I can't bring myself to read this. I subscribe to the "fruit of the poison tree” doctrine. Anything Trump might do or get right is completely negated by the fact that he is a disgusting immoral perverted piece of shit. I will give him no benefit of any doubt, I will give him no credit for anything, I will not acknowledge his value in any way. I wish only that he and his cult members disappear from the face of the Earth. Humanity itself has been damaged by his existence. He deserves nothing but scorn.
Jim, people elected Trump twice. Like you, I abhor almost everything he has done and fear tremendously what he may do. But Thomas’s point is right: we need to recognize the underlying reasons that make Trump appealing. If we don’t, and don’t adjust our positioning and messaging appropriately, there’s less chance that Democrats will be able to compete at the ballot box. And that failing will lead to more Trump acolytes being elected into positions of power.
As my grandmother would say, “If wishes were horses, beggars would ride.” The point being that wishing will not end this plague on American liberalism and democracy.
I'm one of those people who don't believe Trump was elected in 2024. I know that makes me a conspiracy theorist, but the evidence I've seen them from independent analysts is pretty compelling. The failure of Democrats to challenge the validity of the election has been a sickening spectacle.
In the meantime, I think I'll stick to my guns. Nothing Trump has accomplished, if anything, could've been done without a barrage of lying, cheating, corruption and worse. He appeals to the basest instincts of nativist populism. If that's what it takes to win, we are well and truly fucked.
I tried but could not read past page two. To tout transactional processes as a model for diplomacy is to grease your own slippery slope. The motto of the current administration of the US is "Anything Goes."
Sure. ‘Atta boy Donnycon. He’s bombed Iran and Israel has bombed Qatar and is starving the Palestinians in a genocide. Great work. 🥴
Both Netanyahu and trump are war criminals fighting to stay in power to stay out of jail. If you think trump’s actions aren’t done purely out of self-interest for money, I’ve got a bridge in FL to sell you.
I despise Trump and his actions. Yet the American people voted for him twice. From where I stand misogyny and racism played a large part in these victories. However, the North American Free Trade Agreement and free trade policies in general hurt American factories and also screwed small farmers south of the border, which is a key reason we are seeing the influx of immigration.
We can dislike Trump and his policies all we want. However, Trump is a symptom as much as a cause of our current political mess. If we do not recognize why Trump appealed to so many people in the US and establish policies to deal with Trumpism, the march to the right will probably continue even after Trump has set his feet in the fiery shores beyond this life.
I swore an oath to defend and preserve the Constitution of the United States of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic. Most federal employees swear a similar version of the oath. Congress people are supposed to defend it legislatively, federal law enforcement is supposed to do it legally. My oath was military so I’m supposed to defend it militarily. Beyond childish oaths in play I’ve only ever sworn two oaths in my life. The first was when I was 17 and that was when I enlisted in the Navy. I became a “ward of the Navy” until I turned 18, but I still honor my oath at 65. The other one were my marriage vows. I got married 36 years ago and have always been faithful to my wife. Sure we had some hard times that lasted a while but none lately. I know one of the reasons our marriage has lasted is because it was so important to me to uphold my vows and I’m glad I did. I understand exactly why people voted for Trump and I don’t think it’s really anything Trump did, it’s because Democrats have been fuckups for so long. They never should have anointed Hillary Clinton as Obama’s successor and Democratic “leaders” are just weak. Chuck Schumer, Hakeem Jeffries, Adam Schiff are weak tea. Trump is a traitor. He’s been working for Russia for years since it was still the Soviet Union. Trump is a domestic enemy of the Constitution. I will uphold my oath. I don’t have to be in great physical shape to do my job. I was an intelligence collector and analyst and a tactical planner. My mind still works well and that’s really all I need. Trump’s made my job even easier by firing everybody in federal law enforcement who was competent. As I said before I can’t give Trump credit for anything but I do blame the Democrats for being a band of cowardly fuck ups.
I wish I could downvote your comment on Hillary Clinton even though we share respect for the Constitution, the U.S. military branches, and upholding wedding vows. Hillary should have been Obama's predecessor, not successor. She should have become president in 2016 and we would not be going through all this daily hell of Trump and his ilk and all the ramifications that have followed. I will never change my mind on this. None of this would be happening if she had been elected (and she was by the popular vote.) Too many people are still threatened by brave, intelligent, strong-willed women and it has cost us dearly as a nation.
