There’s a photo out there from yesterday which I hope will soon spread like wildfire. It shows a half-empty House chamber devoid of all Republicans, but every Democratic member reporting for duty, standing proudly by their seats, business as usual. Rather than swear in a newly elected member to force a vote on the Epstein Files, let alone to stick around to work out a budget reconciliation bill with the Senate, the little putz from Louisiana just dissolved the chamber and every Repuldican went scurrying for the hills.
It made me remember those first days after the second Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, when the CIA tried to spirit Zelenskyy out of the country. Instead he grabbed his cellphone and wandered around the Maidan at night. “The President is here, he said, “he hasn’t gone anywhere.” His companions craned their necks to get in the picture, as Zelenskyy took selfies.
“The Prime Minister is here with me,” he added. “The head of the Presidential Administration is here. We are all here,” he said, showing all the pillared buildings and seats of national power from which Ukraine was governed, all still intact.
We are here, Republicans. We are still here, fighting for healthcare and for constitutional government. Where are you, and what are YOU fighting for, inquiring minds want to know?
Can we please keep this to "Dems in DC are doing this to keep health insurance premiums for the 99% from doubling or even tripling in the next calendar year." This is primarily a kitchen table issue. I don't know about y'all, but my wife and I can't afford a doubling of our premiums. Can you? Do you know anybody who can?
All of the other Trumpian/GOP authoritarian abuses are also very important, but it's essential we stay on message about this shutdown fight being about *keeping healthcare affordable*. So until the shutdown ends, kindly refrain form centering on ICE abuses, military in cities, disregard of court rulings, etc. Stay on message.
Gag! Trump just pulls his numbers out of some nether place. They invariably stink to high heaven. You would think some Republicans would be questioning the ridiculous numbers by now!
I'd like to think that by now they'd be questioning all of it, but then sometimes I have to pull back and live in a world of wishful thinking so I don't lose my mind.
Harris, I would love to live in a rational world, or a world of wishful thinking. The world, and especially the regime, keep slamming me back to reality.
Step away from your phone or computer or TV or wherever it's coming from. Whatever you do, do NOT watch JD Vance live on TV lying his @$$ off. Disgusted with MSNBC for airing it (I switched to a rerun of a favorite series), although Chris Jansing jumped in once to correct some lies. I hope she keeps doing it, but I didn't have the stomach for it to see if she continued.
A broad coalition of organizations — including Public Citizen, Indivisible, MoveOn, and more — are hosting a nationwide organizing call TONIGHT about the government shutdown that Donald Trump and congressional Republicans are forcing upon the American people.
Join us from 8:30 to 9:30 EDT tonight. Sign up here and we’ll send you the info you need to participate.
Yes. The Dems need a huge poster saying "Cost of what Dems want for healthcare: $xxx. Cost of Trump's tax break for the wealthy: $XXXXXXXX." The GOP is protecting a president who protects the wealthy. Democrats want to protect US.
"We are here, Republicans. We are still here, fighting for healthcare and for constitutional government. Where are you, and what are YOU fighting for, inquiring minds want to know?"
I've been asking the same question of Jen (what are you fighting for) for the past few months and I have not heard one word from her. It's always a scree about "Trump this", "Trump that", "lawless", "authoritarian", etc. But never once has she or anyone else on the Contrarian staff addressed what Democrats did wrong in 2024, what corrective actions need to be taken and what the party stands for today in order to attract new voters or get back those they lost last November. If all you want to be is simply "anti-Trump", well, we see where that's gotten you - he's been elected twice. And Trump will no longer be on any ballot.
"If Democrats do their job, Republicans may regret forcing through an agenda Americans detest and abdicating their role as the first branch of government."
This is all true, but the underlying arrogance of the Republican party is the belief that they will cling to power by undermining free and fair elections. They are gambling that a toxic brew of voter suppression and outright fraud will keep them in power. I think the only explanation for the continuing trend of passing so many laws that hurt their own constitutents can only be explained by their belief they cannot be defeated.
It's up to voters to prove them wrong. That will require a great deal of activism. To date that hasn't happened in sufficient numbers. Time for everyone to get actively involved in supporting Democratic candidates. Join one of the many activist groups, - Indivisible, Swing Left, and Sister District Project to name just a few. Sitting on the sidelines and watching our Republic fall is unacceptable. Nobody is going to save us but us.
