You are so good for my blood pressure, Robert, and my entire frame of mind! Yes, Biden is a decent person, which should be the first requirement for ANYONE serving in government! He is also COMPETENT. Enough said.
Best Pres of my lifetime! Which began the first summer of the Eisenhower Administration. Decent, able, quick on his feet, knows all the relevant foreign leaders...
The humanity in Biden is what has always appealed to me, more than anything. I remember a scene where he was talking to a young boy who has a debilitating stutter, and explaining to him how he got through it, and encouraged this young boy to believe in himself, to believe that anything is possible for his future. Can anyone even imagine Trump doing that? Trump doesn’t even pay attention to his youngest son, who appears to have been swept into hiding by his mother. That may be the smartest thing Melania has ever done.
I saw that as well, Janet. What an eloquent statement you've made about it! I think I can actually feel endorphins of appreciation course through my brain. Beautiful, inspiring comment!
Navarette’s statements were a shock but very welcoming. It’s about time these journalists take a hard look and a reasonable stance. Fake 45 is our nightmare. Joe is our Marvel Hero.
She has already motivated young people to register to vote. She can get them to turn out as well. Taylor should be invited to a non-political event at the White House—like Olivia Rodrigo was with regard the Covid vaccine—or to a campaign event outside the White House. And since it appears that her bf Travis Kelce is like-minded, invite him, too!
Just a general comment/question I've had for years: The younger generation does everything on their phones. How come they can't press a few keys, register to vote, and then vote their conscience?
They certainly are able to buy Taylor Swift concert tickets this way and a whole bunch of other things.
It's not like the easy voter registration hasn't been thought of before... it's Because the GOP is aware that if they allow easy voter registration such as automatic registration when a person renews their drivers license they would not win elections. So they vote AGAINST any laws that make it easier to vote.
For what it’s worth: During the Vietnam War era, when there was serious agitation to lower the voting age from 21 to 18, former President Truman was asked for his view. Truman responded that he thought the voting age threshold should be raised to 25.
Over coffee in senate chambers, over leadership lunches, do the dictatorial proclamations of their leader ever cause concern among Mitch McConnell, John Barrasso, and other senior members of the GOP? Have they not any fear for our republic?? Do they really think it's all just bluster?? Thank God for Liz Cheney. And I never thought I'd say that.
She's not perfect. But she did serve honorably on the 1/6 Commission. That's about the most important thing our government has done or investigated in a very long time. Don't get me started on Gym Jordan. Those who deny 1/6 was as attempted coup are flat-out dangerous. Unfortunately - that shoe fits Mike Johnson and most of the rest of the senior GOP leadership.
I feel the same DL. There has to be something in this specifically for herself, and this talk about a third-party run doesn’t make any sense if she considers Trump such a danger. Let’s also remember that Liz Cheney, without any reservations, accused Democrats of encouraging infanticide, saying that “post-birth abortions” were happening frequently. She also voted for Trump twice and called one of his speeches “tremendous,” the very speech that Nancy Pelosi ripped up before our eyes.These are things that I can’t forget.
Agree 100%. She is undeserving of the accolades so many Dems heap on her. I heard her interview with Terry Gross on Fresh Air and she did not say, unlike Adam Kinzinger, that she would vote for President Biden. She is, after all, Dick Cheney’s daughter - ‘Nuf said!
I’m with you on this, Paula. She keeps dodging that question and saying that people should vote for someone who will not overturn our democracy. Perhaps she means herself? I didn’t know that Adam Kinzinger had endorsed Biden, but I’m very happy to hear that. Even the Lincoln Project and Rick Wilson have officially endorsed Biden and have been doing a number of vicious anti-Trump ads, as well as ads touting Biden’s accomplishments. These are the Republicans I respect.
I am with you. Liz Cheney voted for trump in 2016 and 2020. She voted with him over 90% of the time. That she did the right thing after having some responsibility for creating the monster does not make her a shining beacon of freedom and democracy.
