The sad part is that, even if Trump is defeated in November, there is now a base that supports his thinking and someone else will take up his mantle of trying to convince Americans that we are better off with autocracy. We have to remain vigilant long after this election cycle and enact more legislation and protections that preserve our freedoms and all the best parts of democratic ideals. We now see the cracks. They must be sealed.
Good analogy. Termites are often unseen, embedded, and destructive. It takes a concentrated extermination effort to eradicate the pests. Not Hitler type of eradication, but protecting our country from Trojan Horses.
which is why i call them 'magites'... they are termites to our way of life, undermining our foundational beliefs of freedom for all and justice. and they have infltrated our Supreme Court and made a mockery of it.
When Kamala becomes president, as you can tell I am fired up, we well need to start reaching out and make a concerned effort to talk with the other side and find common ground. This will be an extremely slow and difficult process, but if we do not, the divisions will worsen. Just my opinion.
I just watched a really good zoom about a group called Braver Angels that is bringing red and blue folks together. I haven’t yet checked out their website but is sounds great. Trump and Vance are soulless shams. The thought of never having to listen or hear from either of them again is music to my ears and soul.
There are folks who voted for the autocrat and are tired of the negativity. We need them. Here’s an article from the FL community “The Villages”. An unlikely place to find many Harris supporters or crossovers to “blue” according to stereotypes & its history. But the maga crowd didn’t muster a strong counter rally as in the past.
My biggest issue with MAGATS is their persecution complexes.
No one is trying to take their religions from them. We have freedom of religion. We have separation of church and state to ensure that freedom.
No one is telling anyone what to do with their bodies.
No one is telling them what to read or not to read.
No one is even coming for their guns we just ask for common sense regulation and to keep military weapons off our streets. You know so presidents and kids don’t get shot. Not sure why anyone would oppose that.
It is they who are forcing their wills on the rest of us.
They are so insecure and afraid of anyone or anything different than them that they have become an imminent threat to the rest of us.
Trump fuels their persecuted flames. That is his one and only job in this attack on the foundations of our nation.
Jeanette, I've made progess with conservatives I know, by sticking to the subjects we know best and care about the most. Since we are a rural community, agriculture, unions and corporations are our subjects.
Framing business as corporations versus individual business owners changes minds. Zeroing in on the privileges given housing development corporations, manufacturing corporations, and agricultural corporations really hits home here.
Framing unions as public employee unions versus labor unions generates lots of AhHa moments (and I never thought of it that way before comments).
These three conversation topics open minds. And once minds are open, the garbage spills out and solid thinking goes in. Of course, you have to know those subjects and how they impact people, but I thought people might like to know, it can be done.
Greetings! I am so encouraged by what you are doing. I believe you are among thousands of good people behind the scenes quietly trying to bring the light of reason back into our society. Thank you!!!
Thank you too. Interestingly enough, immigration is involved in all three of those subjects. Again, if you know how those subjects work at the local level, you can bridge the immigration divide pretty quickly.
I mention this by way of saying, as kindly as I know how, urban and suburban Americans need to be quiet, and trust rural liberals to do this work. Everytime a big city liberal talks about rural communities, they set us back.
What you say is so hopeful! I fear where I live minds are so closed they would not consider anything. They feel they know everything and no one else knows anything. Most of the folks that live here have been here for generations. What they have done and what they believe (like evolution is a hoax, there is no climate change, persons of color are not really humans like white people) has worked for them and enabled them to maintain the family farm they inherited (and of course gave them a big head start compared to anyone else). Forty years ago when I moved here it was a Democratic county and I really don't know what happened. Heavens knows they get enough support from the feds to keep things like their schools and hospital going but they still bad mouth the dems who have given them all those funds. And as I said it will never change. Most students who develop critical thinking skills move away leaving the sheep, who live on mom and dad's farm left here. The churches will not keep a pastor that preaches love thy neighbor or any of the other things Jesus mentioned. Somehow they sift through the Bible to find things that can be construed to mean hate anyone not a white male or subservient wife. Thanks so much for sharing y our encouraging words!!! Makes me think maybe there is hope for at least parts of my state!
Pat, what state are you in? While I live in rural Kentucky now, it is a lot like rural California where I lived most of my life.
I've noticed urban and suburban Democrats who move to rural states say pretty much the same things you are saying. And so, I have to ask, how long have you lived there? Where did you live before? And do you now, or did you ever, own a local business or work in agriculture, manufacturing, construction or local government where you live now? People who have not raised their own kids and worked in rural communities do have a hard time fitting in. They just don't think they have much in common with rural people.
To fit in, you have to join their community and socialize. By community, I mean their clubs, charities, organizations, events, fundraisers etc. (not political groups).
Rural communities are famous for home grown fun. My county is famous for Ham Days - (parades, festivals, music, entertainment, dances, art shows, competitions, etc.) Around here, even our world famous bourbon industry can't compete with Ham for enthusiasm.
I drive an hour to get to a little, family owned, butcher shop that sells real ham. The owners know I'm from California and love to show off with samples.
I complained about my starter not starting at the local farmer's market, and the next week three farmers had jars of starter waiting for me. I complained about the price of plants at the nursery and big box stores, and the next time I show up, they have envelopes of seeds, tubers and bulbs waiting for me.
Once people are comfortable with you, curiosity takes over and they start asking questions about you, your life, your experience and your views.
Pat, I too am curious about what state you live in. I live in West Virginia. Your description of your neighbors / locals sound a lot like WV. I moved here 20 years ago and now am considering leaving. I will always be an outsider to them.
I'm in south central Missouri. Much like West Virginia, it sure is pretty here, but ...and that's such a big but. If I ever move, which as I said I don't think I will ever do, I will some research to see how folks voted in the past 20 years. But if I'd done that I would probably still have moved here since my county was Democratic and the state was purple. We need to start a facebook group, people who are outsiders where they live ( I am in one living blue in a red state. But it sounds like you are in a similar place as I am... it's not just a red state it's an all red state. There actually were over 1000 persons who voted for Biden which was about 15% of the voters so I know there are some of "us" out there but for now it's just too risky for me to publicly identify. I did have a local Dem call me to see if I would sign the petition to get abortion rights on the ballot and she has experienced some of the same things I have and they are trying to start a business (they retired here from another state) and have found their political affiliation has hindered that, even though they don't exactly talk much about it. Very weird for me to live here. I am sure millions are experiencing similar things...it is no longer ok to be a different political party. And that is so unAmerican. I do long for living in an area where I could go to the local coffee shop and have an honest discussion with someone and have an honest exchange of ideas, or just feel that I do not have to be on my guard. To be able to sit with someone and be able to roll my eyes and say "Do you believe what trump said last night" or to have an honest discussion about what to do about the labor shortage in America with an emphasis on the entire medical/elder care/nursing home situation. Or to just talk about last night's ball game (well, I don't follow sports anymore, but yo get the idea). Anyway, needless to say, I feel your pain and wish you luck in whatever you decide to do. For me, upper New York State/Vermont looks wonderful!
The corporations thing is so aggravating to me. I am tired of hearing people blame the price of gas, groceries, etc. on the President - any President. I don't understand how people think the President controls the price of these things and why they do not realize that the reason the price of almost everything is so high right now due to corporate greed.
Jeanette, the other side is more varied than we sometimes remember. The never trumpers the Lincoln Project, the Independent middles
actually make up the majority so it could be your next door neighbor who just needs some better and kinder exposure, and very certainly better questions. The art of the question is to invite a thinking answer...
The last 30% of the population has pretty much been proven to always be 'stuck' so why bother.(?) See the Cultural Creatives Study, which took over 30 years and was shown to be consistent over many kinds of groups and ages, in this way: 10 to 15% are you might say in the lead of creative thinkers; the next 25 to 30% are watching and following them; the next 25 to 30% are watching the ones in front of them. The last 10-15% will never budge.
Greetings! Sadly, I have a family member that is in the 10-15% category. He's so far down the rabbit hole that he's totally unreachable. It breaks my heart.
That's what I guess happened to my bet friend. Or maybe she was already down the rabbit hole and I just never realized it. But boy was I wrong about her!
My family member actually disowned his own child because she spoke out against the despicable agenda of the Repuglican party. It is all so very sad. I have hope for better days come November 5th!
Thank you for this wonderful post!!! I love to use valid data in responses and I am going to steal your info on the findings in the Cultural Creatives Study!!!
I just can’t see a way through to do this, even though I know it is important. The other side also has to be open to this and I don’t see that happening anytime soon. They have no interest in anything other than what they want…the my way or the highway mentality will never allow for open conversations. My Mom, though she was a Democrat, was just like that in her parenting skills and ultimately I still did what I wanted, but not until the damage was done to me psychologically. To this day, I still deal with that. With that said, I can’t see how this will ever happen. It will be up to the next generation to nip this Satan in the bud.
“They” are not a monolith. That’s why Biden won in 2020 and candidates like Beshear (in Ky) won 2x in Kentucky. I have a brother who went from voting for DJT to saying he was a liar. I have a son who even if he thinks the same would never admit it.
There is a segment in magaworld who wear their allegiance on their sleeve. It is their identity. It is always hard to pry people away with that mentality. There are many others who voted their frustration. I don’t see it as generational warfare. We need them now no matter their ages. There is no such thing as a generation who can’t fall for autocracy.
Ann, a lot of country people identify with Trump's outsider role among elites who talk about rural folks the same way they talk about Trump. But identity is an entirely different thing. Rural identity is built on pretty solid stuff, like family, community, reliability, self-sufficiency, and their relationship with the land that feeds and houses them.
