It's maybe the most incredible gaffe of the year -- and that's saying something -- former President George W. Bush tried to take aim at Vladimir Putin, and it boomeranged right back on him.
W. was speaking at SMU's George W. Bush Institute when he groused about Putin's invasion of Ukraine ... he was trying to say the war was the brainchild of a tyrant who brazenly invaded a neighboring country without any justification. But, here's how it came out ... "Political opponents are imprisoned or otherwise eliminated from participating in the electoral process. The result is an absence of checks and balances in Russia and the decision of one man to launch a wholly unjustified and brutal invasion of Iraq."
Well, he quickly corrected himself, saying "I mean of Ukraine," and then just shrugged.
After, 4 years of President Trump . Which was so bad. So, so, so, so.. so....bad.
My bar of expectation for Republican Presidents is extremely low. Limbo bar low.
So I'm not as hard on W. as I was pre-Trump.
While I understand the idea of things be relative, Trump in no way diminishes the severity of W’s actions to my mind.
And when I think about it. I feel the same way.
But it doesn't come naturally for me, like it did pre-Trump. I have to remind myself to not judge W. relatively.
I'm not arguing that my relative judging is correct. I openly acknowledge it is wrong. I'm just recognizing my own faulty thought process. I think/know others feel the same way. And they are wrong too.
I think it's a form of Trump PTSD.
I’ve been stuck in that same feeling.. feeling sorry the guy but I remember W is actually worse. Over a million civilian casualties.. then add on the military losses.. patriot act etc.
Joined: 15 Sep 2012 Posts: 29152 Location: La La Land
Posted: Sat May 21, 2022 2:08 pm Post subject:
Robblake wrote:
I’ve been stuck in that same feeling.. feeling sorry the guy but I remember W is actually worse. Over a million civilian casualties.. then add on the military losses.. patriot act etc.
What is it about Trump that puts him in a whole different category of horrible than W?
I can't put my finger on it. Its tough to explain.
One guy tried to commit insurrection and steal an election so he could turn the US into an authoritarian state -- and the other guy didn't.
After Trump left office, the entire Republican party became the Trump Republican Authoritarian party, supports the big lie, and will try to steal the presidency again in 2024.
In the immediate aftermath of Bush leaving office, no Republican wanted anything to do with him.
Trump is a thousand times worse because he is a disease that infected the entire GOP and half the country.
Bush was horrible. Trump is evil.
(If you think Bush was worse because he caused/created a million casualties, you could make an argument that Trump created a million COVID and other deaths.)
(Tucker Carlson STRUGGLES To Distance Himself From Buffalo Shooter)
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Tucker weakly deflects accusations he influenced the Buffalo shooter by making the incredibly disingenuous argument that anyone who criticizes Joe Biden is labeled a racist.
(Criminologist: Trump Will Be Criminally Charged (Gregg Barak Interview))
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--Gregg Barak, Emeritus Professor of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Eastern Michigan University author of the book "Criminology on Trump" joins David to discuss how Trump and his family skirt laws and operate like a mob family.
Joined: 26 Apr 2004 Posts: 17197 Location: In a no-ship
Posted: Sat May 21, 2022 11:31 pm Post subject:
Bush's presidency was an absolute disaster, and while Trump is a much more horrible person, Bush and his circle were completely malicious and cruel, and I'd argue his presidency was worse for the country and the world by a mile.
Bush only became president because of shady election rigging in a state his brother was governor of and a partisan supreme court issuing a 5-4 ruling SO BAD they said it shouldn't be used as precedent for anything else -- literally. He stole an election 20 years before Trump even dreamed about it.
Bush also dog whistled to evangelicals during his first election. Going into South Carolina when McCain had momentum from New Hampshire, Karl Rove came up with this: "Would you be more or less likely to vote for John McCain…if you knew he had fathered an illegitimate black child?"... referring to McCain's adopted daughter. How would things have been different if McCain had won that primary? Probably no Sarah Palin in 2008, which was the start of the GOP insanity that led to 2016.
If Gore had been president, we'd have really focused on tackling climate change 22 years ago instead of now being past the tipping point where no matter what we do, even in the best case scenario, things will just merely be "bad", and at worst, completely catastrophic. We're still doing nothing about this, so yeah, our great grandkids are going to inherit a wasteland of a world where probably millions of people will die to hunger and displacement.
On that note, global population displacement and migration due to climate change is arguably THE REASON for the rise in nationalism/populism in the US and western Europe that you can directly correlate to Trump's victory, Brexit and other related political events.
