stevenkesslar

More bad news for Biden. Two articles worth reading. I'll summarize with a key paragraph from each. Biden is selling an economy on the rise. Voters aren’t buying it so far. Democrats beware: These Black voters are fed up, and looking for a political home There's a few things that both stories make clear. The most important one is ............................. it's the inflation, stupid. Had Trump been POTUS, there's no way he would have escaped the global inflation experienced by (name most any large industrialized nation, except China). But since Biden was POTUS, he will be held accountable for it. The other thing that is clearly a factor is all the stuff about age, and being out of touch. There is one reasonably good comparison we can make on that, which I keep bringing up: Ronald Reagan in 1983. At this point he was still net unfavorable. One 1983 poll showed Mondale beating him by 10 points. Inflated prices won't deflate, any more than they did in 1983. Biden won't grow younger, any more than Reagan did in 1983. The gamble is obviously that a year from now, things will be different. What we know now, that I mentioned above, is the misery index was 7.7 in January 2021 and it is now lower - 6.8. So if Trump wants to talk about inflation and unemployment, right now it is lower than when Biden kicked his ass. (New flash: Joe Biden won the 2020 election.) No one in that second article is saying they are itching to vote for Trump. If inflation and unemployment stay low, there's no particular reason to think Black voters who are disappointed in Biden or even Harris will decide MAGA is their political home. As someone said in that article, most Republican efforts to reach out to Blacks are as cringeworthy as what Biden said in 2020 about how Blacks who vote for Trump "ain't Black." As an aside, some poll I read recently seemed to say that Black Republicans actually prefer Vivek Ramaswamy to Tim Scott. I guess you could score one for diversity. But it made me feel sad. Scott, to me, is a good guy who articulates a right-of-center vision for a colorblind Main Street America. Nikki Haley, to me, is a good gal who does the same. I'm glad she is connecting. Vivek is a culture warrior who is telling conservatives what they want to hear. I'm biased. But it says something to me about the true ugliness in the MAGA movement. They just want their red meat. And lots of it! The S & P 500 was at 3850 or so when Biden took office. It's at 4450 now. Who knows where it will be a year from now. But many prognosticators think it will set a new all time high, above the all time high it already set under Joe Biden. If that plays out, which is what my money in the stock market is betting on, it undercuts Trump's argument about the great Trump economic boom and the horrible Biden economic bust. All that said, this scares the shit out of me. Is anyone else scared?

So let's just continue on this riff. Because you really can't make this shit up. Politics is now parody. Trump: 'No Choice' But to Jail Political Opponents That alone gets a laugh. Exactly. Only a genius like Trump could deduce that Biden is both gone, mentally. And the mastermind who engineered four different indictments. Why be such a senile asshole? Just because Trump tells the truth and defends the Constitution. And stuff like that. Thing is, these evil fuckers like Biden have no compassion. Whereas DJT, despite the persecution, is a nice guy. Reasonable people wanted to hang Mike Pence, for him fucking with the Constitution. And other really bad things. But Trump is better that. He understands the problem. Mike Pence is too damn honest. Which is worse than fucking with the Constitution, when you think about it. Hell yeah! Lock Pence up for being too honest! But what really bothers me isn't Pence. It is the whole damn cult of vengeful, irrational wackos who have nothing but hatred for their country. And want to to destroy Trump for being a patriot who defends the Constitution. So we HAVE TO JAIL ALL TRUMP'S POLITICAL OPPONENTS. Throw these America-hating radical whackos in jail! Lock em up! Now! Bill Barr, Republican Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen, Republican Acting Attorney General Richard Donoghue, Republican Acting Deputy Attorney General; John Ratcliffe, Republican Director Of National Intelligence Chris Krebs, Republican CISA Director Pat Cipollone, Republican White House Counsel Mike Shirkey, Republican Michigan Senate Majority Leader Lee Chatfield, Republican Michigan House Speaker Rusty Bowers, Republican Arizona House Speaker Brad Raffensperger, Repulican Georgia Sec. of State. Every one of these America hating whacko dick heads told Trump he lost the 2020 election. Just like that disgustingly honest Mike Pence! These people treated the Constitution like toilet paper. Of course we need to LOCK THEM UP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I think what Kemp and Raffensperger did helps explain why they won handily in 2022. And why Warnock kicked the ass of the Trump Lie Machine alternative. Or maybe they just didn't like Walker's story about cows fucking cows? Who knows? This is a great example of what Clintonista Doug Sosnik said 2022 came down to, and 2024 will likely come down to. Sosnik: "What defined the 2022 campaign is we're voting against crazy. If that's gonna be the driver in defining what this campaign is about in 2024, the Democrats are gonna win. If it's about Trump's ad [about how the economy was better when Trump was POTUS) that's gonna be a difficult election for Democrats." Kristol: "And what do you think is more likely?" Sosnik: "Crazy." My hunch is this is why the GOP is quickly become the party of the Black working class. All Democrats like me do is elect snobs like Obama and Harris. Republicans show their respect to graduates of HBUs like Howard and respected Georgia law schools like Emory by calling them fat bitches. Clearly, the Republicans know better than me. 🤪

