Batya Ungar-Sargon on the Donald’s working-class appeal. Peter Savodnik on what went wrong for Ron DeSantis. Plus, the Emmys, an ode to ‘Succession,’ and more.
You rock NCMaureen. Simple, clear, concise. Even I could understand… and I’m a proud knuckle dragging clueless guy…with a B.S. and M.S. from a state land grant university - not far from the elite bastion of Yale. I am so tired of being lied to and condescended to by Lefties.
MA from Harvard and I’m also a proud knuckle dragger!
The gaslighting and race baiting when Harvard’s diversity token President was exposed as a lying, cheating piece of garbage… I’m ashamed to be associated with the place now—and I found them pompous and small minded 30 years ago yet dedicated to excellence…but no longer.
My brother got an MBA from Harvard and was president of the business school. His fondest memory of his experience there was when the students burned him in effigy in 1968 when he suggested they protest on their own time and go back to class.
Not so fast. He hasn't "won" yet. It's long been projected he'd win his base. How is he going to convince the moderates and independents? And no, he and his supporters can't lecture them into voting Trump anymore than the left can lecture Trump fans into voting left.
It doesn't matter you laid out three of his promises. The voters beyond his base don't trust him or they dislike him. I see nothing in play how you all plan to change that at least enough to get him over 50%? Other than the same kind of contempt and finger wagging that the left has been doing to anyone who don't fall in line with them.
Many independents are deeply disenchanted. (I'm one.) I don't think it'll take a lecture to get them to vote Trump. Listen, I can't stand the man on a personal level, and have repeatedly sworn that I'm not voting for him in 2024. But he was a far better president than Biden has been, and you have to lie to yourself to miss that. For me, watching the way Democrats have utterly upended the system, corrupted everything, lied, and destroyed the rule of law in order to stop him and protect their power has put me farther into his camp than I would have thought possible. Oh, and I have a J.D.
Catherine. Me too. I told my liberal 29-year-old daughter a few months back. I have no intention for voting for Trump this time. I will certainly hold that promise in the primaries, however, if it comes down to Trump versus just about any Democrat. I would sadly and reluctantly have to Vote again for Trump
my mom flew a Trump flag during 2016 and 2020....it's gone now. After January 6 she will not support him. If not Haley then for both of us it's RFK Jr.
You and I are in the exact same boat. That's why we're already here. Oh and I have a JD too. The problem is winning over the middle and independents who are not here. They're not as deeply disenchanted and they still can't stand Trump. They can tolerate Biden enough to hold the nose to pull the lever for him once again.
On lecturing, I'm saying lecturing doesn't work. But it's what I'm seeing Trump voters doing, instead of conceding they need to make a case to appeal to the middle who have reservations about Trump.
And they need to win over a large enough middle for a convincing victory to overcome Dems ballot harvesting and murky 1-2% final call, or else the Dems will find a way to flip te win to Biden. I'm not seeing Trump fans even wanting to win anyone over. They're just enraged and they just want to make a point making Trump the nominee.
they don't care about winning, as proven by the lack of success by their chosen Senate and Governor candidates in what should have been a GOP romp in 2022. The fact that over 60% of the voters last night do not believe Biden won legitimately in 2020 shows how detached from reality the MAGA base is.
The bottom line is Biden does not win without mail in ballots, ballot harvesting, & shutting down polls in swing states.
The middle has now seen what TDS and Biden have done to America, and may hold their noses and vote for Trump again.
Also, there's a new generation that looks at the world with paychecks that don't keep up, two new major wars started and the threat of a third, and can only dream about living the American Dream with mortgage rates up doubled.
Neither side cares about the middle. Both sides just want to lecture the middle against voting the other side. Comes November the middle will decide whether to stay home or vote whoever they find less disgusting. (Not saying disgusting to offend any Trump or Biden lovers here. I'm not actually attributing the word to them here, just describing how the middle will feel).
"Both sides just want to lecture the middle against voting the other side. " This is why this race is disheartening, because there is no inspiration or plan just a huge mud sling against the other demon.
Honestly I don’t think the Right understands that some of us moderate liberals are willing to vote for a Hailey, Christie or even DeSantis but not Trump. We see a man who actually speaks as if he wants to upend democracy and it’s hard to convince us that isn’t true. If the GOP put up any of the other candidates (excluding Rameswamy) then they would probably win.
Is this where the registered Independents with law degrees hang out? Cool. My degree came from the most prestigious Leporidae university law school in my homeland, which is now officially known as The Craziest Country on Earth (see Rupa’s piece). Score one for Thomas Wolfe: you can never go home again.
His boorishness, the way he shoots off his mouth before thinking or informing himself (there was one particular case where he made a premature comment about a situation I knew something about that was just wrong, stupid and damaging), his over-the-top rhetoric, things like that. But I recognize that these characteristics are also strengths in some ways and are part of his appeal to many voters. Just not me.
It took me 50 years to learn this about politicians. Don’t believe a word they say. Judge them instead on their actions, how they actually vote. In the case of the Uniparty (which is majority of our Congress) it’s also ‘which bills will they even bring forward for a vote’
My concern is that it won't be Biden on the ballot. I think that each of 3 leading Republicans could beat Biden (however Trump would maximize the opposing vote and could lose). I think DeSantis would maximize the Republican vote and Haley would be most appealing to the moderate Democrats.
I think the influx of illegals and the democrat mayors kowtowing to them and robbing from their black among other constituents to do so has been a real wake up call. Whether that translates to voting for an R or trump remains to be seen. But you can only push people so far.
I think there are a lot more voters angry enough at the left to vote for Trump, certainly enough to move the tiny margin of voters that won Biden the election.
Yeah and they can just as easily drift back on a dime. November is a long way off and all it takes is another George Floyd like incident out of the blue to shift the meager black votes back to the left. Because the blacks shifting voters don't love Trump. They're just disillusioned. And I think the supposed Jews drifting right is over projected here at TFP. Talk to more Jews in real life and you'll find many who are just a bit too intelligent dissecting Netanyahu politics and painstakingly making distinctions between people criticizing his West Bank policies and "true antisemitism" to see what's happening in front of their own eyes. At best they'll stay home and not vote in the general. Trump's crassness and circus show does not appeal to them.
I'm not saying these voters can't be won over. But I'm not seeing any of you actually making a case to appeal to them other than doing the same thing liberals are doing to them. Just a combination of fear mongering and righteous finger wagging. If it doesn't work on you, why do you think it'll work on them? (Not you personally, I mean a general "you").
I don’t know. All those marches in NYC and DC with the pali and ISIS and Al quaeda flags flying and virulent anti Semitism and Jew hatred on display might just wake a lot of those people up. Nothing concentrates the mind like people actually saying they want you dead.
I have a lot of Jewish friends in NYC and I haven't seen them say peeps. The thing is, they're all busy working and living their lives, and unless they're in physically the areas where the protests are taking place, it's not that hard to feel removed from it as much as if you're in the suburbs. And the MSM they're checking are not painting the full picture.
Basically, liberal MSM is doing a lion's share of keeping tons of liberals who are not overly political uninformed. It's why even Jews in NYC or other cities aren't aware of how awful these antisemites are. It's why women aren't aware of how all their civil rights are being destroyed by the trans cult. It's why parents aren't aware of their kids are being taught all sorts of crazy things in schools. The MSM hides crazy shit on the left for as long as they can. And when things get out of the bag, they reframe the narratives making things sound like what traditional liberals support.
I read Substacks I follow like TFP and there's a lot of talks about people waking up. Then I go back into real life and I'm just not seeing it. Even the crimes, homelessness, deaths by drug overdoses, and now illegal immigrants, are kept isolated enough in selected parts of cities that a lot of people living in cities can avoid seeing what's happening.
Sorry but I and a lot of my friends are in NYC and these protests have movred our needle but just not enough to vote for Trump. Voting R down ballot under Trump but not Trump. Put up Niki or Chris or Ron and many of my Jewish friends would vote for them but we see Trump as a cult and a loon who talks BIGLY and that’s it.
Hunter's laptop. Social 'suppression of free speech and the truth. And his personality. joe didn't win, Trump lost it. Last night seemed to indicate he understands that.
As in the winners of the last two presidential elections, Trump and biden, Trump doesn't have to win, biden will lose. The one thing Trump represents, that I as an independent crave, he is loyal to neither party. He represents the hope of the beginning of the end for both parties. In the end, their demise is the only way to save this country. His graciousness last night showed a new side with the ability to change his image to more grown up and less egotistical. Not to say either is true. As to joe's youngsters relying on social media and memes to replace personal appearances or even speeches, his nauseating speeches, as it was said, they can't compete with Trump. They're egotistical losers.
My sense is that you are missing the pulse of independents.
But this really depends on who the democrats nominee is.
If it is Biden, my money says enough independents will vote Trump.
The border is really a mess, the economy is really a mess, and there are now two foreign wars because Biden projects weakness. These are bread and butter issues that need to be solved.
If Biden is not the nominee, but a competent centrist, the democrats will win, by a lot.
I could be. TBH I wouldn't mind if I'm wrong. I would rather eat crow than to see Biden/Harris in the WH for four more years.
But truly when I go offline and talk to people IRL, and I'm not even talking about rabid leftists, people are not as disaffected as how independents and moderate liberals sound online. Old views die hard and many still see the Republican party as the old slightly racist, sexist, homophobic party. And TBF conservatives have never done anything to dispel that. (I'm not suggesting they should one way or the other. That's entirely up to them. Just pointing it out as a fact.) A lot of these non radical left leaning people aren't even aware of what CRT is, and are only now hearing the term "DEI" without really knowing what it is. They think it just mean supporting equality. I'm entirely on the side of anti-woke but I also see that the conservative push against DEI just falls right into the left's narrative that conservatives are hateful. They really think DeSantis in FL is banning books about a nice family with two gay dads or moms. They have no freakin clue.
I’ve had discussions with lifelong friends who are liberals and they aligned with the people you are referring to. Very frustrating. My friends are only just beginning to see the media for what it is. So they have a long way to go.
I agree that conservatives have not done a good job with messaging. Principally because to debunk the left complex narrative, it is difficult and takes time. Time people don’t want to invest their mental acuity in. And the left is smart, they wrap their sinister plots with morality and virtue signaling, a very tough exterior to get through.
On #1 and #3, you're correct, Maureen. But I was really surprised that #2 is incorrect. (https://www.eia.gov/dnav/pet/hist/LeafHandler.ashx?n=PET&s=MCRFPUS2&f=M) We are at or near (government agencies will lie with statistics) all time highs for crude oil production. This makes no sense to me in light of the Biden's administration's open verbal assaults on petroleum, but it appears Democratic policy is opposed to Democratic rhetoric on this subject.
