Whither the GOP post Trump 2020 election loss
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I mean, come on.
The House Oversight and Accountability Committee shuffled its schedule, bumping a hearing to hold Merrick Garland in contempt of Congress so some of its members could instead attend former President Trump’s hush money trial.
The panel was set to meet early Thursday, an hour after a twin resolution censuring Garland would likewise be considered by the House Judiciary Committee. Instead, it will now meet at 8 p.m. so numerous Republicans who sit on the panel — including Freedom Caucus members — could attend the trial.
A source confirmed to The Hill that the last-minute shift was to allow the lawmakers to make the trip to New York
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J.D. Vance wasn’t just some hillbilly after all

His journey from author to Trumpist senator is a fable for the GOP’s devolution.[J. D. Vance's book] “Hillbilly Elegy” was embraced on the right for its indictment of cultural decay and its call to self-reliance; it was lauded on the left because it offered an explanation as to why good people would gravitate toward someone as reprehensible as Trump. That’s not my word, by the way — it was Vance’s, who called himself a Never Trumper at the time and warned Christian voters: “When we apologize for this man, Lord help us.”
... By 2022, when [Vance] ran for the open seat left by retiring Sen. Rob Portman, Vance had gone from Never Trump to Long Live the King; his conversion included a spirited embrace of Trump’s stolen-election nonsense. His financier in that race was billionaire Peter Thiel, who had also bankrolled Trump in 2016.

Now Vance is gunning to be Trump’s running mate, which is why he bravely waded through the leftist filth of Manhattan to show his fealty. ... -
Trump-backed Republican platform tempers language on abortion
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The platform, a basic statement of policy principles, takes Trump’s position that the issue of abortion now is one to be determined by individual states. It makes no mention of a federal ban or protecting a fetus as a person under the U.S. Constitution – tenets that have been included in past platforms and were demanded by a cadre of influential evangelicals. -
Trump is pushing falsehoods. Some Republicans are worried about the fallout.
https://www.politico.com/news/2024/10/11/trump-disinformation-immigrants-storm-00183378
Donald Trump is relying more than ever on easily debunked and often bizarre conspiracy theories and rumors — often to the frustration of even his fellow Republicans.
In the final weeks of the campaign, the former president has been toggling between outlandish claims about Haitians and other migrants, false descriptions of the federal response to recent hurricanes and incorrect statistics about the economy and crime.
Lots of examples of Republicans debunking various falsehoods pushed by Trump.
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Recent on the record comments by John Kelly
Among other things, Kelly has said Trump made favorable comments about Adolf Hitler, denigrated disabled veterans and argued Trump would rule like a dictator if returned to the White House. The Atlantic magazine also reported that Trump had expressed disdain for the military.
and
"He certainly prefers the dictator approach to government," "Certainly the former president is in the far-right area, he's certainly an authoritarian, admires people who are dictators - he has said that. So he certainly falls into the general definition of fascist, for sure."
And in typical President Trump fashion, his response was:
“John Kelly is a LOWLIFE, and a bad General, whose advice in the White House I no longer sought,
I know we have talked about this before, but it amazes me that so so many people who worked very very closely with President Trump have such a negative opinion of him, yet President Trump still is held up as this beacon of greatness by quite a few people.
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Senator McConnell speaks:
In the minority leader's quotes revealed in the book, he doesn't hold back, reportedly slamming Trump as "stupid," "erratic," a "despicable human being," and a "narcissist."
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In the weeks after the 2020 presidential election and before the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol riot, McConnell said, "It’s not just the Democrats who are counting the days" until Trump is no longer president.
He further praised the "good judgment of the American people" for voting Trump out in 2020.
"They’ve had just enough of the misrepresentations, the outright lies almost on a daily basis, and they fired him," he said, according to the excerpt.
McConnell additionally blamed Trump for the House Republicans losing the majority in the lower chamber in the 2018 midterm elections. He "has every characteristic you would not want a president to have," he said.
:woman-facepalming: Please explain how President Trump is beloved by 30-40% of the US public?
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Don't look now, but it looks like he's outperforming 2016 and 2020.
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@Jolly I have predicted he will win the president, but my simple mind is baffled as to how this is the case. LOL
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I think I would still be baffled.
If I went up to people and gave them an anonymous description of President Trumps characteristics and history of comments and actions, and then asked them
would you want this person to babysit your kids/grandkids?
would you want this person to date your daughter/granddaughter?
would you want to be a contractor for his business with payment after completion?
do you trust him to tell you the truth?
do you trust him to keep his word?
would you want to work for him?
do you think he cares about you and your family?
would you want him handling your money?
etc.How many "yes" answers do you think I would get?
