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It would be nice, but it ain’t going to happen

Friday, August 2, 2024

I came across this article at Lawyers, Guns & Money recently, and I have to admit that I fervently hope that this speculation turns out to be true. One of the bloggers there, Paul Campos, passed on a tweet from Anthony Scarmucci (of all people) who says we should not be surprised if Trump drops out of the race. Campos goes on to say that it’s unlikely, but possible. Since that would likely leave the Republicans with JD Vance as their candidate, it would be a great thing, but I’m here to tell you it won’t happen.

Trump is incapable of accepting the fact that he could or did lose. He’s proven that over the course of the last four years. But there’s another reason he won’t quit. If he loses, or withdraws, his chances of going to prison skyrocket, and if he’s yesterday’s news, the Supreme Court may very well decide to try to keep whatever shred of respect it has left.

After writing the above, but before posting it, I came across this, which makes some of the same points.

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The return of Friday Night Music

Friday, July 26, 2024

My wife suggested this as an appropriate musical share, given the events of the last week or so.

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So far, so good

Tuesday, July 23, 2024

My last post detailed my reservations about Biden dropping out and the possible media reaction given the likelihood that Kamala would be the candidate to replace him. He dropped out two days later, and so far it looks like most of my fears have not come to pass, and there’s a strong possibility that they won’t.

For one thing, it is quite clear that going forward the Democratic Party will be unified. The only candidate out there other than Kamala is Marianne Williamson, and if she has a single delegate willing to nominate her I’d be surprised. As an aside, we have a friend who’s a delegate, and he forwarded a voicemail he received prior to the withdrawal from the Williamson people asking him to support an open convention. She’s not a threat, and you have to wonder if she’s on some hallucinogenic drug. I also read that Joe Manchin briefly considered putting his name out there, but once again, you’d likely be hard pressed to find a delegate willing to nominate him. He is universally disliked among knowledgeable Democrats, and most delegates are fairly knowledgeable Democrats.

The Republicans, at least so far, appear to be flailing in their response. I really think that trying to play the birther card is unlikely to work. It didn’t work against Obama and it’s less likely to get traction with her. They’re also ramping up other coded racist slurs, but again, the ones I’ve heard about will only resonate with the racists already in their camp. It’s possible that they’ve become so focused on that base that they’re incapable of understanding how to appeal to the folks who aren’t watching Fox or the other right wing propagandists 24/7.

So far, too, the press seems to be okay, though that may soon change. Maybe they figure that they owe her a few days of relatively positive coverage, since they’ve been pushing for Biden to pull out so they’ll leave her alone while they take their victory lap.

I hope I’m not looking too much on the bright side. In any event, if my previous post turns out to be all wrong, I’ll be delighted.

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The present situation

Friday, July 19, 2024

I haven’t posted for several weeks, as I am in the sort of catatonic state in which so many non-fascists find themselves these days. Like so many, I’m stunned that the media has decided to do its best to get the genius re-elected. I won’t go into detail about the one sided coverage. I’ll only point out that if Biden, two weeks ago, had wondered aloud whether he’d rather die from being eaten by a shark or electrocution we would be reading and hearing about it still.

This post is about Biden, and the movement to have him drop his candidacy. Had such a movement begun 2 years ago led by top Democrats confidentially pressuring Biden to drop out, and had he done so before the primary season, I would have no problem.

At the moment, it doesn’t seem feasible for a number of reasons. I may be wrong, but it appears to me that none of the Democrats calling on Biden to withdraw have clearly delineated a path forward should he do so. If he drops out, presumably his delegates are free to back whomever they please. He cannot order them to back anyone in particular, and even if he could it’s not clear that it would be a good idea. If any of the politicians calling for him to withdraw have named a replacement, outlined a strategy to obtain a unanimous (or nearly unanimous) convention endorsement for that replacement, or dealt with the fact that said replacement, basically the result of a back room deal, might alienate large groups of Democratic voters.

So, if he drops out, we’re likely to have a battle at the convention.