Of course maybe that shouldn't be a surprise, since establishment rhetoric and policy diverge greatly (almost at a Newspeak level) on the other two subjects you brought up as well.
"The border is secure" = we're letting 2M people into the country annually.
"defending our national interests" = killing people where we have no interests
"petroleum is burning the planet" = we're pumping more oil than ever
Yeah... actually there is a common theme here: our establishment lies.
He didn’t do any of that when he was in office last time and got rolled by people like Chris Wray and Jeff Sessions constantly. He has zero chance in the general election, but go on imagining all the stuff he didn’t do last time will magically happen with even worse staff.
was scary, they stopped in front of Sloan Kettering for a while, disturbing cancer patients, screaming that they are guilty of genocide and shouldn't be able to rest.
People are definitely edging closer to running them over when they block roads. The only difference - you actually feel badly when you accidentally run over a squirrel or raccoon.
I don’t know why I need to keep schooling you, Oliver Wiseman. The “free market” is not the purview of trad Repubs. Crony Capitalism is the zone where the country club, chamber of commerce - the control of the economy exerted in an un-free market by Wall Street and Washington Swamp Creatures. That’s who send jobs to China and elsewhere. Truckers, plumbers, etc. , aren’t interested in a Bernie Sanders style socialism. They want government to stop screwing them - with crushing taxes, fees, regulations.
The most dangerous thing in the world is the truth. GOP was never for free markets. As much as the Dems, they supported a national machine which lines their own pockets and an international order which did the same. The base truth is that regardless of party affiliation, once you win an election and are let in to the amusement park run by other people’s money--government--you never want to leave. The political statistic that matters more than any other--more than 90% of elected federal officials leave office with more than double the net worth they had when they first got elected. Think about that. Politics is the most guaranteed path to prosperity going, and nowadays with social media influencing, X, and DEI, you don’t even have to win an election, just be within shouting distance of one, and you can reap the rewards of other people’s money. The system is rigged and people who lost trying to play fair are done playing, and there are lots of those people on both sides of the political aisle.
The Free Market thing has always been odd. Allowing open trade and getting goods from other countries is more Free Market...but only if those other countries are playing fairly. Which they usually are not. They have different laws and rules than we do, which makes their market more attractive for certain things...things America (or most western countries) can't compete in...we have things like labor laws and minimum wages.
As such, I have long felt that we should only do free trade with countries whose laws are more similar to us. The more different, the more we have to put fingers on the scales to make things even.
Reps never cared about that last part. They were interested in helping those big companies make more money. And that was largely it.
Actually, I have loathed Donald Trump ever since he promised with a great flourish the beautiful art deco friezes from Bonwit Teller to the Metropolitan Museum and then sent a wrecker in the night to destroy them. ("They weren't so great anyway," he later told the Met.)
Bonwit Teller made way for Trump Tower. Almost nothing Trump has done since has shown any more integrity.
But yesterday pro-Hamas demonstrators marched through Manhattan and wound up at two hospitals, Memorial Sloan-Kettering and Mount Sinai, swarming them and screaming the usual vicious slogans.
At this point, I would vote for anyone who teargases them and drags them off to jail, to stay there. The Muslim provocateurs we can deport with no hearing. Half of them probably came here by way of Mexico. The bulk of our hundreds of thousands of illegal migrants, no matter how many mothers and children are close-up photographed by The New York Times, are lone males. What can the Democrats be thinking?
We're not allowed to honk a car horn in front of a hospital and yet we tolerate many hundreds of terrorists with bullhorns. Their aim yesterday was to terrorize hospital patients. They did.
We'll be very sorry sooner than we'd like that we are allowing these riots to persist. Out of street chaos will come bombings.
The rest of the country doesn't give a darn about New York City, but what's happening here will put Trump back into the White House. And despite my dislike of the man, an unprincipled lout, I acknowledge the several good things his administration did, and I just might not be unhappy for him to beat Biden and sweep law-and-order Republicans to victory with him. And yeah, that's exactly how fascist regimes get into power.
Watch out, Democrats. Here in the city and across the country.
Here in the city: I can only wish, gerrymandered as we are in favor of democratic-socialists.
Between migrants hanging out and, evidently, selling drugs and shoplifting, to the (mostly black, alas) deranged and drug-addicted vagrants using our public spaces as their toilets, to riots by Arabs, BLM alumnae, college boys, and girls in Arafat scarves, that almost daily put a stop to any semblance of normalcy in our city, I am ready to hurtle myself out of the place where I was born to somewhere where a little police brutality is not amiss.
This has a 1968 feel to me. Lots of rioting, civil unrest. Who was elected that November on a “Law and Order” ticket? Richard Nixon. He got 32 states and 301 electoral votes, in spite of the deep south voting for 3rd candidate Wallace.
I also remember 1968. The tangible reminder of that stupid time is a nondescript modern structure that replaced the Greenwich Village townhouse which in 1970 was destroyed by the Weather Underground's failed bomb-making. Those bombs were to target various sites in New York City. The dynamite went off in the basement. Adjoining townhouses were damaged.
Three Weathermen were killed and two, including Kathy Boudin, escaped.
No one in my then solidly blue-collar neighborhood of Windsor Terrace was particularly upset by those deaths. Making bombs? Shrug.
Would I care if a pro-Hamas demonstrator fell off his lamppost?
1970, Park Station SFPD. Nail bomb went off killed a cop, maimed another. My cop Dad happened to have that night off from that station. Weather Underground suspected but never proven.
Black Panthers also were “offing the pigs” execution style in the streets.
Yup, 1968 is going to rear its ugly head at the Dem Convention for sure, that is if they can get past the hoards of illegal aliens in Chicago to get to the convention center. Maybe the Democrats will put them to work as protesters and activists?
Wallace was to the right of Nixon. Both were "I'm fed up and I'm not going to take it anymore" candidates in the best Paddy Chayefsky tradition. Informal pollster William Holden calls his friends around New York City: "Are they yelling where you are?"
Segregation was a policy of the Democrats, Based on continued attempts to isolate blacks by convincing them they are victims, segregation is still the policy of the Democrats.
This has translated to the unsocialized young as license to take by force what they think they are entitled to. The result is a huge uptick in armed robberies, smash and grabs, carjackings and the like.
Politically he was to the right, running on a sanitized version of "Segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever" that was a winning position in Alabama in 1955. It failed nationally as could have been expected.
It is. We can thank that overgrown booby Bill de Blasio, who squandered Mike Bloomberg's surplus and pandered to a lawless, uneducable base; and then the BLM summer of 2020 sent taxpayers heading for quieter hills and made life hellish for those of us who stayed.
Covid? We could have dealt with it. The riots? A death-knell for civilized life as we knew it.
Unfortunately, elections are becoming more and more irrelevant. In 1968, *actual* people went to polling stations with ID cards and voted. There was a media that at least *tried* to do journalism (aot covering up for preferred candidates), there were no PACs, no billionaire-funded “non-partisan” organizations that ran local elections, no “community organizers” who got government money to “get out the vote” (but only in *certain* areas), no legalized ballot harvesting... etc.
It’s a different electoral world, and “the people” are not in the driver’s seat.
It is even more complex than the simple divide between working class and college-educated class or the difference between the economics of the working class v the college educated. It is that the working class is grossly disrespected by both parties now and out to show once and for all they are not stupid, mindless deplorables lacking the intelligence of their brethren in the college-educated or any other class. F--k class. F--k those who believe they are better in any way than a whole swath of people who they wish to classify and box and control. That’s what this is about.
I know many of my educated friends relate more to the “blue collar” group than the corrupted “white collar” group. Work ethic, admitting when wrong, and basic human qualities come into play.
That's because many of us with advanced and professional degrees have working class roots and our friends and family members are still denigrated as "working class knuckledraggers" by the self-reverential swells who populate the chattering class. We remember working our way through school at crummy jobs and the hard working people we worked beside who would never get a chance to advance. Consequently, we can spot phonies a mile away and we are not fooled by the phoniness that pervades the entire Democrat Party and its drooling acolytes.
This. My dad worked in a steel mill and my mom was a SAHM. They were lifelong Democrats, because of unions. But they voted for Reagan, and they would not recognize what the Ds have become since their deaths at the turn of the 21st century.
My husband and I have been Working Poor from the time we got married until about 6 years ago, when my husband moved into a salaried position as a shipping clerk in his factory. Now we're plain old Working Class.
Going back to college in our 30s put us into a tremendous amount of debt for very little financial benefit--contrary to our expectations when we embarked on that path. One might argue that my husband got his better-paying position due to his degree, but the reality is that ANY degree was all that was important; his actual college major has no bearing on his job.
The rural town we live in, due to historically being a factory town, has also historically been Democrat. I've seen that changing before my very eyes since 2015. Union workers--surprised at themselves--voted for Trump. Old-school Democrats who can't let go seem to be deluding themselves more and more about the direction their party has moved.
I never understood the historical antipathy of the Republican Party for industrial unions (of course everyone can hate government "workers" unions - even Frankie D did!). Union plumbers, electricians, ironworkers etc. are the among the hardest working, smartest and best people I've known. The new Republican Party must become the party of working class Americans. To look out for their needs, their well-being and their best interests. To fight against the crony capitalism, corporatism and globalist garbage that sends our jobs overseas to impoverish Americans and our kids overseas to die in their forever wars.
One doesn't forget that it was New York City's iron workers and those from surrounding areas who, immediately after the Twin Towers fell, unasked, got their tools and went directly to Lower Manhattan to dismantle the wreckage and help find survivors.
Some of the same men had helped build the World Trade Center.
Afterwards, on the train going over the Manhattan Bridge, I and my fellow commuters would, for days, as long as we could see smoke rising from the site, and longer, put down our newspapers, would stop talking, and look out with tears in our eyes, men and women both.
The Republican Party is still made up of too many old elites who shunned the working class for the same reasons the Democrats do now. There is nothing worse than being condescended to by old established monied types to then be condescended to by the new progressive elites born to working class and immigrant families who are now educated by universities programming them to believe they are better than their parents and have forsaken their roots. The parties can no longer define themselves and so we can no longer choose them.
There was a time when we needed unions, but that time is long gone. Unions did not make plumbers, pipe fitters, or teachers work harder. If anything it now has the opposite effect. And adds to why jobs are sent overseas. In a competitive global marketplace, there's little need for them.
Today, unions are the third rail in politics. Best to run on other issues.
Unions have turned into the very thing they were originally fighting. My dad was a pragmatic, not an ideological, union man. So I heard as much about the flaws of unions as the benefits. When the steel mill shut down not long after my dad retired, the first words out of my dad's mouth were, "The union broke them."
❤️ poignant story that I think is similar to many. So many bright and capable and willing people are overlooked everyday. Imagine how much more productive and cohesive the world would be if this bias wasn’t so.