Good luck with that. Trump has so terrified the Republicans in the House and Senate that he will primary them - among other less savoury possibilities - that defying him is virtually unthinkable. The concept of public service has been replaced by self-service and our Country is the poorer for it.
Amen. I’ve been thinking this since Trump was elected. The folks who worked for a decade or so on Project 2025 have gained power. There is no way they will relinquish it.
I suspect that his ignorance and cluelessness is a product of his dementia, which was on full display on Tuesday. Also: he is not in charge. He is merely the overstuffed orange puppet being propped up by Miller, Vought, and their minions. And that is yet another reason why he knows nothing. His handlers feed him nonsensical faked videos of what is happening--because he is completely unable to read anymore--and then get sound bites of his responses which they then process into social media posts.
Okay, I spent 71 minutes and 6 seconds of my life (that I will never get back) watching and listening to Trump speak to generals, admirals and other military personnel. I dare anyone to watch our dear leader speak and not think: this guy is senile. He's demented. He has dementia. He's the great-uncle that the family doesn't allow out in public. How is he still president? He has control of our nuclear arsenal. It left me distraught, in despair, frightened out of my wits and depressed. I'm calling my Senator and Rep now to call for impeachment. This man is batshit crazy!
The House is out of town again, so they can't negotiate? The only people who fail to show up for talks are people who know they have no chance of getting their way.
"If Democrats do their job, Republicans may regret forcing through an agenda Americans detest and abdicating their role as the first branch of government."
Dems can identify all Republicans who will lose their Obamacare subsidies. Can identify all Repbublican medical providers filing for bankruptcy.
It's up to the media to report it. Interview some of these folks.
Exactly. The Washington Post Editorial Board's headline this morning: "Democrats just marched into a shutdown trap". But many paragraphs down they do admit: "None of this is to say that Democrats are solely to blame for this shutdown. Republican leaders knew they would need Democratic buy-in to keep the government running, yet they projected little interest in serious talks."
As an example of what happens when the media fails to keep us accurately informed, look no further that the journalists who have left the Washington Post, and the list of readers who have withdrawn their subscriptions. This should be happening en masse to those sources who have bent to this forced propaganda.
The NYT is as bad as WaPo, they just don't have a celebrity owner like Bezos. Having cancelled my subscriptions to both, I can read only their headlines and they are equally innocuous to the president.
Couldn't use the NYT as an example, as I'm not a subscriber (my Post subscription is up in November) though it seems that corporate media is doing us a major disservice by sane-washing that which is totally abnormal.
That may be so, Steve, but you're assuming there will BE a next election...we live in unprecedented times, and our guardrails have virtually all been removed.
I'm all for hope, trying hard to hang onto mine, but the things you mention are in grave jeopardy now. Hope today seems more like a faith, based on outdated realities. I read The Contrarian and take it day by day, but I wish I had your convictions. Truly!
Plenty of people do. My predictions have been correct since 2016. And I predict that we go right back to how bad things were before, if we even get out of this in our lifetimes. People have extremely short memories and even shorter attention spans.
He thinks it's an episode of The Apprentice, and that millions will cheer as he tells the Democratic Party (and the republic) "You're fired!" Fox and Twitter will move heaven and earth to enhance this delusion.
Meanwhile on semi-deep background Russ Vought and Stephen Miller, the two co-presidents who run the show while Donald plays Reality TV celebrity games, are gloating at the opening this absurd and unnecessary breakdown will provide them to roll through the fragile machinery of governance like a Panzer division.
This is the most willfully destructive presidency in the Nations history. Grover Norquist must be weeping with joy. It is simply mind boggling to me that there are so many out there who are willing to destroy Our Republic in the name of an irrational fantasy world made up in the bowels of the reichwing media bubble. Throwing all these government workers out on the street will not go unnoticed. Nor will the millions who lose their access to healthcare. ACA was popular. People will notice closed down hospitals. They are noticing the increase in prices with every shopping trip. Stationing the military on the streets of American cities will not go unnoticed. The loss of our once exuberant tourism industry is already being felt in destination spots. Everywhere I look, placing a Mad King on the newly minted throne of the United States is a really bad deal. But fear not - when the recession/depression arrives there won't be any confusing statistics to be found - anywhere.
