stevenkesslar

You're right. People do have lots of concerns about the President: his leadership, his judgment, his temperament, his truthfulness, his emotional and mental state. That is why they fired him in 2020. But what's new? I thought this was a nice mildly race-baiting detail in the RNC attack on Dementia Joe on Twitter: Of course it's not enough to say Biden doesn't have the brains to be President anymore. They have to vaguely imply that Kamala, a Black woman, never had the brains to be President. And is only there because she's a Black woman. Former South Carolina Governor Nancy Pelosi, who is running for President against Trump, is apparently okay. 😉 Although Trump says Gov. Pelosi sucked at keeping the Capitol secure when he sent his mob over to break the bones of cops. Glad Trump is in charge of his facts and faculties! Meanwhile, Biden, Trump, and Harris are all viewed unfavorably by 55 % of Americans. Buckle up your seatbelts. 2024 is going to be a long and giant attack ad.

Obviously, that's a question for Kevin McCarthy! Or Matt Gaetz!

Obviously, that's a question for Mike Pence! While we are doing Bible study, I have a few other questions: 1. Where in the Bible does it say you should allow Trump thugs to break into Nancy Pelosi's home and crack her husbands skull open and then accuse him of being Gay? 2. Where in the Bible does it say you should allow Trump thugs to poop on Nancy Pelosi's office floor, even if they were apparently being held hostage on Jan. 6th by the cops they assaulted? 3. Where in the Bible does it say Trump's cultists should support such evil, reprehensible things?

Senators unveil long-awaited border deal It faces an uncertain vote in the Senate this week and even longer odds in the House. It would be more forgivable for Trump to say any compromise needs to be "perfect" or it isn't worth passing if he were simply the political gadfly he had been most of his life. But, as POTUS, he proved how bad he was at compromise. And getting any laws passed. Except for those deficit busting tax cuts for really rich people, like him. What makes this worse is it's pure political cynicism. Trump and his MAGA House-mates would rather see more fentanyl deaths and more border crossings than pass a bipartisan law to reduce the problem.

So much for MAGA's fake and cynical populism. Ted Cruz wants lawmakers to get security escorts through America’s airports Turns out there were "serious security threats" at the US Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, too. But Cruz doesn't want to talk about that with constituents waiting in lines at airports, does he? Cruz voted against a bipartisan bill that got the support of 68 US Senators to prevent another Jan. 6th from happening by closing the wormy loopholes Cruz himself wanted to use to steal an election. Even more despicably, Cruz plotted with MAGA cultist Maria Bartiromo about how a Republican appointed commission could "legally" steal an election Biden won by 7 million votes. If there is any Republican other than Trump who has created good reason for angry mobs to protest the cynicism and phoniness of MAGA populism, it's Ted Cruz. I can only pray that some day I run into him at an airport. So I can walk up to him and say, "You are a cynical man with no principles. Other than your own empowerment, and giving huge tax breaks to the rich guys who fund your cynical campaigns."

Thanks for breaking up my text. 😉 There's one other polling thing I wanted to post that I think is vaguely relevant. But I figured I was way over my verbosity quota already for one post. So here I am, back for more. The Most Popular Public Figures (Q4 2023) # 19, liked by 48 % of Americans #46, liked by 41 % of Americans Let me tell you how I got to this listing, before I tell you why it may help explain why Biden will beat Trump again. I was thinking of how similar Trump and Arnold Schwarzenegger are in important regards. #4, liked by 60 % of Americans In addition to both being Republicans, they have the rare distinction of having risen to the top in three different fields. Whereas most of us never get to the top in one. For Schwarzenegger it was bodybuilding, then entertainment, then politics. You could argue that is actually a step down each time. 😉 I tend to think the best time to be Arnie was when he was young and hot and unknown. And everything was ahead of him. Trump did close to the same thing: real estate, then entertainment, then politics. We can quibble over Trump's bankruptcies. But both men rose to the top despite obstacles. Arnie's biggest obstacle was a big waist in Career 1, and a funny voice in Career 2. He rose above that. Partly because he has always been good at people, and politics. Trump is mostly good at people and politics, too. He just proved that DeSantis is a rookie and introvert when it comes to people. Which is what politics is about. Now a bit about how they differ. Schwarzenegger is an immigrant. What I adore about him, as a Democrat, is his willingness to put politics aside and try to believe in what he thinks is best about America. Trump has none of that. He is a racist immigrant basher who consistently brings out the worst in America. That is what Trump, like his mentor Roy Cohn, excels at. Bringing out the worst in people. As Schwarzenegger himself argued in his great speech after Jan. 6th. He despises Trump and compares Jan. 6th to his experiences with pure evil as a boy in Nazi Austria. So what all that led me to is checking out polls on Arnie's popularity. Which I figured would be high. I was right. As a bonus, I found that poll above that actually compares Arnie, Biden, and Trump. Arnie is #4. Biden is #19, right next to Jill who is #21. Trump is #46, and actually below both his wife (#35) and his daughter (#41). People like Trump less than they like Pete Buttigieg, Elizabeth Warren, AOC, Condoleezza Rice, or Ben Carson. I think that says a lot about the dynamics of this election. Being the leader of a cult is not the same as people actually liking you. In this poll, 48 % of Americans say they like Joe Biden. Only 41 % say they like Donald Trump. I think Biden gets to 48 % despite the fact that people don't particularly like what he has done on inflation and immigration. I think Trump tops out at 41 % because of what people see he stands for. Meanwhile, Arnie is liked by 60 % in this poll. Maybe that's largely because of his Hollywood background. But I think it's also because people respect what he stands for. All three have won the top prizes they were eligible for in electoral politics. If Arnie could run for POTUS, which he can't as immigrant, he'd probably kick the ass of either Biden or Trump. It is easier to win an election when at least 50 % of the people like you. I think this poll will factor in in the end. In Spring 1980 Jimmy Carter was kicking Ronald Reagan's ass in the polls. Even by late Spring, when John Anderson was in the race as an Independent, Carter consistently had a lead of 5 % or more in a three way race. Not unlike what Trump has now, when you include RFK Jr. We all know that didn't hold up in November 1980. People may have liked Carter. But they didn't like a 20 % misery index. Again, the misery index now is LOWER than when Biden took office. Trump created more misery, based on Reagan's misery index, and Biden has lowered the level of misery - as of today. Why would people want more misery from someone they don't really like? Most Americans DO NOT LIKE Donald Trump. Almost half of all Americans, including just over half of women, think he should be disqualified for sending out his mob to beat the shit out of cops and try to kill democracy. I think this helps explain why Arnie has always been a winner. And Trump only wins some of the time. Being a narcissistic racist rapist pig, he of course does not understand his limits. So he pushes himself too far, and loses. That is what he is doing right now. It explains why he will probably lose the election. People just won't vote for a raping liar who they don't even like. A few interesting side notes. Arnie, like Trump, got into trouble for being incapable of keeping his dick in his pants. In Arnie's case, it was a consensual relationship with a maid, which resulted in a love child. People - but not his ex-wife - seem to be willing to overlook that. In Trump's case, it would have been rape if he could actually maintain an erection while raping. People, especially women, may be less willing to overlook that. This poll also suggest that America is either not racist, or less racist. And we can thank Democrats for that. Of the top five most popular public figures, one is the Queen and another is Arnie, a Republican immigrant. So the three that were born in America are MLK, Barack Obama, and Michelle Obama. (Fact check: Obama was born in America.) The fact that three of the five most liked public figures are Black, and all are closely associated with the Democratic Party, says a lot of good things about America. So does the fact that a White immigrant who loves America was able to rise to the top of the Republican Party in his state. I'd like to think that the party of Lincoln will soon be the party of Nikki Haley and Tim Scott. But don't hold your breath. When it comes to trying to be less racist, there is no question that Democrats let MLK and the Obamas in. With mostly open arms. (Well, there was George Wallace, who at least asked for forgiveness.) The Obamas, even more than the Bidens, stand for the Democratic Party today. Don't hold your breath for Nikki Haley or Tim Scott. Most of the Republican Party is rejecting them for a guy that Arnie, a Republican, compares to a Nazi. This is why I think Trump is going to lose.