This is soooo true Bruce. If these smug elitists only knew the value of coming from working class roots they would realize that they are the ones lacking insight. Being born into humbleness is a gift. From there life gets measured and compared from the bottom rungs. Building one’s life means lots of decisions involving both sacrifice and rewards and dealing with all sorts of personalities. Having that home grown “humility gage” helps to navigate and dismiss those “phonies” along the way.
The average Joe or Josephine looks at Biden and can tell he is not just old, but struggling with his age yet the Left will tell them with absolute certainty he is as sharp as ever. He or she looks at the border and says it is not secure but the Biden Administration's Mayorkis says it is protected. They look at a man who identifies as a woman shatter records in women sports and say he is a man, but Biden et al say they are wrong. An elite college president can't say unequivocally what antisemitism looks like while a Supreme Court justice cannot define 'woman'. The average person is being told what they sees with their own eyes is not reality, but rather reality is what 'we' tell you it should be. This is why people like Trump.
Yes, yes Vaughn! When will people stop allowing the left to redefine common truths? Everyday we are asked to deny our God given sensibilities. Everything we have known for centuries is now being turned upside down by a group of foolish elitists, drunk on power and “hell bent” on destroying our liberty. I refuse to speak their language and use their terms. I don’t care if I lose “so called friends” or even “so called family members”. I’ve done the tough love thing before (raised teenagers), and I’ll do it again. At least Trump doesn’t tell me how to think, he just tells me what he intends to do to save my Liberty from these reckless evil political thieves.
A lot of rank-and-file Republicans, plus increasing numbers of Independents and Democrats, believe that the two major wars that happened on Biden’s and the Democrats’ watch—Ukraine and Gaza—would not have occurred if Trump were still in office.
Along with what looks like an impending war between China and Taiwan, a war between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon, and a war between Iran and the United States. Then there’s North Korea testing hypersonic weapons, and Japan massively rearming to fend off an increasingly belligerent China along with NK.
Anyone who thinks all this is normal should go study the history of World War One, which is about to repeat itself.
Rightly or not, Trump is widely perceived as a peacemaker. One of his major foreign policy achievements was the Abraham Accords, now moribund since Biden took over. Trump’s casual threats to nuke Beijing, Pyongyang, and Moscow were taken seriously enough by the leaders of those execrable regimes that they meekly fell in line and said “How high?” when Trump told them to jump.
People aren’t stupid. It’s obvious Biden has been a near total failure, the country and the world are at a tipping point, and strong leadership is needed to turn the ship around. That’s what happened in Iowa.
This, exactly, we have Biden to thank. And probably not even Biden. We have to be asking who’s even in control in the White House. I think most people recognize it’s not him- even if they don’t quite grasp the gravity of our situation (as you described). I’m not trying to absolve him of blame at all- just adding that we don’t know even who the actors are. Why’s he so committed to the Obama approach of appeasing Iran.
Trump was such a loose cannon that foreign leaders could never be sure just what he might do if they provoked him -- so they didn't, and we had a more peaceful, less dangerous world than we do now.
Yes, it's what Machiavelli and others referred to as Madman diplomacy (Richard Nixon utilized it extensively). He was seen by foreign leaders as unpredictable and a little crazy (quite a few Americans also viewed him this way) and with his finger on the nuclear button.
Unfortunately, as soon as he left office, everyone went right back to their status quo ante behavior.
💯 and don’t forget our Secretary of Defense came out of hospital today. For a week before that no one knew he was even in the hospital. That tells you more about the Biden administration than his shaky legs do.
Batya Ungar-Sargon gets it and Peter Savodnik does NOT. Americans see their systems and institutions became corrupted by the elites. Donald Trump’s policies tried to correct them once - never mind “mean tweets”
He could have not run for president in the first place. He’d have a higher net worth, he’d be popular, the FBI wouldn’t have raided his home, and he could be enjoying life and playing with his grandchildren. Instead he stepped up and took a hundred bullets for the team.
That's probably because people such as Savodnik aren't very good at concealing the fact that they look down on working Americans with traditional values..
Do you know Bill because of the big freeze in Iowa some of the EV’s batteries didn’t start the cars 😂😂😂priceless, the gas cars (some like Vivak’s) may have slid into a ditch, the wonderful Iowans (salt of the earth people) helped pull them out. That’s America that’s what we are!
It bugs me how the media likes to divide voters by college educated and those not college educated. I think a better description would be those that have been through a formal brainwashing and those that focus on real issues that affect them every day.
So much this! Plus I also have always always hated they call those without college education "uneducated". How f'king insulting!! They're not uneducated. Almost all Americans have a high school education. Not having a higher education degree is not "uneducated". I say this as someone with an advance degree. I so much f'king hate that since they started doing it back around the Bush II era or maybe even earlier.
There was a part of me that wanted Vivek to perform as a dark horse last night. He worked harder than anyone else on the ticket in Iowa, but just couldn't get it done.
So.......it looks like it's time to break out the Kennedy/Gabbard yard sign. My wife and I went to see him at a rally in Raleigh last week and I have to say RFK Jr checks a lot of boxes for me. He's a unifier and smart as a whip. I don't know if he can pull off a win in November, but at this point, he's probably got my vote. My fears about what the nation will look like on November 6th if Trump wins are not pretty.
"Biden got the lion’s share of writers and authors, editors, therapists, business analysts, HR department staff, and bankers." Ungar-Sargon forgot to also include the media, most federal agencies and big tech.
Vivek has a bright future ahead of him. He’s a brilliant thinker with some good ideas, unafraid to wade into a fight, and he can verbally spar with the best of them.
American did greatly under Trump. But the swamp denizens in the media excoriated him daily and we had to watch. Hated that part but loved closed border, low inflation, no wars, cheap energy, etc.
When you take the time actually to read Junior's campaign plank get back to us. It is mostly leftist tripe, with his nonsensical statements on race most particularly appalling. And, of course, you have to read what he stands for because he's so unintelligible that you won't coax an ounce of comprehension by listening to him.
I've listened to hours of him on podcasts. He has spasmodic dysphonia which is a chronic neurological voice disorder and while his voice sounds raspy, its not hard at all to understand him (unless you just don't want to). I've read his policy on racial healing which doesn't bother me at all. He's open about wanting to focus on disparities in black communities but says the same for poor white communities in appalachia. He doesn't check all the boxes for me, but he checks a lot of them. I'll take my chances.
Racial healing? Based on lies and racial set asides. Like these?
"Communities that were specifically targeted for destruction need to be specifically targeted for repair. During Jim Crow, Black banks, businesses, hospitals, schools, and farms were targeted for destruction....We must set federal dollars aside to rebuild Black infrastructure." Jim Crow ended 60 years ago. Sounds like "reparations in sheep's clothing.
And then there's this howler. "Kennedy will reorient police to serve, not occupy, Black communities; to keep neighborhoods safe rather than harassing their residents." He left off hunting down black men among his lies. Most inner city PDs have large numbers of minority officers.
Or this "Federally-backed 3% mortgages will extend home ownership to millions of Black families. " I could go on. He's a leftist and a nut. We need another Kennedy like a hole in the head. Least of all a race baiting clown who sounds drunk.
Normally not, but clearly there’s nothing I can say concerning RFK Jr, and my probable support for him that would change your opinions of him.....so what’s the point.
This is very well stated, and perhaps what I find most off-putting about a second Trump presidency. This country has big problems, many of which are linked to bureaucratic inefficiencies. These are the problems that remained unsolved by the Trump presidency as a direct result of the lack of consistency in his team.
Additionally, I believe one of the reasons the Biden administration has so much power is because they have been efficient and relatively competent at disentangling the mess left behind as a result of the Trump revolving door. I do not know if a second Trump can bring together, and keep, individuals, who understand the political and structural web, that will usher in and, more importantly, provide the foundation for enduring change.
I believe Trump's problems in his first admin were more a function of a bureaucracy that (purposefully) forgot who was in charge. He has learned his lesson and the supposedly "most qualified" are not necessarily the best for the job. This is similar to a "brilliant" doctor, graduated top of his class but lacking bedside manner and has a tendency to dismiss patient input. I'll take the doc who barely made it but one who listens to me and is willing to consult with other docs. If I get both, all the better. Vivek and RFK are not only incredibly smart, but both are also committed, imo, to making a better future for the younger generations. If that means learning to work with Trump, then so be it.
If learning to work with Trump means always agreeing with him, then why be an "expert"?It is also Trump's responibility to work with his advisors and not just the advisors to work with Trump.
RFK Jr's policies and goals do not fit in with the majority of Trump's policies. An advisor should not be a yes person, but their goals have to be heading in the general direction of the president's goals Vivek has strong opinions and expresses them which suggest a clash that will result in his dismissal. RFK Jr & Vivek lack Washington DC political experience.
If you are going to "drain the swamp" then you need experienced advisors that are familiar with the government plumbing and the lay of the political land so that goals can be achieved in the most effective manner. To achieve the best strategies, a good leader gathers those around them that have strength and knowledge in the areas where the leader is weak. Trump's selection of confrontational Omarosa to be a public liaison, the person who explains his vision to the world, is just one example of his inability to select qualified candidates to buttress his presidency.
I never said anything about "agreeing with him" or being a "yes man." RFK, the attorney who managed to drain and clean a few massive swamps with his legal environmental work, doesn't understand the "lay of the political land?" His success shows otherwise. Vivek is smart and has watched and learned from the problems Trump faced in his first term. Even with all Trump's first term drama, his advisors did no worse than the advisors and secretaries in past admins. Some don't want to know how the sausage is made, but just because one doesn't see the sausage being made in "normal" admins doesn't mean the drama of the sausage factory isn't happening. He won't make the same mistakes this time around and I expect his cabinet to do some good things.
If Trump were to win, certainly hope that he can assemble and work with a cabinet, take their advice, and form cohesive domestic and international policies. Miracles can happen?!
I'm afraid he'll have trouble getting high quality people to work with him because of the way Democrats have gone after and destroyed so many people who did that in his last administration -- even to the point of harassing lawyers who dared to represent him. Many who are good enough to have other options won't want to take that risk and I'm not sure I blame them.
What you said is very interesting here, in particular the: "doc who barely made it but one who listens to me and is willing to consult with other docs." Trump brought in and placed people who were unwilling to consult with others, in addition to being bureaucratic newbies.
Independent of whether you agree with their merit, given the number of serious charges and court cases he is involved in Trump needs to be reelected to the presidency. While it looks like, from reporting out of Iowa, he has curated a more experienced political team, should voters expect him do to the same once in office?
I am not optimistic that this will be one of his priorities. From the outside it appears that he has complete disdain for people who have engaged in consultation with others who are more experienced at nudging and reshaping the federal bureaucracy. Real non-transitory leadership is necessary, especially given, if elected, this time around he will have no more than 4 years to enact change. Without it, any change he puts forth will be short-lived as people once again flee the chaos so emblematic of his management style.
