Wrong. Trump won the election because of racism and misogyny and enough of the corporate media giving him a pass and inventing excuses (like the economy despite his bungling of Obama’s economy) for the racists and misogynists to have a pretext to vote for him.
I really like Krugman, however it still baffles me to see pundits miss this simple point. The US didn’t elect an exceptionally qualified black woman riding on the coattails of the strongest economy in the developed world. History won’t gloss over the obvious. The price of eggs meant nothing.
We can re-litigate the election to our heart’s content. That doesn’t change anything about what happened in the election. The result was that 40% of the electorate stayed home because they saw no reason to vote. That’s our problem. More people didn’t vote than voted for either candidate. We need to think about that and not gloss over the fact that as a democratic republic we suck at educating people in civics, the value of democracy, and the meaning of truth. If we don’t fix that problem now we won’t ever arise from this catastrophe. Put your party and affiliations aside and start acting like Americans.
When it comes to educating people in civics, some states suck worse than others. Have you noticed? Strange coincidence: those states also lead the country in voter suppression. These states are not governed by Democrats.
But let's not ignore the role of campaign finance and the dismal state of the "news" media." No matter how much a person knows about how government works, or is supposed to work, finding accurate information about presidential candidates is challenging even to those of us who know our civics.
Finally, ask yourself which party's interests are being best served by crappy civic education, out-of-control campaign spending, and voter suppression. Democracy should not be a partisan issue, but unfortunately for the last several decades it has been.
A part of the problem is that critical thinking is not valued by a large part of the electorate. This is reflected in media coverage, and aggravated by the fact that in social media, there isn't the filter of critical thinking in the presentation of news. So incoherent but bombastic politicians like Trump have much more influence among a very large part of the electorate.
Other factors, such as unlimited spending drowned out conventional media, so they have much less influence.
Note that most of the "red" states are relatively poor, and are subsidized by military spending by the federal govt. Such states are weak in spending on education & social services. In contrast, in Canada the federal govt directly subsidizes education & social services of poorer areas.
I'd add that "critical thinking" is not only "not valued by a large part of the electorate," it's actively opposed by a large part. (How large I'm not sure.) The white evangelicals in Trump's base don't encourage critical thinking. Neither do the neo-Nazis and the garden-variety white supremacists.
Don't ignore the role voter suppression played in that, which has been confirmed to be most of those lost votes. The Republicans can't win without cheating and they've known it for 20 years.
Au contraire. The vast majority of Trump voters were extremely well mis-educated with alternative facts. On almost every issue conceivable. The November Ipsos poll of likely Trump voters found that 85% get some/most/all of their news from FOX News; and that 80% of these firmly but wrongly believed that inflation was still as high as it was 2-3 years ago; that crime and unemployment were at record highs; and that we were *already* in a recession. And that's before you get into bedrock MAGA beliefs, like that Dems purposely let in illegal immigrants so they can give them the vote to steal elections, & then replace the white population.
When Trump said during the debate that Dems murder babies after birth, and that Haitians were eating people's dogs and cats--a majority of conservative voters unquestioningly *believed* him. This is because they've been hearing stories like this nearly non-stop from FOX News for decades now.
We've literally become a FOX News Nation, and unless Dems can push back sufficiently to course correct this imaginary world conservatives live in, we're all screwed.
Every Senate Democrat voted against the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act, a bill meant to ensure that babies born alive during botched abortions receive life-saving care. January 22, 2015
Existing law--even before BASPA--already stipulates that EVERY baby born, receives life-saving care no matter the circumstances leading to its birth. It's like a law that says that the state of Virginia still be called the state of Virginia. It was just GOP virtue-signaling to extremist Evangelicals, who oppose all abortion, even for incest/rape or to save the life of the mother.
FOX News spun this Dem refusal, into "Dems murder babies after birth." A lie that, sadly, every conservative voter believes.
Incidentally, there's like a 0.001% chance of a 3rd trimester abortion leading to a live birth. And then a 0.00001% chance of said infant actually surviving for more than a few hours. Something like 99% of late term abortions are because of life threatening congenital abnormalities that would doom any such child that survives childbirth to an agonizing death within hours/minutes/days.
“We need to … not gloss over the fact that as a democratic republic we suck at educating people in civics, the value of democracy, and the meaning of truth. If we don’t fix that problem now we won’t ever arise from this catastrophe. Put your party and affiliations aside and start acting like Americans.” THIS!
The importance of civics, democracy, and good communication skills.
It is ironic that many poorly educated lower income people vote for a party that consistantly favours the rich. They accept tax breaks for the rich could mean lower taxes for themselves, instead of seeing that better taxing of the rich will provide better govt services for everyone, including themselves.
Good choice. I like EVs to. My hope is Tesla stock gets a little lower and they boot Musk. If it happens soon enough they may have a chance to make but if not it sure seems likely they are sunk. That would be a 125k jobs down the tubes.
That may well be, I don't know. I do know Tesla was a thing long before Musk bought some 12% of the stock and he is no genius as so many think. Here in Alabama they think Elon started Tesla and they will argue the point based I guess on their Fox Spews facts, I don' tknow.
Doesn’t matter if they boot him as long as Musk’s fortune is tied to Tela stock. It’s literally the most accessible way for average people to destroy him so that’s why the boycotts and protests would continue regardless of the CEO. He’d have to divest completely to maybe save the company
The Dems committed electoral malpractice by not pushing Biden out of re-running in 2022 and having a primary. Harris wasn't chosen by the party - and she had, what, 3 months to campaign - and she didn't do a great of that. Liz Cheney? The dem's continual ignoring of their base - or what should be their base - is also why they continue to lose. Look at the cloture vote on the CR. What Dem voter supports that?
They are terrible at politicking and pretty lousy at governing in the minority. Do they strike you as an opposition party?
And the price of eggs doesn't matter to me, but it was a good microcosm to sum up the masses frustration with the inflation. The dems could have / should have constantly said that inflation was caused by the pandemic supply chain problems, but Harris completely fumbled that in the debate.
I think the average voter is an idiot, and that a large number of them are racist and sexist. But the dems screwed this election up massively.
Calling those who disagree with you idiots, racists and sexists isn't exactly the best way to understand them :-).
Let's start with Biden. All nonpartisan studies show that he ranks at the very top of the list of US presidents who achieved most for the 99% in one term. That first of all means that he and Harris absolutely deserved to be reelected. Secondly, until today only Biden has proven that he can win against Trump. That too was an important reason to stick with him as long as possible.
Third, Democrats clearly counted on legacy media to do their job, while having underestimated (as we all did) how strong the neofascist propaganda machine of the GOP online had become. So a majority of people simply didn't know the facts yet, when it comes to Biden's record, by the time they started voting. This is utterly unprecedented, so something we all had to discover and then quickly learn to deal with while it was almost already too late.
Fourth, it is generally VERY risky to NOT run for a second term, because it sends the message that you yourself believe you did a bad job and aren't up for the task, so it's quite likely that if Biden would have stepped down earlier, Trump and the GOP would have won much more easily than they did now.
And having Liz Cheney with us was CRUCIAL, knowing that this election was about democracy versus neofascism, with many ordinary GOP voters resolutely AGAINST fascism. Thanks to Cheney, the number of registered Republicans who voted for Harris DOUBLED, from 5 to 10%. Also, when the end of democracy is on the line, the only government you CAN propose as an alternative is a centrist one that unites all pro-democracy citizens, both progressives and conservatives.
Conclusion: I'm afraid that you're part of those progressives who imagine that making progress is simply a matter of WANTING it, rather than accepting the fact that in a democracy, you HAVE to build coalitions. Progressives too are a minority in this country, which is why no one ever wins on a 100% progressive agenda.
As to "striking as an opposition party": did you notice that Trump is installing a fascist regime, which entirely SKIPS Congress, AND that "we the people" voted Democrats OUT, on all levels of government? If yes: what exactly would you want them to do, as opposition party? Because so far, all those who blame them of not doing "enough" never come up with any concrete idea of what they could do more than what they're already doing (and it's huge): massively delaying the installation of fascism in Congress through hearings and in the courts through lawsuits that stand up for "we the people" (and they're winning most of them, for now).
I agree with you, but I do think the Democrats can do something about it - get out in front of the people by conducting town halls in every congressional district in America on a regular basis. They also need to ditch ideological litmus tests. AOC, whom I admire very much, represents her district really well, but she could not get elected in the district I reside in as her positions don’t align with those of the local populace. The Dems need to listen to the people and come out as the party that actually represents PEOPLE. Voting these days doesn’t feel like voting for a representative, it feels like voting for a party and going along with everything the party dictates.
Locally, we have a Democrat who represents a predominantly Republican district. She wins because she is visible in the community, engages with and listens to constituents and votes their interests regardless of the party’s position on an issue. She explains her reasoning on every controversial vote she has to make.
Here’s hoping we have an election again. Remember that Trump also promised that Christians would never have to vote again.
Thank you for a cogent reply. Where I live I've been trying to get across to a Democratic colleague that we need to be "out there" now and not wait for the next "election season."
What "ideological litmus tests" are you referring to? It seems fine to me for a representative of one district to reflect the priorities of the people there and not be a good match for getting elected in another district. I think the Democrats have much more diversity in their views than Republicans do... that's probably one of their challenges, making it harder for them to unify behind a particular direction.
My opinion is one of the big problems the Democrats have is being too stuck in their neo-liberal world and thus unable to deliver a strong message about how to view the economy that isn't based on "taxes and government bad, capitalism good." (I would hope that seeing Elon/Trump tear down the federal government would be a great opportunity for them to talk about all the good and useful things we want the government to do, but given their continuing floundering on this not at all optimistic. I mean how can they not even provide a clear message that social security is highly valued to them, and getting rid of the payroll income cap would take care of a lot of the arguments of it running out of funding?)
Yes. Democrats need to be a visible presence out among the public, especially as the Republicans are in hiding. They need to ditch the alienating progressive language wars and be very vocal against what is going on and speak to an alternative.
When Biden ran in '20, he said he felt obligated to do so. He was asked about his age; he deferred, but it was crystal clear that a portion of the electorate thought he was too old to run for a second term. He could have said - I did what I said I'd do, and recognizing the limitations of age, I will not run again. That would have given a younger Dem candidate a lot of ammo against a doddering Trump. But Trump and Fox could point out Biden's pauses and age-related goofs and say he's too old.
Please, spare me the scolding in calling members of the Leopards Eating My Face party idiots. Look at the daily news stories of people saying "I didn't vote for this" and ask whether any of Trump's actions are a surprise. They aren't to me, or Prof Krugman, or anyone else who looked at the lying, the 'China pays tariffs' claims, the DEI rants. Look at the people fired or de-funded who (obviously) were voting for "them" to fired or deported. I call that racist.
How many votes did Liz Cheney get for Kamala? You say Rs went from 5% to 10%, but there is no evidence of attribution. Maybe Jan 6 caused that, or the sexual assault conviction or the tax conviction or stealing the classified documents. Have Liz and a bunch of other R's make an ad, sure - but campaigning for her at the end TO THE EXCLUSION OF MOTIVATING THE DEM BASE? Political malpractice.
Was there a consistent economic message put out by the party - not in the 90 days Kamala ran, but in the year prior? Not that I heard.
I'm as progressive / liberal as they come. Dems suck at politics. Again, I point you to the cloture vote. And the entire "process" which resulted in Kamala being the nominee.
The idea that Biden would have been too old has been proven to be entirely false by the fact that he has a stellar record. It's also medically false: he has spinal arthritis (which affects his gait) and his speech impairment is back, in part. But his moral spine is stronger than ever before, as is his ability to deliver.
As long as "we the people" cannot understand these basic facts and want to vote in the most irrational way possible, imagining, for instance, that being younger (so having much less experience) would somehow benefit us more, WE will be part of the problem rather than the solution.
Too many citizens in the US treat politics as some kind of reality show and see voting as spontaneously throwing out likes and dislikes. THAT is what made the installation of fascism possible, definitely not Biden's age (if anything, voters now preferred someone even older than Biden...).
Aside from that: yes, the fact that many GOP voters today tell us that they didn't vote for fascism proves my point, namely the uneducated have been massively brainwashed by a GOP neofascist propaganda machine that, after two decades, is so well-oiled that it can make them believe that black is white and vice versa. All the more reason to finally get REAL, as voters, rather than getting caught up in falsehoods about Democrats ourselves.
As to Cheney: it's not just about "getting votes" (although she delivered a crucial additional 5% of GOP voters, and with 200,000 more votes in the blue wall swing states, Harris would be president today), it's also about sending out the signal that WHEN democracy itself is at stake, then ALL progressives and neocons (= all pro-democracy citizens) SHOULD come together and vote for Democrats, this time around.
If that doesn't motivate you to vote for Democrats, what will ever motivate you... ?
Did you watch the first debate? All the commentary was how he looked lost / out of it.
Again you declare, evidence free, that Liz Cheney delivered a "crucial" (strange word choice for the losing candidate) additional 5% of GOP voters. Why do you attribute that to her? And even if you do (again, please provide some evidence of this claim), why did the Democratic party ignore its base?
Can the party even define its base today?
I will never vote R, so I don't need motivation. It isn't my vote they need to win.
Biden was clearly having issues in the last year. Prior to that he was probably alright, but the decline from 2023 to 2024 was pretty clear. You could see that even in how the administration was just starting to bungle stupid things after having done a pretty good job at a lot of things for three years.
No, he should not have run again. And he had a good reason to do so. Remaining president until you are 86 just doesn’t make any sense.
The one thing I would like to see is help organizing public protests. I'd do it, but frankly I'm afraid of the red hats. I live in MAGA land.
I think Timothy Schneider's suggestion of a shadow cabinet like the Brits have is a good idea. The Dems need to be united in what they would do instead. It needs to be big enough that the cowed media would report it.
For my part, I expected American women to vote overwhelmingly Democratic in every race to regain their rights to bodily autonomy and secure the right to medical services so that the chances of dying due to complications during pregnancy are as low as possible.
Biden had a great record but INFLATION esp housing and groceries were a drag on him plus, he looked frail and unhealthy at election time. That should never have come to pass. That debate was a disaster no 2 ways about it and hard to pull out of the instant tailspin that put us in. Harris did a great job but the campaign had a tough row to hoe. At swing state level, they needed more votes and Dems need better strategies to communicate against Trump and their lies and negative campaigning.
Why is no one talking about the reality of two foreign oligarchs manipulating media and spewing nothing but propaganda before, during, and after the election? When the richest man in the world buys the biggest platform in the world and converts it into a propaganda arm, what do you think is going to happen?
Yes, it's unfortunate that—having tried to back out of the purchase of Twitter—the court made Elmo follow through. We'd be a lot better off now if Twitter were still Twitter.