Yet still: the people that voted for him and them and this historicsl national disgrace and degradation will vote for all of it again and again and again because "the Democrats are worse." That's the reality.
The reality is that Democrats aren't in the majority in Congress and all that has happened has been under GOP leadership. Of course, reality has nothing to do with the way a segment of our population acts -- unfortunately. Critical thinking was long abandoned.
In the end it all comes down to too much Fox News and their endless series of total lies. If you watch this all day long, and most MAGAts do, you really think all Democrats are child molesters and criminals, when reality is that DL is the main criminal in American History.
Jen, you used the perfect word for Trump's type of speech, babbling it is. His speech jumps from one topic to another. As his niece Mary Trump states he has a disorganized mind.
So here we are in a shut down because we have a President who displays childish reactions instead of serving the American people. I agree his popularity is on the negative side. I hope the Democrats hold onto the strength they possess and continue to fight the good fight.
Trump's meeting with the military yesterday left him disgruntled because he received no applause. I for one love the military for the discipline they displayed throughout the meeting. They did not flinch when Trump said he would take their stripes if they disagree with him.
I wish we could have been inside some of the generals' heads as they listened to the Bone-Spur draft dodger berate them and their careers. I expect that they were giving him the finger behind their stony faces. What a show of idiocy, egotism, ignorance and HYPOCRISY...but those are the only things we can expect from the Felon-in-Chief and his boot-lickers.
I agree Carol. Hypocrisy at the highest level. The level of ignorance in the Executive Office of the US is unbelievable. The only conclusion I could come up with is that they agree with making America a Fascist Regime. Many of his executive cult members have degrees; the hillbilly elegy himself was against Trump before he became the VP. This tells me that he can be bought; his morals are meaningless. He has a daughter; how can he support a pedophile?
A good consequence that I can see from that “meeting“ was that that collection of generals and admirals saw and heard for themselves how completely unfit he is to be commander in chief. When the illegal orders are issued for voter suppression or arresting citizens or whatever, I can see these people saying Nope we’re not doing that.
The dog and pony show before the generals was embarrassing and shameful. That the drunken "Secretary of War" had the nerve to prance around the stage lecturing a roomful of men and women who are so far above him in their dedication to the country, in their sense of duty and honor, and in their understanding of their oaths and the importance of defending the nation was disgusting and vomit-producing. Then he was followed by an even more despicable performance by a draft dodger who had the gall to threaten the very defenders of the nation he is trying to destroy...the spectacle is almost beyond words. Pretty soon we'll all be babbling in an effort to come to terms with the daily humiliation caused by the narcissistic Felon-in-Chief and his bunch of syncophantic enablers.
Mike Johnson is proving to be a very effective street fighter, to the surprise of many of us. His apparent humility is a hugely successful charade. MAGA uncovered the perfect stealth partisan to do their bidding. How he squares his much vaunted biblical grounding with his words and deeds must mystify his friends and family. You know.... Leviticus 25:35
I seem to remember a certain Rabbi who spoke truth to such power, using the term 'whited sepulchres,' by which he meant a those with a squeaky clean facade and full of rottenness underneath.
Sorry, but "conservatives" and Christian Nationalists don't like that part of Leviticus. I believe they think it's too woke to be included, and was probably stuck in there by liberal activists.
Everything Donald Trump does makes perfect sense if you imagine him to be a spoiled ten-year-old child trapped in a 79-year-old's body and invested with unlimited wealth and power.
I'd say that's a pretty accurate summation of what makes him tick, except that you should have said "a spoiled ten-year-old schoolyard bully trapped.............."
Interestingly, Don the Con was 10 years old in 1956, and in some ways, that's when his view of the world is anchored.
Coal was still in use
It took an army of men (and pretty much all were men) to make steel
Cars were big, spewed pollution, and had tailfins
Women didn't work (at least not the middle class and upper middle class ones)
The polls results cited are meaningless. As long as Republicans stay silent and the Supreme Court has those six corrupt justices, Trump can do whatever he wants. Health care cutbacks impact everyone, but will such negative impacts sway the voters in 2026? Especially since the cuts will not take effect until after the 2026 election. The most important thing for Democrats to do is to ensure the populace knows what is coming and tell them WHEN it will happen.