Hate to rain on the parade of Trump insults with a dose of reality. But that joke about Trump's pussy grabbing true self made me think of this: Inside Trump's Election A-Team: Lean, Mean and Largely Unseen All of that rings true to me. It should come as no surprise that (__ immigrant or ___ Gay or ___ leftist) baiting Republicans can do worse than surround themselves with a bunch of mostly effective Roy Cohns. Trump learned that himself a long time ago, of course. It can certainly work well for a while. Maybe even through a whole election campaign. The obvious problem with this strategy is that it doesn't change who the person at the top is. And the person at the top, Trump, is still a total fucking mess. Technically, he is more of a total fucking mess than ever. You want insurrection? He's your guy. You want rape? He's your guy. You want to see cops publicly be beaten savagely, so you can see what it looks like when the bones of cops break on national TV? Trump is your guy. He is a total fucking mess. And the guy who rapes and lies and leads mobs to break the bones of cops when he loses an election is still there. He is almost certainly going to be the Republican nominee. So Trump, who hates losing, has been disciplined enough to allow a disciplined team to form around him. Who no doubt COULD help him win. Which is pretty much what happened after he won in 2016 and formed a fairly impressive Cabinet. How long did that last? The thing about being a disciplined subordinate to Trump is that you can't change Trump from being Trump. It may not be so obvious now, when people are mostly focused on all the things they don't like about Joe Biden. But it will become obvious soon enough. When Trump opens his mouth, it becomes obvious. When Trump sends mobs to The Capitol to savagely beat cops because he needs to lie about being a loser, it becomes tragically obvious to the whole planet. Here's a poll number that is brand new that shocked me. And that I think is very bad news for Trump. I will quote the question and answer verbatim. 30. Trump Disqualified Due to 14th Amendment According to the 14th Amendment, no person shall be able to hold office if they have engaged in insurrection or rebellion. Do you think Donald Trump should or should not be disqualified from holding office as a result of the 14th Amendment? Should be disqualified: 47 % Should not be disqualified 38 % Not sure 15 % How do you win the Presidency when 47 % of America thinks you should be disqualified from even running? That's not going to go away. The pussy grabbing and lies and rape and cop beating and chaos are not going to go away. Even if Trump has a disciplined team around him. The good news to the MAGA minority in that poll is that, in theory, that leaves 53 % of America that COULD vote for Trump. But the truer number is probably closer to 38 % that actually WANT to vote for him. It's shocking that only 38 % of Americans are certain that the Republican nominee should not be disqualified. And 51 % of Americans with grabbable pussies (aka women) think he SHOULD be disqualified. How do you win the votes of people who don't like you because you grab pussies, brag about it, and send people off to beat cops when you lose elections? That problem won't go away. A good campaign team can try to hide it. Especially while people are still mostly focused on how inflation or immigration suck, and Biden is to blame But the insurrection part is not going to go away. And the evidence from 2022, when inflation was a lot higher, is that Americans are much more likely to overlook inflation than they are to overlook insurrection. This is why Trump is likely going to lose, regardless of what the polls now say. This is what many smart Republicans who have won many elections are saying. That Republicans will probably lose an election they could have won if they had nominated a candidate people actually like. They are the same types of Republicans who were saying a year ago that DeSantis would turn out to be a weak, unlikable candidate with a flawed core strategy. They were right. They are probably going to be right again.

One thing that is definitely being overlooked here is the evil genius of Dementia Joe. For a guy with little or no functioning brain cells, he's incredibly good at creating Deep State conspiracies. Then again, if I had a superstar NFL player pushing vaccines that injected microchips in everyone making them loyal to AOC and the liberal America haters, I suppose I could do the same.