As you said, millions dead in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Torture, renditions, Guantanamo Bay (still open). Our global reputation has been complete trash since 2003.
The Patriot Act was one of the worst pieces of legislation in this country's history. The 4th amendment has been completely dead since Bush.
Bush was on vacation during one of the worst natural disasters in the country's history (Katrina). He dismantled the government apparatus that was supposed to respond to such event. He didn't care because it mostly affected black citizens, and he stayed on vacation while the city drowned.
Clinton left a budget surplus and Bush passed disastrous tax cuts and a horrible Medicare prescription drug bill that's one of the main reason drugs are so ungodly expensive in this country. We still can't fix that.
All of this culminated in the worst recession in this country's history since the Great Depression. Debt went from 5 trillion to more than 10 in his term. It went to 20 in Obama’s term trying to fix the mess. Forever wars and Great Recession absolutely ruined our treasury.
Gore had a plan to salvage social security (remember the lock box?). Bush instead put the looting into high gear. Now most born after the mid 70’s will be lucky to see half of what they should.
He let Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, John Bolton and all of the rest of the PNAC and Heritage Foundation neocons write the country's energy and foreign policy, and then they turned up again during Trump's administration. It was a minor miracle that we didn't enter a war with Iran in 2018/19 after Bolton became National Security Advisor.
Trump may be personally evil, but he's incompetent. He bungled the country's covid response horribly, but at least we started Operation Warp Speed late in his term. As usual, it was a colossal screwup, but at least there was enough there for Biden to salvage things. Bush was evil AND had competent people who allowed him to carry out looting the country and setting us on the road we are at today. Their fingerprints were all over the Trump administration's minor legislative victories, his executive appointments, and they put forward the names of his judicial nominees.
Bush nominated the Supreme Court justice who just wrote the majority opinion, and led the charge to dismantle Roe v Wade. The Heritage Foundation praised his appointment.
Bush's election "victory" in 2000 is when everything started really going to hell. We had a couple years of hope during Obama's first term, but then Bush's contemporaries in the senate sabotaged him after 2012, stole one of his justices, and continued the destruction of the country after 2016.
Of course, all of this and many of the players have been the same since Reagan’s administration, but Bush should never be let off the hook for just how bad things kicked into high gear during his terms.
And it's very old within the US. Watch Gangs of NY and while the movie is fiction, notice the nativists against the immigrants. Power structures always try to hold onto their power.
Yep.
Despite being from the "superior race", alot of these shooters are not very powerful people. They are poor or best case middle class. And they are getting brainwashed and played by a Conservative power structure.
I mean, killing AAs in response to "the great replacement" makes no sense. But nothing about that conspiracy makes sense, so I guess I shouldn't be surprised.
It's been my experience that the people most into being the "master race" have a tendency to be mediocre at best examples.
And how does it make sense to have extreme fear about the white race becoming extinct? How could the superior "master race" be so fragile that the mere presence of non-white people can cause it to go extinct? Things that make you go, hmmmm.
In AA they describe a certain addict personality type as being "an egomaniac with an inferiority complex." That describes almost the entirety of the MAGA Republican party at this point -- starting with their orange avatar.
Just curious, isn’t these whole GOP multi states law banning CRT would include this replacement theory also, legally?
And it's very old within the US. Watch Gangs of NY and while the movie is fiction, notice the nativists against the immigrants. Power structures always try to hold onto their power.
Yep.
Despite being from the "superior race", alot of these shooters are not very powerful people. They are poor or best case middle class. And they are getting brainwashed and played by a Conservative power structure.
I mean, killing AAs in response to "the great replacement" makes no sense. But nothing about that conspiracy makes sense, so I guess I shouldn't be surprised.
It's been my experience that the people most into being the "master race" have a tendency to be mediocre at best examples.
And how does it make sense to have extreme fear about the white race becoming extinct? How could the superior "master race" be so fragile that the mere presence of non-white people can cause it to go extinct? Things that make you go, hmmmm.
In AA they describe a certain addict personality type as being "an egomaniac with an inferiority complex." That describes almost the entirety of the MAGA Republican party at this point -- starting with their orange avatar.
Just curious, isn’t these whole GOP multi states law banning CRT would include this replacement theory also, legally?
They want to ban anything that may put them (or the white race or straight people or Christianity) in a bad light or makes them uncomfortable. So they probably want to ban discussion of "replacement theory" in schools so their children don't learn about the bad things their parents are doing. The whole point is that THEY want to indoctrinate their children into their cult of racism, misogyny and bigotry without reality and history intruding. Also known as the "culture wars."
