Biden won, it's over --- The Election Thread

[CameronBornAndBred]

Just finished watching Biden. The rest of the convention, aside from Harris and the Obamas, meh, but when Joe stepped up...


BOOOOOM!!!!!

Great speech

[OPK]

Just finished watching Biden. The rest of the convention, aside from Harris and the Obamas, meh, but when Joe stepped up...


BOOOOOM!!!!!

Great speech

What a contrast with the current President on so many levels. The choice is clear.

[CameronBornAndBred]

Just finished watching Biden. The rest of the convention, aside from Harris and the Obamas, meh, but when Joe stepped up...


BOOOOOM!!!!!

Great speech

What a contrast with the current President on so many levels. The choice is clear.

I'm actually looking forward to Trump's speech. I'm gonna be throwing things at my TV, but I'm looking forward to seeing how he tries to counter Biden's emotional sincerity.

[CrazyNotCrazie]

Just finished watching Biden. The rest of the convention, aside from Harris and the Obamas, meh, but when Joe stepped up...


BOOOOOM!!!!!

Great speech

Anyone who supports Trump after that is either selfish, stupid, or both. I am really sad to live in a country where tens of millions of people truly think that Trump is a better person to lead us than Biden. I have had enough of the lies and chaos. I know the old normal didn't work for everyone but I think the new normal (if there is such a thing) only works for those who thrive on nastiness as well as a very small number of people who benefit from the tax cuts. To hell with them. The excuse-making by his supporters would be comical if it wasn't so scary.

[OZZIE4DUKE]

https://www.defendingdemocracytogether. ... ticleShare

[dudog]

Just finished watching Biden. The rest of the convention, aside from Harris and the Obamas, meh, but when Joe stepped up...


BOOOOOM!!!!!

Great speech

Anyone who supports Trump after that is either selfish, stupid, or both. I am really sad to live in a country where tens of millions of people truly think that Trump is a better person to lead us than Biden. I have had enough of the lies and chaos. I know the old normal didn't work for everyone but I think the new normal (if there is such a thing) only works for those who thrive on nastiness as well as a very small number of people who benefit from the tax cuts. To hell with them. The excuse-making by his supporters would be comical if it wasn't so scary.

It really should be a Reaganesque 1984 landslide. I honestly don't get what anyone sees in him. He's such a skeez.

[CameronBornAndBred]

It really should be a Reaganesque 1984 landslide. I honestly don't get what anyone sees in him. He's such a skeez.

Most normal people don't see what was so attractive about Jim Jones and David Koresh, but cult leaders have that skill.

[dudog]

A quick bit of research, apropos of nothing. We all remember Reagan took 49 states, Mondale winning only his home state of Minnesota (and DC). What I didn't realize was that Mondale only won Minnesota 0.18%, or less than 4,000 votes out of more than 2M cast. Wow.

Part of that had to be the taint of Carter (great man, poor prez) clinging to Mondale. Will the taint of Trump cling to any of these Rs when he loses?

My opinion: no. It is now the Trump party, and Trump Republicans are not going back in their holes. I can't wait to watch. I never before have been a partisan D (my support in my first eligible election went to GHW Bush in 1980), and I still wouldn't say I'm a partisan D, but I am certainly virulently anti-R now.

Gotta say this for the Ds, they would never let someone like Trump near their nomination. But if they ever do, I'm officially out. Because I'm never gonna waste my time on people like Spike Cohen and Vermin Supreme (Libertarians, in case you weren't familiar).

[dudog]

It really should be a Reaganesque 1984 landslide. I honestly don't get what anyone sees in him. He's such a skeez.

Most normal people don't see what was so attractive about Jim Jones and David Koresh, but cult leaders have that skill.

I get what you're saying, but only 918 drank Jones' kool-aid, and less than a tenth of that drank Koresh's. Over 40 million people (maybe over 50 or 60M) are going to be voting for Trump.

(I have hope that it is going to be as low as 40M...but have doubt in my fellow Americans)

[CameronBornAndBred]

Most normal people don't see what was so attractive about Jim Jones and David Koresh, but cult leaders have that skill.