Most of what you say is true. it took a lot of different elements of incompetence and misfortune to cause the loss. But all of them start with the unfortunate fact that the Democratic Party is an amalgamation of vastly different groups, and thus driving consensus is very slow and difficult, and probably impossible in the absence of dire crisis. Obviously Biden should have been pushed out earlier and a real primary should have occurred. But even if he had, the party would have ripped itself apart on the question of whether Harris should be tossed aside and replaced with a white person from the Midwest swing states.
As for shutting down the government, that would have a been a disaster politically and strengthened Trump, even if satisfying for a brief moment.
All we can do now is watch in horror as the government is damaged and incapacitated, and hope the Republicans blow themselves up and thatit can be repaired afterward.
If you read Krugman carefully and listen to his interviews, he is optimistic that this is on track. Trump and Musk are making mistakes and blowing opportunities for maximum damage. I think he is probably right. Bessent is also right but not the way he meant it. — unfortunately we do need to go through a detox period, a period of damage pain for greater good down the road. That greater good is the Republicans hurting the country, but in so doing, impaling themselves and wearing it. That will be the detox period.
The Dems only chance at survival is to embrace Bernie’s agenda or fold their tent and go home. There is no other winning option other than going all in on a working class agenda. We have to reverse the massive wealth transfer that has brought us to this moment. Our society structure is not sustainable if we want a healthy democracy. We haven’t had that for many decades.
I have zero faith Dems will ever figure this out, particularly after the sellout on Friday. People will need take to the street in mass protests that shut the economy down. Something new will need to come from that communal energy.
I somewhat disagree. For most of 23/24 the economy was what everyone was talking about because the media—whether people followed it or not—pushed the story of the sky falling for more than three years. Every story reporting excellent economic numbers included the caveat “yes but economists say we are headed for recession.” Recession was a constant drumbeat. A teenage cashier at Target told me we were in a recession back in 22. I tried politely to correct her. It’s because all people talked about was how lousy the economy was. Oh sure they admitted they were doing well but the country as a whole was in the toilet.
The charts above demonstrate that. Prices are killing me at the grocery store too, but I understand why (and did then). So while egg prices have continued to go up after the election what has happened to most of the media coverage?
For many middle/upper class people, the “economic pain” was cover for racism and misogyny. People can’t admit to themselves that maybe they are wee bit racist so they practice self denial and mask their anxieties. Where are all the stories on economic anxiety now? Instead we get “but MAGA is still with them.” They even buy into the need for economic pain! It’s frustrating, which is why it’s great that we have an alternative third way of media happening right now (which is so much better than the fake Third Way involving politics) with the likes of Substack et al.
What does your "simple point" has to do with Paul Krugman? Clearly, American voters have not made the rational choice between a boring/mediocre candidate and a con artist who efficiently bamboozled a big portion of the electorate. But there is no need to paint Kamala Harris as an "exceptionally qualified black woman". She is not. She does not have the charisma of Michelle Obama, she does not have the guts of Big Gretch, or the stamina of Elizabeth Warren. She is and has been a political coaster.
84-year old Bernie Sanders, 75-year old Elizabeth Warren, 61-year old Tim Walz, 52-year old Chris Murphy, 36-year old AOC are all energized and working their butts off to re-invigorate their party, representing three generations of Democratic politicians. But where is Kamala Harris and when will she come out of hiding? As it's being said, hindsight is always 20/20; and the hindsight tells us, KH was and found lightweight. So why should Dr Krugman spend any thoughts on her?
You are right about everything you say about Harris, but are missing the point along with the pundits: America will elect a strong bad person over a weak good person almost every time. It's a brutal world out there.
For example, photos of Trump invariably showed him defiant and strong, standing up to everything being thrown at him and scowling at it; Harris, on the other hand, always had a smile or smirk or chuckle on her face. Dems blew it on the level of projection to the frankly ignorant masses.
I'm sorry, it is what it is in the real world. To get elected you have to project defiant strength, not sweetness and light. Look at Golda Mier. Look at Indira Ghandi. Study Margaret Thatcher. It's a drama and you have to play the part right. Harris didn't.
I would say that the electorate often votes for the wrong person if that person is bad but "strong." I think that Harris did a remarkable job considering the odds, but Trump had the bozosphere squarely on his side, and look! the majority of men voters and white voters, all of whom are very hard to move to vote for a woman and many of whom were motivated by the very propaganda that Trump and his Fox "News" supporters bamboozled them with. I would like to see a vigorous, long-term effort to unpropagandize the electorate, but I don't know where it is going to come from. It won't be from the New York Times, and it won't be from thoughtful newsletters like this one.
Agreed. Why the Democrats fail to educate the bozosphere so as to succeed (win elections) would be useful data. Is it elitism?
I am reminded of the integration battles in America's South in the '50s. Being against racial segregation would have been called "woke" back then. On top of that, it's the same bozos: the segregationists and other haters of the '50s have become the haters in the MAGA crowd of today.
The very descriptive term bozosphere reminds me of the Firesign Theatre's '70s album "I Think We're All Bozos on This Bus".
I think he has mentioned it in other posts, but was merely focused on another aspect in this one. The final analysis isn't so simple. One of the long running strengths of the GOP as a whole, including Trumpkopf, is the ability to dumb down the message (their lies) into pithy slogans that can fit on a bumper sticker.
The price of eggs mattered to some people. Race and misogyny mattered to others. Some wanted to feel part of a strong man movement in which they once again were the top dogs. Others saw the possibility of a Christian theocracy. The voters who elected Trump are not a monolithic group.
What does it matter now if we remain baffled? That won't change the current moment Also, what is the connection between your bafflement and Paul Krugman (presuming you refer to him among "pundits")? That he writes on economic issues? What else would he do? He is an economist, a Nobel Laureate in economics.
Except a large part of the electorate was mislead to believe that the economy was in terrible shape and inflation was rampant, in addition to some guided by racism & misogyny.
Interesting point that everyone hates Elon, but much less Trump, who gives Elon his powers.
Ridiculous, as a female I was really enthusiastic of Harris - I thought she did a great job of introducing positivity & a far better attitude to the whole damned scene than the opposition, but then he has the "Golden God" image that he tries to perpetuate & American voters are notoriously dumb about supporting males who tell them lovely stories about dealing with all the crime & getting them nearer to "Heaven". That "religious" bent in this country has a price ! Oh well - I'm a Brit & can't vote, but I did support Harris & wished so badly for some decency & common sense to continue Biden's great record. I think absent American ignorance she would have been a lovely prez !!!
Poor Harris. She had everything stacked against her.....and 'my' party should have recognized that and chastised the 'squad' with being to blame if they didn't support a stronger candidate, even if not a 'Black woman' in this election. So much blame to go around to all the well meaning Dems who didn't take the closeness or the seriousness of this election seriously enough. Pitiful.
I didn't think Harris was a great choice. It was absolute identity politics from the start. Biden basically said, I'll choose a black woman. I hate identity politics.
If there was a moderate mid-western man to run against Trump, I'd have said "great!" A black/Indian woman from California had too much against her in such an important race. If the opposition had been Nikki Haley or even Ron DeSantis...but Trump/Musk/Vance!!
Trump didn't win the election so much as voter suppression and voter intimidation campaigns won it for him. We should also remember that Elon-funded groups like True The Vote challenged ballots in swing states such as Georgia, questioning signatures and other minute technicalities.
For the entire campaign, the ONLY Harris/Walz merch I saw was my own.
But I live in the Deep South, so...no surprises.
Although, I confess to being a bit surprised the first instant I saw the term MAGA outside a church, on their electronic sign.
I'd guess I WON'T be surprised that none of these "in the bag for anti-Jesus" churches will be risking their tax-exempt status for a while. (But Habitat for Humanity is under investigation by the feds...furging insane.)
"Trump’s FBI Moves to Criminally Charge Major Climate Groups
The Trump administration is targeting climate organizations that received a Biden-era grant." (And that includes HfH. And I don't imagine the JCarter connection makes Trump love it more.)
And we should also remember that MUSK funded a reward of $5,000,000 for anyone able to find PROOF OF ELECTION FRAUD or evidence of a stollen(sic) 2020 election.
At the time, Musk was backing DeSantis, and wanted something to use to HURT TRUMP. He never found that evidence, even for $5M.
"Musk-linked group offered $5m for proof of voter fraud – and came up with nothing
Fair Election Fund has yet to reveal evidence of voter fraud despite deep-pocketed backers – and has now gone silent"
I've cut out all tRumpist from my life. Surprisingly, the number was higher than 2016. But is is explainable. In another post I read of Germans, who switched after 1933 from Communist to flag waving Nazi support, because they wanted to be on good terms with the victors. Democracy is nothing without the courage of conviction.
I was also surprised the number of Trump supporters in my life was higher than in 2016. I live in a deep blue bubble inside a deeper blue bubble and I was shocked.
We tend to gravitate toward people who share our common interests as well as our moral compass. The Trump supporters I know don't seem to have a moral compass.
At least the Trump supporters I knew personally abandoned him after Jan 6. However, I live in a fairly solidly blue state so it really didn't matter for electoral purposes.
Wasn't most of the drop in votes for Harris (compared to Biden) driven by lower Democratic turnout in states that were going to give their Electoral College votes to Harris anyway?
I don't disagree. In fact I agree. I attribute the rise in my circle, affluent, in a blue state, to those who kept their very personal devil's bargain, less taxes and regulations for selling out democracy to a convicted felon and obvious criminal, in 2016 to themselves and now felt brazen enough to be open about it.
The GOP has spent the past 65 years laser-FOCUSED on gaining control of these poor, ignorant, racist fools. And it worked to an amazing degree. And all that was required for the Southern Strategy to be a success was the total abandonment by the south of Jesus, and anything he ever said about love, in exchange for endorsing the burning fire of racial hate southerners typically have for Black Americans:
I say that AS a white, male southerner, of advancing years, and my family has been here in rural South Carolina >250 years. But I could no more support Trump (or ANY repug) than I could jump into a volcano...
Hitler also claimed that he was about "Christianity", but it was a "brand" of "Christianity" that Christ himself wouldn't have recognized as even remotely related to what he preached.
They usurped his name to promote their own agenda.
Even going back to far earlier days of Christianity shows the cracks. Every time I hear the phrase, "God never gives anyone anything they can't handle", I'm always reminded of the Children's Crusades, and just how immeasurably cruel religion can be.
PERHAPS someone here can answer a question I've had trouble getting an answer for:
Can anyone NAME ANY LEGISLATION:
1) Either PROPOSED by the GOP, or at least SUPPORTED by the GOP
2) For the purpose of HELPING MIDDLE-INCOME, WORKING-CLASS AMERICANS,
3) Anytime in the past 75 YEARS?
I only know of one example, despite asking for years now. And that single example is VERY TELLING...
It's the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act). It was not proposed by the GOP, but neither did they fight against it, as they generally do when a law isn't designed to either HELP THE RICH, or HARM THE POOR. (AFter all, the GOP fought laws to provide rural mail delivery AND rural electrification, and pretty much everything else to help working Americans.)
But before the GOP completely eliminates Medicare and Medicaid, they may want to consider why this is essentially the ONLY LAW to help ordinary Americans that they have ever offered any support for. (They generally fight tooth and nail against anything to HELP middle-America.)
And the price the GOP will pay if they hurt those of their own supporters with such great need.
Technically, the GOP, in the form of the Heritage Foundation, came up with the ACA, AKA, Obamacare. They were tasked with finding a "market based" solution to the healthcare problem - so as to avoid Medicare for all - and that's what they conjured up. They consider it a mistake.
Aside from that anomaly, the GOP stands with the millionaires and billionaires in the class war that they've been waging since the New Deal.
Without the “ public option “ - the ACA turned out to be a boondoggle for the insurance companies. They raised prices and restricted access ( some states were down to 1 company)
as any monopolist dreams about.
Nevertheless, it did open the door for some people to get health care and it took out
the preexisting conditions loophole for insurance companies - so it was better than nothing.
Always seemed odd that the R plan , adopted by Obama , was the target of a major R effort to
So true. Interestingly, they didn't consider it such a mistake when Romney implemented it in Massachusetts. They needed an excuse to trash Obama for it, so they claimed "It was meant for state level, not federal. It doesn't scale well". Which, of course, was pure BS, but then, everything the GOP says is pure BS.
I don't recall the GOP supporting it at the time it was proposed. In fact, "Obamacare" itself was meant to be an insulting term, and they've tried to end it 70 times since.
They certainly didn't support it when Obama proposed it. But they were all for it when Romney brought it to Massachusetts. Ah but there's that state level loophole again. It doesn't "scale" well. GOPaganda at it's finest.
Where's the evidence supporting that claim? It doesn't exist. MAGA is a large coalition, and study after study shows that racists and white supremacists are only a small minority - of the American people and of the MAGA base. Trump clearly won because he and his media system (including all GOP leadership) falsely made the American people believe that the economy was bad, that Biden instead of the global pandemic caused inflation, and that he'd lower the price of eggs. This is what focus group after focus group shows. And "price of eggs" obviously stands for the fact that during the post-pandemic global inflation, most groceries increased by 10-20% over a period of two years.
As to misogyny: that's the case of part of the Christian nationalists, the Heritage Foundation pillar of the MAGA 2.0 coalition. So that too is only one pillar. With both extremists views alone, Trump would NEVER have won the election.
And then again, poll after poll showed that a whopping 50% of the American people still didn't know that Biden had created the strongest economy in the world, post-inflation, by Election Day...
"...my far-right neighbors and many relatives (yes, my family has been in this very South Carolina county long enough to have received a land grant from the king) went all-out celebrating on the day after the Kyle Rittenhouse “verdict” was delivered in November 2021. To the far-right, Rittenhouse’s self-defense acquittal (while being too young to legally own the assault rifle he used to murder two unarmed, peaceful, legal protesters, and maim a third) was a loud shout to each Trump worshipper that killing Americans they disagree with politically would forevermore be deemed “justified”, and they seemed dedicated to giving Trump all the credit. To honor what they saw as their new “Kill at Will” freedom, several dozen armed white men alternately spent the entire day (until several hours into night) shooting their many guns in the closest possible field to the “local liberal”, while staying just within the law. (I’ll let you guess who that particular liberal is…)"
I keep hoping that this election (2024) was enough "pwning the libs" to satisfy the freaky little snowflakes for a while.