Dear Robert, what I am asking is not meant to be naive Tom Foolery. If Kash Patel and Donald Trump are positively identifying themselves as dictators-to-be in public statements with no need for interpretation or inference and who will apply retribution to his opposers including shutting down the media outlets that do not support him, is this not akin to screaming "FIRE" in a movie theater? Is it actually legal to claim the Constitution is an old rag that doesn't apply to him? Are we really waiting for him to have the whole of the government on his side so he can kill someone on Fifth Avenue and get away with it? Is our Democracy so confoundingly fair that we have to wait for the disaster to occur before taking action? Are these not illegal direct threats to our order? How distant from our government brain does the bullet have to be before the military take him down? Why do we keep on protecting his right to have a gun when its pointed directly at us?
Those are the questions that the media is finally beginning to ask. In a rational universe, Trump's statements would be self-limiting--they would cause all Americans to reject him.
I don’t know if it even matters to the GOP whether the next president is the former guy as long as it’s a Republican. The Heritage Foundation has published new editions in its Mandate for Leadership series coinciding with each presidential election since 1981.
The plan proposes slashing U.S. Justice Department (DOJ) funding, dismantling the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security, and eliminating the cabinet departments of education and commerce. The Washington Post reported Project 2025 includes immediately invoking the Insurrection Act of 1807 to deploy the military for domestic law enforcement and directing the Justice Department to pursue Trump adversaries.
I haven’t read the entire 920-oage manifesto; I was able to save a .pdf version from this link:
…and another thing: after the fake elector fiasco of the last presidential election, I vote to eliminate the Electoral College and elect our presidents and congresspeople through the Popular Vote. Too much is at stake and too little accountability. ..my 2¢
The National Popular Vote Interstate Compact (NPVIC) is an agreement among a group of U.S. states and the District of Columbia to award all their electoral votes to whichever presidential ticket wins the overall popular vote in the 50 states and the District of Columbia. The compact is designed to ensure that the candidate who receives the most votes nationwide is elected president, and it would come into effect only when it would guarantee that outcome.[2][3] Introduced in 2006, as of August 2023 it has been adopted by sixteen states and the District of Columbia. These jurisdictions have 205 electoral votes, which is 38% of the Electoral College and 76% of the 270 votes needed to give the compact legal force.
What state do you live in? These states have signed on. Your 2c could happen.
The far right number is the states electoral votes
1 Maryland April 10, 2007 Signed by Gov. Martin O'Malley [120] 10
2 New Jersey January 13, 2008 Signed by Gov. Jon Corzine [124] 14
3 Illinois April 7, 2008 Signed by Gov. Rod Blagojevich [116] 19
4 Hawaii May 1, 2008 Legislature overrode veto of Gov. Linda Lingle [125] 4
5 Washington April 28, 2009 Signed by Gov. Christine Gregoire [126] 12
6 Massachusetts August 4, 2010 Signed by Gov. Deval Patrick [127] 11
7 District of Columbia October 12, 2010 Signed by Mayor Adrian Fenty[b] [129] 3
8 Vermont April 22, 2011 Signed by Gov. Peter Shumlin [130] 3
9 California August 8, 2011 Signed by Gov. Jerry Brown [131] 54
10 Rhode Island July 12, 2013 Signed by Gov. Lincoln Chafee [132] 4
11 New York April 15, 2014 Signed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo [133] 28
12 Connecticut May 24, 2018 Signed by Gov. Dannel Malloy [134] 7
13 Colorado March 15, 2019 Signed by Gov. Jared Polis [135] 10
14 Delaware March 28, 2019 Signed by Gov. John Carney [136] 3
15 New Mexico April 3, 2019 Signed by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham [137] 5
16 Oregon June 12, 2019 Signed by Gov. Kate Brown [138] 8
17 Minnesota May 24, 2023 Signed by Gov. Tim Walz [139] 10
The Heritage Foundation has been as much or more of a threat to our democracy for some time, several decades. Trump was only the face of their work and policies to upend our government. They and the Koch Network have devoted money, voice, and extensive plans to shape the cultural and unregulated capitalism landscape that has fed inequality and injustice.
Koch will open the flood gates of money from other Oligarchs. Haley may be the nominee as Trump flames out. Nikki Haley may become the most dangerous person in America - she is a shape shifting lizard. An excellent retail politician who would usher in Project 2025 if elected.
True, and I always consider that with Trump’s physical condition, he could die before we even get to election day 2024. I don’t think Nikki Haley would be a “dictator,” but we could kiss any meaningful legislation goodbye for four years, unless we had meaningful majorities in both the House and Senate.