The ObamaCare subsidies for ACA health care plan recipients will expire at the end of this year and have not been renewed by Congress under the BBB. That means starting in January, monthly ACA payments will double. I think voters will be able to figure that out and not be happy about it long before November ‘26.
Whether they will figure out that Trump and the GOP have screwed them to provide tax cuts for billionaires is something else. The MAGA cult is easily manipulated by GOP propaganda and Fox. Whether it is their fear of minorities, their belief that all progressives are godless and evil, their strong aversion to paying taxes and believing that all their money goes to undeserving freeloaders, or some other combination of anger and resentment, they can easily be led by the lies and gaslighting that Trump and the GOP spin. Our only hope is that enough middle class voters wake up in time and realize Trump and the GOP don’t give a s**t about them. I won’t be holding my breath.
As far as the polls go, I can’t even believe there’s 40% who think what he’s doing is OK? And where are all the missing percentage people? Unless we have more outrage and bigger crowds of outraged people, nothings going to change.
Trump has managed to successfully terrorize the cowering and sycophantic members of his own party to submit to his will. Three cheers for the Democrats for displaying courage and integrity for standing up to him!
Then there is the famous picture of the tobacco executives standing before Congress with hands raised taking an oath, and lying their x-ing heads off. (See the Russell Crow movie: The Insider.)
Then there is George Orwell's doublespeak, which many democrats seem not to be able to counteract: For example, yesterday Congressman Thune spoke about the shutdown, and about "the democrats" pushing for "special interests" where, in fact, democrats are holding out for the continuation of health care, **which is not exactly a bridge to nowhere kind of "special interest."** And the newsperson didn't call him on it.
The man of the hour, then, is still George Orwell, with his ideas about doublespeak, which is just another word for lying as a form of self-servicing under the table. The more fundamental point is: there is no real equivalent to authentic self-honesty and integrity, even if it hurts.
If we want to make America Great Again, give the current administration some sort of offramp to political retirement aka oblivion. And let's get on with supporting democratic institutions.
Take action to punish Republicans for being Trump's doormat by voting for these Democrats on Nov.4. 2025: Mikie Sherrill for Governor of New Jersey and
Abigail Spanberger for Governor of Virginia.
Start organizing now to vote these Republican Senator out of office;
IA: OPEN, NC: OPEN, ME: Susan Collins, AL: Dan Sullivan, TX; John Cornyn, OH: John Husted.
There’s a photo out there from yesterday which I hope will soon spread like wildfire. It shows a half-empty House chamber devoid of all Republicans, but every Democratic member reporting for duty, standing proudly by their seats, business as usual. Rather than swear in a newly elected member to force a vote on the Epstein Files, let alone to stick around to work out a budget reconciliation bill with the Senate, the little putz from Louisiana just dissolved the chamber and every Repuldican went scurrying for the hills.
It made me remember those first days after the second Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, when the CIA tried to spirit Zelenskyy out of the country. Instead he grabbed his cellphone and wandered around the Maidan at night. “The President is here, he said, “he hasn’t gone anywhere.” His companions craned their necks to get in the picture, as Zelenskyy took selfies.
“The Prime Minister is here with me,” he added. “The head of the Presidential Administration is here. We are all here,” he said, showing all the pillared buildings and seats of national power from which Ukraine was governed, all still intact.
We are here, Republicans. We are still here, fighting for healthcare and for constitutional government. Where are you, and what are YOU fighting for, inquiring minds want to know?
Nice reminder.
Can we please keep this to "Dems in DC are doing this to keep health insurance premiums for the 99% from doubling or even tripling in the next calendar year." This is primarily a kitchen table issue. I don't know about y'all, but my wife and I can't afford a doubling of our premiums. Can you? Do you know anybody who can?
All of the other Trumpian/GOP authoritarian abuses are also very important, but it's essential we stay on message about this shutdown fight being about *keeping healthcare affordable*. So until the shutdown ends, kindly refrain form centering on ICE abuses, military in cities, disregard of court rulings, etc. Stay on message.
I can tell you what they are not fighting for -- their constituents!
That's the million (or trillion) dollar question, isn't it?
Gag! Trump just pulls his numbers out of some nether place. They invariably stink to high heaven. You would think some Republicans would be questioning the ridiculous numbers by now!