I definitely think we’d have been better off under Hillary Clinton, but in 2016 I thought Joe Biden would have been the strongest Democratic nominee. He’d have probably put paid to Trump. If Trump had lost to Biden in 2016 I think Trump would have shuffled off the political stage for good. Biden was likable although I’m furious that he chose to run for reelection after promising not to after winning in 2020. We needed a full primary to shake out the candidates.
I am furious about Biden’s decision to run for reelection after promising not to. I’m furious with his staffers who hid how much of his intellectual acuity was lost and encouraged him to run. I have nothing against Kamala Harris but there wasn’t time to hold a primary. I think primaries, however flawed, are the best way to find the strongest candidate. I hope the Democrats have a large primary because they have a strong field to draw from. I’m hoping J.D. Pritzker decides to run. He’s been so strong during this second Trump presidency.
I knew Bill and Hillary. She had every bit as much integrity as her husband. Bill made my skin crawl and she was worse. Did you know her? Spend much time around her? I saw her scream at staffers and condescend or just be rude to local women in rural counties who were star struck about her. I have never voted for a Republican but I considered skipping voting or writing someone in in 2016. Thomas is my brother. NAFTA and Walmart killed our hometown in North Carolina. It killed my wife’s hometown in Tennessee where we live now. So, I didn’t like the Clintons personally or politically. I like to think of myself as an average American voter.
Thank you for sharing your personal insight, and I can certainly understand why you would feel that way. No, I do not know Mrs. Clinton personally. I have read her books, and heard her speak for years on programs and news interviews, and I attended a political rally held for her when she came to Salisbury, NC in 2008. I took my baby grandson and she gave him a shoutout from the stage. I still think we would be better off today if she had been in the White House. I despair for our country because of what Trump and MAGA has done to it and I honestly don't know how, or when, or if we will be able to recover from the damage. But we must find a way for enough of us to come together to thwart him, and his tyranny and authoritarianism. I appreciate your perspective though.
I agree with most of your take on the topics and actions. The "I can't,s below are stuck. I feel equal revulsion for Trump's domestic and graft and grifting family economic actions; but we have to meet somewhere in the middle of the domestic events to reclaim the hearts and minds of the "Small towns hollowed out" reality. Right now IRS Gov workers (4000) laid off in Ogden, UT are still telling Mother Jones journalists they still like what Trump is doing!!! So I agree with Bill Nasso (and his grandma) below. Judy Rafson
Did PEPFAR in some partial way negate the inconceivable harm Bush did? I don't think so. He was supposed to be doing nothing but good. It was his job. Bush stole an election then USED 9/11 to try to ram through a laundry list of destructive Republican policies, and he got hundreds of thousands of people needlessly killed and tens of millions displaced in a play date with destiny enabled by wealth and privilege and political meddling.
And he wrecked the world economy. PEPFAR was way more deliberate and unambiguously good than Trump's peace plan, which is probably not his. It rings to me about like the displacement, disempowerment and killing off of indigenous Americans and all that went with that. Here's a nice treaty we'll honor if we feel like it. Andrew Jackson is a hero to Trump for a reason. He was a lawless, belligerent, autocratic asshole who did what he wanted, including ignoring a Supreme Court ruling he didn't agree with. Trump is that and then some ...
Sorry, I can't endorse a genocidal government, and I can't sign on for a president who does. And there is no other word for what's happening in Gaza and the West Bank today.
It irks me to hear that Trump negotiated the recent cease fire. I doubt he did anything and it was his minions. He's too lazy to put any effort other than maybe caling Bibi.
I agree that there are a very few positive outcomes from this nefarious administration. However, those outcomes though seemingly positive for the nation won’t pay the mortgages of the fired federal folk; won’t put food on the table for mothers who worry about feeding their children and won’t change the racist and perverse attitude of the majority of trumps loyalists and sadly a vast number of folk in this country.
Any deal that does not call for Palestinain soverienty is doomed to fail. Nobody involved in this deal wants a Palestinian state, not even Hammas. The main actors are Trump and Netanyahu and their primary interest is keeping themselves out of prison.
I can't bring myself to read this. I subscribe to the "fruit of the poison tree” doctrine. Anything Trump might do or get right is completely negated by the fact that he is a disgusting immoral perverted piece of shit. I will give him no benefit of any doubt, I will give him no credit for anything, I will not acknowledge his value in any way. I wish only that he and his cult members disappear from the face of the Earth. Humanity itself has been damaged by his existence. He deserves nothing but scorn.