I don't think she wants to be a dictator either. But she would be in the debt of Koch and company. And if she had a Republican Senate, watch our nation's courts get packed with more and more products of Leonard Leo's fascist Federalist factory.
The Heritage Foundation is supported by white Republican educated elites with money and do not represent the majority of Republicans. They are a force yes but I don’t believe influence the average Republican and their proposals are blue sky at best.
Thank you Stephen - I was going to write exactly this.
Both the Kochs and the Heritage Foundation are vestiges of the old GOP, the one beholden to big business.
Those people are rapidly losing their base as the GOP becomes the party of the non-college educated white working class.
The danger is not so much Trump, though he is a danger, it's that an American equivalent of the Netherlands Geert Wilders comes on the scene, a right wing nationalist who espouses progressive social policies around pocketbook issues like healthcare.
That is why those ogranizations are thrilled with Haley who is very much in the pro-big business camp
Thank you, Susan, for referencing Project.2025. The Heritage Foundation looks like a terrorist organization, potentially fomenting stochastic terrorism.
It is so clear the difference of a President embodying the values that America aspires to and one that both does not and will not with a political party following his cues. Yet they stand in front of American Flags as they spew like Confederates. So clear and thank you Robert.
Does someone out there take issue with his abbreviated Trump description as a malignant narcissist? I suppose those two words don't really capture the banality of Trump in all dimensions - but they're close. I think the prospect of a future Trump presidency strikes fear in the hearts of senior NATO leaders and joy in the hearts (?) of senior Kremlin leaders. International volatility will increase. Ukraine will be cut off. He'll replace Jay Powell with a true believer at the Fed who will promptly artificially lower the Fed's discount rate. Inflation will explode. The army will be posted to our Southern border. It's hard to write a scenario where, with Trump at the wheel, the US doesn't become an unstable, unpredictable ship sailing into the teeth of an international hurricane (or our own making). Thanks McConnell, Heritage Foundation, Federalist Society.
A very apt description from start to finish. Actually, I find there are way too many loose canons out there who strike fear in my heart. For me, the keep me focused on one singular goal GOTV!!
How does John Barrasso, the Republican Senator from Wyoming, the state with the smallest population in the country block gun safety reform? Follow the BLOOD MONEY and abuse of the FILIBUSTER behind Republicans blocking gun safety bills.
Enough is ENOUGH!!! Get rid of that damn filibuster!!! To need 60 votes to pass nearly any legislation is ludicrous and outrageous. The filibuster has been used to sabotage civil rights a number of times. Indeed, the term "filibuster " comes from a word meaning sabotage. The Senate's rules of order are sabotaging we the people. The R's are gaming the system. If anyone doubts that a different Republican would not enact that atrocious (horrifyingly wicked) project 2025, they have not been paying attention.
I hope that's sarcasm - hard to tell. A gun is not 'a tool not a weapon' when used in mass murders (over 600 so far this year in US), just as a car is not 'a tool not a weapon' when driven into a crowd of demonstrators in Charlottesville, and a hammer is not 'a tool not a weapon' when used to attack Nancy Pelosi's husband...
I'm glad Liz Cheney has been doing the right thing since January 6. But I can't forget that she voted for Trump twice and voted for the majority of his policies. In my view, she should be apologetic.
And if she really wants to do the right thing, she should help campaign for President Biden, rather than talk about this third-party potential run. That’s just frivolous nonsense. I made a similar statement above about not trusting her.
It is interesting to me that one doesn't hear many questions to Ms. Cheney on her third party bid. What would she hope to accomplish? Would voting for her take votes from Trump or Biden? Remember, she is Dick Cheney's daughter. "Trust, but verify". I believe it would benefit us all to voice alarm at the prospect of her candidacy.
She's an arch conservative. I don't see how she's going to attract significant votes away from Biden. I can't imagine that her purpose is anything other than to take votes from Trump. But if you have a solid hypothesis as to how she would take votes from Biden, I'd like to hear it.
Dear Robert, Please rest your voice and heal! We can all read the newsletter for a few days and it's painful to hear you struggle through the reading. Take care of yourself and your voice. XOX
Dear Sharon, It's a gift when I read comments that resonate deeply. Where the words expressed are as if my own, only written more succinctly, and eloquently. Thank you. 💖
Thank you for mentioning this, Sharon. I always read the newsletter rather than listening to the audio. I appreciate your pointing out that Robert’s voice indicated he was struggling. I agree, there’s no reason why people can’t just read the newsletter for a few days.