I'd like to think that by now they'd be questioning all of it, but then sometimes I have to pull back and live in a world of wishful thinking so I don't lose my mind.
Harris, I would love to live in a rational world, or a world of wishful thinking. The world, and especially the regime, keep slamming me back to reality.
Step away from your phone or computer or TV or wherever it's coming from. Whatever you do, do NOT watch JD Vance live on TV lying his @$$ off. Disgusted with MSNBC for airing it (I switched to a rerun of a favorite series), although Chris Jansing jumped in once to correct some lies. I hope she keeps doing it, but I didn't have the stomach for it to see if she continued.
A broad coalition of organizations — including Public Citizen, Indivisible, MoveOn, and more — are hosting a nationwide organizing call TONIGHT about the government shutdown that Donald Trump and congressional Republicans are forcing upon the American people.
Join us from 8:30 to 9:30 EDT tonight. Sign up here and we’ll send you the info you need to participate.
https://www.mobilize.us/healthcarenotauthoritarianism/event/851068/?utm_source=PublicCitizen
Yes. The Dems need a huge poster saying "Cost of what Dems want for healthcare: $xxx. Cost of Trump's tax break for the wealthy: $XXXXXXXX." The GOP is protecting a president who protects the wealthy. Democrats want to protect US.
Facts don't matter to them
"We are here, Republicans. We are still here, fighting for healthcare and for constitutional government. Where are you, and what are YOU fighting for, inquiring minds want to know?"
I've been asking the same question of Jen (what are you fighting for) for the past few months and I have not heard one word from her. It's always a scree about "Trump this", "Trump that", "lawless", "authoritarian", etc. But never once has she or anyone else on the Contrarian staff addressed what Democrats did wrong in 2024, what corrective actions need to be taken and what the party stands for today in order to attract new voters or get back those they lost last November. If all you want to be is simply "anti-Trump", well, we see where that's gotten you - he's been elected twice. And Trump will no longer be on any ballot.
Maybe it's time for a better game plan.
Great comment, thanks.
"If Democrats do their job, Republicans may regret forcing through an agenda Americans detest and abdicating their role as the first branch of government."
This is all true, but the underlying arrogance of the Republican party is the belief that they will cling to power by undermining free and fair elections. They are gambling that a toxic brew of voter suppression and outright fraud will keep them in power. I think the only explanation for the continuing trend of passing so many laws that hurt their own constitutents can only be explained by their belief they cannot be defeated.
It's up to voters to prove them wrong. That will require a great deal of activism. To date that hasn't happened in sufficient numbers. Time for everyone to get actively involved in supporting Democratic candidates. Join one of the many activist groups, - Indivisible, Swing Left, and Sister District Project to name just a few. Sitting on the sidelines and watching our Republic fall is unacceptable. Nobody is going to save us but us.
“Those who vote decide nothing. Those who count the vote decide everything.”
― Joseph Stalin. We wuz screwed in 2016 & 2024. Did Trump admit that Musk stole Pennsylvania?
We need to persuade a few Congressional Republicans, many who privately admit Trump is nuts, to stand up.
He admitted it in public, and nobody sneezed. Any attempts to discredit the 2024 election fall on deaf ears. Substack writers avoid it completely.
Good luck with that. Trump has so terrified the Republicans in the House and Senate that he will primary them - among other less savoury possibilities - that defying him is virtually unthinkable. The concept of public service has been replaced by self-service and our Country is the poorer for it.
Some of them fear for their lives.
I strongly suspect you are spot-on.
Amen. I’ve been thinking this since Trump was elected. The folks who worked for a decade or so on Project 2025 have gained power. There is no way they will relinquish it.
I suspect that his ignorance and cluelessness is a product of his dementia, which was on full display on Tuesday. Also: he is not in charge. He is merely the overstuffed orange puppet being propped up by Miller, Vought, and their minions. And that is yet another reason why he knows nothing. His handlers feed him nonsensical faked videos of what is happening--because he is completely unable to read anymore--and then get sound bites of his responses which they then process into social media posts.