Corporations have very, very different relationships with rural Americans and urban/ suburban Americans. Corporations bring goods into cities, so people love them. But rural Americans hate corporations because they extract natural resources, cheap labour and use our communities and land as a dump for urban/suburban waste including sewage/sludge, prisons, garbage, toxic waste, nuclear waste, etc. Rural landscapes are used as training grounds for military personnel, military bases, drone operations, atomic weapons and testing grounds for military weaponry.
In other words, rural America is still colonized - and corporations have been controlling rural America since the American revolution. What you are hearing is the rage of colonized people crying out for freedom.
Sorry, I didn't mean to go off like that, its way too complicated for a space like this and I hope you will not take it personally.
I don’t take it personally. I grew up and have lived most of my life in rural areas. So did my husband whose family came to E KY by 1800.Even though I never mentioned “rural” or “country” you seem to interpret what I said as disparaging comments about rural people, culture or values. You made a leap and decided I needed an education on rural people.
Maga is not just a rural phenomenon & corporations are not necessarily the darlings of urban dwellers. They don’t make good urban neighbors either. You can find plenty of toxic waste, chemical emissions, “brown fields” as well as contaminated water in urban areas.
I was speaking of hard core maga cult members who are not open to change or new information. After all people who are enraged are not thinking. Maga is their identity. It’s not much different than people who identify themselves by their vocation or religion. And I added:
“There are many others who voted their frustration.”
Ann, my tone and phrasing was out of line, and I apologize. Obviously, this is a very sensitive subject and wading into it is always risky.
While I did a poor job of it, I was attempting to illuminate the economic factors, unique to rural areas, that fuel the MAGA movement. Other than Jon Tester, there is no rural voice on the national stage to counter the urban/suburban attack on rural voters. As a result, we go round and round in a vicious circle. First, urban conservatives and liberals create whatever rural stereotype suits their agenda. Then the media goes hunting for someone that fits one of those stereotypes, then plasters their faces on national television. In turn, conservatives and liberals attack each other's stereotype and battle over non-existent people. Examples might help.
Almost daily during covid, FoxNews featured restaurant owners in small towns and rural communities who opposed the lockdown. In small rural towns and cities, anyone who wants to talk politics heads to the local diner for breakfast. I hadn’t been in Kentucky two weeks, when I found the diner where locals talked politics. I sat with the Democrats and when we left, the Democrats introduced me to the Republicans and that’s where I sat the next time I went in.
Recently, the NYTimes featured a ridiculous article about a disagreement over cows, and titled it, “How Two Wandering Cows Started a Culture War.”
When politicians and pundits talk about crime, they never mention the fact that they are exporting inmates to prisons located in rural communities. Of course, there are jails and prisons in cities, but most are located in rural America. Combine high unemployment with 19 prisons and jails in one rural county and you have the recipe for MAGA.
I can’t remember the last time, I met an urban or suburban American who did not claim expertise in rural life, based on personal experience. It is very hard to get these people to see that a relative’s experience, or their own childhood experience, is not the same thing as building a life in rural landscapes. For example, JD Vance is informed by a child’s experience and has absolutely no adult experience to draw on. I don’t know about anybody else, but what I thought and saw as a child looks very different through my adult eyes.
Obviously, this is a very sensitive subject and wading into it is always risky. Twenty years ago, in 2004, I spent a year on the road talking about the rural-urban divide. In addition to thousands of voters, the DLC and state party officials attended our presentations. We spent several days with mucky-mucks from the DLC and stayed in contact for several years. Unfortunately, the DLC refused to heed the warning and remained convinced that Democrats did not need rural voters to win elections. While the DLC refused to transfer resources back into rural communities the Republicans were pouring money into them. I have been working on the rural-urban divide ever since.
As you can tell by our back and forth, the subject is more sensitive, controversial and heated now, than it was twenty years ago. Again, I apologize for my assumptions and teachy tone.
I think that the big gap between rural and urban began in about 1910 when the US first became more urban than rural. Folks flocked to cities for work opportunities, taking with them valuable resources needed in rural America.
That makes perfect sense. Farmers struggled in the late 1800s with re-occurring droughts & multiple economic factors like high tariffs in the 1890s a banking crisis. People would go where there was opportunity.
I see this as an important opportunity for VP Harris and our nation. I wrote about it, and see a number of kindred thoughts in this thread. My piece may be a bit too aspirational, but I'd like to see us get back to some sort of balance. https://open.substack.com/pub/bobmorgan/p/everything-in-moderation
Along with the President, the Senate, the House and in time the Court must be turned BLUE to preserve our FREEDOM at least for now until the GOP can get themselves turned around.
I love that you include til the GOP gets itself turned around!!! We need a two party system (although I guess with the different factions in the Democratic party it's almost like that).
He will be eradicated just like Jim Jones, David Koresh, et al. Then his cultish followers will go back under their rock until some other affable cult leader digs them up. We need to get much better at preventive measures to stymie potential cultish persons before they get this far. The Christian Nationalist (includes Heritage) group has been working on this program over 40 years. What have we done to dissuade their actions? They really are a big harmful deal and are looking to destroy our governmental bidy to replace it with theocracy. Work hard folks to thwart theiractions.
Joy Reid on MSNBC at 7 p.m. every day this week is offering detailed information about Project 2025. I recommend we all tape the shows and use the data to inform others and get them to vote to preserve our democracy, not rush blindly into a dictatorship.
The heritage jerks are not exactly exactly treasonous, just act like it. We have to start educating within our families and at schools about how government really is formed and what it does. Like my civics classes of the '50s..
The Heritage Foundation, by the looks of their tenets in the project, want a Christian Nationalist theocratic form of government. No thank you, I cant tolerate all the things that horrible existence entails.
Yes, they are, don’t fool yourself. They are billionaires and multi-millionaires, all white, who think we are beneath them. They wish to return where women were barefoot, pregnant with their child, while holding another on her hip as she stirs tonight’s dinner. People who are not white, would never get ahead in their world, just like it’s been played out for centuries. They are all despicable!
Agreed! It started with the election of the actor from CA (Reagan), who memorized and delivered speeches given to him. Put Social Studies, history (more than the civil war) back into the curriculum of every grade. Teach the next generations that to preserve and improve their way of life requires their participation. Don't use public money for private schools and church schools -- if people want their little darlin's in something besides public schools, they should pay for it themselves. Those who don't like public schools need to get involved and fix what is wrong. And dammit, pay teachers what they're really worth and provide the supplies necessary for education!
Basically it's an ongoing observation, because every single generation has this somewhere in it. (89 years here) When we fantasize otherwise we'll be always on the cusp or worse, of disappointment. It will be interesting to see if Republican-minded people start catching on about the possible extremes in their own thinking that lead to this MAGA recycle version of cultiness. By electing sensible people especially well prepared and experienced people, Kamala being
our leader now, we reestablish the workings of democracy for everybody.
I see Trump as a gatekeeper who, sadly, has given permission to those who want to blame others for their lots in life. That's his hold over his cult. Question is when he goes away, does his cult also go away or do they just look for another head to their snake?
Pres. Joe has some GREAT ideas on how to do that and Ms. Kamala supports them. We MUST get ahold of Congress in order to fix the damage the rethuglicans wrought.
The political future belongs to educated younger voters! Between 4Million and 8Million new younger voters will cast their ballot for President this year than in 2020! Most likely a greater number of women within that group will vote. And my guess is that somewhere around 75% of these new voters will be trying to protect reproductive rights including IVF and will be voting for Democrats who pledge to legislatively restore the protections of Roe on a nationwide basis!
Finally, in 2026 and 2028 they will be joined by millions more and they will achieve more progressive results as to women’s health, gun control, and fighting climate change both nationally and statewide! Now let’s get out there and start the ball really rolling this year! Please go to www.TurnUp.US run by brilliant Harvard students nationwide only in “truly competitive” congressional contests! Thank you!
A view from the cheap seats at the Trump circus. The faithful are pushing that he will win while panicking about the close election, aghast at his unworthy competition with real credentials and media buzz, and believe that the young, uninformed voters will be swayed to vote for Harris because they don't know any better.
This is my last report from the frontline of total madness- my noise cancelling headphones have arrived. Blessed silence.
Basically it's an ongoing observation, because every single generation has this somewhere in it. (89 years here) When we fantasize otherwise we'll be always on the cusp or worse, of disappointment. It will be interesting to see if Republican-minded people start catching on about the possible extremes in their own thinking that lead to this MAGA recycle version of cultiness. By electing sensible people especially well prepared and experienced people, Kamala being
our leader now, we reestablish the workings of democracy for everybody.
I absolutely agree with this but I think they’ve been there all along. There is a huge percentage of our population that is threatened and/or fears people who are different from them - from the obvious people of color, women, LGBTQ+ - to the less obvious - strong women and anyone with a differing opinion. I’m living this. A male child molester is more forgivable than a strong woman with differing opinions in the family I married into. If this election weren’t so important, I would say let’s enjoy watching them squirm.
I'm hoping that you know it's not as huge a percentage as you think, not with the latest generations 30s and under and actually a very large number who understand the need for bodily autonomy in law. Plus this next 90 some days is already waking people up from wherever they've been. Take heart.
Well it is based basically on reason and facts, from better sources than daily polls for one thing, for not watching TV news for over 2 years for another, and reading a bunch of different sources daily which I understand not everybody has time to do. But also as a healer on a pretty basic knowledge of human possibility and realities. The emotional part is always there but the question is what to do with it.
I live in a basically rural, conservative area that used to have tr*** flags on their trucks, exhaust blowing out the back; lots of tr*** signs and flags out, etc. Not any more! I've only seen one truck with flags in the last 6 months. I think we MIGHT be getting back to the original GOP, the loyal opposition who loved democracy also. I never voted for them, but we need balance. I'm hoping this election pushes the nazi's out, like American's have done twice before in our history.