The closest relative to us both (as well as physically nearest relative) is the RICH tobacco lobbyist who gave permission for MAGA to use the lot next to us for the Rittenhouse celebration. (There were even coded directional signs posted, just so the maximum intimidation could be achieved. Didn't work. I still "wear my feelings" EVERY SINGLE DAY, and continue to acquire more shirts and caps, with messages specific to THIS moment in time:
"Can wearing progressive messages EVERY DAY for FIVE YEARS make a difference? I hope so…"
It may be that the small segment of the electorate that can swing either way depending on their perception of the economy was lulled into voting for T. and against their economic interest. However I believe there is still a deep reservoir of learned racial hate that motivates an immovable constituency to vote for the candidate that equates immigration to invasion by foreign racial minorities. Trump and his minions created and nurtured lies about both economics and racial disparities to bring a plurality to his side, along with the useful tools created by state officials to make voting more burdensome.
Partly, however Biden and the Dem’s party machine are equally culpable as his steady as it goes rightward drift alienated both Dem and swing-state voters alike. Harris, who was arguably invisible for most of Biden’s presidency was supposed to be the party’s saviour?
The Dem’s electoral chances were toast a longtime ago…
Don't blame the Dems. Harris ran a competent center left campaign. Blame the American voter who saw the Trump Harris debate and said yes, I want the crazy old man.
Living in the rural Deep South for about 60 of my 67 years, I think this won't end until they get to relive their "Civil War" dreams.
But not based on 700,000 dead, and countless victims of "Soldier's Disease" (opiate addiction) finally ending their own lives.
They just see a combination of RED DAWN and GOD OF WAR, and they won't stop until they're met on the field of battle by non-white, non-Christian, non-male, non-cis non-conservative enemy.
The sort of opponent they've been trained to hate (by their church leaders) and to kill when asked. And with most of >340,000,000 guns in their hands, and now the American military AND a nuclear arsenal...
Blame an electorate, too many of whom get their daily dose of propaganda from the reichwing media machine, so greedy oligarchs can tell them that immigrant over there is stealing their job, money, vote, whatever. Now we have a regime hellbent of finding every failed monetary policy of the past and reimplementing it widely - with a very large dollop of chaos.
Coming from a European background and despite living in the US for 18 years, I’ve never understood why the Dems are considered a left or left of centre (or center) party. They’re at best centre-right and more like an old school Conservative Party (think John Major’s 90’s Tories) with just a whiff of a social conscious - or at least as much as their billionaire donors allowed before they all fucked-off and disappeared up Trump’s posterior.
The Dem’s party machine basically ensured they’d just be keeping the chair warm for the Republicans when they voted for Biden as their nominee and the fact that the empathy-free and increasingly tone-deaf Harris was elected VP sealed their fate. A steady as she goes Presidency which failed to engage with the electorate outside their base (and in the end pissed-off a large section of them) was exactly what was not required as the US emerged from a global pandemic.
Trump ultimately won because he appealed to the racist, xenophobic, Christian fundamentalist and frightened underbelly which from my experiences doesn’t fester that deep below the surface in vast swathes of the US…
That's how it sorts out Terry. Twelve million people who voted for Biden in 2020 stayed home in 2024. Politics is the first substitute for religion. Put your hands on the RADIO!
I think it's a little more complicated both and situation. If the Trump myth that he's a good businessman and the Republican myth that they are better with the economy didn't have such a hold on people, enough voters might have overcome their underlying biases to elect Harris / Walz. When things are this tight, everything becomes a factor including the price of eggs, the ending of child tax credit payments, Harris refusal to put any daylight between herself and Biden, Harris and Walz being coached out of authentic moments by the consultants, and most especially the price of housing. At the end of the day, if Americans had no tolerance for racism and sexism this wouldn't have happened. But collective action for strictly moral purposes is rare - we need social pressure to act in a prosocial manner and that is dialed the wrong way in red districts where supposedly moral leaders are instead deifying Trump. This is a problem we Americans have to solve in community with each other in our daily lives.
I think Ezra Klien is onto a big problem with the Progressives. Biden got a lot of good legislation through, but almost none of it was implemented because of restrictive governance for the individual good and not the overall society. There should have been electric charging stations all over the place that people could see. Factories should have been breaking ground and applications for jobs being collected.
Everyone agrees that over-regulation is a problem. I don't trust Trump and Musk to cut regulation.
I disagree. We're racism and misogny a factor? Yes, but I live in a very blue state and almost everyone is either a low information decisionmaker or can't bring themselves to watch the news and function. We lost because their party did not reach them. What's truly damning about it is that the alternative was and is so very bad.
I was just about to post the same assessment. No one asks the egg talkers (they're as far as they can be from eggheads) how they feel about DEI and the illegal deportations of innocent immigrants. drumpf was not elected because of eggs or bacon or whatever other fantasy he offered. He was elected because of racism, misogyny, homophobia, and xenophobia. Those bigotries still drive the views of over 30% of Americans.
This is the right answer. Across the board, they bowed to fear and projected their versions of hate onto others. It's nothing to do with economic growth or business. It's just about cutting down others.
The two aren't mutually exclusive, especially so since the presidential race was so close. But even with a wildly splendiferous economy, Trump would still have gotten at least 45% of the popular vote - probably more.
Doesn't say much for us a a nation right now, does it?
I think you're largely correct about that, but don't underestimate the stupidity and magical thinking of voters who actually believe Trumpkopf is some kind of business and economic genius.
Racism and misogyny were definitely a part of it, but let’s not forget there is a trend globally of incumbents losing power post-COVID. The US got swept up in that trend like all the other countries.
Agree on all counts. And if Trump voters thought Biden's economy was bad, wait till they get a full taste of Trump's tarriff economy. Then they might fully realize what a bad economy feels like.
If this were the primary reason, I would have expected Trump to beat Harris by much more than he did. It surely played a part for some voters, but is it really a major reason? I doubt it. I think Harris's late campaign start left her in the proverbial one-hand-tied-behind-her -back situation. She didn't have enough time to hone her message, while Trump campaigned for 4 years.
"how clueless do you have to be to imagine that it would be a good idea to end phone service for Americans filing retirement and disability claims" - while I certainly agree that Elon Musk is clueless I still want to point out that on this and similar occasions, he does not want to end government help because he is clueless, but because he thinks poorer people than him should not be helped (I know it is a pet peeve of mine, but don't excuse malice with incompetence).
Given that Musk apparently told Joe Rogan that a great 'weakness' of Western civilization is empathy, I'd say the odds are on malice over stupidity. People are just numbers to Musk... he doesn't care about any of us. That much is crystal clear.
It's interesting to note that this is a part of the (incorrect) message the Nazis found in Nietzsche. In a very brief paraphrase, freedom means moving away from the "slave morality," of which empathy could be seen as a part. But the alternative is much more nuanced than the Nazis recognized, and than Musk appears to believe.
It is like Godwin's law, which does not apply when you are talking about actual nazis. I knew about Hanlon's razor, I just don't think it applies to this. If you do not believe people are evil on purpose, you cannot respond in an appropriate manner. Trying to cure stupidity in the guy who wants to kill you is suicidal.
Yes, that is quite right. People can be evil and stupid concurrently, though.
I suspect stupidity certainly is part of the mix, and as Bonhoeffer told us:
"Stupidity is a more dangerous enemy of the good than malice. One may protest against evil; it can be exposed and, if need be, prevented by use of force. Evil always carries within itself the germ of its own subversion in that it leaves behind in human beings at least a sense of unease. Against stupidity we are defenseless. Neither protests nor the use of force accomplish anything here; reasons fall on deaf ears; facts that contradict one’s prejudgment simply need not be believed- in such moments the stupid person even becomes critical – and when facts are irrefutable they are just pushed aside as inconsequential, as incidental. In all this the stupid person, in contrast to the malicious one, is utterly self-satisfied and, being easily irritated, becomes dangerous by going on the attack. For that reason, greater caution is called for than with a malicious one. Never again will we try to persuade the stupid person with reasons, for it is senseless and dangerous."
And also important:
"There are human beings who are of remarkably agile intellect yet stupid, and others who are intellectually quite dull yet anything but stupid. We discover this to our surprise in particular situations."
True, but I don't know if that was (or would be) really helpful. After all, that representation was branded by the likes of The Inquisition and one needs to address the question who was the actual evil there.
My comment was not an endorsement of religion although the inquisition has gotten a bad name. Politics is the secularization of religion and as such the concepts of both are directly analogous.
He was given such a leg-up on the world, he's completely out of touch. It's why he's so into the edgelord culture of X (Twitter) and saying whatever fleeting hateful thought pops into his head, he and his acolytes alike.
Same with Trump, isn't it? In the 1995 bankruptcy that should have ended his career, lenders decided he would be more valuable alive than dead, bankrupting a casino brought him tax relief, when he did not repay Deutsche Bank they said "apart from not repaying loans he is a good customer", and I am sure there are more example were just being treated like a normal business owner would have ended him. He has never made bad experience with erratic incompetence because he was never made to feel the consequences (up to and including for trying to overthrow the government), so he is probably not able to learn at his age that it might not work the same when running a country. And if he could, he would not want to, because, well, malice.
It's true. His supporters like him for the fact that he's been bulletproof from consequences because they too have either never had a bad thing happen to them or they chalk up the reason for their hard times to religious tribulations.
I think some of them are envious of his ability to avoid consequences. During 2020, reporters uncovered the prior criminal records of Proud Boys-Patriot Prayer-Boogaloo Bois members. “Birds of a feather flock together” and Trump has been more successful at being a sociopath than they have, so they admire and envy him.
Frankly, it is probably both. It's just that I referred to a sentence in the article that just mentioned cluelessness. So in the end, we are all in agreement I guess, both with each other and more importantly with the title of the article (I hope that me admitting that this is a 'pet peeve' made clear that I have no substantial criticism to the article).
Sure. I’ve said the same things about the election many, many times. And frankly I think Dr. Krugman and a lot of other people in the sane community don’t give enough credit for Trump’s victory to the bare ass race hatred, homophobia, xenophobia, religious lunacy and misogyny that seem to permeate the politics of the flyover states and old confederacy. I can understand why it’s so. It’s the kind of picture you don’t want pasted into the nation’s family photo ablum.
Correct. Many actions that to a decent, rational person do not seem to make sense become more understandable once you understand what the real goal is.
It will be interesting when MUMP's (Musk/Trump) quest for power and wealth come in conflict with PUTIN'S desire to see American cities burning..
Sure, as long as the cities are Democratically-led, in blue states, with large Black populations, Trump will there on the sidelines cheering on the death and carnage.
But is that what Musk also wants? Won't that destroy some of the VALUE Musk intends to "mine" from America's taxpayers? And is outright STEALING so many years of their contributions enough to finally make cultists see reality?
Why wouldn’t Musk also cheer if places with large Black populations burn? He’s a Boer from apartheid South Africa. It’s his cultural heritage to see Black people suffer.
French Canadian here: Dear Dr., Not that I have much more to add to what you just wrote, but from here, we’ve long seen the wiggling, the manipulative seesaw, the deceptive speech, and everything else from this man. Musk will just be the latest complicit fool to burn to ashes for getting too close.
But the worst part isn’t even him—it’s the muted response from the old Democratic guard while the U.S. castle burns. The latest example? The minority leader—“leader”—caving in and somehow backing this administration’s funding bill.
God, your institutions and “leaders” are in limbo. Wake the f. up!
Western Canadian here, this us totally on point! Most democratic politicians don't have a first class clue of what Trump has done to America outside of its borders. There is rage, bewilderment, and elbows up everywhere else. With democrats looking to sustain a corrupt government by passing a funding bill, they have gone from resistors to collaborators. From our point of view, the problem is not just Trump anymore, it is Americans.
Most Americans don’t have a clue that their country has failed. The foundation of our country, The Constitution, has slowly been ripped up. Last year SCOTUS twisted the presidency into a monarchy. This year Congress has given up its powers. The only branch left somewhat intact is the judiciary, but that will fall next when Trumpists refuse to comply with the judicial order reinstating fired federal employees.
When our democracy depends on two of the six corrupt right-wing Justices who decided that the President is immune for criminal acts he/she commits in office under the guise of official presidential business.
I have no confidence they will protect the Constitution.
Washington state American here, many of us are furious with the Democrats who have been feckless in the face of this administration. The media silos are real, people believe only what is fed to them. I am cheering for Canada and have cancelled plans for vacation travel in red states. Hoping some of us are still welcome to spend our discretionary dollars abroad to support our (former but missed) allies.
You will still be welcome in Canada and your dollars will go far. Just be prepared to drink Canadian or European beer, wine, or spirits since US alcohol products aren't for sale here.
But not all of us. I'm a registered Democrat and vote for and have contributed to them, but have been so frustrated with Democrats not standing up to the fascist Republicans in any kind of effective way.
The latest capitulation of the Democrats to the felon is appalling. I no longer support John Fetterman, for instance, since he couldn't wait to travel to Florida to meet with the felon. I'm sure he got some financial support from him -- or Russia. I am angry at his betrayal.
The truth is, no matter which decision the Dem Senators made, they would be blamed for the damage trump and Musk inflict.
I would have liked to see the Dems put up a fight, and a government shutdown could have been blamed on the Republicans the longer they refused to come to the table.
I fully agree. Let’s imagine for a moment what the situation will be if the republicains were actually the minority with the power to shutdown the government. I think they will not hesitate to ask for major concessions and changes to the democrats in order to avoid the shutdown!
If democrats give a free run to this government they are , in my view, as culpable as the republicans for what will come next.
Here Italian. When I saw the J6 I thought of Mussolini's March on Rome. But, silly me: they were dressed as shamans, not with black shirts. So no consequences.
Have you seen/read this article, Patt? I am making a concerted effort to share it because it seems to me to be a neglected area of public communication regarding the biography of Mr Musk:
Sunday Nation
9 Mar 2025
by Makau Matua,
Crystal Ball
Elon Musk, A Progeny Of Apartheid
It is often said that it is very difficult to erase the DNA of your native country or nationality. That’s not altogether a bad thing. Because if your adopted country completely beats your native identity out of you, then you most likely would do little to enrich your new domicile. Ideally new immigrants, or those with immigrant backgrounds, should have nuanced identities and cultural milieus that breathe new life into stale native cultures.
One of the reasons why America keeps doing better than more non-immigrant societies is its ability to absorb the best of what is new in the larger American cosmos. Dynamic societies raise their intelligence through this cross-pollination, or social intercourse. Stagnant and backward ones hate immigration. Where does Elon Musk fit?
Mr Musk, the world’s richest oligarch, was born in Pretoria, the seat of Apartheid South Africa, in 1971. He is of white British and Dutch ancestry. His mother was born in Canada but raised in South Africa. His father is South African. The family was wealthy. Mr Musk attended Pretoria Boys High School. For all practical purposes, Mr Musk was a prototypical white South African – raised by black nannies and domestic workers in white opulence amid black African oppression and segregation not dissimilar from forms of modern enslavement. I would go so far as to say this upbringing was similar to that of white children in the American plantation South during the enslavement of black people. He’s a product of one of the most hateful systems known to humanity.