Okay, I spent 71 minutes and 6 seconds of my life (that I will never get back) watching and listening to Trump speak to generals, admirals and other military personnel. I dare anyone to watch our dear leader speak and not think: this guy is senile. He's demented. He has dementia. He's the great-uncle that the family doesn't allow out in public. How is he still president? He has control of our nuclear arsenal. It left me distraught, in despair, frightened out of my wits and depressed. I'm calling my Senator and Rep now to call for impeachment. This man is batshit crazy!
They wake him up, give him drugs to keep him semi-alert, have him sign the latest Project 2025 wet dreams and then send him off to the golf course.
The House is out of town again, so they can't negotiate? The only people who fail to show up for talks are people who know they have no chance of getting their way.
Losers following the Loser-in-Chief.
"If Democrats do their job, Republicans may regret forcing through an agenda Americans detest and abdicating their role as the first branch of government."
Dems can identify all Republicans who will lose their Obamacare subsidies. Can identify all Repbublican medical providers filing for bankruptcy.
It's up to the media to report it. Interview some of these folks.
They will not. The "mainstream media," is owned by a few corporations who will say whatever is best for their bottom lines.
Exactly. The Washington Post Editorial Board's headline this morning: "Democrats just marched into a shutdown trap". But many paragraphs down they do admit: "None of this is to say that Democrats are solely to blame for this shutdown. Republican leaders knew they would need Democratic buy-in to keep the government running, yet they projected little interest in serious talks."
Ah, well. Bezos.
As an example of what happens when the media fails to keep us accurately informed, look no further that the journalists who have left the Washington Post, and the list of readers who have withdrawn their subscriptions. This should be happening en masse to those sources who have bent to this forced propaganda.
The NYT is as bad as WaPo, they just don't have a celebrity owner like Bezos. Having cancelled my subscriptions to both, I can read only their headlines and they are equally innocuous to the president.
Couldn't use the NYT as an example, as I'm not a subscriber (my Post subscription is up in November) though it seems that corporate media is doing us a major disservice by sane-washing that which is totally abnormal.
I always believed that Republicans in Congress are finally protecting their fabulous, lifetime health care.
Eventually, their voters will find that they aren't getting what they were promised, and will vote them out. There always comes a tipping point.
That may be so, Steve, but you're assuming there will BE a next election...we live in unprecedented times, and our guardrails have virtually all been removed.
I still have to have hope for the future of our country, which includes the return to a sane democracy, support for the Constitution, and elections.
I'm all for hope, trying hard to hang onto mine, but the things you mention are in grave jeopardy now. Hope today seems more like a faith, based on outdated realities. I read The Contrarian and take it day by day, but I wish I had your convictions. Truly!
Don't underestimate people liking the taste of gun metal in their mouth.
I wouldn't but then I'd question their sanity. I've had that experience. Nobody with any sense or feelings for their own welfare would like the taste.
Plenty of people do. My predictions have been correct since 2016. And I predict that we go right back to how bad things were before, if we even get out of this in our lifetimes. People have extremely short memories and even shorter attention spans.
I don't know what kind of a doctor you are but they have the same as everybody else. What they do have is insider info and DONORS.
Like access to Walter Reade Medical? I think not.
Actually that's just the president and vice president.
They are in the same system as all other federal employees. Have to pay premiums.
He thinks it's an episode of The Apprentice, and that millions will cheer as he tells the Democratic Party (and the republic) "You're fired!" Fox and Twitter will move heaven and earth to enhance this delusion.
Meanwhile on semi-deep background Russ Vought and Stephen Miller, the two co-presidents who run the show while Donald plays Reality TV celebrity games, are gloating at the opening this absurd and unnecessary breakdown will provide them to roll through the fragile machinery of governance like a Panzer division.
This is the most willfully destructive presidency in the Nations history. Grover Norquist must be weeping with joy. It is simply mind boggling to me that there are so many out there who are willing to destroy Our Republic in the name of an irrational fantasy world made up in the bowels of the reichwing media bubble. Throwing all these government workers out on the street will not go unnoticed. Nor will the millions who lose their access to healthcare. ACA was popular. People will notice closed down hospitals. They are noticing the increase in prices with every shopping trip. Stationing the military on the streets of American cities will not go unnoticed. The loss of our once exuberant tourism industry is already being felt in destination spots. Everywhere I look, placing a Mad King on the newly minted throne of the United States is a really bad deal. But fear not - when the recession/depression arrives there won't be any confusing statistics to be found - anywhere.