Joined: 02 May 2005 Posts: 90299 Location: Formerly Known As 24
Posted: Sun May 22, 2022 7:41 am Post subject:
This is a continuation of the movement to try to make sure society doesn’t tell white evangelical children anything that counteracts the inculcation they get at home and church. For a while they lost the battle of the public square, and that has been their focus, to take over school boards, local governments, and ultimately, the courts and federal government so they can recapture the “perfect” past of a white straight Christian nationalist, neocolonial empire ruled by straight rich white American men. I thing that stand in the way, be it the law, science, reason, alliances, are to be tolerated. Note how quickly they adapted to kill nato, befriend the Russians, deny covid, all to perpetuate a fragile myth. _________________ “We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.” ― Elie Wiesel
At least 357 sitting Republican legislators in closely contested battleground states have used the power of their office to discredit or try to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, according to a review of legislative votes, records and official statements by The New York Times.
The tally accounts for 44 percent of the Republican legislators in the nine states where the presidential race was most narrowly decided. In each of those states, the election was conducted without any evidence of widespread fraud, leaving election officials from both parties in agreement on the victory of Joseph R. Biden Jr.
The Times’s analysis exposes how deeply rooted lies and misinformation about former President Donald J. Trump’s defeat have become in state legislatures, which play an integral role in U.S. democracy. In some, the false view that the election was stolen — either by fraud or as a result of pandemic-related changes to the process — is now widely accepted as fact among Republican lawmakers, turning statehouses into hotbeds of conspiratorial thinking and specious legal theories.
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In an interview with The Times, Mr. Trump acknowledged that in deciding whom to endorse in state legislative races, he is looking for candidates who want state legislatures to have a say in naming presidential electors — a position that could let politicians short-circuit the democratic process and override the popular vote.
“In 2020, the plan of Trump and his allies hinged ultimately on getting state legislatures to overturn the will of the voters,” said Ben Berwick, a counsel at Protect Democracy, a nonpartisan group. “If past is prologue, that same strategy is likely to be central to efforts to subvert an election in the future.”
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Four days before the House of Representatives was set to formally tally the Electoral College votes for Mr. Biden, an act long considered purely ceremonial, Mr. Trump’s advisers gathered more than 300 state legislators on a Zoom call, according to a report by the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.
The former president and his allies pushed for lawmakers to change the certified results sent to Congress. Many experts said such a move would have been unconstitutional.
Peter Navarro, a former top White House adviser, told those in the group that it was their responsibility to act, describing the situation as dire. Mr. Trump told them that legislatures were the linchpin in his strategy, more important than the courts or Congress, according to the report.
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Days after Mr. Trump spoke to lawmakers, members of the Pennsylvania state legislature wrote a letter to Senator Mitch McConnell, then the Senate majority leader, and Representative Kevin McCarthy, the Republican leader in the House, asking them to delay certification. On Jan. 5, more than 90 legislators from Georgia, Arizona, Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania sent a letter to Vice President Mike Pence asking him to delay the certification of the election.
Mr. Trump has continued to try to convince state legislatures that they can “decertify” the 2020 election, a process that has no basis in either the United States Constitution nor state constitutions.
State lawmakers have responded to Mr. Trump’s calls for action largely by overhauling voting procedures. A total of 34 laws that include restrictions on voting were passed in 2021, according to a review by The Times, and 18 laws were passed this year, according to a report from the States United Democracy Center, a nonprofit group. Some limited drop boxes or mail-in voting. Others put more power over elections in the hands of state legislatures, rather than local election officials or secretaries of state.
IMO, committing insurrectionist war on YOUR OWN COUNTRY to turn it into a permanent authoritarian state ruled by Republicans is WORSE than going to war with ANOTHER country.
(Zakaria: Democrats learned wrong lessons from Trump's 2016 victory)
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CNN's Fareed Zakaria argues that President Joe Biden's decision to leave in place some of his predecessor's policies harms the middle and working classes the most.
In case you think people like me and Omar are making this stuff up or being alarmists -- here they are telling us explicitly:
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Ron Filipkowski 🇺🇦 @RonFilipkowski
GA GOP Gov candidate Kandiss Taylor today: “We’re gonna do a political rally and we’re gonna honor Jesus .. They’re not gonna tell us ‘separation of church and state.’ We are the church! We run this state! .. The church runs the state of Georgia!”