Sweetie, you're always at your best when you keep it simple and stupid. I'm impressed with the words. But, then again, why would you feel the need to impress a whore? 🤫 Fact is, she's a fat bitch who should be locked up for even thinking Trump could be criminal. Let alone trying to prove it with so-called "facts" like recorded phone calls and shit. What fucking nonsense! But, what is one to expect from a fat bitch, anyway? Here's the sad part: Sadly, over half of Americans agree with the fat bitch. Including a majority of Independents. And even one in five Republicans. When a fat bitch can trample over our rights and indict someone just for standing up for democracy, we know we have truly moved away from decency and truth. Stand with The Real POTUS! Lock that fat bitch up! It's the only decent thing to do.

Thanks for helping me to understand the rules of the MAGAverse. In all honesty, I always did wonder how Trump could shoot someone on 5th Avenue and get away with it. After all, I figured, he'd automatically be labeled a criminal. Now I finally realize how criminal it is for anyone to think Trump could do criminal things. Especially if you're a fat and ignorant Black woman. Do we still have those signs from 2016 around? How about if we just lock her up?

I thought it made sense to start a thread on the biggest reason Biden might lose in 2024. ‘Pathetic': Voters of color slam Biden’s performance on the economy “Our economy is the lowest it’s been.” Yes, it's one focus group. But there's no way to be a Democrat and feel good about the fact that 2020 Biden supporters who are in his must-have target group feel the economy sucks. It's not good news for them and their families. And it is not good news for Biden and Democrats. And poll after poll after poll say that's how most Americans feel. It increasingly feels to me like this is, in part, a race against time. And two key facts that contradict each other will be in conflict. On the one hand, you can't take inflation that has already happened away. And it seems clear the main thing that pisses people off about the economy is inflation. That also registers in Biden's approval ratings. Which happened to be at their worst in 2022 when inflation peaked. So there is now months of data showing inflation is way lower than a year ago. And for most of this year wage growth is outpacing inflation. Especially for people at the lower end of the income stream. But to a large degree, so far, it just doesn't matter. We could also do a whole psycho-social analysis about post-COVID malaise, too, I guess. But let's not. I read a very funny and sad narrative once about how Veep Mondale implored Team Carter/Caddell not to do that whole "America's tummy doesn't feel good" thing. Not only did it not work in 1980. In 1984 Reagan was still able to smear "Vice President Malaise" all over poor Walter. On the other hand, it's clear that Team Biden is now committed to spending over a year pushing the idea of Bidenomics. Good for them. I think it's better for them to be on offense than defense, regardless of what happens. But what is actually happening is that, just for the last few months, the misery index is lower than when Biden took office. It was 7.7 in January 2021, and it's 6.8 right now. The polls are also clear that no one is particularly bothered by high unemployment - since we are riding a 50 year low. So the real question is how low do inflation and the misery index have to go by November 2024 for people to actually feel better? In that regard, it's interesting that when Ronald Reagan won in a landslide in 1984, the misery index was way higher than today: 11.4. The reason that may have worked well for Reagan is it was roughly half the 20.2 misery index when he clobbered Carter in Nov. 1980. So if Biden spends a year saying broken record that Bidenomics is working, which is basically his version of 1984's "Morning In America," it may work. Assuming inflation and unemployment actually continue to drive a historically low misery index. I strongly agree with Alan Lichtman's bias that, in the end, it is important things like the economy that matter most. And they are predictive of who will win. I also agree with his assumption that voters are smart enough to tell when you are just putting lipstick on a pig. Well, most voters. Putting handcuffs on a pig may be a different thing altogether. Which brings us to the other race against time element. IMHO there are two key questions that will drive 2024, both of which are now reflected in threads here: 1) will the economy get better, or worse? and 2) will Trump be convicted of any of his many crimes? I think the good news for Biden is that if it's a binary choice of whether the economy will get better or worse, on the face of it there's a 50 % chance it gets better. If the question is whether Trump will become less criminal, or less indicted, there is a 0 % chance of that. 🤫 So you could argue that the odds are more on Biden's side than Trump's. I guess it could come out that Trump is innocent. Because Hunter Biden was the one who tried to steal the 2020 election. Maybe Hunter also made all those death threats to Republican Raffensperger's wife. Stay tuned. The final trend I've been watching for about a year is Biden's approval rating in comparison to Reagan's. Just about two years in, which was the point in his term when the Reagan Recession was at bottom, Reagan actually had an approval rating in the high 30's. Biden had a similar low earlier in his term, when inflation was peaking in 2022. Right now, at the same point in his Administration, Reagan's approval rating was 43.4 %, compared to Biden's 41.2 %. Not a huge difference. What mattered from here on out is that the Reagan economy did in fact recover. And Michael Deaver was successful in selling it as Morning In America. So Reagan's approval gradually surged to the high 50's by November 1984. Biden clearly has a similar plan. And it may work. Unless we come to find out that "Bidenomics" means "2024 recession." I'm curious what crystal ball Team Biden has that they decided they are willing to take that gamble? Or perhaps they felt they had no choice.