Harris would be the obvious choice to succeed. After all she is vice president. But the media has had it in for her ever since she was put on Biden’s ticket. There’s no question in my mind but that they would jump at the chance to amplify whatever racist talking points (hedged in order to allow them to deny the racism sufficiently to satisfy the media) the Republicans trot out. Those talking points are likely to be more effective against her, a relatively unknown quantity, than the anti-Biden talking points have been against him. What would be needed would be the unthinkable from today’s politicians: a decision on Harris’s part to put the interests of the country over her own, and join in strongly endorsing a candidate who is as bullet proof as possible.

In any event, if Biden withdraws, there’s a good chance we’ll come out of the convention with a fractured party resulting in more stories about Democrats in disarray.

As with so many problems the Democrats run into, this one is somewhat self created. Sure, Biden did not do well in the debate. At the same time, Trump lied whenever he opened his mouth. Let’s reverse the situation and pretend that it was Trump that underperformed according to the media’s definition and Biden that lied with every word he spoke. The Republicans would, in unison, have 1) insisted that Trump won the debate no matter what the media or pollsters might say, and 2) attack the media for failing to concentrate on Biden’s lies. The Democrats, of course, did none of those things, nor are they engaging in a concentrated attack on the media for ignoring Trump’s clear signs of senility, such as those he showed last night during his acceptance speech.

There are a few Democrats attacking the media, but not nearly enough. The media is currently willing to give a pass to Trump and other Republicans in part because the Republicans spent years attacking the “liberal media” for telling the truth about Republicans. The media found it easier to stop telling the truth than to fight back. It’s one of the reasons we are now on the brink of fascism.

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Supreme Injustice

Thursday, June 27, 2024

In the last few days the Supreme Court has legalized bribery, (so long as the bribe is paid afterthe public official does the dirty work, and made it virtually impossible for administrative agencies to enforce the laws they are supposed to enforce. As to the bribery decision, how can you blame them, since they had to legalize the precise types of bribes they themselves are taking. Tomorrow we may learn how they pronounce Donald Trump immune from prosecution while assuring us that Democrats will not enjoy the same immunity. All this, or most of it, is being justified by a perverted reading of history. First, pronounce that whatever the founders intended and understood to be constitutional is constitutional, then make up history to support your contention that you know precisely what the founders must have thought, and who really cares that conditions change, something that many of the founders understood to be the case.

The objective, or course, is to make all right wing fever dreams come true.

It occurred to me that there is a way for them to do that quite effectively, and I wonder if this is coming.

Few non-lawyers (we all had to take constitutional law) are likely aware that there was a time when the Bill of Rights did not restrict the states but restricted only the federal government. The federal government, for instance, could not prescribe a state religion, but individual states could do so. If my memory serves me right, the state of Connecticut had a state religion until some around 1830.

All that changed after the Civil War, as a result of the enactment of the 14th Amendment. The Supreme Court ruled, one by one, that provisions of the Bill of Rights were “incorporated” into the Fourteenth Amendment, largely as a result of the due process clause in said Amendment. Some of these cases are now over a hundred years old. But ancient and respected precedent means nothing to this court, and it would be so convenient to overrule those cases, so the red states could force religion on their people (after all it’s what Sam Alito wants), regulate their speech so only right wingers can talk, and police their behaviors in other ways that are plainly unconstitutional under the Bill of Rights. The provisions of the Bill or Rights were incorporated on a case by case basis. The court could easily overrule the cases with which it disagrees, which is pretty much all of them, since why should Americans have the right to free speech, freedom of (and from) religion, etc.

The only problem the court might have is figuring out a way to decide that while none of the other rights are incorporated into the Fourteenth Amendment, those allegedly secured in the Second Amendment are incorporated. Incorporation of the Second Amendment is, arguably, the least justifiable of the incorporation cases, given that pesky “well regulated militia” language the court has always seen fit to ignore. But they can do it! Any court that can compare a $13,000.00 payoff to tipping a mail carrier can find a reason why being able to carry a machine gun is a more sacred right than being able to choose your own religion or choose not to have one foisted on you at all.

AFTERWORD: It occurs to me that I shouldn’t be giving them any ideas, but no right wingers read this blog, so far as I know, so I figure it’s okay.