Mr Musk didn’t meet, or interact with, any black people who were formally equal to him until he emigrated to Canada and later to the United States to attend college. Mr Musk’s DNA, therefore, is that of a segregationist Afrikaner or white South African who was reared and steeped in the petri-dish of the hatreds and oppressions of Apartheid. Anyone who wants to understand Mr Musk’s political DNA and his ideological outlook needs to appreciate what it was to grow up privileged in Apartheid South Africa in the 1970s and 1980s. It was a totally racially rotten society in which white Supremacy was the black-letter law—literally in black and white. That’s the crucible in which Mr Musk’s mind was unalterably forged.
Many times white immigrants to America, like Mr Musk, can go either way. They can be turned into hardcore racists, or be softened into a more tolerant breed of human. Much depends on how young they are when they come to America. The younger, the more likely they are to be suggestible. The older, the more set in their ways. Mr Musk appears to have fallen into the latter category. He appears to have been convinced of his “inherent” white superiority over the “lazier” and “less intelligent” and “slower” races.
This is one of the explanations for his gravitation to hard-right and hardcore racist ideologies and groups in America and Europe. Those are his compadres, his natural soulmates with whom he share the manifest destiny of white people to rule the world. It’s an ideology that in its purest form embraces Nazism and the logic of Germany’s Third Reich. Just look around Europe in Germany and elsewhere and see the political movements he cavorts with. And he does so unapologetically. It’s no wonder that in the United States Mr Musk is in bed with the vilest racists that now hold the levers of power and sway in Washington.
Two things stand out about Mr Musk’s more recent moves. The first was his purchase of Twitter, which he quickly renamed “X” like some sinister symbol from the occult. X may be the name of the devil for all I care because I can’t fathom what exactly was in his head. But it’s what he’s done with the social media site since taking over that’s of serious concern. He’s removed all protections against hate speech. X is now a sewer in Lucifer’s Kingdom. Anything goes. It’s not even the Wild West. It’s downright the underworld—seedy, crude, racist, misogynistic, and savagely violent. It’s been taken over by marauding white supremacists. Where once we went there to debate, now we go there to witness the crudest and the nastiest of people take each other down.
The other more important move Mr Musk has made is to take over the US government. That’s right—Mr Musk now runs America with President Trump as his puppet. The puppet master seems to have brought the values of Apartheid to the White House. In Mr Trump, Mr Musk has found a willing dupe, an evil simpleton whose inner racist proclivities have been let loose. Rather than America changing him, Mr Musk, Apartheid’s progeny, has brought Apartheid back to life.
***************
Makau Mutua is SUNY Distinguished Professor and Margaret W. Wong Professorat Buffalo Law School, The State University of New York. On X: @makaumutua
The problem with asserting that Musk's background as a privileged Afrikaner led to his hateful disdain for everyone else is that tens of thousands of American children grew up in similar situations. While my family was not particularly well off, both my parents worked, so my siblings and I were raised by a series of poorly educated Black nannies/housekeepers in SC. None of us grew up to be racists nor did most of our similar friends. There is something more at work with Musk.
I believe people who have dark triad personality disorders (sociopathic spectrum) are born that way. They are only mimicking any show of empathy or concern for others in hopes that people believe that they are decent human beings.
I am a retired mental health counselor. I don't diagnose people in absentia, but if Mr. Musk has antisocial personality disorder (the actual diagnosis for such a personality), it is possible that some traits were present innately. It's also true that people can choose their behavior though many do not choose to behave appropriately.
Admittedly, I am not educated in psychology and bow to your expertise on the subject.
When I first learned about "Dark Triad personality disorders." It was like an epiphany finally: right-wing mentality and how they all seem to lack empathy or the ability to imagine what life must be like for anybody else.
While I don't know the science, it seems like the percentage of people who lack empathy approach half of the population.
I could surmise about his growing up and had not read the Isaacson bio on him, but this article appealed to me because the author was a naturalized U.S. citizen, too; was originally from the African continent, too; and is both an attorney and professor of law. On those counts alone I would like to see Prof Mutua's article circulate because I feel that the larger public is not assessing realistically the M/ump Rascist Duo.
Theresa Graybill: if you liquidated your 401k on January 20th and now have gold bars in a shoebox in your closet - then I commend you and your superior prescience...
What always gets me is he lied and lied and lied yet he also told the truth about what he wanted to do and some of us heard the truth amongst the lies.
The latest in the idiot's trade wars, in which Canada was going to impose big tariffs on electricity that is supplied to some US states in response to the tariffs that the felon was going to impose on Canada:
"And can you imagine Canada stooping so low as to use electricity that so affects the life of innocent people, as a bargaining chip and threat?"
The felon actually said this. What a 'strongman'. 🙄
Everything he and musk have done most of their lives have hurt innocent people, just to satisfy their greed, hate, and sociopathic personalities.
The felon and his toadies took away women's healthcare, are aiming to do the same with birth control, have indiscriminately fired thousands of people whose jobs they don't even understand, and have demonized anyone who isn't a white male. How about all those innocent people? Now the felon is whining about something that he brought on himself -- and us. Really.
You couldn't write a play with a plot this stupid because no one would believe it. I wish we didn't have to. What a moron.
I would only add one amendment: He and his toadies are KILLING women by withholding healthcare. People are DYING AND BEING PERMANENTLY MAIMED because of him. And it’s barely covered in MSM.
The felon and his toadies do not care about the validity or legality of their arguments or how it makes them look in the eye of the neutral observer. They respond situationally to get their base behind their preferred cause of action. That's all of their strategy. The actual action is never much analyzed. It is spur of the moment, reactionary.
For those who might have missed it, here's the most recent example of the Fascist-in-Chief's mental/verbal acuity: "I broke into Los Angeles, can you believe it, I had to break in,… I invaded Los Angeles and we opened up the water, and the water is now flowing down. They have so much water they don't know what to do. They were sending it out to the Pacific for environmental reasons. Ok, can you believe it? And in the meantime they lost 25,000 houses. They lost, and nobody’s ever seen anything like it. But, uh, we have the water—uh, love to show you a picture, you’ve seen the picture—the water’s flowing through the half-pipes, you know, we have the big half-pipes that go down. Used to, twenty-five years ago they used to have plenty of water but they turned it off for, again, for environmental reasons. Well, I turned it on for environmental reasons and also fire reasons but, ah, and I’ve been asking them to do that during my first term, I said do it, I didn’t think anything like could happen like this, but they didn’t have enough water. Now the farmers are going to have water for their land and the water’s in there, but I actually had to break in. We broke in to do it because, ah, we had people who were afraid to give water. In particular they were trying to protect a certain little fish. And I said, how do you protect a fish if you don’t have water? They didn’t have any water so they’re protecting a fish. And that didn’t work out too well by the way….”
I feel guilty clicking "like" but I'm really glad that you posted this.
I had read this quote, a few hours ago in a different context, OUT LOUD to my husband, because it was soooo utterly insane and, of course, inarticulate. Every time he opens his mouth...
The quote is terrible enough on its own, but when you understand the consequences of his idiocy it becomes terrifying. The water he dumped is meant for the dry growing season in the San Joaquin Valley. Because of him, It’s possible farmers will not have enough water to bring crops to maturity this year. That means scarcer food supplies down the road. All for a photo op massaging his ego.
I thought they got him to shut off the water. He told the Army Corps of Engineers to open up dams in the Central Valley so it could go to LA. Only there isn't the piping/pumping system to do it. So they were flooding parts of the central valley and sending the summer water that farmers rely on out to the ocean. Trump didn't know there are big mountains between Bakersfield and LA.
The MAGAs will never admit they were wrong. They will happily take us all down with them rather than abandon their ridiculous delusions about Trumps competency as a leader.
Paul, Please talk to us sometime about how the value of the dollar--declining at a rate similar to the stockmarket--fits into all of this. It will clearly amplify the impact of tarifs, and given growing anti-US sentiment abroad, the greater affordability of consumer goods abroad will not offset things.
Elon is one thing but Lutnick is Steve Bannon on steroids !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It is no wonder! when we send this administration over to Europe to speak for the US, why the WORLD is repulsed ! Canada was Zelenskyy'd yesterday in full disrespect and contempt ....... this is UGLY ... WHERE did they all crawl out from ???? And they have the POWER...We have to get America BACK from their grips = there is NO CHOICE
Hello from an Italian. Trump's idea of using tariffs to bring all the production to your shore reminds me of fascist autarchy. It brought so much wealth that my grandfather had to use cardboard shoes. Best wishes for getting back up after this damage.
Karoline the blonde press secretary said that the reason for the tariffs is Trump is forcing manufacturing back to the US and ending the global economy. Who is going to work those jobs? And how much will this increase prices of those items? He’s deporting the manufacturing workforce. Nothing makes sense.
She’s wrong. GM, Ford and Chrysler moved a portion of their manufacturing to Canada in the 1960s to encourage Canadians to buy their cars. Called the Auto Pact and it worked well.
If the manufacturers move back to the US, they’ll never sell another car in Canada.
Even before Trump most areas of the country were so short of labor (especially semi-skilled) that the factories were not investing in expanded production because they could not get the labor to fill them.
What Trump and Congressional Republicans are trying to do and are doing is erase all progressive legislation since 1933 and return the US to a 19th century form of capitalist state with a laissez-faire form of government where the federal government only consists of a police force for internal security to protect life and property and an army for external security. Period. No social security, no public healthcare, no federal support for education, no federal support for affordable housing, no federal support for scientific research or infrastructure, no federal regulation of banks or financial markets, no regulation of business for the common good, no protection of minorities. In short, a complete erasure of progressive legislation since 1933. The only problem is, there was a reason for that progressive legislation: we had a government of the people, by the people, acting for the people. What we have now is government by wannabe king acting for the oligarchs and rich.
You are correct. There was a reason for that progressive legislation. For example, back in the old days, most people lived out on the farm and when people got old, they lived with children or the family who took care of them. When the industrial revolution came, a lot of people moved to the cities and worked in factories and offices. When many of these people got too old to work, they had no income or anyone to take care of them. It was a problem having a large group of destitute elderly people. That is why FDR and others came up with social security. And it was designed to be self-funding which it is.
The same with EPA (most people don't want to breath dirty air or drink dirty water). Most people like for their bank to have deposit insurance (which the banks pay for) so that they don't lose all of their money if a bank fails. And so on down the list.
The country and society were a lot different in the 1880's compared to 2025.
There's something called accelerationism. Bugs like Peter Thiel are for it. The basic idea is that society is screwed up and needs to be destroyed before it can be made more better.
Wrong. Trump won the election because of racism and misogyny and enough of the corporate media giving him a pass and inventing excuses (like the economy despite his bungling of Obama’s economy) for the racists and misogynists to have a pretext to vote for him.
I really like Krugman, however it still baffles me to see pundits miss this simple point. The US didn’t elect an exceptionally qualified black woman riding on the coattails of the strongest economy in the developed world. History won’t gloss over the obvious. The price of eggs meant nothing.
I agree with your comment.
But that doesn’t invalidate the pundits essay that everyone HATES Musk
We can re-litigate the election to our heart’s content. That doesn’t change anything about what happened in the election. The result was that 40% of the electorate stayed home because they saw no reason to vote. That’s our problem. More people didn’t vote than voted for either candidate. We need to think about that and not gloss over the fact that as a democratic republic we suck at educating people in civics, the value of democracy, and the meaning of truth. If we don’t fix that problem now we won’t ever arise from this catastrophe. Put your party and affiliations aside and start acting like Americans.
When it comes to educating people in civics, some states suck worse than others. Have you noticed? Strange coincidence: those states also lead the country in voter suppression. These states are not governed by Democrats.
But let's not ignore the role of campaign finance and the dismal state of the "news" media." No matter how much a person knows about how government works, or is supposed to work, finding accurate information about presidential candidates is challenging even to those of us who know our civics.
Finally, ask yourself which party's interests are being best served by crappy civic education, out-of-control campaign spending, and voter suppression. Democracy should not be a partisan issue, but unfortunately for the last several decades it has been.
A part of the problem is that critical thinking is not valued by a large part of the electorate. This is reflected in media coverage, and aggravated by the fact that in social media, there isn't the filter of critical thinking in the presentation of news. So incoherent but bombastic politicians like Trump have much more influence among a very large part of the electorate.
Other factors, such as unlimited spending drowned out conventional media, so they have much less influence.
Note that most of the "red" states are relatively poor, and are subsidized by military spending by the federal govt. Such states are weak in spending on education & social services. In contrast, in Canada the federal govt directly subsidizes education & social services of poorer areas.
I'd add that "critical thinking" is not only "not valued by a large part of the electorate," it's actively opposed by a large part. (How large I'm not sure.) The white evangelicals in Trump's base don't encourage critical thinking. Neither do the neo-Nazis and the garden-variety white supremacists.
Harris lost by 300K votes. Jill Stein got over 800K.
Don't ignore the role voter suppression played in that, which has been confirmed to be most of those lost votes. The Republicans can't win without cheating and they've known it for 20 years.
If voter suppression is responsible for 40% of the population not being able to vote, then I think the US has bigger and scarier problems than Trump.
That is not what was said: 40% stayed home ( I read 36%) more stayed home in 2016 and 2012.. https://www.usnews.com/news/national-news/articles/2024-11-15/how-many-people-didnt-vote-in-the-2024-election
And this has not been reported nor said above, that it was because of voter suppression.
Au contraire. The vast majority of Trump voters were extremely well mis-educated with alternative facts. On almost every issue conceivable. The November Ipsos poll of likely Trump voters found that 85% get some/most/all of their news from FOX News; and that 80% of these firmly but wrongly believed that inflation was still as high as it was 2-3 years ago; that crime and unemployment were at record highs; and that we were *already* in a recession. And that's before you get into bedrock MAGA beliefs, like that Dems purposely let in illegal immigrants so they can give them the vote to steal elections, & then replace the white population.
When Trump said during the debate that Dems murder babies after birth, and that Haitians were eating people's dogs and cats--a majority of conservative voters unquestioningly *believed* him. This is because they've been hearing stories like this nearly non-stop from FOX News for decades now.
We've literally become a FOX News Nation, and unless Dems can push back sufficiently to course correct this imaginary world conservatives live in, we're all screwed.
Every Senate Democrat voted against the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act, a bill meant to ensure that babies born alive during botched abortions receive life-saving care. January 22, 2015
Existing law--even before BASPA--already stipulates that EVERY baby born, receives life-saving care no matter the circumstances leading to its birth. It's like a law that says that the state of Virginia still be called the state of Virginia. It was just GOP virtue-signaling to extremist Evangelicals, who oppose all abortion, even for incest/rape or to save the life of the mother.