I'm sorry. My memory sucks. But on the topic of weaponization, who is threatening to slowly and sadistically kill Republican Brad Raffensperger's wife and family ? I mean, can we just face facts? What part of being a 1) Black 2) female 3) liberal 4) educated 5) Democratic 6) bitch did we ever expect Trump's election deniers to like? Call me naive, but I would have thought that if you substitute a conservative White Republican Guv and Secretary of State, who tend to pick on Black activists trying to register people to vote, and who both are saying the same thing about a fair ang honest election, and who both won re-election handily ... well, I just thought reason and fact and comity might prevail. Okay, I know. Silly of me to think that way. But the death threats? Why so harsh? And who is talking about "weaponization"? And why?

Nice to know you're making progress, dear. I'd love to see a woke Georgia GOP as well.

Trump indictment forces a GOP reckoning on 2020

And, so far, it looks like he ain't gonna lose it. 😊 As an update on these comments from months ago, this new polling from Kentucky is encouraging. In a red state where Biden is down 34/55 against Trump, Beshear is leading Republican Cameron 49/41. Good for him for pandering to the middle. To make an at least somewhat logical leap to a conclusion, this adds support to my theory of Ron DeSantis. He was polling at like 60 % approval after the competent job he appeared to do (even to Democrats, the polls said) cleaning up after a hurricane. And before his culture war legislative session. Now he is polling at 50 %, with his abortion and gun laws in particular being wildly unpopular. While it's a bit wishful thinking, maybe Ron has taken himself out as a potential POTUS in 2028 and opened the door for a Democratic Guv to replace him and his unpopular right-wing policies. Meanwhile, Beshear seems to be proving that what people want, and will vote for, is competent government. Which, in his case, is left of center. But not woke. I like it that he can so far seemingly get away with calling Kentucky's Republican handling of abortion "draconian."