When Trump answers that he’d be a dictator on day one he is in effect saying “I’ll be a dictator if I feel like it.” I contend that malignant narcissists always feel like being a dictator because they always want what they want, they want it now, and they always think they should have it. Other people don’t matter. Only Donald. It’s amazingly childish. But so, so much more dangerous because as President he would have so, so much more power. We Democrats have to turn out the vote and defeat this guy decisively. And in the meantime we must, as Robert says, call him what he is; an aspiring dictator. This is not a joke.
Trump has spent the past decade making wildly outrageous statements that his supporters dismiss as "Oh, that's just how he is. He doesn't really mean it!" while secretly taking delight in the way these comments seem to make much of the left and the left-leaning media apoplectic.
At the same time, the Right Wng Media Machine has done a stellar job of tying the ill-considered rantings of every far-left adjunct professor to the Democratic Party, rarely, if ever, making the disctinction between "people we assume are Democrats" and "actual elected Democrats."
That's the bad news.
The good news is that once he is back in the spotlight, people will remember how tired they are of The Trump Show, realize how much older and crazier he sounds in the reboot, and ulitmately decide it's not worth the entertainment value.
I sure as hell don't find him entertaining. I look forward to his passing, as once he's gone, his acolytes will have no-one who motivates them like he does, and we'll no longer hear about him.
Thank you for the entire newslette,r, including the link to Charlie Sykes' The Case Against Despair, which I read and really liked. ( I feel, by the way, that you work hard to make that case in your newsletter every day and I am grateful.) I recently struggled with a period of despair myself with regard to the climate emergency. I even submitted a gloomy comment to this newsletter during that period, which I now sincerely regret. And my friends were not exactly avoiding me but were definitely not wanting to listen to me on that subject. I am thankfully in a better place now and want to provide a link to an excellent article which was in the New York Times on November 24th. It is called A Different Approach to Climate Action and features marine biologist and climate activist Ayana Elizabeth Johnson. Her message, while recognizing the reality, also gives reasons for hope. Here is the link: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/24/briefing/climate-action.html?unlocked_article_code=1.BE0.j-1d.91JnUzxmqVsP&smid=nytcore-android-share (If the link does not open, I believe you can find it by searching for it by the title.) Her message is definitely in line with making a case against despair.
I agree that Robert Hubble does an excellent job of keeping us moving forward and not despairing . Despair saps our energy and that is precisely what the opposition wants. Let’s not let them have it. Thanks for the link 😊
You are so good for my blood pressure, Robert, and my entire frame of mind! Yes, Biden is a decent person, which should be the first requirement for ANYONE serving in government! He is also COMPETENT. Enough said.
Best Pres of my lifetime! Which began the first summer of the Eisenhower Administration. Decent, able, quick on his feet, knows all the relevant foreign leaders...
The humanity in Biden is what has always appealed to me, more than anything. I remember a scene where he was talking to a young boy who has a debilitating stutter, and explaining to him how he got through it, and encouraged this young boy to believe in himself, to believe that anything is possible for his future. Can anyone even imagine Trump doing that? Trump doesn’t even pay attention to his youngest son, who appears to have been swept into hiding by his mother. That may be the smartest thing Melania has ever done.
I saw that as well, Janet. What an eloquent statement you've made about it! I think I can actually feel endorphins of appreciation course through my brain. Beautiful, inspiring comment!
Thank you. Have a good rest of the week. ✌️
You, too, Janet.
Navarette’s statements were a shock but very welcoming. It’s about time these journalists take a hard look and a reasonable stance. Fake 45 is our nightmare. Joe is our Marvel Hero.
They are reading the tea leaves and their source of revenue.
Explains also why robotic Ron's standing has plummeted.
Taylor Swift is a force to be reckoned with! Certainly she will forgive Biden for seemingly confusing her with both Britney and Beyoncé (see https://www.newsweek.com/joe-biden-taylor-swift-gaffe-britney-spears-1845331)
She has already motivated young people to register to vote. She can get them to turn out as well. Taylor should be invited to a non-political event at the White House—like Olivia Rodrigo was with regard the Covid vaccine—or to a campaign event outside the White House. And since it appears that her bf Travis Kelce is like-minded, invite him, too!
Just a general comment/question I've had for years: The younger generation does everything on their phones. How come they can't press a few keys, register to vote, and then vote their conscience?
They certainly are able to buy Taylor Swift concert tickets this way and a whole bunch of other things.
It's not like the easy voter registration hasn't been thought of before... it's Because the GOP is aware that if they allow easy voter registration such as automatic registration when a person renews their drivers license they would not win elections. So they vote AGAINST any laws that make it easier to vote.
Pennsylvania has automatic registration. Thank you, Josh Shapiro!
The latest GQP idea is to RAISE the voting range. Studies show that the youngsters are over 70% liberal.
AND as Rhonda says - they want to limit voting period.
For what it’s worth: During the Vietnam War era, when there was serious agitation to lower the voting age from 21 to 18, former President Truman was asked for his view. Truman responded that he thought the voting age threshold should be raised to 25.
I remember hearing about that, & the view was that if young men could be marched off to war, they should also have the right to vote.
Our founding fathers didn't think many of us should be voting - only white males with property (& that could read.)
Over coffee in senate chambers, over leadership lunches, do the dictatorial proclamations of their leader ever cause concern among Mitch McConnell, John Barrasso, and other senior members of the GOP? Have they not any fear for our republic?? Do they really think it's all just bluster?? Thank God for Liz Cheney. And I never thought I'd say that.
Appreciate her position and input, but I don't trust her, just can't get past that.
Would like to be proven wrong, really.
She's not perfect. But she did serve honorably on the 1/6 Commission. That's about the most important thing our government has done or investigated in a very long time. Don't get me started on Gym Jordan. Those who deny 1/6 was as attempted coup are flat-out dangerous. Unfortunately - that shoe fits Mike Johnson and most of the rest of the senior GOP leadership.
I'll agree with you there.
I feel the same DL. There has to be something in this specifically for herself, and this talk about a third-party run doesn’t make any sense if she considers Trump such a danger. Let’s also remember that Liz Cheney, without any reservations, accused Democrats of encouraging infanticide, saying that “post-birth abortions” were happening frequently. She also voted for Trump twice and called one of his speeches “tremendous,” the very speech that Nancy Pelosi ripped up before our eyes.These are things that I can’t forget.
Agree 100%. She is undeserving of the accolades so many Dems heap on her. I heard her interview with Terry Gross on Fresh Air and she did not say, unlike Adam Kinzinger, that she would vote for President Biden. She is, after all, Dick Cheney’s daughter - ‘Nuf said!
I’m with you on this, Paula. She keeps dodging that question and saying that people should vote for someone who will not overturn our democracy. Perhaps she means herself? I didn’t know that Adam Kinzinger had endorsed Biden, but I’m very happy to hear that. Even the Lincoln Project and Rick Wilson have officially endorsed Biden and have been doing a number of vicious anti-Trump ads, as well as ads touting Biden’s accomplishments. These are the Republicans I respect.
I am with you. Liz Cheney voted for trump in 2016 and 2020. She voted with him over 90% of the time. That she did the right thing after having some responsibility for creating the monster does not make her a shining beacon of freedom and democracy.
Like the Junkers and Hitler, they still think they can control him and his minions.
Dear Robert, what I am asking is not meant to be naive Tom Foolery. If Kash Patel and Donald Trump are positively identifying themselves as dictators-to-be in public statements with no need for interpretation or inference and who will apply retribution to his opposers including shutting down the media outlets that do not support him, is this not akin to screaming "FIRE" in a movie theater? Is it actually legal to claim the Constitution is an old rag that doesn't apply to him? Are we really waiting for him to have the whole of the government on his side so he can kill someone on Fifth Avenue and get away with it? Is our Democracy so confoundingly fair that we have to wait for the disaster to occur before taking action? Are these not illegal direct threats to our order? How distant from our government brain does the bullet have to be before the military take him down? Why do we keep on protecting his right to have a gun when its pointed directly at us?
Those are the questions that the media is finally beginning to ask. In a rational universe, Trump's statements would be self-limiting--they would cause all Americans to reject him.
Very well said, David. Sadly, they can "say" just about anything they want to as long
as they're not naming names
and making direct physical harm threats to those named.
It's free speech; 1st amendment.
I don’t know if it even matters to the GOP whether the next president is the former guy as long as it’s a Republican. The Heritage Foundation has published new editions in its Mandate for Leadership series coinciding with each presidential election since 1981.
The plan proposes slashing U.S. Justice Department (DOJ) funding, dismantling the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security, and eliminating the cabinet departments of education and commerce. The Washington Post reported Project 2025 includes immediately invoking the Insurrection Act of 1807 to deploy the military for domestic law enforcement and directing the Justice Department to pursue Trump adversaries.
I haven’t read the entire 920-oage manifesto; I was able to save a .pdf version from this link:
https://thf_media.s3.amazonaws.com/project2025/2025_MandateForLeadership_FULL.pdf
…and another thing: after the fake elector fiasco of the last presidential election, I vote to eliminate the Electoral College and elect our presidents and congresspeople through the Popular Vote. Too much is at stake and too little accountability. ..my 2¢
from wiki:
The National Popular Vote Interstate Compact (NPVIC) is an agreement among a group of U.S. states and the District of Columbia to award all their electoral votes to whichever presidential ticket wins the overall popular vote in the 50 states and the District of Columbia. The compact is designed to ensure that the candidate who receives the most votes nationwide is elected president, and it would come into effect only when it would guarantee that outcome.[2][3] Introduced in 2006, as of August 2023 it has been adopted by sixteen states and the District of Columbia. These jurisdictions have 205 electoral votes, which is 38% of the Electoral College and 76% of the 270 votes needed to give the compact legal force.
What state do you live in? These states have signed on. Your 2c could happen.
The far right number is the states electoral votes
1 Maryland April 10, 2007 Signed by Gov. Martin O'Malley [120] 10
2 New Jersey January 13, 2008 Signed by Gov. Jon Corzine [124] 14
3 Illinois April 7, 2008 Signed by Gov. Rod Blagojevich [116] 19
4 Hawaii May 1, 2008 Legislature overrode veto of Gov. Linda Lingle [125] 4
5 Washington April 28, 2009 Signed by Gov. Christine Gregoire [126] 12
6 Massachusetts August 4, 2010 Signed by Gov. Deval Patrick [127] 11
7 District of Columbia October 12, 2010 Signed by Mayor Adrian Fenty[b] [129] 3
8 Vermont April 22, 2011 Signed by Gov. Peter Shumlin [130] 3
9 California August 8, 2011 Signed by Gov. Jerry Brown [131] 54
10 Rhode Island July 12, 2013 Signed by Gov. Lincoln Chafee [132] 4
11 New York April 15, 2014 Signed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo [133] 28
12 Connecticut May 24, 2018 Signed by Gov. Dannel Malloy [134] 7
13 Colorado March 15, 2019 Signed by Gov. Jared Polis [135] 10
14 Delaware March 28, 2019 Signed by Gov. John Carney [136] 3
15 New Mexico April 3, 2019 Signed by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham [137] 5
16 Oregon June 12, 2019 Signed by Gov. Kate Brown [138] 8
17 Minnesota May 24, 2023 Signed by Gov. Tim Walz [139] 10
That was a chunk of research, TY! Amazed Blago signed on.
Thanks for the link. I will spend time reviewing.
The Heritage Foundation has been as much or more of a threat to our democracy for some time, several decades. Trump was only the face of their work and policies to upend our government. They and the Koch Network have devoted money, voice, and extensive plans to shape the cultural and unregulated capitalism landscape that has fed inequality and injustice.
And they have fed the Catholic Church handsomely.
Yes, the church that I abandoned because of their long history of corruption and pedophilia.
I tend to agree, Susan. To note, Charles Koch has given over 1 million to The Heritage Foundation and is now backing Nikki Haley.
https://www.desmog.com/heritage-foundation/
Koch will open the flood gates of money from other Oligarchs. Haley may be the nominee as Trump flames out. Nikki Haley may become the most dangerous person in America - she is a shape shifting lizard. An excellent retail politician who would usher in Project 2025 if elected.
She is frightening. Don’t trust her any more than trump.
True, and I always consider that with Trump’s physical condition, he could die before we even get to election day 2024. I don’t think Nikki Haley would be a “dictator,” but we could kiss any meaningful legislation goodbye for four years, unless we had meaningful majorities in both the House and Senate.