Yet still: the people that voted for him and them and this historicsl national disgrace and degradation will vote for all of it again and again and again because "the Democrats are worse." That's the reality.
The reality is that Democrats aren't in the majority in Congress and all that has happened has been under GOP leadership. Of course, reality has nothing to do with the way a segment of our population acts -- unfortunately. Critical thinking was long abandoned.
In the end it all comes down to too much Fox News and their endless series of total lies. If you watch this all day long, and most MAGAts do, you really think all Democrats are child molesters and criminals, when reality is that DL is the main criminal in American History.
Jen, you used the perfect word for Trump's type of speech, babbling it is. His speech jumps from one topic to another. As his niece Mary Trump states he has a disorganized mind.
So here we are in a shut down because we have a President who displays childish reactions instead of serving the American people. I agree his popularity is on the negative side. I hope the Democrats hold onto the strength they possess and continue to fight the good fight.
Trump's meeting with the military yesterday left him disgruntled because he received no applause. I for one love the military for the discipline they displayed throughout the meeting. They did not flinch when Trump said he would take their stripes if they disagree with him.
I wish we could have been inside some of the generals' heads as they listened to the Bone-Spur draft dodger berate them and their careers. I expect that they were giving him the finger behind their stony faces. What a show of idiocy, egotism, ignorance and HYPOCRISY...but those are the only things we can expect from the Felon-in-Chief and his boot-lickers.
I agree Carol. Hypocrisy at the highest level. The level of ignorance in the Executive Office of the US is unbelievable. The only conclusion I could come up with is that they agree with making America a Fascist Regime. Many of his executive cult members have degrees; the hillbilly elegy himself was against Trump before he became the VP. This tells me that he can be bought; his morals are meaningless. He has a daughter; how can he support a pedophile?
Don't bet on that. They aren't supposed to applaud at these meetings. The looks on their faces said it all.
Obvious that they want an all male, all white military.
Call out all the Repuplican female veteran officeholders -- especially his toady Joni Ernst. https://www.ernst.senate.gov/news/press-releases/ernst-statement-after-hegseth-hearing
Ernst (R-IA): retired Iowa Army National Guard lieutenant colonel who commanded a company during the Iraq War.
Representatives
Sheri Biggs (R-SC): A retired lieutenant colonel from the Mississippi Air National Guard.
Jennifer Kiggans (R-VA): A former U.S. Navy helicopter pilot.
Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL): An Air Force veteran who served in the Air National Guard.
Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-IA): A 24-year Army veteran.
The problem is the military overwhelmingly votes for these people.
A good consequence that I can see from that “meeting“ was that that collection of generals and admirals saw and heard for themselves how completely unfit he is to be commander in chief. When the illegal orders are issued for voter suppression or arresting citizens or whatever, I can see these people saying Nope we’re not doing that.
Ramblestilskin
The dog and pony show before the generals was embarrassing and shameful. That the drunken "Secretary of War" had the nerve to prance around the stage lecturing a roomful of men and women who are so far above him in their dedication to the country, in their sense of duty and honor, and in their understanding of their oaths and the importance of defending the nation was disgusting and vomit-producing. Then he was followed by an even more despicable performance by a draft dodger who had the gall to threaten the very defenders of the nation he is trying to destroy...the spectacle is almost beyond words. Pretty soon we'll all be babbling in an effort to come to terms with the daily humiliation caused by the narcissistic Felon-in-Chief and his bunch of syncophantic enablers.
Mike Johnson is proving to be a very effective street fighter, to the surprise of many of us. His apparent humility is a hugely successful charade. MAGA uncovered the perfect stealth partisan to do their bidding. How he squares his much vaunted biblical grounding with his words and deeds must mystify his friends and family. You know.... Leviticus 25:35
He is the very definition of false piety. A nasty little snake.
Or, you might say: A whited sepulchre appearing beautiful outward, but within, full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness.
Time to release Mikey's Grindr files. And Epstein! Epstein! Epstein!
I seem to remember a certain Rabbi who spoke truth to such power, using the term 'whited sepulchres,' by which he meant a those with a squeaky clean facade and full of rottenness underneath.
Where are the invesigative reporters interviewing his consituents in Shreveport who will lose their Obamacare subsidies?