This is the key point I can't get around. I've ended several close friendships because I just didn't see how Republican friends could rationalize these things away. I listen to very smart Republican consultants I respect, like Whit Ayres, saying correctly that getting your mind around the idea that Trump is a pathological liar is just a bridge too far for most Trump voters. And I get it, at least intellectually For me, the easiest "shoe on the other foot" argument is that Bill Clinton was a a serial predator rapist. And, by the way, what part of rape do you not understand? What part of predator do you not understand? Do you understand that this predatory shit named Bill Clinton, who was YOUR depraved predator rapist POTUS for eight horrible years, is a rapist? And, let me ask again, do you understand what a rapist predator like Bill Clinton is, and does? Because if you understand that, how can you fucking moralize about Trump, you fucking hypocrite? At its best, that's the argument that some Trump supporters have made to me. And they have a point. No Democrat should defend what Bill Clinton did, or want more of it. But that hardly makes "grab her by the pussy" defensible, either. But, to @Lucky's point, that whole "grab her by the pussy" or, to be inclusive, "Suck my cock, Monica" thing is so FIRST indictment. We're now well beyond that. We're now at lying about losing a Presidential election. We're now at a conspiracy to illegaly retain power. Death threats to Republicans leaders, and their families, who tell the truth about who won. Inciting mobs to shit on Nancy Pelosi's floor and break the bones of lots of cops because that's just the kind of shit we MAGA folk do to defend our country. That actually is worse than raping a woman, I think. It's one thing to fuck over a woman. It's another thing to fuck over a nation, and a democracy. So I can't get beyond the fact that these MAGA folk, who believe in this dark vision of America, just need to lose. I could give a flying fuck how old Biden is. He has done a good job, in my view. So I think he deserves to win again, anyway. But even if I were unclear about that, the idea that we're going to reward and elevate a moral worm like Trump is just very very wrong. And calling him a worm is polite. Because worms aren't intentional about being worms. Trump is intentional about everything evil he does.

This thread is just about six months old. It's interesting that the indictments started with the weakest one and have now, in effect, saved the best for last. The Jan. 6th indictment is about a complicated conspiracy centered on Trump. But the picture most Americans have in their mind is MAGA supporters jubilantly and patriotically breaking the skulls and bones of police defending democracy. It's in large part about the ugliness, lies, and divisiveness of many of Trump's MAGA followers. This next one is all about Trump, Trump, and Trump. Donald Trump's lies. Donald Trump's corruption. Donald Trump's loathing of democracy. You can hate a conservative Republican Governor and a conservative Republican Secretary of State for defending democracy. And some MAGA extremists will. Raffensberger and his family will probably get more death threats. But most Americans will hear the clear smoking gun, the clear lies, and the clear contempt for democracy. Play the tape every day between now and Election Day. And, yes, do the Divine Miss Graham's hair up so she looks pretty when she defends her actions. If that's possible. 😯 I know this is a thread on Trump's indictments. But I'm glad Democrats won't be talking about that. They'll be talking about this instead. Democrats’ climate law set off a wave of energy projects in GOP districts. A backlash followed. While Trump is talking about stealing votes in Georgia and how he really, truly, awfully really, definitely, for sure thought he won the 2020 election, let Democrats debate how many jobs they created in red states. Did I mention unemployment is at a 50 year low? Did I mention how the "misery index" is lower than when Biden beat Trump? Let's talk about that while Trump defends his sorry lying corrupt ass. That article is actually a very nice summary of the complex political dynamics. Money flowing into deindustrialized and rural areas. Republicans who hate the law but love the global investment in America and US factory jobs it's creating. Michigan residents arguing that, uh, what's good for Ford Motor and Michigan factory jobs is good for the Communist Party of China. That's at least an honest debate. Democrats crushed it in Michigan last year on a platform of making government work for people and defending our rights. This will help Biden win Michigan in 2024, fair and square.

In addition to hearing about Trump's soon to be four indictments every day between now and next November, I want to hear about Corrupt Clarence every single day, too. Dems revive calls for Clarence Thomas resignation after new report I figure Corrupt Clarence is worth two Special Counsels and one high tech impeachment. One Special Prosecutor for Corrupt Clarence, and one for his democracy loathing wife. Since they share far right extremist views, I'd be okay with them sharing one Special Counsel, I guess. But the impeachment belongs to Corrupt Clarence alone. Meanwhile, the kingpin of the Biden Crime Family, Joe, is known for having dinner at Cafe Milano, shaking hands, writing nice one sentence notes, and even truly evil shit like talking on speakerphone. Still no evidence of a $5 million bribe, though. Or any favors that impacted any actual policy. The Republicans will clearly be focused on Hunter until Election Day. Even though they have no trust for Trump-appointed Weiss. Who we were told in 2018 shared Trump's  "vision for Making America Safe Again." What is it with these Trump Judases like Weiss, Pence, and Christie? Can't we trust anyone anymore? I'm fine with picking on Hunter. He deserves it for being an influence peddling shit. But Corrupt Clarence, who actually can and does influence government policy, deserves it even more. (I'm of course leaving out Billion Dollar Boy Wonder Jared and China Money Whore Ivanka, since their corruption at least can no longer influence US foreign or domestic policy.) Thomas has highest unfavorability on Supreme Court: Poll All three Democrats have net favorable ratings, topped by Sotomayer with +14 net favorable. Thomas comes in last, even behind Kavanaughty, at -11 negative. Only good news in that for Corrupt Clarence is that Trump is even less popular. And even more corrupt. It's time for a high tech impeachment of a corrupt extremist judge who is wildly unpopular because he is a national disgrace.