Here's another snippet:
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GA Gov candidate Kandiss Taylor says she will execute Sheriffs by firing squad if they don’t “do the will of the people. I don’t mind handcuffing them either .. The Constitution says when you commit treason, it’s death by firing squad. I didn’t write it - it’s in there.”
She's not running for some school board seat. SHE'S RUNNING FOR GOVERNOR OF GEORGIA.
More on why "Trump is worse." He's endorsing a CIVIL WAR if R's don't win next time:
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Adam Kinzinger @AdamKinzinger
Any of my fellow Republicans wanna speak out now? Or are we just wanting to get through “just one more election first…?”
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George Conway🇺🇦 @gtconway3d
Nothing to see here. Just a former president of the United States sharing a social media post advocating or predicting civil war in the United States. No biggie
More on the immorality of the Republican party. This is a GOP candidate for the United States Senate. There is no equivalent type of candidate on the left. None.
Quote:
No Lie with Brian Tyler Cohen @NoLieWithBTC
NEW: Herschel Walker just said he wants to force victims of rape and incest to give birth. He said “there’s no exception” allowed because he believes in “life.” Walker is accused by his ex-wife of holding a gun to her head and razor to her throat while threatening to shoot her.
He's running against Warnock, a squeaky clean minister who is informed and eloquent and fights for the rights of regular people. Walker is a semi-literate, uninformed buffoon.
NEW: Senate Republicans are vowing to filibuster the Domestic Terrorism Prevention Act after it passed the House on a near-party line vote. The bill would focus on preventing white supremacist terrorism. “It sounds terrible,” Josh Hawley said, per @thehill.
God forbid we should root out terrorism and protect the American people from terrorism. I wonder what their objection could be??? I guess they think the "terrorist" label only applies to "brown" terrorists, not "white domestic" terrorists.
It's not just the Catholic church that covers up massive sexual abuse. This is why a large segment on the right believes in the Q-conspiracy -- they know damn well how pervasive sexual abuse is in their own communities so of course they project it onto Democratic politicians/Hollywood etc.
The same Catholic church whose members John Roberts, Amy Coney Barrett, Clarence Thomas, Brett Kavanaugh and Samuel Alito are about to inflict their religious beliefs on an an entire country after 50 years of settled law.
Joined: 15 Sep 2012 Posts: 29152 Location: La La Land
Posted: Sun May 22, 2022 3:39 pm Post subject:
If Trump ever gets back in the WH. Good luck getting him out of there.
DI made a fantastic argument for Bush being worse.
But Trump is anti-democratic. He doesn't want to be President for 4 more years. He wants to be king, for life.
Donald Trump is endorsing election deniers to control the voting process. Kim Rogers, Executive Director for the Democratic Association of Secretaries of State joined American Voices with Alicia Menendez to discuss the threat to democracy.
(Giuliani Met With Jan. 6 Committee For Over Seven Hours)
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The Guardian's Hugo Lowell joins Way Too Early to discuss Rudy Giuliani's meeting with the January 6 select committee as well as the committee's plans for public hearings.
(Biden Says The U.S. Will Defend Taiwan If China Invades)
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President Joe Biden said Monday that the United States would be willing to intervene militarily if China were to invade the self-governing island of Taiwan. Shortly after the president’s comments, a White House official appeared to walk back the declaration that the U.S could intervene militarily. The Morning Joe panel discusses.
Joined: 10 Dec 2006 Posts: 52624 Location: Making a safety stop at 15 feet.
Posted: Mon May 23, 2022 7:19 am Post subject:
Halflife wrote:
FernieBee wrote:
CNN
(Why Smerconish says he can’t see Biden running in 2024)
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CNN's Michael Smerconish says President Biden faces a category five political storm and argues that he should consider announcing he's not running again in 2024.
unfortunately, there isn't anyone for dems to wrap their arms around.
They cant throw anyone up there and expect to win unless trump runs again. If biden isn't running they better hope its not someone from far left.
This comment reminds me of this description of voting:
Voting isn’t marriage, it’s public transport. You’re not waiting for “the one” who’s absolutely perfect: you’re getting the bus, and if there isn’t one to your destination, you don’t not travel- you take the one going closest. _________________ You thought God was an architect, now you know
He’s something like a pipe bomb ready to blow
And everything you built that’s all for show
goes up in flames
In 24 frames
(Stacey Abrams makes eyebrow-raising comment ahead of Georgia primary)
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Republicans are criticizing Democratic gubernatorial candidate for Georgia Stacey Abrams after she skewered the Republican talking point that Georgia is the "best state in the country to do business" when it is, according to her, the "worst state in the country to live."
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