71) The news flow appears to be quickening on multiple fronts, If #Meadows is now testifying against #DonaldTrump, there will be little place for the former president to hide
#USPolitics #Politics #Election2024
https://abcnews.go.com/US/chief-staff-mark-meadows-granted-immunity-tells-special/story?id=104231281
72) Next up in the #HouseSpeaker derby is Mike Johnson from #Louisiana’s 4th. Johnson, a lawyer, ticks the box from a #DonaldTrump fealty POV, having defended the former president during the impeachment trials
The #HardRight will support his opposition to financial support for the #UkraineWar
He is a #ChristianRight #SocialConservative, opposing #GayMarriage, #Abortion etc
#USPolitics #SpeakerOfTheHouse #Speaker #GOP
https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2023/10/24/congress/next-up-mike-johnson-00123404
73) One drama has ended with the election of Mike Johnson. The question is whether he will be able to manage his fractious caucus and legislate
Where will Johnson stand on the #Ukraine War funding effort? Initially he was supportive of the war, now like make of his party, he is making reluctance noises. Will things change now that he has the #Speaker's gavel?
#Politics #USPolitics #HouseofReps #Congress
https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2023/10/25/congress/johnson-takes-it-00123512
74) Much has been made of #JoeBiden’s verbal gaffes and supposed age related confusion in the #NewsMedia
Given #DonaldTrump’s rambling, non sequitor style of speaking, he appears to have been given a free pass
Today, the #NYTimes decided to call attention to Trump’s recent confusions
#Politics #USPolitics #Election2024
🔑 https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/30/us/politics/trump-biden-age.html
75) File this one under remedial geographic education needed for presidential candidate
In 1976, Gerald Ford got slated for an absurd statement on the nature of of Soviet influence in Eastern Block countries. The response was appropriate. Expectations for a president should be higher.
Yet when #DonaldTrump gaffes on the location of #Hungary, it is mostly unnoticed.
What does that say about the #Newsmedia ecosystem in the United States?
https://www.politico.eu/article/us-donald-trump-hungary-orban-borders-russia-map-again/
76) One year from today, Americans will vote for the next President in #Election2024.
It’s virtually certain that #JoeBiden and #DonaldTrump will go face off again.
Today, the #NYTimes and #SiennaCollege published a battleground state poll containing sobering cross tabs for the #Biden campaign
A lot can happen in a year, but will Americans opt for the return of #Trump despite the multiple indictments faced by the former president?
77) Yesterday's polling results for the #DemocraticParty provided a relieving counterweight to the recent polling of next year's expected #Trump - #Biden showdown
Clearly it was a good night for the Democrats, but will the results of an off-year election carry forward to #Election2024?
Is polling conducted primarily by phone still a reliable indicator of public sentiment? In an age of caller id, who is answering these polling phone calls?
https://www.politico.com/news/2023/11/08/election-day-2023-results-takeaways-00126035
78) What will the impact be of #DonaldTrump's #VerminSpeech?
It seems to me that #Election2024 will be a campaign of thirds. One third of the country loves #Trump and another third loathes him.If both of these voting blocks turn out in force, they will cancel each other out.
That leaves the middle third who can swing either way. Will they be encouraged to fall in line on the back of increased hatre speech?
https://newrepublic.com/article/176877/trump-vermin-speech-nazi-language
79) I’m wary about tossing around the word #Fascist and drawing #Hitler comparisons when talking about #DonaldTrump. His Veteran’s Day #VerminSpeech has removed any misgivings.