I’m with you, Jim. I recognize that mine is not a good attitude but I simply can’t read this. I am glad to know I am not alone.
Jim, people elected Trump twice. Like you, I abhor almost everything he has done and fear tremendously what he may do. But Thomas’s point is right: we need to recognize the underlying reasons that make Trump appealing. If we don’t, and don’t adjust our positioning and messaging appropriately, there’s less chance that Democrats will be able to compete at the ballot box. And that failing will lead to more Trump acolytes being elected into positions of power.
As my grandmother would say, “If wishes were horses, beggars would ride.” The point being that wishing will not end this plague on American liberalism and democracy.
I'm one of those people who don't believe Trump was elected in 2024. I know that makes me a conspiracy theorist, but the evidence I've seen them from independent analysts is pretty compelling. The failure of Democrats to challenge the validity of the election has been a sickening spectacle.
In the meantime, I think I'll stick to my guns. Nothing Trump has accomplished, if anything, could've been done without a barrage of lying, cheating, corruption and worse. He appeals to the basest instincts of nativist populism. If that's what it takes to win, we are well and truly fucked.
AMEN.
I tried but could not read past page two. To tout transactional processes as a model for diplomacy is to grease your own slippery slope. The motto of the current administration of the US is "Anything Goes."
He still doesn’t deserve a Nobel peace prize
Sure. ‘Atta boy Donnycon. He’s bombed Iran and Israel has bombed Qatar and is starving the Palestinians in a genocide. Great work. 🥴
Both Netanyahu and trump are war criminals fighting to stay in power to stay out of jail. If you think trump’s actions aren’t done purely out of self-interest for money, I’ve got a bridge in FL to sell you.
I despise Trump and his actions. Yet the American people voted for him twice. From where I stand misogyny and racism played a large part in these victories. However, the North American Free Trade Agreement and free trade policies in general hurt American factories and also screwed small farmers south of the border, which is a key reason we are seeing the influx of immigration.
We can dislike Trump and his policies all we want. However, Trump is a symptom as much as a cause of our current political mess. If we do not recognize why Trump appealed to so many people in the US and establish policies to deal with Trumpism, the march to the right will probably continue even after Trump has set his feet in the fiery shores beyond this life.
Honestly I think it is statistically highly unlikely that he really won all seven swing states.
I swore an oath to defend and preserve the Constitution of the United States of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic. Most federal employees swear a similar version of the oath. Congress people are supposed to defend it legislatively, federal law enforcement is supposed to do it legally. My oath was military so I’m supposed to defend it militarily. Beyond childish oaths in play I’ve only ever sworn two oaths in my life. The first was when I was 17 and that was when I enlisted in the Navy. I became a “ward of the Navy” until I turned 18, but I still honor my oath at 65. The other one were my marriage vows. I got married 36 years ago and have always been faithful to my wife. Sure we had some hard times that lasted a while but none lately. I know one of the reasons our marriage has lasted is because it was so important to me to uphold my vows and I’m glad I did. I understand exactly why people voted for Trump and I don’t think it’s really anything Trump did, it’s because Democrats have been fuckups for so long. They never should have anointed Hillary Clinton as Obama’s successor and Democratic “leaders” are just weak. Chuck Schumer, Hakeem Jeffries, Adam Schiff are weak tea. Trump is a traitor. He’s been working for Russia for years since it was still the Soviet Union. Trump is a domestic enemy of the Constitution. I will uphold my oath. I don’t have to be in great physical shape to do my job. I was an intelligence collector and analyst and a tactical planner. My mind still works well and that’s really all I need. Trump’s made my job even easier by firing everybody in federal law enforcement who was competent. As I said before I can’t give Trump credit for anything but I do blame the Democrats for being a band of cowardly fuck ups.
I wish I could downvote your comment on Hillary Clinton even though we share respect for the Constitution, the U.S. military branches, and upholding wedding vows. Hillary should have been Obama's predecessor, not successor. She should have become president in 2016 and we would not be going through all this daily hell of Trump and his ilk and all the ramifications that have followed. I will never change my mind on this. None of this would be happening if she had been elected (and she was by the popular vote.) Too many people are still threatened by brave, intelligent, strong-willed women and it has cost us dearly as a nation.