But if that's true, why did God create Trump? 🤔

Then again, maybe you don't. Why do you support Trump's effort to block solutions to the problem of fentayl deaths? Especially when Trump himself let fentanyl deaths get totally out of control? Fentanyl deaths almost TRIPLED under Trump. Biden has slowed the rate of drug death overdoses down. There is some evidence that, after the pandemic ended, he has at least stopped any additional increase in drug deaths. DONALD TRUMP IS THE LORD OF DRUG DEATH. IF YOU WANT TEENS TO DIE OF FENTANYL, YOU WANT DONALD TRUMP IN THE WHITE HOUSE While Trump lied and whined about how Mexico would pay for a border wall, what Mexican drug lords gave us instead were these three things: 1) DEATH, 2) DEATH, and 3) DEATH. All thanks to the incompetent whining lying non-leader DONALD DEATH TRUMP Fentanyl was a problem Trump inherited. But instead of solving it, the impotent non-leader turned it into a TRUMP DEATH WAVE Fentayl deaths 2016: 19,413 Fentanyl deaths 2020: 56,516 Fentayl deaths up almost TRIPLE under Donald Death Trump. What did Trump do other than whine and lie and give tax breaks to himself and his rich friends while Americans died? If we want more fentanyl death and more tax cuts to the rich, we want Trump. If you want to do something to actually stop DEATH, @EmmetK, you should get behind this bipartisan immigration deal to actually do something about it. Not just whine and lie and misstate facts. Of course, Trump wants to kill any bipartisan law. Just like he killed anything bipartisan and good during his failed Presidency. Trump says he wants a "perfect" immigration law only. What a sick, cruel, mean, horrible joke. What Trump means is that he will tolerate MORE DEATH to win an election. And you just go along for the ride about the LIES, @EmmetK. You are so sloppy and wrong with facts that I assume you do not even know that you are comparing fentanyl deaths under Trump to all drug overdose deaths under Biden. The CDC article YOU hyperlinked said all drug overdose deaths went up 14 % from 2020 to 2021. Not double, as you incorrectly claimed. You can not be trusted with facts. Just like Trump. If you want to compare ALL drug overdose deaths, not just fentanyl, this is the correct data: with the fentanyl You use that number, 106,699, for Biden 2021. So you should use 91,799 for the last year of Trump. That a 16 % increase. Not double. You can not be trusted with facts. There is no doubt that fentanyl deaths have exploded as a percentage of ALL drug overdose deaths. That USAFacts death chart above says fentanyl deaths went from 19,413 in 2016 to 56,516 in 2020 to 70,601 in 2021 to 73,654 in 2022. So if you want ACCURATE percentages, fentayl deaths about TRIPLED under four years of DONALD DEATH TRUMP. They went up about 30 % under two years of Biden, with most of that increase in the first year. Which is worse, fentanyl deaths TRIPLING under four years of Trump, or going up 30 % under two years of Biden? Why would we want Trump's lies and failed leadership back? It's hard to get recent data on either fentanyl overdose deaths, or all drug overdose deaths. But the available data suggests that Biden has at least stopped the problem from getting worse. This 2022 report claims that under Biden drug overdose deaths actually went down modestly from the 2020/2021 pandemic spike: The most recent data I could find is from CNN. They reported that as of March 2023 12 month overall drug overdose deaths were at 111,355. It is very concerning. Biden is trying to do something bipartisan about it. The record is very clear. DONALD DEATH TRUMP FAILED, MISERABLY. If we use fentanyl deaths, they almost TRIPLED under Trump. Overall drug overdose deaths, including fentanyl, almost doubled. If I use 106,699 for 2021 - your number, @EmmetK - and the CNN number 111,355 for 2023, that's a 4.3 % increase. By any standard using actual facts and actual math, Trump let the problem grow wildly out of control. Biden has at least slowed down the increase in deaths. Or perhaps stopped any increase. He needs a bipartisan law to actually turn the numbers around and start a decline. Why is Trump and MAGA against bipartisan efforts to stop drug deaths? Trump is the Lord of drug overdose deaths in America. That is a fact.

That's one theory. It's also possible we just learned how Trump gets Melania to tolerate him.

There are a lot of smart people, both R and D, who say this is why Trump will lose in 2024. That, when push comes to shove, he is just so much of a big awful smelly piece of shit that people won't be able to vote for him. As much as they don't really want four more years of Biden. You can probably put Biden himself at the top of the list of people who feel this way. He has never said running against Trump gives him his best shot at winning. But everything he has said and done makes it seem like he wants to run against Trump. Who wouldn't want to run against a big awful smelly piece of shit? I know what the polls say. Mostly, they say the election is close, with Trump in the lead. But every election is about a decision to throw the bums out. The only time that really worked in Trump's favor is 2016. When people had no idea what he would actually be like as POTUS. Once that became clear - that he CAN NEVER BE TRUSTED - "throw the bums out" worked against Trump in 2018. And 2020. And 2022. People didn't really want what Trump and his devoted cult were offering. So it's not hard to imagine 2024 could end up the same way. I don't think it's something the polls can predict. Because people don't quite know whether Biden, who is unpopular, is worse than a big awful smelly piece of shit. The ace in the hole the MAGA crowd think they have is that the Biden economy sucks. I'm reading more and more articles about how Trump is the new Reagan. And Biden is the OLD and SENILE Jimmy Carter.. And all Trump has to keep asking is, "Are you better off than four years ago?" This confirms to me that MAGA types truly are fact free. And that they can't be trusted with truth, and ideas. The fact is, people are better off than four years ago. When Reagan asked that question, in 1980, the misery index peaked at 22. By the time Trump beat Hillary in 2016, it was a measly 6.4. By the time Biden beat Trump in 2020, it was a little higher, 7.9. Now it is 7. So the misery index is about one third of what it was when Reagan used it to club Carter to death. And it is lower than it was when Trump lost. And yet, somehow, a big awful smelly piece of shit who brought America more misery and CAN NEVER BE TRUSTED is still better? Somehow? Oh. And home prices and stock markets and average middle class net worth are at an all time high. Meanwhile, what Trump excels at is fleecing fools and giving tax breaks to rich people, including himself. So we're going to throw the bums out to get back a big awful smelly piece of shit we fired in 2020? Who we know for sure CAN NEVER BE TRUSTED? It doesn't make sense. MAGA folk are believing their own fact free bullshit, I suspect.

Okay. They're fucked. It was a heavy lift. But I did my job for 2024. Can we maybe just move on to 2028 and skip the ugliness of 2024? Maybe Kamala v. Nikki? That would be fun. By the way, thanks for being the long-winded one here. It takes pressure of me to have to write something verbose yet brilliant.. 😉

You completely missed the point. But then, that's predictable. Trump did three things with the border. First, he failed. Second, he failed. Third, he failed. Why bring back failure? Your argument is that a doubling of drug deaths is failure I agree. Trump failed. No matter how many lies Trump tells about winning elections or securing the border, he failed. There are broken cop bones and over 100,000 dead Americans from drug overdoses to prove it. All thanks to Trump. Trump is a loser. Trump failed. We need a bipartisan immigration deal. Republicans want it. Democrats want it. Centrists like Jon Tester are preparing for a big fight to win it. That is the best hope of stopping the fentanyl and stopping the drug deaths. And what does liar loser Trump want? He wants a "perfect" law, or no law at all. Just like his perfect Wall and perfect infrastructure bill and perfect ............................. NOTHING. The man failed at leading, and failed at getting laws passed. He opens his mouth and spreads hate and lies. But he can't get laws passed to deal with the border. Bringing this failed loser back simply means fentanyl deaths will double again. Just like they did when he was POTUS for four years AND GOT NOTHING DONE to stop the drug overdoses and fentanyl from flooding in. If Trump wants less fentanyl and less drug overdoses, he ought to get behind a bipartisan bill to deal with the problem now. Instead, all he wants to do is spread his own hate and lies and failure.

Exactly. And you are right that Biden doubled it again. We need bipartisan compromise on immigration to solve a problem that grew under both Presidents. The MAGA crowd ignores reality and believes in magical solutions. And breaking the bones of cops. Trump wants to block bipartisan immigration reform. Just like hard right Republicans have for a decade. Trump is saying Republicans should oppose any bipartisan compromise unless it is "perfect." Just like Mexico was going to pay for a perfect border wall. And instead fentanyl poured in and overdose deaths DOUBLED under DONALD TRUMP. Trump would rather have more drug overdoses than compromise and solutions. He is a failed leader who was fired.

Why did DONALD TRUMP let this happen? Answer your own question. Why did DONALD TRUMP let fentanyl deaths spike while HE was President? Why did DONALD TRUMP, failed POTUS who hates democracy and compromise, let this happen? Fentanyl deaths spiked in the US to the tens of thousands while this evil, lying, spiteful. democracy-hating brute was leader. Why did DONALD TRUMP let tens of thousands of Americans die of fentanyl death every year on his watch? Why does DONALD TRUMP hate democracy and bipartisan compromise? Factual notes to people who have problems with facts: In 2017, when about 28,466 Americans died of fentanyl, a huge spike from Obama days, Trump was POTUS In 2018, when about 31,335 Americans died of fentanyl, Trump was POTUS In 2019, when about 36,359 Americans died of fentanyl, Trump was POTUS In 2020, when about 56,515 Americans died of fentanyl, Trump was POTUS Trump, all talk and no action, let the problem get completely out of control. He sucks at leading, he sucks at compromise, and he hates democracy. Trump is a loser. He did nothing but spew hate and lies while tens of thousands of Americans died thanks to his horrific mal-leadership. Why would we want this hateful loser back? Trump is against the one thing that can improve the situation: bipartisan compromise from the top down.