But Trump's base doesn't know the other ultra right wingers from watching "reality" TV. I don't think such a hateful person could win without the bad TV exposure.
Yep, Peter Theil and the technobros are going to spend their billions destroying the US. I never thought I'd remember Andrew Carnegie as a good man because at least he built libraries and didn't try to destroy the country.
It took me a day to recover, but since then I have been invigorated, proud, and HOPEFUL about the future of my country since President Joe Biden stepped down and endorsed Harris. I have SO much respect for our President, and I believe he has orchestrated our way out of this mess.
Kamala Harris has shown she knows how to run a campaign and I am ALL IN!
Yes, I was also a little sad and jarred when President Biden stepped down. But then I watched Harris give a few speeches so I could judge her character for myself. I love her! She is the best thing to happen to politics in a long time. Go Blue!
I too am ALL IN for Kamala, and I still love Joe Biden -- even more than I did before. He is a true statesman, and I like what he has already begun to do for his last months in office. I just pray that the transition will be as smooth and quiet as it's supposed to be and always has been until the would-be coup of 2021. But I am ready to stand firm. Am afraid I'm too old to actually fight physically.
I feel, for the boomer generation, that this is truly our last meaningful election. There are still a lot of us, and voting blue in this election is vital.
I agree, Joyce. And I consider myself a "boomer" since I was born in May of 1945, even though I'm usually considered to be of the "silent generation" or whatever the generation before "boomer." So I think of myself as one of the "original boomers." Ah well. Who wants to be pigeonholed anyway?!
"also think about the possibility that we’d never again have to hear Trump’s outrageous demagoguery."
As much as I would like to believe this, I cannot. Even with Trump dead, this will continue. We have to realize that close to half of the country espouses many of his "ideals." Trump will be gone, but others, probably worse, will come after him, pushing fascism. We will have to be ever vigilant for this cancer not to spread to the whole country.
There is a whole team behind Trump who are pushing a fascist agenda and a far right country. For them, Trump is nothing but a puppet they can control to their convenience.
This is why it will be important in the future to keep voting for Democrats, up and down the ballot, and getting legislation passed that will close the weaknesses in the democratic process. As others have said, and it's true, it will take continued vigilance.
As I said before, I do not want to start and argument, but this is how I get my estimates:
If we use the voting numbers of the 2020 election, there were about 239 million eligible voters. From those, 159 million (67%) voted and 80 million (33%) did not vote, so we cannot know who these 80 million people sympathize with.
Of the 159 million votes cast, Biden received 81 million and Trump received 74 million. If we were to split the non voters equally among Biden and Trump, that would add 40 million to the totals for each one, bringing Biden to 121 million and Trump to 114 million. These figures expressed in percentages are 50% and 47% respectively of the 239 million eligible voters; the missing 3% being voters who did not vote for either Biden or Trump.
My method might not be very scientific, but it leads me to consider that the number of people supporting Trump is probably higher than we tend to believe, and that is why it is so important to convince as many people as possible to get out and vote. If we start getting overconfident that it is "more like a third" of the voters sympathizing with Trump, we might be in for another nasty surprise.
Unfortunately and realistically we have to concentrate on those swing states because of the number of electoral college votes they bring. Until we change the electoral system that's a reality. So "Six of them - Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin – appear to be on a knife edge and probably hold the key to who will take the White House. So both parties are campaigning intensively to win over undecided voters in these states."
I agree with you but also think that at some point the mainstream media will recognize that the majority of Americans, particularly they younger generations that spend money are no longer interested in trump and that stories about him are a waste of advertising space. We do need to be ever vigilant but there may be some things that will help. Once mainstream media loses it's audience for all things trump (and fewer and fewer and fewer young people turn into Fox and their older listeners die) things may change. I appreciate the fact that it seems like Meidas Touch Network is getting more viewers on youube than CNN and FOX and I think, but really have no idea that younger folks just don't watch news on TV anymore, And I do think that younger folks by a large majority embrace the idea that all persons regardless of sexual orientation deserve to have love and no matter how hard the GOP tried to hide that they abhor gays it always comes out. Their hate is so real and so intense they cannot hide it and I hope that young people will be motivated to get out and vote to show that they do not approve of any of the party platform of the GOP. The young people (of course young republicans excepted) do care about education, the climate and human rights. I think that the half of the country (and I'm not sure it's really that many) that you refer to are old guys who are dying off and even if for now facism wins, I don't know if the yonger generations will stand for it in the long run. I think we now have an economy that relies a great deal on mental abilities and critical thinking and you cannot make a person use their mind like you can make them toil in a coal mine and at some point I think big business will realize they no longer have a viable work force in the US because of trumpism and they may in fact join a revolution of young people. And to be honest, I don't know how much you can force a women to have sex with her husband. I think we may have reached a point where even with pjt2015 women will just say no and will be willing to go to jail rather than be raped by their husbands. Or better yet develop an underground railroad that goes to Canada or Mexico and just leave the men here to fend for themselves.
I do not want to argue, but watch the public attending a Trump rally. Look at the amount of young people -and children- who participate. The firefighter who died in Butler was a relatively young person, and he died shielding his kids from the bullets. Until the US educational system is overhauled, it will keep churning minds like those of Trump's followers. What Trump offers millions of people who are not successful either professionally, financially, romantically or as parents is something or someone to blame for their shortcomings (the Dems, free trade, immigrants, women, you name it), and the possibility to evade responsibility for their own actions. This is one of the most powerful drugs there are, and it is hard to leave this addiction behind and face the fact that people are accountable for most of what happens to them.
I agree about the trump crowds but I don't know how much the support is over all in young people. My grandkids have overheard threats of violence from their fellow students (this is middle school) towards any one who supported Biden. Can you imagine that???Middle schoolers with that much hate. And of course their school just got a $400,000 grant from the Biden admin for increasing school security/safety. And not one mention that this money came from the Biden Admin and the local ultra right US Congressman, who voted against this funding will be right there ribbon cutting and beaming. We are stuck here because of family obligations but boy it's awful. And we are the poorest congressional district in the state and the GOP has been in control both of the state and this district for about 20 years. But it's not the fault of the GOP, somehow it's Clinton's fault or maybe Obama but never the GOP controlled state government or the congressman who votes against every bill that could address the poverty here . And it will never change. Any young people with any critical thinking skill moves away.
We actual civic-minded citizens have to support our ballot workers and the ballots themselves perhaps. These are desperate people we're talking about as you say
I am a little concerned that a responder believes the current U.S. educational system is “churning minds like those of trump’s followers”
Trump, Maga, GOP, Project 2025, all want to dismantle our public educational system! This is why they push for vouchers to religious, private schools!
We must strengthen our public schools, keeping religion out of them and making them accessible to all. The damage currently being promoted will destroy this country.
My criticism to the current public educational system is that most schools emphasize testing rather than critical thinking. Students are taught to pass tests, instead of analysis and problem solving. Competition, rather than community is also privileged at public schools. Children at risk and with different capacities do not receive the attention they should, plus other systemic issues. Certainly, what Trump, MAGA, GOP, and Project 2025 want to do will not contribute to improving it.
This is such a local fight as well as by county and school district and state. Bush's teach to the test was a horror that we are seeing the results of. That was 20 years ago. It might take that long to reinstate a thinking approach and curriculum. So we might have to get quite creative what with social media, who knows? Tik tok could be turned to more uses maybe?
These two arguments relative to where the country is regarding authoritarianism vs democracy are interesting because they both are correct. As a political wonk, any argument based on facts and numbers misses the reality of who gets elected president. If facts, issues, and policies mattered this country would never have elected the likes of Regean, W, or tRump. So who does the electorate vote for? The candidate they think/feel they can relate to, i.e. have a beer with. If you think that is too simplistic consider what Biden represented and that the poll numbers were near 50/50. Then on a dime everything turns around, why? Many could/would not relate to an old doddering frail man. BUT blacks, Asians, women, and immigrants can relate to Kamala. So much for policies, facts, and issues that consume the likes of us who are passionate about out politics.
I think our exit from Afghanistan turned a whole lot of people against Biden. Wrong, probably, given that the conditions for withdrawal were negotiated by Trump, the brokered deal left all the power in hands of the Taliban, and there was no way Biden was going to do another 20 years trying to get the factions together against the Taliban. Ugly exit. Possibly no other way would have done much more than continue another occupation.
"Until the US educational system is overhauled, it will keep churning minds like those of Trump's followers." MOST important in my mind too. Quit using federal money to pay for religious and other cult schools. IF people want their own schools, let them pay for it themselves. If they can't afford that, then they need to get involved in their local schools and fix whatever is broken.
Scary thoughts. Good news -- the media seems to be over all Trump, all the time and the younger generation are completely divorced from the MSM and infotainment media.
Then there’s the horror of an old, overweight Trump having a heart attack or stroke and Vance taking his place, with his catlady, childless people shouldn’t have their votes count as much insanity. He almost out-Trumps Trump. Isn’t THAT terrifying?
Yes, THAT is terrifying. In the alernate universe of retrumplicanism, there is no bottom. If any Good is to come from this long nightmare, it is the wake-up call to beware of fascists and false idols. Or just plain don't take for granted the Liberty that prior generations died to protect.
I'm doing everything to get the word out and looks like the country's responding to her. Praying she wins but I also hope if the votes shows she has, we're ready for the fury that will come from the other side.
I look forward to Trump fading from view, hopefully sooner rather than later. But Trump's core base won't go away and the same basic mentality has been here since the country was founded - it has to be continually resisted.
True about the Magat crowd, but the politicians, in large part, who have supported him will drop like sprayed mosquitos once he is not there to either help or hurt them.
It would be wonderful if we didn’t have to see D. Trump every day and hear his rants ever ever again. A weight would be lifted- the dark cloud hanging over us for nine years would be gone.