FOX News spun this Dem refusal, into "Dems murder babies after birth." A lie that, sadly, every conservative voter believes.
Incidentally, there's like a 0.001% chance of a 3rd trimester abortion leading to a live birth. And then a 0.00001% chance of said infant actually surviving for more than a few hours. Something like 99% of late term abortions are because of life threatening congenital abnormalities that would doom any such child that survives childbirth to an agonizing death within hours/minutes/days.
“We need to … not gloss over the fact that as a democratic republic we suck at educating people in civics, the value of democracy, and the meaning of truth. If we don’t fix that problem now we won’t ever arise from this catastrophe. Put your party and affiliations aside and start acting like Americans.” THIS!
The importance of civics, democracy, and good communication skills.
It is ironic that many poorly educated lower income people vote for a party that consistantly favours the rich. They accept tax breaks for the rich could mean lower taxes for themselves, instead of seeing that better taxing of the rich will provide better govt services for everyone, including themselves.
Every election in my lifetime 40% of the electorate did not vote. (And never voted).
I hate Elon musk. Only point I was making.
Education is each person's own responsibility. there is plenty of good information available in this country.
Are you like 10 years old or something. 40% of the electorate has never voted in any election.
I love my EV though (a used Chevy Bolt)
Good choice. I like EVs to. My hope is Tesla stock gets a little lower and they boot Musk. If it happens soon enough they may have a chance to make but if not it sure seems likely they are sunk. That would be a 125k jobs down the tubes.
Seems to me Tesla's board consists largely of Musk sycophants.
That may well be, I don't know. I do know Tesla was a thing long before Musk bought some 12% of the stock and he is no genius as so many think. Here in Alabama they think Elon started Tesla and they will argue the point based I guess on their Fox Spews facts, I don' tknow.
Sychophants or not, the board was smart enough to sell their Tesla stock.
Only because it does, his brother Kimball, and his lawyer for instance, the rest are friends.
Doesn’t matter if they boot him as long as Musk’s fortune is tied to Tela stock. It’s literally the most accessible way for average people to destroy him so that’s why the boycotts and protests would continue regardless of the CEO. He’d have to divest completely to maybe save the company
The Dems committed electoral malpractice by not pushing Biden out of re-running in 2022 and having a primary. Harris wasn't chosen by the party - and she had, what, 3 months to campaign - and she didn't do a great of that. Liz Cheney? The dem's continual ignoring of their base - or what should be their base - is also why they continue to lose. Look at the cloture vote on the CR. What Dem voter supports that?
They are terrible at politicking and pretty lousy at governing in the minority. Do they strike you as an opposition party?
And the price of eggs doesn't matter to me, but it was a good microcosm to sum up the masses frustration with the inflation. The dems could have / should have constantly said that inflation was caused by the pandemic supply chain problems, but Harris completely fumbled that in the debate.
I think the average voter is an idiot, and that a large number of them are racist and sexist. But the dems screwed this election up massively.
Calling those who disagree with you idiots, racists and sexists isn't exactly the best way to understand them :-).
Let's start with Biden. All nonpartisan studies show that he ranks at the very top of the list of US presidents who achieved most for the 99% in one term. That first of all means that he and Harris absolutely deserved to be reelected. Secondly, until today only Biden has proven that he can win against Trump. That too was an important reason to stick with him as long as possible.
Third, Democrats clearly counted on legacy media to do their job, while having underestimated (as we all did) how strong the neofascist propaganda machine of the GOP online had become. So a majority of people simply didn't know the facts yet, when it comes to Biden's record, by the time they started voting. This is utterly unprecedented, so something we all had to discover and then quickly learn to deal with while it was almost already too late.
Fourth, it is generally VERY risky to NOT run for a second term, because it sends the message that you yourself believe you did a bad job and aren't up for the task, so it's quite likely that if Biden would have stepped down earlier, Trump and the GOP would have won much more easily than they did now.
And having Liz Cheney with us was CRUCIAL, knowing that this election was about democracy versus neofascism, with many ordinary GOP voters resolutely AGAINST fascism. Thanks to Cheney, the number of registered Republicans who voted for Harris DOUBLED, from 5 to 10%. Also, when the end of democracy is on the line, the only government you CAN propose as an alternative is a centrist one that unites all pro-democracy citizens, both progressives and conservatives.
Conclusion: I'm afraid that you're part of those progressives who imagine that making progress is simply a matter of WANTING it, rather than accepting the fact that in a democracy, you HAVE to build coalitions. Progressives too are a minority in this country, which is why no one ever wins on a 100% progressive agenda.
As to "striking as an opposition party": did you notice that Trump is installing a fascist regime, which entirely SKIPS Congress, AND that "we the people" voted Democrats OUT, on all levels of government? If yes: what exactly would you want them to do, as opposition party? Because so far, all those who blame them of not doing "enough" never come up with any concrete idea of what they could do more than what they're already doing (and it's huge): massively delaying the installation of fascism in Congress through hearings and in the courts through lawsuits that stand up for "we the people" (and they're winning most of them, for now).
I agree with you, but I do think the Democrats can do something about it - get out in front of the people by conducting town halls in every congressional district in America on a regular basis. They also need to ditch ideological litmus tests. AOC, whom I admire very much, represents her district really well, but she could not get elected in the district I reside in as her positions don’t align with those of the local populace. The Dems need to listen to the people and come out as the party that actually represents PEOPLE. Voting these days doesn’t feel like voting for a representative, it feels like voting for a party and going along with everything the party dictates.
Locally, we have a Democrat who represents a predominantly Republican district. She wins because she is visible in the community, engages with and listens to constituents and votes their interests regardless of the party’s position on an issue. She explains her reasoning on every controversial vote she has to make.
Here’s hoping we have an election again. Remember that Trump also promised that Christians would never have to vote again.
Thank you for a cogent reply. Where I live I've been trying to get across to a Democratic colleague that we need to be "out there" now and not wait for the next "election season."
What "ideological litmus tests" are you referring to? It seems fine to me for a representative of one district to reflect the priorities of the people there and not be a good match for getting elected in another district. I think the Democrats have much more diversity in their views than Republicans do... that's probably one of their challenges, making it harder for them to unify behind a particular direction.
My opinion is one of the big problems the Democrats have is being too stuck in their neo-liberal world and thus unable to deliver a strong message about how to view the economy that isn't based on "taxes and government bad, capitalism good." (I would hope that seeing Elon/Trump tear down the federal government would be a great opportunity for them to talk about all the good and useful things we want the government to do, but given their continuing floundering on this not at all optimistic. I mean how can they not even provide a clear message that social security is highly valued to them, and getting rid of the payroll income cap would take care of a lot of the arguments of it running out of funding?)
Neoliberal economics was introduced by Ronald Reagan, the Dems never embraced neoliberal policies.
Yes. Democrats need to be a visible presence out among the public, especially as the Republicans are in hiding. They need to ditch the alienating progressive language wars and be very vocal against what is going on and speak to an alternative.
Let's hope that 'christians' never vote again. They believe in imaginary friends, like Agent Orange.
The government should be totally secular.
When Biden ran in '20, he said he felt obligated to do so. He was asked about his age; he deferred, but it was crystal clear that a portion of the electorate thought he was too old to run for a second term. He could have said - I did what I said I'd do, and recognizing the limitations of age, I will not run again. That would have given a younger Dem candidate a lot of ammo against a doddering Trump. But Trump and Fox could point out Biden's pauses and age-related goofs and say he's too old.
Please, spare me the scolding in calling members of the Leopards Eating My Face party idiots. Look at the daily news stories of people saying "I didn't vote for this" and ask whether any of Trump's actions are a surprise. They aren't to me, or Prof Krugman, or anyone else who looked at the lying, the 'China pays tariffs' claims, the DEI rants. Look at the people fired or de-funded who (obviously) were voting for "them" to fired or deported. I call that racist.
How many votes did Liz Cheney get for Kamala? You say Rs went from 5% to 10%, but there is no evidence of attribution. Maybe Jan 6 caused that, or the sexual assault conviction or the tax conviction or stealing the classified documents. Have Liz and a bunch of other R's make an ad, sure - but campaigning for her at the end TO THE EXCLUSION OF MOTIVATING THE DEM BASE? Political malpractice.
Was there a consistent economic message put out by the party - not in the 90 days Kamala ran, but in the year prior? Not that I heard.
I'm as progressive / liberal as they come. Dems suck at politics. Again, I point you to the cloture vote. And the entire "process" which resulted in Kamala being the nominee.
The idea that Biden would have been too old has been proven to be entirely false by the fact that he has a stellar record. It's also medically false: he has spinal arthritis (which affects his gait) and his speech impairment is back, in part. But his moral spine is stronger than ever before, as is his ability to deliver.
As long as "we the people" cannot understand these basic facts and want to vote in the most irrational way possible, imagining, for instance, that being younger (so having much less experience) would somehow benefit us more, WE will be part of the problem rather than the solution.
Too many citizens in the US treat politics as some kind of reality show and see voting as spontaneously throwing out likes and dislikes. THAT is what made the installation of fascism possible, definitely not Biden's age (if anything, voters now preferred someone even older than Biden...).
Aside from that: yes, the fact that many GOP voters today tell us that they didn't vote for fascism proves my point, namely the uneducated have been massively brainwashed by a GOP neofascist propaganda machine that, after two decades, is so well-oiled that it can make them believe that black is white and vice versa. All the more reason to finally get REAL, as voters, rather than getting caught up in falsehoods about Democrats ourselves.
As to Cheney: it's not just about "getting votes" (although she delivered a crucial additional 5% of GOP voters, and with 200,000 more votes in the blue wall swing states, Harris would be president today), it's also about sending out the signal that WHEN democracy itself is at stake, then ALL progressives and neocons (= all pro-democracy citizens) SHOULD come together and vote for Democrats, this time around.
If that doesn't motivate you to vote for Democrats, what will ever motivate you... ?
Anyone who paid attention to politics before the election should have been all in on voting blue, no matter who.
If we can rescue our democracy, civics should be a required curriculum in every grade 1-12.
Did you watch the first debate? All the commentary was how he looked lost / out of it.
Again you declare, evidence free, that Liz Cheney delivered a "crucial" (strange word choice for the losing candidate) additional 5% of GOP voters. Why do you attribute that to her? And even if you do (again, please provide some evidence of this claim), why did the Democratic party ignore its base?
Can the party even define its base today?
I will never vote R, so I don't need motivation. It isn't my vote they need to win.
Biden was clearly having issues in the last year. Prior to that he was probably alright, but the decline from 2023 to 2024 was pretty clear. You could see that even in how the administration was just starting to bungle stupid things after having done a pretty good job at a lot of things for three years.
No, he should not have run again. And he had a good reason to do so. Remaining president until you are 86 just doesn’t make any sense.
The one thing I would like to see is help organizing public protests. I'd do it, but frankly I'm afraid of the red hats. I live in MAGA land.
I think Timothy Schneider's suggestion of a shadow cabinet like the Brits have is a good idea. The Dems need to be united in what they would do instead. It needs to be big enough that the cowed media would report it.
For my part, I expected American women to vote overwhelmingly Democratic in every race to regain their rights to bodily autonomy and secure the right to medical services so that the chances of dying due to complications during pregnancy are as low as possible.
I assume that the Dems expected the same thing.
Well stated, and sadly, this is indeed the reality we face.
Biden had a great record but INFLATION esp housing and groceries were a drag on him plus, he looked frail and unhealthy at election time. That should never have come to pass. That debate was a disaster no 2 ways about it and hard to pull out of the instant tailspin that put us in. Harris did a great job but the campaign had a tough row to hoe. At swing state level, they needed more votes and Dems need better strategies to communicate against Trump and their lies and negative campaigning.
Why is no one talking about the reality of two foreign oligarchs manipulating media and spewing nothing but propaganda before, during, and after the election? When the richest man in the world buys the biggest platform in the world and converts it into a propaganda arm, what do you think is going to happen?
Yes, it's unfortunate that—having tried to back out of the purchase of Twitter—the court made Elmo follow through. We'd be a lot better off now if Twitter were still Twitter.
They will sow the wind and reap the whirlwind.
Most of what you say is true. it took a lot of different elements of incompetence and misfortune to cause the loss. But all of them start with the unfortunate fact that the Democratic Party is an amalgamation of vastly different groups, and thus driving consensus is very slow and difficult, and probably impossible in the absence of dire crisis. Obviously Biden should have been pushed out earlier and a real primary should have occurred. But even if he had, the party would have ripped itself apart on the question of whether Harris should be tossed aside and replaced with a white person from the Midwest swing states.
As for shutting down the government, that would have a been a disaster politically and strengthened Trump, even if satisfying for a brief moment.
All we can do now is watch in horror as the government is damaged and incapacitated, and hope the Republicans blow themselves up and thatit can be repaired afterward.
If you read Krugman carefully and listen to his interviews, he is optimistic that this is on track. Trump and Musk are making mistakes and blowing opportunities for maximum damage. I think he is probably right. Bessent is also right but not the way he meant it. — unfortunately we do need to go through a detox period, a period of damage pain for greater good down the road. That greater good is the Republicans hurting the country, but in so doing, impaling themselves and wearing it. That will be the detox period.
I blame the voters and nonvoters who can't be bothered to stay current in politics and what's happening in the world every day.
There is no excuse for empowering an obviously fascist party.
The Dems only chance at survival is to embrace Bernie’s agenda or fold their tent and go home. There is no other winning option other than going all in on a working class agenda. We have to reverse the massive wealth transfer that has brought us to this moment. Our society structure is not sustainable if we want a healthy democracy. We haven’t had that for many decades.
I have zero faith Dems will ever figure this out, particularly after the sellout on Friday. People will need take to the street in mass protests that shut the economy down. Something new will need to come from that communal energy.
I somewhat disagree. For most of 23/24 the economy was what everyone was talking about because the media—whether people followed it or not—pushed the story of the sky falling for more than three years. Every story reporting excellent economic numbers included the caveat “yes but economists say we are headed for recession.” Recession was a constant drumbeat. A teenage cashier at Target told me we were in a recession back in 22. I tried politely to correct her. It’s because all people talked about was how lousy the economy was. Oh sure they admitted they were doing well but the country as a whole was in the toilet.
The charts above demonstrate that. Prices are killing me at the grocery store too, but I understand why (and did then). So while egg prices have continued to go up after the election what has happened to most of the media coverage?
For many middle/upper class people, the “economic pain” was cover for racism and misogyny. People can’t admit to themselves that maybe they are wee bit racist so they practice self denial and mask their anxieties. Where are all the stories on economic anxiety now? Instead we get “but MAGA is still with them.” They even buy into the need for economic pain! It’s frustrating, which is why it’s great that we have an alternative third way of media happening right now (which is so much better than the fake Third Way involving politics) with the likes of Substack et al.