I don't think she wants to be a dictator either. But she would be in the debt of Koch and company. And if she had a Republican Senate, watch our nation's courts get packed with more and more products of Leonard Leo's fascist Federalist factory.
Thanks for the link. That was an eye opener .
The Heritage Foundation is supported by white Republican educated elites with money and do not represent the majority of Republicans. They are a force yes but I don’t believe influence the average Republican and their proposals are blue sky at best.
Thank you Stephen - I was going to write exactly this.
Both the Kochs and the Heritage Foundation are vestiges of the old GOP, the one beholden to big business.
Those people are rapidly losing their base as the GOP becomes the party of the non-college educated white working class.
The danger is not so much Trump, though he is a danger, it's that an American equivalent of the Netherlands Geert Wilders comes on the scene, a right wing nationalist who espouses progressive social policies around pocketbook issues like healthcare.
That is why those ogranizations are thrilled with Haley who is very much in the pro-big business camp
Right on.
Well, they in the name of Leonard Leo played a major role in giving us a conservative SCOTUS. Not good.
Thank you, Susan, for referencing Project.2025. The Heritage Foundation looks like a terrorist organization, potentially fomenting stochastic terrorism.
Now that’s really creepy.
Terri Kanefield did an excellent analysis if you're interested!
It is so clear the difference of a President embodying the values that America aspires to and one that both does not and will not with a political party following his cues. Yet they stand in front of American Flags as they spew like Confederates. So clear and thank you Robert.
I have to say I really do hate it when the MAGA folks stand in front of the flag, especially when clutching a bible. To my mind, it demeans both.
"When Fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying a bible."
Sam, can you remind me who said that?
Provenance unclear but usually attributed to Sinclair Lewis I believe.
I feel similarly.
Does someone out there take issue with his abbreviated Trump description as a malignant narcissist? I suppose those two words don't really capture the banality of Trump in all dimensions - but they're close. I think the prospect of a future Trump presidency strikes fear in the hearts of senior NATO leaders and joy in the hearts (?) of senior Kremlin leaders. International volatility will increase. Ukraine will be cut off. He'll replace Jay Powell with a true believer at the Fed who will promptly artificially lower the Fed's discount rate. Inflation will explode. The army will be posted to our Southern border. It's hard to write a scenario where, with Trump at the wheel, the US doesn't become an unstable, unpredictable ship sailing into the teeth of an international hurricane (or our own making). Thanks McConnell, Heritage Foundation, Federalist Society.
A very apt description from start to finish. Actually, I find there are way too many loose canons out there who strike fear in my heart. For me, the keep me focused on one singular goal GOTV!!
Your scenario is spot on and truly terrifying.
How does John Barrasso, the Republican Senator from Wyoming, the state with the smallest population in the country block gun safety reform? Follow the BLOOD MONEY and abuse of the FILIBUSTER behind Republicans blocking gun safety bills.
https://thedemlabs.org/2023/12/06/senate-republicans-block-assault-weapons-ban-gun-lobby-donations-filibuster/
Enough is ENOUGH!!! Get rid of that damn filibuster!!! To need 60 votes to pass nearly any legislation is ludicrous and outrageous. The filibuster has been used to sabotage civil rights a number of times. Indeed, the term "filibuster " comes from a word meaning sabotage. The Senate's rules of order are sabotaging we the people. The R's are gaming the system. If anyone doubts that a different Republican would not enact that atrocious (horrifyingly wicked) project 2025, they have not been paying attention.
Thanks. Using this tonight.
In Wyoming a gun is a tool not a weapon and no one is going to take away my rights to own one.
I hope that's sarcasm - hard to tell. A gun is not 'a tool not a weapon' when used in mass murders (over 600 so far this year in US), just as a car is not 'a tool not a weapon' when driven into a crowd of demonstrators in Charlottesville, and a hammer is not 'a tool not a weapon' when used to attack Nancy Pelosi's husband...
All true but I was responding how someone from Wyoming views guns right or wrong
I'm glad Liz Cheney has been doing the right thing since January 6. But I can't forget that she voted for Trump twice and voted for the majority of his policies. In my view, she should be apologetic.
And if she really wants to do the right thing, she should help campaign for President Biden, rather than talk about this third-party potential run. That’s just frivolous nonsense. I made a similar statement above about not trusting her.
How's this for our cap:
The Alternative Will Be A Dictator.
I'm thinking Navy Blue cap with Red and White Lettering.
And it's a perfect acronym...AWBAD!!
Brilliant. Soon we can use the acronym.
Can we tweak: Alternative Led By A Dictator ALBAD
It is interesting to me that one doesn't hear many questions to Ms. Cheney on her third party bid. What would she hope to accomplish? Would voting for her take votes from Trump or Biden? Remember, she is Dick Cheney's daughter. "Trust, but verify". I believe it would benefit us all to voice alarm at the prospect of her candidacy.
She's an arch conservative. I don't see how she's going to attract significant votes away from Biden. I can't imagine that her purpose is anything other than to take votes from Trump. But if you have a solid hypothesis as to how she would take votes from Biden, I'd like to hear it.
I am concerned that Liz Chaney would attract most of the Never Trump Republican and some right leaning independent votes that Biden needs.
Read this from Jennifer Rubin
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/12/07/liz-cheney-republicans-trump/
This was in my inbox this morning because I get Washington Post notifications, but I have not read it yet. Thank you for the reminder.
You're welcome Janet
I'm not convinced, but you've definitely given me something to think about. Thank you.
Exactly!
Dear Robert, Please rest your voice and heal! We can all read the newsletter for a few days and it's painful to hear you struggle through the reading. Take care of yourself and your voice. XOX
Dear Sharon, It's a gift when I read comments that resonate deeply. Where the words expressed are as if my own, only written more succinctly, and eloquently. Thank you. 💖
Thank you for mentioning this, Sharon. I always read the newsletter rather than listening to the audio. I appreciate your pointing out that Robert’s voice indicated he was struggling. I agree, there’s no reason why people can’t just read the newsletter for a few days.
Yes!
When Trump answers that he’d be a dictator on day one he is in effect saying “I’ll be a dictator if I feel like it.” I contend that malignant narcissists always feel like being a dictator because they always want what they want, they want it now, and they always think they should have it. Other people don’t matter. Only Donald. It’s amazingly childish. But so, so much more dangerous because as President he would have so, so much more power. We Democrats have to turn out the vote and defeat this guy decisively. And in the meantime we must, as Robert says, call him what he is; an aspiring dictator. This is not a joke.
Trump has spent the past decade making wildly outrageous statements that his supporters dismiss as "Oh, that's just how he is. He doesn't really mean it!" while secretly taking delight in the way these comments seem to make much of the left and the left-leaning media apoplectic.
At the same time, the Right Wng Media Machine has done a stellar job of tying the ill-considered rantings of every far-left adjunct professor to the Democratic Party, rarely, if ever, making the disctinction between "people we assume are Democrats" and "actual elected Democrats."
That's the bad news.
The good news is that once he is back in the spotlight, people will remember how tired they are of The Trump Show, realize how much older and crazier he sounds in the reboot, and ulitmately decide it's not worth the entertainment value.
I agree. I never did find him entertaining, but evidently some folks did. To me he’s just a crude and boring old man.
I sure as hell don't find him entertaining. I look forward to his passing, as once he's gone, his acolytes will have no-one who motivates them like he does, and we'll no longer hear about him.
Same with me!
From your lips...
Thank you for the entire newslette,r, including the link to Charlie Sykes' The Case Against Despair, which I read and really liked. ( I feel, by the way, that you work hard to make that case in your newsletter every day and I am grateful.) I recently struggled with a period of despair myself with regard to the climate emergency. I even submitted a gloomy comment to this newsletter during that period, which I now sincerely regret. And my friends were not exactly avoiding me but were definitely not wanting to listen to me on that subject. I am thankfully in a better place now and want to provide a link to an excellent article which was in the New York Times on November 24th. It is called A Different Approach to Climate Action and features marine biologist and climate activist Ayana Elizabeth Johnson. Her message, while recognizing the reality, also gives reasons for hope. Here is the link: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/24/briefing/climate-action.html?unlocked_article_code=1.BE0.j-1d.91JnUzxmqVsP&smid=nytcore-android-share (If the link does not open, I believe you can find it by searching for it by the title.) Her message is definitely in line with making a case against despair.
I agree that Robert Hubble does an excellent job of keeping us moving forward and not despairing . Despair saps our energy and that is precisely what the opposition wants. Let’s not let them have it. Thanks for the link 😊