For me, that sad thing is that even if trump goes away, I know my neighbors hate me because I supported Biden. I cannot be vocal about it so pretty much no one knows, but I know and I feel such a sadness and loss. I lost someone I thought was a good friend and who I shared values with when I found out she supported trump and Kavenaugh and does not believe women who say they were victims of sex abuse. I have never told her of the sex abuse I'd been subject to and when I did during the Kavanaugh hearings she just ignored it and all her other comments showed she did not believe me or any other victims. She and all the like minded citizens are still the only ones in my community ((I'm in a 99% trump area) so even when he goes away, no matter how he goes away I will still be in a community that supports his values. And yes, they all go to church.
From what I have been looking at for the last several decades, the church part is the giveaway a lot of the time. The pastors and preachers are becoming a menace when they pick and choose The Bible parts that support their political views. And then shamelessly spew them. When people are cloistered in an area and don't travel out of it and watch the non-news there is a terrible and non-humanistic grip on their emotions. The minds themselves don't appear to be involved. Sending you whatever strength vibes you can use.
I often think about relocating, and am actually a (naturalized) Canadian citizen and fantasize about moving there frequently! I (daily!) make the choice to stay here because I want to be close to my grandkids (I'm their babysitter/taxi) and because I have a horse rescue/sanctuary and there is no way I could afford to have these horses anywhere else plus it would be so traumatic for most of them to have to move (5 are in their mid to late 20s which is old for a horse and have been here for years). I am pretty sure the grandkids will be "grown" (at least in college) before all the horses will die so I am stuck here. But I do check out properties for sale in other areas that would be more to my likeing politically and morally.
I am sorry for your situation. I have a dear friend of 30+ years who came here from Canada, and she and her husband are staunch trump supporters...and yes, they became US citizens. Both they and their son fly maga flags at their homes. Breaks my heart. I have to admit to some feelings of resentment...you came to my country, you were welcomed, and you support the end of our democracy? I am determined to maintain the friendship. I can't imagine your situation--I plan to move out of the US if trump wins. I wish you all the best.
I was born here (meaning only no other country easily open to me citizenship-wise), served in the military and am now a disabled veteran. I grew up steeped in hate, fear and misogyny - a toxic mix of white supremacy and a far right religious cult in a small, rural Midwest town. It has been incredibly difficult watching the beliefs and attitudes I fought so hard to get away from become mainstream. All the same hate, fear, misogyny, violence and threat of violence for disagreeing, blatant lies, gaslighting. I lost two long term friends to the trump cult, the town I now live in would gladly change the name to trumpville. Recently I wrote a letter to the local paper against misogyny and 2 days later a dead rat was put on my doorstep in the middle of the night. It’s suffocating to have to live surrounded by everything I worked to escape.
Yet, as a disabled veteran I am stuck. VA disability is barely enough to get by month to month. Moving, even 30 miles to a more tolerant town, would take at least 6k for the basic 1st & last month’s rent plus deposit, and while I’ve been saving it’s still a far off goal. I wish I could move to Canada and I have a friend there who could sponsor me but as a disabled veteran I wouldn’t be a high earner or contribute to their society in a big way (more as a part-time worker who could do a bit of volunteer work). And being disabled I would automatically be considered a drain on their medical resources. So I’m stuck in a country I once served and paid a high price for doing so, a country where, if trump is re-elected, I will lose my veterans disability (see Project 2025 - Chapter 14 I think), become homeless, be arrested for being homeless thanks to the highly corrupt, far right members of SCOTUS, and then shipped to one of trump and steven miller’s camps. The stress of it all is nearly unbearable.
I do what I can to speak up but know even beyond what will happen to me as a disabled veteran under another trump administration I’m not safe from at least a few of my neighbors. Several years ago one told me I didn’t deserve to exist - all because I said “no” when asked “don’t you just love trump?” If he is defeated it will take decades to put all this unleashed hatred back where it belongs - not in charge and not tolerated.
My heart aches for you. The fear we have regarding retaliation must be a tiny bit of what persons of color felt so much more during slavery and the Jim Crow era and now. Of course we do not fear being lynched but we are not free. We are not free to express our thoughts. As awful as it is, at least persons of color have a community that supports them and we do not. I donate to Vote Vets. Do you think there is a better organization to donate to to help get all Vets to vote Blue?
I am very much aware of how different my situation would be if I wasn’t white. While I did hesitate to call the police about the dead rat I did so anyway. (Our police force is very much for trump so I only call if absolutely necessary.) If I were a person of color I would not have called.
Vote Vets is a good organization. I’m not aware of any other veteran affiliated organization that has their outreach. Maybe someone else here would know of others.
Sorry you are surrounded by Trumplicans. People in my community had Trump flags so we s did not and will not post Biden or Harris signs out of fear. This is the MAGA America. I still hope that something will trigger a change in their thinking. While there is life, there is hope.
I wonder how much the dems and independents running for office up and down the ballot know about how many of us are living in this kind of fear. I don't know if it would matter but maybe it would. Maybe if the media did some stories on it it would make others at least feel not so alone. The GOP/MAGA cult will never understand that they are just one belief or negative comment about trump away from being the target of all the is MAGA but I wonder if there are others who would benefit from knowing how real the fear is...we don't need proj2025, for us part of it is here.
The difference being, as to why we don't fly BLUE flags, is that when we disagree, we discuss. When the trumpites disagree, that usually get violent. I'm not afraid or worried about not flying a flag yet -- I VOTE blue -- that's my power. And when we win I WILL fly the Dem flags!!
Unfortunately even cnn is caught up in drama, rather than REPORTING news. I timed it recently -- 3 minutes of a news item, 20 minutes of babble and opinions from various people, 15 minutes of commercials.... and the cycle continued. Youtubes provide better information (and I'm a boomer !!)
Finally, this race is interesting and the choice couldn’t be more well defined. As Dan Rather stated, it’s freedom verses a wannabe dictator that tells his supporters that they won’t need to vote again if he wins. No kidding.
The end of Trump's quote about the election being fixed ends with "you won't have to vote any more my beautiful Christians." In case anybody is in doubt about his plans for a white Christian Nationalist country.
I don't agree -- he'll set himself up as dictator as he doesn't give a single ounce of care for the WCN's -- they're just a tool to him, and he'll have his idiot children set up to take over when he finally kicks the bucket.
What is truly astounding is he is not being cryptic or subtle. He is say exactly what he is going to do. And most of the media are treating this as a normal presidential race.
I firmly believe there are people behind tfg, and even though he may go away, they won't!! I highly recommend watching BAD FAITH, to understand some of the power behind the 'thone'.
Another great one! I wish you had a video of Beyonce singing the complete FREEDOM anthem that she has gifted to Kamala Harris as her campaign song. We all must do all we can to make sure our freedoms that have been taken are restored and that more doors open for freedom for other areas of American life. Thanks, Dan.
As much as this election is about democracy vs autocracy, good vs evil, going forward vs going backward, and two candidates vying for the most powerful position on earth, it is also a referendum on the American people. Are we the good, moral and decent people we like to think we are, or are we the racist, immoral people exemplified by Trump and his enablers and supporters?
That question will be answered in Nov. I hope those who normally don’t involve themselves with politics take their heads out of the sand and vote. No one should waste our most precious right.
The sad part is that, even if Trump is defeated in November, there is now a base that supports his thinking and someone else will take up his mantle of trying to convince Americans that we are better off with autocracy. We have to remain vigilant long after this election cycle and enact more legislation and protections that preserve our freedoms and all the best parts of democratic ideals. We now see the cracks. They must be sealed.
Eternal vigilance is the price of freedom. Think of MAGAts as a termite infestation in our body politic.
Good analogy. Termites are often unseen, embedded, and destructive. It takes a concentrated extermination effort to eradicate the pests. Not Hitler type of eradication, but protecting our country from Trojan Horses.
which is why i call them 'magites'... they are termites to our way of life, undermining our foundational beliefs of freedom for all and justice. and they have infltrated our Supreme Court and made a mockery of it.
AND,,,, A Criminally Supreme, Court! Much if it.
well stated!
When Kamala becomes president, as you can tell I am fired up, we well need to start reaching out and make a concerned effort to talk with the other side and find common ground. This will be an extremely slow and difficult process, but if we do not, the divisions will worsen. Just my opinion.
I just watched a really good zoom about a group called Braver Angels that is bringing red and blue folks together. I haven’t yet checked out their website but is sounds great. Trump and Vance are soulless shams. The thought of never having to listen or hear from either of them again is music to my ears and soul.
There are folks who voted for the autocrat and are tired of the negativity. We need them. Here’s an article from the FL community “The Villages”. An unlikely place to find many Harris supporters or crossovers to “blue” according to stereotypes & its history. But the maga crowd didn’t muster a strong counter rally as in the past.
https://www.villages-news.com/2024/07/27/excited-crowd-in-the-villages-shows-up-for-kamala-harris-rally/
Worth the look, thank you for pointing it out. Nice to see some folks in Florida with good minds and common sense.
Yes! Those folks really flipped and we love it! Go boomers! Probably our last impactful election for our group.
I read this article.
When old Mitch goes the world will better. And Graham and Don Old himself.
I have a hard time looking at them let alone talking to them! 😂
My biggest issue with MAGATS is their persecution complexes.
No one is trying to take their religions from them. We have freedom of religion. We have separation of church and state to ensure that freedom.
No one is telling anyone what to do with their bodies.
No one is telling them what to read or not to read.
No one is even coming for their guns we just ask for common sense regulation and to keep military weapons off our streets. You know so presidents and kids don’t get shot. Not sure why anyone would oppose that.
It is they who are forcing their wills on the rest of us.