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Call them what they are

Monday, June 24, 2024

I am in the process of reading Radical Connecticut by Andy Piascik and Steve Thornton. I was struck by this paragraph in the chapter titled “It Can’t Happen Here”, which discusses the performance of Sinclair Lewis’s play of that name in Connecticut:

Americans in the 1930s were being groomed to accept fascism as a macho solution to the troubles faced by the United States. Lewis’s It Can’t Happen Here was a roadblock to that disturbing movement. A quote attributed to Lewis describes the danger he wanted to capture: “When fascism comes to America it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying a cross.” …As Lewis wrote in his novel: “In America the struggle was befogged by the fact that the worst Fascists were they who disowned the word “Fascism” and preached… Constitutional and Traditional American Liberty.”

If anything, the quote attributed to Lewis (it may actually be a misattribution) describes the present moment more than it did the thirties, for the simple reason that the prospect of a fascist takeover is far more possible today than it was at that time. Neither of the major parties was taken over by fascists in the thirties. Today, the Republican Party is full on fascist, as are several members of the Supreme Court. As was the case then, and as Lewis pointed out, our present day Fascists also eschew the term Fascism, preferring to call themselves Christian Nationalists.

Sadly, as is their wont, the Democrats and the left generally have not chosen to call a fascist a fascist. Just as we let the anti-abortionists call themselves “pro-life”, and even used that term to refer to them, we are referring to these Fascists by the terminology they have chosen.

Let’s break it down. I’m not a believer anymore, but I still hold an advanced degree in religion that I earned at Our Lady of Sorrows Grammar School. There is nothing Christian about a group that trades in hate as does the Republican Party and its affiliated Fascist splinter groups. The term “Nationalist” may be a different story, but the fact is that to those not highly engaged in history or politics, it puts a positive spin on things. Yet even on the blogs I read, most written by fairly astute lefty types, the term “Christian Nationalist” is used to describe these people. Most people, even those who don’t take much interest in politics, know that fascism is bad. It is therefore incumbent upon us to call these people what they are.

Also, I recommend Radical Connecticut. It’s been a fun read. It mainly consists of chapters that may be three or four pages long, so I’m reading one or two a day while I have other books in process.

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Even in Vermont

Thursday, June 20, 2024

A bit out of the ordinary for this blog, but since I spend a lot of time there, I can’t help passing on this story from Vermont.

It had been my impression that the Vermont Republican Party had not yet gone full crazy, at least not as crazy as most of the rest of the country’s Republicans, but this sort of made me think twice.

A Republican lawmaker publicly apologized to a Democratic colleague before the Vermont House of Representatives after she was caught on video pouring water into his bag multiple times over the course of five months.

“I am truly ashamed of my actions,” Representative Mary Morrissey, who serves Bennington, Vt., said at a House veto session Monday.

“It is something very out of character for me and I am ashamed,” said Representative Mary Morrissey.

Videos of Morrissey pouring cups of water into a personal bag belonging to Representative Jim Carroll, who also represents Bennington, were first acquired by Seven Days. The news outlet obtained the videos via a public records request after Carroll mounted a camera above where he hung his bag to find a culprit for the frequent soakings his belongings were getting.

“For five months, I went through this,” Carroll said at the meeting after Morrissey’s apology. “It was torment, there’s no doubt about it.”

When House Speaker Jill Krowinski first saw the videos and confronted Morrissey about it, she initially denied it, Seven Days reported. But she later apologized to Carroll, an encounter the latter told the outlet was “uncomfortable.”

On Monday, Morrissey admitted her behavior was “disrespectful” and said she had apologized to Carroll privately. She added that she will be “working toward resolution and restoration through our legislative process.”

“It was conduct most unbecoming of my position as a representative and as a human being, and is not reflective of my 28 years of service and civility,” Morrissey said. She also asked for forgiveness from her colleagues and the citizens of Vermont.

Well, at least she apologized instead of continuing to lie by denying it like most Republicans would do, but then again, she lied throughout the apology. You can’t claim that stuff you repeatedly did for five months is “out of character”.

In any sane world, she would resign or the Bennington Republicans would refuse to renominate her, but don’t hold your breath.