Judge tosses Trump’s defamation suit against writer who won sexual abuse lawsuit against him Poor Trump. The shit he and denizens of the MAGAverse have to put up with! You can't even grab pussy these days. I have two questions moving forward. One, did Burisma bribe E. Jean Carroll to do it? Two, was this part of the same $5 million bribe to Hunter or Joe Biden? I sure hope not. When you think of Hunter or Joe in bed with Carroll, not literally of course, it's kind of disgusting. But not as disgusting as thinking about Swalwell boning Hunter while he defended him. No wonder the MAGAverse is just pissed off.

Yup. You are wrong again. We're friends here. So I can be blunt, right? Please @EmmetK. Keep being you. Stay gold. Stay true to yourself. Do what you do. Please. When the anger and lies and basic lack of decency ooze out of the MAGAverse, it just turns people off. Like the wine Moms. Hell. My McCain-loving brother ain't even a wine Mom. And he says Trump is a pathological liar and megalomaniac. Please, @EmmetK. Keep doing what you do. Be you. Tell all your friends to do the same. I'm lovin it. From the MAGA-centric New York Post House Ethics Committee concludes probe into Rep. Eric Swalwell’s interaction with suspected Chinese spy And from Swalwell: So I cited the Post because they are one of the best at creating Democratic "wrongdoing" where there is none. Right now there is an enormous amount of futile intellectual masturbation going on at the Post, trying to figure out how to transform "no wrongdoing by Joe Biden" into "Joe Biden took a $5 million bribe." Even the Post is coming up intellectually impotent. So on this one, they didn't even try. You stated Fang Fang is a Chinese spy. That is incorrect. She is a suspected Chinese spy, according to the MAGA-centric Post. You stated Swalwell slept with Fang Fang. Also incorrect. All the Post mentions is that she was a campaign volunteer who raised money for him. For all I know or you know, Swalwell is correct is calling this a "false smear." You certainly haven't proven anything. Other than that in the MAGAverse anger counts for way more than facts. But let's assume you're right, and Swalwell boned her. Because that gets to why Trump will lose in 2024, I think. We then have to assume that every young stud with a libido involved in politics should be particularly careful about every hot Chinese woman (or man) he knows. Because s/he might be a spy. Which I think was the whole "Eek! Chow mein!" thing @alvnv was getting at. Trump simply attacked an Asian Cabinet member of his for being Asian. So let's assume like MTG does that Swalwell was wrong for boning Fang Fang. Even though he stopped boning her when the FBI said, "Um. We suggest you stop boning that spy woman." Or something like that. You can make a case that under the highest of ethical standards, Swalwell should have assumed that Chinese woman was a spy, and not have boned her. Or maybe he should have assumed any woman can be a spy, and not boned anyone until he was married. Poor guy! But that's the rub. If we make such assumptions, here's what follows: Trump should have assumed every hot woman near him did NOT want to be raped. Trump should NOT have assumed every hot woman near him wants her pussy grabbed by some powerful old guy. Trump should NOT have assumed he won the 2020 election when all the evidence says the exact opposite. Trump should NOT have assumed that of course at least 11, 780 more votes in Georgia were cast for him. Trump should NOT have assumed that the MAGAzens he incited to go to The Capitol and beat cops were very fine people just protecting their democratic rights. I could go on endlessly. But you get the point. Please. Raise the standards as high as you can. It makes it that much more obvious to everyone outside the MAGAverse why Trump is such a dismal political and moral failure.