They are so insecure and afraid of anyone or anything different than them that they have become an imminent threat to the rest of us.
Trump fuels their persecuted flames. That is his one and only job in this attack on the foundations of our nation.
It is very creepy weird times for sure.
The solution is to vote blue.
Thanks for making me laugh, Betty! I suppose it's a good starting place!
😩
Jeanette, I've made progess with conservatives I know, by sticking to the subjects we know best and care about the most. Since we are a rural community, agriculture, unions and corporations are our subjects.
Framing business as corporations versus individual business owners changes minds. Zeroing in on the privileges given housing development corporations, manufacturing corporations, and agricultural corporations really hits home here.
Framing unions as public employee unions versus labor unions generates lots of AhHa moments (and I never thought of it that way before comments).
These three conversation topics open minds. And once minds are open, the garbage spills out and solid thinking goes in. Of course, you have to know those subjects and how they impact people, but I thought people might like to know, it can be done.
Greetings! I am so encouraged by what you are doing. I believe you are among thousands of good people behind the scenes quietly trying to bring the light of reason back into our society. Thank you!!!
Thank you too. Interestingly enough, immigration is involved in all three of those subjects. Again, if you know how those subjects work at the local level, you can bridge the immigration divide pretty quickly.
I mention this by way of saying, as kindly as I know how, urban and suburban Americans need to be quiet, and trust rural liberals to do this work. Everytime a big city liberal talks about rural communities, they set us back.
What you say is so hopeful! I fear where I live minds are so closed they would not consider anything. They feel they know everything and no one else knows anything. Most of the folks that live here have been here for generations. What they have done and what they believe (like evolution is a hoax, there is no climate change, persons of color are not really humans like white people) has worked for them and enabled them to maintain the family farm they inherited (and of course gave them a big head start compared to anyone else). Forty years ago when I moved here it was a Democratic county and I really don't know what happened. Heavens knows they get enough support from the feds to keep things like their schools and hospital going but they still bad mouth the dems who have given them all those funds. And as I said it will never change. Most students who develop critical thinking skills move away leaving the sheep, who live on mom and dad's farm left here. The churches will not keep a pastor that preaches love thy neighbor or any of the other things Jesus mentioned. Somehow they sift through the Bible to find things that can be construed to mean hate anyone not a white male or subservient wife. Thanks so much for sharing y our encouraging words!!! Makes me think maybe there is hope for at least parts of my state!
Pat, what state are you in? While I live in rural Kentucky now, it is a lot like rural California where I lived most of my life.
I've noticed urban and suburban Democrats who move to rural states say pretty much the same things you are saying. And so, I have to ask, how long have you lived there? Where did you live before? And do you now, or did you ever, own a local business or work in agriculture, manufacturing, construction or local government where you live now? People who have not raised their own kids and worked in rural communities do have a hard time fitting in. They just don't think they have much in common with rural people.
To fit in, you have to join their community and socialize. By community, I mean their clubs, charities, organizations, events, fundraisers etc. (not political groups).
Rural communities are famous for home grown fun. My county is famous for Ham Days - (parades, festivals, music, entertainment, dances, art shows, competitions, etc.) Around here, even our world famous bourbon industry can't compete with Ham for enthusiasm.
I drive an hour to get to a little, family owned, butcher shop that sells real ham. The owners know I'm from California and love to show off with samples.
I complained about my starter not starting at the local farmer's market, and the next week three farmers had jars of starter waiting for me. I complained about the price of plants at the nursery and big box stores, and the next time I show up, they have envelopes of seeds, tubers and bulbs waiting for me.
Once people are comfortable with you, curiosity takes over and they start asking questions about you, your life, your experience and your views.
Pat, I too am curious about what state you live in. I live in West Virginia. Your description of your neighbors / locals sound a lot like WV. I moved here 20 years ago and now am considering leaving. I will always be an outsider to them.
I'm in south central Missouri. Much like West Virginia, it sure is pretty here, but ...and that's such a big but. If I ever move, which as I said I don't think I will ever do, I will some research to see how folks voted in the past 20 years. But if I'd done that I would probably still have moved here since my county was Democratic and the state was purple. We need to start a facebook group, people who are outsiders where they live ( I am in one living blue in a red state. But it sounds like you are in a similar place as I am... it's not just a red state it's an all red state. There actually were over 1000 persons who voted for Biden which was about 15% of the voters so I know there are some of "us" out there but for now it's just too risky for me to publicly identify. I did have a local Dem call me to see if I would sign the petition to get abortion rights on the ballot and she has experienced some of the same things I have and they are trying to start a business (they retired here from another state) and have found their political affiliation has hindered that, even though they don't exactly talk much about it. Very weird for me to live here. I am sure millions are experiencing similar things...it is no longer ok to be a different political party. And that is so unAmerican. I do long for living in an area where I could go to the local coffee shop and have an honest discussion with someone and have an honest exchange of ideas, or just feel that I do not have to be on my guard. To be able to sit with someone and be able to roll my eyes and say "Do you believe what trump said last night" or to have an honest discussion about what to do about the labor shortage in America with an emphasis on the entire medical/elder care/nursing home situation. Or to just talk about last night's ball game (well, I don't follow sports anymore, but yo get the idea). Anyway, needless to say, I feel your pain and wish you luck in whatever you decide to do. For me, upper New York State/Vermont looks wonderful!
Thank you. Well said. Can relate to some of your statements.
The corporations thing is so aggravating to me. I am tired of hearing people blame the price of gas, groceries, etc. on the President - any President. I don't understand how people think the President controls the price of these things and why they do not realize that the reason the price of almost everything is so high right now due to corporate greed.
Jeanette, the other side is more varied than we sometimes remember. The never trumpers the Lincoln Project, the Independent middles
actually make up the majority so it could be your next door neighbor who just needs some better and kinder exposure, and very certainly better questions. The art of the question is to invite a thinking answer...
The last 30% of the population has pretty much been proven to always be 'stuck' so why bother.(?) See the Cultural Creatives Study, which took over 30 years and was shown to be consistent over many kinds of groups and ages, in this way: 10 to 15% are you might say in the lead of creative thinkers; the next 25 to 30% are watching and following them; the next 25 to 30% are watching the ones in front of them. The last 10-15% will never budge.
Greetings! Sadly, I have a family member that is in the 10-15% category. He's so far down the rabbit hole that he's totally unreachable. It breaks my heart.
That's what I guess happened to my bet friend. Or maybe she was already down the rabbit hole and I just never realized it. But boy was I wrong about her!
My family member actually disowned his own child because she spoke out against the despicable agenda of the Repuglican party. It is all so very sad. I have hope for better days come November 5th!
And NO it isn't a typo. They are Repugnant.
Thank you for this wonderful post!!! I love to use valid data in responses and I am going to steal your info on the findings in the Cultural Creatives Study!!!
I just can’t see a way through to do this, even though I know it is important. The other side also has to be open to this and I don’t see that happening anytime soon. They have no interest in anything other than what they want…the my way or the highway mentality will never allow for open conversations. My Mom, though she was a Democrat, was just like that in her parenting skills and ultimately I still did what I wanted, but not until the damage was done to me psychologically. To this day, I still deal with that. With that said, I can’t see how this will ever happen. It will be up to the next generation to nip this Satan in the bud.
“They” are not a monolith. That’s why Biden won in 2020 and candidates like Beshear (in Ky) won 2x in Kentucky. I have a brother who went from voting for DJT to saying he was a liar. I have a son who even if he thinks the same would never admit it.
There is a segment in magaworld who wear their allegiance on their sleeve. It is their identity. It is always hard to pry people away with that mentality. There are many others who voted their frustration. I don’t see it as generational warfare. We need them now no matter their ages. There is no such thing as a generation who can’t fall for autocracy.
Ann, a lot of country people identify with Trump's outsider role among elites who talk about rural folks the same way they talk about Trump. But identity is an entirely different thing. Rural identity is built on pretty solid stuff, like family, community, reliability, self-sufficiency, and their relationship with the land that feeds and houses them.
Corporations have very, very different relationships with rural Americans and urban/ suburban Americans. Corporations bring goods into cities, so people love them. But rural Americans hate corporations because they extract natural resources, cheap labour and use our communities and land as a dump for urban/suburban waste including sewage/sludge, prisons, garbage, toxic waste, nuclear waste, etc. Rural landscapes are used as training grounds for military personnel, military bases, drone operations, atomic weapons and testing grounds for military weaponry.
In other words, rural America is still colonized - and corporations have been controlling rural America since the American revolution. What you are hearing is the rage of colonized people crying out for freedom.
Sorry, I didn't mean to go off like that, its way too complicated for a space like this and I hope you will not take it personally.
I don’t take it personally. I grew up and have lived most of my life in rural areas. So did my husband whose family came to E KY by 1800.Even though I never mentioned “rural” or “country” you seem to interpret what I said as disparaging comments about rural people, culture or values. You made a leap and decided I needed an education on rural people.
Maga is not just a rural phenomenon & corporations are not necessarily the darlings of urban dwellers. They don’t make good urban neighbors either. You can find plenty of toxic waste, chemical emissions, “brown fields” as well as contaminated water in urban areas.
I was speaking of hard core maga cult members who are not open to change or new information. After all people who are enraged are not thinking. Maga is their identity. It’s not much different than people who identify themselves by their vocation or religion. And I added:
“There are many others who voted their frustration.”
You might be interested in https://www.wgbh.org/news/2017-03-23/the-forces-driving-middle-aged-white-peoples-deaths-of-despair
Ann, my tone and phrasing was out of line, and I apologize. Obviously, this is a very sensitive subject and wading into it is always risky.