What does your "simple point" has to do with Paul Krugman? Clearly, American voters have not made the rational choice between a boring/mediocre candidate and a con artist who efficiently bamboozled a big portion of the electorate. But there is no need to paint Kamala Harris as an "exceptionally qualified black woman". She is not. She does not have the charisma of Michelle Obama, she does not have the guts of Big Gretch, or the stamina of Elizabeth Warren. She is and has been a political coaster.
84-year old Bernie Sanders, 75-year old Elizabeth Warren, 61-year old Tim Walz, 52-year old Chris Murphy, 36-year old AOC are all energized and working their butts off to re-invigorate their party, representing three generations of Democratic politicians. But where is Kamala Harris and when will she come out of hiding? As it's being said, hindsight is always 20/20; and the hindsight tells us, KH was and found lightweight. So why should Dr Krugman spend any thoughts on her?
You are right about everything you say about Harris, but are missing the point along with the pundits: America will elect a strong bad person over a weak good person almost every time. It's a brutal world out there.
For example, photos of Trump invariably showed him defiant and strong, standing up to everything being thrown at him and scowling at it; Harris, on the other hand, always had a smile or smirk or chuckle on her face. Dems blew it on the level of projection to the frankly ignorant masses.
I'm sorry, it is what it is in the real world. To get elected you have to project defiant strength, not sweetness and light. Look at Golda Mier. Look at Indira Ghandi. Study Margaret Thatcher. It's a drama and you have to play the part right. Harris didn't.
I would say that the electorate often votes for the wrong person if that person is bad but "strong." I think that Harris did a remarkable job considering the odds, but Trump had the bozosphere squarely on his side, and look! the majority of men voters and white voters, all of whom are very hard to move to vote for a woman and many of whom were motivated by the very propaganda that Trump and his Fox "News" supporters bamboozled them with. I would like to see a vigorous, long-term effort to unpropagandize the electorate, but I don't know where it is going to come from. It won't be from the New York Times, and it won't be from thoughtful newsletters like this one.
Agreed. Why the Democrats fail to educate the bozosphere so as to succeed (win elections) would be useful data. Is it elitism?
I am reminded of the integration battles in America's South in the '50s. Being against racial segregation would have been called "woke" back then. On top of that, it's the same bozos: the segregationists and other haters of the '50s have become the haters in the MAGA crowd of today.
The very descriptive term bozosphere reminds me of the Firesign Theatre's '70s album "I Think We're All Bozos on This Bus".
Yes. Yes. Yes. And hand-clap.
I think he has mentioned it in other posts, but was merely focused on another aspect in this one. The final analysis isn't so simple. One of the long running strengths of the GOP as a whole, including Trumpkopf, is the ability to dumb down the message (their lies) into pithy slogans that can fit on a bumper sticker.
The price of eggs mattered to some people. Race and misogyny mattered to others. Some wanted to feel part of a strong man movement in which they once again were the top dogs. Others saw the possibility of a Christian theocracy. The voters who elected Trump are not a monolithic group.
What does it matter now if we remain baffled? That won't change the current moment Also, what is the connection between your bafflement and Paul Krugman (presuming you refer to him among "pundits")? That he writes on economic issues? What else would he do? He is an economist, a Nobel Laureate in economics.
Except a large part of the electorate was mislead to believe that the economy was in terrible shape and inflation was rampant, in addition to some guided by racism & misogyny.
Interesting point that everyone hates Elon, but much less Trump, who gives Elon his powers.
Ridiculous, as a female I was really enthusiastic of Harris - I thought she did a great job of introducing positivity & a far better attitude to the whole damned scene than the opposition, but then he has the "Golden God" image that he tries to perpetuate & American voters are notoriously dumb about supporting males who tell them lovely stories about dealing with all the crime & getting them nearer to "Heaven". That "religious" bent in this country has a price ! Oh well - I'm a Brit & can't vote, but I did support Harris & wished so badly for some decency & common sense to continue Biden's great record. I think absent American ignorance she would have been a lovely prez !!!
Poor Harris. She had everything stacked against her.....and 'my' party should have recognized that and chastised the 'squad' with being to blame if they didn't support a stronger candidate, even if not a 'Black woman' in this election. So much blame to go around to all the well meaning Dems who didn't take the closeness or the seriousness of this election seriously enough. Pitiful.
Bah, Harris didn’t even do as well with women as Biden did. She was thoroughly milquetoast and couldn’t break with Biden.
I didn't think Harris was a great choice. It was absolute identity politics from the start. Biden basically said, I'll choose a black woman. I hate identity politics.
If there was a moderate mid-western man to run against Trump, I'd have said "great!" A black/Indian woman from California had too much against her in such an important race. If the opposition had been Nikki Haley or even Ron DeSantis...but Trump/Musk/Vance!!
Trump didn't win the election so much as voter suppression and voter intimidation campaigns won it for him. We should also remember that Elon-funded groups like True The Vote challenged ballots in swing states such as Georgia, questioning signatures and other minute technicalities.
EVERYTHING Trump used to win was a lie.
It wasn't BIDEN'S ECONOMY, it was TRUMP'S LIES about Biden's economy.
It wasn't TRANS AMERICANS, it was TRUMP'S LIES about trans Americans.
It wasn't IMMIGRATION, it was TRUMP'S LIES about immigration.
It wasn't ABORTION, it was TRUMP'S LIES about abortion...
And I could go one for DAYS! (And everyone here knows just how tragic "focused ignorance" can be. It sounds oxymoronic, but apparently not.)
This is pure cope. People didn’t feel strongly about turning out for Harris.
Her turnout was hugely down nationwide.
For the entire campaign, the ONLY Harris/Walz merch I saw was my own.
But I live in the Deep South, so...no surprises.
Although, I confess to being a bit surprised the first instant I saw the term MAGA outside a church, on their electronic sign.
I'd guess I WON'T be surprised that none of these "in the bag for anti-Jesus" churches will be risking their tax-exempt status for a while. (But Habitat for Humanity is under investigation by the feds...furging insane.)
"Trump’s FBI Moves to Criminally Charge Major Climate Groups
The Trump administration is targeting climate organizations that received a Biden-era grant." (And that includes HfH. And I don't imagine the JCarter connection makes Trump love it more.)
https://newrepublic.com/post/192660/trump-fbi-charge-climate-organizations
There was quite a bit in Dallas. Didn’t help at all. People were talking about the Alllred Cruz race as competitive and it wasn’t at all.
That’s NOT TRUE. Ignorant!
And look at the result.
And we should also remember that MUSK funded a reward of $5,000,000 for anyone able to find PROOF OF ELECTION FRAUD or evidence of a stollen(sic) 2020 election.
At the time, Musk was backing DeSantis, and wanted something to use to HURT TRUMP. He never found that evidence, even for $5M.
"Musk-linked group offered $5m for proof of voter fraud – and came up with nothing
Fair Election Fund has yet to reveal evidence of voter fraud despite deep-pocketed backers – and has now gone silent"
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/feb/14/elon-musk-voter-fraud-group
Not that evidence of treason ever cost a MAGA a second of sleep...
I tend to agree here. So many people voted out of hatred, fear, and ignorance -- which made Trump their obvious choice.
I've cut out all tRumpist from my life. Surprisingly, the number was higher than 2016. But is is explainable. In another post I read of Germans, who switched after 1933 from Communist to flag waving Nazi support, because they wanted to be on good terms with the victors. Democracy is nothing without the courage of conviction.
I was also surprised the number of Trump supporters in my life was higher than in 2016. I live in a deep blue bubble inside a deeper blue bubble and I was shocked.
We tend to gravitate toward people who share our common interests as well as our moral compass. The Trump supporters I know don't seem to have a moral compass.
It's impossible to have a moral compass and support the Orange Scourge.
Well, most people are very good at compartmentalization.
At least the Trump supporters I knew personally abandoned him after Jan 6. However, I live in a fairly solidly blue state so it really didn't matter for electoral purposes.
Wasn't most of the drop in votes for Harris (compared to Biden) driven by lower Democratic turnout in states that were going to give their Electoral College votes to Harris anyway?
I don't disagree. In fact I agree. I attribute the rise in my circle, affluent, in a blue state, to those who kept their very personal devil's bargain, less taxes and regulations for selling out democracy to a convicted felon and obvious criminal, in 2016 to themselves and now felt brazen enough to be open about it.
The GOP has spent the past 65 years laser-FOCUSED on gaining control of these poor, ignorant, racist fools. And it worked to an amazing degree. And all that was required for the Southern Strategy to be a success was the total abandonment by the south of Jesus, and anything he ever said about love, in exchange for endorsing the burning fire of racial hate southerners typically have for Black Americans:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_strategy
I say that AS a white, male southerner, of advancing years, and my family has been here in rural South Carolina >250 years. But I could no more support Trump (or ANY repug) than I could jump into a volcano...
Hitler also claimed that he was about "Christianity", but it was a "brand" of "Christianity" that Christ himself wouldn't have recognized as even remotely related to what he preached.
They usurped his name to promote their own agenda.
Sure. Nothing new there.
Even going back to far earlier days of Christianity shows the cracks. Every time I hear the phrase, "God never gives anyone anything they can't handle", I'm always reminded of the Children's Crusades, and just how immeasurably cruel religion can be.
It goes all the way back to the moment Peter took over.
But that doesn't mean it's right...
PERHAPS someone here can answer a question I've had trouble getting an answer for:
Can anyone NAME ANY LEGISLATION:
1) Either PROPOSED by the GOP, or at least SUPPORTED by the GOP
2) For the purpose of HELPING MIDDLE-INCOME, WORKING-CLASS AMERICANS,
3) Anytime in the past 75 YEARS?
I only know of one example, despite asking for years now. And that single example is VERY TELLING...
It's the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act). It was not proposed by the GOP, but neither did they fight against it, as they generally do when a law isn't designed to either HELP THE RICH, or HARM THE POOR. (AFter all, the GOP fought laws to provide rural mail delivery AND rural electrification, and pretty much everything else to help working Americans.)
But before the GOP completely eliminates Medicare and Medicaid, they may want to consider why this is essentially the ONLY LAW to help ordinary Americans that they have ever offered any support for. (They generally fight tooth and nail against anything to HELP middle-America.)
And the price the GOP will pay if they hurt those of their own supporters with such great need.
Technically, the GOP, in the form of the Heritage Foundation, came up with the ACA, AKA, Obamacare. They were tasked with finding a "market based" solution to the healthcare problem - so as to avoid Medicare for all - and that's what they conjured up. They consider it a mistake.
Aside from that anomaly, the GOP stands with the millionaires and billionaires in the class war that they've been waging since the New Deal.
Without the “ public option “ - the ACA turned out to be a boondoggle for the insurance companies. They raised prices and restricted access ( some states were down to 1 company)
as any monopolist dreams about.
Nevertheless, it did open the door for some people to get health care and it took out
the preexisting conditions loophole for insurance companies - so it was better than nothing.
Always seemed odd that the R plan , adopted by Obama , was the target of a major R effort to
repeal something they designed. But , of course,
any popular idea implemented by D - must be
trashed by R ( even if R’s designed it )
Go figure.
So true. Interestingly, they didn't consider it such a mistake when Romney implemented it in Massachusetts. They needed an excuse to trash Obama for it, so they claimed "It was meant for state level, not federal. It doesn't scale well". Which, of course, was pure BS, but then, everything the GOP says is pure BS.
I don't recall the GOP supporting it at the time it was proposed. In fact, "Obamacare" itself was meant to be an insulting term, and they've tried to end it 70 times since.
They certainly didn't support it when Obama proposed it. But they were all for it when Romney brought it to Massachusetts. Ah but there's that state level loophole again. It doesn't "scale" well. GOPaganda at it's finest.
Kinda like the "Biden Immigration Plan" that Trump admired enough to kill dead in its tracks.
How many times did you hear THAT little fact mentioned by the MSM? More than a half-dozen?
Perfect example. The "Biden Immigration Plan" - created by a Nebraska Republican Senator.
Where's the evidence supporting that claim? It doesn't exist. MAGA is a large coalition, and study after study shows that racists and white supremacists are only a small minority - of the American people and of the MAGA base. Trump clearly won because he and his media system (including all GOP leadership) falsely made the American people believe that the economy was bad, that Biden instead of the global pandemic caused inflation, and that he'd lower the price of eggs. This is what focus group after focus group shows. And "price of eggs" obviously stands for the fact that during the post-pandemic global inflation, most groceries increased by 10-20% over a period of two years.
As to misogyny: that's the case of part of the Christian nationalists, the Heritage Foundation pillar of the MAGA 2.0 coalition. So that too is only one pillar. With both extremists views alone, Trump would NEVER have won the election.
And then again, poll after poll showed that a whopping 50% of the American people still didn't know that Biden had created the strongest economy in the world, post-inflation, by Election Day...
MAGA is a many headed hydra. Or maybe more like a Medusa.
To me, this is MAGA...
"...my far-right neighbors and many relatives (yes, my family has been in this very South Carolina county long enough to have received a land grant from the king) went all-out celebrating on the day after the Kyle Rittenhouse “verdict” was delivered in November 2021. To the far-right, Rittenhouse’s self-defense acquittal (while being too young to legally own the assault rifle he used to murder two unarmed, peaceful, legal protesters, and maim a third) was a loud shout to each Trump worshipper that killing Americans they disagree with politically would forevermore be deemed “justified”, and they seemed dedicated to giving Trump all the credit. To honor what they saw as their new “Kill at Will” freedom, several dozen armed white men alternately spent the entire day (until several hours into night) shooting their many guns in the closest possible field to the “local liberal”, while staying just within the law. (I’ll let you guess who that particular liberal is…)"
https://medium.com/@foofaraw/many-more-people-will-die-because-of-trump-i-hope-i-wont-be-one-of-them-41b2f1493036
This was how joyful T-cultists were at the thought of killing with impunity...3.5 YEARS AGO!
I don't want to try to imagine what will satisfy them now.
But this one is a year older than the Rittenhouse verdict:
"South Carolina is now Trump HELL For Liberals"
https://medium.com/@foofaraw/south-carolina-is-now-trump-hell-for-liberals-dc5c2926ce7b
(As always, no quiz.)
Yup, that sounds like MAGA alright.
I keep hoping that this election (2024) was enough "pwning the libs" to satisfy the freaky little snowflakes for a while.
The closest relative to us both (as well as physically nearest relative) is the RICH tobacco lobbyist who gave permission for MAGA to use the lot next to us for the Rittenhouse celebration. (There were even coded directional signs posted, just so the maximum intimidation could be achieved. Didn't work. I still "wear my feelings" EVERY SINGLE DAY, and continue to acquire more shirts and caps, with messages specific to THIS moment in time:
"Can wearing progressive messages EVERY DAY for FIVE YEARS make a difference? I hope so…"
https://medium.com/@foofaraw/many-more-people-will-die-because-of-trump-i-hope-i-wont-be-one-of-them-41b2f1493036
He sort of stands back and watches us die (brother, father, now mother, soon me) and waits to vacuum up any crumbs we may leave behind. Typical...
Be careful. Your MAGA neighbors most likely view those shirts and caps as targets - literally.
I'm wid youse, follow da dough.
It may be that the small segment of the electorate that can swing either way depending on their perception of the economy was lulled into voting for T. and against their economic interest. However I believe there is still a deep reservoir of learned racial hate that motivates an immovable constituency to vote for the candidate that equates immigration to invasion by foreign racial minorities. Trump and his minions created and nurtured lies about both economics and racial disparities to bring a plurality to his side, along with the useful tools created by state officials to make voting more burdensome.
Partly, however Biden and the Dem’s party machine are equally culpable as his steady as it goes rightward drift alienated both Dem and swing-state voters alike. Harris, who was arguably invisible for most of Biden’s presidency was supposed to be the party’s saviour?
The Dem’s electoral chances were toast a longtime ago…
Don't blame the Dems. Harris ran a competent center left campaign. Blame the American voter who saw the Trump Harris debate and said yes, I want the crazy old man.
Living in the rural Deep South for about 60 of my 67 years, I think this won't end until they get to relive their "Civil War" dreams.
But not based on 700,000 dead, and countless victims of "Soldier's Disease" (opiate addiction) finally ending their own lives.
They just see a combination of RED DAWN and GOD OF WAR, and they won't stop until they're met on the field of battle by non-white, non-Christian, non-male, non-cis non-conservative enemy.
The sort of opponent they've been trained to hate (by their church leaders) and to kill when asked. And with most of >340,000,000 guns in their hands, and now the American military AND a nuclear arsenal...
Their fondest dream may just come true.
The Civil War really never was truly over. That's the "lost cause" we've been hearing so much about.
That's my fear...
And this may be the truest satirical piece I've written (except for all the others):
"Lies For Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner"
https://medium.com/@foofaraw/lies-for-breakfast-lunch-and-dinner-420c272ed7d0
(No quiz, honest.)
Apparently, a lot of these "Good ol' Boys" have forgotten how many of them sacrificed life and limb to stop Hitler.
Blame an electorate, too many of whom get their daily dose of propaganda from the reichwing media machine, so greedy oligarchs can tell them that immigrant over there is stealing their job, money, vote, whatever. Now we have a regime hellbent of finding every failed monetary policy of the past and reimplementing it widely - with a very large dollop of chaos.
Reichwing media! 😂
If you don't mind, I'd like to use that.
Coming from a European background and despite living in the US for 18 years, I’ve never understood why the Dems are considered a left or left of centre (or center) party. They’re at best centre-right and more like an old school Conservative Party (think John Major’s 90’s Tories) with just a whiff of a social conscious - or at least as much as their billionaire donors allowed before they all fucked-off and disappeared up Trump’s posterior.
The Dem’s party machine basically ensured they’d just be keeping the chair warm for the Republicans when they voted for Biden as their nominee and the fact that the empathy-free and increasingly tone-deaf Harris was elected VP sealed their fate. A steady as she goes Presidency which failed to engage with the electorate outside their base (and in the end pissed-off a large section of them) was exactly what was not required as the US emerged from a global pandemic.
Trump ultimately won because he appealed to the racist, xenophobic, Christian fundamentalist and frightened underbelly which from my experiences doesn’t fester that deep below the surface in vast swathes of the US…
That's how it sorts out Terry. Twelve million people who voted for Biden in 2020 stayed home in 2024. Politics is the first substitute for religion. Put your hands on the RADIO!
I think it's a little more complicated both and situation. If the Trump myth that he's a good businessman and the Republican myth that they are better with the economy didn't have such a hold on people, enough voters might have overcome their underlying biases to elect Harris / Walz. When things are this tight, everything becomes a factor including the price of eggs, the ending of child tax credit payments, Harris refusal to put any daylight between herself and Biden, Harris and Walz being coached out of authentic moments by the consultants, and most especially the price of housing. At the end of the day, if Americans had no tolerance for racism and sexism this wouldn't have happened. But collective action for strictly moral purposes is rare - we need social pressure to act in a prosocial manner and that is dialed the wrong way in red districts where supposedly moral leaders are instead deifying Trump. This is a problem we Americans have to solve in community with each other in our daily lives.
I think Ezra Klien is onto a big problem with the Progressives. Biden got a lot of good legislation through, but almost none of it was implemented because of restrictive governance for the individual good and not the overall society. There should have been electric charging stations all over the place that people could see. Factories should have been breaking ground and applications for jobs being collected.
Everyone agrees that over-regulation is a problem. I don't trust Trump and Musk to cut regulation.
All this, plus nonstop bombardment of BS from Faux Newspeak and playing it all down in lamestream media is a recipe for disaster.
I disagree. We're racism and misogny a factor? Yes, but I live in a very blue state and almost everyone is either a low information decisionmaker or can't bring themselves to watch the news and function. We lost because their party did not reach them. What's truly damning about it is that the alternative was and is so very bad.
I was just about to post the same assessment. No one asks the egg talkers (they're as far as they can be from eggheads) how they feel about DEI and the illegal deportations of innocent immigrants. drumpf was not elected because of eggs or bacon or whatever other fantasy he offered. He was elected because of racism, misogyny, homophobia, and xenophobia. Those bigotries still drive the views of over 30% of Americans.
This is the right answer. Across the board, they bowed to fear and projected their versions of hate onto others. It's nothing to do with economic growth or business. It's just about cutting down others.
The two aren't mutually exclusive, especially so since the presidential race was so close. But even with a wildly splendiferous economy, Trump would still have gotten at least 45% of the popular vote - probably more.
Doesn't say much for us a a nation right now, does it?
I think you're largely correct about that, but don't underestimate the stupidity and magical thinking of voters who actually believe Trumpkopf is some kind of business and economic genius.
Racism and misogyny were definitely a part of it, but let’s not forget there is a trend globally of incumbents losing power post-COVID. The US got swept up in that trend like all the other countries.
Agree on all counts. And if Trump voters thought Biden's economy was bad, wait till they get a full taste of Trump's tarriff economy. Then they might fully realize what a bad economy feels like.
Richard -- You forgot blatant lies, false promises, gerrymandering, backstopping (Niki Haley, for one), buying votes, voter intimidation...
If this were the primary reason, I would have expected Trump to beat Harris by much more than he did. It surely played a part for some voters, but is it really a major reason? I doubt it. I think Harris's late campaign start left her in the proverbial one-hand-tied-behind-her -back situation. She didn't have enough time to hone her message, while Trump campaigned for 4 years.
"how clueless do you have to be to imagine that it would be a good idea to end phone service for Americans filing retirement and disability claims" - while I certainly agree that Elon Musk is clueless I still want to point out that on this and similar occasions, he does not want to end government help because he is clueless, but because he thinks poorer people than him should not be helped (I know it is a pet peeve of mine, but don't excuse malice with incompetence).
A very good point. Musk has endless malice.
Hanlon's Razor: "Never attribute to malice what you can attribute to stupidity". Malice does exist, though.
Given that Musk apparently told Joe Rogan that a great 'weakness' of Western civilization is empathy, I'd say the odds are on malice over stupidity. People are just numbers to Musk... he doesn't care about any of us. That much is crystal clear.
It's interesting to note that this is a part of the (incorrect) message the Nazis found in Nietzsche. In a very brief paraphrase, freedom means moving away from the "slave morality," of which empathy could be seen as a part. But the alternative is much more nuanced than the Nazis recognized, and than Musk appears to believe.
It is like Godwin's law, which does not apply when you are talking about actual nazis. I knew about Hanlon's razor, I just don't think it applies to this. If you do not believe people are evil on purpose, you cannot respond in an appropriate manner. Trying to cure stupidity in the guy who wants to kill you is suicidal.
Yes, that is quite right. People can be evil and stupid concurrently, though.
I suspect stupidity certainly is part of the mix, and as Bonhoeffer told us:
"Stupidity is a more dangerous enemy of the good than malice. One may protest against evil; it can be exposed and, if need be, prevented by use of force. Evil always carries within itself the germ of its own subversion in that it leaves behind in human beings at least a sense of unease. Against stupidity we are defenseless. Neither protests nor the use of force accomplish anything here; reasons fall on deaf ears; facts that contradict one’s prejudgment simply need not be believed- in such moments the stupid person even becomes critical – and when facts are irrefutable they are just pushed aside as inconsequential, as incidental. In all this the stupid person, in contrast to the malicious one, is utterly self-satisfied and, being easily irritated, becomes dangerous by going on the attack. For that reason, greater caution is called for than with a malicious one. Never again will we try to persuade the stupid person with reasons, for it is senseless and dangerous."
And also important:
"There are human beings who are of remarkably agile intellect yet stupid, and others who are intellectually quite dull yet anything but stupid. We discover this to our surprise in particular situations."
The full quote is here: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/stupidity-versus-malice-gerben-wierda/
Malice at one time had a cultural representation that has been abandoned.
The Devil.
True, but I don't know if that was (or would be) really helpful. After all, that representation was branded by the likes of The Inquisition and one needs to address the question who was the actual evil there.
My comment was not an endorsement of religion although the inquisition has gotten a bad name. Politics is the secularization of religion and as such the concepts of both are directly analogous.
No. Humans must organize our societies, that is politics. Religion is unnecessary.
Ok so did God organize religions?
¿Por qué no los dos?
He was given such a leg-up on the world, he's completely out of touch. It's why he's so into the edgelord culture of X (Twitter) and saying whatever fleeting hateful thought pops into his head, he and his acolytes alike.
Same with Trump, isn't it? In the 1995 bankruptcy that should have ended his career, lenders decided he would be more valuable alive than dead, bankrupting a casino brought him tax relief, when he did not repay Deutsche Bank they said "apart from not repaying loans he is a good customer", and I am sure there are more example were just being treated like a normal business owner would have ended him. He has never made bad experience with erratic incompetence because he was never made to feel the consequences (up to and including for trying to overthrow the government), so he is probably not able to learn at his age that it might not work the same when running a country. And if he could, he would not want to, because, well, malice.
It's true. His supporters like him for the fact that he's been bulletproof from consequences because they too have either never had a bad thing happen to them or they chalk up the reason for their hard times to religious tribulations.
I think some of them are envious of his ability to avoid consequences. During 2020, reporters uncovered the prior criminal records of Proud Boys-Patriot Prayer-Boogaloo Bois members. “Birds of a feather flock together” and Trump has been more successful at being a sociopath than they have, so they admire and envy him.
Musk is a sociopath. He has no empathy, compassion and values only wealth.
Which makes his genetics highly undesirable in civilization.
Why not both?
Frankly, it is probably both. It's just that I referred to a sentence in the article that just mentioned cluelessness. So in the end, we are all in agreement I guess, both with each other and more importantly with the title of the article (I hope that me admitting that this is a 'pet peeve' made clear that I have no substantial criticism to the article).
Sure. I’ve said the same things about the election many, many times. And frankly I think Dr. Krugman and a lot of other people in the sane community don’t give enough credit for Trump’s victory to the bare ass race hatred, homophobia, xenophobia, religious lunacy and misogyny that seem to permeate the politics of the flyover states and old confederacy. I can understand why it’s so. It’s the kind of picture you don’t want pasted into the nation’s family photo ablum.
Correct. Many actions that to a decent, rational person do not seem to make sense become more understandable once you understand what the real goal is.
It will be interesting when MUMP's (Musk/Trump) quest for power and wealth come in conflict with PUTIN'S desire to see American cities burning..
Sure, as long as the cities are Democratically-led, in blue states, with large Black populations, Trump will there on the sidelines cheering on the death and carnage.
But is that what Musk also wants? Won't that destroy some of the VALUE Musk intends to "mine" from America's taxpayers? And is outright STEALING so many years of their contributions enough to finally make cultists see reality?
Why wouldn’t Musk also cheer if places with large Black populations burn? He’s a Boer from apartheid South Africa. It’s his cultural heritage to see Black people suffer.
I don't pretend to know which is stronger in him: lust for money, or his hate.
Apparently he was willing to bet $100,000,000 on Trump's Tesla ad, so maybe that answers my question.
French Canadian here: Dear Dr., Not that I have much more to add to what you just wrote, but from here, we’ve long seen the wiggling, the manipulative seesaw, the deceptive speech, and everything else from this man. Musk will just be the latest complicit fool to burn to ashes for getting too close.
But the worst part isn’t even him—it’s the muted response from the old Democratic guard while the U.S. castle burns. The latest example? The minority leader—“leader”—caving in and somehow backing this administration’s funding bill.
God, your institutions and “leaders” are in limbo. Wake the f. up!
Western Canadian here, this us totally on point! Most democratic politicians don't have a first class clue of what Trump has done to America outside of its borders. There is rage, bewilderment, and elbows up everywhere else. With democrats looking to sustain a corrupt government by passing a funding bill, they have gone from resistors to collaborators. From our point of view, the problem is not just Trump anymore, it is Americans.
Most Americans don’t have a clue that their country has failed. The foundation of our country, The Constitution, has slowly been ripped up. Last year SCOTUS twisted the presidency into a monarchy. This year Congress has given up its powers. The only branch left somewhat intact is the judiciary, but that will fall next when Trumpists refuse to comply with the judicial order reinstating fired federal employees.
I just hope, HOPE, you are wrong!
When our democracy depends on two of the six corrupt right-wing Justices who decided that the President is immune for criminal acts he/she commits in office under the guise of official presidential business.
I have no confidence they will protect the Constitution.
Washington state American here, many of us are furious with the Democrats who have been feckless in the face of this administration. The media silos are real, people believe only what is fed to them. I am cheering for Canada and have cancelled plans for vacation travel in red states. Hoping some of us are still welcome to spend our discretionary dollars abroad to support our (former but missed) allies.
BC’er here. Please come North and spend your $$ here. You will be welcomed.
You will still be welcome in Canada and your dollars will go far. Just be prepared to drink Canadian or European beer, wine, or spirits since US alcohol products aren't for sale here.
You have an excellent point Kary. When is enough, enough? Les's shut this down before we hurt ourselves beyond repair.
But not all of us. I'm a registered Democrat and vote for and have contributed to them, but have been so frustrated with Democrats not standing up to the fascist Republicans in any kind of effective way.
The latest capitulation of the Democrats to the felon is appalling. I no longer support John Fetterman, for instance, since he couldn't wait to travel to Florida to meet with the felon. I'm sure he got some financial support from him -- or Russia. I am angry at his betrayal.
The truth is, no matter which decision the Dem Senators made, they would be blamed for the damage trump and Musk inflict.
I would have liked to see the Dems put up a fight, and a government shutdown could have been blamed on the Republicans the longer they refused to come to the table.
I fully agree. Let’s imagine for a moment what the situation will be if the republicains were actually the minority with the power to shutdown the government. I think they will not hesitate to ask for major concessions and changes to the democrats in order to avoid the shutdown!
If democrats give a free run to this government they are , in my view, as culpable as the republicans for what will come next.
Here Italian. When I saw the J6 I thought of Mussolini's March on Rome. But, silly me: they were dressed as shamans, not with black shirts. So no consequences.
Good. Everyone should hate Elon. He is a fascist pig.
And that's just ONE reason...
And a racist, born in apartheid South Africa.
Have you seen/read this article, Patt? I am making a concerted effort to share it because it seems to me to be a neglected area of public communication regarding the biography of Mr Musk:
Sunday Nation
9 Mar 2025
by Makau Matua,
Crystal Ball
Elon Musk, A Progeny Of Apartheid
It is often said that it is very difficult to erase the DNA of your native country or nationality. That’s not altogether a bad thing. Because if your adopted country completely beats your native identity out of you, then you most likely would do little to enrich your new domicile. Ideally new immigrants, or those with immigrant backgrounds, should have nuanced identities and cultural milieus that breathe new life into stale native cultures.
One of the reasons why America keeps doing better than more non-immigrant societies is its ability to absorb the best of what is new in the larger American cosmos. Dynamic societies raise their intelligence through this cross-pollination, or social intercourse. Stagnant and backward ones hate immigration. Where does Elon Musk fit?
Mr Musk, the world’s richest oligarch, was born in Pretoria, the seat of Apartheid South Africa, in 1971. He is of white British and Dutch ancestry. His mother was born in Canada but raised in South Africa. His father is South African. The family was wealthy. Mr Musk attended Pretoria Boys High School. For all practical purposes, Mr Musk was a prototypical white South African – raised by black nannies and domestic workers in white opulence amid black African oppression and segregation not dissimilar from forms of modern enslavement. I would go so far as to say this upbringing was similar to that of white children in the American plantation South during the enslavement of black people. He’s a product of one of the most hateful systems known to humanity.
Mr Musk didn’t meet, or interact with, any black people who were formally equal to him until he emigrated to Canada and later to the United States to attend college. Mr Musk’s DNA, therefore, is that of a segregationist Afrikaner or white South African who was reared and steeped in the petri-dish of the hatreds and oppressions of Apartheid. Anyone who wants to understand Mr Musk’s political DNA and his ideological outlook needs to appreciate what it was to grow up privileged in Apartheid South Africa in the 1970s and 1980s. It was a totally racially rotten society in which white Supremacy was the black-letter law—literally in black and white. That’s the crucible in which Mr Musk’s mind was unalterably forged.
Many times white immigrants to America, like Mr Musk, can go either way. They can be turned into hardcore racists, or be softened into a more tolerant breed of human. Much depends on how young they are when they come to America. The younger, the more likely they are to be suggestible. The older, the more set in their ways. Mr Musk appears to have fallen into the latter category. He appears to have been convinced of his “inherent” white superiority over the “lazier” and “less intelligent” and “slower” races.
This is one of the explanations for his gravitation to hard-right and hardcore racist ideologies and groups in America and Europe. Those are his compadres, his natural soulmates with whom he share the manifest destiny of white people to rule the world. It’s an ideology that in its purest form embraces Nazism and the logic of Germany’s Third Reich. Just look around Europe in Germany and elsewhere and see the political movements he cavorts with. And he does so unapologetically. It’s no wonder that in the United States Mr Musk is in bed with the vilest racists that now hold the levers of power and sway in Washington.
Two things stand out about Mr Musk’s more recent moves. The first was his purchase of Twitter, which he quickly renamed “X” like some sinister symbol from the occult. X may be the name of the devil for all I care because I can’t fathom what exactly was in his head. But it’s what he’s done with the social media site since taking over that’s of serious concern. He’s removed all protections against hate speech. X is now a sewer in Lucifer’s Kingdom. Anything goes. It’s not even the Wild West. It’s downright the underworld—seedy, crude, racist, misogynistic, and savagely violent. It’s been taken over by marauding white supremacists. Where once we went there to debate, now we go there to witness the crudest and the nastiest of people take each other down.
The other more important move Mr Musk has made is to take over the US government. That’s right—Mr Musk now runs America with President Trump as his puppet. The puppet master seems to have brought the values of Apartheid to the White House. In Mr Trump, Mr Musk has found a willing dupe, an evil simpleton whose inner racist proclivities have been let loose. Rather than America changing him, Mr Musk, Apartheid’s progeny, has brought Apartheid back to life.
***************
Makau Mutua is SUNY Distinguished Professor and Margaret W. Wong Professorat Buffalo Law School, The State University of New York. On X: @makaumutua
The problem with asserting that Musk's background as a privileged Afrikaner led to his hateful disdain for everyone else is that tens of thousands of American children grew up in similar situations. While my family was not particularly well off, both my parents worked, so my siblings and I were raised by a series of poorly educated Black nannies/housekeepers in SC. None of us grew up to be racists nor did most of our similar friends. There is something more at work with Musk.
I believe people who have dark triad personality disorders (sociopathic spectrum) are born that way. They are only mimicking any show of empathy or concern for others in hopes that people believe that they are decent human beings.
I am a retired mental health counselor. I don't diagnose people in absentia, but if Mr. Musk has antisocial personality disorder (the actual diagnosis for such a personality), it is possible that some traits were present innately. It's also true that people can choose their behavior though many do not choose to behave appropriately.
Admittedly, I am not educated in psychology and bow to your expertise on the subject.
When I first learned about "Dark Triad personality disorders." It was like an epiphany finally: right-wing mentality and how they all seem to lack empathy or the ability to imagine what life must be like for anybody else.
While I don't know the science, it seems like the percentage of people who lack empathy approach half of the population.
I had not read this, but have read other accounts of his growing up. Thank you.
I could surmise about his growing up and had not read the Isaacson bio on him, but this article appealed to me because the author was a naturalized U.S. citizen, too; was originally from the African continent, too; and is both an attorney and professor of law. On those counts alone I would like to see Prof Mutua's article circulate because I feel that the larger public is not assessing realistically the M/ump Rascist Duo.
Thank you for sharing this article!
If you were surprised that any of what is happening now is actually happening, then you weren’t listening pre election.
FOX and the comedian, wrestler of authority Joe Rogan told you it was GOOD
Theresa Graybill: if you liquidated your 401k on January 20th and now have gold bars in a shoebox in your closet - then I commend you and your superior prescience...
Warren Buffett would disagree. Buy quality and hold, never try to time the market.
I guess that is why he has been selling Stokes and now has most of his money in cash,
I'd have bought gold, but I'm no match for the folks with guns.
What always gets me is he lied and lied and lied yet he also told the truth about what he wanted to do and some of us heard the truth amongst the lies.
Some on the far, far, far right have insisted he's been doing exactly what he said he would do, so you have no reason to complain!
Well, I certainly don't remember Trump promising to annex Canada, but other than that... yeah, this is exactly what he said he would do.
The latest in the idiot's trade wars, in which Canada was going to impose big tariffs on electricity that is supplied to some US states in response to the tariffs that the felon was going to impose on Canada:
"And can you imagine Canada stooping so low as to use electricity that so affects the life of innocent people, as a bargaining chip and threat?"
The felon actually said this. What a 'strongman'. 🙄
Everything he and musk have done most of their lives have hurt innocent people, just to satisfy their greed, hate, and sociopathic personalities.
The felon and his toadies took away women's healthcare, are aiming to do the same with birth control, have indiscriminately fired thousands of people whose jobs they don't even understand, and have demonized anyone who isn't a white male. How about all those innocent people? Now the felon is whining about something that he brought on himself -- and us. Really.
You couldn't write a play with a plot this stupid because no one would believe it. I wish we didn't have to. What a moron.
I would only add one amendment: He and his toadies are KILLING women by withholding healthcare. People are DYING AND BEING PERMANENTLY MAIMED because of him. And it’s barely covered in MSM.
You are correct, sadly. MSM has not reported anything past the first few tragic cases. Shame on them.
The felon and his toadies do not care about the validity or legality of their arguments or how it makes them look in the eye of the neutral observer. They respond situationally to get their base behind their preferred cause of action. That's all of their strategy. The actual action is never much analyzed. It is spur of the moment, reactionary.
For those who might have missed it, here's the most recent example of the Fascist-in-Chief's mental/verbal acuity: "I broke into Los Angeles, can you believe it, I had to break in,… I invaded Los Angeles and we opened up the water, and the water is now flowing down. They have so much water they don't know what to do. They were sending it out to the Pacific for environmental reasons. Ok, can you believe it? And in the meantime they lost 25,000 houses. They lost, and nobody’s ever seen anything like it. But, uh, we have the water—uh, love to show you a picture, you’ve seen the picture—the water’s flowing through the half-pipes, you know, we have the big half-pipes that go down. Used to, twenty-five years ago they used to have plenty of water but they turned it off for, again, for environmental reasons. Well, I turned it on for environmental reasons and also fire reasons but, ah, and I’ve been asking them to do that during my first term, I said do it, I didn’t think anything like could happen like this, but they didn’t have enough water. Now the farmers are going to have water for their land and the water’s in there, but I actually had to break in. We broke in to do it because, ah, we had people who were afraid to give water. In particular they were trying to protect a certain little fish. And I said, how do you protect a fish if you don’t have water? They didn’t have any water so they’re protecting a fish. And that didn’t work out too well by the way….”
- Forward, into the Void
I feel guilty clicking "like" but I'm really glad that you posted this.
I had read this quote, a few hours ago in a different context, OUT LOUD to my husband, because it was soooo utterly insane and, of course, inarticulate. Every time he opens his mouth...
"I invaded Los Angeles..."
Can you f'ing imagine?
Yeah, he's an idiot, who doesn't know how anything works.
The quote is terrible enough on its own, but when you understand the consequences of his idiocy it becomes terrifying. The water he dumped is meant for the dry growing season in the San Joaquin Valley. Because of him, It’s possible farmers will not have enough water to bring crops to maturity this year. That means scarcer food supplies down the road. All for a photo op massaging his ego.
Oh, yes, and those deprived of water would be his voters.
I thought they got him to shut off the water. He told the Army Corps of Engineers to open up dams in the Central Valley so it could go to LA. Only there isn't the piping/pumping system to do it. So they were flooding parts of the central valley and sending the summer water that farmers rely on out to the ocean. Trump didn't know there are big mountains between Bakersfield and LA.
The MAGAs will never admit they were wrong. They will happily take us all down with them rather than abandon their ridiculous delusions about Trumps competency as a leader.
Kind of like hanging out with Jim Jones or David Koresh.
MAGA is definitely like a cult.
Like?
They might if they lose Social Security and Medicare/Medicaid.
Not even then. Remember Jim Jones’ cult?
More like force us at the point of a gun.
Paul, Please talk to us sometime about how the value of the dollar--declining at a rate similar to the stockmarket--fits into all of this. It will clearly amplify the impact of tarifs, and given growing anti-US sentiment abroad, the greater affordability of consumer goods abroad will not offset things.
Elon is one thing but Lutnick is Steve Bannon on steroids !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It is no wonder! when we send this administration over to Europe to speak for the US, why the WORLD is repulsed ! Canada was Zelenskyy'd yesterday in full disrespect and contempt ....... this is UGLY ... WHERE did they all crawl out from ???? And they have the POWER...We have to get America BACK from their grips = there is NO CHOICE
Hello from an Italian. Trump's idea of using tariffs to bring all the production to your shore reminds me of fascist autarchy. It brought so much wealth that my grandfather had to use cardboard shoes. Best wishes for getting back up after this damage.
Karoline the blonde press secretary said that the reason for the tariffs is Trump is forcing manufacturing back to the US and ending the global economy. Who is going to work those jobs? And how much will this increase prices of those items? He’s deporting the manufacturing workforce. Nothing makes sense.
She’s wrong. GM, Ford and Chrysler moved a portion of their manufacturing to Canada in the 1960s to encourage Canadians to buy their cars. Called the Auto Pact and it worked well.
If the manufacturers move back to the US, they’ll never sell another car in Canada.
Too much for Trump & Karoline to understand.
Even before Trump most areas of the country were so short of labor (especially semi-skilled) that the factories were not investing in expanded production because they could not get the labor to fill them.
Do you mean Mendacious Barbie?
It's playing for the bleachers.
What Trump and Congressional Republicans are trying to do and are doing is erase all progressive legislation since 1933 and return the US to a 19th century form of capitalist state with a laissez-faire form of government where the federal government only consists of a police force for internal security to protect life and property and an army for external security. Period. No social security, no public healthcare, no federal support for education, no federal support for affordable housing, no federal support for scientific research or infrastructure, no federal regulation of banks or financial markets, no regulation of business for the common good, no protection of minorities. In short, a complete erasure of progressive legislation since 1933. The only problem is, there was a reason for that progressive legislation: we had a government of the people, by the people, acting for the people. What we have now is government by wannabe king acting for the oligarchs and rich.
You are correct. There was a reason for that progressive legislation. For example, back in the old days, most people lived out on the farm and when people got old, they lived with children or the family who took care of them. When the industrial revolution came, a lot of people moved to the cities and worked in factories and offices. When many of these people got too old to work, they had no income or anyone to take care of them. It was a problem having a large group of destitute elderly people. That is why FDR and others came up with social security. And it was designed to be self-funding which it is.
The same with EPA (most people don't want to breath dirty air or drink dirty water). Most people like for their bank to have deposit insurance (which the banks pay for) so that they don't lose all of their money if a bank fails. And so on down the list.
The country and society were a lot different in the 1880's compared to 2025.
The New Deal was passed because the old policies led to the great depression.
He wants to return to the excesses of the Gilded Age, only to exceed them.
Haha, I’m not saying anything, but those Teslas get out of my way. I drive a Toyota NASCAR baby!!!!
I’m phunny!
There's something called accelerationism. Bugs like Peter Thiel are for it. The basic idea is that society is screwed up and needs to be destroyed before it can be made more better.
Yeh, it's nuts.
I wished the abhorrent craeture would volunteer and destroy himself first.
I’ve heard of that too. Never understood it or why people would think that.
It's twisted nonsense
Something he was attracted to as a teenager, and he never matured beyond that.
For those who have not seen it, Jen Rubin is asking all of us to call Senator Chuck Schumer and insist he votes NO on the CR today.
Capitol Hill Switchboard opens at 7 a.m. Eastern Time.
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