While #Trump has yet to achieve the level of power accrued by #AdolphHitler, it’s clear that both he and his enablers intend to establish an authoritarian state where those who he does not like, or who oppose him will rightfully fear for their lives
Good piece ⬇️ from NYMag
https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2023/11/trump-vermin-hitler.html
80) In November 1923, Adolph Hitler attempted to seize power in what is now referred to as the Beer Hall Putsch. There are eerie similarities playing out in #USPolitics right now with #DonaldTrump going full #Fascist. I’m reminded of the #MarkTwain quote
“History Doesn't Repeat Itself, but It Often Rhymes”
If you’re not familiar with Hitler’s 1923 abortive grab for power, here’s an excellent conversation with historian Mark Jones on the #DavidMcWilliams #podcast
Anti-semitism, inflation, threats to democracy, despotic leaders and fragile governments, if you thought it was today, its is - but hold on. It’s happened before… This very month 100 years ago, German hyperinflation peaked, Adolf Hitler announced himself with a putsch and anti-semitism was rife. History is repeating itself, or is it? Join us on this epic journey back in time to see what we can learn and whether we can apply any historical remedies to today’s global problems. Join the gang! https://plus.acast.com/s/the-david-mcwilliams-podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
81) in a bizarre twist to the #Jan6 insurrection case, #DonaldTrump’s lawyers are now citing Russian election interference in 2016 as a reason for #Trump’s distrust of the 2020 election result
Trump has long denied, Russia’s efforts as a contributing factor in his 2016 election victory. Expecting factual consistency from the former president and his lawyers is not to be expected if a legal advantage is possible
82) There is nothing much left of the man known as #DonaldTrump, just a shell dreaming of revenge and the opportunity to vent his anger.
There are reasons for the way he is, it is sad to see somebody so broken. There is no joy in his life he is a pitiable creature
His Thanksgiving message ⬇️ is just one example of how he can never miss an opportunity to rage
To build, joy is needed in the heart, to destroy utterly requires only rage
Former President Trump wished his supporters a happy Thanksgiving in a Truth Social post early Thursday while slamming New York’s attorney general, the judge overseeing his civil fraud case, President Biden and the “Radical Left Lunatics.” “Happy Thanksgiving to ALL, including the Racist & Incompetent Attorney General of New York State, Letitia ‘Peekaboo’ James, who…
83) Much of the ugly anger that currently swirls through #USPolitics is directed at the #LGBTQI community. A significant portion of that rage is based on an interpretation of Biblical verses translated into English.
What if that post war translation was wrong?
This is a #film that needs to be supported as it attacks religious bigotry at its root
84) Funding for the #UkraineWar is now tied up in the #Senate by the #GOP who want #border policy changes
Seems like the #RepublicanParty are now willing to sacrifice geopolitical stability unless they get their way on border priorities
85) Good piece featuring #KevinMcCarthy from the folks at #CBSSundayMorning.
Make sure you watch to the end where the former speaker is called out for kissing #DonaldTrump’s ring at Mar-A-Lago only weeks after condemning Trump for fomenting the attempted #Jan6 coup
Reporter Robert Costa does not pull any punches when he accuses McCarthy of ignoring #Trump’s incipient #Fascism and thirst for retribution. There is no core to McCarthy, just an empty suit
86) Today we’ll witness the sad spectacle of President #Zelensky lobbying #MikeJohnson for #UkraineWar support.
That request will fall on deaf ears
Let’s be clear what is going on here. It is not about budgetary prudence nor is it about the #SouthernBorder.
It is about what #Trump wants and #DonaldTrump loves #Putin. The continuation of European democracy is irrelevant to the Trumpist #GOP who care for nothing except for what #garchs desire
https://thehill.com/newsletters/morning-report/4355200-zelensky-lobbies-speaker-for-ukraine-aid/
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will meet President Biden today and make a personal appeal to senators and the Speaker in an effort to salvage U.S. support for additional military assistance this year. Zelensky and the Ukrainian military are simultaneously fighting Russia, working to keep European allies united behind a war seemingly caught in a stalemate…
87) Lets be clear here. the GOP congressional concern on the security of the #SouthernBorder is simply a convenient blocking deflection
Congressional #Republicans are busy tugging their forelocks before #DonaldTrump. Republican Senators don't care about geopolitical stability, they just want to keep #Trump happy who in turn wants to keep his friend #Putin happy, so no funding from the US for the #UkraineWar
#USPolitics #Politics #Ukraine #UkraineRussiaWar
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/12/us/politics/republicans-zelensky-border-ukraine-aid.html
88) Oh dear, file this one under when bad things happen to bad people.
Naturally this will be appealed and recent news articles indicate the #RudyGiuliani’s personal finances are in poor shape. Bankruptcy looms as part of the final humiliation for #NYC’s former mayor
https://www.npr.org/2023/12/15/1219048410/giuliani-defamation-trial-money-georgia-election-workers
#Republicans #DonaldTrump #Trump #USPolitics #Politics #Ukraine
89) Hard as it is to believe the word #Fascist is being used to describe the #GOP candidate for Preident. Even harder to belieft, that description is entirely apt.
I was reluctant to use the word until #DonaldTrump started trotting out his #vermin and #PoisoningTheBlood stump speech usages. The show is fitting all too well
We have a Fascist running for President, he deserves the moniker
#USPolitics #FarRight #Election2024
https://www.politico.com/news/2023/12/16/biden-trump-remarks-immigration-00132161
90) File this one under not surprising. I have my doubts as to whether #DonaldTrump has ever read any book
I'm guessing #StephenMiller has Mein Kampf committed to memory and whispered a Cliffs Notes version into #Donald's ear. I'm sure they both find it soothing
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/19/us/politics/trump-immigrants-hitler-mein-kampf.html
91) #DonaldTrump ruled ineligible to run for president in #Colorado. Clearly this is heading to the #SupremeCourt
I've seen some hairsplitting around the 14th ammedment which is the basis for this ruling. Specifically whether the oath taken by #Trump makes him subject to the provision. Interesting that the arguments don't focus on the notion of an insurrection on #Jan6.
https://www.politico.com/news/2023/12/19/colorado-disqualify-donald-trump-00132578
92) In an unsurprising development, #RudyGiuliani has filed for bankruptcy and will spend the rest of his life in an endless appeal cycle as he tries to evade his legal debts etc
One wonders how a single individual can run up debts in excess of $100 - 500 million. While we know, he owes $148 on the #Georgia case, is that all that it is the bucket or is there more?
That said, filing will not protect him from collection on the judgement
93) I’d suggest that it is a good idea to keep #DonaldTrump talking about Hitler comparisons
He’s made his bed with Nazi rhetoric, let’s keep him tucked in there and busy defending himself.
His attempts, to wriggle away and pretend he wasn’t referencing one of the most murdeous regimes of human history, just doesn’t pass the most elementary of sniff tests
#USPolitics #Election2024 #Fascism
https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/4373704-trump-im-not-a-student-of-hitler
Former President Trump on Friday said he is not a “student of Hitler” as he once again asserted immigrants were “poisoning the blood of our country,” a phrase critics have said is parroting the Nazi leader’s past remarks about Jews. Trump called into conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt’s show, where Hewitt pressed Trump multiple times…
94) I guess we shouldn’t be surprised that the #SupremeCourt decided to avoid taking a position on #DonaldTrump’s assertion of extraordinary presidential immunity.
Likely they’re hoping that the case will be strung out past the election
https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/scotus-rejects-jack-smiths-request-to-expedite-trump-appeal
95) What does #NikkiHaley’s flub of the most basic of #CivilWar questions tell us about the state of the #GOP?
Simply put, the #RepublicanParty is committed to pandering to #racism both overt and subterranean.
#Haley’s choice to avoid acknowledging slavery is the worst kind of pandering to retrograde types who would have us pretend that the disgusting, “peculiar institution” was not central to America’s great conflict
https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2023/12/28/nikki-haley-civil-war-slavery-history-00133281
96) Sadly we are faced with yet another bad mob movie sequel for 2024
A brilliant set of portraits of America’s most loathsome family from the wonderful #AnnTelnaes
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/11/03/ann-telnaes-cartoon-trump-family-legal-issues/
97) In two panels #ClayJones captures the hypocrisy that is #GOP politics. Genius stuff
#USPolitics #Election2024 #Trump
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2024/1/2/2214953/-Cartoon-Disqualified-voters
98) Can anyone say skinflint #billionaire?
Amusing to hear on #NPR this morning, that #Trump had raised a whole $10,000 on behalf of #Jan6 rioters
The former narcissist-in-chief, is not known for going out of his way to aid supporters who have done his bidding
99) Feb 8 is now a big date on the #Trump calendar
#SCOTUS has decided to hear the #Colorado ballot exclusion case and whether the 14th ammendment excludes #DonaldTrump from running for President
The Colorado #GOP primary is scheduled for Mar 5
#USPolitics #Politics #Election2024
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/05/us/trump-supreme-court-colorado-ballot.html
100) Good speech from #Biden yesterday. Delivered with plenty of passion.
Great idea to launch his re-election campaign on the day before this ugly anniversary that is #Jan6th.
It framed the stakes effectively for the election and dominated the news media yesterday and this morning
https://www.politico.com/news/2024/01/05/biden-democracy-speech-00134118
101) This should not be a surprise to any casual observer of #Trump.
Cruelty is a feature of his personna and a function of unresolved childhood development difficulties.
Mocking the challenges, limitations and difficulties of others, soothes Trumps deeply unacknowledged psychological problems
Clearly #Biden’s Valley Forge speech hit hard, the Pavlovian response was predictable from Trump’s stunted psyche
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/01/06/trump-biden-stutter
101) Good piece on #Biden and his drive to retain electoral success in the PA, MI and WI #SwingStates
Article makes the point that #POTUS has crafted a populist industrial policy which diverges from that of his Democratic predecessors
What say you, do you agree?
102) What does it mean to be an #evangelical Christian in America today?
Church attendance is declining. Does that mean that cultural identity as an EC has become more important than doctrinal matters?
How has #DonaldTrump and his dubious adherence to Christianity persuaded ECs to support his candidacy?
Is a sense of persecution more important than #abortion?
Good profile piece at #NYT ⬇️
#USPolitics #Politics #Election2024
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/08/us/politics/donald-trump-evangelicals-iowa.html
103) A big moment in #DonaldTrump’s #jan6th legal travails
At stake is whether #Trump has presidential immunity. Should the court rule against the former President, he will likely request a ruling from a full panel of the DC Circuit Court
Trump’s strategy is to slow down the legal process hoping that electoral victory will enable him to avoid prosecution
104) Disappointing, but not surprising to see such lame legislation being proposed to counter the use of AI in political advertising. Far more can be done then requiring a disclosure of the use of #AI in political ads
I’d suggest the unapproved use of a person’s voice or likeness to create fake video or audio, should be prohibited
Will #Election2024 be a barrage of AI enhanced untruths being blasted at us?
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/11/us/ai-election-ads-state-legislators.htm
105) A reminder of how divorced from reality #Trumpism is from facts.
#Brexit has proven to be a train wreck yet Donald #Trump is parading #NigelFarage around the #IowaCaucus as some kind of hero
Donald Trump pleaded with his Iowa Republican supporters to brave the frigid weather Monday and turn out in droves to gift him a dominant victory in the state’s caucus and push him closer to a rematch with Joe Biden for the White House.
106)This chart is likely making the #Biden campaign smile.
Despite #GOP purveyors of of economic doom and gloom, Americans are realizing that the #economy is improving.
It's taken a while for this story to break through, but the steady reduction of #inflation and strong #JobGrowth numbers eventually swamp #RightWing propaganda
The James Carville adage applies: "It's the economy stupid" and the economy is looking better
107) #Trump mental confusion makes another appearance on the campaign trail.
Apparently #NikkiHaley and #NancyPelosi have melded into one person.
Heck both their names begin with “N” and they’re also members of the ever growing enemy list, why not roll em up together in one big ball of hatred?
108) Good piece from HCR on the Far Right’s attack on American institutions
What is missing from is a theory on what effort the attack serves. Can’t say we look to Trump for a rational explanation. The man has little space for such thinking being incapable of understanding of his own mind and rarely controlled impulses
This is a not criticism of the piece, more pointing to the impound developing a narrative for persuadable voters
https://open.substack.com/pub/heathercoxrichardson/p/january-20-2024
Last night at a rally in New Hampshire, former president Trump repeatedly confused former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley, who is running against him for the Republican presidential nomination, with Representative Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), the former speaker of the House.
109) The inevitable has happened and a little earlier than expected.
The #DeSantis campaign is no more and the chastened Governor of #Florida is now genuflecting and tugging his forelock before #DonaldTrump
Apparently, a suposedly gussied up version of #Trumpism doesn't fly. That notion has been cast upon the ash heap of history. It is either #Fascism #Trump style or nothing else for the majority of the #GOP faithful
#USPolitics #Politics #Election2024
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/01/21/ron-desantis-drops-out/
Martin Nutty
Not My Job