While I did a poor job of it, I was attempting to illuminate the economic factors, unique to rural areas, that fuel the MAGA movement. Other than Jon Tester, there is no rural voice on the national stage to counter the urban/suburban attack on rural voters. As a result, we go round and round in a vicious circle. First, urban conservatives and liberals create whatever rural stereotype suits their agenda. Then the media goes hunting for someone that fits one of those stereotypes, then plasters their faces on national television. In turn, conservatives and liberals attack each other's stereotype and battle over non-existent people. Examples might help.
Almost daily during covid, FoxNews featured restaurant owners in small towns and rural communities who opposed the lockdown. In small rural towns and cities, anyone who wants to talk politics heads to the local diner for breakfast. I hadn’t been in Kentucky two weeks, when I found the diner where locals talked politics. I sat with the Democrats and when we left, the Democrats introduced me to the Republicans and that’s where I sat the next time I went in.
Recently, the NYTimes featured a ridiculous article about a disagreement over cows, and titled it, “How Two Wandering Cows Started a Culture War.”
When politicians and pundits talk about crime, they never mention the fact that they are exporting inmates to prisons located in rural communities. Of course, there are jails and prisons in cities, but most are located in rural America. Combine high unemployment with 19 prisons and jails in one rural county and you have the recipe for MAGA.
I can’t remember the last time, I met an urban or suburban American who did not claim expertise in rural life, based on personal experience. It is very hard to get these people to see that a relative’s experience, or their own childhood experience, is not the same thing as building a life in rural landscapes. For example, JD Vance is informed by a child’s experience and has absolutely no adult experience to draw on. I don’t know about anybody else, but what I thought and saw as a child looks very different through my adult eyes.
Obviously, this is a very sensitive subject and wading into it is always risky. Twenty years ago, in 2004, I spent a year on the road talking about the rural-urban divide. In addition to thousands of voters, the DLC and state party officials attended our presentations. We spent several days with mucky-mucks from the DLC and stayed in contact for several years. Unfortunately, the DLC refused to heed the warning and remained convinced that Democrats did not need rural voters to win elections. While the DLC refused to transfer resources back into rural communities the Republicans were pouring money into them. I have been working on the rural-urban divide ever since.
As you can tell by our back and forth, the subject is more sensitive, controversial and heated now, than it was twenty years ago. Again, I apologize for my assumptions and teachy tone.
I think that the big gap between rural and urban began in about 1910 when the US first became more urban than rural. Folks flocked to cities for work opportunities, taking with them valuable resources needed in rural America.
That makes perfect sense. Farmers struggled in the late 1800s with re-occurring droughts & multiple economic factors like high tariffs in the 1890s a banking crisis. People would go where there was opportunity.
I see this as an important opportunity for VP Harris and our nation. I wrote about it, and see a number of kindred thoughts in this thread. My piece may be a bit too aspirational, but I'd like to see us get back to some sort of balance. https://open.substack.com/pub/bobmorgan/p/everything-in-moderation
Along with the President, the Senate, the House and in time the Court must be turned BLUE to preserve our FREEDOM at least for now until the GOP can get themselves turned around.
On a positive note, historically, the body politic moves in the opposite direction of a radical SC.
Absolutely!! Down ballot voting is a must for Democrats to retain and retake Congress until the nazis are weeded out.
I love that you include til the GOP gets itself turned around!!! We need a two party system (although I guess with the different factions in the Democratic party it's almost like that).
This is true but Trump has a certain Cultic power, no one else in the Republican Party has been able to come near.
He will be eradicated just like Jim Jones, David Koresh, et al. Then his cultish followers will go back under their rock until some other affable cult leader digs them up. We need to get much better at preventive measures to stymie potential cultish persons before they get this far. The Christian Nationalist (includes Heritage) group has been working on this program over 40 years. What have we done to dissuade their actions? They really are a big harmful deal and are looking to destroy our governmental bidy to replace it with theocracy. Work hard folks to thwart theiractions.
Joy Reid on MSNBC at 7 p.m. every day this week is offering detailed information about Project 2025. I recommend we all tape the shows and use the data to inform others and get them to vote to preserve our democracy, not rush blindly into a dictatorship.
She's doing a great job.
The heritage jerks are not exactly exactly treasonous, just act like it. We have to start educating within our families and at schools about how government really is formed and what it does. Like my civics classes of the '50s..
The Heritage Foundation, by the looks of their tenets in the project, want a Christian Nationalist theocratic form of government. No thank you, I cant tolerate all the things that horrible existence entails.
Yes, they are, don’t fool yourself. They are billionaires and multi-millionaires, all white, who think we are beneath them. They wish to return where women were barefoot, pregnant with their child, while holding another on her hip as she stirs tonight’s dinner. People who are not white, would never get ahead in their world, just like it’s been played out for centuries. They are all despicable!
Agreed!
Some history textbooks need to be revised, especially regarding the Civil War.
Agreed! It started with the election of the actor from CA (Reagan), who memorized and delivered speeches given to him. Put Social Studies, history (more than the civil war) back into the curriculum of every grade. Teach the next generations that to preserve and improve their way of life requires their participation. Don't use public money for private schools and church schools -- if people want their little darlin's in something besides public schools, they should pay for it themselves. Those who don't like public schools need to get involved and fix what is wrong. And dammit, pay teachers what they're really worth and provide the supplies necessary for education!
Agree 100%
The Handmaid’s Tale will no longer be a tale. It will be our reality.
Truly frightening, particularly since on of them is on the (formerly-supreme) court.
"Stupid is as Stupid Does". Forrest Gump
? I don't know either.
However, the Cancer that tRump infects some people with, follows wherever he goes...
Trump is a celebrity and lots of folks equate that with leadership. It’s not true. But a lot of folks believe it nevertheless.
I hope that was not meant as positive or as praise!
Basically it's an ongoing observation, because every single generation has this somewhere in it. (89 years here) When we fantasize otherwise we'll be always on the cusp or worse, of disappointment. It will be interesting to see if Republican-minded people start catching on about the possible extremes in their own thinking that lead to this MAGA recycle version of cultiness. By electing sensible people especially well prepared and experienced people, Kamala being
our leader now, we reestablish the workings of democracy for everybody.
I see Trump as a gatekeeper who, sadly, has given permission to those who want to blame others for their lots in life. That's his hold over his cult. Question is when he goes away, does his cult also go away or do they just look for another head to their snake?
Got it! …and the first thing to do is un-corrupt the SUPREME COURT!
Pres. Joe has some GREAT ideas on how to do that and Ms. Kamala supports them. We MUST get ahold of Congress in order to fix the damage the rethuglicans wrought.
The political future belongs to educated younger voters! Between 4Million and 8Million new younger voters will cast their ballot for President this year than in 2020! Most likely a greater number of women within that group will vote. And my guess is that somewhere around 75% of these new voters will be trying to protect reproductive rights including IVF and will be voting for Democrats who pledge to legislatively restore the protections of Roe on a nationwide basis!
Finally, in 2026 and 2028 they will be joined by millions more and they will achieve more progressive results as to women’s health, gun control, and fighting climate change both nationally and statewide! Now let’s get out there and start the ball really rolling this year! Please go to www.TurnUp.US run by brilliant Harvard students nationwide only in “truly competitive” congressional contests! Thank you!
A view from the cheap seats at the Trump circus. The faithful are pushing that he will win while panicking about the close election, aghast at his unworthy competition with real credentials and media buzz, and believe that the young, uninformed voters will be swayed to vote for Harris because they don't know any better.
This is my last report from the frontline of total madness- my noise cancelling headphones have arrived. Blessed silence.
Basically it's an ongoing observation, because every single generation has this somewhere in it. (89 years here) When we fantasize otherwise we'll be always on the cusp or worse, of disappointment. It will be interesting to see if Republican-minded people start catching on about the possible extremes in their own thinking that lead to this MAGA recycle version of cultiness. By electing sensible people especially well prepared and experienced people, Kamala being
our leader now, we reestablish the workings of democracy for everybody.
I absolutely agree with this but I think they’ve been there all along. There is a huge percentage of our population that is threatened and/or fears people who are different from them - from the obvious people of color, women, LGBTQ+ - to the less obvious - strong women and anyone with a differing opinion. I’m living this. A male child molester is more forgivable than a strong woman with differing opinions in the family I married into. If this election weren’t so important, I would say let’s enjoy watching them squirm.
I'm hoping that you know it's not as huge a percentage as you think, not with the latest generations 30s and under and actually a very large number who understand the need for bodily autonomy in law. Plus this next 90 some days is already waking people up from wherever they've been. Take heart.
Love your positivity!!
Well it is based basically on reason and facts, from better sources than daily polls for one thing, for not watching TV news for over 2 years for another, and reading a bunch of different sources daily which I understand not everybody has time to do. But also as a healer on a pretty basic knowledge of human possibility and realities. The emotional part is always there but the question is what to do with it.
Definitely, Shelly. We must remain vigilant. The MAGAts are not going to slink quickly back to the slime they oozed from.
I live in a basically rural, conservative area that used to have tr*** flags on their trucks, exhaust blowing out the back; lots of tr*** signs and flags out, etc. Not any more! I've only seen one truck with flags in the last 6 months. I think we MIGHT be getting back to the original GOP, the loyal opposition who loved democracy also. I never voted for them, but we need balance. I'm hoping this election pushes the nazi's out, like American's have done twice before in our history.
But Trump's base doesn't know the other ultra right wingers from watching "reality" TV. I don't think such a hateful person could win without the bad TV exposure.
Election deniers in positions of authority in states will be difficult to get rid of.
Yep, Peter Theil and the technobros are going to spend their billions destroying the US. I never thought I'd remember Andrew Carnegie as a good man because at least he built libraries and didn't try to destroy the country.
TRUE!