No. Donald Trump did. Tens of thousands of Americans died of drug overdose thanks to Trump's ineptitude and failure. God made Trump. And then, right after God made Trump, God made fentanyl. And Trump let the fentanyl pour in from Mexico and kill the Americans God made. That's an old chart. But I posted that to highlight that fentanyl deaths went through the roof under Trump. If having Trump as President was a solution, the problem would have been solved. Instead, both fentanyl smuggling and American fentanyl death skyrocketed when Trump was POTUS. Nobody knew stopping fentanyl was so difficult, it turns out. Certainly not Trump. Trump knows one thing: how to make democracy fail. He is good at taking democracy and turning it into the black hole he lives and thrives in. Everything Trump touches dies. The obvious version of how Trump makes democracy fail is this. When you lose an election, what you do is break the bones of cops. That is what you do under Trumpocracy. You send your mob to the Capitol, try to stop an election, and beat the living shit out of as many cops as you can. That is how Trump obviously makes democracy fail. On border control, Trump stands within a longer right wing tradition of how you make democracy fail. Obama kept a tight border. And all the numbers show it. Obama had an immigration compromise that passed the Senate 2-1 in 2014 and almost became law. It was killed by right wingers in the House. So, since then, there has been no compromise. Trump for sure sucked at compromise. Trump for sure was helpless to do anything as fentanyl flooded in and killed Americans when he was POTUS. All Trump excels at is killing democracy. Biden is now close to a compromise, again. And the danger, once again, is right wingers in the House. And now we can add Trump who, by all accounts, wants to block compromise on immigration that most Americans want. Trump would rather have more fentanyl and more dead Americans than have bipartisan compromise that would make Biden look effective. Just like Biden was able to get the infrastructure law and gun control and health care and other popular compromises that Trump sucked at. Trump urges GOP against compromise on border That is because all Trump is good at is making democracy fail. And not knowing who Nancy Pelosi is, of course.

Oh, the good old days. Now we are down to, "Nobody knew remembering who Nancy Pelosi and Barack Obama are could be so difficult." 🤪 5 times Trump showed signs of possible mental decline & isn't fit for the White House

And therein lies the problem. Almost a third of Americans still believe the 2020 election result was fraudulent So the idea is that we can make up any shit we want and tell lies until they sound like truth and be mean and cruel. And if you try to ban us or shut us up you are Nazi oppressors. And we will whine our little billionaire ass off like a cry baby because YOU are the bad Nazi. Of course, only Trump is a billionaire. Everyone else is a sucker who sends him money and believes his lies. Even though they get nothing but whining out of the deal. And he tries to take their health care away. We have been here and done this before. Anyone watch Fellow Travelers? Roy Cohn and McCarthyism come to mind. Let the lies, the pus, the cruelty, the meanness expose itself. Whether it is the extreme - like Hitler - or just banal lies and cruelty - like Cohn, it eventually becomes clear that these people just fester in their own lies and pus.

Neither can I. Just to be clear, on the issue of immigration and borders, I quoted a Republican House member saying he would be a "traitor" to not to accept a political compromise around uncontrolled borders. Neither he, nor I, argued that opposition to uncontrolled borders implies treason. His point was that opposition to political compromise on the issue implies treason. I agree. (Kevin) McCarthyite Rep. Patrick McHenry made the same point without talking about treason. Of course, who woulda thunk that being a member of the US House had anything to do with principles, sound policy, and compromise?

Agreed. But perhaps the point here is that there are ways to make their voices heard BY breaking the law. I have no idea how far they are willing to go. There is certainly a growing chasm between young Democrats who see Netanyahu as Mr. Apartheid, and Israeli Jews who support Plan Netanyahu. Even as they blame the bloodbath that is a predictable result of Plan Netanyahu on Netanyahu. Even though they want Bibi to go bye bye, polls show most Jewish Israelis agree with Netanyahu's rejection of a two state solution. And most Palestinians have lost faith in a two state solution, or pretty much any road to peace. So time will not heal this wound. It will deepen it. There have been a few loud resignations of diplomat/State Dept. types who said it's worth losing my job over this. I think the road is more likely to get bumpier than smoother. Like it or not, which I don't, it seems to me that a majority of Israeli Jews are committed to an apartheid state as the de facto solution. Which, unfortunately, involves killing lots of Palestinian women and children. Like ir or not, which I don't, Palestinians are becoming more and more committed to the idea that the point of a permanent war with Israeli Jews is to kill Israeli Jews. It's ugly. Predictable, but ugly. The other question is whether any of these walk outs or protests are even effective. In general, without singling out any particular event or tactic, I think the answer is clearly YES. 49 % of Democrats now say the US does not support Palestinians enough. Only 14 % say we support Palestinians too much. Among Independents, 34 % say we support Palestinians too little, and 28 % say we support them too much. All these numbers are a big shift from when the bloodbath started. Although it probably has less to do with US political protests. And more to do with what people read about the the death toll of Palestinian women and children.