I definitely think we’d have been better off under Hillary Clinton, but in 2016 I thought Joe Biden would have been the strongest Democratic nominee. He’d have probably put paid to Trump. If Trump had lost to Biden in 2016 I think Trump would have shuffled off the political stage for good. Biden was likable although I’m furious that he chose to run for reelection after promising not to after winning in 2020. We needed a full primary to shake out the candidates.
I am furious about Biden’s decision to run for reelection after promising not to. I’m furious with his staffers who hid how much of his intellectual acuity was lost and encouraged him to run. I have nothing against Kamala Harris but there wasn’t time to hold a primary. I think primaries, however flawed, are the best way to find the strongest candidate. I hope the Democrats have a large primary because they have a strong field to draw from. I’m hoping J.D. Pritzker decides to run. He’s been so strong during this second Trump presidency.
I knew Bill and Hillary. She had every bit as much integrity as her husband. Bill made my skin crawl and she was worse. Did you know her? Spend much time around her? I saw her scream at staffers and condescend or just be rude to local women in rural counties who were star struck about her. I have never voted for a Republican but I considered skipping voting or writing someone in in 2016. Thomas is my brother. NAFTA and Walmart killed our hometown in North Carolina. It killed my wife’s hometown in Tennessee where we live now. So, I didn’t like the Clintons personally or politically. I like to think of myself as an average American voter.
Thank you for sharing your personal insight, and I can certainly understand why you would feel that way. No, I do not know Mrs. Clinton personally. I have read her books, and heard her speak for years on programs and news interviews, and I attended a political rally held for her when she came to Salisbury, NC in 2008. I took my baby grandson and she gave him a shoutout from the stage. I still think we would be better off today if she had been in the White House. I despair for our country because of what Trump and MAGA has done to it and I honestly don't know how, or when, or if we will be able to recover from the damage. But we must find a way for enough of us to come together to thwart him, and his tyranny and authoritarianism. I appreciate your perspective though.
Working with Russia yes. Amazingly escaped consequences.
I agree with most of your take on the topics and actions. The "I can't,s below are stuck. I feel equal revulsion for Trump's domestic and graft and grifting family economic actions; but we have to meet somewhere in the middle of the domestic events to reclaim the hearts and minds of the "Small towns hollowed out" reality. Right now IRS Gov workers (4000) laid off in Ogden, UT are still telling Mother Jones journalists they still like what Trump is doing!!! So I agree with Bill Nasso (and his grandma) below. Judy Rafson
Agree, we have to understand what led to Trumpism to win back voters. This essay was helpful for me.
Did PEPFAR in some partial way negate the inconceivable harm Bush did? I don't think so. He was supposed to be doing nothing but good. It was his job. Bush stole an election then USED 9/11 to try to ram through a laundry list of destructive Republican policies, and he got hundreds of thousands of people needlessly killed and tens of millions displaced in a play date with destiny enabled by wealth and privilege and political meddling.
And he wrecked the world economy. PEPFAR was way more deliberate and unambiguously good than Trump's peace plan, which is probably not his. It rings to me about like the displacement, disempowerment and killing off of indigenous Americans and all that went with that. Here's a nice treaty we'll honor if we feel like it. Andrew Jackson is a hero to Trump for a reason. He was a lawless, belligerent, autocratic asshole who did what he wanted, including ignoring a Supreme Court ruling he didn't agree with. Trump is that and then some ...
https://costsofwar.watson.brown.edu/costs
Well done. Most of us are hungry to understand how we lost in 2024 and the explanation here is as good as I have read.
Canceled.
Brave of you to write this. You have made real dialogue more possible.
Sorry, I can't endorse a genocidal government, and I can't sign on for a president who does. And there is no other word for what's happening in Gaza and the West Bank today.
It irks me to hear that Trump negotiated the recent cease fire. I doubt he did anything and it was his minions. He's too lazy to put any effort other than maybe caling Bibi.
I agree that there are a very few positive outcomes from this nefarious administration. However, those outcomes though seemingly positive for the nation won’t pay the mortgages of the fired federal folk; won’t put food on the table for mothers who worry about feeding their children and won’t change the racist and perverse attitude of the majority of trumps loyalists and sadly a vast number of folk in this country.
I am so sick of the word "deal".
Any deal that does not call for Palestinain soverienty is doomed to fail. Nobody involved in this deal wants a Palestinian state, not even Hammas. The main actors are Trump and Netanyahu and their primary interest is keeping themselves out of prison.
Is there something wrong with you? Is there a diagnosis?