The only "bureaucratic newbie" I can recall from his cabinet was Rex Tillerson, an "expert" in the energy field. The rest were bureaucratic recycles. The voters are currently fleeing the chaos of the Progressive Biden/dem agenda. Trump has disdain for the "That's the way we've always done it" way of operating, and this is why there was such a hysterical backlash. The establishment is terrified of change and process improvement. I expect he will pick Elise Stefanik as his VP so she can carry the baton after him.
You know why I don't think RFK has a chance? His speaking voice. So many people vote based around silly reasons. And I think that one will drive away a lot of people who don't vote purely based on what people have done and said.
Listen to the dean phillips podcast on Honestly, according to him the DNC in FL and NC will only allow one candidate on the ballot. The fix is in for Biden.
The DNC and RNC make the rules on how they choose their candidates… North Carolina’s law actually only stipulates that the person is on the news as a candidate. If I remembering correctly, however, they have decided to do it differently. I don’t understand it either but that’s what Dean Phillips said on the podcast.
Gabbard is not running. If you believe the trash the MSM & left are telling you about Jr., then I cannot help you. They are petrified of Jr. They're trying to sell this BS because they know he robs Biden of votes.
Biden will never debate Trump, but Jr. might, and Trump should pass. That's when Trump becomes his own worst enemy.
Hey you're preaching to the choir. I am not the one who believe what they're telling me. I'm not sure how Jr factors into my statement about RFK/Gabbard though.
Can we stop calling certain members of the Democratic Party “elites” and started calling them “elitists.” Elitist has a far more accurate connotation as “snobby” where elite has a positive connotation as in “an elite athlete.” I’d like to get all journalists to start using the term “elitist” for these incredibly self-centered pompous jerks. Editors, can I get some help here?
If your self-esteem is a bit flaccid, joining up with those "elitists" can provide a boost until you learn you'll never get full admission to the tribe.
It goes deeper. I'm renovating my house and to a one, the contractors, plumbers, electricians, tile guys, are worried about losing this country --they don't recognize it. They're patriotic. Two went to college, then decided to work with their hands. Not one is a Democrat, and that includes the roofer from Brazil, who thinks this country is "magic." He came here with nothing and built his own company. The two daughters he's proudly sending to college will likely emerge condemning the U.S. as an oppressor.
The roofer's daughters will know how hard their dad worked for his money, how their mom supported the growth (how many contractors' wives work as receptionist, book keepers, scheduler, etc.), and the life stories of some of the guys on the roofing crew. Their knowledge is different and they will grow differently than the children who always had their roots in the upper and upper middle class.
Many first generation children of legal immigrants, buck the research. They have an actual country to compare/contrast different governments. They know through stories and visits with family how governments impact your life style. It is hard to imagine that the children of legal immigrants from the CCP would ever share the same political viewpoints as James “Fergie” Chambers.
Agreed...sadly not everyone has an easy choice there. Even worse for those that don't really know what it happening to their kids (which are who those in control are likely going after anyway).
Trump won based upon MHO, that people want to give the finger to DC so bad and also the leaders of both parties. People are so feed up, pissed off, sick of big brother government telling them what to do, how to do it, and why they are so bad, that they will happily go for the anti-government person and no one says that better than Trump. The government probably let cheating happen big time last election, they see a senile useless bag of waste as the so called leader, policies that have come close to destroying America and absolute idiots pushing policies that make no sense. Men can have babies, men suck at sports, so say you are a women and be a champion, mutilate kids. You, yes you, are directly responsible for all past sins, lock the country down because of a virus Faucy helped fund but lied about along with the entire government. The list is just endless. No wars while Trump was in. Now the world in a tinder box based on slow Joe and his band of idiots. Geez, wonder why Trump has appeal to people. His time seems like the good old day, but was only three years ago.
CanaDa, where we will help make you a druggie and then help kill you. We provide the full service miserable life service. Trudeau a special place in hell for him. Probably right next to LBJ.
Meanwhile, in Hollywood - Still don't give a Royal Flying F.
Trump is the only candidate whose voters are enthusiastic. His double middle finger message is a response to the havoc wrought by Barrack Obama his bumbling proxy Joe Biden. I can recite many reasons not to vote for Trump. At the moment that he is not them is a good reason to vote for him.
Will somebody (credibly) tell me what's the deal with Vivek? I keep hearing that he's a snake, that he's in the bag for fill-in-the-blank, that he's working some kind of bizarre angle against Trump. Even The Orange Man has denounced him. Yet every time I hear him speak I am more impressed; last night he dropped out and endorsed Trump - an amazing turn of events, since Trump has given him the Kiss of Death.
Is he that canny, that conniving, that smart, or is he what he seems to be? Is he in reality another DJT, who is willing to keep taking it on the chin - even to lose it all - because he loves his Nation? What am I missing?
Yes. He can convincingly argue any side to any problem at any time and does so whenever it is politically convenient.
I can’t find a single position he has held on any topic for 12 straight months without flip flopping. He’s never been in office so you can’t even look at that records for clues. You’re enamored with your own preferences projected onto a chimera of nothingness.
When I first heard him on Darkhorse, I liked him. But as time went on, I got more and more of a snake oil salesman vibe. Yes he says the right things. But for some reason it increasingly comes off as a talking point rather than something he believes. Something he felt would make people like him as opposed to a thing he has embraced in his own mind.
I can't use logic to explain it, which is why I generally don't try to tell people not to like him.
Because whenever he says something that sounds good it’s not hard to find him saying the exact same thing 6 months/weeks/days/hours ago. The only thing he stands for is getting more air time.
In a race with no Trump he’d have been heard more. My gut says when he went with “this is a fight for the soul of America” he unwittingly went too far. Even if he’s correct he had to let people come to such a big conclusion by themselves.
You’re going to be in for a pretty big surprise if you think the divide is college educated “elite” voters and not the fact that Haley blasted those districts in ad campaigns and appearances by a 10-1 margin. It’s a self-affirming strategy that is only used by hacks to try and put a thumb on the scale and sway media opinion in a way to match what their super pacs want conveyed. As evidenced by your article, it worked. I would be fairly disappointed if I were Haley’s super pac, spent more than twice as much as Trump in campaigning and came in third.
Source: Me. A college educated elite who wouldn’t vote for Nikki Haley if you put a gun to my head. Nor would any of my friends. Nor a single conservative I know, incidentally.
We see what has happened and continues to happen to Trump by way of a weaponized DoJ. We will not stand idly by and watch the perversion of our Constitution by those in power. We will not allow the media to continue to be propagandized and used as an arm of the government to control the People. We will not allow the Americans living in our great nation to become second class citizens beholden to a zealous pseudo-religious cult and armies of illegal aliens. And we will not bend the knee to the globalist death cult who prays for our end.
What happened in Iowa was not a warning shot across the bow. It was a direct hit.
Clean up your analysis and your bias when reporting. Stop categorizing people like cattle. Pompously talking down upon the base like they’re sub-human. I’ll take them any day of the week as friends and allies over some self-serving establishment stooge. The only people who look uneducated are people like you.
But the point should be that they really didn’t vote for her. Despite the ad campaigns and counter campaigns, she performed extremely poorly. Trump still won 98 out of 99 districts. Lastly, every single voter for Vivek was a vote only for Trump. +8
Iowans’ #1 issue--the unfettered, no, enabled, invasion of illegals. Trump says when elected he will deport.
Iowans’ #2 issue---the economy. Trump says on day one he will free our energy industry
Iowans’ #3 issue--- endless, unwinnable foreign wars. Trump was and still is all about no foreign wars.
Anyone still wondering why he won?
You rock NCMaureen. Simple, clear, concise. Even I could understand… and I’m a proud knuckle dragging clueless guy…with a B.S. and M.S. from a state land grant university - not far from the elite bastion of Yale. I am so tired of being lied to and condescended to by Lefties.
MA from Harvard and I’m also a proud knuckle dragger!
The gaslighting and race baiting when Harvard’s diversity token President was exposed as a lying, cheating piece of garbage… I’m ashamed to be associated with the place now—and I found them pompous and small minded 30 years ago yet dedicated to excellence…but no longer.
My brother got an MBA from Harvard and was president of the business school. His fondest memory of his experience there was when the students burned him in effigy in 1968 when he suggested they protest on their own time and go back to class.
Not so fast. He hasn't "won" yet. It's long been projected he'd win his base. How is he going to convince the moderates and independents? And no, he and his supporters can't lecture them into voting Trump anymore than the left can lecture Trump fans into voting left.
It doesn't matter you laid out three of his promises. The voters beyond his base don't trust him or they dislike him. I see nothing in play how you all plan to change that at least enough to get him over 50%? Other than the same kind of contempt and finger wagging that the left has been doing to anyone who don't fall in line with them.
Many independents are deeply disenchanted. (I'm one.) I don't think it'll take a lecture to get them to vote Trump. Listen, I can't stand the man on a personal level, and have repeatedly sworn that I'm not voting for him in 2024. But he was a far better president than Biden has been, and you have to lie to yourself to miss that. For me, watching the way Democrats have utterly upended the system, corrupted everything, lied, and destroyed the rule of law in order to stop him and protect their power has put me farther into his camp than I would have thought possible. Oh, and I have a J.D.
Catherine. Me too. I told my liberal 29-year-old daughter a few months back. I have no intention for voting for Trump this time. I will certainly hold that promise in the primaries, however, if it comes down to Trump versus just about any Democrat. I would sadly and reluctantly have to Vote again for Trump
my mom flew a Trump flag during 2016 and 2020....it's gone now. After January 6 she will not support him. If not Haley then for both of us it's RFK Jr.
If you had never once turned on any news during Trump's 4 years in office, how would you feel about his presidency?
the same way.
You and I are in the exact same boat. That's why we're already here. Oh and I have a JD too. The problem is winning over the middle and independents who are not here. They're not as deeply disenchanted and they still can't stand Trump. They can tolerate Biden enough to hold the nose to pull the lever for him once again.
On lecturing, I'm saying lecturing doesn't work. But it's what I'm seeing Trump voters doing, instead of conceding they need to make a case to appeal to the middle who have reservations about Trump.
And they need to win over a large enough middle for a convincing victory to overcome Dems ballot harvesting and murky 1-2% final call, or else the Dems will find a way to flip te win to Biden. I'm not seeing Trump fans even wanting to win anyone over. They're just enraged and they just want to make a point making Trump the nominee.
they don't care about winning, as proven by the lack of success by their chosen Senate and Governor candidates in what should have been a GOP romp in 2022. The fact that over 60% of the voters last night do not believe Biden won legitimately in 2020 shows how detached from reality the MAGA base is.
The bottom line is Biden does not win without mail in ballots, ballot harvesting, & shutting down polls in swing states.
The middle has now seen what TDS and Biden have done to America, and may hold their noses and vote for Trump again.
Also, there's a new generation that looks at the world with paychecks that don't keep up, two new major wars started and the threat of a third, and can only dream about living the American Dream with mortgage rates up doubled.
"Biden does not win without mail in ballots, ballot harvesting, & shutting down polls in swing states."
This line of thinking is no different than "Trump only won because of Russian interference."
Neither side understands the middle.
Neither side cares about the middle. Both sides just want to lecture the middle against voting the other side. Comes November the middle will decide whether to stay home or vote whoever they find less disgusting. (Not saying disgusting to offend any Trump or Biden lovers here. I'm not actually attributing the word to them here, just describing how the middle will feel).
"Both sides just want to lecture the middle against voting the other side. " This is why this race is disheartening, because there is no inspiration or plan just a huge mud sling against the other demon.
Honestly I don’t think the Right understands that some of us moderate liberals are willing to vote for a Hailey, Christie or even DeSantis but not Trump. We see a man who actually speaks as if he wants to upend democracy and it’s hard to convince us that isn’t true. If the GOP put up any of the other candidates (excluding Rameswamy) then they would probably win.
Is this where the registered Independents with law degrees hang out? Cool. My degree came from the most prestigious Leporidae university law school in my homeland, which is now officially known as The Craziest Country on Earth (see Rupa’s piece). Score one for Thomas Wolfe: you can never go home again.
Good points, tough to argue against.
I'm very much afraid that you're right.
Great summary, thanks for sharing.
Good for you for being honest.
It is too rare, in my opinion.
Curious what it is that you can’t stand about him?
His boorishness, the way he shoots off his mouth before thinking or informing himself (there was one particular case where he made a premature comment about a situation I knew something about that was just wrong, stupid and damaging), his over-the-top rhetoric, things like that. But I recognize that these characteristics are also strengths in some ways and are part of his appeal to many voters. Just not me.
Completely understand. Thanks for sharing.
I, too, think he could tone down some of the rhetoric and refine his speeches a bit.
All fair points.
My sense from watching Trump recently is that he is being much more restrained in his demeanor.
We shall see.
It took me 50 years to learn this about politicians. Don’t believe a word they say. Judge them instead on their actions, how they actually vote. In the case of the Uniparty (which is majority of our Congress) it’s also ‘which bills will they even bring forward for a vote’
Yup, I don’t listen to a word any of them say.
I watch their actions.
As a moderate, independent voter, I never voted for Trump, but would gladly vote for him over Biden this time.
My concern is that it won't be Biden on the ballot. I think that each of 3 leading Republicans could beat Biden (however Trump would maximize the opposing vote and could lose). I think DeSantis would maximize the Republican vote and Haley would be most appealing to the moderate Democrats.
Please do!
Yes and that’s why you’re here. I’m not talking about those like you but the ones who don’t even know how bad the left has gotten
I think the influx of illegals and the democrat mayors kowtowing to them and robbing from their black among other constituents to do so has been a real wake up call. Whether that translates to voting for an R or trump remains to be seen. But you can only push people so far.
I think there are a lot more voters angry enough at the left to vote for Trump, certainly enough to move the tiny margin of voters that won Biden the election.
Blacks, Hispanics, maybe even Jews now are drifting right. If Trump gets enough of these votes in key precincts, key states, he wins.
Yeah and they can just as easily drift back on a dime. November is a long way off and all it takes is another George Floyd like incident out of the blue to shift the meager black votes back to the left. Because the blacks shifting voters don't love Trump. They're just disillusioned. And I think the supposed Jews drifting right is over projected here at TFP. Talk to more Jews in real life and you'll find many who are just a bit too intelligent dissecting Netanyahu politics and painstakingly making distinctions between people criticizing his West Bank policies and "true antisemitism" to see what's happening in front of their own eyes. At best they'll stay home and not vote in the general. Trump's crassness and circus show does not appeal to them.
I'm not saying these voters can't be won over. But I'm not seeing any of you actually making a case to appeal to them other than doing the same thing liberals are doing to them. Just a combination of fear mongering and righteous finger wagging. If it doesn't work on you, why do you think it'll work on them? (Not you personally, I mean a general "you").
I don’t know. All those marches in NYC and DC with the pali and ISIS and Al quaeda flags flying and virulent anti Semitism and Jew hatred on display might just wake a lot of those people up. Nothing concentrates the mind like people actually saying they want you dead.
I have a lot of Jewish friends in NYC and I haven't seen them say peeps. The thing is, they're all busy working and living their lives, and unless they're in physically the areas where the protests are taking place, it's not that hard to feel removed from it as much as if you're in the suburbs. And the MSM they're checking are not painting the full picture.
Basically, liberal MSM is doing a lion's share of keeping tons of liberals who are not overly political uninformed. It's why even Jews in NYC or other cities aren't aware of how awful these antisemites are. It's why women aren't aware of how all their civil rights are being destroyed by the trans cult. It's why parents aren't aware of their kids are being taught all sorts of crazy things in schools. The MSM hides crazy shit on the left for as long as they can. And when things get out of the bag, they reframe the narratives making things sound like what traditional liberals support.
I read Substacks I follow like TFP and there's a lot of talks about people waking up. Then I go back into real life and I'm just not seeing it. Even the crimes, homelessness, deaths by drug overdoses, and now illegal immigrants, are kept isolated enough in selected parts of cities that a lot of people living in cities can avoid seeing what's happening.
Sorry but I and a lot of my friends are in NYC and these protests have movred our needle but just not enough to vote for Trump. Voting R down ballot under Trump but not Trump. Put up Niki or Chris or Ron and many of my Jewish friends would vote for them but we see Trump as a cult and a loon who talks BIGLY and that’s it.
Another good summation QX
Allegedly he received more of the black vote in 2020 than he did in 2016 yet somehow lost.
Hunter's laptop. Social 'suppression of free speech and the truth. And his personality. joe didn't win, Trump lost it. Last night seemed to indicate he understands that.
As in the winners of the last two presidential elections, Trump and biden, Trump doesn't have to win, biden will lose. The one thing Trump represents, that I as an independent crave, he is loyal to neither party. He represents the hope of the beginning of the end for both parties. In the end, their demise is the only way to save this country. His graciousness last night showed a new side with the ability to change his image to more grown up and less egotistical. Not to say either is true. As to joe's youngsters relying on social media and memes to replace personal appearances or even speeches, his nauseating speeches, as it was said, they can't compete with Trump. They're egotistical losers.
He could barely get 50% of republicans in red state Iowa, but don’t worry. All the swing states will totally vote differently than last time. 🙄
My sense is that you are missing the pulse of independents.
But this really depends on who the democrats nominee is.
If it is Biden, my money says enough independents will vote Trump.
The border is really a mess, the economy is really a mess, and there are now two foreign wars because Biden projects weakness. These are bread and butter issues that need to be solved.
If Biden is not the nominee, but a competent centrist, the democrats will win, by a lot.
I could be. TBH I wouldn't mind if I'm wrong. I would rather eat crow than to see Biden/Harris in the WH for four more years.
But truly when I go offline and talk to people IRL, and I'm not even talking about rabid leftists, people are not as disaffected as how independents and moderate liberals sound online. Old views die hard and many still see the Republican party as the old slightly racist, sexist, homophobic party. And TBF conservatives have never done anything to dispel that. (I'm not suggesting they should one way or the other. That's entirely up to them. Just pointing it out as a fact.) A lot of these non radical left leaning people aren't even aware of what CRT is, and are only now hearing the term "DEI" without really knowing what it is. They think it just mean supporting equality. I'm entirely on the side of anti-woke but I also see that the conservative push against DEI just falls right into the left's narrative that conservatives are hateful. They really think DeSantis in FL is banning books about a nice family with two gay dads or moms. They have no freakin clue.
I’ve had discussions with lifelong friends who are liberals and they aligned with the people you are referring to. Very frustrating. My friends are only just beginning to see the media for what it is. So they have a long way to go.
I agree that conservatives have not done a good job with messaging. Principally because to debunk the left complex narrative, it is difficult and takes time. Time people don’t want to invest their mental acuity in. And the left is smart, they wrap their sinister plots with morality and virtue signaling, a very tough exterior to get through.
On #1 and #3, you're correct, Maureen. But I was really surprised that #2 is incorrect. (https://www.eia.gov/dnav/pet/hist/LeafHandler.ashx?n=PET&s=MCRFPUS2&f=M) We are at or near (government agencies will lie with statistics) all time highs for crude oil production. This makes no sense to me in light of the Biden's administration's open verbal assaults on petroleum, but it appears Democratic policy is opposed to Democratic rhetoric on this subject.
Of course maybe that shouldn't be a surprise, since establishment rhetoric and policy diverge greatly (almost at a Newspeak level) on the other two subjects you brought up as well.
"The border is secure" = we're letting 2M people into the country annually.
"defending our national interests" = killing people where we have no interests
"petroleum is burning the planet" = we're pumping more oil than ever
Yeah... actually there is a common theme here: our establishment lies.
He didn’t do any of that when he was in office last time and got rolled by people like Chris Wray and Jeff Sessions constantly. He has zero chance in the general election, but go on imagining all the stuff he didn’t do last time will magically happen with even worse staff.
You must have taken a 4 year nap between 2016 & 2020.
Short. Sweet. To the point. Perfect.
You nailed it.
Pretty simple stuff.
"Biden got the lion’s share of writers and authors, editors, therapists, business analysts, HR department staff, and bankers.) "
In other words......the useless class. Small wonder they'd support an equally useless, infantile and corrupt fool.
Hahaha, Especially HR people, where graduates of DEI go to frustrate the people who actually produce.
As an aside, Bruce, how were the demonstrations in the UES yesterday? Are the elite dems of NYC getting nervous yet?
was scary, they stopped in front of Sloan Kettering for a while, disturbing cancer patients, screaming that they are guilty of genocide and shouldn't be able to rest.
Police stood by......
People are definitely edging closer to running them over when they block roads. The only difference - you actually feel badly when you accidentally run over a squirrel or raccoon.
😂😂😂true
Police stood by because they are few in number and anyway, their hands are tied.
In my Walter Mitty daydreams, I am ten thousand righteous souls wielding billy clubs and cleaning up New York unimpeded.
Probably easier to move to New Hampshire.
I didn't see them. Worked all day and never ventured out.
The HR people are living examples of my belief that 20% of the people do 80% of the work and the rest just get in the way and muck things up.
You forgot to include Trump-haters.
Without them, (and ballot harvesting) Biden doesn't stand a chance
I don’t know why I need to keep schooling you, Oliver Wiseman. The “free market” is not the purview of trad Repubs. Crony Capitalism is the zone where the country club, chamber of commerce - the control of the economy exerted in an un-free market by Wall Street and Washington Swamp Creatures. That’s who send jobs to China and elsewhere. Truckers, plumbers, etc. , aren’t interested in a Bernie Sanders style socialism. They want government to stop screwing them - with crushing taxes, fees, regulations.
The most dangerous thing in the world is the truth. GOP was never for free markets. As much as the Dems, they supported a national machine which lines their own pockets and an international order which did the same. The base truth is that regardless of party affiliation, once you win an election and are let in to the amusement park run by other people’s money--government--you never want to leave. The political statistic that matters more than any other--more than 90% of elected federal officials leave office with more than double the net worth they had when they first got elected. Think about that. Politics is the most guaranteed path to prosperity going, and nowadays with social media influencing, X, and DEI, you don’t even have to win an election, just be within shouting distance of one, and you can reap the rewards of other people’s money. The system is rigged and people who lost trying to play fair are done playing, and there are lots of those people on both sides of the political aisle.
Spot on, Badrish, Amusement park run by other people’s money. Can I use that?
Absolutely!
The Democrat Party gets massive economic support from vicious monopolists at Google, Facebook, Apple and Amazon. So much for the "free market."
How much money did Nikki Haley spend in Iowa?
Money may not speak as loudly as some want us to believe.
Benjamins thrown against a tide do nothing ...
The Free Market thing has always been odd. Allowing open trade and getting goods from other countries is more Free Market...but only if those other countries are playing fairly. Which they usually are not. They have different laws and rules than we do, which makes their market more attractive for certain things...things America (or most western countries) can't compete in...we have things like labor laws and minimum wages.
As such, I have long felt that we should only do free trade with countries whose laws are more similar to us. The more different, the more we have to put fingers on the scales to make things even.
Reps never cared about that last part. They were interested in helping those big companies make more money. And that was largely it.
Trump cared about that. Did his best to level the playing field with China.
China saw him as a threat and unleashed Covid 8 months before the 2020 election.
Coincidence? Hmmmmmm
How about Canadian pharmacies? Hard to get the feds to permit tham into the US.
Actually, I have loathed Donald Trump ever since he promised with a great flourish the beautiful art deco friezes from Bonwit Teller to the Metropolitan Museum and then sent a wrecker in the night to destroy them. ("They weren't so great anyway," he later told the Met.)
Bonwit Teller made way for Trump Tower. Almost nothing Trump has done since has shown any more integrity.
But yesterday pro-Hamas demonstrators marched through Manhattan and wound up at two hospitals, Memorial Sloan-Kettering and Mount Sinai, swarming them and screaming the usual vicious slogans.
At this point, I would vote for anyone who teargases them and drags them off to jail, to stay there. The Muslim provocateurs we can deport with no hearing. Half of them probably came here by way of Mexico. The bulk of our hundreds of thousands of illegal migrants, no matter how many mothers and children are close-up photographed by The New York Times, are lone males. What can the Democrats be thinking?
We're not allowed to honk a car horn in front of a hospital and yet we tolerate many hundreds of terrorists with bullhorns. Their aim yesterday was to terrorize hospital patients. They did.
We'll be very sorry sooner than we'd like that we are allowing these riots to persist. Out of street chaos will come bombings.
The rest of the country doesn't give a darn about New York City, but what's happening here will put Trump back into the White House. And despite my dislike of the man, an unprincipled lout, I acknowledge the several good things his administration did, and I just might not be unhappy for him to beat Biden and sweep law-and-order Republicans to victory with him. And yeah, that's exactly how fascist regimes get into power.
Watch out, Democrats. Here in the city and across the country.
Here in the city: I can only wish, gerrymandered as we are in favor of democratic-socialists.
Between migrants hanging out and, evidently, selling drugs and shoplifting, to the (mostly black, alas) deranged and drug-addicted vagrants using our public spaces as their toilets, to riots by Arabs, BLM alumnae, college boys, and girls in Arafat scarves, that almost daily put a stop to any semblance of normalcy in our city, I am ready to hurtle myself out of the place where I was born to somewhere where a little police brutality is not amiss.
This has a 1968 feel to me. Lots of rioting, civil unrest. Who was elected that November on a “Law and Order” ticket? Richard Nixon. He got 32 states and 301 electoral votes, in spite of the deep south voting for 3rd candidate Wallace.
I also remember 1968. The tangible reminder of that stupid time is a nondescript modern structure that replaced the Greenwich Village townhouse which in 1970 was destroyed by the Weather Underground's failed bomb-making. Those bombs were to target various sites in New York City. The dynamite went off in the basement. Adjoining townhouses were damaged.
Three Weathermen were killed and two, including Kathy Boudin, escaped.
No one in my then solidly blue-collar neighborhood of Windsor Terrace was particularly upset by those deaths. Making bombs? Shrug.
Would I care if a pro-Hamas demonstrator fell off his lamppost?
1970, Park Station SFPD. Nail bomb went off killed a cop, maimed another. My cop Dad happened to have that night off from that station. Weather Underground suspected but never proven.
Black Panthers also were “offing the pigs” execution style in the streets.
Awful time to be a cop’s kid in SF.
🥲🥲presume you’re Dad’s gone or retired, if the latter thank him for his service.
I wouldn’t give a rats ass if they fell off anything.
They didn’t have permanent mail ins then and also the voters roll was relatively clean. Today our vote has zero integrity.
Yup, 1968 is going to rear its ugly head at the Dem Convention for sure, that is if they can get past the hoards of illegal aliens in Chicago to get to the convention center. Maybe the Democrats will put them to work as protesters and activists?
Wallace was to the right of Nixon. Both were "I'm fed up and I'm not going to take it anymore" candidates in the best Paddy Chayefsky tradition. Informal pollster William Holden calls his friends around New York City: "Are they yelling where you are?"
Segregation was a policy of the Democrats, Based on continued attempts to isolate blacks by convincing them they are victims, segregation is still the policy of the Democrats.
This has translated to the unsocialized young as license to take by force what they think they are entitled to. The result is a huge uptick in armed robberies, smash and grabs, carjackings and the like.
Wallace was a Democrat who ran as an Independent against Humphrey.
Politically he was to the right, running on a sanitized version of "Segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever" that was a winning position in Alabama in 1955. It failed nationally as could have been expected.
Wasn’t 1968 also the year the Democrats back-doored their chosen presidential candidate against the wishes of their membership?
It was very scary. Also it was Pro Palestinian but signs said Down with White Supremacy, and Defund the Police. So not really all about Gaza.
The city feels lawless and out of control.
It is. We can thank that overgrown booby Bill de Blasio, who squandered Mike Bloomberg's surplus and pandered to a lawless, uneducable base; and then the BLM summer of 2020 sent taxpayers heading for quieter hills and made life hellish for those of us who stayed.
Covid? We could have dealt with it. The riots? A death-knell for civilized life as we knew it.
Unfortunately, elections are becoming more and more irrelevant. In 1968, *actual* people went to polling stations with ID cards and voted. There was a media that at least *tried* to do journalism (aot covering up for preferred candidates), there were no PACs, no billionaire-funded “non-partisan” organizations that ran local elections, no “community organizers” who got government money to “get out the vote” (but only in *certain* areas), no legalized ballot harvesting... etc.
It’s a different electoral world, and “the people” are not in the driver’s seat.
I hear you. But the NYC liberals will still step aside to these crazy protestors thinking they need to "center marginalized people".
It is even more complex than the simple divide between working class and college-educated class or the difference between the economics of the working class v the college educated. It is that the working class is grossly disrespected by both parties now and out to show once and for all they are not stupid, mindless deplorables lacking the intelligence of their brethren in the college-educated or any other class. F--k class. F--k those who believe they are better in any way than a whole swath of people who they wish to classify and box and control. That’s what this is about.
I know many of my educated friends relate more to the “blue collar” group than the corrupted “white collar” group. Work ethic, admitting when wrong, and basic human qualities come into play.
That's because many of us with advanced and professional degrees have working class roots and our friends and family members are still denigrated as "working class knuckledraggers" by the self-reverential swells who populate the chattering class. We remember working our way through school at crummy jobs and the hard working people we worked beside who would never get a chance to advance. Consequently, we can spot phonies a mile away and we are not fooled by the phoniness that pervades the entire Democrat Party and its drooling acolytes.
This. My dad worked in a steel mill and my mom was a SAHM. They were lifelong Democrats, because of unions. But they voted for Reagan, and they would not recognize what the Ds have become since their deaths at the turn of the 21st century.
My husband and I have been Working Poor from the time we got married until about 6 years ago, when my husband moved into a salaried position as a shipping clerk in his factory. Now we're plain old Working Class.
Going back to college in our 30s put us into a tremendous amount of debt for very little financial benefit--contrary to our expectations when we embarked on that path. One might argue that my husband got his better-paying position due to his degree, but the reality is that ANY degree was all that was important; his actual college major has no bearing on his job.
The rural town we live in, due to historically being a factory town, has also historically been Democrat. I've seen that changing before my very eyes since 2015. Union workers--surprised at themselves--voted for Trump. Old-school Democrats who can't let go seem to be deluding themselves more and more about the direction their party has moved.
I never understood the historical antipathy of the Republican Party for industrial unions (of course everyone can hate government "workers" unions - even Frankie D did!). Union plumbers, electricians, ironworkers etc. are the among the hardest working, smartest and best people I've known. The new Republican Party must become the party of working class Americans. To look out for their needs, their well-being and their best interests. To fight against the crony capitalism, corporatism and globalist garbage that sends our jobs overseas to impoverish Americans and our kids overseas to die in their forever wars.
One doesn't forget that it was New York City's iron workers and those from surrounding areas who, immediately after the Twin Towers fell, unasked, got their tools and went directly to Lower Manhattan to dismantle the wreckage and help find survivors.
Some of the same men had helped build the World Trade Center.
Afterwards, on the train going over the Manhattan Bridge, I and my fellow commuters would, for days, as long as we could see smoke rising from the site, and longer, put down our newspapers, would stop talking, and look out with tears in our eyes, men and women both.
That's the United States that was.
The Republican Party is still made up of too many old elites who shunned the working class for the same reasons the Democrats do now. There is nothing worse than being condescended to by old established monied types to then be condescended to by the new progressive elites born to working class and immigrant families who are now educated by universities programming them to believe they are better than their parents and have forsaken their roots. The parties can no longer define themselves and so we can no longer choose them.
This is why the working class is turning against anyone with a whiff of elitism about them.
There was a time when we needed unions, but that time is long gone. Unions did not make plumbers, pipe fitters, or teachers work harder. If anything it now has the opposite effect. And adds to why jobs are sent overseas. In a competitive global marketplace, there's little need for them.
Today, unions are the third rail in politics. Best to run on other issues.