Who started World War II? I don't recall. And now Germany and Japan are both strong US allies. Vlad might want to factor that into his calculations. This has not gone well for Russia. And it ain't gonna end well for Russians. Even China is becoming wobbly. So much for eternal friendship. And don't worry about Americans killing Russians. The Ukrainians you love, respect, and want peace for are very busy killing Russians right now. In a war Russia started. Probably best to focus on that.

Okay. I'll be the first to admit I was wrong on this one. But I'm blaming my error on the vast military industrial complex. Vivek Ramaswamy suggests U.S. may be aiding Ukraine because of Hunter Biden The only thing that confuses me is why it's so cheap to bribe the US to go to war. I figured that with Dan Goldman in on it, there had to be a vast international Jewish conspiracy or something. Shit. The Goldmans could pay Hunter $50 million themselves, probably. But I guess this is just how deep the tentacles of the Biden Crime Family go. Sorry, Vlad. You're no match for the Bidens. I should have given @EmmetK a third option. I think what pisses the MAGAverse off the most is not that CNN or MSNBC report on Hunter's not ready for prime time fuck ups. Or even that they report the truth about Hunter's not ready for prime time fuck ups. It's that they need Hunter to be at the center of everything in America that people don't like. Spoiler alert: next week it will be that Hunter and Joe were bribed to make gas prices all over the globe spike, so as to help Burisma. Same $5 million, it turns out. I mean, how else is the MAGAverse gonna win when the alternative is Trump? But kudos to the crafty Ukrainians. That $5 million bribe sure went a long way! 😉

CNN reports: Former business partner says Hunter Biden sold ‘illusion’ of access to Joe Biden, source says And here's a video of MSNBC also reporting accurately. Both on Comer's "where there is smoke there is fire" theory, and on Devon Archer's testimony that there is no fire. What part of "no knowledge of wrongdoing by Joe Biden" is difficult to understand? I am curious. Which pisses you off more? The fact that CNN and MSNBC have been covering Hunter and his pal's influence peddling and corruption just as much as Fox or NewsMax? Or the fact that CNN and MSNBC actually report what was said and done accurately? Or maybe you never saw this stuff, because in the MAGAverse there's a news blackout on truth? Either way, it's got to be a bitch to live in a MAGAverse with so much anger and so little reality. I'm guessing what actually puts Trump himself in a rage is that Biden is so much better than him at not getting indicted. Basically because he doesn't open his mouth and indict himself. It's actually quite ironic, I think. This is a case study in corrupt, if not illegal, influence peddling by Hunter Biden. And Joe has been known forever as the verbose Gaffe Machine In Chief. But so far there is still no actual evidence that Joe Biden lied when he said he does not talk with his son about his business dealings. Let alone that he took a $5 million bribe. What we actually have is evidence, according to Archer, that Biden was repeatedly on speaker phone around God knows how many people who have NEVER heard him talk about his son's business dealing. Must have been hard for a senile verbose gaffe machine like Joe. Trump must seethe that every one of his indictments boils down to incredibly stupid shit that we know he actually said and did. And you still wonder why he keeps leading you to loss after loss, don't you? Don't blame me or my boring but factual posts when you lose again in 2024. I'm okay with being a boring winner.

You're so predictable in your totally one-sided MAGAVerse view of the world. When I wrote that, and conceded that Pelosi manipulated a Committee the way both Republican and Democratic Congressional leaders often manipulate Committees, I had a hunch you'd do exactly what you did. Any attempt to look at it both ways will always be taken and crushed by a MAGA zealot. Because there can always and only be one truth. The Trump Truth. And one glorious MAGA worldview. So OF COURSE Pelosi sucks. OF COURSE she is the Wicked Witch. OF COURSE she is the unique embodiment of Congressional evil. And Hollywood evil, too!!!! OF COUSE no one else could do something as evil to a Committee as what that evil witch did. Nothing else matters. There is no other side. Problem is, I just don't see Trump as Dorothy. He's more like The Wizard Of Oz. The pathetic liar behind the curtain. Oh well. Thanks for being so predictable. And boring. 😉

From the clown who just lies all the time To his folks who beat cops with Trump signs To the scene where the judge is so mean That's megalomania! He grabs for the lady in tights So she sues although she has no rights He's a dream of a rapist it seems That's megalomania! The plot can be hot simply teeming with sex A Straight divorcee who grabs pussy no less It could be Ron DeSantis And if Trump killed a follower, why would MAGA be bothered? The Veep who we learn is a creep From his boss who was thrown for a loss By Biden, who we know is lyin The world is a stage, the stage is a world of megalomania!

