have been brainwashed. Why don't you self-deport and go back to whatever shit hole YOU came from? Trump is on a roll and genuine Americans know it! As if to prove how evil they are and how dedicated they are to destroying America's last best hope, the Fake media is even posting lies like this: GOP warning sign in new poll: Trump’s voters don’t love his tariffs Such bullshit! These people disgust me! They hate America and they should go back to their shit holes. Even Europe or Canada or these other so-called "allies" who have always been lazy freeloaders who feed on America.

I think the essential problem is that us dumb voters like getting money. What's that about, anyway? Dick Cheney said back in the last century that Reagan proved deficits don't matter - politically. He ran them up and he won in a landslide and got his heir Bush 41 elected. His heir said "no new taxes" and lost. Because he raised taxes and it pissed people off. Clinton proved that in a way, too. He created a surplus and his heir apparent, Gore, lost. W. then proceeded to run up annual deficits again. Trump seems to be against most of what W. did, I guess. Like starting wars with four letter countries that start with IRA... 🤔 Or running up deficits. Trump would never do that, of course. Final example: Labor won in the UK in a landslide. Then they did what they must have thought was fiscally responsible, and cut people's benefits. Then they got crushed in the recent elections. And everyone said it was about the benefits, stupid. Stanley Druckenmiller identifies as a super rich guy, and an old school low tax low government Republican. He said something a few years back that I think was prescient. He said maybe Republicans can hold off taxing the rich, like him, more for a few more election cycles. So far, he nailed it. But eventually when it comes down to cutting Medicare or Social Security or something like that, Druckenmiller knows the pitchforks are aimed right at his pocketbook. In that sense, however it goes, Mamdani may be the handwriting on the wall. People don't want their Medicaid cut or their food taken away to help the noble rich. Either that, or Musk trains Grok to have us all believing that Hitler was good, and guys like Musk and Trump will do what's best for us. If you dissent, you are deported. That's the challenge us dumb voters face.

Of course, Sis. You're so sexy when you get passionate. It is one of the endless things I love about you.

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! 😉