I get what you're saying, but only 918 drank Jones' kool-aid, and less than a tenth of that drank Koresh's. Over 40 million people (maybe over 50 or 60M) are going to be voting for Trump.

(I have hope that it is going to be as low as 40M...but have doubt in my fellow Americans)

Jones and Koresh didn't have Twitter. Whew.

[gumbomoop]

Most normal people don't see what was so attractive about Jim Jones and David Koresh, but cult leaders have that skill.

I get what you're saying, but only 918 drank Jones' kool-aid, and less than a tenth of that drank Koresh's. Over 40 million people (maybe over 50 or 60M) are going to be voting for Trump.

The word “cult” is appropriate. I have no expertise in explaining cult mindsets, but it strikes me as ironic that Trump supporters claim that Trump opponents are afflicted with “Trump Derangement Syndrome.” By which they mean, Trump just drives his opponents crazy. The irony is that it is Trump supporters themselves who suffer from actual “Trump Derangement Syndrome.” Trump’s most avid, boisterous supporters are deranged, militant members of a Trump cult. The most extreme of the extreme are the nutty conspiracy theorists who advance the QAnon filth. That QAnon nutters now constitute a noticeable, growing segment of Trump supporters is finally discombobulating the sane Trump Republicans, a few of whom are nervously hoping Trump will distance himself from QCrazy. He won’t. I’m not certain he’ll dog-whistle to the QNutters during the convention itself, but I wouldn’t rule it out.

The Republican Party has been transformed over the last half-century, bit-by-bit laying the groundwork for Trumpism, starting with a revived intellectual conservatism in the 1950s, lying low during the Civil Rights Movement, supporting the Vietnam War, then sputtering until but flowering with Reagan, growing angrier with the Gingrich Revolution, exploding during the Obama presidency. I won’t claim that TrumpCult fully explains why ~60m will vote for Trump a second time. Various factors, some perhaps irrational and cultish, others rational if narrow-minded, cut through and link all 3 of Trump’s bases. These factors — others of you will be able to identify some I’ve missed — have arisen over the last 40 years or so.

1. Reactionary populism — a desire to return to a time of presumed greatness, when the nation was led by white men. So, nostalgia for the 1950s.
2. White nationalism — a belief that the U.S. was founded as a white Christian nation. Liberal revisionist historians have basically written white people out of our history. So, we must recapture our national-racial greatness by acknowledging that immigration of dark-skinned peoples is dangerous to white culture and racial purity. And, truth be told, slavery was actually good for black people, because it civilized them. Unfortunately, long term it was bad for white civilization, which is now stuck with a significant minority population which will never adapt to caucasian norms.
3. Anti-abortion — the view that abortion is murder. So, we should reject the near-consensus of 20 years ago that abortion should be “safe, legal, and rare.” We must have judges who will overturn Roe v. Wade.
4. Opposition to political correctness and identity politics. So, affirmative action deprives white men of good jobs, Democrats kow-tow to every ethnic/minority group, etc. [NB: Trump supporters do not recognize #s 1 and 2 above as their own fervent identity politics.]
5. Detestation of homosexuality — the belief that homosexuality and bisexuality are lifestyle choices rather than sexual orientations. So, gay marriage is disgusting, unnatural, an abomination unto the Lord. Christian bakers should not be forced to bake cakes for gay weddings.
6. De-regulation — the view that our free enterprise system and religious freedom are weighed down by bureaucratic regulations. So, wealthy Americans deserve massive tax reduction to make up for all the millions they’ve lost through Big Government regulations, working class Americans can’t get ahead because of small business regulations, and Christian are deprived of religious freedom because Democrats have instituted anti-Christian laws and intend to destroy Christianity.

The vast majority of Trump supporters have nurtured intense grudges in the last couple of decades. Many of our neighbors, good people who are loving, kind, competent, common-sensible, are also deeply angry. Neither Democrats nor Republican leaders in 2016 recognized this long-developing phenomenon. So, previously mainstream Republicans did not take Trump’s candidacy seriously, and Democrats did not see how perfectly Hillary Clinton symbolized the grudge-hatred welling up in tens of millions of Americans.