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People aren't voting for him for any of the above jobs. Well, I guess in a way he is handling our money, and his voters do seem to have conviction that their money is in better hands with Trump than Kamala.
Yes, I suspect his voters believe he cares, in the abstract, about their families. He has convinced them of that, maybe more so than Kamala has convinced them of that, even as she reminds them for the millionth time that she, too, grew up in a middle class family.
Just for the record, did you believe that Kamala "cares about you and your family"? Does that heavily inform your voting preference? Should Kamala make an even greater effort to convince the country that she cares? Does that make for a better politician and leader, or is the presidency more of a thinking person's game after all, rather than a feeling person's?
I suspect the great majority of contractors who've ever worked for a Trump owned business have, in fact, gotten paid. I don't choose to live in fun narratives where Trump is a super villain who never tells the truth and always cheats in everything. That is more Tim "big fat liar" Walz territory.
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People aren't voting for him for any of the above jobs. Well, I guess in a way he is handling our money, and his voters do seem to have conviction that their money is in better hands with Trump than Kamala.
Yes, I suspect his voters believe he cares, in the abstract, about their families. He has convinced them of that, maybe more so than Kamala has convinced them of that, even as she reminds them for the millionth time that she, too, grew up in a middle class family.
Just for the record, did you believe that Kamala "cares about you and your family"? Does that heavily inform your voting preference? Should Kamala make an even greater effort to convince the country that she cares? Does that make for a better politician and leader, or is the presidency more of a thinking person's game after all, rather than a feeling person's?
I suspect the great majority of contractors who've ever worked for a Trump owned business have, in fact, gotten paid. I don't choose to live in fun narratives where Trump is a super villain who never tells the truth and always cheats in everything. That is more Tim "big fat liar" Walz territory.
I will preface that I think VP Harris is a terrible candidate. The two major parties are running Loser #1 and Loser #2.
@Horace said in Whither the GOP post Trump 2020 election loss:
Just for the record, did you believe that Kamala "cares about you and your family"?
More than President Trump for sure. The only person President Trump cares about is himself and I think he would "sell me down the river" if it would help himself.
@Horace said in Whither the GOP post Trump 2020 election loss:
Does that heavily inform your voting preference?
See my note above. I think the fact that President Trump puts himself above everything and I believe that all his decisions take that into account. I am not sure it is a conscious thing, but it is there. If a decision is good for him, but bad for the rest of the country, he will choose himself.
@Horace said in Whither the GOP post Trump 2020 election loss:
Should Kamala make an even greater effort to convince the country that she cares?
Doesn't matter at this point. Her cooking hamburgers at a barbecue or President Trump "working" a shift a McDonalds does not make me think either are more "in touch" with me.
@Horace said in Whither the GOP post Trump 2020 election loss:
Does that make for a better politician and leader, or is the presidency more of a thinking person's game after all, rather than a feeling person's?
Both are important. It is not a "binary" choice. Having zero of one or the other is not a good thing.
@Horace said in Whither the GOP post Trump 2020 election loss:
I don't choose to live in fun narratives where Trump is a super villain who never tells the truth and always cheats in everything.
Based on an obviously outside view, do you think that President Trump is at the norm of people in this regard or above/below the norm?
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I will preface that I think VP Harris is a terrible candidate. The two major parties are running Loser #1 and Loser #2.
@Horace said in Whither the GOP post Trump 2020 election loss:
Just for the record, did you believe that Kamala "cares about you and your family"?
More than President Trump for sure. The only person President Trump cares about is himself and I think he would "sell me down the river" if it would help himself.
@Horace said in Whither the GOP post Trump 2020 election loss:
Does that heavily inform your voting preference?
See my note above. I think the fact that President Trump puts himself above everything and I believe that all his decisions take that into account. I am not sure it is a conscious thing, but it is there. If a decision is good for him, but bad for the rest of the country, he will choose himself.
@Horace said in Whither the GOP post Trump 2020 election loss:
Should Kamala make an even greater effort to convince the country that she cares?
Doesn't matter at this point. Her cooking hamburgers at a barbecue or President Trump "working" a shift a McDonalds does not make me think either are more "in touch" with me.
@Horace said in Whither the GOP post Trump 2020 election loss:
Does that make for a better politician and leader, or is the presidency more of a thinking person's game after all, rather than a feeling person's?
Both are important. It is not a "binary" choice. Having zero of one or the other is not a good thing.
@Horace said in Whither the GOP post Trump 2020 election loss:
I don't choose to live in fun narratives where Trump is a super villain who never tells the truth and always cheats in everything.