Please tell everyone that DEI stands for dedicated, energetic and intelligent. Let’s redefine this slur.
NO! It’s worth fighting for! I spent my career advocating for people with disabilities.
Inclusion is a fundamental right granted by the ADA, and IDEA.
We cannot stop calling for inclusion and change.
It also means that Mango Mussolini Didn't Earn It.
Or Definitely Earned It.
It took me a day to recover, but since then I have been invigorated, proud, and HOPEFUL about the future of my country since President Joe Biden stepped down and endorsed Harris. I have SO much respect for our President, and I believe he has orchestrated our way out of this mess.
Kamala Harris has shown she knows how to run a campaign and I am ALL IN!
Yes, I was also a little sad and jarred when President Biden stepped down. But then I watched Harris give a few speeches so I could judge her character for myself. I love her! She is the best thing to happen to politics in a long time. Go Blue!
I too am ALL IN for Kamala, and I still love Joe Biden -- even more than I did before. He is a true statesman, and I like what he has already begun to do for his last months in office. I just pray that the transition will be as smooth and quiet as it's supposed to be and always has been until the would-be coup of 2021. But I am ready to stand firm. Am afraid I'm too old to actually fight physically.
I feel, for the boomer generation, that this is truly our last meaningful election. There are still a lot of us, and voting blue in this election is vital.
I agree, Joyce. And I consider myself a "boomer" since I was born in May of 1945, even though I'm usually considered to be of the "silent generation" or whatever the generation before "boomer." So I think of myself as one of the "original boomers." Ah well. Who wants to be pigeonholed anyway?!
Well said Poppiwinkle, totally agree
Me too!
"also think about the possibility that we’d never again have to hear Trump’s outrageous demagoguery."
As much as I would like to believe this, I cannot. Even with Trump dead, this will continue. We have to realize that close to half of the country espouses many of his "ideals." Trump will be gone, but others, probably worse, will come after him, pushing fascism. We will have to be ever vigilant for this cancer not to spread to the whole country.
Trump isn’t the disease, he’s a symptom.
He is actually one of the vectors of the disease.
Trump is out to make money and stay out of prison. Only cares about himself. If you think he has any other agenda you are dreaming.
There is a whole team behind Trump who are pushing a fascist agenda and a far right country. For them, Trump is nothing but a puppet they can control to their convenience.
And I wonder if DT’s fan base understands this. I have no idea.
They are too stupid to understand anything.
Dave, I have echoed that many times.
This is why it will be important in the future to keep voting for Democrats, up and down the ballot, and getting legislation passed that will close the weaknesses in the democratic process. As others have said, and it's true, it will take continued vigilance.
Thank you "up and down the ballot" local, county, state, national vote Democrat now until GOP hopefully some day will get themselves turned around.
No, it isn't nearly half the country. It's more like a third. Still far too many, but let's not exaggerate the numbers.
As I said before, I do not want to start and argument, but this is how I get my estimates:
If we use the voting numbers of the 2020 election, there were about 239 million eligible voters. From those, 159 million (67%) voted and 80 million (33%) did not vote, so we cannot know who these 80 million people sympathize with.
Of the 159 million votes cast, Biden received 81 million and Trump received 74 million. If we were to split the non voters equally among Biden and Trump, that would add 40 million to the totals for each one, bringing Biden to 121 million and Trump to 114 million. These figures expressed in percentages are 50% and 47% respectively of the 239 million eligible voters; the missing 3% being voters who did not vote for either Biden or Trump.
My method might not be very scientific, but it leads me to consider that the number of people supporting Trump is probably higher than we tend to believe, and that is why it is so important to convince as many people as possible to get out and vote. If we start getting overconfident that it is "more like a third" of the voters sympathizing with Trump, we might be in for another nasty surprise.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voter_turnout_in_United_States_presidential_elections
Unfortunately and realistically we have to concentrate on those swing states because of the number of electoral college votes they bring. Until we change the electoral system that's a reality. So "Six of them - Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin – appear to be on a knife edge and probably hold the key to who will take the White House. So both parties are campaigning intensively to win over undecided voters in these states."
Indeed, the Electoral College system just makes everything more complicated.
I agree with you but also think that at some point the mainstream media will recognize that the majority of Americans, particularly they younger generations that spend money are no longer interested in trump and that stories about him are a waste of advertising space. We do need to be ever vigilant but there may be some things that will help. Once mainstream media loses it's audience for all things trump (and fewer and fewer and fewer young people turn into Fox and their older listeners die) things may change. I appreciate the fact that it seems like Meidas Touch Network is getting more viewers on youube than CNN and FOX and I think, but really have no idea that younger folks just don't watch news on TV anymore, And I do think that younger folks by a large majority embrace the idea that all persons regardless of sexual orientation deserve to have love and no matter how hard the GOP tried to hide that they abhor gays it always comes out. Their hate is so real and so intense they cannot hide it and I hope that young people will be motivated to get out and vote to show that they do not approve of any of the party platform of the GOP. The young people (of course young republicans excepted) do care about education, the climate and human rights. I think that the half of the country (and I'm not sure it's really that many) that you refer to are old guys who are dying off and even if for now facism wins, I don't know if the yonger generations will stand for it in the long run. I think we now have an economy that relies a great deal on mental abilities and critical thinking and you cannot make a person use their mind like you can make them toil in a coal mine and at some point I think big business will realize they no longer have a viable work force in the US because of trumpism and they may in fact join a revolution of young people. And to be honest, I don't know how much you can force a women to have sex with her husband. I think we may have reached a point where even with pjt2015 women will just say no and will be willing to go to jail rather than be raped by their husbands. Or better yet develop an underground railroad that goes to Canada or Mexico and just leave the men here to fend for themselves.
I do not want to argue, but watch the public attending a Trump rally. Look at the amount of young people -and children- who participate. The firefighter who died in Butler was a relatively young person, and he died shielding his kids from the bullets. Until the US educational system is overhauled, it will keep churning minds like those of Trump's followers. What Trump offers millions of people who are not successful either professionally, financially, romantically or as parents is something or someone to blame for their shortcomings (the Dems, free trade, immigrants, women, you name it), and the possibility to evade responsibility for their own actions. This is one of the most powerful drugs there are, and it is hard to leave this addiction behind and face the fact that people are accountable for most of what happens to them.
I agree about the trump crowds but I don't know how much the support is over all in young people. My grandkids have overheard threats of violence from their fellow students (this is middle school) towards any one who supported Biden. Can you imagine that???Middle schoolers with that much hate. And of course their school just got a $400,000 grant from the Biden admin for increasing school security/safety. And not one mention that this money came from the Biden Admin and the local ultra right US Congressman, who voted against this funding will be right there ribbon cutting and beaming. We are stuck here because of family obligations but boy it's awful. And we are the poorest congressional district in the state and the GOP has been in control both of the state and this district for about 20 years. But it's not the fault of the GOP, somehow it's Clinton's fault or maybe Obama but never the GOP controlled state government or the congressman who votes against every bill that could address the poverty here . And it will never change. Any young people with any critical thinking skill moves away.
We actual civic-minded citizens have to support our ballot workers and the ballots themselves perhaps. These are desperate people we're talking about as you say
I am a little concerned that a responder believes the current U.S. educational system is “churning minds like those of trump’s followers”
Trump, Maga, GOP, Project 2025, all want to dismantle our public educational system! This is why they push for vouchers to religious, private schools!
We must strengthen our public schools, keeping religion out of them and making them accessible to all. The damage currently being promoted will destroy this country.
My criticism to the current public educational system is that most schools emphasize testing rather than critical thinking. Students are taught to pass tests, instead of analysis and problem solving. Competition, rather than community is also privileged at public schools. Children at risk and with different capacities do not receive the attention they should, plus other systemic issues. Certainly, what Trump, MAGA, GOP, and Project 2025 want to do will not contribute to improving it.
This is such a local fight as well as by county and school district and state. Bush's teach to the test was a horror that we are seeing the results of. That was 20 years ago. It might take that long to reinstate a thinking approach and curriculum. So we might have to get quite creative what with social media, who knows? Tik tok could be turned to more uses maybe?
"No child left behind" left so many children so far behind.
These two arguments relative to where the country is regarding authoritarianism vs democracy are interesting because they both are correct. As a political wonk, any argument based on facts and numbers misses the reality of who gets elected president. If facts, issues, and policies mattered this country would never have elected the likes of Regean, W, or tRump. So who does the electorate vote for? The candidate they think/feel they can relate to, i.e. have a beer with. If you think that is too simplistic consider what Biden represented and that the poll numbers were near 50/50. Then on a dime everything turns around, why? Many could/would not relate to an old doddering frail man. BUT blacks, Asians, women, and immigrants can relate to Kamala. So much for policies, facts, and issues that consume the likes of us who are passionate about out politics.
Unfortunately true. And due to the lack of critical thinking training in education, among other problems.
I think our exit from Afghanistan turned a whole lot of people against Biden. Wrong, probably, given that the conditions for withdrawal were negotiated by Trump, the brokered deal left all the power in hands of the Taliban, and there was no way Biden was going to do another 20 years trying to get the factions together against the Taliban. Ugly exit. Possibly no other way would have done much more than continue another occupation.
"Until the US educational system is overhauled, it will keep churning minds like those of Trump's followers." MOST important in my mind too. Quit using federal money to pay for religious and other cult schools. IF people want their own schools, let them pay for it themselves. If they can't afford that, then they need to get involved in their local schools and fix whatever is broken.
So true! Pathetic!
Scary thoughts. Good news -- the media seems to be over all Trump, all the time and the younger generation are completely divorced from the MSM and infotainment media.
We are privileged to disagree.
Indeed we are!