I’ve no idea how many years it will take to get over the vicious forces Trump has let loose. It is said that the election of 2020 echoes the election of 1864, when in the midst of our Civil War the very existence of our constitutional democratic republic was literally at stake. Ponder that ominous analogy: For many white Southerners, the Civil War has never ended. Will Trumpists prosecute — by Internet word and armed deed — this culture war for decades? Will they win? And if they lose elections, will White Nationalism became this century’s equivalent of the neo-Confederate “Lost Cause”?

[CameronBornAndBred]

The word “cult” is appropriate. I have no expertise in explaining cult mindsets, but it strikes me as ironic that Trump supporters claim that Trump opponents are afflicted with “Trump Derangement Syndrome.” By which they mean, Trump just drives his opponents crazy. The irony is that it is Trump supporters themselves who suffer from actual “Trump Derangement Syndrome.” Trump’s most avid, boisterous supporters are deranged, militant members of a Trump cult. The most extreme of the extreme are the nutty conspiracy theorists who advance the QAnon filth. That QAnon nutters now constitute a noticeable, growing segment of Trump supporters is finally discombobulating the sane Trump Republicans, a few of whom are nervously hoping Trump will distance himself from QCrazy. He won’t. I’m not certain he’ll dog-whistle to the QNutters during the convention itself, but I wouldn’t rule it out.

The Republican Party has been transformed over the last half-century, bit-by-bit laying the groundwork for Trumpism, starting with a revived intellectual conservatism in the 1950s, lying low during the Civil Rights Movement, supporting the Vietnam War, then sputtering until but flowering with Reagan, growing angrier with the Gingrich Revolution, exploding during the Obama presidency. I won’t claim that TrumpCult fully explains why ~60m will vote for Trump a second time. Various factors, some perhaps irrational and cultish, others rational if narrow-minded, cut through and link all 3 of Trump’s bases. These factors — others of you will be able to identify some I’ve missed — have arisen over the last 40 years or so.

1. Reactionary populism — a desire to return to a time of presumed greatness, when the nation was led by white men. So, nostalgia for the 1950s.
2. White nationalism — a belief that the U.S. was founded as a white Christian nation. Liberal revisionist historians have basically written white people out of our history. So, we must recapture our national-racial greatness by acknowledging that immigration of dark-skinned peoples is dangerous to white culture and racial purity. And, truth be told, slavery was actually good for black people, because it civilized them. Unfortunately, long term it was bad for white civilization, which is now stuck with a significant minority population which will never adapt to caucasian norms.
3. Anti-abortion — the view that abortion is murder. So, we should reject the near-consensus of 20 years ago that abortion should be “safe, legal, and rare.” We must have judges who will overturn Roe v. Wade.
4. Opposition to political correctness and identity politics. So, affirmative action deprives white men of good jobs, Democrats kow-tow to every ethnic/minority group, etc. [NB: Trump supporters do not recognize #s 1 and 2 above as their own fervent identity politics.]
5. Detestation of homosexuality — the belief that homosexuality and bisexuality are lifestyle choices rather than sexual orientations. So, gay marriage is disgusting, unnatural, an abomination unto the Lord. Christian bakers should not be forced to bake cakes for gay weddings.
6. De-regulation — the view that our free enterprise system and religious freedom are weighed down by bureaucratic regulations. So, wealthy Americans deserve massive tax reduction to make up for all the millions they’ve lost through Big Government regulations, working class Americans can’t get ahead because of small business regulations, and Christian are deprived of religious freedom because Democrats have instituted anti-Christian laws and intend to destroy Christianity.

The vast majority of Trump supporters have nurtured intense grudges in the last couple of decades. Many of our neighbors, good people who are loving, kind, competent, common-sensible, are also deeply angry. Neither Democrats nor Republican leaders in 2016 recognized this long-developing phenomenon. So, previously mainstream Republicans did not take Trump’s candidacy seriously, and Democrats did not see how perfectly Hillary Clinton symbolized the grudge-hatred welling up in tens of millions of Americans.