Note: Dan Crenshaw is a Republican U.S. House member. From a Politico article on negotiations over an immigration compromise and Ukraine/Israel aid. Again, I am not making this argument. Compromise-oriented Republicans are making this argument. I noted in a different thread that RFK, Jr. has some interesting arguments on this issue. Politically, he is playing for the middle. He takes most of Trump's "secure the border" goals, but defines illegal immigrants in a humanitarian way. I find that helpful. My point is that if Crenshaw is right and hundreds of thousands more people cross the border illegally, at least we can say they are people fleeing for their lives in many cases. So this level of illegal immigration is clearly unpopular and a massive pain in the ass. But I don't feel like it's evil to give people a chance to live and prosper. Even if they are a huge pain in the ass. This all fits with Reagan's vision of a shining city on the hill, and his immigration compromise law. That comes way closer to my definition of evil. And traitorous. And definitely murderous. What some Republicans are saying is we would rather give Biden a political loss, even if it makes it easier for Murderous Vlad to kill women and children in Ukraine. I think it is fair to call that murderous. In outcome, if not intent. And possibly traitorous as well. My World War II veteran Reagan Republican Dad, who lived long enough to be disgusted by President Trump, would be shocked that his Republican Party would throw democracy and Ukraine under the bus. Why? So that Trump can win and cut a deal with Murderous Vlad.

That is correct. It is all that really matters TO YOU. You are a zealot. You drank the Koolaid. So of course you'll believe whatever you want. And whatever Trump says. The hostages had every right to break the bones and crush the skulls of the cops who were trying to stop Trump's patriots from saving democracy. Whatever! Name one election where the polls on third parties turned out to be accurate? I won't repost what I did in a different thread. But there's lots of proof that many voters, Gen Z and Blacks in particular, are saying they will vote for RFK Jr. or West now. It's a bit less than a year from when they vote. Right now they are pissed at Biden (Palestinian baby killer!) or disappointed (high prices!). Trump took the lead right around when Israel starting bombing the shit out of Palestinian women and children. But all evidence from all past elections suggests something like half of the RFK/West crowd will switch back to Biden once they actually have to choose between Biden and Trump. But "all evidence from all past elections" is simply not a concept that interests you. If I want to discuss why cops should be beaten savagely to protect democracy and glorify Trump, that would interest you. Doug Schoen, whose most recent claim to fame is that he advised Mike Bloomberg on how to blow a part of his fortune making an ass out of himself in 2020, recently suggested that maybe 2024 will be like 1980. Reagan, deemed unelectable, wiped Carter's ass over inflation. Maybe Trump is the new Reagan? Sure. Just like Bloomberg was the new Reagan in 2020. Whatever! Fun concept. Especially for fact free thinkers. But Trump is actually the new Carter. He did lose in 2020, just like Carter lost in 1980. That's just a fact. But don't tell that to the hostages who beat the living shit out of cops because Trump won. Whatever! If we are dealing in facts, not lies and cruelty, we know this. In Nov. 1980, when Reagan kicked Carter's ass, his core argument was that the misery index (inflation plus unemployment) was 20.1. In Nov. 2016, when Trump won, the misery index was 6.4. In Nov. 2020, when Trump was fired, the misery index was 7.9 - higher than when Trump took office. Today, the misery index is 7.0, lower than when Biden took office. So there was more misery when Trump ended than when he started. Which helps explain why he lost. And why cops had to be savagely attacked based on Trump's democracy-killing lies. Which created more misery. At least for the cops. And for democracy. There is less misery today than when Biden took office. That's a fact, if we want to use Reagan's argument correctly. So, again, Trump is actually the old Carter. He lost in 2020 because under him misery went up. Trump is a loser. That is just a fact.