Unions have turned into the very thing they were originally fighting. My dad was a pragmatic, not an ideological, union man. So I heard as much about the flaws of unions as the benefits. When the steel mill shut down not long after my dad retired, the first words out of my dad's mouth were, "The union broke them."
❤️ poignant story that I think is similar to many. So many bright and capable and willing people are overlooked everyday. Imagine how much more productive and cohesive the world would be if this bias wasn’t so.
This is soooo true Bruce. If these smug elitists only knew the value of coming from working class roots they would realize that they are the ones lacking insight. Being born into humbleness is a gift. From there life gets measured and compared from the bottom rungs. Building one’s life means lots of decisions involving both sacrifice and rewards and dealing with all sorts of personalities. Having that home grown “humility gage” helps to navigate and dismiss those “phonies” along the way.
So true!
Right on!
Send a fool to college you get an educated fool.
And an unemployed one. Front page story today’s WSJ on all those elite school MBA grads, still no jobs.
😂
My mother-in-law told her kids when they moved to a swanky Isle on the Detroit River. Always remember that
"Little Dogs Piss on Big Wheels" you are no better nor worse than anyone else.
The average Joe or Josephine looks at Biden and can tell he is not just old, but struggling with his age yet the Left will tell them with absolute certainty he is as sharp as ever. He or she looks at the border and says it is not secure but the Biden Administration's Mayorkis says it is protected. They look at a man who identifies as a woman shatter records in women sports and say he is a man, but Biden et al say they are wrong. An elite college president can't say unequivocally what antisemitism looks like while a Supreme Court justice cannot define 'woman'. The average person is being told what they sees with their own eyes is not reality, but rather reality is what 'we' tell you it should be. This is why people like Trump.
It is true that at least Trump doesn’t hate you, and that may be just enough to get him elected.
It’s not.
What did Abe Lincoln say about fooling some of the people?
Today's youth doesn't listen or pay attention to what they're told.
They neither read newspapers nor watch tv news. Their BS meter is quite high.
And that’s why come November I’m sure he will win!🇺🇸
Yes, yes Vaughn! When will people stop allowing the left to redefine common truths? Everyday we are asked to deny our God given sensibilities. Everything we have known for centuries is now being turned upside down by a group of foolish elitists, drunk on power and “hell bent” on destroying our liberty. I refuse to speak their language and use their terms. I don’t care if I lose “so called friends” or even “so called family members”. I’ve done the tough love thing before (raised teenagers), and I’ll do it again. At least Trump doesn’t tell me how to think, he just tells me what he intends to do to save my Liberty from these reckless evil political thieves.
"Josephine" sounds too French! Try "Jane" instead, a good, solid, non-descript name.
A lot of rank-and-file Republicans, plus increasing numbers of Independents and Democrats, believe that the two major wars that happened on Biden’s and the Democrats’ watch—Ukraine and Gaza—would not have occurred if Trump were still in office.
Along with what looks like an impending war between China and Taiwan, a war between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon, and a war between Iran and the United States. Then there’s North Korea testing hypersonic weapons, and Japan massively rearming to fend off an increasingly belligerent China along with NK.
Anyone who thinks all this is normal should go study the history of World War One, which is about to repeat itself.
Rightly or not, Trump is widely perceived as a peacemaker. One of his major foreign policy achievements was the Abraham Accords, now moribund since Biden took over. Trump’s casual threats to nuke Beijing, Pyongyang, and Moscow were taken seriously enough by the leaders of those execrable regimes that they meekly fell in line and said “How high?” when Trump told them to jump.
People aren’t stupid. It’s obvious Biden has been a near total failure, the country and the world are at a tipping point, and strong leadership is needed to turn the ship around. That’s what happened in Iowa.
This, exactly, we have Biden to thank. And probably not even Biden. We have to be asking who’s even in control in the White House. I think most people recognize it’s not him- even if they don’t quite grasp the gravity of our situation (as you described). I’m not trying to absolve him of blame at all- just adding that we don’t know even who the actors are. Why’s he so committed to the Obama approach of appeasing Iran.
Trump was such a loose cannon that foreign leaders could never be sure just what he might do if they provoked him -- so they didn't, and we had a more peaceful, less dangerous world than we do now.
Yes, it's what Machiavelli and others referred to as Madman diplomacy (Richard Nixon utilized it extensively). He was seen by foreign leaders as unpredictable and a little crazy (quite a few Americans also viewed him this way) and with his finger on the nuclear button.
Unfortunately, as soon as he left office, everyone went right back to their status quo ante behavior.
💯 and don’t forget our Secretary of Defense came out of hospital today. For a week before that no one knew he was even in the hospital. That tells you more about the Biden administration than his shaky legs do.
Batya Ungar-Sargon gets it and Peter Savodnik does NOT. Americans see their systems and institutions became corrupted by the elites. Donald Trump’s policies tried to correct them once - never mind “mean tweets”
Yeah except it is DeSantis who actually has had success in correcting them. Trump is for Trump, that's all.
He could have not run for president in the first place. He’d have a higher net worth, he’d be popular, the FBI wouldn’t have raided his home, and he could be enjoying life and playing with his grandchildren. Instead he stepped up and took a hundred bullets for the team.
God bless Trump that’s what I think we should be saying!
That's probably because people such as Savodnik aren't very good at concealing the fact that they look down on working Americans with traditional values..
Savodnik needs to move on. Maybe he can “edit” but his writing and critical thinking skills are lacking.
I detect some remains of TDS ;)
His proud use of terms like ecosystem confirms he doesn’t get it.
Do you know Bill because of the big freeze in Iowa some of the EV’s batteries didn’t start the cars 😂😂😂priceless, the gas cars (some like Vivak’s) may have slid into a ditch, the wonderful Iowans (salt of the earth people) helped pull them out. That’s America that’s what we are!
It bugs me how the media likes to divide voters by college educated and those not college educated. I think a better description would be those that have been through a formal brainwashing and those that focus on real issues that affect them every day.
So much this! Plus I also have always always hated they call those without college education "uneducated". How f'king insulting!! They're not uneducated. Almost all Americans have a high school education. Not having a higher education degree is not "uneducated". I say this as someone with an advance degree. I so much f'king hate that since they started doing it back around the Bush II era or maybe even earlier.
Exactly
Good one David😆
There was a part of me that wanted Vivek to perform as a dark horse last night. He worked harder than anyone else on the ticket in Iowa, but just couldn't get it done.
So.......it looks like it's time to break out the Kennedy/Gabbard yard sign. My wife and I went to see him at a rally in Raleigh last week and I have to say RFK Jr checks a lot of boxes for me. He's a unifier and smart as a whip. I don't know if he can pull off a win in November, but at this point, he's probably got my vote. My fears about what the nation will look like on November 6th if Trump wins are not pretty.
"Biden got the lion’s share of writers and authors, editors, therapists, business analysts, HR department staff, and bankers." Ungar-Sargon forgot to also include the media, most federal agencies and big tech.
Vivek has a bright future ahead of him. He’s a brilliant thinker with some good ideas, unafraid to wade into a fight, and he can verbally spar with the best of them.
American did greatly under Trump. But the swamp denizens in the media excoriated him daily and we had to watch. Hated that part but loved closed border, low inflation, no wars, cheap energy, etc.
When you take the time actually to read Junior's campaign plank get back to us. It is mostly leftist tripe, with his nonsensical statements on race most particularly appalling. And, of course, you have to read what he stands for because he's so unintelligible that you won't coax an ounce of comprehension by listening to him.
I've listened to hours of him on podcasts. He has spasmodic dysphonia which is a chronic neurological voice disorder and while his voice sounds raspy, its not hard at all to understand him (unless you just don't want to). I've read his policy on racial healing which doesn't bother me at all. He's open about wanting to focus on disparities in black communities but says the same for poor white communities in appalachia. He doesn't check all the boxes for me, but he checks a lot of them. I'll take my chances.
Racial healing? Based on lies and racial set asides. Like these?
"Communities that were specifically targeted for destruction need to be specifically targeted for repair. During Jim Crow, Black banks, businesses, hospitals, schools, and farms were targeted for destruction....We must set federal dollars aside to rebuild Black infrastructure." Jim Crow ended 60 years ago. Sounds like "reparations in sheep's clothing.
And then there's this howler. "Kennedy will reorient police to serve, not occupy, Black communities; to keep neighborhoods safe rather than harassing their residents." He left off hunting down black men among his lies. Most inner city PDs have large numbers of minority officers.
Or this "Federally-backed 3% mortgages will extend home ownership to millions of Black families. " I could go on. He's a leftist and a nut. We need another Kennedy like a hole in the head. Least of all a race baiting clown who sounds drunk.
Well, fortunately, you’ll have two other choices November 5th. Good luck with your horse.
You're usually not at a loss for words in response to a bill of particulars.
Normally not, but clearly there’s nothing I can say concerning RFK Jr, and my probable support for him that would change your opinions of him.....so what’s the point.
I agree great post!
They seemed to enjoy the rally Bruce.
I expect Vivek and RFK to be in a Trump cabinet. I would love to see RFK as EPA secretary.
If they are, they will be gone in weeks or months. The weakness in Trump is an inability to work with quality people and keep them on his team.
This is very well stated, and perhaps what I find most off-putting about a second Trump presidency. This country has big problems, many of which are linked to bureaucratic inefficiencies. These are the problems that remained unsolved by the Trump presidency as a direct result of the lack of consistency in his team.
Additionally, I believe one of the reasons the Biden administration has so much power is because they have been efficient and relatively competent at disentangling the mess left behind as a result of the Trump revolving door. I do not know if a second Trump can bring together, and keep, individuals, who understand the political and structural web, that will usher in and, more importantly, provide the foundation for enduring change.
I believe Trump's problems in his first admin were more a function of a bureaucracy that (purposefully) forgot who was in charge. He has learned his lesson and the supposedly "most qualified" are not necessarily the best for the job. This is similar to a "brilliant" doctor, graduated top of his class but lacking bedside manner and has a tendency to dismiss patient input. I'll take the doc who barely made it but one who listens to me and is willing to consult with other docs. If I get both, all the better. Vivek and RFK are not only incredibly smart, but both are also committed, imo, to making a better future for the younger generations. If that means learning to work with Trump, then so be it.
If learning to work with Trump means always agreeing with him, then why be an "expert"?It is also Trump's responibility to work with his advisors and not just the advisors to work with Trump.
RFK Jr's policies and goals do not fit in with the majority of Trump's policies. An advisor should not be a yes person, but their goals have to be heading in the general direction of the president's goals Vivek has strong opinions and expresses them which suggest a clash that will result in his dismissal. RFK Jr & Vivek lack Washington DC political experience.