Shreveport and throughout his state. It's way not filled with millionaires.
Sorry, but "conservatives" and Christian Nationalists don't like that part of Leviticus. I believe they think it's too woke to be included, and was probably stuck in there by liberal activists.
Everything Donald Trump does makes perfect sense if you imagine him to be a spoiled ten-year-old child trapped in a 79-year-old's body and invested with unlimited wealth and power.
I'd say that's a pretty accurate summation of what makes him tick, except that you should have said "a spoiled ten-year-old schoolyard bully trapped.............."
Interestingly, Don the Con was 10 years old in 1956, and in some ways, that's when his view of the world is anchored.
Coal was still in use
It took an army of men (and pretty much all were men) to make steel
Cars were big, spewed pollution, and had tailfins
Women didn't work (at least not the middle class and upper middle class ones)
Minorities were in the shadows
etc.
Women could work, but in very restricted roles like teachers, nurses, secretaries.
The polls results cited are meaningless. As long as Republicans stay silent and the Supreme Court has those six corrupt justices, Trump can do whatever he wants. Health care cutbacks impact everyone, but will such negative impacts sway the voters in 2026? Especially since the cuts will not take effect until after the 2026 election. The most important thing for Democrats to do is to ensure the populace knows what is coming and tell them WHEN it will happen.
The ObamaCare subsidies for ACA health care plan recipients will expire at the end of this year and have not been renewed by Congress under the BBB. That means starting in January, monthly ACA payments will double. I think voters will be able to figure that out and not be happy about it long before November ‘26.
Whether they will figure out that Trump and the GOP have screwed them to provide tax cuts for billionaires is something else. The MAGA cult is easily manipulated by GOP propaganda and Fox. Whether it is their fear of minorities, their belief that all progressives are godless and evil, their strong aversion to paying taxes and believing that all their money goes to undeserving freeloaders, or some other combination of anger and resentment, they can easily be led by the lies and gaslighting that Trump and the GOP spin. Our only hope is that enough middle class voters wake up in time and realize Trump and the GOP don’t give a s**t about them. I won’t be holding my breath.
We must hope that the shutdown lasts until the 2026 midterms.
As far as the polls go, I can’t even believe there’s 40% who think what he’s doing is OK? And where are all the missing percentage people? Unless we have more outrage and bigger crowds of outraged people, nothings going to change.
Except Dems have been total crap at messaging for decades.
Trump has managed to successfully terrorize the cowering and sycophantic members of his own party to submit to his will. Three cheers for the Democrats for displaying courage and integrity for standing up to him!
Then there is the famous picture of the tobacco executives standing before Congress with hands raised taking an oath, and lying their x-ing heads off. (See the Russell Crow movie: The Insider.)
Then there is George Orwell's doublespeak, which many democrats seem not to be able to counteract: For example, yesterday Congressman Thune spoke about the shutdown, and about "the democrats" pushing for "special interests" where, in fact, democrats are holding out for the continuation of health care, **which is not exactly a bridge to nowhere kind of "special interest."** And the newsperson didn't call him on it.
The man of the hour, then, is still George Orwell, with his ideas about doublespeak, which is just another word for lying as a form of self-servicing under the table. The more fundamental point is: there is no real equivalent to authentic self-honesty and integrity, even if it hurts.
If we want to make America Great Again, give the current administration some sort of offramp to political retirement aka oblivion. And let's get on with supporting democratic institutions.
“It’s difficult to reason—let alone negotiate—with someone so willfully ignorant.”
You are being too kind. He is not “willfully” ignorant. He can’t help it. “Stupid is, as Stupid does”—-and there is no cure for Stupidity.
What an absolute Fool he is! As are the citizens of this country who elected him——TWICE!—-to be their Leader. Unfathomable!
Stupidity coupled with mental disease and power is a dangerous combination, and we're living the evidence.
Take action to punish Republicans for being Trump's doormat by voting for these Democrats on Nov.4. 2025: Mikie Sherrill for Governor of New Jersey and
Abigail Spanberger for Governor of Virginia.
Start organizing now to vote these Republican Senator out of office;
IA: OPEN, NC: OPEN, ME: Susan Collins, AL: Dan Sullivan, TX; John Cornyn, OH: John Husted.