I’ve no idea how many years it will take to get over the vicious forces Trump has let loose. It is said that the election of 2020 echoes the election of 1864, when in the midst of our Civil War the very existence of our constitutional democratic republic was literally at stake. Ponder that ominous analogy: For many white Southerners, the Civil War has never ended. Will Trumpists prosecute — by Internet word and armed deed — this culture war for decades? Will they win? And if they lose elections, will White Nationalism became this century’s equivalent of the neo-Confederate “Lost Cause”?

[CameronBornAndBred]

I'm guessing the WaPo won't be endorsing Trump this year.

And in its latest column Friday — headlined “A second Trump term might injure the democratic experiment beyond recovery” — the newspaper’s board also debunked “two huge falsehoods” that Trump will likely tell in a bid to beat Democratic nominee Joe Biden in November.

“One is that the nation, his presidency and, above all, Mr. Trump himself are innocent victims of COVID-19. In fact, his own negligence, ignorance and malpractice turned what would have been a daunting challenge for any president into a national disaster,” wrote the board.

“The other is that there was anything to admire in his record before the virus struck,” it said. “It is true that the economic growth initiated under President Barack Obama had continued, at about the same modest rate. Mr. Trump achieved this growth by ratcheting up America’s deficit and long-term debt to record levels, with a tax cut that showered benefits on the wealthy.”

Ultimately, “history will record Mr. Trump’s presidency as a march of wanton, uninterrupted, tragic destruction,” the board wrote.

https://www.yahoo.com/huffpost/washingt ... 46640.html

[OPK]

In secret recordings, Trump’s sister dumps on him for being a dishonest, unprincipled, uncaring piece of shit:

https://twitter.com/washingtonpost/stat ... 43458?s=21

(My summary)

[OPK]

In case that is paywalled: https://apple.news/At6IgxrvMS6CDwB87UE58lA

[CameronBornAndBred]

Such a lovely and fun family.

[gumbomoop]

In secret recordings, Trump’s sister dumps on him for being a dishonest, unprincipled, uncaring piece of shit.

The single most important thing to understand about Trump’s character is that he is a sociopath. If not (quite) more important than all his other truly despicable characteristics combined, his sociopathy is by far the most important single thing.

He is incapable of normal human empathy. He is incapable of admitting error or of apologizing. He is incapable of accepting responsibility. He lacks a conscience, and thus cannot feel guilt, shame, or remorse. He has an insatiable need to dominate others and win at all — all — costs. He is totally self-absorbed and self-obsessed. He is delusional, believing literally that what he thinks and says will become true.

[OZZIE4DUKE]

Is it acceptable to label Trump a pathological liar who lies both outrageously and matter-of-factly every day?

Is that name-calling based on mere opinion? Would I need to cite WaPo’s daily updating on the number of lies?

This is not an opinion, it is a fact.

That said, Donald Trump is a despicable excuse of a human being. He has no morals, ethics nor integrity. He lies and cheats at will. He views life as a game to be won at all costs, and the only rules are "Trump's rules".

Ahhh! That felt good!

I think we’re all saying the same thing! And we seem to have run StrayGator off after his initial post. Stray is a friend and I’m sorry he’s left us. Although I doubt it, I’m hoping against hope that maybe we’ve convinced one Trump supporter to vote for Biden, but I know better than that.

[gumbomoop]

I think we’re all saying the same thing! And we seem to have run StrayGator off after his initial post. Stray is a friend and I’m sorry he’s left us. Although I doubt it, I’m hoping against hope that maybe we’ve convinced one Trump supporter to vote for Biden, but I know better than that.

Two quick points.

1. But the specific details of the generalized same thing are very important.

2. Huh??? I can’t find any post from StrayGator. Honestly, I’ve never read anything written or said by a Trump supporter that is within miles — logic, coherence, persuasiveness — of any post I’ve ever read by StrayGator. I’d be surprised if he supports Trump. And if he does, I’d be further surprised that we mere mortals have run him off!

[dudog]

Wish I could post this 2-minute video OY. Jon Meacham on Brayden Harrington...and us as Americans:

https://www.msnbc.com/andrea-mitchell-r ... 0432069788