If you are going to "drain the swamp" then you need experienced advisors that are familiar with the government plumbing and the lay of the political land so that goals can be achieved in the most effective manner. To achieve the best strategies, a good leader gathers those around them that have strength and knowledge in the areas where the leader is weak. Trump's selection of confrontational Omarosa to be a public liaison, the person who explains his vision to the world, is just one example of his inability to select qualified candidates to buttress his presidency.
I never said anything about "agreeing with him" or being a "yes man." RFK, the attorney who managed to drain and clean a few massive swamps with his legal environmental work, doesn't understand the "lay of the political land?" His success shows otherwise. Vivek is smart and has watched and learned from the problems Trump faced in his first term. Even with all Trump's first term drama, his advisors did no worse than the advisors and secretaries in past admins. Some don't want to know how the sausage is made, but just because one doesn't see the sausage being made in "normal" admins doesn't mean the drama of the sausage factory isn't happening. He won't make the same mistakes this time around and I expect his cabinet to do some good things.
If Trump were to win, certainly hope that he can assemble and work with a cabinet, take their advice, and form cohesive domestic and international policies. Miracles can happen?!
I'm afraid he'll have trouble getting high quality people to work with him because of the way Democrats have gone after and destroyed so many people who did that in his last administration -- even to the point of harassing lawyers who dared to represent him. Many who are good enough to have other options won't want to take that risk and I'm not sure I blame them.
What you said is very interesting here, in particular the: "doc who barely made it but one who listens to me and is willing to consult with other docs." Trump brought in and placed people who were unwilling to consult with others, in addition to being bureaucratic newbies.
Independent of whether you agree with their merit, given the number of serious charges and court cases he is involved in Trump needs to be reelected to the presidency. While it looks like, from reporting out of Iowa, he has curated a more experienced political team, should voters expect him do to the same once in office?
I am not optimistic that this will be one of his priorities. From the outside it appears that he has complete disdain for people who have engaged in consultation with others who are more experienced at nudging and reshaping the federal bureaucracy. Real non-transitory leadership is necessary, especially given, if elected, this time around he will have no more than 4 years to enact change. Without it, any change he puts forth will be short-lived as people once again flee the chaos so emblematic of his management style.
The only "bureaucratic newbie" I can recall from his cabinet was Rex Tillerson, an "expert" in the energy field. The rest were bureaucratic recycles. The voters are currently fleeing the chaos of the Progressive Biden/dem agenda. Trump has disdain for the "That's the way we've always done it" way of operating, and this is why there was such a hysterical backlash. The establishment is terrified of change and process improvement. I expect he will pick Elise Stefanik as his VP so she can carry the baton after him.
Now we get to see if a third party candidate benefits Trump or Biden more...
great observation!
You know why I don't think RFK has a chance? His speaking voice. So many people vote based around silly reasons. And I think that one will drive away a lot of people who don't vote purely based on what people have done and said.
Listen to the dean phillips podcast on Honestly, according to him the DNC in FL and NC will only allow one candidate on the ballot. The fix is in for Biden.
What? How can that be?
The DNC and RNC make the rules on how they choose their candidates… North Carolina’s law actually only stipulates that the person is on the news as a candidate. If I remembering correctly, however, they have decided to do it differently. I don’t understand it either but that’s what Dean Phillips said on the podcast.
Vivek is a horrifying elitist of the worst sort. Utter arrogance and narcissism.
And in a wild display of irony, he immediately threw all of his support to Trump.
Of course 😉
He is cunning he will survive in the swamp.
RFK/Gabbard will just take votes away from Trump.
Gabbard is not running. If you believe the trash the MSM & left are telling you about Jr., then I cannot help you. They are petrified of Jr. They're trying to sell this BS because they know he robs Biden of votes.
Biden will never debate Trump, but Jr. might, and Trump should pass. That's when Trump becomes his own worst enemy.
Hey you're preaching to the choir. I am not the one who believe what they're telling me. I'm not sure how Jr factors into my statement about RFK/Gabbard though.
Yeah, I guess I misunderstood your post. Apologies
Probably....but he's going to take a lot from centrist democrats who won't/can't suspend their disbelief any longer that Biden can function at all.
Can we stop calling certain members of the Democratic Party “elites” and started calling them “elitists.” Elitist has a far more accurate connotation as “snobby” where elite has a positive connotation as in “an elite athlete.” I’d like to get all journalists to start using the term “elitist” for these incredibly self-centered pompous jerks. Editors, can I get some help here?
Laptop class
Cappuccino sipping , scone-eating, laptop class😆
If your self-esteem is a bit flaccid, joining up with those "elitists" can provide a boost until you learn you'll never get full admission to the tribe.
It goes deeper. I'm renovating my house and to a one, the contractors, plumbers, electricians, tile guys, are worried about losing this country --they don't recognize it. They're patriotic. Two went to college, then decided to work with their hands. Not one is a Democrat, and that includes the roofer from Brazil, who thinks this country is "magic." He came here with nothing and built his own company. The two daughters he's proudly sending to college will likely emerge condemning the U.S. as an oppressor.
The roofer's daughters will know how hard their dad worked for his money, how their mom supported the growth (how many contractors' wives work as receptionist, book keepers, scheduler, etc.), and the life stories of some of the guys on the roofing crew. Their knowledge is different and they will grow differently than the children who always had their roots in the upper and upper middle class.
https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2020/05/14/on-the-cusp-of-adulthood-and-facing-an-uncertain-future-what-we-know-about-gen-z-so-far-2/
Many first generation children of legal immigrants, buck the research. They have an actual country to compare/contrast different governments. They know through stories and visits with family how governments impact your life style. It is hard to imagine that the children of legal immigrants from the CCP would ever share the same political viewpoints as James “Fergie” Chambers.
Depending where he sends them. Don't send your kids and grandkids to leftist schools.
Sadly, it seems that school in general is going down that path. Even in Red States. The Dept of Education seems to be pushing it that way.
Don't blinded send your kids to the local leftist indoctrination facility cleverly disguised as a public school.
Agreed...sadly not everyone has an easy choice there. Even worse for those that don't really know what it happening to their kids (which are who those in control are likely going after anyway).
Trump won based upon MHO, that people want to give the finger to DC so bad and also the leaders of both parties. People are so feed up, pissed off, sick of big brother government telling them what to do, how to do it, and why they are so bad, that they will happily go for the anti-government person and no one says that better than Trump. The government probably let cheating happen big time last election, they see a senile useless bag of waste as the so called leader, policies that have come close to destroying America and absolute idiots pushing policies that make no sense. Men can have babies, men suck at sports, so say you are a women and be a champion, mutilate kids. You, yes you, are directly responsible for all past sins, lock the country down because of a virus Faucy helped fund but lied about along with the entire government. The list is just endless. No wars while Trump was in. Now the world in a tinder box based on slow Joe and his band of idiots. Geez, wonder why Trump has appeal to people. His time seems like the good old day, but was only three years ago.
CanaDa, where we will help make you a druggie and then help kill you. We provide the full service miserable life service. Trudeau a special place in hell for him. Probably right next to LBJ.
Meanwhile, in Hollywood - Still don't give a Royal Flying F.
Trump is the only candidate whose voters are enthusiastic. His double middle finger message is a response to the havoc wrought by Barrack Obama his bumbling proxy Joe Biden. I can recite many reasons not to vote for Trump. At the moment that he is not them is a good reason to vote for him.
Will somebody (credibly) tell me what's the deal with Vivek? I keep hearing that he's a snake, that he's in the bag for fill-in-the-blank, that he's working some kind of bizarre angle against Trump. Even The Orange Man has denounced him. Yet every time I hear him speak I am more impressed; last night he dropped out and endorsed Trump - an amazing turn of events, since Trump has given him the Kiss of Death.
Is he that canny, that conniving, that smart, or is he what he seems to be? Is he in reality another DJT, who is willing to keep taking it on the chin - even to lose it all - because he loves his Nation? What am I missing?
Agree, I see a guy who masterfully debates the issues, can take an angry tranny and reason with him/her/them, and who is fearless. I like his ideas.
My only thought is that maybe he comes across too polished, too corporate, too smarty pants.
In other words, too phony. As I said months ago, a fast-talking carnival barker.
Professor Harold Hill come to mind?
Yes. He can convincingly argue any side to any problem at any time and does so whenever it is politically convenient.
I can’t find a single position he has held on any topic for 12 straight months without flip flopping. He’s never been in office so you can’t even look at that records for clues. You’re enamored with your own preferences projected onto a chimera of nothingness.
When I first heard him on Darkhorse, I liked him. But as time went on, I got more and more of a snake oil salesman vibe. Yes he says the right things. But for some reason it increasingly comes off as a talking point rather than something he believes. Something he felt would make people like him as opposed to a thing he has embraced in his own mind.
I can't use logic to explain it, which is why I generally don't try to tell people not to like him.
Because whenever he says something that sounds good it’s not hard to find him saying the exact same thing 6 months/weeks/days/hours ago. The only thing he stands for is getting more air time.
In a race with no Trump he’d have been heard more. My gut says when he went with “this is a fight for the soul of America” he unwittingly went too far. Even if he’s correct he had to let people come to such a big conclusion by themselves.
Yeah that soul of America schtick was used by Joey already.
You’re going to be in for a pretty big surprise if you think the divide is college educated “elite” voters and not the fact that Haley blasted those districts in ad campaigns and appearances by a 10-1 margin. It’s a self-affirming strategy that is only used by hacks to try and put a thumb on the scale and sway media opinion in a way to match what their super pacs want conveyed. As evidenced by your article, it worked. I would be fairly disappointed if I were Haley’s super pac, spent more than twice as much as Trump in campaigning and came in third.
Source: Me. A college educated elite who wouldn’t vote for Nikki Haley if you put a gun to my head. Nor would any of my friends. Nor a single conservative I know, incidentally.
We see what has happened and continues to happen to Trump by way of a weaponized DoJ. We will not stand idly by and watch the perversion of our Constitution by those in power. We will not allow the media to continue to be propagandized and used as an arm of the government to control the People. We will not allow the Americans living in our great nation to become second class citizens beholden to a zealous pseudo-religious cult and armies of illegal aliens. And we will not bend the knee to the globalist death cult who prays for our end.
What happened in Iowa was not a warning shot across the bow. It was a direct hit.
Clean up your analysis and your bias when reporting. Stop categorizing people like cattle. Pompously talking down upon the base like they’re sub-human. I’ll take them any day of the week as friends and allies over some self-serving establishment stooge. The only people who look uneducated are people like you.
Then I guess that shows how swayable (?) or maybe stupid people are if all it takes for people to vote for a war monger is advertisements.
But the point should be that they really didn’t vote for her. Despite the ad campaigns and counter campaigns, she performed extremely poorly. Trump still won 98 out of 99 districts. Lastly, every single voter for Vivek was a vote only for Trump. +8