Then there’s the horror of an old, overweight Trump having a heart attack or stroke and Vance taking his place, with his catlady, childless people shouldn’t have their votes count as much insanity. He almost out-Trumps Trump. Isn’t THAT terrifying?
Yes, THAT is terrifying. In the alernate universe of retrumplicanism, there is no bottom. If any Good is to come from this long nightmare, it is the wake-up call to beware of fascists and false idols. Or just plain don't take for granted the Liberty that prior generations died to protect.
tRump is SKATA. SO IS VANCE. WE CANNOT LET IT HAPPEN.
I'm doing everything to get the word out and looks like the country's responding to her. Praying she wins but I also hope if the votes shows she has, we're ready for the fury that will come from the other side.
I look forward to Trump fading from view, hopefully sooner rather than later. But Trump's core base won't go away and the same basic mentality has been here since the country was founded - it has to be continually resisted.
True about the Magat crowd, but the politicians, in large part, who have supported him will drop like sprayed mosquitos once he is not there to either help or hurt them.
This generation might. But they'll mutate and be back. It's the same crowd that supported slavery and Joe Mcarthyism.
I'm not convinced that he'll fade from view as long as he breathes.
Bring forth the Silent Sorority.
Not so silent .
See: on Substack - Joyce Vance, HCR, Chop Wood Carry Water, Mary Trump,
Ruth Ben-Ghiat, Dr Bandy
X.Lee, and on .....
Agreed. It’s just a phrase to inspire those who can influence others who appear silent and not an insult.
Add Heather Cox Richardson, who puts all this in perspective of our history.
Yes and also Elliot Kirschner.
It would be wonderful if we didn’t have to see D. Trump every day and hear his rants ever ever again. A weight would be lifted- the dark cloud hanging over us for nine years would be gone.
For me, that sad thing is that even if trump goes away, I know my neighbors hate me because I supported Biden. I cannot be vocal about it so pretty much no one knows, but I know and I feel such a sadness and loss. I lost someone I thought was a good friend and who I shared values with when I found out she supported trump and Kavenaugh and does not believe women who say they were victims of sex abuse. I have never told her of the sex abuse I'd been subject to and when I did during the Kavanaugh hearings she just ignored it and all her other comments showed she did not believe me or any other victims. She and all the like minded citizens are still the only ones in my community ((I'm in a 99% trump area) so even when he goes away, no matter how he goes away I will still be in a community that supports his values. And yes, they all go to church.
From what I have been looking at for the last several decades, the church part is the giveaway a lot of the time. The pastors and preachers are becoming a menace when they pick and choose The Bible parts that support their political views. And then shamelessly spew them. When people are cloistered in an area and don't travel out of it and watch the non-news there is a terrible and non-humanistic grip on their emotions. The minds themselves don't appear to be involved. Sending you whatever strength vibes you can use.
That is very sad. Have you
considered relocating? It is not easy, but might be worth it.
I often think about relocating, and am actually a (naturalized) Canadian citizen and fantasize about moving there frequently! I (daily!) make the choice to stay here because I want to be close to my grandkids (I'm their babysitter/taxi) and because I have a horse rescue/sanctuary and there is no way I could afford to have these horses anywhere else plus it would be so traumatic for most of them to have to move (5 are in their mid to late 20s which is old for a horse and have been here for years). I am pretty sure the grandkids will be "grown" (at least in college) before all the horses will die so I am stuck here. But I do check out properties for sale in other areas that would be more to my likeing politically and morally.
I am sorry for your situation. I have a dear friend of 30+ years who came here from Canada, and she and her husband are staunch trump supporters...and yes, they became US citizens. Both they and their son fly maga flags at their homes. Breaks my heart. I have to admit to some feelings of resentment...you came to my country, you were welcomed, and you support the end of our democracy? I am determined to maintain the friendship. I can't imagine your situation--I plan to move out of the US if trump wins. I wish you all the best.
I was born here (meaning only no other country easily open to me citizenship-wise), served in the military and am now a disabled veteran. I grew up steeped in hate, fear and misogyny - a toxic mix of white supremacy and a far right religious cult in a small, rural Midwest town. It has been incredibly difficult watching the beliefs and attitudes I fought so hard to get away from become mainstream. All the same hate, fear, misogyny, violence and threat of violence for disagreeing, blatant lies, gaslighting. I lost two long term friends to the trump cult, the town I now live in would gladly change the name to trumpville. Recently I wrote a letter to the local paper against misogyny and 2 days later a dead rat was put on my doorstep in the middle of the night. It’s suffocating to have to live surrounded by everything I worked to escape.
Yet, as a disabled veteran I am stuck. VA disability is barely enough to get by month to month. Moving, even 30 miles to a more tolerant town, would take at least 6k for the basic 1st & last month’s rent plus deposit, and while I’ve been saving it’s still a far off goal. I wish I could move to Canada and I have a friend there who could sponsor me but as a disabled veteran I wouldn’t be a high earner or contribute to their society in a big way (more as a part-time worker who could do a bit of volunteer work). And being disabled I would automatically be considered a drain on their medical resources. So I’m stuck in a country I once served and paid a high price for doing so, a country where, if trump is re-elected, I will lose my veterans disability (see Project 2025 - Chapter 14 I think), become homeless, be arrested for being homeless thanks to the highly corrupt, far right members of SCOTUS, and then shipped to one of trump and steven miller’s camps. The stress of it all is nearly unbearable.
I do what I can to speak up but know even beyond what will happen to me as a disabled veteran under another trump administration I’m not safe from at least a few of my neighbors. Several years ago one told me I didn’t deserve to exist - all because I said “no” when asked “don’t you just love trump?” If he is defeated it will take decades to put all this unleashed hatred back where it belongs - not in charge and not tolerated.
My heart aches for you. The fear we have regarding retaliation must be a tiny bit of what persons of color felt so much more during slavery and the Jim Crow era and now. Of course we do not fear being lynched but we are not free. We are not free to express our thoughts. As awful as it is, at least persons of color have a community that supports them and we do not. I donate to Vote Vets. Do you think there is a better organization to donate to to help get all Vets to vote Blue?
I am very much aware of how different my situation would be if I wasn’t white. While I did hesitate to call the police about the dead rat I did so anyway. (Our police force is very much for trump so I only call if absolutely necessary.) If I were a person of color I would not have called.
Vote Vets is a good organization. I’m not aware of any other veteran affiliated organization that has their outreach. Maybe someone else here would know of others.
I wish I could help you, but I live out west where it's too hot to even think. So I will pray for you and wish for you a bright blue future 💙
Sorry you are surrounded by Trumplicans. People in my community had Trump flags so we s did not and will not post Biden or Harris signs out of fear. This is the MAGA America. I still hope that something will trigger a change in their thinking. While there is life, there is hope.
I wonder how much the dems and independents running for office up and down the ballot know about how many of us are living in this kind of fear. I don't know if it would matter but maybe it would. Maybe if the media did some stories on it it would make others at least feel not so alone. The GOP/MAGA cult will never understand that they are just one belief or negative comment about trump away from being the target of all the is MAGA but I wonder if there are others who would benefit from knowing how real the fear is...we don't need proj2025, for us part of it is here.
The difference being, as to why we don't fly BLUE flags, is that when we disagree, we discuss. When the trumpites disagree, that usually get violent. I'm not afraid or worried about not flying a flag yet -- I VOTE blue -- that's my power. And when we win I WILL fly the Dem flags!!
Unfortunately even cnn is caught up in drama, rather than REPORTING news. I timed it recently -- 3 minutes of a news item, 20 minutes of babble and opinions from various people, 15 minutes of commercials.... and the cycle continued. Youtubes provide better information (and I'm a boomer !!)
Finally, this race is interesting and the choice couldn’t be more well defined. As Dan Rather stated, it’s freedom verses a wannabe dictator that tells his supporters that they won’t need to vote again if he wins. No kidding.
Chose FREEDOM over AUTHORITARIANISM.
Freedom from weirdos!
…but aren’t they too, “made in your image”? 😉
Nah, they’re made in satans image. 😉
If and when we get away from the whole image thing we can start looking at the reality. Image is a shadow on the wall.
NO. That is FICTION.
Well, the Bible is fiction, soooo…
The end of Trump's quote about the election being fixed ends with "you won't have to vote any more my beautiful Christians." In case anybody is in doubt about his plans for a white Christian Nationalist country.
I don't agree -- he'll set himself up as dictator as he doesn't give a single ounce of care for the WCN's -- they're just a tool to him, and he'll have his idiot children set up to take over when he finally kicks the bucket.
I am not advocating for Trump. I totally agree with you.
oh I totally got that part of your comment! I just believe that he's more self-serving than the wcn's understand.
What is truly astounding is he is not being cryptic or subtle. He is say exactly what he is going to do. And most of the media are treating this as a normal presidential race.
I firmly believe there are people behind tfg, and even though he may go away, they won't!! I highly recommend watching BAD FAITH, to understand some of the power behind the 'thone'.
That they will always be present and won't go away is a given. It will take a continuing effort to keep them away from the levers of power.
Excellent suggestion just watched it.
Another great one! I wish you had a video of Beyonce singing the complete FREEDOM anthem that she has gifted to Kamala Harris as her campaign song. We all must do all we can to make sure our freedoms that have been taken are restored and that more doors open for freedom for other areas of American life. Thanks, Dan.
A more robust reaction to Republicans is so welcome.
As much as this election is about democracy vs autocracy, good vs evil, going forward vs going backward, and two candidates vying for the most powerful position on earth, it is also a referendum on the American people. Are we the good, moral and decent people we like to think we are, or are we the racist, immoral people exemplified by Trump and his enablers and supporters?
That question will be answered in Nov. I hope those who normally don’t involve themselves with politics take their heads out of the sand and vote. No one should waste our most precious right.