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Yet another modest proposal

Thursday, June 20, 2024

The latest lie (there may be a new one before I post this) the right is spreading is the claim that Joe Biden wanted to be able to sit through the upcoming debate, yet another example of projection since it’s unlikely Trump will be able to stay awake through the whole thing, assuming he doesn’t back out. Josh Hawley has embraced this particular lie, and he surely knows it’s a lie. CNN, which is running the debate, has denied it. It is yet another indication that the Republicans are setting the stage for Trump to back out and blame Biden somehow.

It has become commonplace for Trump’s ass kissers (you know, the guys who want to be vice president) to embrace these lies.

Now, surely each of these liars is aware of the fact that Trump is rapidly declining into senility. (I must point out here that my IPad suggested the word “senility” after I typed the five words that precedes it. Good programming) It is highly unlikely that, if elected, he could function even up to the abysmally low standard he set in his first term. Josh knows that. So do Tim, Marco, Kristi, and all the other ass kissers who are putting their own interests over those of their country. It is not stretching things much to suggest that each sees the probability that it will be necessary to invoke the 25th Amendment to remove him and elevate the chosen one. Keep in mind that it’s also the case that none of the lickspittles auditioning for VP could ever be elected president on his or her own. Succeeding an incapacitated, dead or, in Trump’s case, imprisoned president, is pretty much the only way any of them would be in a position to complete the destruction of the Republic.

Now for the modest proposal. I suggest the Democrats accuse these craven individuals of planning such a coup if they manage to win the election. It’s exactly the kind of thing that would get under Trump’s skin, because he would believe it, since it’s exactly what he would do if he were in their shoes. The fallout would be fun to watch and would do the Republicans no good.

As an aside, should this scenario play out, the Democrats would face a difficult decision, since it requires two thirds of each House to complete the ouster of the sitting president. As a Democrat, do you acknowledge the truth of the fact that Trump is senile and vote to install someone like Josh, or do you figure the senile one can do less harm than the dictator in waiting.

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A not so surprising development

Tuesday, June 11, 2024

Trump’s minions are now laying the groundwork for pulling out of the upcoming debates. Hannity is even making the risible claim that Biden will be so “jacked up” that the competition will be unfair.

I suggested last month, when the debates were first announced:

The Democrats, who rarely act in concert to push a point, should act in concert to push a point. They should begin now to taunt Trump by claiming that he is going to chicken out of the debates and try to blame Biden. They should keep up the drumbeat.

There would then be two possible outcomes.

Trump would debate and get creamed, with the entire country witnessing his diminished capacity.

Trump would pull out of the debate and, (see above) try to blame Biden, but it would simply be risible, given the fact that he would be doing exactly what the Democrats had predicted.

As the reader may realize, the Democrats have not been taunting Trump, which was the obvious thing to do. They probably won’t start now, even though it’s clear that he’s on the verge of chickening out. I’d like to be proven wrong about this, but, alas, that seems unlikely.

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Yet another modest proposal

Monday, June 10, 2024

I’ve complained a number of times about the failure of Democrats to get their message out in an effective way. There are some indications that the Biden campaign is trying its best, so that’s a good thing. Nonetheless, I have a modest proposal, inspired by reading this report of the latest idiotic Trump statement to his brain dead followers, which reads as follows:

I don’t care about you. I just want your vote.

There are multiple statements like this, none of which the mainstream will report, because after all, it’s just Trump being Trump. We would, of course, never hear the end of it if Biden were to say something half as stupid. My understanding is that they’re trying to say he was joking, but besides being a lie, that doesn’t make it alright. It’s not the kind of “joke” any politician with half a brain would tell.

Anyway, to my modest proposal.

I would suggest a commercial that would enlighten the masses about these sort of statements, since the media won’t do it.

Start it off something like this:

We all know that almost everything Donald Trump says is a lie, but every once in a while he tells the truth. In the interest of fairness we think everyone should know about these rare occurrences. Here are only a few.

Followed by the clip you can view at the link, and many many more like it. It would not only illustrate where he’s really coming from, but would highlight his growing dementia.

To show what a good Democrat I am, I won’t charge the Biden people for this idea.

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