If Trump wins, that is why. So you have a point. But you're of course NOT factually correct. You never are. More than half of voters say they are worse off under Biden: poll According to that poll, 55 % feel worse off and 45 % feel better off. That's not good for Biden. But it's not horrible. Compared to polls a year ago, when inflation was peaking and scary, I think Biden is in a slightly better position. If inflation stays down, interest rates start to go down, and the stock market keeps going up, he'll be better off still in November. What we don't know is whether voters will feel better or worse off under Trump fascism, Trump cruelty, Trump lies, Trump rape, and Trump wanton criminal behavior. Cops might feel better that lots of their bones will be broken by Trump supporters freeing "hostages." And other fun democracy-building activities like that, which make me want to cry. My read of 2018, 2020, and 2022 is that somehow this factors in to voter decisions. And it hurt Trump. A lot. Here's proof. If it was just about feeling better off, Trump would have won in 2020. It is why he won in 2016. There's a mystery of polling in 2020 no one really talks about, or maybe even knows. But it does not bode well for Trump in 2024. In 2016 31 % of people said they were better off than four years ago, 27 % worse off, and 41 % the same. In 2016, when Trump won, the people who felt better off voted 3 to 1 for Clinton. And the people who felt worse off broke roughly 3 to 1 for Trump. Makes sense. And that happens every 4 years, based on CNN exit polls. If people feel better off, they vote overwhelmingly for the incumbent party. In 2016, and almost every year going back to 2000, the people who feel the same as four years ago tend to split their vote about 50/50. In 2016 47 % of the "same as four years ago" voters went for Clinton, 45 % for Trump. In 2020 41 % felt better off than four years ago, and only 20 % felt worse off. Once again, better off went about 3 to 1 for Trump, the incumbent. Worse off went about 3 to 1 for Biden. But compare the percentage that felt better off to 2016. With so many more people feeling better off than 2016, and so many fewer feeling worse off, Trump should have won, right? The inexplicable thing is that in 2020 the 39 % who said they were the same as four years ago DID NOT split 50/50. They broke about 2 to 1 for Biden. That was very different than the pattern going back at least 20 years. That alone explains why Trump lost. People who felt no better or worse off preferred Biden 2 to 1, for some reason. Why? Those are facts. But my theory is that all the other stuff about Trump just felt wrong to people. And that was BEFORE the Jan. 6th cop bone breaking. That was before all the indictments over trying to steal an election and shit all over democracy. Of course, we all got the memo that Donald Trump Hillary Clinton is so far ahead in the polls that of course she MUST win, right? 😯 Remember that? Right now Trump is ahead of Biden 1.6 % in the RCP average. Hillary led Trump by at least that much for most of 2016. Biden was only half a point behind Trump as recently as Jan. 10. And before the "bomb Palestinian kids" stuff Biden had a small lead over Trump in the averages. So who is saying it's inevitable the raping fascist cop bone breaker has to win? Give me a break!

One of the most beautiful parts of how God Made Trump is that the rape is not limited to Trump himself. Granted, Trump is bar none the most sexually enticing human being in the entire universe, for all eternity. But even Jesus himself could make only so many loaves of bread. Even Trump, with his enormous cock and virility, can't feed his entire flock. No. Trump has created a rape culture party. So that all God's creatures can rape each other. Let's say it's Make America Rape Again. Johnson flails as Republicans demand consequences for conservative hijacking This is a sex-oriented website. I used to be a paid whore. So can I just be blunt? Marjorie Taylor Greene is going to rape Mike Simpson while Speaker Johnson, a true friend of the LGBTQ community, watches. And if Johnson doesn't like it, Greene and pals will just shove it right down Speaker Johnson's throat. That is what the rape party is. That is what the rape party does. Not only do they rape women, and democracy. The rape each other. Simpson, an old school fool, does not understand this. He's about to get raped and learn. And since Taylor is a woman, that means Simpson can expect to get a new budget deal shoved up his ass, basically. Or maybe she can get a strap on budget deal. Speaker Johnson himself will flail while Trumpy Republicans rape and rape and rape each other. And maybe break the bones of more cops, just to keep it all interesting. This is why we're all happy God Made Trump. Then again, this is why the House will be Democratic in 2025, and Biden will beat Trump. Most people don't like rape, extreme politics, and chaos.