Two points. I guess you haven't spent much time around Congress. I've spent lots of time in House and Senate committee hearings. This is par for the course. Grassley engineered who did and did not get to testify with Dr. Ford. Why would anyone think of getting the other guy supposedly in the room when the assault occurred to testify? McConnell said we can't confirm Garland because it's an election year. He then said we can confirm ACB because it's an election year. What Pelosi did falls in the same category. I support what Pelosi did in this case. Because it's clear that the MAGAverse clones would have just spent the whole time telling MAGAverse lies. MAGAzens were free to tune The Pelosi Show out. Which they did. Everything outside the MAGAverse is fake. And truth only exists in the MAGAverse. Which leads to my second point. Trump says he will seek a recusal, venue change in Jan. 6 case So when it's a Trump-appointed judge in a red place like Florida, it's fair. When it's an Obama-appointed judge in a blue place like DC, it's the height of injustice. Truth is what Trump says it is. Fairness is what Trump wants: power and money. Everything else is shit. As true and loyal MAGAzens have been trained to believe. One of my brothers, who voted for Trump in 2016, has a great word for this: megalomaniac. I think I heard him call Trump a "megalomaniac" at least a dozen times in 2020. He was proud he voted for Joe Biden. So just be careful. Since you really do have a distorted view of life outside the MAGAverse, where most people live. My brother is a perfect example. He can't tell you who he voted for for POTUS in most elections. Although he really liked John McCain. So he's not particularly political. When I asked him if he had only voted on the economy in 2020, who would he have voted for? He immediately said Trump, because his retirement account went up a lot. But all the lies and megalomania deeply disturbed him. He can't tell you most people he voted for. But he was proud to vote against Trump. For some strange reason, that is what Trump and his lies and megalomania do to most people. So don't be surprised when the whining loser loses for a third time in a row in 2024 But then, of course, it will be because everything is always rigged against him.

Dude. You guys are way too patient and way too nice. "Biden" and "Stalin" are both two syllable words that end in "n." "Mao" and "Joe" and "Xi" are all one syllable words that end in evil, Communism, and mass death. Stalin deliberately killed 6 million people. Mao killed 40 to 80 million people through starvation and persecution. These evil Communists getting Trump out of the way by putting him in jail is just the beginning. What do you guys think Joe and Xi have in mind when the true nature of the Biden Crime Family is exposed? Do you really believe they will let it be exposed? Not even a great leader like Trump can prevent it, I fear.

And thank you for helping me to understand why people in the MAGAverse are always so angry. Everything is always the opposite of what it is, and what you want it to be. It must be wretched. I feel for you guys. I mean, let's take the Biden crime family. It's so obvious that Biden took a $5 million bribe from Chinese fraudsters to get the FBI and Crooked Joe's buddy Xi to arrest them. He even put the $5 million bribe on his taxes. And yet, somehow, a majority of Americans actually buy this idea that Trump tried to steal the 2020 election. Which is clearly a fabricated distraction. And yet Trump is the one who keeps being indicted. WTF? It must enrage the good citizens of the MAGAverse. And you guys are patient. Frankly, it's the kind of tyrannical bullshit that would make me think about wanting to bust open the head of some cop at The Capitol. Speaking of saying nasty things, I do have to say that Trump warned you guys, fair and square. He said point blank that in the MAGAverse I can shoot someone, and get away with it. So the point we are at now, to complete the analogy, is that he did shoot someone. And when it is pointed out that before he shot them, he said, "I can shoot them and get away with," the good citizens of the upside down MAGAverse are arguing there can be no crime. Because Trump can say whatever he wants. The fact that he shot someone is absolved by the fact that he said he way going to do it. So if these things - like the law - frustrate you deeply, which they obviously do, you only have Trump and yourselves to blame. Precisely. Of course Trump has the right to lie about how he won the election. Of course he can believe he was the greatest President ever. And that every woman in America wishes they'd be so lucky as to be raped or grabbed in the pussy by him. That's just free speech. And the more freely he speaks, the more he repels the majority of Americans. So please, Donald, keep speaking. Tell us what you really think. But it sure has to be a bitch. For those of us outside the MAGA fun house, there is no evidence of Joe Biden taking a $5 million bribe. But there is evidence on Page 2 of the indictment that Jack Smith says right out of the gate that Trump has the right to lie all he wants about the 2020 election. As well as most other things. It's when he uses those lies with intent to steal an election that his lies become an issue. Just like his speech becomes an issue when he actually does kill someone on Fifth Avenue. It has to be a total fucking bitch that everything is the opposite of what it seems to be in the MAGAverse. My sense from the polls is that most Americans, even though we are not all lawyers, actually get these distinctions. Asked whether a given anti-democracy Trump fuck up is criminal, or simply unethical, I think the biggest majority see Mar A Lago as criminal. Because that indictment is very detailed and very specific about how he lied and covered up. Alan Derschowitz is correct that the potential weakness of this particular indictment (it's getting hard to keep track) is the absence of an undeniably smoking gun. Based on what we know so far. "I just want to find 11,780 votes." Hmmm. What could that mean? Maybe Trump intended to coronate Joe Biden as The Big Guy who runs The Crime Family Of The Year. So he was just grubbing for votes in Georgia to give Crooked Joe the respect he deserves. That must be it. Then again, if we just put aside alternative facts, a jury could take it to mean he specifically intended to get Republicans in Georgia to steal the Georgia election for him. Crazy idea, I know. But these suckers that have been duped into ignoring the $5 million bribe Crooked Joe reported on his taxes are going to disappoint you every time. So just get ready. I'm so sorry life is so complicated for you. And that it leaves so many in the MAGAverse feeling enraged. Oops! There I go again. Lying leftists and their GIFs! They'll even try to turn a patriotic cop beating into a crime. Ugh!

Which is why the stuff about Alabama - Space Force, infrastructure - actually matters. It could be what gets Biden elected. One of the arguments Lichtman makes about why Trump lost in 2020 is that Trump actually wasn't interested in governing. And wasn't very good at it. As someone who despises Trump, I'd argue that is a bit harsh. The keys that COVID swung against Trump in Lichtman's theory are the two economy keys. But any other POTUS would have had the same problem when a once in a century virus hit. Trump knew that. Woodward or someone quoted him as saying privately, "God damn virus!" Even while he was publicly dismissing the threat. What particularly hurt Trump, if I go by the reactions of my two centrist brothers, one of whom voted for Trump in 2016, was his perceived incompetence in managing COVID. Unemployment Rate+Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers: All Items in U.S. City Average I didn't realize until today that the Fed actually tracks the misery index. I read that in an article about how Biden is getting no credit for an improving economy. But the misery index is now lower than in November 2020, when Biden was elected. My broken record theory about how Trump "somehow wins" is that Biden is running in the middle of a recession. The most recent example of how that works is 2020. You can see from that chart that Trump was riding a very low misery index, which he inherited from Obama. But for COVID and the recession it caused, he probably would have won in 2020. That said, the last time a POTUS ran for re-election in a recession and won was Truman in 1948. And it is not unlike 2024. There was 20 % post-WWII inflation that makes today look mild by comparison. Democrats were brutally punished for it in 1946. But by 1948 the inflation had abated. And the recession, which pretty much started around election day, was mild. I'd argue the MAGAverse fun show of 2023 makes the "Do Nothing Congress" of 1947 look like a paragon of governance by comparison. So Biden's path to victory is a misery index of 6 % or so. Which may be in reach. But a brutal recession coming soon to a state near you is Trump's best hope of winning. So I think Biden is doing the right thing. Focus on what he got done in Alabama. And what he wants to do to finish the job. He will still be punished if people think "finishing the job" means going from inflation to recession. But if it means going to a misery index of 6 %, especially low inflation, they'll probably go for for more years. If the alternative is four more years of MAGAverse and McCarthyism, it doesn't really leave much choice.