Based on an obviously outside view, do you think that President Trump is at the norm of people in this regard or above/below the norm?
@taiwan_girl said in Whither the GOP post Trump 2020 election loss:
Based on an obviously outside view, do you think that President Trump is at the norm of people in this regard or above/below the norm?
I've never cared enough to look deeply into his business dealings. That would be the territory of people looking for reasons to be disgusted. I trust that a handshake deal with him is insufficient to get him to honor his side of the bargain when there are large stakes, and I trust that he will seek advantage in any deal, within the law, even if it's through loopholes.
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In a new letter, shared exclusively with POLITICO, the former Trump administration officials — some of the officials have been outspoken Trump critics for years — stated, “this is who Donald Trump is.”
“The revelations General Kelly brought forward are disturbing and shocking. But because we know Trump and have worked for and alongside him, we were sadly not surprised by what General Kelly had to say,” the letter states.
“We applaud General Kelly for highlighting in stark details the danger of a second Trump term. Like General Kelly, we did not take the decision to come forward lightly. We are all lifelong Republicans who served our country. However, there are moments in history where it becomes necessary to put country over party. This is one of those moments” the letter states. “Everyone should heed General Kelly’s warning.”
The letter was signed by Trump administration officials, including Kevin Carroll, former senior counselor to Kelly; former deputy press secretary Sarah Matthews; former assistant secretary of homeland security Elizabeth Neumann; former White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci; former chief of staff at the Dept. of Homeland Security Miles Taylor; former White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham; former press secretary to the vice president Alyssa Farah Griffin; and former national security adviser to vice president Pence, Olivia Troye.
https://www.politico.com/news/2024/10/25/never-trump-former-officials-back-kelly-warning-00185435
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Rhetorically, these are mere endorsements for Kamala. It so happens that our rhetorical language in Harris endorsements in this election, is based in the existential threat of Trump. It is taken seriously only by those who've already swallowed the existential threat narrative. And I don't really know how many of us have. Lots of progressive white women and the men who follow them, that is for sure. But I also think, more people say they believe in that narrative, than actually believe in that narrative. Note that Kamala isn't pounding the existential threat drum in her campaign. Obviously, her handlers consider the narrative to be of dubious quality, even as Ax and TG consider the endorsements to be slam dunks.
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Rhetorically, these are mere endorsements for Kamala. It so happens that our rhetorical language in Harris endorsements in this election, is based in the existential threat of Trump. It is taken seriously only by those who've already swallowed the existential threat narrative. And I don't really know how many of us have. Lots of progressive white women and the men who follow them, that is for sure. But I also think, more people say they believe in that narrative, than actually believe in that narrative. Note that Kamala isn't pounding the existential threat drum in her campaign. Obviously, her handlers consider the narrative to be of dubious quality, even as Ax and TG consider the endorsements to be slam dunks.
@Horace said in Whither the GOP post Trump 2020 election loss:
TG consider the endorsements to be slam dunks.
I dont think that endorsements do much (if anything).
I am just surprised that the comments and insights of people who worked more closer to President Trump than pretty much anyone else are discounted. As I have said before, I dont necessary agree or disagree with their politics, but their insights carry some weight.
If you are looking to eat at a restaurant, what would you trust more; the review of the brother of the owner, or the review of the people who worked there?
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There are hopelessly complicated status reasons for propagating an existential threat narrative, and good reason not to take them seriously. And then, even if one does take them seriously, inevitably left uninvestigated is the process by which a POTUS becomes Hitler within our system of checks and balances, and within our entirely polarized society, where half the population and most of people at the institutional levers, do not like him, and are completely unafraid to say that and act on it.
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There are hopelessly complicated status reasons for propagating an existential threat narrative, and good reason not to take them seriously. And then, even if one does take them seriously, inevitably left uninvestigated is the process by which a POTUS becomes Hitler within our system of checks and balances, and within our entirely polarized society, where half the population and most of people at the institutional levers, do not like him, and are completely unafraid to say that and act on it.
@Horace said in Whither the GOP post Trump 2020 election loss:
There are hopelessly complicated status reasons for propagating an existential threat narrative, and good reason not to take them seriously. And then, even if one does take them seriously, inevitably left uninvestigated is the process by which a POTUS becomes Hitler within our system of checks and balances, and within our entirely polarized society, where half the population and most of people at the institutional levers, do not like him, and are completely unafraid to say that and act on it.
Can you rewrite in simple English? LOL
(Just tease you (but only a little bit). LOL. Your writing is very good, but it takes me at least 2 or more re-reads to try and understand! ). :couple_with_heart:
